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I’ll admit, despite being an incredibly well-respected subject matter expert and trend-setter, I am not an avid consumer of online poker streams. This weekend, however, while I sit at home not doing yard work, I will likely pull up Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook and check out what should be an extremely entertaining poker tournament. On… Read more »
“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ‘em.” Pepper Brooks, Dodgeball (2004) In a report from the “this should go well” files, the Island Resort & Casino in Harris, Michigan announced on Friday that it will reopen this coming Wednesday, May 6. Shutdown order not a concern But wait, you… Read more »
After nearly two months of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting quarantine, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has come out with minimum standards to allow for the reopening of casinos in the state. In some cases, the standards will be extreme in that it will not allow for the usual “fanfare” that… Read more »
With the COVID-19 outbreak keeping people at home, many poker players have been looking for ways to entertain themselves. One way of doing that is through movies about the game and there are plenty out there to choose from. One of those is a hugely underrated classic from the mid-Aughts called Freeze Out, which has… Read more »
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the announcement of the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series on GGPoker. In the announcement, the WSOP said that it would be made up of “hundreds” of tournaments. To that, I had the hottest of takes, “Hundreds is a lot of tournaments, if you ask me.” And holy jeez,… Read more »
The last couple months have been pretty bad, which is the understatement of this new decade. There are silver linings and rays of light in all this darkness, though. One such positive is the immense creativity that so many people have displayed in the ways they work, entertain, and just generally live while largely stuck… Read more »
There’s been a great deal of everyday life that has shut down since the COVID-19 pandemic began and people were put into, to paraphrase The Clash, “the clampdown.” Along with carry-out meals from restaurants and grocery stores, there have been some businesses that have experienced a resurgence, however. One of those, perhaps not surprisingly, is… Read more »
Just after the beginning of the year, the Commonwealth of Kentucky was moving forward with discussions regarding online gaming and poker in the state. It had been an abrupt turn for the state from its previous approaches to the controversial subject. Unfortunately, however, the discussion of online poker and gaming has been derailed by something… Read more »
Poker during a pandemic is a bad idea We were all waiting for this shoe to drop. It felt inevitable. Caesars entertainment finally announced that the 2020 World Series of Poker has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to begin just over a month from now on May 26th, the goal is… Read more »
According to various reports, Las Vegas officials and their casino operations are currently in discussions as to how and when to reopen the city. In most of these scenarios, there will be a significant reduction in the numbers of people – guests, gamblers and employees – who will be allowed in the businesses. The bottom… Read more »
Virus spread quickly Eight retirees ranging from age 70s to mid-90s had been getting together for a home poker game at their condo in South Florida for years. Five days a week, they played a low-stakes game like many of us might, just having a blast spending time with friends. A month ago was their… Read more »
It was the oracle Kevin Garnett who once said, “Anything is possiblllllle!!!”* On Sunday, self-described “washed-up poker pro” and founder of the Run It Once online poker room, Phil Galfond, completed his comeback in the first match-up of the Galfond Challenge. Down €900,240.17 after the February 9th session, Galfond nailed down the win with fewer… Read more »
Dan Smith, fifth on the all-time poker tournament money list, announced on Monday that he has launched an initiative through his Double Up Drive organization to raise money for households in the Las Vegas area that are most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, he has teamed up with Phil Galfond,… Read more »
Poker is a funny game, isn’t it? One minute, you can be down and out, not able to do anything right, and the next minute you can be flying high, hitting every card you need. Such has been the case for Phil Galfond in the first matchup of the Galfond Challenge. In February, he was… Read more »
When it came out in 2014, the book Molly’s Game pulled the curtains back on the high stakes poker world. Written by the ringmaster of those games, former Olympic skiing hopeful Molly Bloom, the story entranced both the poker community and the celebrity world as Bloom documented the exploits of celebrities and businessmen inside the… Read more »
The COVID-19 outbreak has seen something that has never happened in the history of the casino industry in the States of America. The closure of all gaming activity in casinos across the land has left several states wondering what the impact will be from the strangulation of revenues. In one state, however, that abrupt shutoff… Read more »
With the majority of the sporting world either postponing their marquee events or canceling them altogether – the All-England Tennis Club’s cancelation of the 2020 Wimbledon tennis tournament is the most recent occurrence – due to the COVID-19 (or coronavirus) outbreak, there are few events that haven’t been touched. One of the events that hasn’t… Read more »
The WSOP.com Online Super Circuit just ended, so WSOP.com figured it was as good of a time as any to start up another big tournament series. And the Spring Online Championships is much, much bigger. Starting today, April 1st, and running through May 3rd, the Spring Online Championships feature more than 100 events and over… Read more »
At the current time, the poker world has ground to a halt. This has given this writer a chance to catch up with some other media productions that, previously, would have been overwhelmed by the tournaments and other poker politics that’s been going on. One of those things that I’ve caught up with is the… Read more »
On Wednesday afternoon, the final throes of one of the darkest eras in poker’s history – “Black Friday” – took place. In a court in New York City, the final outstanding indictment from the 2011 actions by the U. S. Department of Justice was heard as Isai Scheinberg, the founder and former owner of PokerStars,… Read more »
Winner gained entry via $11 satellite How about some news that is in no way related to the coronavirus pandemic? On Tuesday, Brazilian online poker player “AAAArthur” won the PokerStars Sunday Million’s 14th Anniversary edition and $1,192,802 after a four-way deal at the final table. That truckload of money is just a tad more than… Read more »
Despite having one of the most popular You Tube pages in the poker world, despite the millions won, if you’re heart isn’t in it, it is time to go. Doug Polk, who has done a great deal of this in the poker world, has decided that it is time to “retire” officially from the world… Read more »
With the tournament poker world on a hiatus (and for good reasons – stay safe, everyone!), the two major Player of the Year races are on hold. For how long is not known, but one thing that is known is that there were two entirely different lists that were being compiled. It points out the… Read more »
And there it is. On Tuesday, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered all “nonessential businesses” in the state to close to the public for 30 days. Most notably for our interests, that means that all Nevada casinos – Las Vegas Strip and all – have now gone dark. Governor lays it all out Sisolak made no… Read more »
The hits to the poker calendar continue as the world goes on semi-lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As poker players know, a poker room has got to be one of the worst places to be if trying to avoid a virus. And casinos know this, too. To… Read more »
