We poker players know that poker is a game of skill. But we also know that to win a big tournament, Lady Luck needs to be on your side from time to time, as well. Such was the case for Will “The Thrill” Failla, who came into the 2011 World Poker Tour (WTP) Legends of… Read more »
On Monday, Poker News Daily reported on the interactions of Full Tilt Poker lawyer Jeff Ifrah with members of the poker community. In answering questions about the status of the once second largest online poker room in the world, Ifrah said that a series of statements from Full Tilt were on the way, with the… Read more »
In an attempt to at least partially fill the online poker void in the United States now that internet poker rooms are slim pickings in the country, 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Jamie Gold has launched a free online poker room dubbed FreeGoldPoker.com. Unlike subscription-based online poker rooms, which charge a monthly… Read more »
Today is the day that every player on the World Poker Tour (WPT) wants to reach: the televised final table. Just six players were able to hit that goal when play stopped early Tuesday morning at the WPT Legends of Poker at the legendary Bicycle Casino, having outlasted 751 other players since Thursday. Going into… Read more »
Over the weekend, Jeff Ifrah, the attorney retained by Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar after the U.S. Department of Justice online poker indictments on Black Friday, fielded questions on the Two Plus Two poker forum about the state of Full Tilt, its efforts to find investors, and the status of player funds. While what… Read more »
The World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Legends of Poker is rounding the final turn, about to hit the home stretch. After Day 3 of competition at The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California, just 21 players remain out of the 757 that began play. With $758,085 on the line for first place and the current payout… Read more »
With the first North American stop of the new season as a backdrop, World Poker Tour (WPT) officials announced new tour stops and new features for Season X of the ever-popular poker tournament series. The season started in May with the WPT Spanish Championship, held at the Casino Barcelona, followed by WPT Spanish Slovenia in… Read more »
This has certainly been an interesting week for intrastate poker. Phil Hellmuth has commented on Washington D.C.’s plans for district-only online gaming, California shelved its intrastate bill until early next year, and now the Nevada Gaming Control Board has released its first draft of regulations for intrastate “interactive gaming.” New Regulation 5A lays out the… Read more »
Despite widespread support, it appears that intrastate online poker will not be legalized and regulated in California this year. It still seems, however, that it is a matter or “when” and not “if” for online poker in the Golden State. In a letter to stakeholders, including Native American tribes and card rooms, California Senate President… Read more »
In an interview with the Washington Post, Phil Hellmuth expressed the cynicism that many other poker players share about intrastate online poker. Specifically discussing the District of Columbia’s plans for legal online poker, Hellmuth said he just does not see it working. In late 2010, the Washington, D.C. city council approved a budget which would… Read more »
It appears that the wait for refunds from Full Tilt Poker will continue. According to a press release issued by the former second largest online poker room in the world to news outlet Pokernews.com, talks with the mystery European investors have come to a close. In the press release, Full Tilt stated that it is… Read more »
According to a report on PokerListings.com, Party Poker will be changing its rake structure starting tomorrow, August 24th. Both the way raked hands are calculated and the rake schedule will be adjusted. Currently, Party Poker uses the “dealt” method for determining whether or not a player is credited with a raked hand. In this method,… Read more »
This wasn’t quite the start the Epic Poker League (EPL) wanted. Just a week after the conclusion of the new professional poker league’s first $20,000 buy-in Main Event, it disciplined its first champion in a move that is quite unusual in the sport of poker. Chino Rheem, who won the $1,000,000 first prize as the… Read more »
Starting today, Victor Chandler Poker is launching a five day promotion for real money cash game players dubbed, appropriately, Cash Game Crazy. The promotion will feature a different way to earn extra money each day. On both Monday and Tuesday, players can qualify for a special freeroll in the Wheel of Fortune promo. To do… Read more »
Last week, Congressman Joe Barton’s (R – Texas) online poker bill, H.R. 2366, gained five more co-sponsors. The haul upped the number of co-sponsors 25 percent to, coincidentally, a total of 25, and included Representatives from both sides of the aisle. Representative Howard Berman (D – Calif.), sometimes referred to as “the representative from Hollywood”… Read more »
PROFILE Name: Anton Makiievskyi Age: 21 Hometown: Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine Online Handle: Unknown Anton Makiievskyi represents the Ukraine at the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event final table as the youngest member of the November Nine. In fact, the 21-year-old student has a chance to replace Joe Cada as the youngest Main Event winner ever… Read more »
PROFILE Name: Badih “Bob” Bounahra Age: 49 Hometown: Belize City, Belize Online Handle: LEB_BEL At 49 years old, Badih Bounahra is the elder statesman of the 2011 November Nine. He’s also the first player from Belize to ever reach the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. Bounahra was born in Lebanon… Read more »
Before Black Friday, options for American online poker players were limited, but most people were perfectly happy with the two giants, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. But since those two poker rooms closed to U.S. players (the latter shutting down completely, at least temporarily), it has become very hard for players stateside to find a… Read more »
PROFILE Name: Pius Heinz Age: 22 Hometown: Cologne, Germany Online Handle: MastaP89 Pius Heinz used his fearless style to become the first German ever to reach the World Series of Poker Main Event final table. The 22-year-old has an extensive online background, having won numerous tournaments on the virtual felts before playing in his very… Read more »
In a video interview with the Financial Times’ Matt Garrahan over the weekend, Caesars Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Gary Loveman reaffirmed his company’s desire to see online poker completely legalized and regulated in the United States. Not only does he want to see it happen, he believes it will happen. After answering some questions about… Read more »
The José “Girah” Macedo cheating scandal is just the gift that keeps on giving. For a while, it looked like it was just Macedo who had some explaining to do (which he did), but now the poker world has found out that one of Macedo’s friends, Daniel “Jungleman” Cates, is not completely innocent of any… Read more »
Lock Poker announced late last week that it has signed Spaniard Leo Margets to its LockPRO ELITE team. With the signing, Margets becomes the first female member of the Lock Poker team. Margets, who hails from Barcelona, Spain, first rose to prominence in 2009, when she was the “last woman standing” at the World Series… Read more »
With just 137 of the 254 eligible players competing in last week’s inaugural Epic Poker League Main Event, there were obviously a lot of people who decided to pass on the new tournament. There are any number of reasons someone might not have wanted to play: prior commitment, didn’t want to pony up the $20,000… Read more »
David “Chino” Rheem bested one of the toughest tournament fields of the year by winning the inaugural Epic Poker League Main Event at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas Friday. Rheem collected $1,000,000 after defeating arguably the two hottest players on the planet, Erik Seidel and Jason Mercier, at the final table. The score is… Read more »
Surprise, surprise. The final table of the inaugural Epic Poker League Main Event is stacked with poker superstars. The invite-only event featuring the many of game’s most accomplished tournament players is down to the final six, five of which boast a million-dollar-plus score in their career. Another million is up for grabs Friday at the… Read more »
