Poker News

United Kingdom Poker Tax Laws Changing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Carruthers Gets 33 Months Jail Time in BetOnSports Case

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event Payouts, Nationalities Announced

Although attendance at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) out-paced last year’s tally by 13.5%, this year’s champion will earn a whopping $800,000 less. In 2009, Canadian poker player Poorya Nazari earned $3 million after defeating American Anthony Gregg heads-up.

Gregg took home $1.7 million, while Benjamin Spindler boosted his bankroll by $1.1 million for third place. Nazari, Gregg, and Spindler were the only three players to cross the seven-figure threshold. This year, the top four finishers in the PCA Main Event will earn at least $1 million, with first place taking home $2.2 million, second place earning $1.75 million, third place grabbing $1.35 million, and fourth place realizing an even $1 million.

In 2010, the top 199 players out of the 1,347-player field, or 14.8%, finished in the money. This time around, 224 out of 1,529 players will take home a cash prize, or a similar 14.7%. The top four players will bank $6.3 million, or 42.6% of the total prize pool of $14.8 million this year. During the 2009 PCA Main Event, the top four earned $6.55 million, or nearly 52% of the prize pool. This year, the more even structure means that the top prize will shrink by 26.7% despite the larger turnout.

Here’s a look at what’s at stake in the 2010 PCA Main Event:

1st Place: $2,200,000
2nd Place: $1,750,000
3rd Place: $1,350,000
4th Place: $1,000,000
5th Place: $700,000
6th Place: $450,000
7th Place: $300,000
8th Place: $201,300
9th to 10th Places: $150,000
11th to 12th Places: $130,000
13th to 14th Places: $115,000
15th to 16th Places: $100,000
17th to 20th Places: $87,500
21st to 24th Places: $75,000
25th to 32nd Places: $66,000
33rd to 40th Places: $59,000
41st to 48th Places: $52,000
49th to 56th Places: $45,000
57th to 64th Places: $38,000
65th to 72nd Places: $33,000
73rd to 80th Places: $28,000
81st to 88th Places: $23,500
89th to 96th Places: $23,500
97th to 104th Places: $23,500
105th to 112th Places: $23,500
113th to 120th Places: $20,000
121st to 128th Places: $20,000
129th to 136th Places: $20,000
137th to 144th Places: $20,000
145th to 152nd Places: $17,500
153rd to 160th Places: $17,500
161st to 168th Places: $17,500
169th to 176th Places: $17,500
177th to 184th Places: $15,000
185th to 192nd Places: $15,000
193rd to 200th Places: $15,000
201st to 208th Places: $15,000
209th to 216th Places: $15,000
217th to 224th Places: $15,000

Also revealed by PokerStars officials were the nationalities of the 1,529 entrants, who hailed from 57 countries around the world. A total of 739 players hailed from the United States, or 48%, with Canada being the next most represented country at 164. Other nations that sent players to compete in the 2010 PCA Main Event included Germany (100 players), the Netherlands (60), United Kingdom (56), France (44), Brazil (37), Spain (27), Sweden (27), Argentina (21), and Italy (21).

Although six entrants were from unknown lands, curiously absent from the list of countries represented was the Bahamas, the host nation of the annual PCA, which pans out at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in Nassau. Nearby countries represented in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament included the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and Bermuda.

The PCA Main Event field numbered 62 when it entered Day 4 play on Saturday, with the action continuing until 24 players remained. As of 6:45pm ET, online poker pro Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo led the way with a stack of six million chips, comfortably ahead of European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie’s 4.6 million.

Kevin Saul, Amnon Filippi Among PCA Day 1A Leaders

Day 1A of the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) played out on Tuesday, with 668 players taking to the felts inside the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. Wayne Bentley, a PokerStars qualifier from Britain, leads the way with 329,500 chips.

Bentley nearly amassed 11 times the starting stack of 30,000 in the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament after eight levels of play. He held pocket aces and eliminated a player with pocket kings within the first few minutes of Day 1A, doubling his stack to 60,000, and he never looked back. Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu issued the traditional “Shuffle up and deal” command moments earlier. At the end of Day 1A, 430 players remained in the hunt.

Bentley sits comfortably in front of the second place stack of Amnon Filippi, who held a pile of 220,100 chips at the end of Day 1A. The accomplished poker pro was nearly 50,000 chips ahead of online poker pro Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, the winner of the 2007 installment of the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Bellagio Cup for $1.3 million. Last year, Saul finished eighth in the PCA Main Event for $234,000, outlasting all but seven of the 1,347 players who entered.

Team PokerStars Sports Stars will be out in full force on Wednesday for Day 1B, as German tennis legend Boris Becker, Swedish NHL star Mats Sundin, Dutch hockey pro Fatima De Melo, baseball commentator Orel Hershiser, and U.K. football legend Teddy Sheringham will all take to the felts. Also entering on Day 1B is Mike Kosowski, the winner of Season 1 of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge.” Kosowski earned $1 million after defeating Negreanu heads-up in the finale of the poker game show last month.

2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Eric Buchman sits in sixth place after Day 1A with 159,100 chips. The PokerStars sponsored player finished fourth in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament in Las Vegas in November, adding $2.5 million to his net worth. The event was ultimately won by Joe Cada, who will take to the felts for Day 1B today. Joining him will be pros like Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, Humberto Brenes, and Victor Ramdin. Also playing is rapper Nelly, who has become somewhat of a staple on the poker circuit in recent months.

Here were the top ten chip stacks in the Bahamas after the smoke had cleared on Day 1A of the 2010 PCA Main Event:

1. Wayne Bentley - 329,500
2. Amnon Filippi - 220,100
3. Kevin Saul - 175,500
4. Eric Froehlich - 166,000
5. Dustin Dorrance-Bowman - 163,700
6. Eric Buchman - 159,100
7. Garðar Geir Hauksson - 138,900
8. Jacob Avital - 137,700
9. Christian Schwarz - 133,200
10. Rafal Michalowski - 129,300

The PCA is a stop on both the European Poker Tour (EPT) and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) and, as such, has attracted a global field. Still remaining after Day 1A are players from the United States, United Kingdom, Iceland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, Russia, Finland, Argentina, France, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, Romania, Australia, Slovenia, Greece, Costa Rica, Austria, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Curiously absent is a representative from the host nation, the Bahamas.

Last year’s champion, Poorya Nazari, hails from Canada and nearly tripled his stack on Day 1A. Notable players who survived the first starting day, along with their chip counts, include:

Dennis Phillips – 113,000
Dario Minieri – 109,800
Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar – 106,400
Poorya Nazari – 89,300
Barry Greenstein – 89,200
Jeff Madsen – 79,400
John Duthie – 60,100
Marcel Luske – 55,600
Gavin Smith – 54,000
Jean-Robert Bellande – 53,900
Kevin Schaffel – 53,200
Bernard Lee – 46,800
Amit “amak316” Makhija – 42,000
Steven Paul-Ambrose – 37,900
“Miami” John Cernuto – 36,500
Chris “moorman1” Moorman – 34,700
Ivan Demidov – 27,600
Tom McEvoy – 19,900
Huck Seed – 16,000
Jeff “yellowsub” Williams – 13,100

Play wrapped up in Level 8, when blinds were 400-800 with a 100-chip ante. Day 1B will encompass the same eight levels before the field merges for Day 2 on Thursday.

Titan Poker to Award 2010 WSOP Main Event Seats in World Challenge

It may be over six months away, but Titan Poker is getting players warmed up to battle for their chance to participate in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

In one of its biggest promotions ever, Titan Poker is offering the World Challenge 2010. The promotion is a series of tournaments broken down into 12 different regions of the world that will eventually award five players a $13,000 package to play in the 2010 WSOP Main Event. Only a certain number of qualifiers from each region will be eligible to participate in the final round of tournaments, where the five seats to the 2010 WSOP Main Event will be doled out.

With its start on Monday, Titan Poker is giving players the opportunity to “Represent Your Country and Challenge the World.” The second tournament of First Round qualification will be on January 10th, with the remainder of the First Round events held each week afterwards. The 12 regions are broken down as such and remember, Titan Poker does not accept players from the United States:

Americas: 10 qualifiers
Australia and New Zealand: 10 qualifiers
France: 25 qualifiers
Germany: 25 qualifiers
Italy: 25 qualifiers
Netherlands and Belgium: 10 qualifiers
Open Qualifiers: 10 qualifiers
Romania: 10 qualifiers
Russia: 20 qualifiers
Scandinavia: 20 qualifiers
Spain: 20 qualifiers
United Kingdom: 20 qualifiers

A series of 10 tournaments for each of the 12 regions, with a buy in of $5+$.50, will be held until March 7th for players to battle their way to the top of the regional leaderboards. Each tournament offers points for participation and finishing at the final table. The Second Round series of eight tournaments, with a buy in of $10+$1, begins on March 14th and lasts until May 2nd. The points for that segment of the series will be worth double the First Round set of tournaments.

After the completion of the Second Round series of tournaments, the regional leaderboards will be completed and the top players will be confirmed. The 200 qualifiers from the 12 regions will then embark on a set of eight tournaments from May 16th to May 30th, called the Final Round and with a buy in of $15+$1.50. Points once again will be awarded for participation and finishing at the final table. The top five finishers in points in the Final Round, regardless of regional affiliation, will earn their 2010 WSOP Main Event package.

The Titan Poker World Challenge 2010 kicked off yesterday, with over 400 players competing. Titan Poker is keeping close track of the action, with complete leaderboards for each region on the Titan Poker website and weekly newsletters sent to each Titan Poker member. While there has been a tournament completed in the First Round, there is still time for players to get in on the action without being too far behind.

The Titan Poker World Challenge 2010 is going to be the largest promotion on Titan Poker in the first half of 2010 and should draw some of the best competition from around the world. With the chance to be in Las Vegas for the 2010 WSOP Main Event for five skillful players, there should be tremendous action on the virtual tables at Titan Poker.

PokerStars Launches UKIPT in Galway as 259 Players See Action in the Inaugural Event

PokerStars UKIPT Kicks Off

The four-day tournament, running until Dec. 14, drew players from 22 countries, including 104 online qualifiers.

“Given it's the first event of a brand new tour, it is really exciting that so many players have qualified for the event and from so many countries,” said newly named UKIPT host and veteran European Poker Tour commentator Nick Wealthall.

“As the tour becomes established and builds its reputation, we look forward to welcoming more and more new players to big time live poker.”

Team PokerStars Pros John Duthie, J.P. Kelly, and Jude Ainsworth joined a field that included 147 players from Ireland and a total of 52 from the United Kingdom.

The group is vying for a piece of a €471,400 prize pool, including €125k for first.

Galway is the first of eight stops on the newly launched UKIPT. The tour will also visit Manchester, Nottingham, Killarney, Brighton, a city yet to be named in Scotland, Dublin and London, where the PokerStars EPT London main event will act as the Grand Final next October.

More on the tour can be found on the UKIPT website.

The PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) kicked off in Galway, Ireland Friday, drawing 259 players for its €2,000 Main Event.

The four-day tournament, running until Dec. 14, drew players from 22 countries, including 104 online qualifiers.

“Given it's the first event of a brand new tour, it is really exciting that so many players have qualified for the event and from so many countries,” said newly named UKIPT host and veteran European Poker Tour commentator Nick Wealthall.

“As the tour becomes established and builds its reputation, we look forward to welcoming more and more new players to big time live poker.”

Team PokerStars Pros John Duthie, J.P. Kelly, and Jude Ainsworth joined a field that included 147 players from Ireland and a total of 52 from the United Kingdom.

The group is vying for a piece of a €471,400 prize pool, including €125k for first.

Galway is the first of eight stops on the newly launched UKIPT. The tour will also visit Manchester, Nottingham, Killarney, Brighton, a city yet to be named in Scotland, Dublin and London, where the PokerStars EPT London main event will act as the Grand Final next October.

PokerStars Announces UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT)

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, has introduced the UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT). A total of nine events will play out beginning in Galway on December 11th.

The first UK-based event will be held in Manchester on February 11th at the Grosvenor G Casino. The Galway event, which serves as the kickoff tournament of the inaugural UKIPT series, will be part of the Irish Poker Championships. Players will descend upon the Radisson Hotel for the €2,000 buy-in event and the tournament crowns a champion on December 14th. In 2009, The Irish Poker Championship was brought to you by PartyPoker and saw 24 year-old Rory Rees Brennan bank €160,000 for the win in its Main Event. Seven out of the top ten finishers were Irish.

Team PokerStars Pro member Vicky Coren, a Brit, discussed the newest poker tour in a press release distributed this week: “This is an incredibly exciting addition to the range of PokerStars live events. Here is our own local British and Irish tour, nicely accessible for those who can’t travel abroad very often or who save their foreign travel for larger international events.” Champions of UKIPT events will take home an entry into the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) London Main Event next October. PokerStars officials noted that EPT London will also serve as the UKIPT Championship Event.

Here is the schedule for the first-ever running of the UKIPT:

UKIPT Galway (Ireland): December 11th to 14th
Radisson Hotel
€2,000 buy-in (9% juice)

UKIPT Manchester (United Kingdom): February 11th to 14th
Grosvenor G Casino
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Coventry (United Kingdom): April 8th to 11th
Grosvenor G Casino
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Nottingham (United Kingdom): May 13th to 16th
Dusk Till Dawn
£500+50 buy-in

UKIPT Killarney (Ireland): June 24th to 27th
Gleneagles
€1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Brighton (United Kingdom): July 15th to 18th
Rendezvous
£1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Scotland: TBA
Venue is TBA
£1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT Dublin (Ireland): September 9th to 12th
Burlington Hotel
€1,000+100 buy-in

UKIPT London (United Kingdom): October 1st to 10th
Hilton Metropole
£5,000+250 buy-in

UKIPT tournaments are expected to attract some of the top names in the poker industry, including PokerStars sponsored pros Coren and Teddy Sheringham. The former added that the presence of the UKIPT in Northern Europe will continue to grow the game: “The buy-ins are great: big enough to make chunky prize pools, not so big that they’re a huge drain on resources. It’s about time there was a serious, respected tournament with a £500 buy-in, like the new ones in Manchester, Coventry, and Nottingham.”

Ireland has laid claim to a crop of accomplished poker players, including Andy Black, who finished fifth in the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $1.75 million, a tournament ultimately won by Joe Hachem. Black finished seventh in the 2007 EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final for nearly $320,000 and won an event during the PartyPoker Premier League in London in early 2008 for $250,000. Other top-tier Irish players include Liam Flood, bracelet winner Noel Furlong, Ciarán O’Leary, Marty Smyth, and Padraig Parkinson.

PokerStars also sponsors the EPT, Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), and Italian Poker Tour (IPT). Its marquee land-based event is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which takes place each January at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. In 2010, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is a stop on the LAPT and EPT circuits.

PokerStars will host a £10,000 freeroll for the top 100 players on the UKIPT leaderboard at the end of its first season. The top three players will also receive sponsorship opportunities to play in the second UKIPT season. Visit PokerStars for satellite information.

Poker News in Brief: Oct. 19-25, 2009

This week, Kentucky's attempt to seize 141 online gaming domain names went to the State's Supreme Court, Full Tilt took Kentucky to court in the UK, Zynga's popular Facebook poker found a competitor and the Scandinavian poker world continued to square off on Titan Poker.

Supreme Court hears online gaming domain name seizure appeal

Kentucky's Supreme Court heard arguments this week in the State's appeal of a decision by the Kentucky Court of Appeals blocking the seizure of 141 domain names belonging to online gambling sites.

In a 2-to-1 decision, the Appeals Court rejected Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's claim that Kentucky players and the Internet gambling sites were acting in violation of state law. The decision held that a lower court had wrongly applied the state's "gambling devices" statute to justify the seizure of the domain names.

Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association attorney Jon L. Fleischaker, along with attorneys representing Sportsbook.com and the Interactive Gaming Council, asked the Supreme Court to uphold the decision, calling Gov. Beshear's efforts "intellectually dishonest."

"They made up a process that is totally lacking in due process," Fleischaker said.

A decision is not expected before the end of the year.

The Scandinavian Titan Championship

Titan Poker continues to gear up for the 2009 Scandinavian Titan Championship final set for December.

The Championship is a league that runs exclusively for Titan Poker players from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland including weekly battles leading up to the finals in December.

The winner of each weekly tournament receives a seat in the Dec. 20 final featuring a $2,500 guaranteed prize.

Twelve players have already qualified for the final and Sweden leads the overall standings.

For more information check out Titan's Scandinavian Titan Championship page.

((Full Tilt Poker)) defeats Kentucky in UK court

In a case directly related to the Kentucky Supreme Court online gaming domain name seizure appeal, Full Tilt poker has defeated the State of Kentucky.

Despite the Kentucky Court of Appeals decision blocking the seizure of 141 domain names belonging to online gambling sites, Full Tilt took Kentucky to court in the United Kingdom, claiming the State did not have the jurisdiction to block its domain.

This week, the UK High Court issued a judgment in favor of the site, claiming Kentucky cannot enforce its seizure order against the Full Tilt Poker domain names throughout the UK.

Play poker for prizes on Facebook

Zynga's Texas Hold'em Facebook application, one of the most popular games on the social networking site with more than 15 million monthly users, now has a little competition.

Poker 4 Prizes is a brand new Facebook poker application with a twist.

Instead of players competing merely for points, Poker 4 Prizes players can exchange the points for real prizes, ranging from Apple IPods to GPS systems and even an all-expenses paid cruise.

The application is also running a number of promotions including giving away a flash drive to players who submit screenshots of certain poker hands and IPod Shuffles to anyone spotted playing 3 days in a row.

For more information check out the Facebook application page.

The World Series of Poker November Nine: James Akenhead

Aaron Gustavson Defeats Peter Eastgate in EPT London

As the great wrestler Ric Flair said, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!” In this week’s finale of the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London stop, Aaron Gustavson did just that, besting reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate heads-up.

Gustavson, an American who qualified for the event through the popular online poker room PokerStars, took home £850,000 for his efforts. All was not lost for Eastgate, however, as the Dane and member of Team PokerStars Pro earned a £530,000 consolation prize. The two emerged as the survivors of the largest poker tournament ever held in the United Kingdom, weighing in at 730 runners. Gustavson was one of 149 players, or 20% of the field, who qualified online through PokerStars.

In a press release distributed by EPT officials following Gustavson’s monumental win, the champion noted, “I’m speechless, totally overwhelmed. I don’t think it’s going to hit me for a quite a while. Having this title is amazing – a dream come true.” Gustavson’s battle against Eastgate was anything but prolonged, as the defeat took all of seven hands and 15 minutes to deliver. In the final hand, Gustavson’s A-Q held up against Eatsgate’s A-9 when the board ran out 3-5-6-K-J. Eastgate commented, “It’s been an amazing ride. I made it to second place, which is far more than you hope for going into a final table. Big applause for Aaron – he deserved it. I’m pleased I made it to heads-up.”

Nikolai Senninger hit the skids in third place after calling all-in for his tournament life against Gustavson on a board of 3-7-Q-9 with two hearts. Senniger showed pocket eights, while Gustavson flipped up Q-10 for top pair. The river came a 10, improving Gustavson to two pair and eliminating Senniger in third place, £285,000 richer for his wear. Taking fourth was Martin Gudvangen, who fell by the wayside with A-3 against Senniger’s A-Q. The best hand held and Gudvangen walked away from the EPT London Main Event with £227,000 in tow.

Dominic Cullen was sent packing in fifth place, earning £173,000. Cullen pushed pre-flop holding A-10, but ran into Gustavson’s pocket eights. The two were off to the races, with an eight spiking the flop to propel Gustavson to the win in the hand. Cullen edged out Rui Milhomens, who took sixth place for £124,000. Milhomens found himself all-in holding pocket eights against Eastgate’s A-10. This time, a 10 hit the river to send the player with the wired pair to the rails.

Gustavson sent Raymond Wu into the London night in seventh place for £87,000, a healthy return on his £5,000 buy-in. A short-stacked Wu pushed with Q-10, but Gustavson made the call from the big blind for a discount with K-6. The flop came king-high, keeping Gustavson in the lead in the hand for good. Karim Benanni finished in eighth place after running K-3 into Milhomens’ K-10.

The final table was played eight-handed and appeared live on PokerStars.tv from the Hilton Metropole. Here were the final results from the 2009 EPT London Main Event:

1. Aaron Gustavson (United States) - 850,000
2. Peter Eastgate (Denmark) - 530,000
3. Nikolai Senninger (Germany) - 285,000
4. Martin Gudvangen (Norway) - 227,000
5. Dominic Cullen (United Kingdom) - 173,000
6. Rui Milhomens (Portugal) - 124,000
7. Raymond Wu (Taipei) - 87,000
8. Karim Bennani Smires (France/Morocco) - 50,100

Next up for the EPT is Warsaw. The event takes place from October 20th to 25th at Casinos Poland and boasts a 25,000 PLN buy-in, the equivalent of $8,700 at current exchange rates. Last year, Portuguese poker player Joao Barbosa celebrated his 26th birthday in style by winning the EPT Warsaw event.

Matt Glantz Wins PokerStars EPT London High Roller Event

American Matt Glantz emerged victorious in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London High Roller event, banking £542,000. Glantz bested Erik Cajelais in a tournament that attracted 75 runners.

Cajelais entered the final table as a commanding chip leader, owning a stack of 893,000, well out in front of Glantz, who came armed with 647,500. Glantz had a wealth of experience, however, finishing fourth in the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship during the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $568,000. That final table, of course, featured Scotty Nguyen, a 2009 Poker Hall of Fame finalist, emerging victorious while allegedly inebriated. Also that year, Glantz took third in the World Championship Mixed Event for $184,000.

Cajelais, meanwhile, was fresh off a win in the £2,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em / Pot Limit Omaha contest during the 2009 WSOP Europe festivities, which were also held in London. In that event, he defeated Mats Gavatin heads-up and earned £104,000. Also appearing at the Pot Limit final table were Men “The Master” Nguyen, Hoyt Corkins, and Chris Bjorin, who went on to finish sixth in the WSOP Europe Main Event.

Just after the dinner break, Glantz prevailed in the High Roller tournament. Here is how its final table shook out:

1. Matt Glantz (United States) - £542,000
2. Erik Cajelais (Canada) - £326,000
3. Eugene Katchalov (United States) - £193,000
4. Adolfo Vaeza (Uruguay) - £141,000
5. Leo Fernandez (Argentina) - £104,000
6. Ilari Sahamies (Finland) - £74,000
7. Dennis Phillips (United States) - £60,000
8. Shane Reihill (Ireland) - £45,000

Phillips has been on fire over the past year. After finishing third in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for $4.5 million, the truck salesman grabbed 45th in the 2009 installment, earning another $178,000. He won a $500 buy-in tournament during the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas in April and has become one of poker’s top ambassadors. Phillips, along with a half-dozen other pros, descended on Capitol Hill for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Fly-In held during National Poker Week. Phillips toured the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and also played in a charity poker tournament.

Sahamies, nicknamed “Ziigumd” in the online world, is the front man for the Cake Poker Network site Power Poker. Sahamies appeared on Season 5 of the GSN cash game show “High Stakes Poker” and was part of the winning squad in the inaugural Caesars Cup. Fernandez, along with Phillips, is a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro. In April, Fernandez finished sixth in the Latin American Poker Tour’s (LAPT) Mar del Plata Main Event for $63,000. His employer, PokerStars, sponsors the EPT.

WSOP November Nine member Phil Ivey was the first player sent packing from the High Roller event. Others who hit the skids on Day 1 included Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Luca Pagano, J.C. Alvarado, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. After his victory, Glantz told PokerStars officials, “It feels great. It’s just been my day.” In the final hand, Glantz’s A-2 held up against Cajelais’ Q-J.

The £5,000 buy-in EPT London Main Event is currently underway. This time around, the tournament attracted 730 players, which PokerStars claims is the largest poker event ever held in the United Kingdom. Only 596 players took to the felts in 2008, representing a growth of 23%. A total of 58 countries are represented, including 138 players from the United Kingdom, 131 from the United States, 63 from France, 45 from Germany, and 42 from Italy.

International Federation of Poker: Governing Body for the Industry?

Ever since the explosion of poker in the early years of the 21st century, attempts have been made to organize players, either through a governing body for the sport or an organization to impose changes in the game, with varying degrees of success.

In April, a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland attracted seven federations - the Danish Poker Federation (Denmark), the Fédération Française des Joueurs de Poker (France), the Stichting Nederlandse PokerBond (Holland), the United Kingdom Poker Federation (U.K.), the Russian Sport Poker Federation (Russia), the Ukrainian Poker Federation (Ukraine), and the Associacao Brazileira de Poker (Brazil) - to undertake the task of creating a worldwide poker federation that would bring the game into the sporting community. From this meeting was born the International Federation of Poker.

One of the tasks that the International Federation of Poker completed was electing its leadership and, when it comes to its President, its membership couldn’t have chosen a better man. Noted author Anthony Holden, who has written “Big Deal” and “Bigger Deal” and traveled around the globe playing poker, was elected as the first President of the organization. Poker News Daily had the chance to speak with Holden and discuss some of the challenges that face him.

PND: The International Federation of Poker (IFP) is not the first attempt at starting a governing body for poker. What chances for success do you believe the IFP has and how will it make a difference beyond other attempts?

Holden: The chances for success are as promising as they are exciting. The poker industry has grown so fast in the past decade that a governing infrastructure hasn’t been able to grow at the same pace. Poker is now one of the three most participated sports in the world alongside golf and fishing. There is a great need for a properly structured governing body, as there is in all competitive sports, and the IFP is such a body.

There are several features of the IFP that differentiate it from the previous organizations. The IFP is the first governing body in poker to be properly structured as a Sports Federation. The IFP is a not-for-profit organization with its head office in Lausanne, Switzerland, the global headquarters of international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee. It is subject to the Swiss Civil Code and will be arbitrated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, also in Lausanne. This is a major step towards securing recognition of poker’s status as a sport.

The IFP’s goals are broader than those of other poker organizations. Current organizations have very specific interests which the IFP will also be working towards: seeking recognition of poker as a skilled mind-sport and promoting a single unified set of rules to be used in card rooms across the globe. These goals are only part of the broader goal of the IFP, which is to form a comprehensive governing body comprised of national federations from around the world.

Also, the IFP has a well-qualified and dedicated staff working full-time to achieve its goals. Other organizations have been run part-time by very busy people and often fallen by the wayside. The IFP has the resources and manpower to establish itself as a major player on the international poker scene.

PND: The IFP has a strong start with seven national federations already members. Is there a goal in number of national federations to bring onboard or is it more quality-based?

Holden: One of the early missions of the IFP is to build up a strong membership base from around the world. We have identified governing bodies in more than 20 countries outside of our founding members and we are confident that our membership will grow quickly and steadily in the coming months. We hope to have 30 member nations by the end of this year.

When considering an application, the quality of the federation applying is paramount. The IFP has strict criteria for acceptance as a member: the federation in question must be a non-profit organization that truly represents the interest of poker players in that country and whose goals for the promotion of poker are aligned with those of the IFP. Applications from federations are submitted to the Board for approval by vote.

While we are working hard to secure membership of federations in key markets, the IFP is seeking member federations in all nations, no matter how small or remote. We are in advanced discussions about membership with federations from Germany, Italy, and Kyrgyzstan.

PND: What is the strongest component of the IFP, the overall governing body or the individual national federations that comprise it?

Holden: The IFP is a truly democratic body. Every member nation has one representative on the Congress, the supreme authority of the IFP. The IFP operates a “One Country, One Vote” policy, so no matter what the size of a nation, it participates in the governing of the IFP on an equal footing with all other nations.

PND: What are the challenges that the IFP faces?

AH: The greatest challenge that the IFP faces is the stigma that governments and the non-poker playing public attaches to poker. Government decision-makers see poker solely as a gambling activity and think its place is in a casino alongside craps and roulette. The IFP is seeking to educate people that poker is a skilled mind-sport and so to secure it the legal status it deserves all over the world. All the federations we have met are at different stages in the debate with their governments.

The IFP wishes to see a global coordinated approach to the issue and to provide our members with support and advice. We have had promising talks with the International Mind Sports Association in Paris, currently consisting of the international federations of Bridge, Chess, Draughts, and Go. We are optimistic about joining this organization later in the year, and, once we do, we will have official recognition as a mind-sport. Every four years, the IMSA holds the Mind-Sports Games, alongside and in the same city as the Olympics. The IFP looks forward to the chance to bring poker into this event. Once we achieve this, it will be a very useful tool in many debates.

PND: What attracted you to accept a position with the IFP?

Holden: As a lifelong author and journalist, I’ve been playing poker for 40 years and writing books about it for 20. My first visit to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was in 1977. In recent years, I have been sponsored by PokerStars at events around Europe as well as the WSOP Main Event. That has now had to stop, alas, as the President of IFP obviously cannot accept sponsorship from any one website. I accepted the job, despite this sacrifice, because I believe the goals of the IFP are so important to the game. It enables me to spend my entire working life around poker, doing something worthwhile. Now that beats writing hands down!

PND: What would you like to see for the IFP before the end of the year?

Holden: We would like to have at least 30 member nations and to hold the first IFP team poker event. We would also like to see our member nations making progress with their national governments in the reclassification of poker from a luck-based gambling activity into a skill-based mind-sport. Finally, the IFP has had promising discussions with the International Mind Sports Association and we would be delighted to join this organization by the end of the year.

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Canadian Entertainment Company to Start Poker Television Station

While there is poker on television and different outlets that offer podcasts, currently there isn’t a one that is dedicated to poker 24/7. A Canadian entertainment company is looking to change that with the rollout of an internet television station.

It was announced on Thursday that HeadsUp Entertainment, a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, will unveil sometime in the fourth quarter of 2009 CanadianPokerPlayer.tv for poker aficionados. The company, which also owns the Canadian Poker Tour and Canadian Poker Player Magazine, recently finished sponsorship negotiations for the station and will provide poker programming that should offer entertainment for all parts of the poker community, according to HeadsUp Entertainment president Kelly B. Kellner: “Players and fans will be given an innovative and effective means to pursue their interest in the sport and we couldn’t be more excited.”

In an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, Kellner detailed out what CanadianPokerPlayer.tv will offer: “Some of the programming for the station will include over 20 hours of content produced in Canada over the past four years from the Canadian Open Poker Championships in 2006, 2008, and 2009 from Calgary,” Kellner commented. “We are currently working with several of the online poker sites to include programming from around the world that they have produced as well. Some original programming will commence immediately and we will be incorporating live feeds from events in Canada and around the world.”

“The programming wheel is currently being structured and plans also include movies and features relating to the poker and gaming industry,” Kellner continued. “We intend to offer viewers numerous watch and win promotions and incentives to tune in on a daily basis.”

In North America, something along these lines has yet to be unveiled. “We haven’t seen any real networks online that have incorporated the format that we are attempting with our station,” noted Kellner. “Those who have had an opportunity to see the Poker Channel in the United Kingdom will have a good example of what a mainstream media network would be doing.”

Canada has provided several of the top poker players in the game and several could be an active part of the network, according to Kellner. “We have tremendous relationships with many poker pros,” Kellner commented. “We are looking to build on that to incorporate innovative programming to follow their poker careers. I can tell everyone now that there are two original shows currently being negotiated, but we can‘t comment beyond that. More news on that to follow!”

Once the network hits the internet, North America will have a dedicated poker channel and HeadsUp Entertainment is promising that it will be a first class product. The launch is expected soon.

Full Tilt Million Dollar Cash Game Features $1.1 Million Pot

Full Tilt Poker’s Million Dollar Cash Game featured a $1.1 million pot during its fourth season, which will air on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom in January. The season includes commentary from poker pro Robert Williamson III.

Some of the game’s top cash game aficionados hit the felts for the Full Tilt Poker spectacular, which recently completed filming in London. Now, the city will play host to the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities, which officially kick off today with a £1,075 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. Headlining the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Cash Game roster was none other than Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who was joined at the table by several sponsored pros of the online poker site, including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius.

The general public recently nominated Dwan for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class, although a committee stripped him of his eligibility on the grounds that he did not stand the test of time. Dwan is currently battling against Antonius in the Durrrr Challenge online, with Antonius nursing a $34,000 lead after 23,197 hands. The two tangled early on in the Million Dollar Cash Game in London, getting it in pre-flop for a $500,000 pot. Antonius held pocket kings against Dwan’s pocket aces, but a king on the flop gave the veteran a set and the win in the hand. Online, it’s been a seesaw battle between Dwan and Antonius, with “durrrr” posting 3:1 odds that he could beat any player in $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em over 50,000 hands.

Dwan reclaimed his losses in a hand against Cyril Mouly. Then, the largest pot in televised poker history occurred. In it, Dwan raised pre-flop and Ivey re-raised from the small blind. The flop fell Q-3-5 with two clubs and Ivey led out for $40,000. Dwan made the call to see the four of hearts hit the turn. Ivey once again bet, Dwan pushed the action to $240,000, and “The Tiger Woods of Poker” shoved over the top. Coverage provided by Full Tilt Poker noted that Dwan snap-called the all-in, turning over 6-7 for the nuts. Ivey, meanwhile, showed A-2 for a smaller straight. Ivey was drawing dead on the river, shipping the massive $1.1 million pot to Dwan.

Dwan was involved in the largest single pot in “High Stakes Poker” history as well. In it, the youngster cracked Barry Greenstein’s pocket aces holding K-Q of spades. The flop came Q-4-2 with two spades, giving Dwan a flush draw to compliment top pair. On the flop, Dwan led out for $28,700, Greenstein raised to $100,000, and Dwan re-raised to $244,600. Greenstein quickly shoved and the two agreed to run the board once. The turn was another queen, improving Dwan to trips, and Greenstein could not spike an ace on the river. The pot was worth a colossal $919,000.

The Million Dollar Cash Game is an invitation-only event that requires a minimum buy-in of $100,000. On the fifth season of “High Stakes Poker,” which aired earlier this year on cable station GSN in the United States, the price tag was $200,000. The GSN cash game franchise is set to return in February for Season 6, although the host venue and player lineup are not yet known. Season 5 featured a cast that included Dwan, Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Greenstein, and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. The show is hosted by former “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza.

Full Tilt is in the midst of holding its Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), which concludes with a $55 buy-in Main Event on Sunday. The tournament features a $500,000 guarantee and is hosted by noted pro Eli Elezra.

Lock Poker Signs 12 Non-US Online Poker Pros

Lock Poker, a site on the popular Cake Poker Network, has inked 12 non-U.S. online poker pros to grow its player base worldwide. Poker Players International’s Randy Kasper orchestrated the signings.

The new fleet of Lock Poker pros includes Stephen “allinstevie” Devlin (Ireland, United Kingdom), Bjorn Andre “bjolla” Hovden (Norway), Dan “danloulou” Smyth (Ireland, United Kingdom), Vincent “Diamond8” Gabel (Belgium), Elmar “EmmiV” Masson (Iceland), Joe “Conno!!y” Connolly (United Kingdom), Francisco Costa (Portugal), Robert Jan Hoogendoorn (Netherlands), Brendon “brendoor” Rubie (Australia), Maximilian Bassil (Norway), Bolivar Palacios (Latin America), and Jose Raul Severino (Latin America). Last month, Lock Poker signed Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Eric “Rizen” Lynch to be its Director of Product Development. Lynch hails from the United States.

On the impetus behind growing the Lock Poker brand around the globe, Kasper told Poker News Daily, “Ever since Lock Poker and I started talking about signing Eric, they’ve picked my brain about what I thought would be our next move. They said that international signings were the next step and I agreed. You see a good cross-section here. Most of those players are pretty good online. There are also a couple of guys who have more business-related contacts.” Lock Poker burst onto the online poker scene in March, when the USA-friendly site hosted the Bluff Online Poker Challenge, a one month-long promotion won by Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins.

Lock Poker is now charged with utilizing its one-dozen non-U.S. pros to the most profitable extent possible. On what the online poker site has planned, Kasper speculated, “Lock is going to come up with something creative. They have different ideas with what will work in each area. Lock is focused on making sure they can cater to each player’s experience, which means different things in each region. They’re not afraid to strike out boldly and create workable relationships with these fantastic players.”

In addition to its non-U.S. signings, Lock Poker has also brought onboard three more American players, headlined by Brett “gank” Jungblut, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. Jungblut was in the winner’s circle in the $5,000 buy-in World Championship of Omaha High-Low Eight or Better during the 2004 WSOP for $187,000, besting a competitive final table that also included “Miami” John Cernuto, Huck Seed, and Erick Lindgren.

Also new to Lock Poker is Vinny Pahuja, who finished as the runner-up in a $2,000 buy-in tournament held during a WSOP Circuit stop in Las Vegas in April. Pahuja banked $41,000 for his efforts in that event, about the same amount as he earned for recording a fifth place finish during last July’s Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza. Pahuja took 28th in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open last September for $21,000.

The third and final American to hop onboard the Lock Poker bandwagon is David Zeitlin, who won a deep stack event at Mohegan Sun for $136,000 in July. He also made a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, earning $32,000 for his 262nd place finish out of 6,494 entrants. In 2007, he was the runner-up to Jason Warner in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event during the WSOP for $269,000. On the trio of Americans, Kasper commented in a press release distributed by Lock Poker, “Lock is fortunate to add such great players of great character to their ranks. These three are truly top-notch, both on and off the felt. These players are also fortunate to find a truly innovative room to partner with.”

The Cake Poker Network is the 10th largest worldwide according to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, boasting a seven-day running average of 1,820 real money ring game players. Joining Lock Poker on the Network are sites such as Cake Poker, Doyle’s Room, Players Only, and PokerHost.

PartyPoker sending players to Strongest Man event

Each package is valued at €1,500 and includes travel and accommodations for the World's Strongest Man, wine tasting and touring in Malta and the €100 entry into an exclusive poker tournament at the Casino De Venezia with a guaranteed prize pool of €2,000.

"These great packages can be won through our exclusive 'The World's Strongest Man' 20 PartyPoint buy-in tournaments," said a PartyPoker spokesman.

"Both start at 15:00 ET on Sept. 13 and Sept. 20 with the top eight players in each tournament winning a prize package."

The World's Strongest Man competition started in 1977 and has since become an internationally-recognized strength event with champions like Mariusz Pudzianowski, Phil Pfister, and Magnus Ver Magnusson.

Famous individual events in the competition include the Atlas Stones, the Airplane Pull and the Tug of War.

The event is broadcast internationally on ESPN, ESPN2 and Five.

Online Poker Tournament Recap: Monday, August 31

PokerStars, the world’s leading online poker site, once again generated the largest turnouts Sunday, as its major events extended well beyond their guarantees. The site, which is preparing for its World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) this week, drew nearly 9,000 players to its flagship Sunday Million tournament. Five players struck a deal and each received a six-figure payday.

PokerStars Sunday Million

A massive field of 8,993 turned out for the Sunday Million on August 30, creating a prize pool of $1,798,600, the largest in months. Last week saw 7,431 participants in the weekend’s largest tournament on the internet, but the site added $300 bounties on each of its sponsored players this week to add some flavor.

Daniel “KidPoker” Negreanu, J.C. Alvarado, Jason Mercier, and Victor Ramdin were among the Team PokerStars Pro players in attendance. Railbirds flooded the chat boxes late into the night as online stars Steve “gboro780″ Gross and David “BodogMaven” Chicotsky made deep runs, but Chicotsky was eliminated in 10th place when he moved his short stack in with 7-4 and found himself up against an opponent’s pocket tens. Gross was taken out in sixth place when his A-K couldn’t hold up against BigBradley’s A-Q and the remaining five players agreed to a deal. The big winner was CesarSPA, who added $208,845.93 to his account, while Georgia’s angiebug4 went on to win the tournament and $126,921.72.

1. angiebug4 - $126,921.72
2. CesarSPA - $208,845.93
3. BigBradley - $173,454.74
4. siggen001 - $131,719.96
5. suckabig1 - $100,530.55
6. Steve “gboro780” Gross - $53,958.01
7. SebiXXXX - $35,972.01
8. Whitfield74 - $19,784.61
9. Spoli4tor - $12,590.21

Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed

The Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee attracted 4,144 entrants to build a prize pool of $828,800. Costa Rican pro Felipe “clotilda” Montenegro was the biggest name at the final table and settled on a four-way chop to walk away with $72,000. Montenegro ultimately took fourth place in the tournament, while ADCampbell collected $104,929.51 after earning the win.

1. ADCampbell - $104,929.51
2. ypma - $62,660
3. mich_alumni - $98,967
4. Felipe “clotilda” Montenegro - $72,000
5. zsunset - $34,229.44
6. kenneoin - $25,361.28
7. quivan96 - $19,062.40
8. shhhant - $14,918.40
9. PatrickJ89 - $11,105.92

PokerStars Sunday 500

A handful of online professionals reached the final table of PokerStars Sunday 500, which drew 1,029 entrants this week. Nick “CPT CRUX” Stowell took seventh place for just over $15,000, while Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen finished sixth for $20,322.75. In the end, Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton of the United Kingdom got the best of long-time online tournament specialist faithless to take home a prize of $88,802.70.

1. Laurence “rivermanl” Houghton - $88,802.70
2. faithless - $64,312.50
3. omgfml - $48,877.50
4. WARN-YOU - $35,809.20
5. DeuceBuster - $25,467.75
6. Thayer “THAY3R” Rasmussen - $20,322.75
7. Nick “CPT CRUX” Stowell - $15,177.75
8. sharam_nuts - $10,032.75
9. MisterJJW - $5,659.50

Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl

New Jersey’s Jims619, who took fifth in the Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee last week, one-upped himself on Sunday with a runner-up effort in the Sunday Brawl for $63,201.60. PoutsoKefalos bested 2,393 competitors to win the tournament for $97,651.26. Full-time pros kennl and Bryn “OneUponAStar” Kenney also reached the final table.

1. PoutsoKefalos - $97,651.26
2. Jims619 - $63,201.60
3. HellaStacks_ - $46,922.40
4. white_chocko - $35,431.20
5. Javatinii - $24,897.60
6. kennl - $16,279.20
7. mightyscv - $11,012.40
8. blackjustin77 - $7,660.80
9. Bryn “OneUponAStar” Kenney - $5,745.60

Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed

Ultimate Bet’s Sunday major didn’t quite make its guarantee, as 994 runners played for a prize pool of $200,000. When it was all said and done, MAKE_IT_RAIN and BELANDATOR forged a two-way deal, although the final figures are unknown. They split up the remaining $71,300. Up-and-coming online whiz kid Michael “ROCK3656” Rocco finished third for $18,100 and Eric “SHEETSWORLD” Haber made $4,900 for his eighth-place result.

1. MAKE_IT_RAIN
1. BELANDATOR
3. Michael “ROCK3656” Rocco - $18,100
4. YOD0UG623 - $12,900
5. ANALPROBE - $10,900
6. MSUJENNY - $8,900
7. C00KEMONSTER - $6,900
8. Eric “SHEETSWORLD” Haber - $4,900
9. MAHI-MAHI - $3,400

Jamie Gold Charity Tournament at Poker in the Park Sells Out

The Jamie Gold Charity Poker Tournament held during London’s Poker in the Park on Thursday was a sellout. A total of 50 celebrities and poker players from around the world descended upon the Shadow Lounge at the Casino at the Empire for the festivities.

Gold, who won the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event to the tune of a record $12 million, teamed up with fellow World Champion Peter Eastgate to host the London gala. Eastgate, a Danish member of Team PokerStars Pro, holds the title of youngest winner of the prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event at age 22, breaking Hellmuth’s longstanding record by two years. Former soccer star Teddy Sheringham, who was a member of the Manchester United in the late 1990s, was in attendance. Joining him was Michael Greco, who took second in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Dublin event during Season 2 for €39,000. Greco also cashed for $248,000 during the 2009 WSOP.

A fleet of poker pros from the United Kingdom lent their name to the Jamie Gold Charity Poker Tournament. They included Betfair pro John Tabatabai, who finished second to Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event. For his reward, Tabatabai pocketed a colossal £570,000 for his efforts; Obrestad, also a member of Team Betfair, walked away with £1 million and became the youngest bracelet winner ever. Nick Persaud also made the trek to the Casino at the Empire. He’s fresh off a deep run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, where he earned $23,000 for a 549th place showing.

Also appearing at the spectacle was J.J. Hazan, the runner-up in the 2006 Master Classics of Poker for €355,000. In that event, Ali Jalali came out on top and earned €700,000 for his efforts. Hazan won a £500 buy-in tournament held as part of the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour Grand Final in London two years ago for £23,000. Sam Trickett, who finished fourth in a $5,000 buy-in tournament held as part of the 2008 WSOP for $245,000, flanked Hazan in London this week. Trickett won the £1,000 buy-in Main Event of the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour’s Luton leg for £109,000.

2005 888 Pacific Poker Open winner Ian Frazer lent his name to Gold’s efforts in London. Frazer finished fifth in the PartyPoker World Open III in 2007 for $30,000 and took 25th in the European Poker Tour (EPT) London Main Event last year for £13,000. While in Las Vegas for the 2009 WSOP, Frazer won a $1,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio for $23,000, defeating a final table that also included Greco. Frazer serves as a poker commentator and ambassador for the game.

Prizes at the Jamie Gold Charity Tournament included a £5,200 EPT seat donated by PokerStars and a £3,000 seat to the Unibet Open. The event featured a £500 buy-in and also gave away a Gresham Blake tailor made suit, a custom Marlow Casino chipset, a high-end Gevril wristwatch, Tag Heuer sunglasses, and a week-long poker training session with David “The Maven” Chicotsky. When the smoke cleared in the 50 player contest, Mikael Gabrielsson, a Swedish pro, emerged as the winner. Four camera crews captured the event on tape.

Today, Greco, Tabatabai, Frazer, and Gold will give lectures as part of the Poker in the Park festivities. Frazer’s talk is entitled “Starting Out in Online Poker” and will undoubtedly attract a crowd. Gold speaks tonight at 20:45 local time. Friday marks the final day of Poker in the Park, which emanates from London’s Leicester Square.

EPT Moscow Canceled, Replaced by EPT Kiev

In breaking news from PokerStars, the inaugural European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Moscow, Russia has been canceled. In its place, the EPT will travel to Kiev, Ukraine for a €5,000 buy-in tournament on August 18th, the beginning of EPT Season 6.

EPT Kiev marks the first stop of Season 6 of the roving tournament series. In a statement released by PokerStars on Friday, the world’s most popular online poker site revealed why Moscow will no longer serve as the kickoff city: “That event has been canceled because our ability to run the event was placed in doubt due to the recent closure of all casinos in Russia.” The Moscow festivities were scheduled to take place at the Radisson SAS Slavyanskaya. The statement continues, “Euro Poker Tour Ltd. sincerely apologizes to all players who were intending to attend the Moscow event, but unfortunately these circumstances were beyond our control.”

Players who qualified for an EPT Moscow travel package from PokerStars will be able to exchange it for buy-in and hotel for the Kiev event. Alternately, players may receive a credit for a future EPT event or elect to collect cash. While visiting Russia required visas for PokerStars players from around the world, heading to the Ukraine for fewer than 90 days does not require documents for Americans, Canadians, and Europeans. The Sports Palace Kiev will serve as the host venue in the Ukrainian city and the €5,000 buy-in Main Event will be preceded by a welcome party.

All EPT Season 6 events employ the same tournament structure. Players begin with a stack of 30,000 chips and blinds start at 50-100. On Day 1, the price of poker increases every 60 minutes. On Day 2 and beyond, blinds go up every 75 minutes. Antes kick in at Level 5, when blinds are 150-300.

Here is the revised schedule for EPT Season 6 reflecting the cancellation of the Moscow event:

EPT Kiev (Ukraine): August 18th to 23rd
Buy-In: €5,000
Capacity: 600
Venue: Sports Palace Kiev

EPT Barcelona (Spain): September 4th to 9th
Buy-In: €8,300
Capacity: 700
Venue: Casino Barcelona

EPT London (United Kingdom): October 2nd to 7th
Buy-In: ?5,250
Capacity: 800
Venue: Hilton London Metropole

EPT Warsaw (Poland): October 20th to 25th
Buy-In: 25,000K PLN
Capacity: 400
Venue: Casinos Poland

EPT Vilamoura (Portugal): November 17th to 22nd
Buy-In: €5,300
Capacity: 600
Venue: Vilamoura Casino

EPT Prague (Czech Republic): December 1st to 6th
Buy-In: €5,250
Capacity: 600
Venue: Golden Prague Poker

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (Bahamas): January 4th to 14th
Buy-In: $10,600
Capacity: 1,600
Venue: Atlantis Hotel and Casino

PokerStars officials are expecting that the new Kiev event will be the “largest poker tournament ever held in the Ukraine.” The event will mark the first time the EPT has traveled to Ukrainian soil. Similarly, EPT Vilamoura will be the first EPT event held in Portugal. PokerStars has not yet released the second half of the EPT Season 6 schedule, which is expected to culminate once again in the Monte Carlo Grand Final, held annually in April in Monaco.

Other changes to the EPT schedule for Season 6 include the London festivities moving from the Grosvenor Victoria Casino to the Hilton London Metropole. The new digs will provide more space for the annual gala in the historic European city. Players gravitated to EPT events in large numbers last season. A total prize pool of €55 million was up for grabs during Season 5, battled for by 7,980 players from a whopping 97 countries. According to PokerStars, the four richest tournaments outside of the United States last year were EPT events: the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure ($12.7 million), Monte Carlo Grand Final ($12.3 million), EPT San Remo ($7.5 million), and EPT Barcelona ($7 million).

Stay tuned for more EPT news right here on Poker News Daily.

WSOP 2009 by the numbers

First, Brock Parker (infamous on PokerStars under the handle t_soprano) won a pair by taking down bracelets in back-to-back six-handed Hold'em events.

After winning his first bracelet of 2009, Phil Ivey shocked the poker world by claiming he would win a second in under two weeks. He accepted any bet players were willing to throw at him then made good on his claim, winning his second just 10 days after the first.

If you hadn't heard the name Lisandro before the 2009 WSOP, you've heard it now. Not only was Jeffrey "The Stud King" Lisandro the third player to win a second bracelet in 2009, he became the first to win a third. All three of his bracelets have come from 7-Card variations.

Finally, the latest player to double down was Full Tilt Pro Greg "FBT" Mueller. Mueller, whose nickname is an acronym for "Full Blown Tilt," has managed to keep his tilt under control, making 2009 the year he won both his first and second WSOP bracelets.

The Dominance of the U.S and A

When it comes to the race for bracelets by country, the USA has absolutely decimated the rest of the globe. With 33 won so far, the USA has almost double the number of bracelets than the rest of the world combined.

Note: Last year 19 of the 59 gold bracelet events were won by non-Americans.

Year of the Pro

Most likely due to the increased starting stack sizes and added blind levels, 2009 has seen the poker professionals dominating over the amateurs. Out of the 51 bracelets awarded this year, 37 have been won by professionals and 7 by semi-professionals.

More WSOP 2009 By the Numbers (Note: all following stats exclude event #49):

Most Cashes:

Most Final Table Appearances:

Most Events Played:

NEOVIA CEO Ron Martin to Step Down May 31st

On the heels of a March announcement that NEOVIA CEO Ron Martin was departing the company for “family reasons,” the parent company of Neteller announced that his final day in office will be May 31st. Chairman of the Board Dale Johnson will then head NEOVIA until a permanent successor can be found.

On the search for a new executive, a statement made by NEOVIA to the London Stock exchange read, “The Board has commenced a process to select a new Group Chief Executive Officer and good progress is being made in this regard.” In the meantime, Executive Vice President Dan Starr and Chief Financial Officer Doug Terry will assist Johnson while the group finds Martin’s replacement. The interim CEO commented in a press release, “On behalf of the Board and management team, I would like to thank Ron for his significant contribution to the Group over four challenging years. In the current challenging market conditions, the Board and management team are focused on maximizing revenues in the short-term, maintaining control over costs, and preserving cash to deliver value for all shareholders.” No timeline has been given as to when the search for a new CEO will be completed.

In October, Neteller Plc announced that it would forever be known as NEOVIA Financial Plc after an approval by the company’s shareholders. The company was formerly traded in London under the symbol “NLR” and can now be found under “NEO.” In trading on the London Stock exchange on Friday, shares of NEO closed up ?0.75 to an even ?45.00. Over the past 52 weeks, NEOVIA’s stock has traded in a wide range between ?34.00 and ?72.50 with an average volume of 430,000 shares. Neteller remains one of NEOVIA’s brands and is used by several online poker rooms for taking deposits players from outside of the United States.

Highlighting NEOVIA’s financial transactions on Thursday was news that Franklin Templeton Investments held over five million ordinary shares, or 4.18% of the shares outstanding. A trade of 40,000 shares was entered on Friday at a price of ?45.21. NEOVIA has a total of 119 million shares available. Shareholders are now invited to head to the Isle of Man for the company’s Annual General Meeting, which will be held at the Claremont Hotel in Douglas on June 17th.

In 2008, NEOVIA reported revenues of $75.6 million, which was up 9% from the $69.1 million that the company saw in 2007. “Fee revenue” weighed in at $69.5 million, up a hefty 26% from 2007’s tally of $55.6 million. NEOVIA posted a profit before tax of $6.4 million in 2008, up significantly from 2007, when it incurred a loss of $12.8 million. The number of e-wallet users was 97,673 during the fourth quarter of 2008, down slightly from the final quarter of 2007, when the number of e-wallets was 99,984. Average daily signups (981 in 2008) were comparable year over year. Average daily receipts were down substantially in 2008 from 2007. During that time span, the financial indicator dropped from $656,000 to $457,000.

In October of 2008, NEOVIA launched the Net+ card to e-wallet customers. In addition, the company touted “enhanced core e-wallet functionality in 2008 for customer and merchant improvements.” The company also hinted that it will roll out Newteller, its “new business platform,” during the third quarter of 2009. Its major stakeholders include IIU Nominees Limited, which owns 26.03% of shares outstanding. UBS and Fidelity own 4.30% and 4.99%, respectively, while Standard Life Investments Limited owns 6.99% of shares. NEOVIA is based in the Isle of Man and also has offices in Cambridge (United Kingdom), Calgary (Canada), Macau, and Hong Kong.

PartyPoker Hosts Women’s World Open III

Several of the world’s top female poker pros will take to the felts this Sunday at Three Mills Studios in London, the site of the third PartyPoker Women’s World Open. Three days later, the $3,000 buy-in tournament will crown a champion, who will see her bank account grow by $50,000.

A total of 36 entrants are set to hit the felts, including Betfair pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the champion of the inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event in 2007. The youngster battled through a 362 player field two years ago and defeated fellow Betfair pro John “kunku wap” Tabatabai heads-up. Her first place finish was worth £1 million and a coveted gold bracelet. Online, she has multiple wins in the challenging PokerStars $100 rebuy and allegedly won a $4 buy-in 180-man sit and go on PokerStars while only looking at her cards once.

Obrestad will battle against another bracelet winner in the Women’s World Open field, actress Jennifer Tilly. She stormed through the field in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies Event held during the 2005 WSOP, winning $158,000 for her efforts. In the tournament, Tilly dueled against Anh Le heads-up, who has finished as the runner up in the WSOP Ladies tournament in two of the past four years. Sandra Naujoks, who took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Dortmund stop for $1.2 million, will also take a seat at the Women’s World Open. In the German EPT event, Naujoks bested Holger Kanisch heads-up.

The last running of the Women’s World Open was won by Soraya Homam, who is expected to be in the field this weekend trying to repeat. Stefanie Bergener, May Maceiras, and Eliza Burnett, all of whom reached the final table when the second Women’s World Open played out in October, will return to vie for the title once again. The tournament is played as a six-handed shootout, with each of the winners moving onto the final table. The second place finishers in each heat will then battle for the seventh and final spot at the feature table. Jessie May and Obrestad will provide play-by-play and the tournament can be seen on Five in the United Kingdom later this year. Then, it will be rolled out to a worldwide audience.

The inaugural Women’s World Open took place in August of 2007 in London. In the end, Beverly Pace took home the $50,000 first place prize, defeating Jen Mason heads-up. Also at the final table was Kara Scott, whom ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad ogled over during the broadcast of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Scott took 104th in that tournament, cashing for $41,000. She finished as the runner up in the Irish Open in Dublin last month, pocketing $413,000 in an event won by 2003 World Poker Tour (WPT) Euro Finals of Poker victor Christer Johansson.

PartyPoker’s VIP club, dubbed the Palladium Lounge, sent four qualifiers to the Women’s World Open this weekend. On some of the highlights from the six preliminary heats, a statement from PartyPoker read, “There are certainly some interesting heats lined-up. The opening heat features Annette and Germany’s Christine Klecz, while the second in the afternoon features both Jennifer Tilly and Jen Mason. Heat Five on Wednesday looks to be one of the toughest on paper, however, as it features May Maceiras, who seriously impressed last year with her hyper-aggressive game, as well as Maria Demetriou and Sandra Naujoks.”

Other top female gamers who will head to London include Lynne Beaumont, Maria Demetriou, Jen Mason, Veronique Gordon, Liv Boeree, Cecilia Nordenstram, Kim Wooka, Lise Vigezzi, Colette Murphy, and Agnieska Rylik. Here is a look at how the $108,000 prize pool is divided, with the top six players finishing in the money:

1st Place: $50,000
2nd Place: $22,000
3rd Place: $14,000
4th Place: $10,000
5th Place: $7,000
6th Place: $5,000

Hungary’s Peter Traply Leads EPT Monte Carlo with 14 Players Remaining

A record-breaking 935 players made the trek to Monaco for the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final, which began last week. Now, the field has been trimmed to just 14, with Hungarian poker player Peter Traply leading the pack.

The Monte Carlo Grand Final in the luxurious city marks the conclusion of the fifth EPT season. Last year in this event, Traply finished in 26th place and banked €42,000 from the €10,000 buy-in tournament. At the time of writing, the Hungarian sits with a commanding chip lead over the rest of the field. In fact, he is the only player with over four million chips. The next closest combatant, Russian poker player Mikhail Tulchinskiy, has 3.2 million.

Holding the fifth largest stack in the EPT finale with 14 players to go is Dag Martin Mikkelsen, who hails from Norway. He made a deep run in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas, banking $237,000 for his efforts. Mikkelsen finished fourth in the EPT’s Barcelona stop during Season 4 for $27,000. Also in the hunt and representing Norway is Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the winner of the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event. In that tournament, she won $2 million and became the youngest bracelet winner ever. During the EPT Dublin stop during Season 4, Obrestad finished as the runner up, banking another $416,000 for her efforts. Obrestad will turn 21 years old in September and consequently will not be able to compete in the 2009 WSOP festivities, which kick off on May 27th from the Rio.

Here are the chip counts as they stand with 14 players remaining, according to numbers reported by PokerStars. Blinds are 30,000-60,000 with an ante of 5,000:

1. Peter Traply (Hungary) – 4,175,000
2. Mikhail Tulchinskiy (Russia) – 3,245,000
3. Marc Naalden (Holland) – 2,980,000
4. Daniel Zink (Germany) – 2,225,000
5. Dag Martin Mikkelsen (Norway) – 2,210,000
6. Matthew Woodward (United States) – 2,195,000
7. Christopher Rossiter (United Kingdom) – 1,850,000
8. Pieter De Korver (Holland) – 1,835,000
9. Eric Qu (France) – 1,720,000
10. Alem Shah (Germany) – 1,650,000
11. Annette Obrestad (Norway) – 1,625,000
12. Steven Silverman (United States) – 1,320,000
13. Grayson Physioc (United States) – 1,125,000
14. Johannes Strassmann (Germany) – 520,000

Naalden has four WSOP cashes to his name for over $100,000 in total and took third in the Season 2 EPT Copenhagen event for $116,000. Woodward finished 95th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, which was ultimately won by Jamie Gold. Rossiter grabbed 20th in the EPT German Open in 2008 for $25,000. Strassmann, who sits as the tournament’s short stack, has made three EPT final table appearances, recording two sixth place finishes during Season 4 events in San Remo and Dortmound for a combined payday of $300,000.

A total of 88 players finished in the money. Among those who took home cash from the prestigious EPT tournament were:
19th Place: Jason “Taknapotin” Somerville (United States) - $67,000
31st Place: “Miami” John Cernuto (United States) - $58,500
33rd Place: Sebastian Ruthenberg (Germany) - $52,000
38th Place: Alexander Kravchenko (Russia) - $52,000
41st Place: Steve Sung (United States) -  $45,500
43rd Place: Joe “ender555” Ebanks (United States) - $45,500
53rd Place: Luca Pagano (Italy) - $40,300
58th Place: Garrett “GBecks” Beckman (United States) - $36,400
64th Place: Samuel Chartier (France) - $36,400
69th Place: Phil Laak (United States) - $32,500
76th Place: Andreas Hoivold (Norway) - $28,600

The tournament will crown a winner on Sunday. Last year’s champion, Glen Chorny, barreled through a field of 842 players en route to a $3.1 million payday. Heads-up, Chorny defeated Hungarian poker player Denes Kalo, with American Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron taking fourth for $901,000. Also at the final table were Antonio Esfandiari and Luca Pagano. First place this year will take home €2.3 million, also the equivalent of $3.1 million at current exchange rates.

Free Million Dollar Game to kick off WSOPE

There is also the potential to win a £10,000 WSOPE Main Event seat, a £5,000 WSOPE Pot-Limit Omaha seat and a £1,000 WSOPE No-Limit Hold'em seat.

The first step to getting in the game is finding your daily regional freeroll to play. The freerolls started April 13 and will run for 18 weeks.

The regions that will be included in the promotion are:

• United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Ireland
• Greece/Cyprus
• DE/AUT/CH: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
• Spain/Portugal
• Italy
• Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czech. Rep., Romania, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia
• Denmark
• Sweden
• Norway
• Finland
• France/Belgium
• Russia
• Rest of World (ROW)
• Canada

The top 18 players from each daily regional freeroll will advance to the weekly regional freeroll.

There will be 18 weekly regional freerolls, and the winner of each one will win a seat in the live regional final. The prize includes travel and accommodation for the live regional final.

The winner from each of the 15 live regional finals will be sent to London to play in the Free Million Dollar Game final.

Each live regional final will also award cash prizes to second through fifth place:

• 2nd - $1,500
• 3rd - $750
• 4th - $500
• 5th - $250

There are currently unlimited entrees into the daily regional freerolls. Starting May 4, all players will only have one entirely free entry but can earn more entries into the freerolls by earning Betfair Poker points.

For more information about this and other promotions, visit Betfair Poker.

BetOnSports Ex-CEO David Carruthers Pleads Guilty

In breaking news out of St. Louis, former BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers has pled guilty to “federal racketeering conspiracy charges,” according to the Associated Press. He faces up to 33 months in prison and sentencing is scheduled for October 2nd.

According to a statement released by iGamingNews on Wednesday, “Mr. Carruthers agreed to not appeal provided that the sentence doesn't exceed 33 months, which is under the terms of the agreement, as well as to not engage in offshore gambling businesses during the time of supervised released or thereafter.” Carruthers also agreed to cooperate against BetOnSports founder Gary Kaplan and others still in custody.

Carruthers has been under house arrest since 2006 and even ran the St. Louis Marathon during his detention, posting a time of four hours, five minutes, and 27 seconds. He was originally detained in Texas while in transit from the United Kingdom to Costa Rica before being moved to St. Louis. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper, despite believing that internet gambling and sports wagering may have been illegal in the United States under laws such as the Wire Act of 1961 and Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), Carruthers “continued to advertise to U.S. customers that the company was 'legal and licensed' while 'furtively or covertly' collecting bets and paying out money owed to gamblers.”

Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan speculated as to why Carruthers would finally plead guilty, ending the three year ordeal. He told Poker News Daily, “Carruthers is a citizen of the United Kingdom and isn't a resident of the United States. He was a foreign national that had been detailed in transit. He went three years trying to make the best of a bad situation and wants to go home.”

In July of 2006, Carruthers was fired as CEO of BetOnSports. The company stated at the time, "Clearly, while he remains in the custody of the U.S. government, he is unable to perform his duties.” In August of that year, the company vacated the U.S. market entirely, two months prior to then-President George W. Bush signing the SAFE Port Act and its accompanying UIGEA rider into law. Brennan noted that while BetOnSports was navigating its future business plans, Carruthers was still held up in Missouri: “The U.S. Government won a war of attrition. He's an older guy who hasn't been home in three years. He was under house arrest with no trial.”

The admission of guilt comes on the heels of a plea bargain made by former Party Gaming Co-Founder Anurag Dikshit in a New York court room last December. Dikshit agreed to pay $300 million over three installments and faces up to two years in prison. However, his sentencing has been delayed until December of 2010. Comparing the two high profile internet gambling proceedings, Brennan explained, “Carruthers' case is obviously more severe than Anurag's, who is free to go wherever. It's disappointing to see a guy who has been standing on his principles beaten down enough to forge a plea.”

Visiting BetOnSports.com from the United States yields the text, “This website does not accept wagers on sports or sporting events from persons in the United States. It is a violation of United States Law to transmit sports wagers or betting information to this website from the United States.”

We'll have more for you on this breaking story has it develops right here on Poker News Daily.

Join Titan Poker on the Mediterranean for the European Poker Tour (EPT)

Titan Poker have two EPT events to tantalise their players this Spring, two beautiful places to play excellent poker!

The first in line is EPT San Remo - make this your Italian Job – play for big money this April 18th to 23rd. These generous prize packages are worth $8,000 each. To win your seat at the Main Event EPT San Remo you have to play in one of the San Remo Super Satellites to be held on March 28th and April 11th at 7.45pm UK (2.45pm New York). Buy in direct to the Super Satellites for $132 or play in one of the qualifiers running NOW from just $6.60.

EPT Monte Carlo, Monaco is a glittering occasion and is the EPT Grand Final being held April 28th to May 3rd. Take you seat amongst the good and the great of the poker world by winning one of the $15,000 prize packages that are up for grabs. The Monte Carlo Super Satellites, where the prize packages are awarded, are to be held on April 4th and 18th at 7.45pm UK (2.45pm New York), buy in direct at this level for $165. Feeders to the Super Satellites are running now from just $8.25.

Yet another excellent promotion from Titan Poker, take a look at our unbiased Titan Poker Review to see what other great things are going on, you’ll be impressed. Use our exclusive Titan Bonus Code VIPTITAN when you make your first deposit and to ensure you receive a sign up bonus of 150% up to $500 with $50 upfront in your poker account within 72 hours plus other exclusive to us top treats!

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Silke Cut – Martin Silke Takes Down GUKPT London

‘Poker Face’ does more than top the charts

The song features a dog's breakfast of gambling metaphors and sexual innuendo, with Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta) going for broke with such lyrics as:

"I wanna hold'em like they do in Texas please // Fold 'em let 'em hit me raise it baby stay with me."

"Luck and intuition play the cards with spades to start // And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart."

And, of course,

"I won't tell you that I love you, kiss or hug you // 'Cause I'm bluffin' with my muffin, I'm not lying I'm just stunning with my love glue-gunning."

The song's insidiously catchy chorus has propelled it to No. 1 on pop charts in such diverse markets as Canada, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland, and features Gaga proclaiming that her would-be lover "Can't read [her], can't read [her], no he can't read [her] poker face."

So is the song an attempt to cash in on the poker craze? Or will it further contribute to poker's mainstream appeal?

"I'd say it won't make any more fish play, but it definitely aids poker in being a bit more mainstream," said poker pro Adam "Roothlus" Levy, one of the few posters on the 2+2 forums to come out in favor of the song.

"With the growing popularity of Lady Gaga, it can only enhance the public's image of poker," he said.

"Is Lady Gaga good for poker?" said poker pro Bryan "The Icon" Micon. "Yes. Anything that gets poker out over the mainstream and makes it look cool and glamorous is definitely good for poker."

As for whether the song will bring more new money to the tables, Micon claims to have firsthand proof of the song's effectiveness as bait.

"Actually, I was sitting here, drunk, outside of [Las Vegas nightclub] Pure last night, and they were blasting 'Poker Face,'" he told PokerListings.com.

"Pure is right next to the poker room, and there were actually people coming out of the club and banging their heads to the song like, 'Ahhh, Poker Face!' and then looking over at the poker room and being like 'Ahhh, poker!' That actually happened."

The video, which features Gaga hitting runner-runner quad aces in a rubber-suited strip poker party, was filmed at the luxury villa on bwin's ((PokerIsland)) and features bwin logos prominently throughout.

The 2+2 community, at least, has taken note.

"Nice bwin adverts in there," wrote poster DaExMan. "All the fish are going to [the] Ongame [Network] imo."

"When this hits MTV I might have to change to bwin," poster youcanhaveitall agreed.

Time will tell whether bwin poker - and the poker community at large - will reap the benefits of Lady Gaga's rise up the pop charts.

But until Tiesto remixes "The Gambler," it appears the YouTube generation has found its de facto poker anthem.