Poker News

PartyPoker Starts New Hit Or Run Promotions

One thing PartyPoker has done extremely well in its history is provide some of the best promotions for its customers. With its popular Cash Machine set to end on January 31st, PartyPoker had to come up with another promotion that would continue to capture the interest of its players. That new promotion, called Hit Or Run, will start on February 1st.

The Hit Or Run promotion gives players an opportunity to earn over $10,000 per day throughout the month of February. Players on PartyPoker already earn PartyPoker points that can be used to enter tournaments, buy items in the PartyPoker Store, and turn the points into cash. The Hit Or Run promotion is offered as another way that players can use their PartyPoker points.

For every 20 PartyPoker points a player earns on their real money tables, PartyPoker will give players $1 that they can take to play Hit Or Run. Once a player enters into the Hit Or Run arena, they are dealt two hole cards to play heads-up against the PartyPoker system. If a player wins the first hand, that $1 is doubled and the player is given the option of playing again, or taking another “Hit.” The game continues until the player is beaten in the game or the player decides to “Run” with what they have won.

Players can earn up to ten entries per day to play the PartyPoker Hit Or Run game. If a player is able to win ten straight heads-up hands, they will take away $1,024. If a player does this ten times per day and wins every hand, that player would walk away with $10,240. Of course, a player can, at any time, opt to take whatever money they have earned by hitting the “Run” button.

The new Hit Or Run promotion is simply the latest offering that PartyPoker has for its players. Currently, PartyPoker is also running satellites for entries into February’s World Poker Tour (WPT) L. A. Poker Classic and Celebrity Invitational. PartyPoker also offers its popular $1 million Guaranteed the first Sunday of each month and has a $300,000 Guaranteed every other Sunday when the Million Guaranteed isn’t running.

PartyPoker continues to reign among one of the leaders in the online poker industry. Up until 2006, it was the largest poker room in the industry, but the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006 forced the parent company of PartyPoker, Party Gaming, to pull the plug on players from the United States. Since that time - and catering to players outside of the U. S. only - PartyPoker has slipped behind such sites as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, which still continue to accept American action. PartyPoker vies against the iPoker Network for third place in the online poker industry, according to PokerScout.com.

Phil Bellante is “All In” With Poker Themed Song

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em." Thanks to Kenny Rogers and his hit song, "The Gambler," those words will forever be ingrained in the game of poker. The song is more than 30 years old, but its popularity has maintained throughout the years as a staple in the ever-expanding poker community.

Phil Bellante hopes his new poker-themed song will have the same impact on the new crowd of poker players. The musician, songwriter, and producer from Cleveland released a new album in 2009 and on it is the track "All In," a catchy tune that he's attempting to market as the new theme song of poker. He's already receiving rave reviews from the poker media. (The song can be heard at http://philbellante.com/)

Bellante has been busy promoting "All In" and Poker News Daily had a chance to speak with him about the song, his poker history, and his friendship with a well-known poker pro.

Poker News Daily: So Phil, can we assume that you're a poker player and fan?

Phil Bellante: Absolutely, a poker player and a huge fan!

Poker News Daily: How long have you been playing and what game(s) do you prefer?

Phil Bellante: I have been playing for at least 10 years and I would have to say that No Limit Texas Hold'em is my game of choice.

Poker News Daily: You recently did an interview with your friend and Full Tilt Pro Phil Gordon on ESPN Radio's "Poker Edge". How did you become close with Phil?

Phil Bellante: Phil is my good friend’s brother-in-law, so every year for the past several years, we all get together at their place for Thanksgiving and have a poker tournament. It’s a lot of fun, especially when Phil doesn’t win and somebody that hardly knows what they are doing wins the whole thing. Part of the mass appeal, I think, of the game is the ability for anyone to win at any time because of the luck factor and getting dealt the right hand.

Poker News Daily: Are there any other poker players you like or admire?

Phil Bellante: I admire people like Annie Duke, who has also heard the song and given it a nice review on my site. She is a forerunner for women poker players who are now becoming more involved in the game. That takes some fortitude and guts when it’s a male-dominated sport. I also think the old timers like Doyle Brunson are to be admired, as they started playing the game when very few people could make a living at it like they do today. I think now the appeal is more the big winnings for people rather than a true love for the game.

Poker News Daily: What was your influence for creating the song "All In" and what are your aspirations for it?

Phil Bellante: To be honest, it wasn’t planned, which is usually the underlying ingredient to a great song because it comes from something beyond the intellect and usually connects with people on a deeper level. I was sitting around watching a tournament one afternoon and just put myself in the mind of one of the players who went all-in with his hand and then managed to write the song in less than 10 minutes. I then produced the song with a Grammy Award winning engineer a few months later.

While writing the song, I just pictured myself at a tournament performing it. It would be great to be the entertainment for some of these upcoming poker tournaments and really see it catching fire. I have many people working around the clock in various capacities to get maximum exposure for this song. We are looking at movies, video games, TV programs, Poker Tournaments, etc. I guess you can say, I am going “All In” with this song.

Poker News Daily: Is this going to be "the" poker song for the next generation of poker players to latch onto?

Phil Bellante: “All In” has great potential due to the size of the poker market and its very catchy chorus. Andrew Feldman said during my recent ESPN Poker Radio show interview that the song had been stuck in his head all day. I just received the same comment from some of the top people in Nashville who are very interested in it and choose hit songs for the platinum country artists.

I really feel the song speaks to the poker community. It has that emotional and intense build leading up to a huge swelling chorus that kind of releases all the tension. Every player knows what that adrenaline rush feels like, so they can definitely relate. That is why I think it would be so perfect to sing at a poker tournament.

In the end, only time and the fans/players will be able to determine whether this is the case. The last generation had Kenny Rogers’s song’ “The Gambler,” so I wouldn’t mind him passing the torch to me for the next generation. I think I am holding a good hand with this song and so do a lot of the higher ups in the music world so time will tell.

The song can be downloaded at www.thepokersong.com

The iPad and its Potential With Online Poker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PartyGaming Co-Founder Anurag Dikshit Severs Ties With Stock Sale

Ending a relationship that dates back to the beginning of the online poker industry, Party Gaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit has divested himself of any ownership in the company with the sale of his remaining stock on Tuesday.

According to the London Stock Exchange and the British newspaper The Telegraph, Dikshit owned slightly more than 38.8 million shares of Party Gaming PLC, which is traded in London under the symbol PRTY. Because of his ownership of the stock, Dikshit held voting rights that would have continued to hold a significant influence on the company’s track. With the sale, however, Dikshit has fully divested himself of any connection with the company he helped start back in the late 1990s.

The 38.8 million shares of Party Gaming stock held by Dikshit amount to £114 million and helped to drive the price of Party Gaming PLC up during trading on Tuesday and Wednesday. Opening at 277.10p at the start of trading Wednesday, Party Gaming PLC trended up 14.2p over the course of the day, finishing at 292p.

It is estimated that Dikshit has cashed out stock in the company that eclipses £700m in value. Through his involvement with Party Gaming, Dikshit has also become one of India’s wealthiest citizens. With the sale of his remaining ownership in the company complete, Dikshit is expected to return to the many philanthropic trusts that he oversees, including those that fund medical and educational interests in India.

Since the creation of Party Gaming in the late 1990s, Dikshit had been a formative figure in the company. Along with husband and wife Russ DeLeon and Ruth Parasol as well as Vikrant Bhargava, Dikshit – who was the creator of the Party Gaming software that the company uses – drove the company to reach the pinnacle of the online poker industry with PartyPoker. By 2005, when the foursome took Party Gaming public on the London Stock Exchange, PartyPoker had even become a force in the live poker world with a sponsorship deal at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

2006 proved to be a pivotal point for the company, however. With the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by the American government, Party Gaming was forced to prohibit American players from participating on PartyPoker (as a publicly traded entity, it could not violate the laws of another country and remain on the LSE). Since that time, Party Gaming has been passed in the online poker industry by two rooms that still accept American players, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, and battles for the third spot consistently with another non-U.S. facing entity, the iPoker Network.

Dikshit has been the only founder of Party Gaming to ever face American authorities as far as their gaming actions are concerned. After the passage of the UIGEA, The Telegraph reports that Dikshit was “increasingly worried about the ramifications of the company’s operations being declared illegal in America” and stepped down as the director of Party Gaming. This led to his admission of guilt in December 2008 in a U. S. court to violating laws regarding online gaming. Still facing the possibility of two years in jail for his guilty plea, Dikshit has paid $300 million in fines and, according to Justice Department officials, has been assisting them in their ongoing investigations. Whether Dikshit will face any jail time when the case is reviewed in December 2010 is still unknown.

The sale of Dikshit’s remaining stake in PartyGaming comes at a time when the company is looking at several merger options, according to The Telegraph. The outlet states that PartyGaming is “continuing to hold discussions with a number of companies in the gaming sector regarding potential consolidation opportunities” and speculates that industry competitor bwin is a possible merger partner.

ESPN Inside Deal Airs First Show of 2010

The ESPN poker franchise “Inside Deal” returned on Tuesday with the first episode of 2010. Joining the series, which emanated from a new set, were Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas and 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Joe Cada.

The show began with a discussion of the CardPlayer and Bluff Player of the Year awards for 2009. CardPlayer named UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin as its winner, while Bluff crowned PokerStars’ Jason Mercier. On which publication was more accurate, “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “Understand that this is not apples to apples. These are two completely different Player of the Year formulas. If you had to look at it, I think CardPlayer has it a little more open for most players.”

Lee noted that poker pro Amnon Filippi bumped him from the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event, while Cada staked co-host Laura Lane into the ladies’ event. Now, Lee and the rest of the poker world have their sights set on the PokerStars-backed North American Poker Tour (NAPT), which resumes on February 20th at the Venetian: “I’ve said from the beginning that being able to qualify online is going to increase registration, prize pools, and interest in any tournaments. So far, over 160 players have qualified for the Venetian event. That’s more than some of the WSOP Circuit Events had all last year.”

Pappas joined “Inside Deal” via phone to catch listeners up on the good word from Capitol Hill. The Executive Director of the one-million member lobbying group explained the biggest challenge of 2010: “There is this continuing cloud of grayness as to what is legal and what is not legal. We have a six-month reprieve to get that Congressional clarification to make sure that it is clear that playing poker over the internet is not an unlawful internet gambling transaction.” The PPA is pushing for a markup of Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267 in February.

Cada, donning a festive array of PokerStars logos, told “Inside Deal” viewers that the pressure for him to perform has ramped up dramatically: “There is definitely more pressure now, especially because of the way I won my final table.” Cada hit the deck hard during the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event and defeated Maryland logger Darvin Moon heads-up.

One of the rumors flying around the poker world during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was that Cada was dating former Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole. The rumors ultimately proved false, but Cada is still trying to wrap his head around his celebrity status: “I am still trying to get used to everything. The rumors are not so great. All my friends back home asked me about it and there are so many rumors going on.”

A comprehensive breakdown of a hand between Moon and Cada heads-up aired featuring Lee and ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman dishing out strategy. The crew then asked Cada to reveal his mentality headed into heads-up play in poker tournaments: “I start off slow when I start heads-up because I don’t know how they play. A lot is their frequency of calls pre-flop and stack sizes. If the stack sizes are deeper, then you’re able to raise more from the button.” Cada was an online heads-up specialist prior to his win last November to become the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever.

A new segment called “Snap Calls” featured discussion of Huck Seed’s chances to make it eight cashes in a row in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the number of new girlfriends Cada will have this year (Cada said under 1.5), the future of online poker legalization, whether Bernard Lee would claim a title in 2010, and whether Cada would win another bracelet in this year’s WSOP.

Brandon McSmith Claims to have Rights to Face the Ace

A man called Brandon McSmith claims that “Face the Ace” is based in an idea he created. He says that he created a show called the “All Star Poker Challenge” and pitched it to Mori Eskandani at Poker PROductions. Mori took a look at it and rejected the concept, saying that a contestant risking everything to play on was a flawed concept.

McSmith contacted Poker PROductions after he found out it was the creator of “Face the Ace”, but they responded that NBC was behind the show. However, NBC informed him that Full Tilt Poker was actually behind the idea of the show.

The concept of “Face the Ace” and “All Star Poker Challenge” are almost the same, with few minor differences. The original idea included five doors and five matches. In “Face the Ace” there are four doors and three matches.

Also the prize structure is different, as every match was worth of $2,000 in the original idea and if the contestant would win the fifth match, he would also get an entry to the World Series of Poker Main Event .

McSmith has a suit pending in the Eighth District Court in Nevada. He is hoping to get a fair compensation. He don’t want to say anything about dollar values, but he says the “created by” would mean a lot to him, as he has several other projects he would like to get produced.

Source

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

Brandon McSmith Claims to have Rights to Face the Ace

Brandon McSmith Claims Rights to Face the Ace

Recently, Poker News Daily reader Brandon McSmith wrote in claiming that Poker PROductions, which brought the NBC poker game show “Face the Ace” to life, took his idea for the series without permission. We sat down with Smith to get his side of the story in the lawsuit, which is currently pending in Nevada.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for writing in. Tell us about your claim against Poker PROductions.

Brandon McSmith: I created a show called the “All Star Poker Challenge.” I pitched it to Poker PROductions, specifically to Mori Eskandani. Mori said to send it over to him and he’d take a look. Subsequently, he rejected the concept, saying that a contestant risking everything to play on was a flawed concept.

PND: How did you find out about “Face the Ace” airing on NBC?

Brandon McSmith: While online, I read about “Face the Ace” and thought it was my show. I saw that Poker PROductions created it, so I contacted them and they responded with their general counsel stating that first and foremost, I contacted the wrong people. They said NBC brought the show to them. We contacted NBC, who said they were in discussions with Poker PROductions and Full Tilt Poker and Full Tilt came up with the concept. This is all documented in letters and e-mails.

Right now, I have a suit pending in the Eighth District Court in Nevada. I have paralegals drawing papers for me. I’m confident that the judge and jury will see that they lied three different times.

PND: How did NBC and Poker PROductions respond when you contacted them?

Brandon McSmith: I have Poker PROductions saying that NBC brought it to them. NBC said Full Tilt brought it to them, but I didn’t name Full Tilt in the lawsuit. Full Tilt tried to act like Big Brother and come in and protect Poker PROductions. They haven’t done anything in court, so I left them out of it. If they assert a claim to it, I’d be happy to ask the judge to amend the complaint to include Full Tilt.

PND: Were there any differences between the “All Star Poker Challenge” and “Face the Ace”?

Brandon McSmith: The prize structure was different. They also had one less door and two fewer matches. I had five doors and five matches, with $2,000 per match. On the fifth match, you’d win $10,000 plus a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event entry. Everything else was the same.

PND: How did you come up with your poker game show idea?

Brandon McSmith: I’m just an Average Joe who plays poker around Las Vegas. One day after playing in Tuscany, a small poker room, I was coming home and thought there was nothing out there like this. I’d love to play in the WSOP Main Event, but can’t afford the $10,000 buy-in. Everything on television is pros versus pros. Out of that, I sat down for an hour or so to hammer out the concept. I pitched it to several people and everyone was nice and loved the concept. Out of all the people I pitched it to, Mori was the only one who stole it.

PND: What damages are you seeking?

Brandon McSmith: I’m seeking fair compensation. Whatever the courts decide, I’m fine with. I think they’ll get hit on punitive damages. The compensatory part is what the show is worth. Once the judge and jury realize that two powerhouses stole the idea, they’re going to inflict a hefty punitive damage award to it.

PND: Did you have a dollar value in mind?

Brandon McSmith: I don’t have a number right now because I don’t know what the show has done. I also don’t know what the agreement is. What is a flop in the United States could be a hit in Europe and I don’t know the scope of their plans. I’m just a regular guy who pitched the show. The “Created By” credit is worth something to me since there would be something I created on television. I have several other concepts and it’d be easier to approach people or be represented by an agent.

We were supposed to go to court on January 4th, but court was shut down that day due to a security incident. Now, we’re waiting for the court to reschedule us.

Holdem Manager Now Supports Full Tilt Rush Poker

It took the poker software industry all of one week to support Full Tilt Poker’s latest update that featured the introduction of Rush Poker. Now, the popular tracking program Holdem Manager has created a workaround for the new addition.

A video that appears within the Holdem Manager following the program’s latest update explains its developers’ method of supporting Rush Poker: “Because of the nature of the new Full Tilt Rush Poker tables, we couldn’t use the traditional HUD (Heads-Up Display) approach. Instead, what we've done is designed a tool where you can inject your database stats on players directly into the Full Tilt notes feature.” The stats that would normally appear in a player’s HUD can be found by hovering the mouse near an opponent’s name to bring up their notes.

In order to get started, players should head to the “Options” menu and click on “Rush FTP Notes Export.” Then, select the notes file for the player that they want to export them for. Clicking “Go” starts the process and Holdem Manager officials note that this step could take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. After each session, players are advised to update their notes.

When you’re seated at a table, just hover your mouse over where the notes normally appear and, instantaneously, any stats logged on a player will be shown. The stats update automatically whenever you change Rush Poker tables, so players don’t have to worry about their HUDs not being able to keep up as they frantically log 300-plus hands per hour on Full Tilt’s Rush Poker tables. Some players had reported that their HUDs could not handle the pace of Rush Poker, while others commented that the stats feature worked flawlessly.

The notes method only applies to Rush Poker tables. If you’re seated at a traditional, snail-paced table on Full Tilt, your HUD will work normally. When you finally decide that you’ve had enough excitement of Rush Poker, hit “Start Auto Import” within Holdem Manager to make sure your stats are up to date. The same Holdem Manager video revealed that integrating auto-rake functionality into the notes was forthcoming, as was the ability to view notes and HUD stats at the same time.

Holdem Manager is one of the leading poker tracking programs in the industry and weighs in at $55 for a Small-Stakes Edition and $80 for a Professional Edition. Software review site PokerSoftware.com called Holdem Manager “one of the best pieces of poker software available.” The website explained, “It's well put together, stable, fully featured, and is constantly being updated with more features. The program imports hand history text files from all of the major online poker rooms and compiles them into a PostgreSQL database. From there, it can provide multi-layered reports based on any situation or scenario thanks to the innumerable number of features packed in.”

Besides Full Tilt Poker, Holdem Manager is compatible with numerous other online poker sites, including Betfair, the CEREUS Network, Everest Poker, PartyPoker. PokerStars, RedKings, and Titan Poker. Its HUD allows players to see vital stats on their opponents like the percent of the time they voluntarily put money into the pot (VPIP), 3bet, continuation bet, raise pre-flop (PFR), and their Aggression Factor (AF). Knowing these statistics makes multi-tabling simple and, therefore, more profitable.

Rush Poker debuted last Tuesday on Full Tilt Poker. The cash game concept has caught on like wildfire, with thousands of players heading to the USA-friendly site, the second largest in the world, to try their hand. Players are instantaneously shuttled to another table as soon as their action in a hand ends and the use of a “Quick Fold” option speeds up the process even more. Consequently, players seeing 300 or more hands per hour has become commonplace.

Holdem Manager Now Supports Full Tilt Rush Poker

It took the poker software industry all of one week to support Full Tilt Poker’s latest update that featured the introduction of Rush Poker. Now, the popular tracking program Holdem Manager has created a workaround for the new addition.

A video that appears within the Holdem Manager following the program’s latest update explains its developers’ method of supporting Rush Poker: “Because of the nature of the new Full Tilt Rush Poker tables, we couldn’t use the traditional HUD (Heads-Up Display) approach. Instead, what we've done is designed a tool where you can inject your database stats on players directly into the Full Tilt notes feature.” The stats that would normally appear in a player’s HUD can be found by hovering the mouse near an opponent’s name to bring up their notes.

In order to get started, players should head to the “Options” menu and click on “Rush FTP Notes Export.” Then, select the notes file for the player they want to export them for. Clicking “Go” starts the process and Holdem Manager officials note that this step could take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. After each session, players are advised to update their notes.

When you’re seated at a table, just hover your mouse over where the notes normally appear and, instantaneously, any stats logged on a player will be shown. The stats update automatically whenever you change Rush Poker tables, so players don’t have to worry about their HUDs not being able to keep up as they frantically log 300-plus hands per hour on Full Tilt’s Rush Poker tables. Some players had reported that their HUDs could not handle the pace of Rush Poker, while others commented that the stats feature worked flawlessly.

The notes method only applies to Rush Poker tables. If you’re seated at a traditional, snail-paced table on Full Tilt, your HUD will work normally. When you finally decide that you’ve had enough excitement of Rush Poker, hit “Start Auto Import” within Holdem Manager to make sure your stats are up to date. The same Holdem Manager video revealed that integrating auto-rake functionality into the notes was forthcoming, as was the ability to view notes and HUD stats at the same time.

Holdem Manager is one of the leading poker tracking programs in the industry and weighs in at $55 for a Small-Stakes Edition and $80 for a Professional Edition. Software review site PokerSoftware.com called Holdem Manager “one of the best pieces of poker software available.” The website explained, “It's well put together, stable, fully featured, and is constantly being updated with more features. The program imports hand history text files from all of the major online poker rooms and compiles them into a PostgreSQL database. From there, it can provide multi-layered reports based on any situation or scenario thanks to the innumerable number of features packed in.”

Besides Full Tilt Poker, Holdem Manager is compatible with numerous other online poker sites, including Betfair, the CEREUS Network, Everest Poker, PartyPoker, PokerStars, RedKings, and Titan Poker. Its HUD allows players to see vital stats on their opponents like the percent of the time they voluntarily put money into the pot (VPIP), 3bet, continuation bet, raise pre-flop (PFR), and their Aggression Factor (AF). Knowing these statistics makes multi-tabling simple and, therefore, more profitable.

Rush Poker debuted last Tuesday on Full Tilt Poker. The cash game concept has caught on like wildfire, with thousands of players heading to the USA-friendly site, the second largest in the world, to try their hand. Players are instantaneously shuttled to another table as soon as their action in a hand ends and the use of a “Quick Fold” option speeds up the process even more. Consequently, players seeing 300 or more hands per hour has become commonplace.

Gambling Expansion in Iowa Could Bring Big Poker Tournaments

Poker News in Brief Jan. 18-24, 2010

The 2010 Aussie Millions main event kicked Sunday with hundreds of players looking to strike Australian gold.

You can read all about the tournament in our news section or live tournaments area, but as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature we’re going to take a look at a few lesser-known poker stories below.

This week we’ll look at Annette Obrestad crushing an Aussie Millions prelim, David Singer falling fourth on the Heartland Poker Tour, Phil Galfond doing some TV work and more.

Obrestad Wins Aussie Millions Pot-Limit Omaha Event

Annette Obrestad wasted no time getting busy at the 2010 Aussie Millions.

The former World Series of Poker Europe Main Event winner won the $1,000(AUD) buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event for $40,000(AUD) this week.

Obrestad outlasted 159 players including a couple of veteran rounders in Emad Tahtouh and Tony Bloom.

Although Obrestad continues to find success online, the win in the Aussie Millions was actually her first live victory since winning the WSOPE.

Obrestad did, however, finish second at EPT Dublin in 2007 for €297,800.

This year, Obrestad will make her first appearance at the WSOP after finally turning 21 this past September.

Alec Torelli Moves to Victory Poker

Online star Alec “traheho” Torelli has parted ways with Doyles Room to sign a sponsorship deal with the up-and-coming Victory Poker.

Torelli was hand-picked by Doyle Brunson this summer to be a member of the Brunson 10.

The team has never come close to approaching 10 players, however, and currently Chris “Moorman1” Moorman, Zachary Clark, Amit Makhija and Dani “anksy” Stern are its only members.

Victory Poker has yet to be released, but it will be a part of the Everleaf Gaming network, which includes Red Cherry Poker and Poker Royale.

Torelli will join a Victory Poker team that is rumored to include Antonio Esfandiari, Brian Rast and Paul Wasicka.

Rousing Final to HPT Vegas

The blue-collar Heartland Poker Tour ventured into Vegas for the second time this week and the final table did not disappoint.

It included a bona fide pro in Full Tilt’s David Singer, an HPT veteran in Theodore Kearly and an inspirational story in unemployed Cambodian refugee Kimbo Ung.

Ung managed to outlast all five opponents at the final table and take down a first place prize of $125,901.

Singer finished fourth for $29,377, which brings his lifetime tournament winnings up to just over $4.3 million.

The event, which drew 433 players, was an overwhelming success according to organizers.

“We didn’t how the Vegas market would respond to our brand,” said HPT President Todd Anderson. “It turns out we blew the roof off.”

PKR TV Showcases Phil Galfond

Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond does not have a major poker room sponsor, but will be doing some work for PKR TV.

Galfond will be doing commentary on some of the best ring game action on PKR.com and footage from the special “Galfond TV Cash Game,” which saw some of the elite PKR players take him on.

“We are thrilled to have Phil in the studio to become a PKR TV commentator,” said PKR marketing manager Erika Schwartz. “It will be fantastic for our players to get someone of his reputation watching the action and giving some advice on their play.”

PKR TV and the Galfond TV Cash Game will be broadcast on The Poker Channel in 13 countries across Europe. Air dates have yet to be confirmed.

Police Raid South Carolina Poker Game

Police busted yet another poker game in South Carolina last week.

Officers confiscated more than $64,000 in cash, chips and tables from a Greenville County home.

Twenty-seven people were charged for unlawful betting after a citizen’s tip led deputies to the house.

The raid is nothing new for the region. In 2007, a game was busted in neighboring North Carolina that included noted poker pros Mike Gracz and Chris Bell.

No Decision Handed Down in Kentucky Internet Gambling Case

The Kentucky Supreme Court failed to hand down a decision on Thursday in the case involving the seizure and potential forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names.

The list of sites that could be affected includes PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Officials from the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) and others involved in the case had anticipated a Thursday release of the Kentucky Supreme Court's decision. However, none was passed down as the day came and went.

A press release distributed by iMEGA on Thursday added that the next time the case could be addressed is late March. iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily what his reaction was to no decision being rendered by the Commonwealth's highest court: “Everyone was surprised in Kentucky. The rumor mill thought the decision was going to be rendered. That could have been why their attorneys acted so quickly at the end of December, so if they got an adverse decision, they could keep it alive.”

No dates for releases of court opinions are listed in February. The next date shown for verdicts to be handed down on the Kentucky Supreme Court's calendar is March 18th. Others include April 22nd, May 20th, June 17th, August 26th, September 23rd, October 21st, November 18th, and December 16th. Twenty pages' worth of decisions were handed down on Thursday in the Frankfort court.

Back in October, oral arguments were heard by the six of the seven justices that comprise the Kentucky Supreme Court. In December, two months after the proceedings occurred, attorneys for the Commonwealth filed a motion to add names to its original complaint. Its counsel explained the reasoning behind identifying more defendants two months after oral arguments transpired: “In the course of the litigation and the Commonwealth’s continuing investigation, the Commonwealth has learned the identity of certain entities and individuals involved in internet gambling operations, some of whom are U.S. citizens.”

The motion called for a hearing in front of Judge Thomas Wingate on January 20th. However, because the motion was never acted on by the Kentucky Supreme Court, no such hearing took place. Wingate upheld the initial seizure order as part of a decision rendered in October 2008. The last-second move by Commonwealth attorneys to add names to the record, to some in the industry, indicated that the Kentucky Supreme Court was readying to hand down a verdict. However, those inclinations ultimately proved to be false.

The case centers on whether domain names, which are housed in the depths of cyberspace, constitute “gambling devices” under Kentucky state law. The two-word phrase traditionally refers to physical objects like roulette wheels and slot machines that you'd find in an underground casino. The domains were allegedly seized without due process back in September 2008. Wingate mandated that the affected sites cease taking customers from Kentucky immediately, else risk losing access to their domain name worldwide.

For now, it appears that the future of domain names like FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com will remain up in the air in the Bluegrass State. Also involved in the case is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry's 1.2-million member strong lobbying force. The PPA filed an amicus brief to the Kentucky Supreme Court charging that poker is a game of skill and therefore not gambling under state law.

Original estimates pinned a decision in the Kentucky Supreme Court between three and six months after oral arguments took place, or sometime between January and April. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the case.

Andy Bloch Discusses Rush Poker Strategy

Recently, Rush Poker made its debut on Full Tilt Poker. The fast-paced style of cash game allows players to move from one table to another as soon as their action in a hand is finished. As such, players have been able to see upwards of 300 hands per hour. Poker News Daily sat down with Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch to get his take on the new addition to the site’s already impressive lineup, his goals for 2010, and his thoughts on the online poker phenomenon known as Isildur1.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. What were your first impressions of Rush Poker?

Andy Bloch: I think it’s great and it’s had a great reception so far. Sure, there were people who found fault with it at first, but once you get used to it, it’s great. I tried it out a couple of months ago and thought it was amazing. Back when I first started playing, I remember training software that was like this. When you folded, a new hand started right away, so you’re always making decisions. This is how poker really should be.

PND: Some players we’ve talked to critiqued that Rush Poker creates ABC poker players. Is there a different overarching strategy to it?

Andy Bloch: To some degree, it’ll train people more to play ABC poker. You’ll have less of a reason to play speculative hands because you can fold and get a new hand right away, but that creates more opportunities. There will be a lot of people taking advantage of the tight play and playing a lot more hands pre-flop. There’s no need to worry about getting a reckless image.

You can raise every hand on the button, for example, whereas at a regular cash game table, you wouldn’t do that because people would pick up on it. You could also just raise pre-flop in Rush Poker every time the action folds to you. In Rush Poker, therefore, taking notes becomes really important. If you see any unusual play, you’ll want to make a note and tag a player. It might come in handy later on.

PND: How have you fared so far and what stakes did you play?

Andy Bloch: It seems like my opponents have been hitting sets on me after we get the money in, but I don’t know if I’m up or down. I’ve played all of the stakes they offer, including play money. It seems like people play better at the Rush Poker play money tables than at the normal play money tables. They are less likely to play every hand because they know they can just fold, so they’re marginally more selective.

PND: Would you like to see Rush Poker added for MTTs and sit and gos?

Andy Bloch: I’d love to see Rush Poker added for heads-up play, tournaments, sit and gos, and different forms of poker like Stud. You have to pay attention to the up-cards in Stud, so it’s hard to multi-table.

PND: What poker goals do you have for 2010?

Andy Bloch: I’m going to the L.A. Poker Classic and hopefully playing some of the earlier events. They have a HORSE tournament and a Chinese Poker tournament. They also have a heads-up event and an Ironman no-break tournament.  I’ll probably play about the same number of tournaments as last year, but I want to play more online. I had a bad year last year. Whenever I have a bad year, I just try to work on my game and go over my strategy. My goal is to win a bracelet on June 1st. That is the end of the $50,000 Player’s Championship and the final day of the first three open events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

PND: Are you still planning to be involved with organizations like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) this year?

Andy Bloch: Absolutely. This year coming up is an important year. It looks like we can finally get a law passed, get rid of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and get online poker regulated. If we can get that done, it’d be great for everyone in the poker world, from the grinder to the recreational player to someone who has dreams of being sponsored by a site.

PND: Talk about the rise and fall of Isildur1 on Full Tilt’s nosebleed cash game tables.

Andy Bloch: That story is crazy in a lot of ways. It happens from time to time in poker and in other games too. Unless Isildur1 follows it up with another run, you can chalk it up to luck. He’s a good player, but he jumped into the high-stakes games too quickly, not realizing the type of talent that’s out there. He made himself a target and wasn’t willing to back down. It’s a great story and I hope he comes back and shows people that it wasn’t a fluke.

PND: Was there any possibility of Andy Bloch facing off against Isildur1?

Andy Bloch: I don’t have much experience in Pot Limit Omaha. I need to work on that too and that’s another one of my goals for 2010. I need to get into a position where I can feel comfortable sitting down in any limit game.

Poker Players Alliance Pushing for February Markup of HR 2267

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s one-million member strong lobbying organization, is ramping up for what could be a monumental 2010 legislative year. At stake is the future of online poker in the United States.

As the industry treks into the new decade, Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, is up to 65 co-sponsors. In the first two weeks of January, the measure saw two new lawmakers lend their names in support, Congressmen Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Charlie Melancon (D-LA). HR 2267 was introduced in May and, in the beginning of December, was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee.

No markup of HR 2267 occurred during the December 3rd hearing, which took place one week following officials from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve delaying mandatory compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by six months to June 1st, 2010. However, according to PPA Executive Director John Pappas, a markup may be in the offing: “The big next step for us is the markup. We’ve built out who our targets are for that committee and are pursuing them. We think it might happen in February, but there are no guarantees.”

According to Pappas, Frank expressed his desire to hold a markup hearing next month, which could lead to discussion of HR 2267 on the floor of the House of Representatives later this year. From there, Frank and the PPA could elect to attach the measure to another piece of legislation, similar to how the UIGEA became a part of an unrelated port security bill in 2006. Pappas noted, “One of our biggest challenges will be to make the vote in the committee bipartisan. That’s going to be our challenge and I think we can do it. Winning big in the Financial Services Committee will help us advance the bill in any other capacity.”

In the next month, the PPA also expects information to be released concerning the amount of money that could be raised should Senator Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) S 1597 be approved. The bill, dubbed the Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, regulates online skill games. S 1597 was introduced in August, but has yet to garner any co-sponsors.

On the difficult road that lies ahead in the U.S. Senate, Pappas commented, “The Senate has been a tougher ground for us to plow so far, so we’re trying to do what we can there. It’s not because the topic isn’t of interest or important, but rather because they operate differently. The House operates quickly, whereas the Senate is more deliberate.”

The UIGEA was not discussed in the Senate four years ago; instead, it was approved by unanimous consent. Then, the PPA was in its infancy, boasting around 50,000 members during the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Now, it has grown into the seven-figures and seen players like UB.com pro Annie Duke and 2004 WSOP Main Event winner Greg Raymer champion its cause. In 2010, the PPA expects to work with a variety of organizations in the industry for membership drives, following the blueprint of its recent promotion with Card Player Cruises that awarded one player a trip for two to the Caribbean.

Finally, Pappas gave his take on the proposed intrastate internet gambling bill introduced in New Jersey by State Senator Raymond Lesniak. On the model for other states to follow to legalize online wagering, Pappas told Poker News Daily, “For poker players in New Jersey, it presents an interesting opportunity to play on a licensed site. The issue is what sites they’ll be able to play on. Will it be on the brands they know? Having Atlantic City casinos undertake building their own software and player bases will take quite a long time.” According to PokerScout.com, PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the industry, boasts a seven-day running average of 33,200 real money ring game players.

Stay tuned for the latest news from the PPA right here on Poker News Daily.

New Jersey Gaming Revenues Fall 13.2% in 2009

According to figures released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, gaming revenues in Atlantic City dipped 13.2% during the 2009 calendar year compared to 2008. All told, area casinos raked in $3.9 billion.

Revenue derived from slot machines and table games were both hit hard. Funds pulled from the one-armed bandits dropped 13.1% in 2009 to $2.72 billion, while table game revenue fell 13.5% to $1.22 billion. Casino Control Commission Chair Linda Kassekert commented in a press release, “Casinos continued to suffer in 2009. The weak national economy, growing competition across our borders, and the partial ban on smoking in casinos combined to depress gaming revenues.” Officials in New Jersey are eyeing gambling expansion in Pennsylvania and Delaware as additional competitive pressures. In response, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak recently introduced a bill to allow intrastate internet gambling.

Despite the rapidly increasing competition and shrinking sources of revenue, Kassekert remained optimistic that Atlantic City’s uniqueness would continue to attract visitors to its casinos: “Atlantic City has a lot to offer visitors in addition to gambling. When the economy improves and people have more money to spend on entertainment, Atlantic City will draw more and more people interested in visiting our shops, enjoying a concert, dining in our fine restaurants, and relaxing on our beach.”

During the 2009-2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit schedule, Atlantic City plays host to a pair of events. In December, Harrah’s Atlantic City held a slate of 17 poker tournaments. Its $5,150 buy-in Main Event saw Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki best a field of 195 players to earn $215,000. Heads-up, Klodnicki defeated fellow online poker player Kyle kwob20 Bowker, who pocketed $128,000. The WSOP Circuit returns to the New Jersey city in March for the Caesars Atlantic City festivities. The casino is fresh off awarding a record-setting $553,000 Bad Beat Jackpot to Delaware native Steven Gedney.

New Jersey casinos’ taxable gross revenue in 2009 was $3.7 billion, which meant that gaming establishments paid $295.3 million to the State. The funds, which represent 8% of taxable gross revenue, go directly to the Casino Revenue Fund, which benefits senior citizens and New Jersey residents with disabilities. Casinos also coughed up $49.3 million in reinvestment costs. On that cash outlay, the Commission explained, “They are required to reinvest 1.25 percent of taxable gross revenues in projects approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.”

In December, casino revenue slid 9.8% year over year to $272.1 million. Hit hardest during the final month of the decade was Trump Marina, whose revenues plummeted by 25.2% to $10.1 million. The second largest decline was seen at Trump Plaza, where revenues skidded 18.9% year over year to $13.0 million. At the Atlantic City Hilton, the news on casino “win” was equally poor, as revenues dipped 17.3% in December 2009 compared to December 2008 to $11.7 million. Caesars Atlantic City, contrastingly, saw a 4.4% rise in revenue in December.

For the 2009 calendar year, every single casino in Atlantic City posted lower revenue than in 2008. Three locales – Atlantic City Hilton, Trump Marina, and Trump Plaza – saw win dive by 20% or more year over year. Virtually untouched amid the sagging economy was the Borgata, whose revenues of $695.3 million in 2009 trailed its 2008 figures by just 5.9%. Only one other casino’s revenue fell by single-digits year over year, the Trump Taj Mahal. Beginning on Wednesday at the Borgata is its annual Winter Poker Open, which runs through February 5th. The Main Event, which has a $2 million guaranteed prize pool, begins on January 31st.

In Las Vegas, casino gambling revenue rose in November year over year, posting the first monthly gain in nearly two years. In Atlantic City during the same month, revenues slid 13.4% compared to November 2008.

The Weekly Turbo: Full Tilt Lawsuit, UB Scandal Update, WSOP Rules, and More

Internet Gambling Bill Introduced in New Jersey

Legalized internet gambling and online poker may be coming to New Jersey. State Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced S 3167, which specifically legalizes the internet version of popular brick and mortar games like poker, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, craps, the big six wheel, slot machines, mini baccarat, red dog, pai gow, and sic bo.

Servers and monitoring offices for internet gaming companies created under the bill must be located in Atlantic County, New Jersey. The State is charged with protecting consumers under the bill, which explains that a government division would develop “technical standards for approval of software, computers and other gaming equipment used to conduct internet wagering, including mechanical, electrical or program reliability, security against tampering, the comprehensibility of wagering, and noise and light levels, as it may deem necessary to protect the player from fraud or deception and to insure the integrity of gaming.” Online accounts would only be open to players age 21 or older, mirroring the standards of the brick and mortar casino world.

Online poker is mentioned by name several times, mitigating any doubt that the game may not be legal if Lesniak’s bill were enacted into law. Internet gambling outfits would be subject to a 20% tax paid to the state’s casino revenue fund. An additional tax will see a portion of its proceeds go to the New Jersey Racing Commission “to be used for the benefit of the horse racing, including but not limited to the augmentation of purses.”

The act would take effect immediately upon future Governor Chris Christie signing it into law, setting up a model for intrastate online gaming that other jurisdictions could soon mimic. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission would establish a Division of Internet Wagering to oversee operations and licensing. Permit holders would be required to pay an up-front licensing fee of $200,000, with renewals running $100,000. In addition, operators would be required to fork over a $100,000 non-refundable deposit and $100,000 annual fee that would go towards treating compulsive gambling.

The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) has been one of the leading forces pushing for legislation in New Jersey. Its Chairman, Joe Brennan, commented in a press release distributed by the trade organization, “We’re happy that New Jersey has taken this issue into their own hands. New Jersey is recognized as having the toughest gaming regulators in the U.S., but as a leading gaming state with a long track record of doing things the right way, internet gambling will have a great home here and the opportunity to begin normalizing the industry.”

Legal online wagering on horse racing is available to New Jersey residents on 4NJBets.com. Those placing wagers must be 18 years of age and have completed a form W9 for tax purposes. An automated phone betting system supplements the website, allowing multiple avenues for New Jersey residents to place wagers on their favorite ponies. Popular New Jersey tracks include Monmouth, Meadowlands, and Freehold.

On a national level, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez has introduced S 1597, the Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. As its name implies, the measure legalizes skill games like online poker in a similar fashion to Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267 in the House. S 1597 was introduced in August, but has not yet picked up any co-sponsors. Menendez’s bill defines “skill game” simply as “an Internet-based game in which success is predominantly determined by the skill of the players, including poker, chess, bridge, mah-jong, and backgammon.”

In the meantime, iMEGA anxiously awaits a decision from the Kentucky Supreme Court on the future of 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, that face potential forfeiture. A decision may be handed down as soon as January 21st.

Vanessa Rousso Bests Tough Field in 2010 PCA $1,000 Ladies Event

Harrison "gibler123" Gimbel may have garnered the headlines at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) by winning the Main Event and a $2.2 million paycheck, but he wasn't the only one having a good time at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas.  One of the biggest hits of the Caribbean poker festival was the $1,000 + $100 Ladies No Limit Hold'em tournament.

A total of 91 women competed in the event, 33 of whom won their seats online at PokerStars via satellites with buy-ins starting as low as $2.20.  They won more than just their entry and spending money; the online qualifiers were also pampered at the resort's Mandara Spa and received instruction at a High Heels Poker Tour Ladies Boot Camp session from Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso.

As it turned out, the Boot Camp attendees probably should have listened to their instructor more closely, as Rousso went on to win the event, scoring a $24,725 cash.  Rousso burst onto the poker scene in 2006 when she placed 7th in the $25,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship and then won a $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event at the WPT Borgata Poker Open a few months later.  In 2007, she finished second in PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), winning over $700,000, and became known to a broad television audience when she was the runner-up in the 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.  The GoDaddy.com girl has also won two tournaments on NBC's "Poker After Dark."

Other members of Team PokerStars Pro in the tournament who were not as fortunate were Katja Thater, Veronica Dabul, Sandra Naujoks, and Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck.  Other known pros in attendance included J.J. Liu, 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champ Annette Obrestad, European Poker Tour (EPT) London Ladies champ Dagmara Aleksandrowicz, and Shirley Rosario, who placed fourth.

Another player of note was Elizabeth Bennett-Martin, who qualified for the Main Event via a PokerStars satellite for the second year in a row.  A portion of her winnings was earmarked for the charitable organization Cambodian Legal Education for Women (CLEW).  Created by her Toronto law firm, Bennett Gastle P.C., CLEW raises money to help impoverished women in Cambodia attend law school.  The goal of these women is to provide legal help to those who would not normally be able to access any in Cambodia, where the population of more than 14 million has only 538 lawyers.  Unfortunately, Bennett-Martin did not make the money in any event this year.

Sixteen women did cash, though, each getting a piece of the $88,270 prize pool.  Runner-up Halli Pinson was impressed with the field, telling PokerStars, "This event was a lot more serious than most ladies tournaments. I didn't recognize that many faces, but the field seemed a lot more experienced than usual. These women had come to play, and they had come to win! Vanessa Rousso dominated the event though – she had good cards and she's an experienced player: the combination was lethal."

Those who did not want to pony up $1,100, but still wanted to compete in a women-only tournament, or those who just wanted another shot at a title, had the chance to play in another Ladies Event the next day for just $300.  The field of 73 produced a prize pool of $19,119 and Diana Linke took home the top cash of $6,504.

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $1,000 + $100 Ladies Event Final Standings

1. Vanessa Rousso - $24,275
2. Halli Pinson - $13,815
3. Ann-Margaret Johnston - $9,335
4. Shirley Rosario - $6,620
5. Jamie Kerstetter - $5,740
6. Pastora Sorenson - $4,635
7. Lisa Adams - $3,750
8. Vanessa Caldeira - $2,870
9. Irene Baroni - $2,425
10. Sarah Wasch - $2,425
11. Violetta Szczerba - $2,205
12. Nesrine Kourdourli - $2,205
13. Muriel Allard - $1,985
14. Anna Yamshchikova - $1,985
15. Alina Salnikova - $1,765
16. Hai Nguyen - $1,765

United Kingdom Poker Tax Laws Changing

Online gaming operators such as Ladbrokes and William Hill fled to Gibraltar last year in order to escape U.K. government gambling taxes and become more competitive with overseas operators. Now, it appears the relocation could be all for naught.

The U.K. government’s Department of Culture, Media, and Sport this week announced proposed reforms to the regulatory gambling structure that will likely force offshore operators currently licensed outside of the U.K. to apply for a license from the U.K. Gambling Commission if they want to provide services or advertise in the U.K. Until now, operators located in “white listed” offshore tax havens such as Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, and Malta were allowed to advertise in the U.K. while avoiding levies, but this situation will most definitely change with the enforcement of licenses from the Commission.

Other modifications include the enforcement of new regulations that would demand that all offshore operators have active systems through their applications that would share information about suspicious betting patterns with governing authorities in the U.K.

"Online gambling has changed significantly in recent years with many European countries taking new approaches to regulation," said Gerry Sutcliffe, U.K. Sports Minister. "It would be wrong of us to stand still where many things are changing around us – especially where the protection of British consumers is at stake."

Last year, Italy introduced gambling licenses for all online poker and bookmaking sites, setting business tax ranging from 2% to 5%. The Italian government has subsequently seen tax revenues rise across the industry.

Right2bet, a European consumer-led campaign behind the idea that it is a citizen’s right to choose, stated that it hopes the U.K. does not follow suit by blocking operators from the market or burden consumers with extra charges passed on from the high tax regime.

PokerStars Team Pro and The Guardian newspaper columnist Vicky Coren has also recently voiced her opposition to changing tax laws in U.K. card rooms, particularly the Victoria Casino in London. Coren hypothesized that the regular games at the casino will die due to “a stupid, greedy, ill-thought-out change to the tax rules.” The 2009 budget introduced a tax on poker games on top of the conventional hourly fee despite the fact that customers play against each other and not the house.

"This is the same government that wanted super-casinos and unlimited fruit-machine jackpots. So they want to encourage dangerous, mindless gambling but punish a game of skill? It's idiotic," Coren wrote. "All poker-lovers should resolve, next year, to write to their MPs and the chancellor about this punishing tax. It must be removed, for the survival of big casino poker rooms and the future of the live game in this country."

Mark Seif Speaks About Amir Vahedi’s Death and Funeral Info

The poker world still mourns the loss of beloved player Amir Vahedi, known in Hollywood circles for having been Ben Affleck’s first poker tutor. His colleague and close friend Mark Seif recently made declarations on his website regarding the loss of Vahedi and shared the information about his funeral for anyone who wishes to pay their respects to the late poker player.

Seif wrote that Vahedi’s brothers were concerned about some inaccurate information about Vahedi’s death in the news.

I spoke to Amir’s brothers, Masoud and Sayed today.  They are heartbroken over the loss of their brother.  While deeply saddened by their brother’s passing, they told me that the outpouring of condolences and support has been overwhelming.  They are very thankful and have asked that I clarify a few facts that have been misreported in the news.

The first item that Seif clarifies is that Vahedi’s cause of death is yet unknown. While it is suspected that diabetes may have been the cause, there is a full autopsy and toxicology examination in progress to determine exactly what caused Vahedi’s passing:

The cause of death is unknown at this time.  An autopsy was performed in Las Vegas, where Amir’s body remains for at least a couple more days, until it is transported to Southern California.  The final autopsy report is expected in 6-8 weeks.  The preliminary findings were that all of Amir’s vital organs appeared healthy, and there were no signs of disease or injury.  The family confirmed that Amir was diabetic, but do not know if diabetes played a role in his death.  They are awaiting toxicology reports.

A point that Seif puts special stress on is the fact that Vahedi was a family man whose unexpected death has left many bereaved, since it seems some outlets reported Vahedi had left no family:

The reports that Amir died without any family are inaccurate.  In addition to his brothers, Amir has a sister, two daughters, Chanel and Erika, and a son.  Amir’s sister and children are heartbroken as well.

Many poker celebrities and reporters have expressed their condolences on Twitter. They include the great Doyle Brunson, whose site signed Vahedi as a pro for a while: “We will miss Amir Vahedi. He represented Doylesroom for a year or so, was a great guy, willing to do anything that was asked of him...RIP.” “The Professor” Howard Lederer had few, but meaningful, words to say about Vahedi’s passing: “Amir Vahedi was one of the good guys. I'm very sad. RIP.” The opinionated Daniel Negreanu also commented on this sad occasion: “RIP Amir Vahedi. Amir was a hard worker that did everything to support his family. My condolences to the Vahedi family. Must be tough.”

Those who wish to pay their respects to the late Vahedi and give their condolences to his family can do so on Friday, January 15th at 3:00pm at Forrest Lawn Memorial in Hollywood Hills, California.

PartyGaming signs with Danske Spil to provide online gaming in Denmark

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Carruthers Gets 33 Months Jail Time in BetOnSports Case

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Estonia Moves to Legalize Online Poker

Starting this year citizens of the small Northern European country will be able to legally play online poker on the nation-based Olympic Casino group platform, which was developed by industry giant Playtech.

“We are truly glad of this opportunity to start our partnership with Olympic as the leading casino entertainment provider in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Mor Weizer, executive manager of Playtech.

In 2011, the laws will change again, allowing international operators into the country as long as they are able to satisfy requirements set by the Estonian government.

A former economic leader, Estonia was one of the hardest hit countries by the world-wide recession in the late 2000s.

Last year retail sales plummeted and the government is hoping that regulating and taxing the online gambling industry will help stimulate the economy.

Poker Expansion Realized in Pennsylvania

A flood of table games will soon be headed to casinos in Pennsylvania after the state’s House and Senate approved measures allowing their introduction into 14 casinos. Currently, only slot machines are allowed.

According to the Associated Press, the Pennsylvania House voted by a margin of 103 to 89 to approve the introduction of table games. Only 12 Republicans voted for the measure, while just 10 Democrats voiced their opposition to it in a vote split largely along party lines. In the Senate, a total of 28 “yays” and 22 “nays” were recorded in a similar margin of victory. Now, games like poker, blackjack, craps, baccarat, and roulette will be rolled out throughout the state.

In response to the passage, the Mason-Dixon Resort and Casino declared that it would apply for a license to open a property near the historic town of Gettysburg, the site of the infamous Civil War battle. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell would have been forced into a quandary if the bill hadn’t passed, as Reuters reported that the state would have had to lay off nearly 1,000 of its staff due to a lack of revenue. Under the measure, funds will be pouring in from casinos, which will be allowed up to 250 table games, while resorts will be permitted to have up to 50. Licenses would run $16.5 million and $7.5 million, respectively. Table games are taxed at a rate of 16% for the first two years and 14% thereafter.

Pennsylvania gambling establishments will compete head-to-head with casinos in Atlantic City, which, like the rest of the world, have seen revenues fall since the latter part of 2008 due to a global recession. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stops twice annually in Atlantic City. During the 2009-2010 schedule, Circuit staff popped into Harrah’s Atlantic City from December 4th to 20th. Between March 3rd and 20th, the epicenter of the Circuit universe will be Caesars Atlantic City; both are Harrah’s-owned properties.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) journeyed to the Borgata in Atlantic City in September. The buy-in for the feature tournament of the Borgata Poker Open was slashed to $3,500 due to the rough macroeconomic environment and, as a result, a mob of 1,018 players turned out. In the end, Olivier Busquet banked $925,000 for the win, defeating Jeremy Brown heads-up. The Borgata stop was the only visit to New Jersey for the WPT during its eighth season, which will air on Fox Sports Net.

The Associated Press noted that the introduction of table games may take six months to come to fruition. According to the news outlet, the opposition to the expansion of gambling was quite fierce: “Critics called the expansion of the 5-year-old slots gambling law fatally flawed and said that bolstered ethics rules for casino and Gaming Control Board employees were insufficient. They also said the bill should not have earmarked funding for certain pet projects.”

Democratic State Representative Dante Santoni told Reuters, "This is a common sense, bipartisan piece of legislation that makes our gaming facilities more competitive, improves the public's confidence in gaming, raises money we desperately need in these tough financial times, and - most importantly -helps put thousands of people to work in a brand new industry." Over 12 million people call Pennsylvania home as the eighth largest state in the Union.

As expected, Pennsylvania poker players were ecstatic to hear that table games would soon be coming to their fair state. On PocketFives.com, Ambler native “krispykreme” explained that he was looking forward to a shorter drive to gamble: “Finally. I was just talking to someone at work about this. Now, we are all going to go broke every day since it will only be like 20 minutes to the casinos, instead of 2 hours to AC.”

KYW News Radio in Philadelphia reported that under the new law, casinos will be able to extend credit to their players. The media outlet revealed the Governor’s mindset to the entire issue, which was drummed up arguments from both pro and anti-gambling residents: “The reality, says Rendell, is that if not having casinos in Pennsylvania would keep state residents away from gambling, he wouldn’t have pursued legalized gaming in the first place.”

Poker News in Brief: Jan. 4-10, 2010

The 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure drew a record 1,529 players to generate a $14.8 million prize pool – the seventh biggest in poker history.

Plus, there was some poker news that happened outside of the Bahamas and we’re breaking it down for you below in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we’ll look at a new poker film coming to DVD, Pennsylvania legalizing live poker and table games, Belgium moving to nationalize online poker and Bodog making a big brag.

Legal Poker for Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania legalized poker, blackjack and other table games at Casinos this week in an attempt to generate extra revenue for the State.

Previously, casinos in Pennsylvania had been restricted to slot machines only.

It will be six months before games start being dealt in Pennsylvania, but the State stands to make millions in licensing fees.

Several neighboring states are taking notice and Indiana is considering allowing riverboat gambling in Lake Michigan and the Ohio River. Back in November, Ohio voters passed a law that will see four casinos constructed in four cities.

The Pennsylvania law change could have a potentially negative effect on neighboring Atlantic City if Pennsylvania residents opt to gamble closer to home.

Poker Film “Shark City” to See DVD Release

Indie poker flick Shark City is scheduled to be released on DVD on Feb. 16 though Morningstar Entertainment and Stardust Pictures.

The film stars Vivica A. Fox, Carlo Rota, Jefferson Brown and David J. Phillips and it centers around around the story of two friends who get mixed up with the daughter of a gangster. The two attempt to con a group of gangsters through a poker game and the plan goes awry.

High stakes poker, both live and online, is central to the theme of the film.

Shark City won the John Muir award at the Yosemite Film Festival.

To learn more go to the film’s website.

Belgium Attempts to “Nationalize” Online Poker

Belgium appears to be the latest country that is trying to restrict its citizens to only playing on local online poker rooms.

A recent story in Belgian newspaper Da Standaard claims the government has plans to demand Internet Service Providers block any foreign online poker sites.

This could potentially have huge ramifications for sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt or PartyPoker as they would have to set up regional offices in the country to continue operations.

The changes are scheduled to become law before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is reportedly not pleased with Belgium’s decision claiming it goes against the free trade agreement made by members of the European Union.

Despite the European Commission’s objections, Italy currently restricts its online poker market to rooms that have a presence in the country.

Study Shows Bodog Best Brand

Bodog may not have the most players, but according to a recent independent study it carries the strongest brand recognition.

The report was conducted by gaming consultant Josh Apiafi using Google to understand the brand strength of the top 10 online poker websites including PokerStars, William Hill, 888.com, Bet365, Betfair, bwin, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, PartyPoker and Bodog.

“We had a hunch since I first rolled out the Bodog brand and business model that we are considered interesting,” said Bodog founder Calvin Ayre. “But that’s only part of the story – we also stand for having fun and that’s what all people want, especially ones that like to gamble."

The survey was conducted by looking at the number of Google alerts generated daily during December. Apiafi recorded every time a document was published that contained a mention of the brands listed above.

In the end, Bodog narrowly edged PokerStars by a score of 510 to 493.

Huge Growth for HeadsUp Entertainment

HeadsUp Entertainment, a poker media company out of Canada, posted its most recent quarterly statement this week and the company showed massive expansion in 2009.

The company sanctioned 362 events under its Canadian Poker Tour (CPT) brand this year, up from the 71 since it acquired the tour in 2008. HeadsUp Entertainment is aiming to host more than 560 events in 2010.

Also in 2009, HeadsUp Entertainment helped produce the CPT Finals in the Dominican Republic and Canadian Open Poker Championships in Calgary for television.  The Canadian Open Poker Championship drew big-name poker players like Gavin Smith, Jennifer Tilly and Huck Seed.

HeadsUp Entertainment also currently runs www.canadianpokertour.tv and Canadian Poker Magazine.

Online Poker Funding Methods for the U.S. Player

It is the year 2010. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has been on the books in the United States since late 2006. While the deadline for implementing its regulations has been pushed back to the middle of this year, many financial institutions have already begun clamping down on transactions to online poker rooms. Options for American players have become limited. In this article, I will present several funding methods that are still available to U.S. online poker players. Even though they aren’t all inexpensive, foolproof, or even widely available, there should be suitable options for everyone.

Credit/Debit Cards

Most online poker rooms accept VISA and MasterCard credit cards nowadays, as well as debit cards with the VISA or MasterCard logo. These are hit or miss, though, as many card issuers block online gambling transactions. Before the UIGEA passed, credit and debit cards were actually oddities as deposit methods for Americans, as there were plenty of reliable e-wallets to use. Many card companies didn’t allow gambling transactions on their cards back then, not because of any laws, but because they didn’t want to expose themselves to increased chargeback risks. Post-UIGEA, as other funding methods began to dry up, online poker rooms began looking for ways to get credit and debit card transactions to go through.

e-Checks

Personally, I have found e-Checks to be the easiest and most reliable online poker funding method at those poker rooms that use it. The two largest online poker rooms, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, readily accept e-Checks, which is likely one contributing factor to their market dominance.

e-Checks are just what they sound like, electronic checks. You just enter the information found on your check, including the bank account number and routing number, and the funds hit your poker account instantly.

e-Wallets

Back in the day, before that nasty UIGEA, most online poker players used e-Wallets to fund their poker accounts. For those unfamiliar with the concept, an e-Wallet is an online account from which you can transfer money to and from poker rooms and your bank. It really is just like a wallet; you take money from your bank account, put it in your wallet, and then take that money and use it at a store. With online poker, you transfer money from your bank to your e-Wallet and then move some or all of it to a poker room. E-Wallets are great for keeping track of your online poker funds, as you can stash your bankroll all in one place and quickly move it in and out of poker rooms.

Unfortunately, most of the good e-wallets, namely Neteller and ePassporte, have left the U.S. market since the UIGEA. The ones that do accept U.S. customers are now few and far between (eWalletXpress is one that several poker rooms still use). The big problem is that they all are typically fee-heavy; there are fees to move funds from your bank to the e-Wallet and fees to transfer funds out. There are no fees, however, to transfer to and from online poker rooms. To minimize the impact of fees, I recommend making the largest deposit you are comfortable making when you are being assessed a flat fee.  Also, some deposit fees are lower or even eliminated if you are willing to wait for your transfer to clear rather than having the funds appear in your account instantly.  If you can be patient, you can save a little bit of money.

Western Union/MoneyGram

If you don’t want to give your bank account information to an online poker room or e-Wallet and don’t want to try a credit card, then sending money via Western Union or MoneyGram can work very well. I won’t go into the whole procedure here, but in a nutshell the poker room will give you their recipient information, which you then take with your cash to a Western Union or MoneyGram location. When that’s done, you log into your poker account with some additional information from the retail location and you’re all set. As with e-Wallets, there are fees involved, but you can usually deposit $1,500 or more per day, so if you max it out, the fees aren’t too bad. You actually have to leave the house to do it, however, which can be a drawback for some players.

The four deposit options I just detailed aren’t the only ones out there, but they are the most common and usually the quickest. In today’s online poker environment, sometimes we just have to take what we can get.

Poker2Nite Welcomes Poker Tournament Director Matt Savage

This week, the UB.com-sponsored poker news franchise “Poker2Nite” welcomed acclaimed tournament director Matt Savage. The creator of the Iron Man tournament and former director of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), Savage assessed the industry entering 2010.

First up on “Poker2Nite,” which airs on Wednesday at 11:00pm ET, was an evaluation of several of the high-stakes world’s top names. On Isildur1, who has been largely absent from the virtual felts of Full Tilt Poker following a run-in with CardRunners instructor Brian Hastings, “Poker2Nite” co-host Scott Huff noted, “He’s won huge amounts for sure, but he’s lost a lot of it back and that, to me, just means it’s on the level.” According to PokerTableRatings.com, Isildur1 is out $2.6 million since November after being up as much as $5 million.

Then, “Phil’s Best Blowups” took center stage. The segment recaps some of the top escapades of UB.com poker pro Phil Hellmuth. This week’s was “an oldie, but a goodie,” as it panned out at the World Poker Tour (WPT) stop at Foxwoods in 2005. Hellmuth explained, in G-rated terms, “This lucky son of a gun hit running sevens on me after starting completely dead and then raised me on the flop with nothing.”

Hellmuth held J-9 against Hoyt Corkins’ J-7 and the flop came nine-high, giving the 11-time WSOP bracelet winner top pair. Hellmuth bet 25,000, Corkins raised it to 70,000 with air, and Hellmuth called. The turn brought a seven, giving Corkins second pair, and the action went check-check. The river was another seven, improving the DoylesRoom pro to trips, and Hellmuth led out for 80,000. Corkins min-raised to 160,000, Hellmuth called, and jumped out of his chair when he saw the bad news. WPT commentator Vince Van Patten observed, “It looks like his pants are on fire.” The odds of Corkins hitting running sevens were 314:1.

Savage succinctly explained the role of a tournament director to Huff and show co-host Joe Sebok: “My job is to keep order in tournaments.” One of his recent creations is the Iron Man format, a no-break tournament with three meals served at the table and a $10,000 seat added to the prize pool. Its first running clocked in at 19 hours and 20 minutes. Savage recalled, “The camaraderie at the table was great. I stayed up for the whole event and will again in February.” Next month, a $2,100 buy-in Iron Man tournament will play out during the annual L.A. Poker Classic.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), passed in the final moments of the 2006 Congressional session, led to several of the world’s top online poker sites fleeing the U.S. market. Accordingly, Savage revealed where he’d like to see the game headed as we enter 2010: “We’d like to see the UIGEA overturned and that’d be a big difference for us. We’ve [leveled] a little bit in the U.S., but it’s growing globally.”

A feature on Credit Card Roulette aired featuring former Bodog pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Isaac Haxton, Stephen “MrTimCaum” O’Dwyer, UB.com’s Adam “Roothlus” Levy, and Scott Seiver, with a $1,500 bill up for grabs. If you’ve never played the game, everyone seated tosses their credit cards into a hat and, one by one, the strips of plastic are drawn. The last person to have their credit card selected foots the bill for the entire meal. This time, Haxton was the poor, unfortunate soul and told “Poker2Nite” cameras, “Defeat is always painful.”

“Poker2Nite” closed with Absolute Poker pro and show correspondent Lacey Jones interviewing Shaun Deeb about his future in poker. Deeb commented, “I expect to take six months to a year, if not longer, to stay away from playing tournaments in general. I decided that, looking at what I was doing, I was spending too much time playing poker [tournaments]. So, I decided to quit them and play cash games with more flexible hours so I can do a lot more things with my time.” Deeb is a former number one player on the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings.

Catch “Poker2Nite” every Wednesday at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net.

WPT Season VIII Debuts This Month

The season will include 26 episodes with stops in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Los Angeles, San Jose, Biloxi, Lawrenceburg and Foxwoods.

“We’re excited to bring a new season of WPT events to our regional sports network,” said David Sussin, vice president of programming at FSN. “The drama of high stakes poker continues to connect to our audience of sports fan.”

Hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten will be returning to call the action in a memorable season of the WPT, which has already seen big wins recorded by Prahlad Friedman, Alexandre Gomes, Tommy Vedes and Daniel Alaei.

All 26 episodes will be sponsored by FullTiltPoker.net and every episode will be shown in high definition for the first time ever.

Viewers will see each final table unfold over two one-hour episodes, which will be shown at 11 p.m. every Sunday after Jan. 24.

Check your local listings for more information.

Belgium to Enact Laws Nationalizing Online Poker

Defying an order from the European Union (EU), Belgium has enacted laws that could have it become the next nation to nationalize online poker operations. It follows a similar stance towards online poker in Italy.

A recent article in De Standaard, one of Belgium’s newspapers, stated that the coming year would bring laws regarding the country’s stance towards online poker. The new regulations would purportedly nationalize the operations of online poker rooms by preventing outside companies, such as PartyPoker, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker, from being able to court Belgians. Online poker rooms would have to set up a separate operation that would be licensed by the Belgian government and located inside of the country, much like what Italy has done with its online poker operations.

This defies an order from the EU that was issued in June 2009. After receiving details on Belgium’s plans for online poker regulation from its government in March of last year, the EU decided that the plan violated several areas of the free trade treaty that all 27 member nations had signed. Some of the violations included requiring the operators of online gaming and poker sites to be based in Belgium, limitation of available licenses, criminal prosecution of customers who play on non-sanctioned sites, and restriction of services from outside nations. At the time, Belgium was also looking to use ISP blocking software to prohibit its citizens from playing on other licensed EU sites.

The EU has shown an inconsistency when it comes to nationalization plans. It allowed Italy to nationalize its online gaming operations, presumably for taxation and gaming regulatory purposes, but has disallowed other countries like Belgium and France. It also has been unable to come to an accord on the online gaming question among its own Member Nations, leading many countries to attempt to nationalize online poker for tax revenues in lean fiscal times. The government of Belgium also states that many of the online poker sites in existence have “ties to organized crime” and, as such, the need for the nationalization is necessary.

The online community is responding to this issue in many of the popular online forums. On TwoPlusTwo, a ten-page thread has developed with players are debating the issue. Part of the reason for its popularity is that one of the top online players in the game today, “Chiren80,” hails from Belgium and the proposed legislation would, in effect, remove him from international action with the threat of possible arrest.

Some of the discussion on TwoPlusTwo inaccurately says that the nationalized sites would still be part of the global network, much like different skins of poker rooms operate. This is not true; the nationalization of sites requires the online poker room to dedicate servers and operations to that nation alone, as PokerStars has done with its PokerStars.it site. With that operation, only Italians can play on the site and there are stringent rules that govern play.

The nationalization trend is, in some players’ minds, becoming a worrisome trend. “Nationalization of gambling environments and…the separation of player pools are real dangers for professional poker players in small European countries,” comments “Droschopf.” Another poster, “Sjors,” states, “I'm fine with regulating but don't cut off the world. Playing against people on the other side of the globe and having traffic around the clock is what makes online poker great.”

With the Belgian laws signed into effect, there is a great deal of pressure on the EU to formalize an agreement on online gaming and poker for the continent. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.

Tony G May Stake Isildur1

Poker pro Tony G may soon be funding the bankroll of Swedish online poker player Isildur1. The revelation, which appeared in a blog posted on TonyGPoker.com, comes at the same time as Isildur1 revealed that he may file a complaint concerning data mining on Full Tilt Poker.

Tony G explained in his blog that he had conversations with Isildur1 over the phone. In addition, he noted that the mystery Swedish player had only learned how to play Pot Limit Omaha eight months ago. The brash poker pro noted, “Anyway, it is likely I will stake him in some big cash games in the future, this is what I do after all. I like to give people a chance in life to do well.” Isildur1 stormed onto the high-stakes online poker scene on Full Tilt back in November, racking up as much as $5 million in earnings. However, he later crashed back down to Earth and currently stands with career losses of $2.6 million, according to PokerTableRatings.com.

Tony G had originally fingered Viktor “blom30” Blom as the man behind the Isildur1 moniker. However, to open December, Blom told Bluff Europe Magazine that he was not the man of the hour: “I am not the one you are looking for. Keep searching.” In a chat that appeared on Full Tilt at a high-stakes table, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies addressed Isildur1 by name as “Viktor” and the statement went uncorrected. Perhaps due to stringent tax laws in Sweden, the real identity of Isildur1 may never be known. It remains a plot reminiscent of an episode of “Murder, She Wrote.”

The potential new backer of the Isildur1 empire gave his take on the poker world finding out the real identity of Isildur1: “I also have to say that earlier I was guessing and I will never reveal who he is from here on out. I think it’s more exciting for everyone, leaving the mystery as a mystery.” Guesses as to who Isildur1 is have ranged from Blom to Robert “Gulkines” Flink to Todd Brunson, even though the latter is American and a sponsored pro of the Cake Poker Network site DoylesRoom.

Isildur1’s career peek, according to PokerTableRatings.com, came on November 15th, when he racked up $5.03 million in earnings. Within a week, that number had been cut by 90% before a nearly $3 million losing day on December 8th sent his bankroll plummeting into the red. He told PokerNews.com that, despite the adversity on the virtual felts of Full Tilt Poker, he would make his triumphant return in 2010.

In mid-December, a $4.2 million win by Brian Hastings, a CardRunners instructor, at the expense of Isildur1 made waves after it was revealed that Hastings used hands compiled on the Swedish pro to his advantage. Fellow CardRunners pro Brian Townsend took the fall in the end and had his Red Pro status suspended for one month.

Hastings gave credit to Townsend for his performance, telling ESPN columnist Gary Wise in a December 14th interview, "Honestly, I give most of the credit to Brian Townsend here. I mean, Brian is honestly the hardest worker I know in poker. He analyzed a database of heads-up hands that Isildur1 had played and constructed ranges of what Isildur1 was doing in certain spots. In a way, I feel bad that it wasn't Brian who got this win instead of me.”

Tony G was the final table bubble boy in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2009, earning $172,000 for his 10th place finish. His demeanor in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Grand Prix de Paris earned him a spot among the bad boys of poker.