Poker News

Cardiff card room to open this month

EPT Berlin Poker Robbery: No New Leads, No Suspects

Although the entire incident was caught on tape and broadcasted around the world through social media outlets like Twitter and YouTube, German police still have no leads and no suspects in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin armed robbery.

According to the Berlin-based Berliner Zeitung newspaper, the suspects may have fled the scene in a swank black Mercedes. The Associated Press, a global media goliath, added that the crooks escaped through a nearby shopping mall before hopping into a getaway vehicle in a rare “Oceans 11”-like daytime casino heist. Meanwhile, as the story has gained attention around the world, the Toronto Star reported that the bandits looted EPT Berlin to the tune of $335,000. However, all prize money was ultimately paid out.

According to Bild.de, there are no new clues and no suspects in the case, which featured four gunmen assault the registration desk at EPT Berlin. No one was harmed during the incident, which marked one of the most bizarre series of events in modern tournament poker history. According to Berliner Zeitung, police in the German metropolis were busy examining every shred of evidence they could get their hands on, including footage from hotel surveillance cameras at the Grand Hyatt and a bevy of player and staff cell phone cameras.

Meanwhile, according to the same German news outlet, witnesses claimed that the gunmen threatened tournament staff with a hand grenade, although the PokerStars Blog reported that only pistols and a machete were present. Even claims of an inside job surfaced after The Local and the New York Times both reported that an accomplice inside of the Grand Hyatt might have tipped the assailants off as to the timing of the attack.

The German news media quoted a police spokesperson as saying that it was obvious from flyers and publicity material when the end of registration was and therefore an “inside job” may not be likely. The attack occurred at 2:15pm local time on Saturday as a roomful of poker players competed for a €1 million top prize in the EPT’s first visit to Berlin.

Meanwhile, Bild.de noted that a security guard who tackled one of the thieves was 6’8” tall and had a shoe size of 14. Tournament participant Frank Betsch told local media, "I could see everything very well since, at the time, I stood on the side of the room because I wanted to watch the ladies game that had just started. I have never seen such a crime scene. I heard a sound and thought, ‘That was a gunshot.’”

The Star revealed that German Police Chief Rainer Wendt chastised PokerStars, the tournament’s organizers, for not having enough security. Purportedly, its guards were unarmed and a bevy of cash was on-hand at the registration area.

A unique insight into the poker robbery came from 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, who commented in a recent blog on DoylesRoom that he’s been through five heists during his lifetime: “The guys that robbed the EPT in Berlin made a nice score. They took 800,000 Euros at gunpoint. I’ve been there and done that 5 times in my life and believe me, it’s no fun. I’ll bet everybody that was there will remember it for the rest of their lives.”

American poker player Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee took down the EPT Berlin Main Event for €1 million. Then, MacPhee appeared in interviews on CBS’ “The Early Show,” BBC, and CNN. The burglary even received face time on ESPN’s original series “Around the Horn.” Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the EPT Berlin robbery.

MiniFTOPS XV Kicks off Today on Full Tilt Poker

On Wednesday at 21:00 ET, the Mini version of the 15th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) will kick off. The schedule features 27 tournaments, culminating in a $55 No Limit Hold’em Main Event on March 21st.

The MiniFTOPS XV schedule mirrors the slate of events of FTOPS XV, but features tournaments with buy-ins that are one-tenth as pricey. The world’s second largest online poker site happily accepts customers from the United States and a flood of participants are expected. In the opening event of MiniFTOPS XIV, a parade of over 16,000 players turned out for a $22 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament. Last time out, the Main Event field numbered 15,987.

The tournament series allows low-budget online poker players to compete in a wide variety of games including Hold’em, Omaha, HORSE, Seven-Game, Stud, and Razz. The priciest buy-in is $266 for the MiniFTOPS XV Two-Day Event, while several tournaments boast entry fees of less than $15. During MiniFTOPS XIV, a $13 No Limit Hold’em Knockout event generated a massive field of 22,240 players, the only tournament in FTOPS history to pass the 20,000-entrant mark.

Like FTOPS XV, MiniFTOPS XV tournaments will feature a Full Tilt guest host. Top female pro Jennifer Harman will serve as the face of the Main Event, while 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Scott Montgomery will host the Two-Day Event. Other hosts include CardRunners instructors Taylor Caby and Andrew Wiggins, Robert Williamson III, John “The Razor” Phan, and Portugal’s Joao Barbosa, who will take to the felts in Event #1.

All told, at least $6 million will be on the line. Let’s get down to business. Here’s the schedule for MiniFTOPS XV on Full Tilt Poker:

Wednesday, March 10th at 21:00 ET
Event 1: $22 No Limit Hold'em
$350,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, March 11th at 13:00 ET
Event 2: $26 Pot Limit Omaha High/Low Knockout
$75,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, March 11th at 21:00 ET
Event 3: $55 No Limit Hold'em 3X Shootout
$35,000 Guaranteed

Friday, March 12th at 13:00 ET
Event 4: $22 No Limit Hold'em Cubed
$300,000 Guaranteed

Friday, March 12th at 21:00 ET
Event 5: $22 Limit Hold'em Six-Max
$75,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, March 13th at 13:00 ET
Event 6: $55 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max
$150,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, March 13th at 15:00 ET
Event 7: $11 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys
$350,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, March 14th at 13:00 ET
Event 8: $13 No Limit Hold'em Knockout
$250,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, March 14th at 15:00 ET
Event 9: $55 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up
$200,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, March 14th at 17:00 ET
Event 10: $33 No Limit Hold'em
$600,000 Guaranteed

Monday, March 15th at 13:00 ET
Event 11: $22 Omaha High/Low
$60,000 Guaranteed

Monday, March 15th at 21:00 ET
Event 12: $109 No Limit Hold'em
$400,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, March 16th at 13:00 ET
Event 13: $33 No Limit Hold'em 4X Shootout Six-Max
$150,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, March 16th at 21:00 ET
Event 14: $55 HORSE
$100,000 Guaranteed

Tuesday, March 16th at 21:00 ET
Event 15: $22 No Limit Hold'em Turbo
$200,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, March 17th at 13:00 ET
Event 16: $22 Seven-Game
$50,000 Guaranteed

Wednesday, March 17th at 21:00 ET
Event 17: $33 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max with Rebuys
$350,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, March 18th at 13:00 ET
Event 18: $22 No Limit Hold'em Cashout
$60,000 Guaranteed

Thursday, March 18th at 21:00 ET
Event 19: $22 Stud
$40,000 Guaranteed

Friday, March 19th at 13:00 ET
Event 20: $22 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max
$200,000 Guaranteed

Friday, March 19th at 21:00 ET
Event 21: $33 Razz
$50,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, March 20th at 13:00 ET
Event 22: $266 No Limit Hold'em Ante from the Start Six-Max Two-Day Event
$600,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, March 20th at 15:00 ET
Event 23: $11 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys
$150,000 Guaranteed

Saturday, March 20th at 21:00 ET
Event 24: $53 No Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Six-Max
$75,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, March 21st at 13:00 ET
Event 25: $26 No Limit Hold'em Knockout Six-Max
$300,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, March 21st at 15:00 ET
Event 26: $22 Pot Limit Omaha Heads-Up
$40,000 Guaranteed

Sunday, March 21st at 17:00 ET
MiniFTOPS XV Main Event: $55 No Limit Hold'em
$800,000 Guaranteed

Visit Full Tilt Poker for details.

ESPN March Poker Player Rankings Released

Tuesday, ESPN.com released the March version of "The Nuts," its ranking of the top ten poker players in the world.  The list does not simply rank the best living players, but rather aims to determine who is currently playing the best poker.  All variations of poker are considered – live and online, tournaments and cash games.  Poker News Daily's own Dan Cypra is one of the members of the voting panel, along with ESPN.com writers Gary Wise, Andrew Feldman, and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Bernard Lee, Bluff Magazine's Editor-In-Chief Lance Bradley and Senior Writer Jessica Welman, PokerNews Editor-In-Chief Matthew Parvis, and tournament reporter Don Peters, and PokerRoad's Court Harrington.

This is the fourth month for "The Nuts" and for the fourth month, the seemingly peerless Phil Ivey sits atop the rankings.  He did not have any significant live poker tournament success in February, but his cash game prowess is still second to none.  While the rankings are a measure of who is the best "right now," the panel's focus is not so narrow as to limit evaluation to just a single month.  Ivey gets credit for his outstanding results in the months leading up to the most recent vote.

Jason Mercier, one of the best players that the general poker public may have never heard of, moved up one spot to number two.  In February, the Floridian made the quarterfinals of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and placed third in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic's High-Roller event.  When he found out that he had climbed to the second spot, Mercier was excited, telling ESPN.com, "It's pretty cool [to be No. 2]. I think that I've reached as high as I can go. I don't think I have any chance of beating out Ivey."

The biggest riser among last month's top ten was Tom "durrrr" Dwan, who was number eight in February and is now number three.  Dwan doesn't have any notches in his tournament belt recently, but he has been destroying the online cash games, as he usually does.  He made $2.7 million in the month leading up to the current vote, much of it off Patrik Antonius in the Durrrr Challenge.

Speaking of Antonius, his poor cash results resulted in him dropping in the rankings from second to fifth.

New to "The Nuts" this month are Cole South and Scott Seiver.  South has been tearing up cash games to the tune of $2.5 million in profit this year, while Seiver won the L.A. Poker Classic High-Roller event and placed fourth in the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian High-Roller Bounty Shootout.

Dropping from the rankings were Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier and Jeffrey Lisandro, who were ninth and tenth, respectively, in February.

ESPN.com "The Nuts" Poker Player Rankings – March 2010

1. Phil Ivey
2. Jason Mercier
3. Tom "durrrr" Dwan
4. Daniel Negreanu
5. Patrik Antonius
6. Yevgeniy "Jovial Gent" Timoshenko
7. Daniel Alaei
8. Eric "basebaldy" Baldwin
9. Cole South
10. Scott Seiver

Florida Resident Arrested for Serving as Online Poker Payment Processor

A German national residing in Naples, Florida was arrested last month for running online gambling payment processing businesses out of his home. According to the criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 29 year-old Michael Olaf Schuett "did knowingly conduct, control, manage, supervise, direct and own an unlicensed money transmitting business."

In fact, Schuett owns hundreds of business, nine of which are tied to payment processing. Those nine are MCM Capital Management Corp, MI Global Inc., South Naples Escrow Co., Southwest Florida Payroll Co., Woodhouse Systems, Mathew’s Trade Corp., and Internet Payment Services Group Inc. Schuett would receive wire transfers from two companies – the British Bluetool Ltd. and the German International Payment Systems – and then send cashier's checks, personal checks, or wires to customers located in the United States and Canada. While the exact composition of Schuett's customer base is not exactly known, it is presumed that most, if not all, of his customers are online gamblers. 

It was the suspicion of shipping companies and bank employees that eventually led to Schuett's arrest. Examples of activities that raised red flags included:

• Schuett's shipping of over 150 FedEx parcels from his home every week. FedEx employees opened some of the packages and discovered that each contained a check.
• Unusually high volume of wire transfers going in and out of Schuett's bank accounts, all with overseas companies.
• Some bank customers who attempted to cash checks written from an MCM Capital account told bank officials, when asked, that the checks were proceeds from playing online poker.
• Schuett told employees at one bank he used, Shamrock Bank, that his new account was to assist German nationals in purchasing real estate in Florida. The account's activity was not consistent with what would normally be associated with real estate transactions.

All told, Schuett filtered millions of dollars from online gambling companies through his companies and bank accounts to customers in North America. An example of the sheer dollar volume involved can be seen with his Bank of America accounts. Since November 1st, 2007, Schuett opened approximately 40 accounts at the large national bank and transferred approximately $70 million in and out of them to about 23,000 customers.

Schuett is specifically charged with violating United States Code Title 18, Section 1960, which in part states, "whoever knowingly conducts, controls, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of an unlicensed money transmitting business, shall be fined in accordance with this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both."

He is currently being held without bond in Lee County jail. Judge Sheri Polster Chappell denied bond because she believed Schuett could be a flight risk, as his visa expires in April, he is a German citizen, and he has no employment in the United States. In addition, one of the few reasons that someone might stay in the country, a spouse, may not be significant in this case. Schuett has only been married to his wife, 28 year-old Jennifer Sherman, for one month and has only known her for nine months.

Naturally, concerns have been raised within the online poker community about what this means for players looking to receive funds from poker rooms. In the long-run, many speculate that there will be no negative effect. Other poker rooms have experienced troubles with their payment processors in the past, and while it does create payout delays in the short-term, they typically find other processors.

What could result is the notion that payment processors, which poker players imagine to be "legitimate" companies, could really just be individuals receiving money from poker rooms and mailing checks to players from their own residences.

UB.com Cancels 2010 Aruba Poker Classic

The annual UB.com Aruba Poker Classic will take a leave of absence in 2010, according to officials from the USA-facing online poker site. Instead, UB.com plans to increase its presence at other live events and expand its online tournament offering.

In 2009, Brandon "AreTheseUtz" Hall defeated a field of 475 players in the UB.com Aruba Poker Classic Main Event to collect a $753,000 first place prize. The $5,500 tournament’s prize pool swelled to well over $2 million and a throng of online poker players flocked to the Radisson Aruba Resort and Casino to partake in the annual pilgrimage. Now, the tournament will be put on the shelf for 2010.

In lieu of the annual gala in paradise, UB.com will focus its efforts on expanding its live and online tournament schedules. In the virtual world, a monthly $500,000 Guaranteed is in the works. As it stands now, UB.com and its sister site, Absolute Poker, hold a weekly $200,000 Guaranteed that regularly draws over 1,000 entrants. Last week, 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) winner Carter “ckingusc” King took down the contest and earned $48,000.

The Ultimate Bet Online Championship, or UBOC as it’s commonly referred to, will be expanded to run twice per year. It last appeared in January and featured two $1 million prize pool events, the first of which saw its purse grow to $1.5 million. When a second UBOC would occur is not yet clear. Full Tilt runs its Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) four times per year, while PokerStars’ WCOOP and Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) take place in September and May, respectively. The $500,000 guaranteed UB.com tournament may ultimately grow to become a $1 million event.

Tokwiro COO Paul Leggett commented in a press release on Wednesday, "It is with great regret that we are announcing that the Aruba event will not run this year, but 2010 is going to be an exciting year for UB and its players. Over the last year, we've been redefining the UB brand in every way. We love the Aruba Poker Classic event, but we think we can do a lot more for our players by investing in new events and rewards." Tokwiro is the parent company of UB.com and Absolute Poker. Both sites happily accept customers from the United States.

UB.com will also continue to qualify players for land-based tournaments on the World Poker Tour (WPT) as well as the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which kicks off in late May from the Rio in Las Vegas. In addition, “major WSOP incentives and additional loyalty benefits for top players” are being planned, according to the same press statement.

In 2002, Juha Helppi defeated Phil Gordon in the first ever running of the UB.com Aruba Poker Classic, which appeared as part of the WPT schedule during Season 1 in 2002. One year later, Erick Lindgren took down the $500,000 top prize in a final table that also featured Barry Shulman. During Season 3, Eric Brenes tangled with Layne Flack and came out on top for $1 million, with Mike Matusow and John Juanda also reaching the final table. In 2005, Freddy Deeb took down the Aruba Poker Classic title in the tournament’s final year as a stop on the WPT circuit.

The 2006 installment featured Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy battling heads-up against Devon Miller. The pro ultimately fell short and Miller banked $775,000. In 2007, Travis “TravestyFund” Rice emerged victorious, while Matt Brady took down the 2008 UB.com Aruba Poker Classic. Whether the tournament will reappear in 2011 remains to be seen.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this breaking story.

EPT Berlin Robbery: Kevin MacPhee Appears on Early Show

The weekend robbery of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin event has garnered headlines around the world. On Monday morning, the tournament’s champion, Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee, appeared on CBS’ “Early Show” to break down the heist.

In one of the most bizarre events ever to take place during a poker tournament, masked gunmen stormed the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin, nabbing a portion of the EPT’s prize pool. According to a Monday update issued by the Associated Press, the four thieves are still on the run and police have “no clear leads.” The perpetrators robbed the poker tournament’s registration area just after 2:00pm local time on Saturday in a midday assault and, according to the news outlet, escaped with a "low six-digit figure" of cash into a nearby mall. No one was harmed.

MacPhee told the millions of “Early Show” viewers live from Berlin, “It was one of the craziest days that I’ve ever experienced. There was a lot of panic in the room that day and then we were asked to come back and play for €1 million. It was very unusual.” Video of the robbery aired concurrently with MacPhee’s interview. A few hours later, participants returned to the tournament room and resumed their pursuit for the €1 million top prize.

MacPhee was seated at the feature table with the scuffle began and recalled, “We weren’t really sure what was going on. I just saw a wave of people headed for the back exit. There was a lot of panic and the actual TV stage started to collapse. When that started to happen, all of the players got up out of their seats to see what was happening.” The commotion began out in the hallway and players made their way to safety in the tournament room, some seeking cover under tables.

The tournament’s eventual winner knew that someone with a gun was likely to blame for the near riot: “My first instinct was just to get down on the ground. I figured that only someone with a gun in the room could cause that kind of panic. The gunmen didn’t even enter the poker room. They stayed near the tournament registration area, which was where the cash was. Thankfully, they didn’t come into the poker room and make it worse than it already was.” The Main Event drew nearly 1,000 players.

News of the rare casino heist has made waves across the world’s largest media outlets. Media outlets including the Sydney Morning Herald, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, and Toronto Star have all reported on the story, as have a variety of poker news outlets. According to The Local and reprinted in the New York Times, another assailant may be to blame: “Because the well-timed heist bore the signs of an amateur job, police told Berlin daily Berliner Zeitung that they now believe there was at least one other accomplice already inside the hotel who gave a signal to begin the raid.” Whether the accomplice worked for the Grand Hyatt Hotel remains to be seen.

Despite the financial loss, all players received their prize money and the tournament carried on to a conclusion. As for what MacPhee did to celebrate his rather eventful live win, the online poker player told “Early Show” viewers, “Sundays are our busiest day, so… I celebrated by playing more poker. I think I’ll get out in Berlin the next couple of nights and try to celebrate a little bit more.”

Check out the complete CBS News interview with Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee.

Women’s World Open Dates Confirmed

The PartyPoker.com Women's World Open IV will take place in London, England March 23 and 24 featuring 24 of the best female poker players on the planet. 

Amongst those already confirmed to take part are Team PartyPoker's Kara Scott, Betfair pro Annette Obrestad, Women's World Open III winner Aisling Collins and runner-up Wooka Kim.

Also scheduled to play are Laurence Grondin, Shelley Rubenstein, Stefanie Bergener, Maria Demetriou, Christine Klecz, Pippa Flanders and season two winner Soraya Homam.

The $3,000 buy-in will create a $72,000 prize pool for the tournament. The event's format dictates that the top two players from each of the three deep-stacked eight handed heats carry their chips through to a six-handed final table. 

"Last year Aisling proved that Britain's got talent, but the same can be said about Japan in the form of Wooka Kim," said a PartyPoker spokesperson. "Both will be strong contenders for the title this year. We've made the stacks deeper and the competition is just as fierce."

Matchroom Sport director Eddie Hearn said he's looking forward to the action.

"The PartyPoker.com Women's World Open has proved extremely popular with players, viewers and broadcasters over the last three seasons," he said. "As the game continues to grow, we have made a number of changes to our formats that enables the viewers to watch a deeper-stacked game with more skill, where players can really showcase their ability and flair." 

Commentary for the TV broadcast will be provided by Jesse May, with presenting duties shared between Kara Scott and Tatjana Pasilic. Coverage of the event will first be broadcast on Five in the UK later this year and then distributed internationally.

Women Rule the Day at Bay 101

After all, Bay 101 has seen deeper runs by women than any other venue on the World Poker Tour.

At the 2007 edition of the popular bounty event, Joanne Liu made runner-up to Ted Forrest in an attempt to become the WPT's first female champion.

Then last year, veteran pro Kathy Liebert matched the feat, finishing second to 2009 champion Steve Brecher.

Liebert's runner-up finish helped push her up and over $5.6 million in career tournament earnings, making her far and away the number one earning female poker player of all time.

Being the number one female player in the game is not exactly the reason Liebert plays the game, but it's certainly an honor she cherishes.

"Being a top poker player is more important to me than being a top female poker player," she said. "But being the top woman in poker is something I'm proud of. There are a lot of women trying to catch up to me."

One of the women chasing Liebert is two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and respected high-stakes cash game pro Jennifer Harman.

Though Harman, who currently sits fifth on the all-time female money list and made the final table at Bay 101 in 2008 finishing third, really sees herself as just one of the boys.

"I look at myself as a poker player," she explained. "I don't believe in the whole gender thing because this is a co-ed sport.

"You shouldn't get kudos for being a woman or a man, you should get kudos for being a great poker player and that's all."

International Women's Day is about celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past.

But even as women like Liu, Liebert and Harman continue to achieve in poker, it appears many men on the felt refuse to treat them as equals.

"I think some men treat women with no respect at the table and some men treat women with too much respect," said Harman. "For me, since I'm like old furniture in this business, they just treat me the same as anybody else. They don't play any differently against me because I'm a woman, but I know with some women they do."

Regardless, Harman, who booked her first major cash in a poker tournament 16 years ago, says the game is changing all the time and more women are flocking to it every day.

"When I first started, I would walk into a poker room and there would be me," she said. "Now you walk into a poker room and there are one or two women at every table.

"I think it's grown and it will continue to grow. A lot of women are still intimidated, but I know they enjoy the game and they want to do it, they just need to take that next step, because poker can be a lot of fun."

Liebert says she feels a lot of love and support from female fans of the game, many of whom she sees following her lead.

"I always have women coming up to me and telling me they are rooting for me," she said. "And they feel like if I'm a woman and I can do it they can do it to."

Action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star continues through March 12. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

Poker In Twitter: The EPT Berlin Robbery, The Oscars, and Annie Duke Wins the NHUPC

It was quite a weekend in the world of poker and some of the best in the game kept their fans up to date through their Twitter accounts. Whether across the Atlantic taking part in the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Berlin or the National Heads Up Poker Championship in Las Vegas, there was action not only on the felt, but also away from the tables.

In Berlin, a field of 945 players came to the tables for battle in the latest EPT championship, with defending champion Sandra Naujoks attempting back-to-back wins. What made worldwide news, however, was the attempted robbery on Saturday when play was down to 24 players. The reports zoomed around the globe, with accompanying footage, and the players tried to let their fans know through Twitter what was occurring.

Noted online and live player Shaun Deeb found a report from a German outlet that showed some of the attempted robbery in progress. While he wasn’t in Berlin for the event, the video Deeb found showed that security at the event was vigilant in repelling the audacious attack. “Most badass security guy taking the money back from robbers,” Deeb Tweeted along with the Tweetvid he provided of the incident.

One of the players who was in Berlin for the tournament was English poker professional Vicky Coren. At first, she apologized to her followers for a lack of an article in The Observer (the English newspaper she writes for) by tweeting, “No Observer column from me today, I was away in Berlin and nothing much happened there to write about.” Scant moments later, Coren chirped again, “- apart from the million-dollar armed raid. It only just occurred to me today that might be news. I'm such a bad journalist.”

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured and the money taken was far less than some media outlets’ estimates. The United States’ Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee went on to capture the title on Sunday, defeating Finland’s Ilari Tahkokallio for the €1 million first place prize.

While the poker world was keeping up on the happenings in Berlin, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship was in full swing throughout the weekend. The 64 player invitational tournament was the main focus of several of the poker players on Twitter and they kept their fans fully updated throughout the run of the tournament.

Playing injured for the first round of the event was last year’s runner-up in the tournament, Vanessa Rousso. What she thought was a sprained foot was much worse. “I went for x-ray just now and turns out my foot is broken, right fourth metatarsal... bummer,” “Lady Maverick” Tweeted to her followers. As of yet, Rousso hasn’t stated if the injury will affect her poker schedule.

Another player who was playing at less than 100% was the legendary Doyle Brunson. Originally, it was believed that the two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner would have to bypass the event due to recent dental surgery, but the longtime Texas road gambler felt strong enough to compete. He went on for one of the best runs he has had in the history of the tournament and was followed on Twitter by many in the poker community.

“Down to the sweet 16 in the NBC heads up tourney. Going to play Annette, I hate playing against women. Hope she doesn’t bat her eyes at me,” Brunson jokingly Tweeted prior to meeting up with the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Annette Obrestad. After vanquishing the young phenom, the Brunson clan erupted with Tweets. Son Todd, who was in attendance for the tournament, chirped, “Doyle beats Annette 15 for a third time!,” while daughter Pamela responded with, “My Dad @texdolly is final 8 in the NBC heads up! Go Dad Go!” Unfortunately, the Elite Eight was as far as “Texas Dolly” would go, falling to Dennis Phillips in that round.

The final match of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship was a dream for those who follow Twitter. On one side was Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Annie Duke, who uses Twitter constantly, versus eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel, whose Twitter account is one of the most notable in the industry. The battle over the Twitterverse started off with a jewel from Seidel about the Caesars Palace tournament room as he Tweeted, “Temps so cold in room… guessing this event is part of NBCs extended Winter Olympics coverage.”

Other players in the Twitterscape provided their thoughts to the event as it unfolded, with Alex Outhred commenting, “There are few combinations of 2 players that have a greater mutual respect for each others poker minds than @Erik_Seidel and @RealAnnieDuke.” Seidel’s Full Tilt Poker stable mate, Andy Bloch, noted in his Tweet, “Whether he finishes 1st or 2nd, @Erik_Seidel will have earned over $10M in tournament poker, the 9th player to do so.”

As the battle wore on, Bloch was able to note a way for Duke to gain an edge over the unflappable Seidel. “Annie takes a 1-0 lead over Erik Seidel. If she wants to put Erik on full tilt she should get an orange,” Bloch Tweeted in reference to Seidel’s famous battle with Johnny Chan during the 1988 WSOP Main Event. After tying up the match, Seidel would eventually fall to Duke, but he was gracious in defeat. “Ended 2nd to Annie Duke in the NBC Heads Up. She played an outstanding match. Easiest loss of my career, very happy for her,” Seidel Tweeted at the conclusion of the tournament.

Following the activities on the poker tables this weekend, many players sat back to watch the festivities surrounding the Academy Awards. With the expanded Best Picture category and a battle between Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep for the Best Actress Oscar among the intriguing stories, the television program captured poker players’ attention. Most remarkable in the opinion of poker player Maria “Maridu” Mayrinck, however, was the appearance of 47-year-old actress Demi Moore. “"Demi Moore... what a spectacle!,” Mayrinck admired via a Tweet. “She has drank from the fountain or made a pact with the devil. I want too!” High roller Patrik Antonius also weighed in on his Oscar preferences: “rough weekend overall, but at least avatar didn't win the awards that counted at the oscars.”

The world of poker through Twitter has become one of the best ways for fans to keep up with their favorites. Poker News Daily also is a part of the action on Twitter, so be sure to sign up to follow us at @pokernewsdaily.

Full Tilt Poker Series – Espana

Full Tilt Poker Series – Espana – four live tournaments with over €1 million in guaranteed prize money – excellent!

Full Tilt Poker Series, Espana kicks off in April at Casino Castell de Peralada in Gerona, Spain giving Full Tilt players the chance to pit their wits against the best poker players that Europe has to offer. The Prize Packages are worth $3,200 including buy in to the Main Event plus spending money.

Here are the fixtures for Full Tilt Poker Series – Espana:- (more…)

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Women Rule the Day at Bay 101

After all, Bay 101 has seen deeper runs by women than any other venue on the World Poker Tour.

At the 2007 edition of the popular bounty event, Joanne Liu made runner-up to Ted Forrest in an attempt to become the WPT's first female champion.

Then last year, veteran pro Kathy Liebert matched the feat, finishing second to 2009 champion Steve Brecher.

Liebert's runner-up finish helped push her up and over $5.6 million in career tournament earnings, making her far and away the number one earning female poker player of all time.

Being the number one female player in the game is not exactly the reason Liebert plays, but it's certainly an honor she cherishes.

"Being a top poker player is more important to me than being a top female poker player," she said. "But being the top woman in poker is something I'm proud of. There are a lot of women trying to catch up to me."

One of the women chasing Liebert is two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and respected high-stakes cash game pro Jennifer Harman.

Though Harman, who currently sits fifth on the all-time female money list and made the final table at Bay 101 in 2008 finishing third, really sees herself as just one of the boys.

"I look at myself as a poker player," she explained. "I don't believe in the whole gender thing because this is a co-ed sport.

"You shouldn't get kudos for being a woman or a man, you should get kudos for being a great poker player and that's all."

International Women's Day is about celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past.

But even as women like Liu, Liebert and Harman continue to achieve in poker, it appears many men on the felt refuse to treat them as equals.

"I think some men treat women with no respect at the table and some men treat women with too much respect," said Harman. "For me, since I'm like old furniture in this business, they just treat me the same as anybody else. They don't play any differently against me because I'm a woman, but I know with some women they do."

Regardless, Harman, who booked her first major cash in a poker tournament 16 years ago, says the game is changing all the time and more women are flocking to it every day.

"When I first started, I would walk into a poker room and there would be me," she said. "Now you walk into a poker room and there are one or two women at every table.

"I think it's grown and it will continue to grow. A lot of women are still intimidated, but I know they enjoy the game and they want to do it, they just need to take that next step, because poker can be a lot of fun."

Liebert says she feels a lot of love and support from female fans of the game, many of whom she sees following her lead.

"I always have women coming up to me and telling me they are rooting for me," she said. "And they feel like if I'm a woman and I can do it they can do it to."

Action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star continues through March 12. For comprehensive coverage, tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

Duke Dominates in NBC Heads-Up Win

"I'm so excited to win such a prestigious event and join the likes of Huck Seed, Chris Ferguson and Phil Hellmuth as Heads-Up Champion," said Duke, who became the first-ever woman to win the NBC Heads-Up title.

"I came into this tournament really focused and it feels great to finally break through in this event."

The road to victory at Caesars Palace was not an easy one for the UB sponsored pro. She beat 2008 runner-up Andy Bloch in the first round before getting past 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon in the round of 32.

Next up was 2007 champion Paul Wasicka who looked to have the best of Duke when she was all in with ace-ten against his pocket aces at one point. Miraculously, Duke went runner-runner to make a straight, take the lead and eventually move on.

"I would have loved all of my matches to be easy," said Duke. "I'm sure (Producer) Mori (Eskandani) is happy though, because it's going to give the show some serious drama.

"One thing's for sure, I can never complain about bad beats again after hitting that runner-runner king-queen against Paul Wasicka."

In the end, Duke beat eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel in the best-of-three final to bank the $500,000 first-place prize.

"Annie was my number one pick to win," said Seidel. "She played very tough. She had no fear. She really played the way you're supposed to play in this sort of structure."

A mother of four, Duke took some time off from her career as a professional poker player to film The Celebrity Apprentice last season.

Now she says a little time away from the game did her a world of good.

"I know what my main priority is and that's my family, so I'm never going to play as much poker as everyone else, but it's really nice to come back with a bang," she said. "I took the time off, I readjusted and now I've had some good results."

Vanessa Rousso made runner-up at the Heads-Up Championship in 2009, the deepest finish by a woman in the event before this year.

Duke said it's great to see so many female poker players rising to the top.

"I think it's great that a woman came in second last year and a woman finished first this year to really represent woman players," she said. "There are some great female poker players out there."

NBC's coverage of the 64-person event will air Sunday's at 12 p.m. ET beginning April 18 through May 23.

- With files from Matthew Showell

Full Tilt Poker Hosts PokerGives.org Charity Tournament

On April 4th, Full Tilt Poker and PokerGives.org will team up for a $5+$5 charity tournament. Half of each player’s buy-in will build the tournament’s prize pool, while the other half will be donated to charity through PokerGives.org.

World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton, Jan Fisher, Lisa Tenner, and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson founded PokerGives.org, which is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. PokerGives.org is the charity of choice for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame and offers an avenue for the poker community to give back. Beneficiary organizations include the Special Olympics, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Step by Step Foundation.

Poker players interested in entering the $5+$5 buy-in tournament should log into Full Tilt Poker, click over to the “Tournament” lobby, and then select “Private.” The event is listed in red and takes place on April 4th, about three weeks from now, and has the Tournament ID 137275439. The event’s password is “PokerNations,” which is sponsoring the charity contest along with the Twitter Poker Tour. Full Tilt Poker happily accepts action from the United States.

Johnson was already looking forward to bringing PokerGives.org to the virtual felts of Full Tilt, telling Poker News Daily, “You will be able to play and chat with many celebrities including Andy Bloch, T.J. Cloutier, Jena Delk, Jan Fisher, Susie Isaacs, Eric ‘Rizen’ Lynch, and me. To reward you for your donation, participants will have a shot at winning lots of bonus prizes, which currently have a value of more than $3,900.” The event kicks off at 2:00pm ET and promises to attract quite a crowd.

There are many prizes up for grabs, including poker sunglasses from Blue Shark Optics, a home game set from DB Dealer, a one-year subscription to Bluff Magazine, six months of poker coaching from Deuces Cracked, poker books, card protectors, a $200 gift certificate to Andrew Shirley and Company, and private coaching sessions with Johnson, Delk, PokerXFactor’s Chris “Fox” Wallace, and Michael "tuna_fish_tank" Stroh.

If that weren’t enough reason to play, entrants can also receive a one-month CardRunners Gold Subscription, Texas Hold’em strategy cards, a one-year membership to the Down to the Felt Club, a one-year subscription to Australia Poker Weekly, and a PMS PokerWear prize pack.

In order to be eligible for the barrage of bonus prizes, players should visit the PokerNations forums and post their Full Tilt user name in the tournament’s associated thread. Every player who participates will receive a one-month membership to the Down to the Felt Club, which has a retail value of $25.

This isn’t Full Tilt Poker’s first venture into the world of charity. In February, the industry’s second largest online poker site sponsored the Kandy Masquerade Charity Event at the Playboy Mansion. The gala had a price tag of $1,000 and its proceeds benefited the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The site also sent over $650,000 to the American Red Cross to benefit the victims of the massive earthquake that struck Haiti after matching $330,000 in player donations. In total, the online poker industry shipped more than $1.5 million to earthquake survivors.

In December, Full Tilt hosted the Justin Shronk Memorial Poker Tournament, which drew a crowd of 359 players to pay homage to the late poker media personality. In addition, during August’s running of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), a $120 Ante Up for Africa charity event was run. Actor Don Cheadle, who co-founded the organization along with UB.com’s Annie Duke and Norman Epstein, hosted the online poker tournament.

Visit PokerGives.org today to see how you can donate.

Poker Players Stunned by EPT Berlin Robbery

As reported yesterday, up to six armed gunmen robbed the Grand Hyatt Hotel’s casino during the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) stop at Berlin. While nobody was seriously hurt, the incident caused havoc, as the thieves made away with a portion of the EPT High-Roller tournament prize money.

PokerStars, the official sponsor of the EPT, released an update about the incident on Sunday: "Yesterday at approximately 2:15pm (local time), an armed robbery took place at the European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Berlin. Nobody was seriously injured. Four armed men were involved in the robbery, which targeted the tournament registration desk outside the tournament area.”

The poker site added, "No shots were fired and the suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened. The police investigation so far has shown that the suspects had a handgun and a machete. Contrary to tabloid reports, no Kalashnikov assault rifles or hand grenades were used. The suspects did not enter the tournament area and the money taken was substantially less than what has been reported."

After the terror on the scene settled, players were asked to continue play only a few hours later, including the 20 remaining players in the EPT Berlin Main Event. One of the competitors was American pro Kevin "ImaLuckSac" MacPhee, who commented about the incident on PocketFives.com. "I honestly thought we should have stopped play," said MacPhee, who eventually reached the final table as the chip leader of the Main Event. "It was a pretty freaky thing to have happen, especially considering the poor planning of the tournament area… no exits, lots of panic, stampeding, screaming, crying.

"The EPTLive.com people shut down because of it, but we somehow were expected to play on," MacPhee continued. "I thought it was a little unfair to put that upon the players after something like that happens, especially without any player input on how to handle the situation."

EPTLive was broadcasting the Main Event as the hotel was robbed and caught footage of the panic in the tournament area. Mickey Dinsen Peterson, a professional poker player known as "mement mori" online, was among the dozens of people in the poker room when the break-in occurred. "I sat at one of the outer tables and all of a sudden 10 people came storming into the poker room with more following all heading for the exit screaming something about robbery and bombs," explained Peterson on the TwoPlusTwo forum. "At this point, there is an absolute panic where everyone is pushing you towards the exit and even though we can't see any robbers, they could enter the room at any second for all we knew."

The robbery not only terrified those playing the EPT event in Berlin. News broke quickly across the world and players were eager to share their thoughts and prayers via Twitter and other social networks. Here’s a sample of the reaction:

Shaun Deeb: "Wow EPT Berlin got robbed by 6 armed gunman they got close to a mil in euros glad I didn't go to this one."

Bodog pro Evelyn Ng: "OMG!! ARMED ROBBERY at EPT Berlin, 6 gunmen take off with $1M in highroller buyins."

Jon "pokertrip" Friedberg: "Wish I was at EPT during the heist!!! Woulda been a great experience! Glad nobody got hurt."

Jeff "YellowSub" Williams: "Ept Berlin raided by armed robbers, hope everyone is ok."

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest updates on the robbery at EPT Berlin.

Poker News in Brief: March 1-7, 2010

Between the LAPC and WPT Invitational winners, Isildur1 getting busy online and the start of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship there was nary a dull moment for poker fans.

As usual, we’re going to list some of the poker stories you might have missed as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature.

This week we’re going to take a look at online gambling in Iowa, a WSOP all-star game, Roland de Wolfe winning a London tournament and more.

Legal Online Gambling in Iowa?

Iowa is the latest U.S. state apparently looking at legalizing online gambling.

Rep. Doug Struyk of Council Bluffs told the Quad City Times that 50,000 people in Iowa already participate in online gambling and the government could provide better protection for them if the industry was legalized and regulated.

Struyk’s proposal would regulate the practice through the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

If the proposal goes through Iowa would become the first state in the country to allow online gambling.

Tiger Woods Turns Down Paddy Poker Deal

Many of Tiger Woods major sponsors have dropped him since his sex scandal broke but at least one online poker room seems to have no problem with the golfer.

Ireland-based Paddy Power Poker reportedly offered the disgraced sports star a five-year deal worth $75 million to represent the site.

Although Woods has already turned the offer down, Paddy Power Poker has claimed it is planning on coming back with an even better offer in the future.

It’s not the first time a poker organization has offered a deal to a fallen sports star. Last summer the Asian Poker Tour invited Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps to its Macau event.

A picture of Phelps holding a bong surfaced on the internet in early 2009, which led to several sponsors dropping the multiple gold-medalist.

Check Paddy Power Poker for more.

Roland de Wolfe Wins London Open

Full Tilt pro Roland de Wolfe outlasted 110 players to win the 2010 Mansion Poker Les A London Open last week.

De Wolfe overcame a final table of mostly unknown players to win the £77,000 first place prize. The Hendon Mob’s Ross Boatman came in eighth place for £6,600.

The inaugural £2,000+£200 buy-in Mansion Poker Les A London Open ran February 23-24.

WSOP to Introduce All-Star Tournament?

It appears Harrah’s is interested in hosting some form of an all-star tournament at the 2010 WSOP.

Harrah’s released a cryptic message via the WSOP Twitter account this week that read:

“Which 20 WSOP Bracelet-Holders would you like to see compete in an All-Star game? Stay tuned…”

Last summer the WSOP held the 40th Anniversary Champions Invitational, which was open to every player that had won the Main Event. The tournament was won by 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy.

In previous years, Harrah’s held a Tournament of Champions that featured a large number of notable pros. Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and Mike Sexton were all winners of that event.

More Gold for Cake Poker Players in March

Cake Poker is giving its players two exclusive promotions during the month of March.

The first is the Cake Poker Turbo Gold Cards March Madness event that features Gold Cards dropping four times more often.

Gold Cards randomly appear in your account when you are playing ring games on Cake Poker. The cards are redeemable for cash or tournament entries depending on what card you receive.

Cake Poker will also be offering more satellites to the 2010 Irish Open, starting March 14.

"Dublin is a wonderful town and when you bring a major tournament there with the accompanying insane side action, it's hard to beat,” said Cake Poker room manager Lee Jones.

To learn more visit the Cake Poker website.

Poker Predictions for 2010 by Mike Sexton

2009 was an amazing poker year.  The first thing that jumps out at me is the continuing trend of young guys doing so well in live events.  The two biggest events of the year were won by 21 year-olds.  Yevgeniy Timoshenko captured the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship and Joe Cada won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.  They were the youngest players to ever win those events.  By now, you must recognize that internet poker has developed a tremendous crux of terrific poker players and they continue to prove themselves in the biggest live events in the world.

I carried the torch for the old guys in 2009, the highlight being my induction into the Poker Hall of Fame on November 7th.  The Poker Hall of Fame is the one area in poker that old guys have a big edge.

I am happy to point out that two well-known, experienced, high-stakes players had the best WSOP in 2009.  Three bracelets and the best all-around player award went to Jeff Lisandro and poker superstar Phil Ivey won two bracelets and made the final table of the Main Event.  You have to salute both those guys.

A real buzz was created in 2009 by the nosebleed high-stakes games online.  It's difficult to follow the swings these guys take, which amounted to millions of dollars per week.   These guys have moxy (a polite way of saying “balls”) that is hard to believe.

It's always exciting to think about what's ahead for the poker world.  Here are some things I believe will happen in 2010:

1. The young guys will continue to dominate the big events in poker.  I say that because the big events take at least four or five days to play and I believe the younger guys can handle those long, tough, consecutive sessions better than the older guys.  Generally speaking, when stamina plays a role in something, young guys fare better.

2. The direction of online poker will finally come out of the "gray area."  I believe that legislation will finally come forth in some fashion, so we'll know whether or not online poker will become regulated.  If it's not on the federal level, I believe you'll see individual states, starting with California, attempt to legislate and regulate online poker.

3. More countries around the world will individually regulate online poker like Italy and France are doing.  For those who may not know, those countries are legalizing online poker, but you can only play against players from your own country.  This is the model I believe that individual U.S. states will follow.

4. The WPT will expand its brand worldwide with more live tournaments in more countries around the world.  Party Gaming purchased the WPT, which bodes well for poker players around the world.  Players can qualify online for these events at PartyPoker.com and, hopefully, other sites as well.

5. The enforcement of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) will come to an end.

6. Here's a good thing:  Far more money will be raised through poker charity events than has been in the past.  PokerGives.org is designating September "Poker Charity Month," where numerous live casinos as well as online sites will hold charity events for PokerGives.org.  In my mind, benefiting worthwhile charities is a big plus for the entire poker industry and players, management, and casinos should all do more to support charity events.

7. Two players will win two bracelets at the 2010 WSOP and no one will win three.  I don't know who they will be, but I know who I'd bet on to do it.

8. I'm afraid that the trend will continue for women on the WPT.  They won't win a $10,000 buy-in or higher event in 2010.  There just aren't enough aggressive women in poker to favor them winning a WPT event.  Incidentally, I hope I'm wrong about this prediction.  Go ladies!

9. Two people will be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2010.  The top candidates are Erik Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Tom McEvoy.  Who do you like?

10. Championship poker events will continue to thrive and television will continue to play a major role in bringing more players into the poker world.

Best of luck to everyone in 2010!

Tiger Woods Turns Down $75 Million Paddy Power Poker Sponsorship

Recently, gossip site TMZ reported that embattled professional golfer Tiger Woods, fresh off a highly publicized marital tiff, turned down a $75 million sponsorship offer from the online sports book, casino, and poker site Paddy Power.

As its name implies, Paddy Power makes its bread and butter off the Irish poker market. TMZ explained that the multi-faceted online outlet approached the 14-time major champion with an offer it thought Woods couldn’t refuse. TMZ recounted, “Tiger Woods just blew off a $75 million endorsement offer from an Irish gambling company – and that is how you know you’re rich.” The offer was reportedly for five years, but Woods snubbed the lucrative proposition despite its long-term potential.

The news comes one day after five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman became the official celebrity endorser of the Cake Poker Network site Only Poker. Despite being dumped on the first round of negotiations, Paddy Power will apparently return to the bargaining table with another offer, according to TMZ. Paddy Power is a member of the massive iPoker Network, which is the fourth largest worldwide according to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com. The network does not accept members from the United States.

Despite not accepting action from the populated North American nation, Paddy Power Poker could have used Woods’ recognition around the world to attract customers to its site. Woods has won golf tournaments across Europe, Asia, and Australia in addition to his domination on the links in North America. He’s arguably the most recognizable name in the world of golf.

In late 2009, disaster struck for Woods. A purported past of infidelity finally caught up to the golf superstar, leading to an infamous run-in featuring his wife Elin Nordegren, a Cadillac Escalade luxury SUV, a golf club, a fire hydrant, and a tree in front of his Florida home. As news of Woods’ crash spread around the internet like wildfire, major sponsors began questioning their relationship with the 34 year-old.

Among the first Fortune 500 companies to cut bait with Woods was Accenture, followed by AT&T, Gatorade, and Gillette. According to a study released by the University of California – Davis in late December, Woods’ extracurricular activities could have cost shareholders of associated companies between $5 billion and $12 billion. The study examined businesses including Accenture, AT&T, Electronic Arts, Gillette, Nike, Gatorade, TLC Laser Eye Centers, and Golf Digest. The study added that Woods raked in $100 million annually from endorsements, “more than any other athlete.”

Woods spoke to the media in mid-February about the incident and may return to golf. The Masters, which Woods has won four times, will kick off from Augusta National Golf Course outside of Atlanta on April 6th. He last took down the high-profile tournament in 2005.

Paddy Power Poker has a bevy of promotions taking place, including Cashpoint, whose format is similar to PartyPoker’s Gladiator. Paddy Power Poker players who rack up 100 points for 10 days or more during the month of March are eligible to win cash prizes. The site will take a player’s 10 highest earning point days during the month and match $1 for every 20 points earned on the lowest day. The minimum payout is $5 and players can also qualify for a $2,000 Cashpoint freeroll.

Other sites on the massive iPoker Network include bet365, CelebPoker, Chili Poker, Mansion Poker, Noble Poker, Sun Poker, Titan Poker, and William Hill. The publicly traded company Playtech owns and operates the network. Playtech is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “PTEC.”

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest poker gossip on Woods and other celebrities.

Poker in Twitter: Palin on “The Tonight Show,” National Heads-Up Poker Championship Draw

In the world of poker, one of the best ways to keep up with your favorite players is through their Twitter feeds. These 140 character comments from the best in the game today can be sometimes shocking, sometimes hilarious, but always entertaining. Poker News Daily peruses the Twitterverse to capture the latest hijinks from all of your favorites.

Earlier this week during the taping of “Poker2Nite” for the Versus network, host Joe Sebok and recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational final table player Trishelle Cannatella apparently had quite the argument, which ended with Cannatella storming off the set of the show. Video of what occurred has not only appeared on Twitter, but also has been picked up across the internet. While some may say that the argument was staged, on Twitter both sides made it seem serious.

Cannatella popped a Tweet aimed at Sebok, saying “Such a jerk face!!” Sebok seemed to be more than apologetic when he Tweeted in reply, “omg! I'm sorry! Didn't mean it!.” Perhaps alleviating the tension was poker player Alex Outhred, who chirped to the “Poker2Nite” producers the potential reasons for Cannatella's hissy fit, “a) @joesebok called @TrishelleC Lacey... Or b) she only came bc she heard I was there in Lacey drag. She's disappointed.”

Outside of the “Poker2Nite” studios, other poker players were partaking of the return of comedian Jay Leno to “The Tonight Show.” Leno, who reappeared on the legendary late night television show on Monday, has had A-list celebrities appearing this week in an attempt to draw back his late night audience. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was the featured guest on Wednesday evening and the poker world was quick to grade her.

“Lord Jesus, I never knew watching Sarah Palin do 'comedy' on the Tonight Show could be this painful. Team CoCo 4 life, yo,” was the reaction over Twitter from “Hollywood” Dave Stann after watching the former Republican Vice Presidential nominee on the show. Brad “Yukon” Booth was also a bit dismissive of Palin when he Tweeted, “Watching Jay Leno interview Sarah Palin is like watching a scene of 'Dumb & Dumber' except it's sad not funny.”

As the weekend approached, the poker community was focused on two ongoing events. In Berlin, the European Poker Tour (EPT) was in full swing with two of the top female poker players in the game today Tweeting the proceedings. England's Vicky Coren was torturing the players at her table, Tweeting, “One guy threw his jacks away so angrily and violently I couldn't resist showing the bluff. I feel bad now. I never do that.” It seemed that Germany's Katja Thater was in a giving mood during the tournament when she Tweeted, “I am the master of doubling up the short stacks...now I look myself for a double up.” Unfortunately, neither lady was able to last into Day Three of the event, which will crown a champion this weekend.

Thursday evening brought the draw party for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which will also be contested this weekend. “Headed down to Pure for the NBC HU draw party and I'm hoping to NOT draw one of the 7 qualifiers or a woman. Record going into #6 is 7-5,” Tweeted Daniel Negreanu as he prepared for the draw. “Kid Poker's” luck wouldn't be good, as he learned he would play one of the hottest players in the game today in the first round. “Super tough match for me in Jason Mercier. I have a tough bracket Gavin (Smith), Ivey, Scotty (Nguyen), Hachem, Chan, Durr, Laak, Juanda, Sexton, deKorver,” Negreanu later Tweeted. A winner will be crowned on Sunday.

As for Tweet of the Week, two contenders battle it out. Poker Royalty super agent Brian Balsbaugh was in attendance for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship draw and pointed out a shocking bit of trivia for his followers, Tweeting, “Overheard at NBC HU draw party: I just realized if a bomb went off here, (Hustler magazine founder) Larry Flynt would be the best poker player in the world.” Anthrax's Scott Ian handed out a bit of poker wisdom over his Twitter account as he played late last night. With an accompanying Tweetpic, Ian stated, “Just took this sick beat @ultimate_bet. Did I cry? Did I bitch? Did I quit poker? Nope. It's poker. Get over it.”

Poker News Daily adds to the chirping on Twitter, so add @pokernewsdaily to keep in touch with the world of poker on Twitter.

Poker Industry Reacts to Senate Internet Gambling Legislation S 3018

Last month, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced S 3018, the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act. The measure includes language legalizing and regulating internet gambling in the United States. Now, the industry has had a chance to react.

As its name implies, S 3018 is primarily a financial bill whose mandates include abolishing the Alternative Minimum Tax and slashing the number of individual tax brackets in half from six to three. Among those keeping a watchful eye on Capitol Hill is Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan, who told Poker News Daily, “It’s encouraging to see two people in the Senate who are as serious as Wyden and Gregg, particularly Gregg, who is as respected more than anyone in the Republican caucus when it comes to the economy. To see him offer internet gambling in the bill is encouraging for what may happen down the road as Republicans take a look at paying for things.”

The legalization and taxation of internet gambling appears as Subtitle C of the bill on page 126. Wyden and Gregg’s piece of legislation borrows language from Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced last May and currently carries 66 co-sponsors. The bill is numbered HR 2267 and was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee in December. However, no markup has been scheduled.

Gregg nearly became the Secretary of Commerce for the Obama administration. According to CNN, “irresolvable conflicts” led to Gregg withdrawing his bid to join Obama’s Cabinet last month. Gregg told reporters at the time, "I realize that to withdraw at this point is really unfair in many ways, but to go forward and take this position and then find myself sitting there and not being able to do the job the way it should be done on behalf of the President, 100%, that would have been an even bigger mistake." Now, Gary Locke holds down the Secretary of Commerce position.

To Brennan, Wyden and Gregg’s inclusion of internet gambling may signal a changing of the guard of sorts in the Senate: “While it’s not necessarily a victory, it’s something that shows that there are now people every bit as serious as Congressman Frank in the financial sector in the Senate.” Wyden had previously offered a proposal to use funds derived from taxing internet gambling to pay for health care reform.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has made no official comment on the bill. In fact, there is no mention of S 3018 on the organization’s website. PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily in a prior interview that the lobbying group was still assessing the bill's merits.

Contrastingly, the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) has thrown its full support behind the measure. SSIGI spokesperson Michael Waxman commented in a press release, “With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on internet gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers and generate billions in new revenue.” Whether S 3018 will be addressed in Committee is not yet known. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, whose Chairman is Max Baucus (D-MT).

Despite several promising bills on Capitol Hill, several posters on the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo were not overly optimistic. “grdred944” explained, “Do you realize the Senate is sitting on 209 bills already passed by the House during this Congress? Overturning UIGEA and coming up with an online gaming bill is so far off the radar right now.”

Other members questioned the bill’s language, which includes a 50% tax on deposits for residents of states that opt out of the legislation. Pappas posted on TwoPlusTwo, “We have provided language to relevant staff about removing the 50% tax for opt out states. We hope that it will be part of a change to the base bill in what is called a ‘manager's amendment.’ If they do not accept it, we will seek a sponsor of a regular amendment to the bill.” Licensed operators are subject to a 2% tax on deposits under S 3018.

We’ll keep you posted right here on Poker News Daily.

Online Satellite Winner Takes WPT Invitational Title

LeRon "Dream187" Washington, a 34-year-old West Virginia boxer and part-time poker player walked away with $75,000 in cash and a seat in the $25,000 WPT World Championship coming up this April.

"It's a dream come true," he said. "I've been waiting for this day a long time."

Washington beat 1,683 players in a tournament on ClubWPT Jan. 3 to secure the last seat available in the invite-only Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles

On February 20, he joined Hollywood A-listers including Teri Hatcher, Jenny McCarthy, Hank Azaria, Jerry Ferrara, and poker pros like Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Antonio Esfandiari, Mike Matusow and Phil Laak on the first day of the Invitational.

After two days of tournament play, Washington was one of six finalists who outlasted a record-setting field of 567 players to secure his place at the televised final table. He returned to Commerce March 3 to book the win.

"I've been trying to get out there to show what I can do, but you have to earn it," he said. "ClubWPT gave me the opportunity to make it happen, and here I am. The $20 a month subscription is definitely the best investment I've ever made."

Washington was joined at the final table by Commerce Casino qualifier Steve Elliott, poker pro Thor Hansen, fellow amateur player Neev Baram, Reality TV star Trishelle Cannatella and Bellagio satellite winner Sean Urban.

"One of the great highlights of the WPT Invitational for Commerce Casino is the opportunity to reward people who love poker, but may not be full time established professionals, whether they are Hollywood stars or people who earned their way through Commerce satellites or partners like ClubWPT.com," said John Griffo, Commerce Casino Director of Poker Operations.

"We applaud LeRon for the 'fight' he showed in getting through the field of more than 500 and becoming our new WPT Invitational champion."

This year's event was also an opportunity to raise money for charity and the Invitational pulled in $109,700 for Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.

The Nightly Turbo: Dennis Rodman the Poker Player, Florida’s Online Poker Plan, and Who’s Dating Who

Being an Online Pro: Staying Healthy

One of the biggest pitfalls of being a professional online poker player is staying healthy.  Live poker players have a hard enough time, but at least they have to walk through a casino to get to the table.  Online players, on the other hand, only need a 400 square foot studio apartment to get by.

Schedule

Perhaps the best part about being a full-time online poker player is the freedom to be your own boss and keep your own hours.  Feel like waking up at three in the afternoon and playing poker until sunrise the next morning?  You can if you want.  Despite the opportunity you have to make crazy hours, however, I don’t recommend it.  Try to stick to a fairly regular schedule, including sleep.  Keeping an irregular schedule can be very hard on both the body and mind.

You can run into the same situation with online poker.  If you're up until the wee hours of the morning one day, barely play the next day, and then play during daylight hours another day, your body will have trouble acclimating.  Even if the times you like to play are when the rest of your neighborhood is asleep, try to stick to some sort of regular schedule.  No matter what it is, your body and mind will appreciate it as long as it's close to consistent, just like if you had a regular day job.  This will probably be harder for multi-table tournament players, as those can last a long time, but you should still be able to figure it out.

Scheduling includes breaks, too.  Give yourself time to get up and stretch, have a leisurely lunch, or just rest your eyes and brain for a few minutes.

Diet

Speaking of lunch, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of settling for quick, easy, unhealthy meals and snacks when you are strapped to a computer chair all day, especially in a job like poker when you are constantly "working."  Do whatever you can to try to eat at least somewhat healthy.

While there's nothing wrong with nibbling on a bag of chips sometimes, try to substitute it with something nutritious whenever possible.  Opt for the diet version of soda and, better yet, have real fruit juice or water.

Lunch is easy.  Light deli meats like turkey, chicken, and ham are good in sandwiches – use fiber rich bread and go easy on the cheese and mayonnaise.  For dinner, learn how to cook quick and healthy meals.  Not only will they usually be better for you than take-out, but it's also quite satisfying to cook for yourself.

Activity

You're not going to find a much more sedentary job than being an online poker pro.  You don't even have to get out of bed to earn a living.  Because of this, you will want to find time to partake in physical activity.  It doesn't have to be much.  A stroll around the neighborhood after your day is done will get the blood flowing.  A few push-ups and sit-ups every so often is a good idea.  When I was in college, one way I kept my upper body in shape was to put a pull-up bar in the doorway to my bedroom.  Every time I walked in or out of my room, I did a few pull-ups.

No matter what you do, try to get your body moving and get that heart pumping a little bit at least a few times per week.  Jog, play basketball, use your Wii Fit, or whatever you’d like; just do some physical activity.

Microgaming Adds GoldBet to Poker Network

The Microgaming Poker Network announced the addition of longtime sports book GoldBet on Wednesday, bringing its roster of poker rooms to almost 50. GoldBet, founded in 2000 in Innsbruck, is one of Europe's leading online bookmakers and had not had a poker offering until now.

In a press release, GoldBet Casino and Poker Manager Luigi Amadio said, "We are delighted to be entering into this new partnership with Microgaming and we have found that its Poker product offering more than lives up to its reputation as best in market. With simplicity, usability and security being key parts of our mission statement, Microgaming software delivers in every respect. CSR is also a key component of the way we operate as a business, and we were delighted to find that our values in this respect were reflected in Microgaming’s own socially responsible programmes and activities."

Online sports books are attractive partners for poker networks, as the poker players who come over from the sports betting side are typically considered "fish."  These players are frequently sports bettors first and poker players second.  With the focus of the industry quickly shifting to the recreational player, casual players who are simply experimenting with poker using sports betting winnings are very attractive to both the networks and more serious players.

As such, it should come as no surprise that Microgaming's CEO, Roger Raatgever, is excited about GoldBet.  "We are proud to welcome yet another established and respected sportsbook operator to the Microgaming Poker Network," he said.  "We are working closely with GoldBet to ensure that our product is completely tailored in order to ensure smooth integration with their existing platform. We are looking forward to playing our part in making GoldBet the complete one stop shop in gaming entertainment."

Earlier this year, Microgaming announced that it was changing its rake calculation policies to discourage ultra-tight players and the more serious grinders who are only after rakeback.  The rake calculation method switched from the "contributed" method, in which each player who puts money into the pot is credited with an equal split of the rake, to a "weighted contributed" method, where each player who puts money in the pot is credited with an amount of rake proportional to how much money he contributed.  For example, if one player put half of the money into the pot and two other players contributed one-quarter of the pot each and the rake was $1, then $0.50 would be attributed to the first player and $0.25 would be attributed to the other two.

While Microgaming used to be one of the dominant poker networks in the industry, its standing fell quickly after it stopped accepting American customers when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006.  According to PokerScout.com, the network now ranks ninth in average cash game traffic, just behind Everest Poker and just ahead of the Cake Poker Network.

World Poker Tour LA Poker Classic: LeRon Washington Wins Celebrity Invitational

Poker2Nite Debuts on Versus, Welcomes Trishelle Cannatella

On Wednesday, the UB.com sponsored poker news show “Poker2Nite” kicked off Season 2 on its new home, Versus. The series airs at 11:00pm ET and this week welcomed Absolute Poker pro and former “Real World: Las Vegas” star Trishelle Cannatella.

Season 2 featured “Poker2Nite” moving to Versus, complete with plenty of on-screen graphics during each segment. The show began with hosts Scott Huff and Joe Sebok recapping the World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational. As luck would have it, the two were seated directly next to each other in the field. Then, attention turned to the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event and High-Roller Bounty Shootout. Sebok played in the latter event, but did not make the final table.

Playing out this weekend in Las Vegas is the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, which will air on NBC. Sebok claimed that notable omissions from the field of 64 included J.C. Tran and top female poker pro Kathy Liebert, both World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners. Huff and Sebok questioned the invitations extended to Kara Scott, Phil Gordon, and past WSOP Main Event champions. The National Heads-Up Poker Championship draw party takes place tonight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

For Season 2 of “Poker2Nite,” the “Weekly Misdeal” is no more. Instead, Dana Workman hosted a segment dubbed “Girls of Poker” and welcomed Lauren Kling into the Los Angeles studios. On being one of the last women standing in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, Kling told Workman, “I don’t really care about being the last woman standing. As long as I’m the last person standing, that’s all that matters. I play to win.” Kling is dating fellow poker pro Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers and told “Poker2Nite” viewers that she does Pilates several times per week.

Sebok and Huff then interviewed Cannatella, who finished third in the WPT Celebrity Invitational. Cannatella broke down her strategy in the unique invite-only tournament: “The first day, I wanted to play pretty tight. The first day is fun anyway. Day 2 was straight playing.” 2010 marked Cannatella’s fourth appearance in the Celebrity Invitational; she had never made it past Day 1.

Cannatella became a household name after a rambunctious appearance on MTV’s “Real World: Las Vegas.” Then in her early 20s, Cannatella put herself on the map through the reality franchise and told “Poker2Nite” viewers, “I have a special place for Las Vegas because of that. I had never been west of Texas. We had a good time. There are definitely things I could have done differently, but do I regret it? No.” Huff pointed out that Cannatella has one more WPT final table than Sebok.

A new segment called “On the Clock” debuted during the Season 2 kickoff episode. In-studio guests are asked a series of rapid-fire questions and whoever answers the most number right at the end of 60 seconds during the course of the season will receive a championship trophy. Cannatella’s arsenal of questions included her favorite poker player, whether she was single or taken, her favorite city to go out in, the capital of Norway, and what eight times seven was. Cannatella answered eight questions correctly.

Finally, Workman returned for the “Online Roundup.” Show producers scoured social media outlets like Twitter as well as poker blogs and forums to bring viewers the top quotes of the week. Topics included the Celebrity Invitational and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Sebok sported a beard after being clean-shaven for the “Poker2Nite” Season 1 finale on Fox Sports Net. He’ll now ink tattoos of fellow pros Gavin Smith and Jeff Madsen after losing a last longer bet at the L.A. Poker Classic.

“Poker2Nite” airs on Wednesdays at 11:00pm ET on Versus. Check your local listings for station information.

No more “2 Months, $2 million”!

According to PokerNewsDaily (PND), the cable station G4 will not renew the reality poker show “2 Months, $2 Million”.

Jay “Krantz” Rosenkrantz told the bad news to PND. Now “Krantz”, Dani Stern, Emil Patel and Brian Roberts are wondering what they are going to do in the future.

The half-hour episodes of “2 Months, $2 Million” was broadcasted in last Autumn. The four poker players had a task to win 2 million dollars in 2 months. They eventually won only $676.000 after the show was finished.

Source: PokerNewsDaily

You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com

No more “2 Months, $2 million”!

New Poker Pair: Erick Lindgren and Erica Schoenberg

Not all the interesting news in the world of poker occurs at the tables or in the halls of government.  Sometimes, it is simply people themselves that catch our attention.  Case in point: the budding romance between Team Full Tilt member Erick Lindgren and fellow pro Erica Schoenberg.

Our friends over at PokerListings.com were the first to provide the evidence to the general poker public.  At the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, Lindgren was spotted "railing Erica as she played deep in the LAPC main event," was the first to console her after she busted out, and most notably, they were seen kissing.

Schoenberg, a model turned poker pro, had previously formed half of one of poker's power couples, as she was once engaged to recent PartyPoker Premier League IV champion and "High Stakes Poker" fixture David Benyamine.  Their relationship was one of the central themes of the September 6th, 2009 episode of G4TV's "2 Months, 2 Million," a show in which four online poker pros - Dani Stern, Jay Rosenkrantz, Brian Roberts, and Emil Patel - lived together in Las Vegas and attempted to win $2 million playing poker in two months.  Rosenkrantz, one of the founders of the poker coaching site DeucesCracked.com, had once played Benyamine online when, to his disappointment, Benyamine left for a higher stakes table.  Upset about the apparent "hit and run," Rosenkrantz berated Benyamine in the chat box, calling him a "fish."  Schoenberg then proceeded to stand by her man, calling Rosenkrantz "just a typical NL a**-clown" in her blog.

In the "2 Months, 2 Million" episode, Rosenkrantz saw Schoenberg at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Pool and reached out to mend fences.  The two let bygones be bygones and Schoenberg set up a time for the two men to play heads-up online.  Benyamine ended up winning $60,000 from Rosenkrantz.

The details behind the Schoenberg/Benyamine break-up are not known, but their relationship was rumored to have ended in October.

Schoenberg's new companion is no step down at the poker tables.  Lindgren has won two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles and was named WPT Player of the Year in 2004.  In 2008, he finally earned his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, capping a fantastic WSOP in which he made three final tables, cashed five times, and was named 2008 Player of the Year.  On the live tournament circuit, Lindgren ranks 22nd on the all-time money list.

Schoenberg, while perhaps best known for being one of the most attractive poker players in the industry, is no slouch on the felts, either.  Even though she is relatively new to the game, she has three six-figure tournament cashes.  The first was for a 16th place at the 2006 $25,000 WPT Championship ($117,165) followed by a victory in the $2,500 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2007 Mandalay Bay Poker Championship ($105,875).  Her largest cash to date is $261,646, earned by placing third in a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2007 WSOP.

Poker In Twitter: Winter Olympics Wrapup, WPT LAPC, and a New Hostess For Poker2Nite

With the advent of the world of Twitter, people can fill you in on their lives in quick, 140-character bursts. Poker’s royalty have taken to the medium to inform their fans of their latest activities as well as their views on different issues. Poker News Daily continually tracks these Tweets to let you know what the latest buzz is in the poker community.

Last weekend, poker players were torn between performing their jobs on the felt and following the end of the Winter Olympics. Of particular interest to many was the gold medal hockey game between the favored Canadian national team and the upstart Team USA. A week prior to the game Sunday, the Americans had surprised the Canadians by defeating them 5-3 in pool play and the gold medal match – which was also the last medal awarded at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver – was a chance at redemption for the boys from the Great White North.

As the game began on Sunday, poker players announced their allegiances across the Twitterverse. Unlike many who watched the gold medal game on television, poker player Terrence Chan was one of the fortunate who saw the game live at Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver. “Sec 120 row 4 seat 106. Ten feet from (Canadian goalie Roberto) Luongo,” Chan Tweeted prior to the start of action, drawing a reaction of, “So jealous you’re there,” from fellow pro Shaun Deeb. Lining up on the Americans’ side were poker players such as Deeb, Eric Mizrachi, and Joe Sebok, while the Canadians held a rooting section that included Chan, Brad “Yukon” Booth, and Isabelle Mercier.

As the game played out, Tweets flew nearly as fast as the pucks and Canada moved out to a 2-0 lead. Playing in the L.A. Poker Classic at the time, UB.com pro Annie Duke took the time to jokingly Tweet, “LOL! I'm a little surprised team USA can't find a goalie fat enough to block the entire net.” The Americans grinded their way back and, with less than 30 seconds to go in the game, tied the score at 2-2. Even L.A. Poker Classic tournament director Matt Savage was sidetracked by the gold medal game as he Tweeted, “Tournament room @LAPokerClassic went crazy when USA tied the game 2-2. @RealKidPoker (Daniel Negreanu) not happy!”

As the sudden death overtime period played out, many of the top names in poker were on pins and needles as the game continued. “High Stakes Poker” hostess Kara Scott alluded to this when she Tweeted, “Ugh, so tense with the Hockey. Come on CANADA.” After Canada’s Sidney Crosby slipped the game winner past Team USA’s Ryan Miller almost eight minutes into overtime, the victorious Canadian poker players/fans had much to say. “Yaaaaaaaaa!!!! What a game. Canada continues to reign supreme on the ice. Oh that was so awesome!,” Daniel Negreanu fired out over the Twitterscape after the win. “Poker2Nite” host Scott Huff was less than impressed when he Tweeted, “Oh come on. Canada celebrating winning the gold in hockey is like me celebrating paying my bills on time.”

Poker’s best also found some time to play in the L.A. Poker Classic while the Winter Olympics were wrapping up. Duke, who played deep into the WPT championship tournament, noted in her Tweet, “HowardHLederer just got drawn to my table. Luckily he's on my right lol.” Adam “Roothlus” Levy admired the chip stacking skills of Full Tilt’s Carlos Mortensen in his Tweet and accented it with a picture, saying, “Carlos Mortensen's stack. He should be an architect. Such vision.”

Negreanu lamented his table on Sunday when he Tweeted, “Brutal seat @lapokerclassic Steve Sung on my right Carlos Mortensen on my left, and to his left the guy who crushed me yesterday.” The table must have been difficult, as soon after “Kid Poker” came back and Tweeted, “Very disappointed on how I played the last hand. Going to cool off by chilling in LA for a bit. Weather is awesome. Should have shoved!” The pros didn’t do badly during the LAPC WPT Main Event, with Negreanu cashing in 66th place, Duke dropping out in 19th place, and Sung and Mortensen falling short of the WPT final table in eighth and ninth place, respectively.

On the lighter side of Twitter, players Lacey Jones and Alex Outhred bantered about Outhred potentially having to sit in for Jones on “Poker2Nite.” With Jones facing flight delays in Canada and potentially missing the taping of the popular poker show, Outhred volunteered to take her place. “@Poker2Nite get me a wig, razor, man-spanx, and make-up. I think I could double for @LaceyJones,” Alex Tweeted to the producers. Lacey was quick to fire back, “@alexpokerguy Ur a life saver. But don't forget to stuff your bra! Haha.”

Twitter continues to provide entertainment for millions around the world and the poker community just makes it better. Poker News Daily follows poker in Twitter and adds to the enjoyment itself. Be sure to follow @pokernewsdaily on your Twitter account for all the latest news and information from the world of poker.

Poker as an Olympic Sport

The International Federation of Poker will be accepted into the International Mind Sports Association in April.  This means that poker will join a list of games including Chess, Bridge, and Go as an official game of skill, according to Bluff Magazine Europe.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), meaning poker will be considered an official game of skill for the Olympics

This development may not mean that we’ll be seeing poker in the Olympics in the near future, but it is certainly a first step in the right direction.  Acceptance into the IMSA and recognition from the IOC gives poker another strong argument in court.  The nature of online gambling might be in question, but courts have been pretty lenient in allowing games of skill.  Will this IOC distinction assist in the efforts to legalize online poker in the United States?

“I am encouraged that the IOC has recognized what we poker players have always known. Poker is an honorable game of skill,” commented Rich Muny, a board member for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). “Many states have already legally codified recognition of the fact that competitions based on skill are different from wagering on dice or other events based on chance. I believe this decision will encourage more states to recognize this distinction legally.”

Anthony Holden, author of such poker books as “Big Deal” and “Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom,” is the current head of the International Federation of Poker.  He told Bluff Europe, “Poker is not like other casino games.  It’s a social game where people are playing against each other, not the house, and a game where skill plays a bigger role than luck.  There are 120 to 150 million poker players in the world and we deserve this recognition.”

Poker is the only card game to be accepted by the IMSA besides Bridge. This organization is a non-profit association and has over 400 national entities and close to 100 million players within its jurisdiction.  As listed on the IMSA website, current headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and Paris, France.

The IMSA held its first “IMSA Cup” competition back in 2008 in Russia.  The final day of that event was dedicated to friendly matches between masters of mind games and honorary guests of the competition, mainly diplomats.

Given that mind games are recognized as games of skill by the IOC, could poker ever make it into the Olympics?  While that remains to be seen, many poker sites including PokerStars have competitions like the World Cup of Poker, which matches players from various countries against each other.

Team PokerStars USA includes players such as Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, Greg Raymer, Joe Cada, Barry Greenstein, Chad Brown, Gavin Griffin, Dennis Phillips, Tom McEvoy, Hevad Khan, Victor Ramdin, and Jason Mercier.  Popular online player Randy “nanonoko” Lew also hails from the United States.  Full Tilt Pros hailing from the United States include Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Mike Matusow, and Allen Cunningham.  Full Tilt Poker also boasts a well known online prodigy of its own in Tom “durrrr” Dwan.

While we know the United States would field a dream team of poker players, there are plenty of other countries that would challenge for the gold medal.  Canada, which just hosted the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, would have Daniel Negreanu along with players like Darus Suharto and Wade Ackerman leading the charge.  The United Kingdom would have players like Vicky Coren, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Roland De Wolfe, and James Akenhead at the helm.  Australia would have Joe and Tony Hachem, Grant Levy, Eric Assadourian, as well as Billy “The Croc” Argyros representing their homeland.

The IOC has outlined that a game or sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents in order to be recognized.  Although we can all agree that poker is not a traditional sport that requires physical skill and toughness like pole vaulting and Greco-Roman wrestling, there might be a place for games of skill at the Olympics.   Is it really out of the question to think of a “total package” decathlon that would combine physical and mental sports?

Think about a physical and mental event where participants would have to do their best in running, swimming, jumping, throwing, and then competing in mental games such as chess, poker, and bridge.  It’s not too far-fetched to pitch that idea to an Olympic committee or get it aired on the likes of ESPN2 with a celebrity cast.

While we dream of Raymer competing against former Navy SEAL Dan Blizerian in a swimming race before heading to a poker tournament, having poker accepted as an official game of skill by the IMSA and the IOC is already a huge step in the right direction for the industry.