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.

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.

Phil Laak, Cake Poker Network Launch Unabomber Poker

In the online poker world, having a room named after you is perhaps the most notable sign that you have made your mark in the industry. From DoylesRoom, fronted by the legendary Doyle Brunson, to Devilfish Poker, hosted by top English pro David “The Devilfish” Ulliot, many professional poker players have made the move to the online world with their own iconic rooms.

The Cake Poker Network announced today that top pro Phil Laak will join its family of sites with his own room. Called Unabomber Poker, the site will feature Laak in action on the network and through a blog that will be available on the site. Along with the announcement of Unabomber Poker, the Cake Poker Network also announced the addition of seven other new network poker rooms, including 7Win Poker, Redback Poker, Amsterdams Poker, Safari Poker, Dimeline, Rags2Riches Poker, and Burro Poker.

“We knew we wanted to launch the sickest poker site possible,” Laak stated during the announcement of the new venture. “By joining a network that focuses on player rewards and accepts players worldwide, we knew we would be starting out on the right track. I love getting involved from the ground up.” A Cake Network spokesperson added, “The addition of Unabomber Poker to the Cake Network is a cause for great excitement. Phil’s enthusiasm for the game is infectious and brings a great energy to the network.”

With the addition of the eight new rooms, the Cake Poker Network now encompasses a total of 55 online poker sites. Some of the most popular sites offered by the Cake Poker Network include DoylesRoom, PokerHost, Lock Poker, Gutshot.com, and its own eponymous site. The Cake Poker Network is among the Top Ten in the online poker industry by cash game traffic, according to the poker industry tracking site PokerScout.com, averaging 2,100 real money ring game players.

Unabomber Poker offers many of the player amenities that are a fixture of the Cake Poker Network. Through participating in the action on the site, players earn Gold Chips and Gold Cards that can be exchanged for cash, merchandise, or free play in tournaments on the network. Unabomber Poker will also participate in the Cake Poker Network’s premier monthly event, the $250,000 Guaranteed.

Laak is arguably one of the most visible players in the game today through both his play and his exuberant behavior at the table. He exploded on the poker scene in 2004 with a victory in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational at the Commerce Casino and has remained a formidable foe at the tables since then. In 2005, Laak was runner up to Johnny Chan at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event when Chan captured his tenth bracelet. In a brief six-year career, Laak has earned slightly over $1.8 million from the tournament poker circuit.

Laak is famously called “The Unabomber” because his attire at the poker tables – a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses – gives Laak a resemblance to the forensic sketch of notorious convicted mail bomber Theodore Kaczynski. Laak can confound players with antics at the table such as push-ups, talking to the cards, and offering buyouts to players to show their winning hands. Away from the felt, Laak also makes a great deal of noise. He has one of the most high-profile poker relationships with former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly and has been a part of television show “I Bet You” with his longtime friend and former roommate Antonio Esfandiari.

Microgaming Network Attempts to Curb Online Poker Datamining

On Thursday, one of the top online poker networks in the industry, Microgaming, announced its intentions to eliminate datamining on its family of sites.

The Microgaming Network, which includes sites such as 32RedPoker, CrazyPoker, PurpleLounge.com, and Unibet, is one of the top ten poker networks in the industry, according to PokerScout.com. Averaging approximately 1,600 players in its cash games and offering a variety of tournament action, the Microgaming Network draws a tremendous amount of action from Europe. However, this hasn’t prevented Microgaming from taking what is a groundbreaking step in the online poker world.

Effective immediately, Microgaming announced the following changes to its hand history policy: "With immediate effect, hand histories on observed tables will no longer be stored on players’ computers and the practice of downloading and storing hand histories in bulk will be stopped." At most sites, all hands at a player’s table are transferred to a special file on the player’s computer hard drive. This allows a player to go back at a later time and review these histories - and opponents’ tendencies on the virtual felt – and use software like PokerTracker and Holdem Manager to analyze it.

Microgaming feels that such software has tilted the playing field between those who utilize such information and those who do not. Instead of using poker software to analyze play, Microgaming believes that it has become an “exploitative tool” that players use to pick up an unfair advantage.

In the announcement, Andrew Clucas, Head of Poker at Microgaming Software Systems, which operates the Microgaming Poker Network, stated, “Concern has been rising over the long-term effect of third party software upon the poker industry as a whole, and in particular the negative effect it has on the recreational player demographic. The decision to put a stop to the practice of datamining on the poker network is part of Microgaming’s overarching network strategy to support operators in attracting and retaining recreational players. It further demonstrates commitment in providing a secure and fair playing environment.”

While some in the poker playing community may view Microgaming’s move as an assault against those who use the varieties of software available, Clucas emphasizes that the company is simply ensuring a balanced playing field for its customers. “Microgaming is not seeking to alienate its winning players,” Clucas said. “There has been a move in the industry towards penalizing winners; we believe that is the wrong approach. There will always be winners and losers in poker. What we are trying to achieve is a more level playing field for all the players.”

Some in the poker world see the move by Microgaming as just the first domino in a chain about to fall. Steve Ruddock, a writer for the National Online Poker Examiner and a frequent participant in the battles on Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Cake Poker Network, believes that the move by Microgaming should be the standard for the online poker industry.

“I think datamining creates an unequal playing field because it puts the emphasis on data collection instead of hard-work, focus, and skill,” Ruddock noted. “Players are no longer rewarded for their hard-work: instead, players are rewarded for spending $50 to $100 and receiving data in return. Tracking software has turned breakeven or slight losers into winners by negating the advantage that decent winning players held over them: Work ethic and focus. Poker is equal parts strategy, psychology, and hard work; datamining eliminates the need for the third part.”

As to Microgaming’s decision, Ruddock sees that it could be a point of sale for players. “I think Microgaming’s decision will have widespread effects,” he opines. “At some point, ‘Do they allow datamining?’ will be just as important as ‘Do they offer rakeback?’ in the minds of potential customers. I hope more sites follow Microgaming’s lead. It would leave a handful of sites with a player base of dataminers and, once they see that the table is full of tight grinders, they’ll start looking for greener pastures.”

Top poker professional Kenna James, who is sponsored by PokerHost on the Cake Poker Network, took a philosophical approach to looking at the issue. “Datamining is an interesting platform for looking at us, as humans, as a microcosm of what is going on in the advancement of the high-tech world and its applications to us altogether,” James stated. “The issue I see with datamining is that it can reduce people to sets of numbers and I personally find this very impersonal; people are more then just a set of numbers.”

“The complexities of poker go beyond that in a live setting where you have to interact with real people, but maybe not so much online where you can hide behind the anonymity of an avatar,” Kenna explained. “Things get more complicated when you bring in emotion, compassion, and reason, among other things. These human qualities and characteristics can slowly be eroded when you begin to see people as just a number.”

James finished our discussion with an interesting thought: “Hours or days or years of using tools like this and becoming dependent on them for making their decisions may lead to some serious personal issues we have not yet discovered in life off the virtual felt.”

Whether other poker networks will follow Microgaming’s lead in the banishment of datamining and poker software remains to be seen. It also is a question as to how players will respond to not being able to use poker software on the Microgaming Network.

2009 Poker News Story of the Year

What is the poker news story of the year for 2009? Is it Swedish online poker pro Isildur1 igniting the high-stakes cash game world? Is it the World Poker Tour (WPT) being sold to Party Gaming? Is it something else? Poker News Daily’s staff evaluates the nominees.

In a poll posted on Poker News Daily asking readers to choose which of five news stories was the most important of 2009, an overwhelming majority picked the high-stakes cash game action featuring Isildur1. Others selected Joe Cada becoming the youngest winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, while many readers picked the delay of mandatory compliance with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Also receiving votes were Party Gaming’s purchase of the WPT and the sudden closure of several high-profile poker rooms.

We asked each of our writers to select one option and argue why it is the top poker news story of 2009. Here’s what they had to say. Don’t forget to voice your choice in the poll to the right of this article.

Isildur1 Ignites High-Stakes Poker Scene
By Brett Collson

With the Durrrr Challenge moving at a crawl and the rest of the nosebleed games on Full Tilt Poker lacking in attendance, it appeared that the online high-stakes action was deteriorating in the fall of 2009. That all changed when an unknown Scandinavian with a seemingly bottomless bankroll appeared out of nowhere to take on anyone up to the challenge. Isildur1 shocked the world when he exploded onto the scene in November, recording multi-million dollar wins over Tom "durrrr" Dwan, the man we all perceived to be unbeatable. Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, and many others took notice and sat down with the Swede, resulting in swings that the online poker world had never witnessed before. At one point, Isildur1 had a profit of around $5 million, but after a number of losing sessions and a record-setting match against Brian Hastings, he was stuck nearly $3 million in a matter of weeks. While his masked emergence may have been brief, the mysterious Isildur1 changed the dynamic of high-stakes poker on the internet.

Joe Cada Becomes Youngest WSOP Main Event Champ Ever
By Jessica Welman

While Isildur1’s online run was impressive and the UIGEA delay was important, ask the casual poker fan what happened this year and they’ll likely cite the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table. This year’s November Nine had everything - big names, great stories, broken records, and a lot of suckouts. Fans were surely sad to see Phil Ivey bust in seventh place, but young Joe Cada has proven to be a more than adequate ambassador, as he brought poker to the mainstream media with appearances on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” CNN, “WWE Monday Night Raw,” “ESPN SportsCenter,” and Time Magazine. “The Kid” and his fellow November Niners captured the attention of people who typically didn’t give poker a second thought and took huge strides towards taking the game out of the backrooms, out of cyberspace, and into the spotlight, which no other poker headline was able to achieve in 2009.

WPT Sold to Party Gaming
By Earl Burton

There are several reasons why the sale of the WPT to Party Gaming is the top story of 2009 in poker. The most important reason is that, for the first time in its illustrious history, the WPT is now on a firm financial footing with an organization that can promote it to the fullest. In the future, with Party Gaming’s financial backing, there shouldn’t be problems securing tournament venues or television contracts. With the ability of Party Gaming, through its online poker site PartyPoker, to provide satellites for players to earn their way into events, tournament fields will probably grow in the coming year, potentially even returning to the “glory days” of a few years ago before the UIGEA. These and many other reasons should continue to keep the WPT in the same stratosphere as the WSOP and makes the sale of the WPT to Party Gaming the top story of 2009.

UIGEA Compliance Deadline Delayed
By Dan Cypra

I wonder whether I would even be here right now if the UIGEA regulation compliance date of December 1st had stood. The online poker industry in the United States, which feeds live tournaments around the world, could have potentially come to a screeching halt. Although nobody knows for sure what the real-world implications of the delay will be, the actions by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke essentially preserved the status quo for another six months until June 1st, 2010. The delay marked the most important legislative development since the UIGEA was passed in 2006 and should be the most important poker news story of the year.

Pitbull Poker/Eurolinx/BetOnBet Closures
By Tom Jenkins

The closures of a handful of notable online poker sites represented a dark chapter of 2009. Pitbull Poker, Eurolinx, and BetOnBet all shut their doors to the general public, with thousands of poker players potentially out money as a result. Given the circumstances surrounding their closures, one can easily see why the very foundation of the online poker world could be disrupted going forward. Players must be able to trust that their money is safe when they deposit online given that very little punishment exists for wrongdoing by poker rooms. The wave of closures may ultimately lead to industry consolidation in 2010 and beyond, making this one of the top news headlines of the 2009 calendar year.

Rakeback Basics for Online Poker Novices

Much ado has been made in the online poker industry in recent months about rakeback. I’m not writing about that controversy in this article, but suffice it to say that many, if not most, poker rooms and networks are not fond if it. What I am going to do in this piece is educate those of you who are new to online poker rakeback, namely discuss what it is, how to go about getting it, and what to look for in your rakeback arrangement.

Let’s start with a quick explanation of rakeback. It really is just want it sounds like – it’s a payment made to you, the player, in which you get back a portion of the rake you have paid to a poker room. The term “rake rebate” used to be common as well, but rakeback is what you will hear the most nowadays. It is basically a way to play poker for a discount. Almost all high volume players play at a site where they get rakeback, as it serves as a supplemental income stream. It can make winning months even better, can turn break-even months into winning ones, and can ease the pain of losing months.

The logical question that follows is how do you get rakeback? The most common way is to go through a rakeback “affiliate”, which is a website that partners with different poker rooms to bring them customers. These affiliates receive a portion of the rake you pay to the poker room as compensation for their services and, in turn, will pass some of that along to you. Additionally, some online poker rooms offer up rakeback to players directly and several, like PokerStars, don’t offer rakeback at all. Now, let’s take a look at what to look for when evaluating your rakeback deal.

Affiliate Reputation

Seeing as you will be dealing with money that is to be paid to you, you want to be sure that the rakeback affiliate with whom you will be signing up is trustworthy. You don’t want someone promising you the keys to castle only to find the castle goes into foreclosure in a couple of months. There are plenty of reputable affiliates out there – ask around some poker message boards for suggestions. Two good ones you may want to check out are ThisIsTheNuts.com and PokerSource.com. Both have been in business for several years.

Percentage

This is the easiest and most obvious aspect of rakeback. How much are you actually going to get paid? Will 30% of your rake be returned to you? 40%? 50%? Does it vary based on how much you play? I think it’s obvious that the higher the percentage, the better.

Method of Payment

With some poker rooms, rakeback payments are deposited directly into your online poker account. With others, the affiliate with whom you signed up will hold your payments until you decide to cash out. The affiliate may give you the option to receive a cash payment (possibly through PayPal or another online wallet) or a gift card or poker merchandise. Whatever the case may be, it’s all a matter personal preference. As a casual player, I personally like using my rakeback to buy goodies, as I consider my rakeback a bonus with which I can have some fun. I don’t want it to be part of my poker bankroll that I might lose in one hand. That’s just me – most players probably love having their rakeback put right into their poker accounts.

Frequency of Payment

Rakeback payments can be made into your poker account or affiliate account daily, weekly, or monthly. It all depends on the poker room’s policy. I wouldn’t use this to determine which poker room to go with, but it’s not a bad tiebreaker if you do have a frequency preference, but are torn between two rooms.

Rakeback Calculation

There are two methods of rakeback calculation, dealt and contributed. Poker rooms that use the dealt method will credit you with rakeback whenever you are dealt cards in a hand that is raked or meets some pre-established rake minimum. The total rake for a hand is divided by the number of players who were dealt cards and that result is multiplied by your rakeback percentage to determine how much you are paid. For example, if you are getting 30% rakeback and are one of 10 players dealt cards in a hand that is raked $1, you will receive $0.03 in rakeback for that hand.

In the other method, the contributed method, you only receive rakeback in hands where you actually put money into the pot (blinds almost always count) and the hand is raked. Using a similar example to the one above, if you have 30% rakeback and are one of five players who contributed money to the pot in a hand with $1 taken in rake, you would get $0.06 back.

Most players prefer the dealt method, as there is no pressure to contribute to the pot. They can feel free to play as tight or loose as they want. The contributed method can be very good for loose players, though, who get involved in many pots, as their slice of the pie will be higher per hand.

What Games Count

Cash games will always count for rakeback, but the rules vary for tournaments. Some poker rooms will give you rakeback for your tournament fees, but some will not. If you are primarily a tournament player, be sure to check to see if tournaments count.

Subtractions from Rakeback

Many sites will discount your rakeback for any expenses they incur because of your play. For example, if you earned a deposit bonus, the value of that bonus may be subtracted from the total rake you contributed in a given time period and then your rakeback is calculated off that new, smaller number. Other things that may be subtracted are loyalty store purchases or deposit fees paid for by the poker room. These things are often unavoidable, but be sure to understand the rules so you aren’t blindsided by them when your rakeback payment is smaller than you expected.

2009 Online Poker Industry Trends

With the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) looming overhead and watchdog groups trying their best to curb internet gaming, many felt that the online poker industry would do nothing but regress in 2009. However, the opposite proved to be true.

Those same pundits used the weak global economy as the proverbial “nail in the coffin” and all but predicted that the online poker industry would collapse by the end of the year.  Now that we’ve reached the conclusion of 2009, we can clearly see that these so-called experts were completely wrong in their assessments.  Poker News Daily sat down with Dan Stewart, manager of PokerScout.com, to discuss the online poker industry trends of 2009.  PokerScout.com is a traffic reporting website that has kept records for all of the major sites.

Poker News Daily: Who was the big winner in terms of gaining market share in 2009? Has the market grown or shrunk during the year?

Dan Stewart: The big winner for the year was Full Tilt Poker, doubling in size and increasing its market share from 15% to 23%.  The market has grown 35% in 2009.  A large part of that growth came in the second half of the year since summer is traditionally a slow time for online poker.

PND:  We've noticed solid growth from Full Tilt Poker. Has the site’s increase in traffic closed the gap between Full Tilt and PokerStars?

Dan Stewart: Full Tilt Poker has gone from 40% of the size of PokerStars at the beginning of the year to 65% now.

PND:  It seems like there's a decent-sized gap between the 12 major online poker networks and #13 (Svenska Spel).  Is there any site or network on PokerScout.com ranked 13th or lower that is on its way up and might become a major player in 2010?

Dan Stewart: Of the sites ranked below 12th, only “win2day” has managed to grow at a rate equal to the overall market.  All of the other sites are either shrinking or growing slower than the market.

PND: What can you make of the rumors about a potential bwin - Party Gaming merger? If they did merge, where would that put their network in terms of traffic worldwide?

Dan Stewart: It’s hard to say exactly how a potential merger would play out and how much overlap there is between customer bases.  However, if you just add the two player pools together, the combined entity would easily move into third place ahead of iPoker.

PND: Can you talk a little bit about industry consolidation?

Dan Stewart: There is definitely a critical mass effect at work.  The sites that have the most players attract the most players because they offer more action around the clock.  Already, the top two sites (Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars) have about 60% market share.  However, the effect is slow to work and there are still at least 15 sites and networks with enough players to remain healthy.  Unless there is a wave of consolidation, players outside the U.S. will likely have a large number of viable options for years to come.

PND: We've talked about winners in 2009. Who are the big losers of the year?

Dan Stewart: In a growing market, “loser” is a relative term.  Many of the non-U.S. sites have had a hard time keeping up with the growth of the market overall.  In terms of actual player loss, the biggest loser has been Svenska Spel, down 9% for the year.  Svenska Spel is run by the Swedish government and they may have been handicapped by some internal disagreement as to how aggressively the government should be promoting online poker.

PND: What's in the future for PokerScout in 2010?

Dan Stewart: There are some exciting new features coming in January.  The traffic report will be expanding and we’ll be partnering with one or more rakeback providers to offer great rakeback deals to our visitors.

We would like to thank Dan Stewart and PokerScout.com for their very insightful information and data.  If you wish to read more detailed reports about online poker traffic, be sure to visit PokerScout.com.

Full Tilt Poker May Change Cash Game Buy-Ins, VIP System

Big changes have been rumored for the second largest online poker site, Full Tilt, for the better part of two months.  As 2009 winds down, many in the industry are expecting major announcements from not just Full Tilt Poker, but also other sites like PokerStars and PartyPoker regarding their VIP rewards systems.  Most of the VIP systems are rated as a yearly measure, such as the Supernova Elite program at PokerStars.  If any change is to occur, it makes sense for the announcements to be made before the end of the year.  For Full Tilt Poker, a new VIP rewards system and buy-in structure for cash games might be in the works.

An interesting phenomenon took place within the online poker industry in 2009 as “deep tables” (which require a minimum 50 big blind buy-in) became more popular at PokerStars.  Because these tables became the norm, many “short-stackers” (players who buy in for the minimum 20 big blinds) shifted over to Full Tilt Poker.  On that site, low- and mid-stakes tables became swamped with these shove-or-fold short-stackers.

“The problem isn’t so much that the short-stackers are all over the place at the full ring games.  The bigger issue that people have is the ratholing that these players are notorious for,” commented a regular from Full Tilt Poker’s 200nl and 400nl ($1-$2 and $2-4 respectively) games.  The term “ratholing” refers to a player winning a large pot and immediately leaving the table.  Short-stackers are notorious for using their edge of fold equity plus a solid shoving range to double up and instantly leave the table.

Announced on December 17th on the TwoPlusTwo forums, Full Tilt Poker spokesperson “FTPDoug” posted the news that many have been waiting for.  Although he first explained that a “big update” was supposed to occur before the New Year, it will likely instead be released during the second or third week of January.

The first major announcement was that Full Tilt Poker will be raising the minimum buy-in on standard tables.  There was a bit of mystery left to the post, as FTPDoug stated, “That’s not all we’re going to do, but that’s the biggest change.  And that’s all I can say about that until the update.”

The rumored buy-in structure change would make all regular tables 40 big blind minimums and allow cap-game table players to buy-in for just 20.  This would effectively eliminate short-stackers from the tables except for cap-games, leaving the virtual felts free for what many consider to be a “pure” game of poker.

FTPDoug’s lengthy post at TwoPlusTwo also has many other upcoming features outlined.  Among them are a new “2-click exit” feature and a “Do you want to take this seat?” dialog box for tables.  Tournament tickets will be coming to the FTP Store, but only a vague “first half of 2010” answer was given as to when they will show up.

In addition to the changes mentioned, a new VIP system is in the works at Full Tilt Poker.  This would not eliminate the Iron Man promotion, but instead be something offered in addition to what is already in place.  According to the post, the new VIP program is early in the planning stages and a number of months away from fruition.  Many inside the industry are speculating that Full Tilt Poker might be holding off on implementing it to wait for PokerStars to act first and then trump what they are doing.

One final announcement that players were happy to read was that they will now be given 45 days to clear the Iron Man end-of-year bonus.  Previously, the promotion only allowed 31 days.  In the coming weeks, we expect Full Tilt Poker to make an official announcement regarding the buy-in structure of its cash games in addition to more rumors being leaked about the new VIP system.

ECOGRA Certifies CEREUS Poker Network

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pitbull Poker Scandal Continues Unresolved

When we think back to the major poker headlines of 2009, one of the very first ones to pop into our heads is the Pitbull Poker scandal.  It all started with a single post from a disgruntled prop player on the TwoPlusTwo forums and snowballed into one of the largest scandals the online poker industry has ever seen.  When the dust settled, a small Flash-based poker room had disappeared and hundreds of thousands of dollars in player funds had vanished.

An individual who goes by the moniker “JC Hawk,” who has fought to uncover this story, owned one of the major affiliates for Pitbull Poker.  He had contact with site’s Network Manager, Dave Brenes, and Pitbull Poker owner Kevin Baronowski during his business relationship with them.  JC Hawk estimates that he is owed over $100,000 from his affiliate site NLPT.tv on top of the cash investments he made.

In October, JC Hawk brought his case before the Costa Rican government and since then has worked with officials to resolve his dispute with Pitbull Poker ownership.  He stated that the government had been great to work with and showed a genuine interest in helping him resolve the matter.  With both the U.S. Embassy and Costa Rican government working with JC Hawk, he hoped to prosecute the guilty and recover what assets he could.

Poker News Daily received an update from JC Hawk in the last week that stated, “They are still working on it (CR) but Kevin Baronowsky has gone back to hide in Canada and Dave Brenes is hiding like the coward he is. We are now hunting Mr. Baronowsky and will find him, he needs to answer a few questions face to face. This will be done soon. His party days with my money are over.”

It’s admirable that JC Hawk continues to pursue justice in the light of being shafted over $100,000 in affiliate dues.  So many of the players on Pitbull, even ones that have lost tens of thousands of dollars, have simply said good game and moved on with their lives.  There’s something to be said for the tenacity behind Hawk’s actions and his unwavering confidence that something can be done.

In the past six weeks on the TwoPlusTwo forums, the fire behind the entire Pitbull Poker scandal has died down to a large degree.  The long threads diving into the debate of whether there were actually superusers playing on the site seem to have gone by the wayside.  Other players, like chesterboy, who was the original person behind the allegations, have moved on in life never to be heard from again.  There was even a thread created in the rumors section of TwoPlusTwo asking to close the Pitbull-related threads because the entire controversy had died.  Many responded by agreeing that the situation was pretty much over, but felt that the threads should remain open for those who wish to discuss the matter.

At this point, it seems the story of Pitbull Poker is finally being put to rest.  There has been no comment from Brenes, who has on multiple occasions vehemently denied being part of the ownership group.  There’s no trace of Baronowski or anyone else that has represented Pitbull Poker.

In the end, we may never really know the intricacies of what really went on behind the scenes at Pitbull Poker or ever know what happened to the missing funds.  Were they burned up trying to keep the site afloat amid overhead and marketing costs?  Were they simply stashed away and hidden in offshore accounts?  With any luck, we know JC Hawk will not rest until these questions are answered.  As any news breaks in the case, we will be sure to report it here at Poker News Daily.

Poker Industry Reacts to House Financial Services Committee Hearing

On Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee, Chaired by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), hosted a hearing on two internet gambling bills. Twenty-four hours later, the online poker industry has had a chance to respond.

In one portion of Thursday’s hearing, Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) referenced a letter he received from the FBI noting that the integrity of online poker games could be compromised. On the letter sent by Shawn Henry, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) retorted, “The PPA takes issue with certain representations made by Mr. Henry, but believes that the larger point is the more important one: Mr. Henry’s letter makes a compelling case for licensing and regulation of internet poker as proposed in HR 2267.” Bachus is the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee and a staunch opponent of internet gambling interests.

Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) spokesperson Michael Waxman gave Poker News Daily his two cents on the 90-minute long hearing that took place on Thursday morning in one of Congress’ most powerful committees: “The hearing and witness testimony clearly portrayed why Congress should scrap an unrealistic attempt to ban internet gambling and regulate the burgeoning underground marketplace since it is the only effective way to protect consumers.” Witnesses covered the gamut, ranging from the banking industry to problem gambling interests.

Early on in the proceedings, Bachus questioned Frank as to why no representatives from the U.S. Treasury or Federal Reserve were present at the hearing. Frank responded that he had not received any such request. However, the Committee’s Chairman later recanted his statement after producing an e-mail dated 40 hours before the hearing began from Bachus’ staff calling for the Treasury or Fed to be present. The awkward exchange ultimately led to agreement that an additional hearing should take place featuring members of the two government organizations, setting up more debate on the internet gambling issue in 2010. The Treasury and Fed granted a six-month delay in compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

On the proceedings, Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “It’s good to see that the ball is rolling again. The trick is going to be if things are sustained beyond the hearing. The industry has this pace of getting a public hearing every six months, but there seems to be little follow-up. Seeing that the minority wanted to hear from the Treasury and Fed, it may be the opposition who keeps the ball rolling.” No hearing has been scheduled, although PPA Executive Director John Pappas expected swift movement to mark up HR 2267.

Bachus’ generalizations about millions of young Americans becoming addicted to online gaming if legalization were to occur rubbed many in the industry the wrong way. On some of the claims made by the high-ranking Alabama Congressman, PocketFives.com poster “RI Tony” commented, “This Bachus guy is a classic example of why I hate politicians. There would be no way to change this guy’s mind. He’s simple minded and arrogant, thinking he can legislate morality. Oh yeah, and like I’m going to play poker on my Blackberry as I’m driving or waiting in line at the supermarket as he suggested people would. Idiot.” Online sites like Cake Poker already offer a mobile client.

Bachus asserted, “If Congress repeals the law, online casinos will proliferate. In the next five years, I feel that if [we] are successful in creating a federal right to gamble on the internet, we will create a generation of millions of Americans who from their youth will be addicted to internet gambling and, therefore, life-long problem gamblers.” Frank labeled Bachus’ comments “hyperbole” and “based on no factual basis whatsoever.”

In June of 2008 during a separate committee hearing, Bachus relayed a study from McGill University claiming that one-third of college students who gambled on the internet attempted suicide. In fact, no such study had ever taken place. A representative for the university quipped, “I am confident the Congressman doesn’t read research – he could not misinterpret this.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from Capitol Hill.

House Financial Services Committee Holds First Hearing

Isildur1 is not Viktor Blom (blom30)

The mystery behind the identity of high-stakes Full Tilt Poker player Isildur1 received a little clarification on Tuesday, as Viktor “blom30” Blom told Bluff Europe that he is not the man of the hour.

Blom bluntly told the European news outlet, “I am not the one you are looking for. Keep searching.” One cryptic sentence later, the online poker industry is back at square one in its hunt to uncover the real Isildur1. A variety of poker players tossed out Blom as possibly being Isildur1, most notably Tony G, who commented in a recent blog entry, “I don’t want to talk too much about Isildur1 but I can reveal to all it is Viktor and he crushed them on the iPoker network for some time. I actually played a few hands with him today and quite many on iPoker where my site TonyG Poker runs. I honestly respect this guy 100%. He has proved that he is the best player in the game right now; this is based on many, many hands on iPoker and Full Tilt Poker.”

Tony G then praised the “self control and money management” skills of Isildur1 and high-stakes opponent Tom “durrrr” Dwan. According to Poker Table Ratings, Isildur1 is down $1.3 million overall, a drop of $800,000 on Tuesday alone. In mid-November, the Swede owned more than $5 million in profits at the tables before a drastic turn of events. Among those he has squared off against are Dwan, Power Poker pro Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Phil Ivey, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, and CardRunners instructors Cole South, Brian Townsend, and Brian Hastings.

Also fueling the fire that Blom was the man behind the Isildur1 moniker was the following chat that occurred on Full Tilt Poker and was posted on the online poker forum PocketFives.com on November 30th:

Ziigmund: u r nice guy
Ziigmund: and pretty viktor
Isildur1: lol Ziigmund: :- )
Isildur1: can u atlest reload finnish superstar
Ziigmund: :- )

Isildur1 gave no correction after Sahamies addressed him as “Viktor,” which sparked a major debate online as to whether Blom’s statements to Bluff Europe were accurate or merely meant to throw the online poker community off the trail. Last month, Frank “Frank1The1Tank” Calo asserted that Isildur1 was Robert “Gulkines” Flink: “Fwiw, I have received intelligence by some very credible sources (who shall be kept completely private) who said pretty confidently who isildur1 is. So I give you the knowledge I have (with like 99% certainy but not quite 100% yet) that it is Robert Flink aka Gulkines.”

However, Flink denied being Isildur1, according to Calo, who posted on PocketFives.com: “Update: I spoke to robert flink last night. He was pretty sketchy about it and without me even asking about isildur immediately said he wasnt him and then said he thought it was stefan mattsson which is a well known swedish mtter.” Mattsson, who plays as “stema2” on PokerStars, allegedly began playing $25/$50 several days after Isildur1 began his climb up the online poker ladder.

Other names that have cropped up as possible Isildur1 front men include Dan Harrington and Todd Brunson. However, both are American and not Swedish. Brunson is a sponsored pro of the Cake Poker Network site DoylesRoom, while Harrington won the 1995 WSOP Main Event. Also tossed out as a possibility is Martonas, Dwan’s nemesis on the high-stakes virtual felts. However, with tax laws in Sweden, Isildur1’s true identity may never be known.

In the meantime, the nosebleed action will likely continue on Full Tilt Poker. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the Isildur1 saga.

Online Poker May Be Coming to Quebec, British Columbia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UB.com Launches, Rebranding of Ultimate Bet Complete

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Online Poker Discussed in Massachusetts Committee Hearing

On Thursday, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies held a hearing to review proposals to expand gambling within the Commonwealth. Speaking on behalf of the online poker industry was Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Massachusetts State Director Randy Castonguay.

The PPA representative traveled to Boston to speak at the Gardner Auditorium. The goal was to include language in any casino bill that licensed and regulated online poker, which will likely bring in over $40 million per year in revenues to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, according to figures released by the PPA. Castonguay told Poker News Daily prior to Thursday’s hearing, “Initially, we tried getting internet poker put on this year’s ballot. We were going to have the voters decide whether it should be regulated and taxed to protect the consumer.”

The Boston Globe newspaper noted that 17 bills focused on gambling would be heard on Thursday and that lawmakers were expected to remain in the city “well into the night” listening to proposals. The PPA has 25,000 members in Massachusetts out of more than one million total.

When the Commonwealth took up the issue of gambling, a provision in the proposed casino bill made playing online poker a crime. Castonguay explained in his testimony, “While the game as evolved, the way politicians think about it has not. It is hard to believe that when gaming expansion legislation was introduced two years ago and again this year, the bills included provisions that make poker on the internet a crime punishable by two years in prison and a $25,000 fine.”

On this year’s version of the casino gambling bill, Castonguay told Poker News Daily, “We want to get the language criminalizing online poker out of the current casino bill. Essentially, they took last year’s bill, made a few changes, and put it back in. They didn’t take out the language that criminalizes internet poker. We think that’s ridiculous.” Massachusetts’ inclusion is similar to the Washington State’s stance on internet gambling. There, playing online poker constitutes a Class C felony.

Castonguay tried to submit a copy of a petition backed by the PPA that calls for the regulation of online poker in Massachusetts. He explained, “Unfortunately, our petition was not certified by the Attorney General’s office due to a disagreement with our language. Fortunately, however, this Committee and our State legislature can regulate internet gambling through the formal lawmaking process.” PPA Executive Director John Pappas explained that the disagreement was with “how the petition was drafted and whether it could be put into a sensible ballot initiative.”

Castonguay’s focus was on advocating online poker as opposed to broader initiatives like internet gambling or online wagering on sports. The Massachusetts State Director explained, “We are advocating regulation of internet poker, not internet craps or roulette. And as every member of this Committee knows, unlike craps or roulette, poker is a game of skill that has been played in the home since the dawn of the game.”

A separate Globe article noted that a new casino bill is expected in January. Proponents have argued that allowing casino gambling in Massachusetts will bring badly-needed jobs and revenue to the Commonwealth, while adversaries argue that addiction and other societal ills will increase.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced a similar measure on the national level. HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, was introduced in May and has attracted 62 cosponsors. The measure outlines a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States.

Read Castonguay’s online poker testimony.

Poker Industry Reacts to Kentucky Internet Gambling Hearing

On Thursday, attorneys representing the owners of 141 internet gambling domain names took to the floor of the Kentucky Supreme Court. Their goal: prevent the forfeiture of URLs belonging to industry giants like PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, and Full Tilt Poker.

Twenty-four hours later, the online poker industry has had an opportunity to digest the proceedings, which played out in Frankfort. Among those looking on via a live webcast of the 90-minute oral arguments was Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas, who told Poker News Daily from Washington, D.C., “Aside from wishing I could be down there, I think the presentation of the prosecution was extremely weak and there were a lot of holes in it in that the Supreme Court justices pointed out. The attorneys for the side of the online sites did a very good job of presenting compelling, reasonable reasons for dismissing this case.”

Word of the seizure broke last September and sent shockwaves throughout the internet gambling industry. If successful, the action by the Commonwealth would render the 141 domain names inaccessible not just in Kentucky, but also worldwide. Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) attorney Ian Ramsey told Poker News Daily, “We felt very good about the arguments we presented. We felt we had the opportunity to present the material issues for this court to consider and welcome a well-reasoned decision.” When the Kentucky Supreme Court will hand down a decision is anyone’s guess; timelines have ranged from 60 days to four months.

Present in the courtroom on Thursday with Ramsey was PPA Kentucky State Director Rich Muny, who has been intricately involved at the local level in the case. Muny took time out from lunch shortly after the hearing and noted, “I thought it went really well. The justices heard from both sides and asked informed questions of everyone. We had great legal counsel in the case and it seemed like questions were targeted more at the Commonwealth than at us, which may indicate which way they’re leaning. It would be worse if we got peppered with difficult questions.” Ramsey added that the six justices present asked considerably more questions than they have in past hearings.

Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) counsel Jon Fleischaker was the third attorney to take to the podium on Thursday. His animated testimony seemed to speak volumes about the frustrated nature of the industry, which has several of its most well-known domain names at risk. iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “John brought the passion today that a lot of people in the industry have felt. This is something that’s just plain wrong and it was great to see that today in court.” Fleischaker called the prosecution’s arguments “unheard of” and “wrong.”

On whether anything in Thursday’s hearing took Brennan and company by surprise, the iMEGA executive commented, “I thought everything went according to plan. We knew the cards that the Governor and the Secretary’s attorneys had with their briefs. They came out of the gate with a weak hand. They continue to make assertions and misrepresent the law and the status of internet gambling.”

In the process, Commonwealth attorney Eric Lycan labeled iMEGA and the IGC “illegal gambling trade associations.” Lycan added that the confiscated domain names would be put up for public auction, following similar action undertaken in the past by the IRS.

A two-to-one ruling by the Kentucky Court of Appeals in January in favor of the internet gambling industry prompted the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to appeal.

iMEGA Readies for Kentucky Supreme Court Internet Gambling Hearing

In one week, attorneys for the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) will take to the floor of the Kentucky Supreme Court to argue why the Commonwealth did not have jurisdiction to seize 141 internet gambling domain names, including those belonging to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Next Thursday marks an important day for the internet gambling industry in Kentucky and around the world. One year ago, the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, under the leadership of J. Michael Brown and the direction of Governor Steve Beshear, seized domain names belonging to some of the online poker industry’s giants. Arguments are scheduled for 11:00am on Thursday, October 22nd. Each side has 15 minutes to state its case and the proceedings are the final order of business on the docket for next week, leading iMEGA officials to believe that arguments may run longer than the scheduled time.

iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “Since there’s no law as to how to approach this, the Governor and his attorneys went out and came up with a process on their own. They never named who was being served and basically asked people to come to court and identify themselves.” A total of 141 internet gambling domain names were seized under the grounds that they were “gambling devices,” a term that commonly refers to roulette wheels, dice, and other tangible items found in an underground casino.

In January, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled by a 2:1 margin that the Commonwealth did not have jurisdiction to act, while the lone dissenting judge argued that a domain name was part of a larger “gambling device.” Brennan explained, “Appellate Courts tend to take a conservative, narrow, statutory look. The gambling device statute is one thing, but there is ample case law regarding due process. I am absolutely certain that you’re going to see the Governor’s attorneys get up and talk about what crooked operators we’re dealing with.”

The trade organization argues that the Commonwealth violated due process by seizing the 141 domain names in question. Its brief to the Kentucky Supreme Court explains, “No real defendants were named, no process was issued, and no owner of any domain names was notified. In short, this was an action by the Commonwealth to seize property without the slightest pretext of complying with the fundamental dictates of due process.” Judge Thomas Wingate upheld the Commonwealth’s actions in a court ruling submitted last October.

Kentucky law describes a “gambling device” as “a machine or mechanical device… designed and manufactured primarily for use in conjunction with gambling.” iMEGA added in its brief that if Kentucky does not wish to permit internet gambling within its borders, then it should pass laws through the General Assembly. Brennan expects a decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court to be handed down in “a matter of months” following Thursday’s hearing, which will take place in Frankfort. A diverse group of organizations have submitted amicus briefs, including the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Commerce Association, eBay, and Network Solutions.

iMEGA is fresh off a mostly positive ruling in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which clarified the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by noting that internet gambling’s legality depends on the laws of individual states. iMEGA claims that legal internet gambling is possible in 44 states, while its brief to the Kentucky Supreme Court explains that eight criminalize the industry to some degree: Illinois, Indiana, Washington, Louisiana, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and South Dakota.

The Third Circuit disagreed with iMEGA’s assertions that the UIGEA trampled on First Amendment and privacy rights and dismissed the notion that it should be void for vagueness. Neither the Federal Government nor the trade organization has announced an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

We’ll have a full recap of the iMEGA Kentucky Supreme Court hearing right here on Poker News Daily.

Online Poker Industry Nearing December 1st UIGEA Compliance Deadline

On December 1st, the financial services industry in the United States must fall into full compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Working to delay the deadline is the Poker Players Alliance (PPA).

In May, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced HR 2266, more commonly known as the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act. Frank’s piece of legislation pushes back the looming compliance date from December 1st, 2009 to December 1st, 2010, essentially extending the status quo by one year. In the interim, lawmakers on Capitol Hill could, in theory, devise a lucrative method for taxing and regulating the internet gambling industry in the United States, potentially reaping over $60 billion in revenue in the process.

HR 2266 currently boasts 48 cosponsors, including Andre Carson (D-IN), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Melvin Watt (D-NC), who signed on to open the month of October. Despite the outpouring of support, PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that other avenues besides the legislative process are being pursued since the December 1st deadline is rapidly approaching: “We are working with Barney Frank and others for a non-legislative solution to clarifying or delaying the UIGEA regulations. Given everything on the Chairman’s plate, one thing off of it is a good thing. We’re hoping to see a delay.”

One strategy the PPA is potentially pursuing is utilizing the Administrative Procedure Act. According to About.com, the law is typically used by federal agencies to create regulations to enforce laws passed by Congress. The Administrative Procedure Act was passed in 1946 and Pappas noted that the measure “allows for individuals and organizations like the PPA to weigh in with the Department of the Treasury and ask for a delay of a proposed rule.” As many poker players remember, the regulations of the UIGEA were rubber-stamped as “midnight rules” by the outgoing Bush Administration. They were officially adopted on January 19th, one day before U.S. President Barack Obama assumed office.

Working against the industry as the December 1st deadline approaches is the precarious state of the U.S. economy, which saw unemployment rise to 9.8% in September. In addition, Obama and others on Capitol Hill have been steadfastly pushing health care reform, which has also taken center stage. Consequently, issues like internet gambling have fallen by the wayside. Pappas explained, “The reality is that our country is facing a lot of challenges. From a poker player’s perspective, the UIGEA may be the top priority, but it’s not the top priority of Congress. Until Barney Frank can solve the issues facing his Committee, ours is not going to take precedence.” Frank chairs the Financial Services Committee.

Also expected is a letter authored by Frank and two-dozen other politicians to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner calling for a delay of the UIGEA regulations. As of the time of writing, no such letter has come to fruition. Others, including gambling law expert Nelson Rose, question whether the industry will see any changes after the December 1st deadline passes. In a July interview, Rose told Poker News Daily, “The whole program focuses on due diligence on new accounts. If you’re crazy enough to set up a bank account with an American bank, they’ll ask if you’re involved in illegal internet gambling.”

Frank has also introduced HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. The measure has attracted 60 cosponsors, including Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Robert Wexler (D-FL). HR 2267 was introduced on the same day as HR 2266 and establishes a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States.

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

Sportingbet, Entraction Partner in Europe

Sportingbet, the parent company of Paradise Poker, has partnered with the Entraction Network to bring online poker into additional areas of Europe. Paradise Poker currently makes its home on Boss Media’s International Poker Network.

In a press release posted on Entraction’s website yesterday, Peter Astrom, its CEO, commented, “We are proud to welcome Sportingbet to our network. The deal shows that Entraction is an attractive partner for the largest players in the online gaming industry.” The press release added that Sportingbet had already launched its first site on the Entraction Network. The specific markets that Sportingbet was targeting were not given.

An Entraction Network representative told eGamingReview Magazine why the partnership is attractive to the burgeoning family of sites: “Sportingbet has high standards and would not have signed up with us if it felt our software wasn’t up to scratch. While we started off with smaller operators, this deal shows we are now starting to recruit bigger and more established operators.” Paradise Poker is one of the staples of the online poker industry and was absorbed by Sportingbet in 2004.

The International Poker Network is the ninth largest worldwide, boasting a seven-day running average of 1,620 real money ring game players according to PokerScout.com. At its peak, more than double that number can be found on its virtual felts. Besides Paradise Poker, other members of Boss Media’s online poker network include CelebPoker, Classic Poker, Fortune Poker, i4Poker, InterPoker, and Poker Heaven.

The Entraction Network is slightly smaller, weighing in at 13th worldwide with a seven-day average of 1,100 cash game players. Its 24 hour peak is 2,241 and its traffic is comparable with that found on 888’s Pacific Poker and the Swedish gambling outfit Svenska Spel. The Entraction Network plays host to customers from sites like Devilfish Poker, NoiQ Poker, and Wasa Poker. Its parent company is based in Sweden; the Entraction Network’s servers call Malta home.

Sportingbet is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, where it can be found under the symbol “SBT.” At the time of writing, which is late afternoon throughout most of Europe, the company’s stock was up £1.75 on the day to £60.75, representing a jump of nearly 3%. Amid the worldwide financial meltdown late last year, shares of SBT traded as low as £23.25 in October. By December, it had crossed the £30 threshold and leapt over £40 for good in March.

Three weeks ago, Sportingbet divested itself of Sportingbet Italia, selling the entity to local management for what it termed “nominal consideration.” Over the first 11 months of the fiscal year, the Italian arm had turned in an operating loss for Sportingbet of £1.5 million. Sportingbet Italia was procured in 2006 with the expectation that payouts would increase, specific software would be developed for Italian customers, and “in-running betting” would be allowed. None of these changes occurred and, combined with the growth of brick and mortar gambling outfits in Italy, eroded Sportingbet Italia’s profit potential. The company took a loss of £7.1 million in order to rid itself of its failed venture, draining cash on-hand by £1.6 million.

eGamingReview speculated that the partnership between Sportingbet and the Entraction Network is set to expire in February. Neither Entraction nor the International Poker Network accepts players from the United States. The largest network that does not accept U.S. players is the iPoker family of sites, which includes BetFred, Better Poker, Boyle Poker, CD Poker, Chili Poker, Expekt, Mansion Poker, Noble Poker, PokerPlex, Titan Poker, and VC Poker. The iPoker Network is owned and operated by Playtech, which can be found on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “PTEC.”

Matt Parvis Joins PokerNews from Bluff

This week, former Bluff Magazine Editor-in-Chief Matt Parvis transitioned to the same role with PokerNews. Former Bluff Magazine Online Editor Lance Bradley will now assume the role of Editor-in-Chief at Bluff Magazine.

Bradley was the Poker Room Manager for Bodog from 2004 to 2006, according to a press release distributed by Bluff. He then moved onto ThePokerBiz.com before joining Bluff in 2008. Bradley commented in a Bluff article, “I’m very excited about this opportunity. For five years now, Bluff has been at the forefront of the poker industry and I hope to continue that tradition and deliver a magazine and website that poker fans recognize as the leader.” His predecessor, one of the leading faces in the online poker industry, sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his new role.

Poker News Daily: Can you give us the background of signing with PokerNews?

Parvis: I’ve been with Bluff Magazine coming up on four years. I had nothing but good times and good experiences throughout my stint. From that regard, I’ve been very happy. I have a lot of respect for the people who work there and think that we put out a great product. I like to think that I helped push the bar in terms of expanding the idea of what a poker magazine should be.

When I started with Bluff, they had been in the works for about a year. I stepped in as Managing Editor working with Michael Cassell in London. We helped transform what a poker magazine should be, which is an entertainment portal.

The opportunity with PokerNews didn’t present itself until a day or two after the World Series of Poker. PokerNews has always been a really strong player in the market. They launched about the same time as Bluff, but used a slightly different model. It was poker news every day on your computer. At the time, there wasn’t something providing that information.

PND: In addition to providing news, your new home also hosts freerolls and offers a full forum, among other features. How do you effectively mesh all of these components together?

Parvis: I’m still in the process of wrapping my head around everything here. Everything we do is translated into 27 different languages. We also have to ensure that we’re providing accurate, fair reports on the poker world. We’re all out there trying to get a small number of stories. In poker, we’re all battling for the same stories. It’s not so much about getting stories first. We’re all going to win our battles here and there and be the first to scoop something. Instead, it’s a battle to create a strong voice that our readers can count on.

PND: Can you fill us in on the future of Bluff Magazine?

Parvis: Lance Bradley, who I’ve worked closely with for two years now, is taking over my role at Bluff. He’s in charge of the web content, is extremely capable and competent, and understands the poker industry because of his background with Bodog. Bluff is in good hands. There won’t be any lapse in what they’re able to do because Lance is such a qualified person and we worked closely together. We share a similar vision and idea. Bluff readers can expect a quality magazine and I don’t think they’ll see any lapse or regression by any means.

PND: Tell us about your vision for PokerNews.

Parvis: I will be overseeing the editorial content of the PokerNews.com site. I’ll be working with Garry Gates, who has done a great job of leading our tournament reporting team. It’s very important that all aspects of a business work hand in hand. There should be one center wheel and every spoke coming off of it is a branch of the business. We need to have a centralized focus and a centralized message. The poker industry is still very young in comparison to mainstream media. Poker is, in a way, a step behind, so it’s important to catch up with the rest of the media and strive towards making sure our fans have a voice.

PokerStars Software Update May Feature Synchronized Breaks

Synchronized breaks may make their long-awaited debut on PokerStars on Tuesday as part of a soon-to-be-launched software update. Full Tilt Poker rolled out synchronized breaks in April, taking the online poker industry by storm. Now, multi-tablers are rejoicing with the news that PokerStars will likely follow suit.

As is the case on Full Tilt Poker, synchronized breaks will take place at 55 minutes past every hour, according to posts from PokerStars that appear on both PocketFives.com and TwoPlusTwo.com. No breaks will be skipped on PokerStars, so a tournament that starts at 50 past the hour will still break five minutes later. In the case of rebuy tournaments, the posts note, “If a tournament is a rebuy tournament, there will be an extra short break at the end of the rebuy period to allow for add-ons to be made.”

Likely starting with Tuesday’s PokerStars software update, only a handful of tournaments will feature synchronized breaks. They’ll be denoted by the phrase, “The tournament goes on break at 55 minutes past the hour” in the event’s information window. In addition, the “Breaks” area of the tournament information screen will also denote that the festivities will be paused at 55 minutes past every hour for a well-deserved respite. The response from members of both online poker forums was resoundingly positive.

Full Tilt’s synchronized breaks also start at five minutes until every hour. However, several tournaments do not see their action paused, including those that are available for late registration, standard tournaments in the first blind level, turbo tournaments in the first two blind levels, and sit and gos with fewer than 30 entrants. Rebuy tournaments feature 30 second to two minute breaks following the rebuy period in order to allow for players to add on.

PokerStars is also slated to launch Mixed Hold’em/Omaha, a game that is part of the site’s 2009 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) schedule. The new addition to the already bustling PokerStars cash game scene can be found by visiting the “Other Games” tab within the lobby, clicking on “Mixed Games,” and then locating “PLH/PLO.” Players will have a chance to fine-tune their skills in WCOOP Event #29, a $320 buy-in Half Pot Limit Hold’em, Half Pot Limit Omaha tournament with a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool up for grabs. The 2009 WCOOP schedule culminates in a $5,200 buy-in Main Event, which will take place over two days and guarantee at least $10 million. The 2009 WCOOP starts in just one month.

The length of time available for “extended registrations” may soon be shown in the tournament information window, where developers of PokerStars have “squashed a few rare bugs with the algorithm.” In other tournament updates, private events will soon be available for low-stakes players who normally compete at the $1.10 and $3.30 buy-ins. The site’s post notes, “The privilege to create private tournaments on PokerStars is available to most players who have earned 2,000 or more [Frequent Player Points] over the lifetime of their account.”

PokerStars players who win satellites will be automatically entered into the event they qualified for. If extended registration is still available, a player will enter the queue. If not, players will receive T$, W$, or a ticket to the event to play at a future date or use as they see fit.  The site noted that it had corrected a “long-standing bug” to bring this feature to life.

PokerStars officials are also allegedly hard at work on developing a multi-currency client and will be opening beta testing later this month. The site is currently soliciting testers for the update. Prospective users must speak English and be willing to hit the virtual felts of the online poker site using the Euro currency. There was no indication as to what other currencies are being tested or are in development.

We’ll have full details for you as they unfold right here on Poker News Daily.

How Funds Seizures Affected Online Poker Players

It’s been about two months since the funds for many online poker players were frozen and payment checks bounced due to actions taken by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  Players affected by bounced checks were refunded, typically with a bonus in the neighborhood of 10 to 20%.

Since those events took place, the industry has quickly recovered. Many players have turned to alternative means of cashing out from their favorite poker rooms, ranging from direct wire transfer to player-to-player transfers.  For many, the variables that dictate the action include the check size and whether they are a player from the United States.

One U.S. player spoke to Poker News Daily about the issue on the condition of anonymity. He plays regularly at Full Tilt Poker at the $1-$2 ring games.  He’s a full-time professional poker player that logs 60,000 to 70,000 hands per month for a decent win-rate.  Our subject regularly cashes out checks from his poker account every month in order to pay bills like his internet service, telephone, and rent.  Unfortunately, this monthly “salary” in the form of a mailed check bounced during the aforementioned events.  Full Tilt Poker moved quickly to refund the outstanding balance and offered a small bonus to make up for the inconvenience.

After the funds seizure became public, he was in a tough spot.  There was just enough to pay the bills without a new paycheck, but it would deplete the savings he had been keeping.  There was no guarantee of being paid via his regular check method, so after some time and research, he tried the premium bank wire method of withdrawal.  The player had to find out the specific informational code for his bank and provide that along with his bank account number to the online poker room.  After about a week, the bank transfer was initiated and cleared into his account the next day. Unfortunately, there were service fees for this type of transfer and his bank charged an extra $35 for completing the wire.  The good news was that our hero received his funds in a quick manner without much headache.

This story was one we heard over and over when researching the topic.  Many full-time players are now in fear that future printed checks won’t clear and are looking for a guaranteed way to bring in their funds.  For recreational players that only occasionally cash out, the news is good for printed checks.

A writer at Poker News Daily recently withdrew $990 from Absolute Poker, another site linked to the poker funds seizure.  The check was approved the next day and confirmed via e-mail. About a week later, the check was received in the mail for an amount $0.09 more than cashed out from a bank outside of the United States.  The bank issued the funds in United States Dollars and the check was deposited in person at a national bank.  It cleared within 24 hours and the funds were secure.

The reports of foreign bank checks being received indicates that the poker rooms’ payment processor have found a way around the U.S. Attorney’s Office by simply issuing checks from foreign accounts.  These bank accounts issue money in U.S. Dollars, so players are receiving the funds they expect.  The checks are clearing as well, so it appears that most of the poker rooms have adapted to the new legal climate.

The story of our full-time professional poker player and our own internal writer reflect the current climate of receiving funds in the online poker industry.  Full-time poker professionals are using a premium bank wire service, despite the extra fees, in order to receive funds in guaranteed fashion.  Recreational players are receiving paper checks once again, this time from foreign banks, with no issues reported.  It seems for the time being, all is restored to normal in the online poker world.

Full Tilt Upgrades Software, Offers “Biggest Bonus Ever”

After recently celebrating their fifth anniversary, Full Tilt Poker could have sat back for a bit on its laurels and waited for its next FTOPS schedule to begin in less than a week (August 5th, to be exact). Being one of the more aggressive online poker rooms, however, Full Tilt has charged ahead with changes and is offering a bonus program that is open to nearly every player on the site.

The changes that Full Tilt Poker has made to the site itself are sizeable, as it takes a couple of minutes to download the upgrade and install it. Once the changes have been made, there is a new login screen – featuring Team Full Tilt member Patrik Antonius – that leads players to their first decision:  what “view” the players want to use to see the Lobby.

Basic View is just what it says, a beginner’s guide to playing on Full Tilt that walks players through pretty much every aspect of play on the site. The Classic View is the version that Full Tilt has used for several years and most players would recognize easily. The real change, however, is in the new Standard View, which is in a Beta mode and warns players that “…you may experience some technical issues.”

The Standard View is where the new bells and whistles are at on Full Tilt Poker. Once there, all of the current Full Tilt promotions are presented on one side of the lobby and offers an easy way to learn more about them. You can also customize the Lobby to display your favorite poker disciplines and available games without having to search through the entirety of the Lobby listings. Finally, you can set up what is called a “Lobby Widget”, which offers on-demand information regarding your account, favorite games and Full Tilt Points balance without having to return to the full Lobby.

Along with these changes, Full Tilt Poker is now offering something that is becoming more prevalent in the online poker industry. In some live tournaments, the competitors will make deals at the final table (normally by chip count) to ensure a better portion of the final table payday than what the actual payouts would be. Full Tilt now offers the ability for its players to make these types of deals, something that many had asked for on the site.

To introduce the changes and encourage its players to try them out, Full Tilt Poker is offering the “Biggest Bonus Ever”, a bonus program to pretty much everyone who has ever played on the site. For players who have earned at least one Full Tilt Poker point by July 28th, a bonus of $100 can be earned through play on the site.

To get started with earning that bonus into your Full Tilt Poker account, players need to go to the “My Promotions” box under the Cashier button. By clicking on the link “Biggest Bonus Ever”, players will be directed to a website where they can learn more about the program and sign up to attack the bonus.

The bonus is being offered between now and August 16th and players have 30 days from the initial acceptance of the bonus challenge to be able to earn as much of the $100 as possible. For ring game play, players earn one Full Tilt Point for each dollar raked from the pot in hands where they are dealt cards. Players can earn partial Full Tilt Points if less than one dollar is raked, with a maximum of three points earned per hand. For tournament and Sit & Go play, players earn seven Full Tilt Points for each dollar in tournament fees paid. There is no cap to the number of points a player can earn per tournament.

With the “Biggest Bonus Ever” and the FTOPS XIII coming in a week, Full Tilt Poker will be a very busy site over the next few weeks.

UIGEA Regulations Won’t Change Online Poker Industry

Coming out of National Poker Week, an effort orchestrated by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) to legalize and regulate the online game in the United States, many wondered what the future of the industry would be once the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are fully enforced in December.

As it currently stands, the financial services industry has until December 1st to comply with the 2006 law. Despite the presence of 32 co-sponsors of HR 2266, which delays mandatory compliance with the UIGEA by one year, the bill has yet to see time in the House Financial Services Committee. In addition, Congress will be on recess during the month of August and return after the Labor Day holiday in the United States.

In an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily during the recent PPA Fly-In, poker lobbyist Mickey Leibner noted, “We hope that HR 2266, which is the bill to delay the implementation of the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by one year – We’re hopeful that we can get something done on that as soon as we get back from the August recess. That’s the plan.” In the interim, concerned poker players are encouraged to call, e-mail, and write their Congressmen urging support of HR 2266 and HR 2267, the latter of which establishes a full licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced both measures in early May.

In order to gauge the potential effectiveness of the regulations once they are in full effect, Poker News Daily sat down with noted gambling and the law expert Nelson Rose.

Poker News Daily: What do you foresee as the status of the online poker industry in the United States come December?

Rose: I think there’s a good chance that HR 2266 will pass. Nobody likes the regulations of the UIGEA, but it’s of such little interest to members of Congress right now.

PND: You had mentioned to us in a previous interview that you doubted how effective the regulations of the UIGEA would ultimately be. Can you comment on that?

Rose: I don’t think they’re going to have any effect at all. The whole focus has changed. Instead of looking at individual transactions, financial institutions are now told not to. Basically, the whole program focuses on due diligence on new accounts. If you’re crazy enough to set up a bank account with an American bank, they’ll ask if you’re involved in illegal internet gambling. Banks are specifically told not to look at individual transactions, so it doesn’t really do much except impose an extra level of regulation and cost onto the banks. The payment processors have already figured out ways around it.

PND: Is over-blocking by companies like Visa and MasterCard a function of compliance with the UIGEA? For example, legal online lottery transactions in North Dakota and New Hampshire have been blocked.

Rose: The credit card companies stopped letting their cards be used a few years ago. It was partly because of a fear of charge backs and partly because they were afraid they were doing something illegal. The U.S. Department of Justice ran a very successful campaign of intimidation and it worked. In fact, I work with racetracks and state lotteries and they’re having a horrible time doing transactions that everyone agrees are legal.

The UIGEA is a piece of garbage, but the regulators did the best they could do with it. It’s an un-funded mandate. It’s a requirement that banks spend money for nothing and that’s not what the government should be doing right now, partly because we’re in a financial crisis. It’s also personal intrusion. The regulations would have been killed last summer, but the Republicans decided to make it into a political issue.

Visit GamblingAndTheLaw.com for more information.

Ladbrokes Launches New Loyalty Club

Update on Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars Check Processing

As the battle for online poker legality comes to the forefront of the American legal system, players are still in limbo making deposits and withdrawals from their favorite sites.  Some rooms like Cake Poker have had no reported incidents, while larger ones like Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars were directly affected by the U.S. Attorney’s Office seizing funds in bank accounts tied to processors.  As poker rooms have adjusted, popular deposit methods have now been restored on all sites.

The main issue for many players was that checks received in the mail from payment processors bounced as a result of the bank accounts being frozen.  This caused widespread concern that the online poker industry wouldn’t be able to stay afloat if players in the United States were not able to deposit or withdraw.  However, the poker rooms stepped up and refunded players, usually with a bonus for their hassle.  In the meantime, the sites and processors have scrambled to restore confidence in the industry that players can and will receive payments for cashouts when requested.

On Full Tilt Poker, many players turned to wire transfers and are sticking with this payment method despite the extra fees that are tacked onto the transaction.  Many players on online poker forums are reporting their success with traditional wire transfers.  Requests have been typically approved the same day and initiated two weeks later.  Some people are reporting a lag time of only four days, while others who initiated a bank wire around the middle of June received their transfers during the first week of July.  The general rule of thumb is that players should expect anywhere from four to 20 calendar days for a bank transfer to work from approval to receipt.  Fees range from $15 to $35 for this type of transaction.

For players on Full Tilt Poker who are not trying the bank wire method, it seems that order has been restored to paper checks and echecks.  Players who have requested their checks near the end of June have already been receiving them in July with a seven to 10 day turnaround period from request to receipt.  Some of the checks appear to be coming from Canadian banks, well outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Now restored, echecks at PokerStars have been requested regularly in the last couple of weeks from players at the world’s largest poker room.  Players who have requested checks have reported receiving them in about a week.  Once deposited, they are clearing in major banks in 24 hours’ time.

It seems that the U.S. Attorney’s Office merely set the online poker industry back by a few weeks in terms of normal business practice.  Players appear to be sending and receiving funds like they were before the seizure.  Checks from major rooms are clearing without incident and high-volume players are using bank wires to safely receive funds directly into their account, accepting the fact that additional fees might apply.

In the meantime, poker industry advocate organizations such as the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) and Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) are gearing up to determine if online poker is indeed legal or illegal and if the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is unconstitutional.  As the legal battles officially start, Poker News Daily will monitor activities as they occur and report on any changes in the payment processing sector.

PPA to Announce National Poker Week on June 22nd at 2009 WSOP

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s main lobbying force, will announce its plans for National Poker Week on Monday at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). An press conference to be held at 11:00am Pacific Time will feature Full Tilt Poker pro Howard Lederer, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV), former three-term Senator from New York and current PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato, and PPA Executive Director John Pappas.

The announcement of Poker Week comes on the heels of the seizure of $30 million belonging to online poker payment processors by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York at the beginning of June. The news rocked the online poker industry and, although echecks recently reappeared as a deposit option on PokerStars, over 24,000 players were affected; many are now gun-shy about cashing out. Bank accounts in Arizona and California were targeted at the PPA is currently engaged in dialogue with the Southern District over the contents of the funds that were frozen. No formal lawsuit has been filed by attorneys for the PPA, payment processors, or the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), which has been keeping a close eye on the situation.

So what is National Poker Week? The PPA’s website explains that the event is “a coordinated grassroots advocacy effort focused on educating lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on the benefits of protecting the game of poker.” Lederer, Berkley, D’Amato, and Pappas will kick off the festivities on Monday, June 22nd in Pavilion 11 of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, just down the hallway from the massive Amazon Room, which is playing host to the 2009 WSOP. New advocacy tools will be rolled out, which Poker News Daily has learned includes new forms to contact Congressmen on Capitol Hill. Pappas will walk media members in attendance through the PPA’s new features at the conclusion of the event, which will also consist of a question and answer session.

Media were sent two e-mails about the event, the second of which announced the attendance of Lederer, a longtime supporter of the PPA. While many media outlets are expected to be in attendance, it is not clear whether the event is open to the general public.

Berkley is a co-sponsor of Barney Frank’s HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced on May 6th. A total of 33 other members of Congress have also stepped up to co-sponsor the bill, which establishes a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States. Frank’s HR 2266, the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, is up to 19 sponsors. HR 2266 delays the compliance date of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act’s (UIGEA) regulations by one year to December 1st, 2010.

Representatives from Poker News Daily will be in attendance at the Rio on Monday for the 11:00am press conference, which comes nearly 10 days removed from the beginning of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. The feature tournament kicks off on July 3rd with the first of four starting days and plays down to its final table on July 15th. The action will then break for 100 days, resuming on November 7th. The spectacle will play down to a winner on November 10th inside the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio and air on cable station ESPN that evening.

Poker News Daily has learned that Frank is slated to issue the “Shuffle Up and Deal” command for one of the starting days of the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Last year, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), whose Skill Game Protection Act would have exempted poker, bridge, mah jong, and other player versus player games from the Wire Act and UIGEA, issued the call in the Amazon Room.

The PPA is a one million member strong organization based in Washington, D.C. that fights for the rights of poker players, both in the live and online arenas. In 2006, the then-nascent organization stood at just 50,000 members. It took just two years for the PPA to cross the seven-figure mark.

William Hill Hosts No Surrender UK Poker Classic

iPoker Network site William Hill has teamed up with the No Surrender Charitable Trust to bring the first ever No Surrender UK Poker Classic to life. The online event will raise money for a cancer-related social network and research.

The tournament is slated for Friday, June 26th and has an expected prize pool of $30,000. Its grand prize winner will take home a one-of-a-kind VIP trip to Las Vegas, Nevada worth $10,000. Tournament organizers are gunning for 1,000 players in the online event, which will play out on the virtual felts of William Hill. A longstanding fixture in the online poker industry, William Hill is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, where it can be found under the symbol “WMH.” The UK Poker Classic comes with a price tag of $30 with $20 rebuys available for those finding themselves short on chips.

Its winner and a very lucky guest will jet set to Sin City in style aboard British Airways in the carrier’s luxurious Club World class. While in Las Vegas, the duo will call the Bellagio, a Strip casino, home for four nights. The venue is rich in poker lore, playing host to the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) end-of-season Championship event each April as well as the Bellagio Cup, Festa al Lago, and Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. It’s the equivalent of Ground Zero for the WPT tournament series and also hosts Bobby’s Room, the home of high-stakes cash games featuring poker’s biggest names.

Marc Maley of the No Surrender Charitable Trust commented in a press release distributed by William Hill, “We are always looking for new ways to raise funds and keep within the spirit of the No Surrender Trust, which ultimately is to do it having fun! Jason would have loved this event. As a city trader before he contracted pancreatic cancer, he was hugely competitive and loved synergy between the city and a game like poker.” The “Jason” in question is Jason Boas, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago at age 33. Nevertheless, he has raised over £150,000 for cancer-related causes, including research and a helpful social networking site for patients.

The tournament kicks off at 8:00pm. A total of 70% of the prize pool will be donated to the charity, while the remaining 30% will serve as the event’s purse. In addition, William Hill will add $1,000. The $10,000 travel package is good for non-blackout dates before December 1st. Travel is not permitted on Independence Day (July 3rd and 4th), Labor Day (September 7th), Columbus Day (October 12th), Veteran’s Day (November 11th), and Thanksgiving (November 26th), all major U.S. holidays when tourists flock in droves to Las Vegas.

The iPoker Network’s weekly major is the $250,000 Guaranteed, which runs on Sunday nights at 19:00 UK time. The tournament sports a $320 buy-in and satellites start as low as $3.80. On Friday, the family of sites hosts a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool event, which comes with a $109 buy-in and unlimited rebuys are available. The high-stakes contest kicks off at 20:00 UK time and qualifiers start at an affordable $1.20. Finally, Saturday night sees the running of the $50,000 Guaranteed, which has a $109 price tag. Thee freezeout starts at 18:30 UK time and satellites begin at $8.80.

Players on William Hill battle with competitors from across the iPoker Network, which also includes CD Poker, Mansion Poker, Noble Poker, Paddy Power, and Titan Poker. The Network is the third largest worldwide and the biggest that does not accept players from the United States. According to PokerScout.com, which monitors online poker room traffic, the iPoker Network features a seven day running average of 5,900 real money ring game players with a 24 hour peak that is double that amount. Its traffic is comparable with that found on PartyPoker.

Gambling Law Expert Nelson Rose Comments on Online Poker Seizure

The seizure of over $30 million in online poker payment processor funds has sent shockwaves through the industry. One of the foremost gambling law experts is Professor I. Nelson Rose of the Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California. Rose sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss the legal challenges of the seizure.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York called for the freeze of over $30 million belonging to more than 24,000 online poker players. Authorities cited the Wire Act of 1961 and Illegal Gambling Business Act as statutes that legitimized their actions, which the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) claims violated due process. Rose told Poker News Daily that a variety of states, including New York, do not have legislation outlawing internet gambling: “There is no Federal law that applies to players and half of the states don’t have laws on the books that make it a crime to place a bet. It’s a tremendous gamble on the part of the U.S. Department of Justice to go after players and even more of a gamble to go after poker players.” Much of the enforcement until this point has been directed at online sports books and their payment processors.

The PPA is engaged in a dialogue with the Southern District over the contents of the accounts that were seized from banks in California and Arizona. However, the professor questions who will ultimately have standing to challenge the Southern District’s actions: “A lot of the payment processors are making good on the money that’s owed to players, which means they haven’t been injured and wouldn’t have standing. Payment processors won’t want to show up in court in the U.S. and, even if you could find a player, would they be willing to testify under oath?” In total, several obstacles exist on both sides in order to reach a resolution.

The Obama Administration assumed office on January 20th, one day after the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) were enacted. The entire financial services industry must come into compliance by December 1st, a date that is quickly approaching. Many in the industry were surprised by the continuing attack on the internet gambling industry by an administration that was assumed to be more amiable to the cause. Rose explained, “The unusual thing is that this is the Obama Administration. This isn’t the George W. Bush Department of Justice, so it’s unusual that they’re continuing to use intimidation.”

Rose shared several other explanations that have been floating around the online poker industry as to why the seizure occurred. One theory states that the National Football League (NFL), a longtime opponent of any expansion of internet gambling, pushed the Southern District to act in retaliation for the introduction of Congressman Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (HR 2267) on May 6th. Frank also introduced the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act (HR 2266) on the same day, which would delay the regulations of the UIGEA from being enforced until December 1st, 2010.

Another possibility is that the Southern District acted in order to boost the chances of either Frank bill passing. Rose explained the reverse psychology: “When Bingo was illegal in California, police raided a retirement home to help the public understand that the law was ridiculous.” Finally, Rose speculated that the Federal Government may have acted for monetary reasons given the difficulty of finding an opposing party to appear in court. Jeff Ifrah, attorney for the payment processors in New York, told Poker News Daily that the seizure could have been timed to coincide with the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

HR 2267 is supported by major industry companies like Harrah’s and YouBet.com. The measure is up to 30 co-sponsors, including four that signed on late last week: Steve Driehaus (D-OH), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Steve Israel (D-NY), and Jared Polis (D-CO).

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest legislative news.