Poker News

Jim Tabilio Leaves Poker Voters of America

With the organization growing leaps and bounds, Jim Tabilio has left his post after founding the Poker Voters of America, an advocacy group that promotes protection of online poker players in California and around the United States.

Tabilio founded Poker Voters of America two years ago. He was well-suited for the role, having served as a poker player and political consultant. Now, Melanie Brenner has assumed the role of Executive Director and told Poker News Daily why Tabilio stepped down: “Jim has a family and is at a point in his life where he has other things he wants to do. This has been extremely time consuming, especially when the decision was made that we could do this in other states. It was a unique opportunity since states are looking for revenue.” Tabilio will remain on in an advisory role.

California is one of many states actively searching for new forms of revenue in the wake of budget shortfalls caused by a severe economic downturn. Brenner explained what could occur: “There are going to be big budget shortfalls that may make a lot of the challenges against legalized online poker evaporate. When you’re able to say to a legislator that it’s about revenue, they know the state needs it. You’re spending millions of dollars protecting live poker players, but there are a lot of other players not being protected online.” Brenner noted that she expects movement towards legalized and regulated intrastate poker in California in the near future.

According to eGaming Review and H2 Gambling Capital, legalizing intrastate online poker in California could generate $250 million per year for 10 years and $625 million per year after that. Brenner added that Poker Voters of America is also hard at work in Florida pushing for intrastate online poker. As such, she is constantly traveling back and forth to promote the organization’s agenda. Brenner explained, “The biggest pushback we get is that legalizing online poker is just the tip of the iceberg. With that kind of mentality, nothing gets done.”

During National Poker Week, over 30 State Directors of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and a handful of the game’s elite descended on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to call for the legalization and regulation of online poker in the United States. Poker News Daily was also on the scene in the nation’s capital. Several obstacles we ran into were Congressmen and their staffers not understanding how to play online poker, what safeguards are in effect to combat underage and problem gambling, and how deposits and cashouts work. Brenner told Poker News Daily, “The major challenge hasn’t been on the legislative side, it’s been educating the stakeholders on how online poker works. It’s been fascinating talking with legislators about online poker.”

In addition to California and Florida, the Poker Voters of America is directing its attention towards New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. In each case, local casinos would likely be able to open their own online poker rooms, although Brenner noted that several are apprehensive for fear that it will cannibalize their live business. The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California is set to play host to the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Legends of Poker Main Event on August 22nd. The $10,000 buy-in tournament will crown a champion four days later. In February, the WPT returns to the state for the Commerce Casino’s L.A. Poker Classic. A Celebrity Invitational follows the $10,000 buy-in event.

Membership to the Poker Voters of America is free and requires a person’s first name, last name, e-mail address, and mailing address. Becoming a part of the PPA is also free, although a premium membership is available for $20 per year.

Menendez launches new poker bill

The Internet Skill Games Regulation Bill (S8309) is the brainchild of New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez and the major difference between it and similar bills is that only addresses online poker and other games of skill.

According to a release from the Dow Jones Newswires, the bill would establish a regulatory framework allowing online poker companies to register in the U.S.

It would also put in place consumer protections, including age-verification procedures and blocks for  States where online poker is not yet legal.

Of interest to players is a proposed 10% tax on all deposits, representing one of the first times an actual number has been given in regards to taxes the U.S. government might be interested in charging should online poker be regulated.

The bill is expected to receive support from various financial institutions across the U.S., which were charged with the task of rejecting individual bank transactions based on the vague Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed in 2006.

House Representative Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (HR 2267) is scheduled to go to a hearing in September and could potentially gain even more support if Menendez' bill is well received.

No debate or votes on the bill will occur until after the Senate's August recess.

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Dusty Schmidt (Leatherass) Drops USGA Lawsuit

Poker News Daily has learned that Dusty Schmidt, known in the online poker world as “Leatherass,” will drop his lawsuit against the United States Golf Association (USGA). He will likely play professional golf and continue his poker career.

A preliminary injunction originally scheduled for Monday, July 13th was delayed one day. The U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon heard arguments as to why Schmidt should have his amateur status reinstated after USGA officials revoked it due to his now-infamous poker/golf challenge. The prop bet focused on whether anyone could defeat Schmidt over 72 holes of golf and 10 heads-up poker matches. No poker player or golf pro took Schmidt up on his challenge. However, the USGA still revoked his amateur status. Schmidt’s challenge was worth $1 million.

Schmidt told Poker News Daily on Wednesday, “I lost the preliminary injunction on July 14th. I didn’t lose it because I was in the wrong from a golf rules perspective. The judge gave the impression that what the USGA did to me was not right. But from a legal perspective, I did not have a strong enough legal remedy for him to rule in my favor. He equated it to a church excommunicating a member unfairly and there not necessarily being a legal remedy under which a judge can force the church to reinstate that member.”

The USGA’s website has a section devoted to gambling that reads, “The definition of an amateur golfer provides that an amateur golfer is one who plays the game as a non-remunerative and non-profit-making sport. When gambling motives are introduced, problems can arise which threaten the integrity of the game.” Promotions designed to “create cash prizes” are frowned upon by the USGA, which is located in Far Hills, New Jersey and serves as golf’s governing body in the United States and Mexico.

According to the Oregonian, a trial date in Schmidt’s lawsuit was set for September 22nd. He candidly told the Northwest news outlet, “The USGA is pretty ingeniously designed. The way their rules are set up, they’re almost impenetrable from a legal perspective. I don’t think I could win with O.J.’s lawyers. No matter what angle you tried to go for, they had the loophole covered. There was just no way.” His amateur status was officially revoked in mid-June after an e-mail received three days earlier cautioned Schmidt that participating in the challenge could jeopardize his amateur status.

What’s left for Schmidt now that playing golf as an amateur is no longer an option? The golfer and poker player told Poker News Daily, “At this point, I am going to continue to work with my instructor, two-time PGA tour winner Brian Henninger, and when the time is right, likely make the decision to reenter pro golf.” According to stats posted on PGA.com, Henninger has over $3.3 million in lifetime earnings from PGA events, including 44 finishes in the Top 25. His wins came in the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic in 1994 and the Southern Farm Bureau Classic five years later.

In an article that appeared in July, the Associated Press noted that the USGA gave Schmidt the green light to reapply for amateur status, but “the process wasn’t timely enough because of the registration fees he’d already paid to compete in events over the summer.” In a July interview, Schmidt told Poker News Daily why maintaining amateur status was vital: “They have no professional events here [in Oregon]. I have a baby girl on the way and want to enjoy playing competitive golf close to home. If I have to play only in professional events, I’ll be forced to go on the road. I have no opportunity to play competitive golf here.”

MGM Mirage Gaming License Under Review in New Jersey

According to a recent article from the Wall Street Journal, casino powerhouse MGM Mirage has run into trouble with the Atlantic City gambling commission. Apparently the group’s partnership with Macau gaming magnate Pansy Ho, has caused the

Poker’s march on Washington works

July 19-25 was the first National Poker Week organized by the Poker Players Alliance and the results speak for themselves.

Over the span of the week the PPA collected over 375,000 signatures on a petition to President Barack Obama supporting the legalization of online poker, nearly 200,000 letters/emails were sent to U.S. representatives and members of the PPA attended over 100 congressional meetings.

Even radio host Howard Stern signed up as a member of the PPA.

"I think we made a very strong impression on lawmakers who weren't aware of online poker or maybe even opposed it," said PPA executive director John Pappas. "We raised the overall understanding of the situation."

Pappas, PPA Chairman Alfonse D'Amato, 33 PPA state directors and seven poker pros including Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Jan Fisher, Howard Lederer, Dennis Phillips, Linda Johnson and Greg Raymer all made the trip to Washington, D.C. to show their support for legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker in the United States.

"I truly feel we are winning on this issue and the time is ripe for pro-poker legislation to pass into law," said the aforementioned Bloch.

It has been an uphill battle, according to Pappas, but the group finally seems to be making some headway.

"There is obviously a great fear when it comes to online gambling," he said. "People are concerned about having a casino in every home. That's not necessarily the case as we are bringing a skill game into people's homes.

"This isn't anything new. People have been playing poker in their homes for their entire lives. This way the government would be able to collect tax revenue from it."

The organization put a great deal of support behind Rep. Barney Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (HR 2267) which was originally scheduled for a hearing in July.

The proposed hearing was postponed to September, but the PPA was still able to convince seven more representatives to co-sign the bill, which is now up to 54 co-sponsors. Rep. Betsy Markey, Rep. Bill Pascrell and Rep. Russ Carnahan were all among the recent co-sponsors.

"We had several goals in Washington and I think we exceeded them all," Pappas said. "It was a great success. The only thing we weren't able to do is actually meet with President Obama and present him the petition with signatures. We hope to accomplish that later this year."

Despite the fact that National Poker Week is over, the PPA will continue to educate politicians about the game.

"We will continue to talk to people and promote the game," said Pappas. "We hope to set the stage for Frank's bill in early to late September.

"We also have the short-term goal of getting poker excluded from the current Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which will officially be enforced as of Dec. 1, 2009. We want them to leave poker out of that legislation because poker is a skill game."

Pappas went on to say that New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez will finally be dropping his long-awaited poker-only bill tomorrow (August 6).

In the end, when it comes to the future of online poker, Pappas was optimistic.

"I think it's going in the right direction," he said. "For the first time we are on the offensive when it comes to legislation. We're seeing numerous pro-poker bills and I haven't seen a single anti-poker bill introduced for months.

"The bills that have been introduced lately have all been about extending poker player's rights."

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Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Bill Breaks 50 Co-Sponsors

This week saw Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, officially break 50 co-sponsors. The bill establishes a complete licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling outfits to solicit U.S. customers.

The addition of two Congressmen officially pushed the support to over 50 co-sponsors. On July 27th, just a few days removed from the conclusion of National Poker Week, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) lent his name to the bill to become co-sponsor #50. One day later, Congressman Dan Maffei (D-NY) joined on. Flanking Thompson and Maffei are Congressmen from both sides of the aisle. Each has come out to support legalizing the internet gambling industry in the United States and reaping tax revenue in return. Here is a full list of HR 2267’s co-sponsors, as given by the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI), along with the political party each belongs to (Democrat or Republican):

Alaska
Don Young (R)

Arizona
Raul Grijalva (D)

California
Michael Thompson (D)
George Miller (D)
Michael Honda (D)
Linda Sanchez (D)
Bob Filner (D)

Colorado
Jared Polis (D)
Ed Perlmutter (D)

Connecticut
Joe Courtney (D)

Florida
Robert Wexler  (D)
Alcee Hastings (D)

Hawaii
Neil Abercrombie (D)

Idaho
Walt Minnick (D)

Illinois
Luis Gutierrez (D)
Bill Foster (D)

Indiana
Andre Carson (D)

Massachusetts
James McGovern (D)
Barney Frank (D)
Michael Capuano (D)
William Delahunt (D)

Michigan
John Conyers (D)

Nevada
Shelley Berkley (D)

New Hampshire
Paul Hodes (D)

New Jersey
Robert Andrews (D)
Frank LoBiondo (R)
John Adler (D)
Steven Rothman (D)

New York
Tim Bishop (D)
Steve Israel (D)
Peter King (R)
Carolyn McCarthy (D)
Gary Ackerman (D)
Joseph Crowley (D)
Jerrold Nadler (D)
Edolphus Towns (D)
Mike McMahon (D)
Charles Rangel (D)
Paul Tonko (D)

North Carolina
Melvin Watt (D)

Ohio
Steve Driehaus (D)
Tim Ryan (D)

Oregon
Earl Blumenauer (D)

Tennessee
Steve Cohen (D)

Texas
Ron Paul (R)
Ciro Rodriguez (D)

Virginia
Bobby Scott (D)
Tom Perriello (D)
James Moran (D)

Washington
Jim McDermott (D)

HR 2046, introduced during the last Congressional session and labeled the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, garnered 48 co-sponsors. Frank unveiled it to the world in April of 2007, but it was not acted upon. The new version forbids gambling on any event that would violate the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. However, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas noted during National Poker Week that sports leagues are seeking clearer language in the bill. He explained, “Changes need to be made to explicitly outlaw sports betting.”

HR 2266 was introduced on May 6th, the same day as HR 2267, and calls for industry compliance with the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to be delayed by one year to December 1st, 2010. The measure is dubbed the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act and is up to 32 co-sponsors. On its sister bill reaching the milestone 50th co-sponsor, SSIGI spokesperson Jeff Sandman commented in a press release, “Reaching this milestone illustrates that momentum is growing for a shift in U.S. policy and a rewrite of U.S. internet gambling laws. We also expect an increased spotlight on internet gambling as a way to augment federal revenues and help cover the cost of necessary policy initiatives.”

During a Fly-In orchestrated by the PPA as part of National Poker Week, over 100 meetings were held with Congressmen and their staffs from around the United States. Attendees included 33 PPA State Directors and a handful of poker’s elite, including Poker News Daily Guest Columnists Annie Duke and Linda Johnson, PokerStars pros Dennis Phillips and Greg Raymer, Full Tilt Poker pros Andy Bloch and Howard Lederer, and online poker sensations Chris “Fox” Wallace and Jordan “iMsoLucky0” Morgan.

Over 375,000 concerned players signed an online poker petition, which was presented to U.S. President Barack Obama last week. In addition, nearly 200,000 letters and e-mails were sent to Representatives and Senators during National Poker Week. The PPA’s Randy Law admitted that just 80,000 were sent during the entire 2008 calendar year. The organization currently has over 1.2 million members after boasting only 50,000 in mid-2006.

Rivers, Duke Make Final Push for Celebrity Apprentice Finale

We’re in the home stretch to the finale of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. On Sunday night at 8:00pm ET, World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Annie Duke will square off against comedian Joan Rivers in what promises to be a high-octane three hour conclusion.

Here’s what we know about the final episode of Celebrity Apprentice Season 2: Duke and Rivers will battle it out in a complex task that incorporates fundraising, leadership ability, and pure determination. Yahoo Television gives the following description of the finale, revealing its central task: “In the season finale, former celebrity contestants return to help the two finalists throw a pre-theater VIP bash preceding a performance of the Cirque du Soleil show Wintuk. The party also includes a silent auction.” A portion of the finale will play out in front of a live studio audience in New York City.

In a preview for the show that aired at the end of last week’s episode, it appears that Duke leads a team that includes comedian Tom Green, NBA star Dennis Rodman, and Playboy Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick, who has been one of her strongest allies throughout the show. Rivers will lead three celebrities of her own: country music star Clint Black, daughter and producer Melissa Rivers, and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker. No indication of how the teams were selected was given. Rodman was fired amid a boardroom intervention earlier this season after repeated drinking led fellow Celebrity Apprentice contestant Jesse James to conclude that he had a real-life problem.

On Friday, Duke and Rivers will battle over the television airwaves. Duke is slated to appear on Access Hollywood, a syndicated celebrity news program. The show airs throughout the United States; check your local listings for more information. A press release distributed by Ultimate Bet on Thursday announcing Duke’s appearance on the popular entertainment program states, “True to her nature at the tournament tables, the world poker champion has remained calm while enduring an onslaught of personal attacks from Joan Rivers throughout the reality series.” Duke has been compared to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini during Celebrity Apprentice. Rivers also labeled her a Nazi.

Meanwhile, Duke’s adversary will be making her rounds. Rivers will appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday. The show airs following The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC. Fallon took over hosting duties from Conan O’Brien in March. O’Brien, in turn, will replace Jay Leno next month, as Leno takes on a weekday program on NBC airing at 10:00pm ET. Rivers revealed to Poker News Daily that she is currently in London and will return to New York on Friday for Fallon’s show. On Saturday, she will be attending the theater in the Big Apple with her grandson and will then perform in New Jersey. Duke told Poker News Daily that she is having dinner with the group of men she befriended during the Loews Hotel challenge earlier this season on Friday night.

It was also revealed this week that Duke’s fellow pro at Ultimate Bet, 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, will appear on the Celebrity Apprentice season finale, although his role is not yet known. Hellmuth nearly turned up during a challenge earlier this season in which contestants were asked to auction off jewelry from Ivanka Trump’s line for charity. Professional golfer Natalie Gulbis, who was a member of Duke’s opposition, called up Hellmuth and asked him to bid against Duke’s team. However, the Ultimate Bet pro declined.

The second season of Celebrity Apprentice began airing on March 1st with 16 contestants. The reality series is actually in its eighth season overall and is hosted by real estate mogul Donald Trump. Over time, it even produced a spin-off, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. Previous winners of Trump’s Apprentice series include Bill Rancic, Kelly Perdew, Kendra Todd, Randal Pinkett, Sean Yazbeck, Stefanie Schaeffer, and Celebrity Apprentice Season 1 winner Piers Morgan.

Dwan demolishes Hansen for $1 million

After losing over $300,000 to Patrik Antonius in the latest challenge session, Dwan recorded an epic $1 million win against the renowned Danish pro last night.

The pair descended on the $500/$1,000 tables on Full Tilt Poker and Dwan was flying right from the start of the match.

In the biggest hand of the session, Hansen flopped a set of queens with Dwan holding a pair of queens and the nut-flush draw. The flush hit on the turn and the $259,596 pot was shipped to the New Jersey wonder kid.

Hansen added his own $200,000 pot to the session when his two-pair of kings and jacks beat Dwan's two-pair of jacks and nines. But the rest of the session was pretty much a write-off for the Team Full Tilt pro.

Take a quick peek at the MarketPulse top 10 biggest pots over the past 24 hours and you'll see that every one involves Hansen and Dwan, with durrrr winning an amazing eight out of 10.

By the end of the session, Dwan had profited close to $1 million and is once again down only $2.2 million in 2009.

In other high-stakes news, Luke "__FullFlush1__" Schwartz is rumored to be re-depositing on Full Tilt Poker tomorrow, according to poker forum twoplustwo.com.

Keep in mind this is just a couple of days after Phil Ivey challenged him to a 50,000-hand match during the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo High Roller event.

Check this link for an interview with Schwartz calling the Dang brothers fish and planning to send a lot of nits broke around the world.

Look below to see how the two key hands of the Hansen/Dwan session played out:

Big hand number one

Big hand number two

Related articles:

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• durrrr explodes against Bomberman
• Hansen crushes all opposition
• Hansen continues huge downswing against Ziigmund

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Joan Rivers Talks to PND About Annie Duke and Celebrity Apprentice

This weekend, comedian Joan Rivers will square off against archrival Annie Duke in the finale of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. The three hour episode airs at 8:00pm ET. Rivers sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss her mindset headed into the finals.

Poker News Daily: Why did you sign up for Celebrity Apprentice? What was appealing about the show?

Rivers: The fact that Melissa and I could have five weeks together was very appealing. The challenges of the show were also appealing. I love a challenge. Celebrity Apprentice has been very good for my charity, God’s Love We Deliver. It’s a local charity for me and I’m very involved with them. We’ve raised over $125,000 for them.

PND: Had you watched previous seasons of the show?

Rivers: I have never seen it before. I knew it was about raising money for charity, but I thought it was actually doing tasks to help your charity out, not pulling out a list of contacts and making calls. I got my Rolodex real fast.

PND: You’ve had an ongoing clash with poker player Annie Duke. In your opinion, when did the feud start and why?

Rivers: It started from the very beginning. Annie is a very good poker player obviously, but plays people like poker. Poker should be kept at the poker table. God knows I love poker. If you look at that painting with the dogs playing poker, I’m the fifth one on the right. Suddenly, it evolved into “Joan doesn’t like poker players.” I started in Las Vegas.

My downstairs neighbor plays slots, so it’d be like me saying, “I hate slots.” It got out of hand and became ridiculous. My father worked his way through medical school playing poker. What I do like about poker players is that they keep the masseuses up all night in Las Vegas. No one uses masseuses at night except for poker players and entertainers.

PND: You mentioned to Piers Morgan on last week’s episode that your biggest problem with Duke is that she is manipulative. Can you explain how she’s manipulative?

Rivers: It’s not a “fun” manipulative, if you know what I mean. We all know how to play each other. We’re all good business people. You don’t invite yourself out to dinner with me and then go tell Brande that I asked you, but I didn’t ask her.

PND: What was your own strategy coming into the game?

Rivers: I used the same strategy that I have used throughout my life and it’s been a good one: Put blinders on and just go forward. Don’t look to your left and don’t look to your right; just concentrate on where you’re going and go the extra mile. I am such a hard worker. I am talking to you right now and have three meetings in the next four hours. Then, I get on a plane to London, have two meetings there, and will be back on Friday to appear on Jimmy Fallon’s show. On Saturday afternoon, I’m taking my grandson to the theater and then performing that night in New Jersey. On Sunday, I have the Celebrity Apprentice finale.

PND: You and show host Donald Trump seem to have a considerable amount of history together. Can you talk about your relationship with Trump prior to the show?

Rivers: I’ve seen him around and was always friendly with his ex-sister-in-law and his sister. I have great respect for Donald. He’s an extremely smart man. Don’t ever be fooled by Donald. He didn’t get to where he is by luck.

PND: Talk about your relationship with your daughter, Melissa Rivers, on the show. Is that indicative of your relationship away from Celebrity Apprentice?

Rivers: Probably. I’m a very family-oriented person. Business is business; work is work. When every chip is down, my family is always first. That’s the way we were brought up.

PND: Talk about your reaction to Melissa’s firing.

Rivers: If Melissa had been fired for something she did wrong or a lack of work, then that’s fine. However, she was fired for duplicity, sleaziness, and high school pettiness. Annie found the stupid blonde and knew damn well that she had to get rid of her competition. When we were all girlfriends in the beginning of the show, Annie went down the line saying things like, “Claudia Jordan is lazy” and “Brande Roderick is stupid.” She said that Melissa and I were her biggest competition. Annie is a smart person, but at some point, you have to push yourself away from the poker table.

PND: Heading into the final episode, what will it take for Joan Rivers to win?

Rivers: If winning means money, I don’t win, but that’s what brought this country to its knees. Look at the Bernard Madoffs and the AIGs: If it’s only about money, then I don’t want to win. If it’s about playing a great game, I never stopped and I won a lot. I brought in a lot of money, but that wasn’t all I did.

PND: If Celebrity Apprentice producers called you to compete on a future season, would we see you on air?

Rivers: In a second. Give me a task. Say that I have 24 hours to build the Brooklyn Bridge and I’ll do it. Give me 24 hours to play poker and get into a tournament and I’ll do it. I love challenges.

PND: Where does your love for challenges stem from?

Rivers: I think my career has been a series of challenges. I’ve written books, produced plays, and have two new series coming out. It’s always something new. When you’re a child, you say, “I want to do that.” I’m still like a little kid in that respect. I’m the Benjamin Button of comedy.

Dwan continues poker marathon against Hansen

Last night that challenger was Gus Hansen.

The game was Pot-Limit Omaha and the stakes were $500/$1,000. Dwan and Hansen got in touch with their inner degeneracy by playing countless heads-up matches spread over tables like Hansen Hangout and Hansen Suckout on Full Tilt Poker.

By the time the session had concluded, the players had tallied nearly 20 pots that were all worth over $100,000.

The biggest was an epic $224,000 hand that saw Hansen river a straight flush against Dwan's pair of aces.

Fortunately for Dwan he quickly erased the memory with a $200,000 win of his own when his two pair of queens and sixes was better than Hansen's two-pair of queens and treys.

Although exact numbers are still unknown, it appears Dwan took Hansen for approximately $400,000 overall, a marked improvement for the Edison, New Jersey, native who lost close to $700,000 to Hansen several days ago.

Keep checking MarketPulse for all your high stakes updates or download the Full Tilt Poker client and rail the action yourself.

Check below to see how the biggest hands of the session played out:

Gus being Gus.

Slight cooler?

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Borgata to Offer $500K Guaranteed Tournament Prior to WSOP

There are many options for poker players to get some extra training in prior to the start of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the end of May. The California State Poker Championships have been moved to May from its former start time of September at the Commerce Casino. For players on the East Coast, the Borgata Casino and Spa is the place to be, as the gambling Mecca will be offering a $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack Tournament that should draw huge numbers.

Back in March, the Borgata, which has become one of the premier poker destinations in the United States, held its second $500,000 deep stack event, which drew in huge numbers from not only the East Coast, but also across North America. An astounding 919 players entered that event through satellite events that ran throughout the week prior or the $1,650 direct buy in. As a result, the prize pool swelled to $1.374 million. By the end of the three days of battle, two poker veterans, Canada’s Mike Leah and New Jersey’s Allen Bari, vied for the title, with Leah eventually vanquishing Bari. The prize money the two players won from the March tournament pushed them both over the $1 million mark in career earnings.

With May’s event, which will begin on the 10th with the first of the satellite events, the Borgata is looking to add to many players’ bankrolls as the WSOP prepares to start at the end of the month. With the number of satellite tournaments and players who will directly buy in to the tournament, the numbers participating in the $500,000 Guaranteed should approach those of the March event.

The first satellite is scheduled for May 10th at 11:00am, with the buy in set at $165+$35. In this tournament, one in every ten players will be able to seize their seat in the $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack Tournament. Action kicks up with the satellites beginning again on May 15th, with one satellite each day up to and including the start of the first Day One of the $500,000 on May 17th. These tournaments, with a $330+$50 buy in, will send one in every five players to the $500,000 Guaranteed. The start times for May 15th and May 17th will be 11:00am and the May 16th satellite tournament will start at 4:00pm.

All of the satellite tournaments will lead up to the start of the $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack event on May 17th. Players will begin with 30,000 in chips and blind levels at 50-100, giving those involved 300 times the big blind and plenty of opportunities to exercise strategic play. Those players who qualify for the tournament through the May 17th satellite will play on the second Day One, scheduled to start on May 18th.  The field will be winnowed down to the final table, scheduled for play on May 20th, and the champion will walk off with a minimum payday in the low six-figures.

Dwan destroys opponents for over $700k

The New Jersey poker prodigy spent his time on a table that included the likes of Brian Townsend, SirWatts, Chau Giang, OMGClayAiken and ahtata as well as playing some heads-up against Luke "__FullFlush1__" Schwartz.

Dwan, who was perhaps inspired by watching some of his solid play on High Stakes Poker on Sunday, absolutely wrecked the full table, scooping countless $100k pots.

Dwan's biggest hand came against Chau Giang and SirWatts.

Incredibly, all three players shoved preflop in the draw-heavy game that is PLO. Dwan hit a straight and that was enough to rake a $143,074 pot.

The heads-up match against __FullFlush1__ wasn't quite as inspiring, as durrrr hit a lucky river card in a $71,190 hand and Schwartz decided that was enough.

By the end of the night Dwan had won close to $700,000. Dwan has been playing well lately and while he was rumored to be down close to $4 million at one point, he's now much closer to being down around $2 million.

Although Dwan was the story of the night, it's also worth noting that Brian "sbrugby" Townsend (whom many would call the original durrrr) continues to have a renaissance of sorts.

Townsend won the biggest pot of the night worth $205,200 against durrrr and ahtata. Townsend hit the nut flush on the river of the hotly contested hand to scoop the pot.

Keep checking MarketPulse for all the high-stakes action or download the Full Tilt client and rail the action yourself.

Check below for a highlight reel of the night's biggest hands:

Huge hand for durrrr

Brian Townsend likes the river

__FullFlush1__ gets unlucky

Related Articles:

• Dwan loses $300k to Hansen
• Hansen out-zags ziigmund
• durrrr Challenge: Dwan implodes against Antonius
• Gus Hansen: "I'm no high-stakes fish"
• Gus Hansen: Are the sharks circling?

 

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Tom Dwan loses $300k to Gus Hansen

Last night's bloodbath $500/$1,000 heads-up PLO session saw 18 pots worth over $100,000, and the largest pot of the night reached over $212,000.

When the dust finally settled, Hansen came out on top, having won over $600k of the $2 million in pots.

This setback, added to Dwan's losses from earlier this week, has crumbled the results of a once bright-looking month of March for the New Jersey Kid.

Meanwhile, in somewhat of a repeat performance from his heads-up session with ziigmund, Hansen managed to win five of the six largest pots of the session.

Perhaps these back-to-back wins will help silence the rumors that Hansen is a high-stakes fish.

Here's a replay of the four largest pots of the session:

Hansen had the goods

Hansen holds

The old suck-resuck

Hansen all-in preflop; who knows why

You can find more of this session's largest pots in our MarketPulse section.

Related Articles:

• Hansen out-zags ziigmund
• durrrr Challenge: Dwan implodes against Antonius
• Gus Hansen: "I'm no high-stakes fish"
• Gus Hansen: Are the sharks circling?

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New NFL Lobbyist Seeks to Protect UIGEA

Recently, the National Football League (NFL) enlisted the services of Jeff Miller, who will serve as its chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill. According to an article authored by the Associated Press, Miller seeks to preserve the ban on internet gambling in the United States.

In 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was ushered through Congress at the last minute by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). Although the UIGEA did not define what was legal and illegal under its jurisdiction, its effect was driving some of the world's largest online poker sites out of the U.S. market. Now, only a handful of rooms, such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and Carbon Poker, accept U.S. residents. In addition, the UIGEA also eradicated payment processors such as Neteller and Citadel Commerce from the market.

On January 19th, the regulations of the UIGEA finally came to fruition as “midnight rules” passed by the outgoing Bush Administration. Many in the internet gambling industry questioned the role of Special Assistant to George W. Bush William Wichterman, who had also served as an NFL lobbyist. Whether the urging of Wichterman resulted in the UIGEA's regulations being pushed through remains unknown. However, his involvement prompted a letter by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN).

The NFL's newest hire, Miller told the Associated Press, "I'm a lifelong NFL fan, grew up in Wisconsin, [and] rooted for the Packers at my father's knee every Sunday. I had had opportunities in the past to leave the Hill and do other things, such as work at a law firm and lobby firm. But when the NFL calls, you can't turn that down." When asked about the upholding the existing internet gambling legislation, which consists of both the UIGEA and Wire Act of 1961, Miller responded, "We want to maintain the integrity of the game, and gambling threatens that."

The Associated Press article added that Miller will be at the forefront of sports leagues' efforts to preserve the status quo with regards to internet gambling. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has led the effort to overturn the UIGEA, or at least clarify it for the benefit of the financial services industry. HR 6870, the second version of the Payments System Protection Act, was passed out of the House Financial Services Committee, of which Frank is the Chair, by a 30-19 vote last September. However, due to the then-emerging economic crisis in the United States, it did not see time on the House floor.

According to the Associated Press, the NFL previously sought outside counsel. Miller's hiring bucks that trend. He explained, "The emphasis is to have a full-time person spending every waking moment thinking about how what Congress or the administration is doing is going to affect the NFL's business model." The NFL held its annual owners' meetings last week in California, instituting a number of rule changes as well as adjusting the draft order based on a team's finish in the playoffs. Fantasy sports received a specific exemption from the UIGEA, although the law forced industry websites to guarantee prize pools and not allow a manager to have all of his players come from the same team.

Joe Brennan, Chairman of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), told Poker News Daily why sports betting has received such a bad rap: “It's the only type of betting where the courts have been explicit. The Wire Act arose out of a couple of sports betting scandals back in the 1950s. It always comes back to trying to protect the integrity of the game.” iMEGA is suing to declare the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional. The case has been assigned to Chief Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr. of the New Jersey District Court.

durrrr Challenge: Dwan implodes against Antonius

It was session 10 of the durrrr Challenge, and Dwan raced to the early lead.

Although they only played for 460 hands, Dwan looked like he would make the most of it as he raked several pots worth nearly $100,000.

It all started to go badly for Dwan when he flopped the nut flush against Antonius only to have his opponent go all-in with a set of nines that eventually improved to a full boat.

Dwan was understandably tilted, and it didn't take much longer for him to give up on the session. He typed this in the chatbox:

"durrrr: i think im done for now
durrrr: too tilted
Patrik Antonius: k"

By the end of the session Antonius had logged a profit of $92,000.

Dwan was extraordinarily busy last night. In addition to the match against Antonius he found time to lose a $320,000 pot against Ziigmund, a $265,629 pot against Phil Ivey and even some big pots against Gus Hansen.

Not a great night for the New Jersey wonder kid.

durrrr Challenge by the numbers:

• 40,995,079: Total amount wagered
• 8,831: Average pot size
• 7,093: Hands played in the Challenge
• 22: Hours logged in the Challenge
• 4: Number of well-known pros durrrr played heads-up last night (Ivey, Hansen, Ilari Sahamies and Antonius)
• 1: Nightmare sessions for durrrr

Look below for the biggest hand of the session 10:

Doom for Dwan!

Keep checking MarketPulse for exclusive updates on the durrrr Challenge and the rest of the high-stakes poker action.

Related Articles:

• durrrr Challenge: Dwan gaining momentum
• durrrr Challenge: Dwan erases Antonius' lead
• durrrr Challenge: Antonius storms back for $161k
• durrrr Challenge: 5,000 hands: Antonius almost even
• durrrr Challenge: Dwan says it's too early to tell
• durrrr Challenge: Short session goes to Antonius
• durrrr Challenge: durrrr-mination!
• durrrr Challenge: Antonius hits back
• durrrr Challenge: 15 minutes and $46k
• durrrr Challenge: Even more Tom Dawn?
  
• durrrr Challenge: Dwan strikes first
  
• durrrr Challenge begins tomorrow

 

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