Poker News

PartyPoker Starts New Hit Or Run Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pam Brunson to Oversee DoylesRoom Brunson 10

Like father, like daughter. Doyle Brunson’s daughter, Pam Brunson, will manage the Brunson 10, according to officials from DoylesRoom. The stable of up-and-coming poker pros numbers four, with six men and two women yet to be named.

A press release distributed by DoylesRoom in recent days notes, “As Manager of the Brunson 10, Pam Brunson will be responsible for overseeing PR requests, handling scheduling and managing the Brunson 10 internally. As the world's biggest poker legend continues to fill spots on his team of poker professionals, Pam Brunson will be tasked with managing their relationship with one of the fastest growing online poker sites and its players.” The younger Brunson is a regular in the online poker site’s weekly Bounty tournament, which offers a refund of the $27.50 buy-in for first-time players.

Amit “amak316” Makhija, Dani “ansky451” Stern, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and top online poker pro Chris “moorman1” Moorman currently comprise the Brunson 10. Stern is the group’s newest addition, having joined the clan during final table play in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas. A press conference was held at the Wynn for Stern’s introduction, with “2 Months, $2 Million” housemate Jay Rosenkrantz on-hand to witness the festivities.

Meanwhile, former Brunson 10 member Alec “traheho” Torelli departed the online poker site to join Victory Poker, whose roster of pro players includes Antonio Esfandiari, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, and Full Tilt Poker defects Paul Wasicka and Lee Markholt. The site is set to debut on February 1st on the merged Everleaf/UPN network, with a launch party to occur after the Trash Talk Championship of the World Straddle Tournament at the Hard Rock on February 6th.

On replacing Torelli, DoylesRoom officials told Poker News Daily that a fifth member of the Brunson 10 will be named no later than mid-March. In addition, the forthcoming announcement may include the introduction of two new faces to the Cake Poker Network site that welcomes action from the United States. The newest additions will fall under Pam Brunson’s wings.

According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Cake Poker Network is the 10th largest worldwide, offering a seven-day running average of 2,100 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, which occur in the evening across North America, nearly 3,000 cash game players call the network home. Besides DoylesRoom and Cake Poker, other sites on the network include City Poker, Lock Poker, PlayersOnly, Poker Host, Red Star Poker, Stryyke, and Phil Laak’s Unabomber Poker, which was added to the family this week.

The 2010 calendar year also saw DoylesRoom unveil its very own online store, which offers unique items like a limited edition Doyle Resitol Cowboy Hat. Other goods available in the DoylesRoom Store include DoylesRoom apparel, laptop bags, Brunson autographed merchandise, GPS systems, iPod accessories, digital cameras, Nintendo Wiis, and “the hottest lifestyle enhancing accessories.” Gold Chips are the currency of the DoylesRoom Store, which can be accessed from the online poker room’s website.

The recent World Poker Tour (WPT) Southern Poker Championship featured DoylesRoom pro Hoyt Corkins coming out on top to claim his second WPT title. Corkins earned $739,000 for his efforts and defeated a final table that also included Jonathan Kantor (second place for $366,00), Jerry Vanstrydonck (third place for $197,000), Jared Jaffee (fourth place for $135,000), James Reed (fifth place for $106,000), and Tyler “Tydean” Smith (sixth place for $87,000). The Southern Poker Championship marked Corkins’ sixth WPT final table appearance. The tournament will air as part of Season 8 on Fox Sports Net.

Pam Brunson finished 364th in the 2007 WSOP Main Event for $34,000. That year, she won a ladies’ event held during the Legends of Poker for the same amount.

The iPad and its Potential With Online Poker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Victory Poker Launches February 1st

One day prior to Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, officials from Victory Poker will celebrate the site’s launch at a party at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. The online poker room will open for business on February 1st.

Victory Poker will make its home on the merged Everleaf/UPN network, which has yet to take on an official name. According to PokerScout.com, the newly created network will boast traffic similar to that of Betfair, which has a seven-day running average of 610 real money ring game players. A press release announcing the Trash Talk Championship of the World Straddle Tournament at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on February 6th revealed that the Victory Poker launch party would occur at 10:00pm following the festivities.

UFC’s Randy Couture will be sporting a Victory Poker logo when he takes to the ring in UFC 109 against Mark Coleman. The bout emanates from the Mandalay Bay Events Center near the Hard Rock and will also feature Nate Marquardt facing off against Chael Sonnen and Matt Serra fighting Frank Trigg. The first brawl takes place at 4:45pm, while televised matches start at 7:00pm. Couture will don a dot-net logo for the new online poker room.

Antonio Esfandiari headlines the Victory Poker stable of pros. A World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Esfandiari has become widely known for his insatiable appetite for prop bets. He even co-starred with his close friend Phil Laak on the MOJO show “I Bet You,” which ran for two seasons on the cable station. Esfandiari has three WPT final tables to his credit and one title, which came in the Season 2 L.A. Poker Classic. At the tender age of 31, Esfandiari is one of the veterans of the game.

Jumping over from DoylesRoom to be a part of Victory Poker is Alec “traheho” Torelli. The Cake Poker Network site and Torelli severed ties two weeks ago. Torelli has made two WPT final tables, finishing fourth in both the Bellagio Cup V and Solvakia events. The former will air its finale at 11:00pm ET on Fox Sports Net this Sunday in a one-hour episode. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten will once again provide commentary for Season 8 of the WPT.

Coming over from Full Tilt Poker are Paul Wasicka and Lee Markholt. The latter was removed in recent days as a Full Tilt Red Pro and finished fourth in the WSOP Circuit Championship in Tunica four years ago for $183,000. In addition, Markholt won the WPT Season 6 World Poker Challenge in Reno for $493,000 and owns $1.3 million in career earnings from the roving tournament series. Wasicka was the runner-up to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, earning a colossal $6.1 million.

Also appearing in the Victory Poker pro lineup is Chinese Poker sensation Danny Wong. Owning the moniker “Chinese Poker Wizard,” Wong learned to play the game’s variation at age five. Despite his success in Chinese Poker, he’s also excelled in No Limit Texas Hold’em, making three WPT final tables. Joining Wong will be online poker pro Brian “tsarrast” Rast.

Those who watched the 2009 WSOP Main Event on ESPN will recall the deep run of the “Flying” Bilzerian brothers. Dan Bilzerian, who finished 180th, will become part of the Victory Poker cast. In his final hand of the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament, Bilzerian committed his stack with A-6, but could not best Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo’s pocket tens. His brother, Adam Bilzerian, renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now a passport holder of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Other Victory Poker pros include Andrew "good2cu" Robl, Keith Gipson, David “The Maven” Chicotsky, Sander Lylloff., and 2007 Playboy Playmate of the Year Sara Underwood. The site is scheduled to launch on February 1st and will accept players from the United States.

The Trash Talk Championship is a $1,000 buy-in charity poker tournament benefiting the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program and Cedars-Sinai.

Cake Poker Returning WSOP Bracelet to T.J. Cloutier

This afternoon, rumors spread around the poker industry that Cake Poker, which had purchased T.J. Cloutier’s 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, was planning to return the piece to its rightful owners. Poker News Daily can now confirm those rumblings.

In a post found on Cake Poker that was created on Wednesday night, it was confirmed that the USA-friendly online poker site was indeed the new owner of the bracelet that Cloutier won in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event five years ago. The tournament saw the poker veteran defeat Steven Zoine heads-up in a final table that also included John “World” Hennigan, Dustin “Neverwin” Woolf, and DoylesRoom pro Todd Brunson. Text found on Cake Poker’s blog explains, “Our initial impulse upon seeing the auction was to say, ‘Hey this is a cool piece of poker history. We love poker. We should buy a WSOP bracelet!’ So we did.”

The final selling price for the WSOP keepsake was just over $4,000; Cloutier’s prize money for winning it was 165 times that amount. However, the online poker site and flagship room on the Cake Poker Network plans to return it to Cloutier: “We can’t, in good conscience, keep it from the man who rightfully won it; which is why we’ve decided to return it to T.J. Cloutier… just as soon as we’re done having some fun with it.” No specific plans for the bracelet were given, although Cake Poker officials tossed out “photo shoots” and “wearing it to a buddy’s home game” as several possibilities. The auction closed on Sunday on eBay and the hardware is currently on its way to Cake Poker’s headquarters.

An article that appeared on Wicked Chops Poker explained what might have led to Cloutier unloading his memorabilia: "We called T.J. He didn’t want to come on the air… but told our producer the following: 'I don’t want to talk about it… yeah it's mine… I was short… I pawned it… I tried to get it back with my ticket but I was too late.'" On Monday, Cake Poker officials teased that they may have purchased Cloutier’s bracelet.

The topic has spread around the online poker community like wildfire. On the TwoPlusTwo forums, posters speculated as to why Cloutier, who has nearly $10 million in career earnings, would contemplate selling one of his six bracelets. One member chimed in, “With the recent interest in poker and his name becoming more recognized, any memorabilia he has accumulated becomes more valuable. Bracelets don't exactly do much but collect dust so why not get some value out of them.” Others have hypothesized that Cloutier’s love of craps may have caught up with him.

The other bracelet for sale, which Cloutier procured after taking down the 2007 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV, sold for $2,500. The Plano Pawn Shop saw a flurry of activity surrounding the two charms and Poker News Daily’s Earl Burton estimated that the WSOP jewelry was probably worth somewhere around $2,350. The bracelet contains 96 grams of 14 karat gold and 0.25 karats of diamonds. The high bid was submitted at 1:34pm PT on Sunday of $3,956 and stood for nearly six hours until the winning entry of $4,006 was introduced at 7:30pm PT.

Cake Poker is the flagship site of a network that also includes DoylesRoom, Lock Poker, PlayersOnly, PokerHost, Red Star Poker, and Stryyke. It happily accepts players from the United States and features former PokerStars icon Lee Jones as its Card Room Manager. The site is busy following its players in the 2010 Aussie Millions, taking place down under in Melbourne.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest twists and turns in Cloutier’s bracelet sale.

Brandon McSmith Claims Rights to Face the Ace

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PND: What damages are you seeking?

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

PND: Did you have a dollar value in mind?

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

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

Poker Fantasy Moves to Merge Gaming Network

The online poker room Poker Fantasy will be moving to the Merge Gaming Network on January 31st, according to an e-mail received by Poker News Daily last week. As a result, the site will likely be unavailable for two weeks while it updates its software.

An e-mail sent by Poker Fantasy read in part, “As of January 31, 2010, Poker Fantasy will be moving to a new network, the Merge Gaming LTD, officially licensed and regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. There will be an expected downtime of approximately two weeks. During the downtime customer service support will be available to assist you at 24/7. You may direct all inquiries to custserv@pokerfantasy.com.” A downtime of two weeks would put Poker Fantasy’s estimated re-launch around the 15th of February.

Players who opt to withdraw funds from Poker Fantasy prior to the move to the Merge Gaming Network can do so any time prior to January 31st. After that date, customer funds will automatically migrate to Poker Fantasy’s new home on the USA-friendly family of online poker sites. According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network is the 19th largest worldwide, sporting a seven-day running average of 255 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, around 400 cash game players can be found battling it out on the Merge Gaming Network’s virtual tables.

The new network’s flagship site is Carbon Poker. Other sites on the Merge Gaming Network include Aced, which briefly employed 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Jamie Gold as a sponsored pro, and Iron Duke, which attracted online poker sensation Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh to its ranks. Other well-known sites on the Merge Gaming Network include Poker MVP, Poker Nordica, Reefer Poker, and Spin32 Poker. According to PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network is headquartered down under in Australia and has game servers located on the Kahnawake Indian reservation in Canada.

Poker Fantasy’s move marks one of the first site migrations of 2010. In November, the iPoker Network site Noble Poker absorbed Fair Poker. The former site is based in Gibraltar and has been in existence since 2004. Shortly thereafter, Third Bullet Poker merged its player base with that of Cake Poker. Third Bullet representatives commented in an e-mail sent to players, “What will change is that you will have access to an increased technical and marketing support team that will make your play experience even better. We have full confidence that you will find continued play on Cake Poker to meet or exceed the level of professionalism and customer service you have come to know at Third Bullet.”

Last week, the USA-friendly Everleaf Network merged with the Universal Poker Network (UPN), whose pre-merger fleet of online poker sites included Poker Druum, 5Poker5, My Name Poker, AB Digital Poker, Poker King Bet, Brasilian Poker, Full Kings Poker, Warriors Poker, Win PKR, and Poker Panther. Major rooms on the Everleaf Network included Minted Poker and Poker4Ever. In February, a rumored online poker site faced by Antonio Esfandiari, Alec “traheho” Torelli, and Andrew “good2cu” Robl, among others, may join the merged Everleaf/UPN network.

The Merge Gaming Network is one of only several sites that accept customers from the United States and is the 19th largest worldwide in terms of cash game traffic. Others include PokerStars (#1 worldwide), Full Tilt Poker (#2), the CEREUS Network (#6), the Cake Poker Network (#10), and Bodog (#15). The Merge Gaming Network recently saw its ties with PIC Club severed after alleged non-payment issues, although both sides claimed to have broken ties with the other.

Amazing Race 16 Cast Does Not Feature Poker Players

The cast for the 16th cycle of the Emmy Award winning CBS reality series “Amazing Race” does not include any poker players. In its last season, the show featured Maria Ho and UB.com pro Tiffany Michelle.

Ho and Michelle represented the last women standing in the 2007 and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Events, respectively. The duo finished sixth in the around-the-world competition after their journey abruptly ended in the Netherlands, where a series of intense physical challenges proved to be too much for Ho and Michelle. A high striker, a common carnival game, proved fatal on one-half of the leg’s Detour, while windy conditions made a unique game of golf using wooden shoes unbearable on the other half.

A total of 11 teams will set out on the “Amazing Race” course for Season 16. Headlining the group are two “Big Brother” cast members from Season 11, Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder. The couple is “newly dating” according to CBS and will mark the latest pair to join “Amazing Race” after appearing on another CBS reality franchise. Schroeder is 31 years-old and from Norridge, Illinois, while Lloyd is nine years younger and hails from Charlotte, North Carolina. Lloyd lists her lifetime goals as, “to be a dental hygienist, and to get married and have kids.”

Also appearing on the 16th running of “Amazing Race” is Caitlin Upton, who will travel to the four corners of the Earth with her boyfriend, Brent Home. Upton was Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007 and famously uttered the following response to a question about people being unable to locate the United States on a map: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children."

Upton’s phrases “the Iraq,” “U.S. Americans.” and “like such as” have become staples of modern lingo, although the beauty queen is now three years removed from her escapade. In a video posted on CBS.com, Upton commented, “I’m stubborn and I hate losing, probably more than he does, and I have a very short fuse, so if somebody gets in my way, there’s going to be some trouble and I’m going to need somebody there to calm me down.” The couple may soon be engaged; both are models.

Cleveland Indians third base coach Steve Smith, 57 years of age, will run the “Amazing Race” with his daughter, Allie Smith, who is 23 and works in marketing. Smith was a coach on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team that won it all in 2008 and also worked with the Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers. The elder Smith lists his biggest challenge as “not getting lost because we tend to get lost in our own neighborhood.” “Amazing Race” requires a keen sense of direction, as racers travel to countries where English is not the primary language, so road signs and other markers can often be confusing.

Rumored locations that teams will travel to this season include Bariloche, Argentina; Puerto Varas, Chile; and Singapore. The rumored departure city is Los Angeles. The show premieres on Sunday, February 14th at 8:00pm ET on CBS, the same time slot as it held last season.

Dating couple Meghan and Cheyne took down the 15th installment of “Amazing Race,” whose finish line was ironically in Las Vegas. Besides Ho and Michelle, notable cast members vying for the $1 million top prize last time out included Harlem Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy and Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, who ran the race with her husband, Brian.

Liv Boeree Appears in Maxim UK

Maxim UK describes this poker player as a “very sexy guitar-wielding, card-playing, telly-hosting farm girl.” Who is she, you ask? UB.com’s Liv Boeree, of course. Boeree appeared in a recent edition of the scandalous magazine.

The photographer in the Maxim UK shoot, Alan Barry, allegedly asked Boeree to pose on a toilet and the Brit obliged. She told Maxim UK, who inquired about the unique shot, “It seemed a shame to let such a lovely chrome toilet not be included in the shoot. It wasn't me that made the toilet sexy, it was the toilet that did all the work. It really was such a pretty thing.” Boeree appears in two colored dresses on Maxim UK’s website: red and black. In the now-infamous toilet shot, she is hunched over while wearing a skimpy black dress.

Boeree grew up on a farm, leading to a flurry of questions concerning her background. Maxim asked whether she enjoyed rolling around in hay. Boeree responded, “Hay is preferable to straw for sure, it's way less scratchy.” She revealed that her favorite farm animal is a pig, leading to a highly insightful question from Maxim: “Have you ever masturbated one, like Rebecca Loos? If you haven't but had to, would you?” Boeree bluntly responded, “No. And no. What is wrong with you people?”

Boeree also noted that she is a fan of strumming the guitar and her favorite riff is from “Cowboys from Hell” by the band Pantera. Maxim UK inquired as to whether she could play the guitar solo from the Guns N' Roses hit “Sweet Child of Mine.” The UB.com poker icon admitted, “I can't - it's never one I've really tried to learn. Give me a month and I'll play it for ya though.” Her ultimate rock superstar group would include James Hetfield of Metallica, Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom, Adam Duce from Machine Head, and Vinnie Paul from Pantera.

Maxim UK finally got around to asking about poker, Boeree’s profession. She revealed that the most she’s ever won in a day is $42,000 and recapped an interesting run-in with porn star Ron Jeremy: “He mentions how he's just learned to play poker so I ask him a particular hand related question: Which would you prefer... 6-9 or Jack King Off. Say those fast and what do you get? Well Mr. Jeremy didn't get the innuendo in the names and proudly stated that he'd always choose Jack King off over 6-9.”

On the online poker forum TwoPlusTwo, posters were buzzing over the shoot and its corresponding in-depth interview, a link to which was posted three days ago. TwoPlusTwo member “hdbets” critiqued the quality of the photo shoot: “pretty bad photos, they lack a decent production, lighting and wardrobe... even Liv being a very beautiful woman doesnt look that great.” Others were seeking out more skin: “Thats got to be the lamest Maxim spread i've ever seen, she's like fully clothed.”

Boeree has established herself as one of the top poker commentators in the business. She’s reported for outlets like WorldSeriesOfPoker.com, Gutshot TV, and Challenge TV. Her aforementioned $42,000 cash came in May 2008, when Boeree won the $2,000 buy-in Ladbrokes Poker European Ladies Championship, defeating American Lenna Martyak heads-up.

Besides Boeree, other members of Team UB include Billy “Patrolman35” Kopp, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, “Poker2Nite” host Joe Sebok, and Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, who is the reigning CardPlayer Player of the Year. UB.com and its sister site, Absolute Poker, comprise the CEREUS Network and happily accept players from the United States.

Additional Haiti Earthquake Relief Online Poker Tournaments Announced

This week, members of the online poker community wishing to donate to victims of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti last week can take advantage of several tournaments being held across cyberspace.

Today, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Haiti, the strongest aftershock to date according to the Associated Press. Roughly 200,000 people may have died due to the original quake last week and 1.5 million people, or nearly 20% of the country’s population, are now homeless. The Associated Press reported that 40 aftershocks have rumbled through the island nation. On the magnitude 6.1 tremor that hit on Wednesday, a geophysicist told the American news service, "Aftershocks sometimes die out very quickly. In other cases they can go on for weeks, or if we're really unlucky it could go on for months."

On Wednesday, UB.com, which makes its home on the CEREUS Network, will host a $5 rebuy online poker tournament to raise funds for the victims. The event gets underway at 20:30 ET and the field is capped at 750 players. In a generous gesture, UB.com officials will match the entirety of the prize pool and then donate the sum to the Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, $10,000 in prizes will be on the line, consisting of entries to Ultimate Bet Online Championship (UBOC) tournaments and satellites. The charity poker tournament is dubbed “Play for Haiti” and can be found in the UB.com lobby. The site happily accepts players from the United States.

Also hosting a charity event on Wednesday night is DoylesRoom, which resides on the USA-facing Cake Poker Network. DoylesRoom is running the “Haiti Relief Celebrity Bounty,” taking the place of its regularly scheduled Bounty tournament. Those in the field will include site namesake Doyle Brunson, “The Wrestler” actor Mickey Rourke, Brunson 10 member Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro. The tournament kicks off at 9:30pm ET and DoylesRoom is matching all bounty money won and donating the total to relief efforts. In addition, DoylesRoom will ship any first-time player’s $27.50 buy-in to charity.

Ongame Network site Betsafe is offering a $5 tournament called “Help Haiti” on Wednesday at 20:45 CET. Unlimited rebuys will be permitted during the first hour and Betsafe will donate the funds to charity. A press release distributed by the site explains, “Betsafe will match the fee generated and we guarantee to give a minimum of $1,000. There is no maximum of the amount that we will match, so make sure to register for the tournament and help the victims of Haiti!” To sweeten the pot, Betsafe officials have added three $200 Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) event tickets to the prize pool, or $600 total. Other online poker rooms on the mammoth Ongame Network include Hollywood Poker, PokerLoco, and RedKings.

Finally, the Microgaming Network, which has recently tried to curb datamining by not allowing observed hand histories to be stored on a player’s computer, is holding a €10 + €10 buy-in tournament on Friday, January 22nd. The €10 juice will be donated to the Haitian Health Foundation and players can sign up for the event by visiting any Microgaming Network site like Betway, GNUF, Ladbrokes, Nordic Bet, PokerTime, and Unibet. The event issues its virtual “Shuffle up and deal” command at 6:30pm GMT. A press release distributed by Microgaming notes, “Over 92 percent of funds collected by Haitian Health Foundation go directly towards services for the poor, so players can be assured that donations generated from the tournament will be used to maximum benefit.” Neither the Microgaming nor Ongame Networks accept players from the United States.

These tournaments have complimented efforts at other major online poker sites like Full Tilt, PokerStars, and Cake Poker, each of which has reached into its database of players to give to the cause. Play in the Haiti relief tournaments taking place this week across some of the world’s largest sites.

Dusty Schmidt (Leatherass) Recaps Drag the Bar Signing

Poker News Daily: Congratulations on signing with Drag the Bar. Give us the background to joining the site after leaving StoxPoker.

Dusty Schmidt: I started as a member at StoxPoker, got promoted to coach, and they made me an equity holder. It was exciting, we had a good group of guys, and post-merger with CardRunners, they sometimes lost sight of what got them there. I did my best to stick in there, but StoxPoker wasn’t headed in the same direction as it was before. I wanted to go with a newer and more enthusiastic company that was similar to the product that StoxPoker was a few years ago.

PND: In your opinion, how was StoxPoker changing for the worse?

Dusty Schmidt: It’s more or less the commitment to the product. I didn’t feel like the site was getting the tender love and care it needed to be successful. StoxPoker didn’t have the flashiest players, but we had a solid group of guys who put out some killer content. I tend to be pretty enthusiastic and making coaching videos is typically not the best thing financially for a high-stakes player. If I am going to be taking time away from doing something that’s more profitable for me, I want to be enthusiastic about it.

PND: Tell us about your new role at Drag the Bar.

Dusty Schmidt: Basically the same thing as at StoxPoker. At StoxPoker before we merged with CardRunners, I was involved in the decision-making and a lot of the direction of the site. I didn’t have the ability to do that post-merger. At Drag the Bar, I’m producing content, writing blogs, and helping people’s games out.

PND: Who is Drag the Bar best suited for?

Dusty Schmidt: It’s well-suited for the grinder. I pride myself on making money through hard work. People who are willing to put in the hard work and surround themselves with good people can be a great source of inspiration.

PND: What poker training videos have you produced so far?

Dusty Schmidt: We’re just getting going. I have a video up there of a mid-stakes game and there are low- and high-stakes videos by me coming out soon. Drag the Bar most certainly aims to perform as well as or better than other coaching sites. We’re going to start with humble beginnings and build from there.

PND: Can Drag the Bar compete with sites like CardRunners and PokerXFactor?

Dusty Schmidt: I think we can. We’re going to take a few people by surprise.

PND: How can poker training sites differentiate themselves nowadays given that the industry is pretty saturated?

Dusty Schmidt: What CardRunners did with TrulyFreePokerTraining was definitely an angle that no one had taken before and it worked out really well for them. We'll look at some of the things that the successful training sites do and try to do everything as well as them.

PND: Does it feel good, in a sense, to get back to your roots?

Dusty Schmidt: I love being a part of something. I don’t want to be #1682 with the company. I like to be part of a smaller group and root each other on. That’s what it’s all about. I’m not thumbing my nose at money from coaching videos, but I do this because I want to interact with members, teach, and get messages from people thanking me for videos. That type of stuff is really rewarding. I don’t do this because it pays me better than poker.

PND: You’re in the midst of a one-year suspension of your amateur status by the United States Golf Association (USGA). How excited are you to get back into the game?

Dusty Schmidt: I am really excited. It’s definitely one of my true loves. I always wonder whether I should be playing poker or playing golf.

Poker Players Alliance Pushing for February Markup of HR 2267

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010 WSOP Rules Permit Twittering at the Table

The official rules for the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) were handed down this week, with tournament organizers adopting a cell phone rule that permits text messaging and Twittering at the table.

All cell phones must be turned off during play. However, as the WSOP regulations note, “Players not involved in a hand (cards in muck) shall be permitted to text/email at the table, but shall not be permitted to text/email any other player at the table.” Twittering of chip counts and memorable hands were staples of the 2009 WSOP, when the social media outlet exploded in popularity. Even poker legends like 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson have become engulfed in Twitter, with “Texas Dolly” now able to spit out additional blonde jokes while seated at the table of any 2010 WSOP event.

Any players who wish to talk on their cell phones must be at least one table length away from their seats while gabbing. Meanwhile, the WSOP logo policy in 2010 will remain the same as it was in 2009. No logo will be permitted that promotes drugs, handguns, lotteries, obscene material, pornography, libel, or “advertises any online gaming site that conducts business with U.S. residents.” Nearly every logo shown on ESPN television cameras in 2009 featured the dot-net version of the site’s URL. Meanwhile, Everest Poker, which had sponsored pro Antoine Saout at the final table of the 2009 Main Event, served as the on-felt sponsor of the tournament series. Everest Poker does not accept players from the United States.

Posters on TwoPlusTwo were quick to critique the 2010 WSOP rules, which incorporated revisions made by the Tournament Directors Association. One point of contention concerned late registration. The rule reads, “Any player registering for an event after all initial tables allocated for that tournament have been filled will begin play at the start of the subsequent level.” In the WSOP Main Event, for example, that could mean a player sitting out as long as two hours, the length of one blind level.

Fans of UB.com poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth may see the 11-time bracelet winner show up on time in 2010 thanks to a rule that governs “no shows,” players who fail to show up by the start of the third level of play. The rule mandates, “These players will have their chips removed from play and will not be eligible to participate in that event. The buy-ins for ‘no shows’ will be removed from the prize pool and placed on safekeeping in that player’s name at the main WSOP registration cage after the second level of play.”

Some posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned whether the “no show” clause meant that if a player saw they had a tough table draw, they could simply un-register by not showing up. Member “pineapple888” explained the dilemma: “It seems like you can register, wander by your table an hour into the event, and if there are too many pros/tough players for your liking, or there aren't enough chips on the table, or whatever (no hot chicks at the table or railbirding), just wander away and claim your refund later without penalty.”

The action gets underway in the 2010 WSOP with the annual $500 buy-in Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event on May 28th. Also to be held on that date is the brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship, an Eight-Game mix of Limit Hold'em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. It takes the place of the $50,000 HORSE Championship, which drew a meager 95 players in 2009 after having 148 in 2008.

Also new on the docket in 2010 is a $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event that starts on June 30th. Many in the industry have questioned WSOP officials introducing a richer No Limit Hold’em tournament than the Main Event, whose buy-in is only $10,000. Nevertheless, the $25,000 Six-Handed contest is sure to attract some of the top names in the worlds of live and online poker.

Check out the official 2010 WSOP rules.

Full Tilt Poker Launches Double Guarantees Week

From January 25th to 31st, Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second largest site, is doubling the prize pools of its guaranteed tournaments. A total of $25 million will be on the line throughout the week, leading up to a special $1.5 million purse for the site’s marquee $750,000 Guaranteed on Sunday. Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States.

The $750,000 Guaranteed, which will sport a seven-figure prize pool on the final day of January, is a $216 buy-in poker tournament that kicks off at 18:00 ET. The $256 buy-in Sunday Brawl, the industry’s largest bounty tournament, will see its guarantee boosted from $400,000 to $800,000. In the event, $200 of each player’s buy-in becomes part of the prize pool, $40 is placed on their head as a bounty, and the remaining $16 goes to Full Tilt Poker as juice. Last week, bounties totaling $109,000 were up for grabs.

The final chance for Full Tilt Poker members to get in on high-stakes action each weekend is the Sunday Mulligan, which issues its “Shuffle Up and Deal” command at 19:05 ET. On January 31st, a total of $400,000 will be up for grabs in it, an increase from the regular $200,000 prize pool. Overall, $2.7 million out of the $25.3 million in guarantees will be on the line in the three aforementioned Sunday majors.

A bevy of more affordable tournaments will also have their guarantees doubled between January 25th and 31st. The site’s $1K Monday, which drew 315 players last week in a tournament ultimately won by IStakeU.com poker coach Will “imahustla1” Givens, will sport a $600,000 purse on January 25th. Givens pocketed $78,000 and the top 36 players finished in the money in the $1,060 buy-in affair.

Full Tilt Poker’s Daily Dollar, a $1 buy-in tournament, will boast a $20,000 guaranteed prize pool. This tournament runs twice daily at 15:15 ET and 20:15 ET and offers unlimited rebuys during the first hour and one add-on. Its first place prize is regularly around $1,500. The daily $75,000 Guaranteed, which comes with a $163 buy-in, will see a purse of $150,000 up for grabs as part of Double Guarantees Week.

The $55 buy-in Fifty-Fifty will not sport a $50,000 guarantee during Full Tilt’s promotional week. Instead, the spoils will be bumped to $100,000. The Fifty-Fifty runs nightly at 21:30 ET and first place usually pays around $9,500. Other highlights of Double Guarantees Week include the Double Deuce, which will come complete with a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool. The affordable $22 buy-in tournament kicks off, appropriately, at 16:22 ET on Sundays.

Double Guarantees Week rounds out the month of January on Full Tilt Poker. Beginning on February 10th is the 15th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). The quarterly event makes its debut in the new decade with more than $17 million in guaranteed prize money. The kickoff event is a $216 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament with at least $1 million on the line. FTOPS XV culminates in a $535 buy-in Main Event with at least $2.5 million up for grabs. Last time out, The FTOPS XIV Main Event drew 5,471 players and surpassed its guarantee by $235,000.

Following February’s running of the FTOPS is the MiniFTOPS in March. The series features buy-ins that are one-tenth the size of their high-stakes counterparts and will take place between the 10th and 21st of the month. Full Tilt’s roster of pros include 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey, five-time bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, former MIT Blackjack Team member Andy Bloch, and high-stakes cash game specialist Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who is Team Full Tilt’s newest face.

Visit Full Tilt Poker for more information on Double Guarantees Week.

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.

Ryan D’Angelo, Tyler Reiman Lead PCA Entering Final Table

Eight players remain in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA). Online poker pros Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo and Tyler “puffinmypurp” Reiman lead the eight-handed final table by a comfortable margin.

For Reiman, a massive pot against European Poker Tour (EPT) founder John Duthie gave him the ammunition to nip at D’Angelo’s heels entering Monday’s final table. Duthie was all-in pre-flop holding pocket aces, the best starting hand in Texas Hold’em, and held a 4:1 advantage over Reiman’s pocket queens. The flop, however, contained a queen and propelled Reiman into the lead in the hand for good. Duthie was out two hands later, finishing in 12th place for $130,000. Reiman owned a stack of 9.35 million entering the final table, trailing only D’Angelo’s 10.09 million.

D’Angelo comes to the 2010 PCA Main Event with top-tier credentials. He was one of only two dual winners during the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), taking down a $320 buy-in Eight-Game event and a $320 buy-in Mixed tournament. The only other player to accomplish the feat in the September tournament series was Team PokerStars Pro member and former PCA winner Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, who took down two No Limit Hold’em events.

In third place on the 2010 PCA Main Event leaderboard is Barry Shulman, who is fresh off a victory in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event for £801,000. He defeated PokerStars sponsored pro Daniel Negreanu in the finale of that tournament, which also saw Jason Mercier, Praz Bansi, and WSOP Main Event November Nine members Antoine Saout and James Akenhead reach the final table. Shulman owns a stack of 6.81 million entering Monday’s play.

Benjamin “xthesteinx” Zamani sent longtime PCA Main Event chip leader Wayne Bentley packing on Sunday. The 23 year-old called Zamani’s all-in on a flop of 3-8-2, showing pocket deuces for a flopped set. In a scene reminiscent of Joe Cada in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, Bentley turned over pocket jacks and watched in agony as the board ran out 6-7. Bentley, a Brit, took home an even $100,000 consolation prize for his 16th place showing.

Poker pro Jeff Madsen hit the rails in 19th place, pocketing $87,500 from the $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Norwegian poker player Aage Ravn called Madsen’s all-in with pocket fours and Madsen flipped up A-J for an old fashioned race. The board ran out K-7-9-5-9 and that was all she wrote for the poker rapper.

Who will join D’Angelo, Reiman, Ravn, and Shulman at the eight-handed final table of the 2010 PCA, a stop on the EPT and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT)? Here’s a look at the leaderboard:

1. Ryan D'Angelo – 10,090,000
2. Tyler Reiman – 9,350,000
3. Barry Shulman – 6,805,000
4. Harrison Gimbel – 6,000,000
5. Thomas Koral – 5,370,000
6. Benjamin Zamani – 3,700,000
7. Zachary Goldberg – 2,340,000
8. Aage Floenes Ravn – 1,690,000

Ravn is the only non-American at the final table. A total of 57 countries were represented among the 1,529 players who entered the 2010 PCA Main Event. About half of those players were from the United States. Now, seven out of eight finalists, or a hefty 88%, hail from the North American nation. Similarly, Shulman, who is 63 years-old, is the only member of the final table older than 26. Gimbel is the baby of the group at 19, while Reiman and Goldberg weigh in at the tender age of 21.

Regardless of a player’s age, life-changing money is on the line when play kicks off this afternoon from the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Each player remaining is guaranteed to earn at least $201,000:

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

The final table kicks off at Noon ET from Atlantis and will continue until a champion is crowned. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest PCA coverage.

Caesars Hosts MBA Poker Championship

MBA students from across the country will descend upon the Caesars poker room Jan. 15-17 for a chance to win thousands and test their poker skills and school spirit against MBAs from top schools.

"This is an important networking and recruiting event for the MBA candidates and our recruiting team," said Brad Warga, vice president of talent acquisition, Harrah's Entertainment. "MBA poker players tend to think quickly on their feet and be quite quantitatively apt -- two attributes highly coveted by businesses."

In 2009, the prize pool totaled over $65,000 with over 600 MBA students and alumni from some of the United States’ best universities taking part.

This year's MBA tournament will again donate a portion of the proceeds to the Alzheimer's Association and Cleveland Clinic. In its first four years, the event has raised $33,000 for the Alzheimer's Association.

For additional information about the tournament or to register, visit the event’s website.

Amir Vahedi Dies

Amir Vahedi was born in Tehran, Iran. Vahedi was a former Iranian soldier and he served during the Iran-Iraq conflict before becoming a war refugee and moving to the United States.

News of Vahedi’s death spread after his close friend Mark Seif posted following post on his twitter:

“I’ve just been told by close friends of Amir Vahedi, that Vahedi passed away in Las Vegas on January 8, 2010, due to complications involving blood sugar levels. Waiting for for more details. Devastating news. Very very sad.”

Many remembers Vahedi for his oversized cigars and matching personality. Vahedi was named no limit Texas hold ‘em player of the year in 2001 and was second to Men Nguyen for Card Player Magazine’s 2003 player of the year.

Year 2003 was his best year in poker resultwise, when he made to the final table of the main event of the World Series of Poker, finishing sixth and also won his first and only bracelet.

Vahedi won over $3.3 million in his poker career in live tournaments. His biggest cash, $446,292, came from winning $1,455 Limit Hold’em tournament in 2005 edition of the L.A. Poker Classic.

Vahedi also tutored of the actor Ben Affleck, after he was bitten by a poker bug.

Sources: pokerlistings

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Amir Vahedi Dies

Amir Vahedi Dies

Born in Tehran, Iran, Vahedi was a former Iranian soldier who moved to the United States as a political refugee.

After owning several businesses in the U.S., Vahedi took on poker as a full-time profession, rising to prominence in 2003 when he won his first and only World Series of Poker bracelet and finished sixth in the Main Event.

Vahedi’s career tournament earnings totaled more than $3.3 million and he once famously tutored actor Ben Affleck when Affleck caught the poker bug.

He was named No-Limit Texas Hold'em Player of the Year in 2001 and had nine No-Limit final table appearances in 2003 alone.

However, the Sherman Oaks, California resident was perhaps most famous for constantly chomping on an unlit cigar at the poker table.

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.

2010 PCA: Island Vibe Perfect for Poker

“I don’t know what it is,” said the 35-year-old software analyst turned poker pro from Stockton, California.  “I guess I really like this place.”

After finishing runner-up to Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier at the 2008 PCA, Khan went deep at Atlantis again last year, making 21^st place.

This year, he managed another strong finish, busting out 37^th on Day 4 Saturday.

“The fact that I’ve been here before and gone through such a big field, I feel that it helps me,” he explained. “It helps me remain calm and patient.”

Calm and patient is the exact same vibe Floridian poker pro Robert Mizrachi said he feels while playing in the Caribbean, and the results have followed.

Mizrachi managed a fourth place finish at the 2007 PCA and in late 2009, he finished runner-up at Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic.

“I guess it’s more relaxing,” he said of playing on the islands. “You’ve got nothing on your mind and it’s easy to focus on poker.”

Just 24 players remain in the hunt for the title and $2.2 million first-place prize headed into Day 5 Sunday and Mizrachi is still deep-stacked and in the hunt.

The 1,529 entrants this year have made the 2010 PCA the largest tournament ever held outside the United States.

Like Aruba, the PCA sees more people win their seats online than the average big buy-in tournament.

In fact, with a total of 756 online qualifiers, almost half of the field won their way into the 2010 PCA on the virtual felt.

A fact Mizrachi said sets up well for his game.

“They are actually very aggressive players and I just know how to pick my spots against them,” he said. “I guess I play better against more aggressive players. My style of play is very effective against 18-21-year-old Internet players. With their style of play, I just know how to beat them.

“I play sometimes more aggressive than them, and other times I just try to trap them - Mixing it up works very well.”

No matter how calm and relaxed the island vibe is, wading your way through such a massive field is no easy task, even for a man who seems to do it every year.

“It’s a huge tournament so you are dodging land mines every day,” said Khan. “I really don’t know what it is for me here. I guess it’s a matter of running good and playing good.”

Joining Mizrachi among the leaders heading into Day 5 are two-time PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker event winner Ryan D’Angelo, Team PokerStars Pro and EPT founder John Duthie and WSOPE main event champion and CardPlayer publisher Barry Shulman.

To catch all the island poker action at the 2010 PCA as the remaining 24 play down to a final table of eight Sunday, tune in to PokerListings’ Live Updates.

Online Poker Funding Methods for the U.S. Player

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

Credit/Debit Cards

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

e-Checks

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

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

e-Wallets

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

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

Western Union/MoneyGram

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

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

PokerStars amfAR Charity Poker Tournament Attracts Star-Studded Lineup

On Friday night during the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), a charity poker tournament benefiting amfAR, a foundation for AIDS research, will play out. The field is capped at 39 entrants.

Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $290 million and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide. Now, poker players will have a chance to give to the cause as part of a star-studded $5,250 buy-in charity tournament that will be filmed for television and beamed across cyberspace via EPTlive. The PCA is in the midst of Day 3 of its $10,000 buy-in Main Event, which attracted a starting field of 1,529 players, a new European Poker Tour (EPT) record.

Unlike a traditional poker tournament, the amfAR benefit takes on a shootout format. A total of 39 players will assemble across four tables. The last two standing at each table will move onto the final round. At the first table, each player is awarded 50,000 starting chips and the price of poker goes up every 20 minutes. At the final table, combatants will receive the same 50,000 chips, but blind levels will instead last a half-hour. Fifty percent of the prize pool will go straight to amfAR and all players are encouraged to donate 1% of their winnings to the charity. One television table and three outer tables can be found at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas tonight.

On Saturday night, former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland will be performing at a PokerStars-sponsored party at the resort. Tonight, Rowland will put her poker skills to the test in the amfAR charity event. Other celebrity poker players who will take to the felts this evening include Entourage actor Adrian "Vince" Grenier, former Guns and Roses guitarist Slash, “24” star Carlos Bernard, and former Playboy Playmate of the Year and “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge” personality Jayde Nicole. New PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) television hostess Joanna Krupa can also be found among the personalities in attendance in the charity poker event.

Professionals taking to the felts include reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada, a card-carrying member of Team PokerStars Pro. Cada is fresh off mainstream media appearances on programs like the “Late Show with David Letterman” and “ESPN SportsCenter” and he recently toured Capitol Hill on behalf of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). Also, look for tennis stud Boris Becker, former hockey star Mats Sundin, and former soccer player Teddy Sheringham. All are members of Team PokerStars SportsStars and will be in attendance raising money for amfAR.

Several PokerStars-sponsored pros besides Cada and the world’s sports heroes will make their way to the tournament area tonight, including Costa Rican sensation Humberto Brenes, Brazil’s Alexandre Gomes and Andre Akkari, Swedish pro William Thorson, and the Netherlands’ Pieter de Korver. Also taking part are five online qualifiers, who will almost certainly be overwhelmed by the amount of celebrity and poker firepower in attendance.

Members of the media were advised to show up no later than 5:45pm local time in order to snap pictures of players as they arrived. No interviews were available, as PokerStars will hold a formal red carpet outside of the Aura Nightclub at 7:00pm on Saturday prior to Rowland’s performance.

At the time of writing, Bryce Yockey from the United States paced the field in the 2010 PCA Main Event with a chip stack of one million. Others in the top ten included 2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine member Phil Ivey, UB.com pro Matt “mattg1983” Graham, and two-time bracelet winner Eric “EFro” Froehlich. A total of 190 players remain and blinds are 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news, notes, and nuggets from the 2010 PCA.

Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt Resigns From Stoxpoker/CardRunners Team

Much of the attention of the poker community in recent days has been focused on the amicable parting of Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and Bodog. In another announcement that came out earlier this week, a top poker teacher has announced that he will no longer be a part of the poker training team he helped reach its current prominence.

In a blog posting earlier this week, noted poker player/golfer Dusty “Leatherass” Schmidt used his 400th post on the popular Stoxpoker/CardRunners site to announce his departure from the training team: “I will admit I never really thought this day would come, but due to irreconcilable differences with Stoxpoker/Cardrunners, I am resigning as a lead coach."

While he doesn’t go into detail about what the “irreconcilable differences” are, Schmidt is gracious in his departure: “I want to thank everyone who watched my videos and followed my blogs over the past three years here at Stoxpoker.com. It was you guys who kept me going during some of these difficult times with Stoxpoker/Cardrunners.”

Similar to Bonomo’s situation – in which he stated that there are several sponsorship opportunities available to him – Schmidt is looking to the future of his poker teaching career. “In the coming days and at an appropriate time, I will announce which training site I will begin making videos for”, “Leatherass” tells his readers. It was quickly revealed that Drag the Bar would be his new home.

Schmidt started out on Stoxpoker as a low-level grinder who was looking to improve his own poker game. After intense participation in the forums, Dusty became a co-owner of the site and began to provide his own instruction to others. Along with fellow Stoxpoker members Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien (who was one of the founders of the site), Bryce “Freedom25” Paradis, and Matt Matros, Stoxpoker became one of the top poker training sites in the world.

In September 2008, the merger of Stoxpoker and CardRunners was finalized, with both the Stoxpoker team and the CardRunners team – Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins, Brian “sbrugby” Townsend, Brian “stinger85” Hastings, Mike “Schneids” Schneider, Cole “cts” South, and Eric “p3achy_keen” Liu – offering training that crossed their respective borders. While continuing to teach on Stoxpoker, Schmidt made other news in the poker world through a prop bet he proposed.

A top-notch golfer, Schmidt made a $1 million prop bet in April 2009 that he could beat anyone in a 72-hole golf match and in 10 heads-up poker matches, which no one accepted. At the time, Schmidt was a noted amateur player who, by his own admission, had broken some of Tiger Woods’ amateur records. The proposed prop bet, however, incurred the wrath of the United States Golf Association (USGA), which yanked his amateur status over the wagering and the promotion of the event.

Schmidt challenged the USGA's decision, even threatening to take the leading authority in the golf world to court in July. After losing a preliminary hearing on the subject, Schmidt dropped his suit and decided that, eventually, he would attempt to play on the PGA Tour while continuing to play poker. He is currently suspended from amateur play for one year.

Dusty finishes his blog post by saying, “Thanks again to everyone for all of the fantastic experiences. I really enjoyed my time here helping out so many members. Stoxpoker.com truly is a great community and I will miss it greatly.” Poker fans can now catch up with Schmidt at Drag the Bar.

PokerStars Announces North American Poker Tour

Look out, North America! Long absent poker events sponsored by PokerStars, the continent will host the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on January 20th at the Venetian, with another stop planned for Mohegan Sun.

Model Joanna Krupa, who was introduced to the PokerStars family during the fourth installment of the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” will serve as the NAPT’s on-screen host. A television deal is in the works and PokerStars officials have employed 411, the same company that produces the World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN, to create each episode. The identity of a television partner should be released in the next two weeks.

PokerStars players from the United States and Canada currently have to hop on an airplane and travel to far away lands for PokerStars-sponsored tournaments. PokerStars-backed series include the European Poker Tour (EPT), Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Czech-Slovak Poker Tour (CSPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT).

At the Venetian in Las Vegas, the final tournament of the casino’s Deep Stack Extravaganza will be the $5,000 buy-in NAPT Main Event. The fun in Sin City will take place from February 20th to 24th and side events will also play out. From Las Vegas, PokerStars NAPT officials will travel 2,600 miles due east to Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tournament series in the popular East Coast casino will see its Main Event held from April 7th to 11th as the kickoff of a brand new poker festival.

Negreanu commented in a press release furnished by the world’s largest online poker site, “I'm really looking forward to the launch of the NAPT. PokerStars.net has done an excellent job sponsoring meaningful tournaments around the world with the EPT, LAPT, APPT, and various other local tours – and it’s exciting to see them coming to my home town of Las Vegas! With the addition of the NAPT, I'll have a chance to play some tournaments on home soil and I'm very excited about that.” 2009 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Cada and Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso are among the bevy of site pros who are expected to turn out.

Technically, the first tournament of the NAPT was the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is ongoing from the Atlantis Resort and Casino across the harbor from Nassau in the Bahamas. Satellites to the Venetian and Mohegan Sun tournaments will take place on PokerStars, which happily accepts players from the United States. Besides Cada, other WSOP Main Event champions to call the site home include Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Tom McEvoy (1983).

In North America, the NAPT will compete against several longstanding brands such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and WSOP Circuit. The WPT is in the midst of filming its eighth season, the first with the backing of Party Gaming, which purchased the rights to the series in October. Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton and actor Vince Van Patten continue to bring the WPT to life each week on Fox Sports Net. The WSOP Circuit has been crisscrossing the United States since 2004, stopping at various Harrah’s properties along the way. Circuit staffers are now camped out in Tunica, Mississippi for the fifth stop of the 2009-2010 season. The series gets underway in the Deep South on January 20th from Harrah’s Tunica.

Krupa has graced the covers of a handful of brand-name magazines, including “FHM,” “Maxim,” “Playboy,” and “Stuff.” She appeared on Season 9 of the ABC reality series “Dancing with the Stars” and also tested her sports skills in the network’s “Superstars.” Krupa defeated 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski on the fourth episode of the “Million Dollar Challenge;” Kosowski would later go on to defeat Negreanu and earn the $1 million grand prize.

Additional stops for Season 1 of the NAPT will also be announced.

Sports Greats Define Poker at PCA

But does it really belong there? Is poker really a sport?

Webster’s defines sport as an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.

Under that definition, 1988 Major League Baseball World Series MVP Orel Hershiser, who certainly knows a thing or two about sports and is playing at the PCA as a Friend of PokerStars this year, says poker might just fit.

“I don’t think Monopoly is a sport, but there’s no tells in Monopoly, there’s nothing physical,” he said. “That’s the part about poker that makes me think it’s a sport, because there are some physical attributes to the game, as far as controlling your heart rate, how you move your chips and what you do with your eyes.

“People say that it’s not physical, but there are some physical attributes to the game and that would make me push it closer to the definition of a sport.”

PokerStars SportStar Matt Sundin, a National Hockey League legend, tends to agree.

“In my mind it is a sport,” he told PokerListings on a break at the PCA. “Except for the physical grind of hockey, I see a lot of similarities between hockey and poker. The same anticipation exists, you need to have a good game plan and you need to be physically fit in order to play four or five days in a row.

“I couldn’t believe it the first time I played a live tournament; you get the same pulsing heart rate you do when you are playing hockey.”

However, tennis Legend Boris Becker, another PokerStars SportStar playing at the PCA, sees poker as a totally different animal than the sport that made him a household name all over the world.

“The same question is whether chess is a sport,” he said. “It’s a mental sport, not a physical sport. I would consider poker a sport, but obviously not a physical sport. It’s somewhere in the middle.”

In making the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event final table, Team PokerStars Pro Dennis Phillips had to endure eight 16-hour days on the felt.

He believes anything that requires that kind of endurance has to be considered a sport.

“It’s competition, it does take a skill level and you have to practice to improve, so yeah, I do consider poker a sport,” he said. “If you are at the World Series of Poker, and you are going to play eight days, 16 hours a day, every day, you do have to be physically prepared for it. You have to eat right, sleep right, and get mentally prepared just like any sport.”

But fellow Team PokerStars Pro Hevad Khan, who went through the same grind to book a seat in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, disagrees.

“It’s only a sport because it’s on ESPN so people consider it a sport, other than that, no way,” he said. “You’ve got to sweat to make something a sport. Poker is very high-level professional gambling. They may want to say it’s a sport to get it into new markets, but you can’t lie about it. It’s gambling.”

Sport or not, Phillips believes those who come to poker from a sports background, like Becker, Sundin and Hershiser, bring with them a competitive edge that certainly makes them better poker players.

“They’ve been competitive their whole lives, probably from grade school on,” he said. “These guys have been doing it year after year and they don’t like to lose. I don’t like to lose either, you give me a game of Tiddlywinks and I’m going to try and win the damn game, and that’s where we are similar. But they have an edge because they’ve been doing it day in, day out for years.

“I can’t believe Orel Hershiser is going to lay down for anybody in any game or sport.”

More than 1,500 players descended upon the Bahamas to play poker this week, making the 2010 PCA the largest poker tournament ever held outside the United States, further proving poker isn’t going anywhere and neither is the debate over whether it is a sport or not.

To follow all the action from the event, click through to PokerListings’ Live Updates.

FTOPS XV Schedule Announced

Kicking off on February 10th on Full Tilt Poker is the 15th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). The quarterly tournament series is the first of 2010 and features 27 events with more than $17 million in guaranteed prize money.

Continuing the tradition, the Main Event of FTOPS XV will be a $535 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament featuring at least $2.5 million up for grabs. The event takes place on Sunday, February 21st at 18:00 ET. During the Main Event of FTOPS XIV, 5,471 poker hopefuls took to the felts of the world’s second largest online poker site, with “zhivago2” emerging victorious for $418,000 after a three-way chop. Also involved were “ItsTime2Win” (second place for $316,000) and poker pro Adam Junglen, who cashed for $290,000 and officially took third.

A Full Tilt pro hosts each of the 27 FTOPS XV events and the kickoff tournament takes place on February 10th. The $216 buy-in contest boasts at least $1 million up for grabs and is sure to draw a crowd. Knockouts, shootouts, cashouts, six-max, and heads-up events will be held across a variety of poker disciplines including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, HORSE, Seven-Game, Stud, and Razz. As if that weren’t enough, the MiniFTOPS XV schedule will pan out from March 10th to 21st after a one-month break.

Here is the schedule for the 15th FTOPS. All times are Eastern:

Event #1: Wednesday, February 10th at 21:00 ET
$200 + $16 No Limit Hold'em
$1,000,000 Guaranteed

Event #2: Thursday, February 11th at 14:00 ET
$240 + $16 Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better Knockout
$250,000 Guaranteed

Event #3: Thursday, February 11th at 21:00 ET
$500 + $35 No Limit Hold'em 3x Shootout
$350,000 Guaranteed

Event #4: Friday, February 12th at 14:00 ET
$200 + $16 No Limit Hold'em Cubed
$600,000 Guaranteed

Event #5: Friday, February 12th at 21:00 ET
$200 + $16 Limit Hold'em Six-Max
$150,000 Guaranteed

Event #6: Saturday, February 13th at 14:00 ET
$500 + $35 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max
$350,000 Guaranteed

Event #7: Saturday, February 13th at 16:00 ET
$100 + $9 No Limit Hold'em with Rebuys
$600,000 Guaranteed

Event #8: Sunday, February 14th at 14:00 ET
$120 + $9 No Limit Hold'em Knockout
$800,000 Guaranteed

Event #9: Sunday, February 14th at 16:00 ET
$500 + $35 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up
$400,000 Guaranteed

Event #10: Sunday, February 14th at 18:00 ET
$300 + $22 No Limit Hold'em
$1,500,000 Guaranteed

Event #11: Monday, February 15th at 14:00 ET
$200 + $16 Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better
$200,000 Guaranteed

Event #12: Monday, February 15th at 21:00 ET
$1,000 + $60 No Limit Hold’em
$1,500,000 Guaranteed

Event #13: Tuesday, February 16th at 14:00 ET
$300 + $22 No Limit Hold'em 4x Shootout Six-Max
$300,000 Guaranteed

Event #14: Tuesday, February 16th at 21:00 ET
$500 + $35 HORSE
$300,000 Guaranteed

Event #15: Tuesday, February 16th at 21:00 ET
$200 + $16 No Limit Hold'em Turbo
$600,000 Guaranteed

Event #16: Wednesday, February 17th at 14:00 ET
$200 + $16 Seven-Game
$150,000 Guaranteed

Event #17: Wednesday, February 17th at 21:00 ET
$300 + $22 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max with Rebuys
$1,000,000 Guaranteed

Event #18: Thursday, February 18th at 14:00 ET
$200 + $16 No Limit Hold'em Cashout
$150,000 Guaranteed

Event #19: Thursday, February 18th at 21:00 ET
$200 + $16 Stud
$100,000 Guaranteed

Event #20: Friday, February 19th at 14:00 ET
$200 + $16 No Limit Hold'em Six-Max
$500,000 Guaranteed

Event #21: Friday, February 19th at 21:00 ET
$300 + $22 Razz
$150,000 Guaranteed

Event #22: Saturday, February 20th at 14:00 ET
$2,500 + $120 No Limit Hold'em Ante From Start Two-Day Six-Max
$2,000,000 Guaranteed

Event #23: Saturday, February 20th at 16:00 ET
$100 + $9 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys
$400,000 Guaranteed

Event #24: Saturday, February 20th at 21:00 ET
$500 + $20 No Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Six-Max
$250,000 Guaranteed

Event #25: Sunday, February 21st at 14:00 ET
$240 + $16 No Limit Hold'em Knockout Six-Max
$800,000 Guaranteed

Event #26: Sunday, February 21st at 16:00 ET
$200 + $16 Pot Limit Omaha Heads-Up
$150,000 Guaranteed

FTOPS XV Main Event: Sunday, February 21st at 18:00 ET
$500 + $35 No Limit Hold'em
$2,500,000 Guaranteed

Full Tilt Poker happily accepts customers from the United States and trails only PokerStars in terms of traffic.

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.

PCA Boom Continues

And as Day 1a of the PokerStars Caribbean adventure kicked off in the Bahamas Tuesday, every indication is that growth is not about to slow down.

In 2005, the tournament got off the boat and moved to its current home at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

But it wasn’t until 2007 that the real growth began.

The 937 registrants that year helped the PCA break the record for the largest poker tournament ever held outside the U.S. for the first time.

And after becoming a stop on the PokerStars European Poker Tour schedule in 2008, the event has broken the record every year since, including last year when Canadian Poorya Nazari beat a massive 1,347-player field to bank a $3 million first-place prize.

EPT Founder John Duthie says it’s the PokerStars part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure that has truly made the difference.

And with 735 online qualifiers making the trip in 2009 and another 750 expected this year, it’s hard to disagree with him.

“I think it being connected to the largest poker site in the world gives it a critical mass that can’t be competed with,” he said. “When you have so many millions of people playing online you have a huge pool of people from which to send to live events and that’s exactly what we see here.”

Because of the event’s connection to the European Poker Tour and the Bahamas close proximity to the United States, the PCA has grown into a popular destination for poker players from both sides of the Atlantic.

In fact, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier says it appears the entire poker world now descends upon the Bahamas annually for the event.

“It’s like nothing else because you run into people that you’ve met everywhere,” he explained. “Pretty much everybody in poker comes to the PCA. You run into people that you’ve met in Vegas, on the European Poker Tour or the World Poker Tour. Everybody is here.”

This year the PCA is an entire poker festival, boasting as many as 50 events, but with Atlantis’ huge marine habitat, marina, water attractions, beach, spa and casino, Duthie says it’s more than just poker that’s attracting people to the PCA.

“For one reason or another, more people seem to bring their girlfriends or wives and families,” he said. “So it has much more of a feeling like an outing or a holiday and the poker just happens to be part of it.”

Close to 700 players sat down for Day 1a Tuesday and with as many as 900 expected for Day 1b Wednesday, the event appears poised to smash records again.

Now, the incredible growth the PCA has enjoyed has helped grow the EPT into the biggest poker tour on the planet.

A fact Duthie never imagined he’d see.

“First of all, I didn’t think we would ever come to the Caribbean, because I never considered the Caribbean part of Europe, but it became an addition to the EPT because of PokerStars’ involvement. I always thought it would get big in Europe because poker was really taking off. But I never thought it would get as big as it has become.

“It’s an interesting feeling looking at it now because it bears no resemblance to what it was when we started.”

And as far as Mercier can tell, the growth will continue.

“I expect it to keep on growing because PokerStars keeps running so many satellites and it just grows every year,” he said. “PokerStars keeps growing, so more people qualify and poker is not declining; it’s sort of leveling off. So as long as PokerStars continues to grow, the PCA should continue to grow as well.”

To follow the growth and all the action at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, tune into PokerListings’ Live Updates today and throughout the next week.

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.