Although they might have failed in their attempts to purchase the shuttered Full Tilt Poker, the French investment company Groupe Bernard Tapie is moving on with their plans for one of the largest poker tournaments ever, albeit at a later date than they imagined. The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) was slated to have their… Read more »
Month: May 2012
WPT Releases Season XI 2012 Schedule
The World Poker Tour (WPT) released the 2012 portion of next season’s schedule Wednesday, touting its expanded international selection of tournaments. Season XI will begin in August after taking a break following the Season X-ending WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, which starts this weekend. The first two events on the schedule… Read more »
Illinois Senate President Wants Online Poker
The Illinois State Senate President suggested to the state’s legislators Tuesday that it may be time to look at legalizing and regulating online poker in the Land of Lincoln. With no states having intrastate online poker up and running yet, Sen. John Cullerton (D) wants Illinois to jump at the opportunity to be the online… Read more »
PokerStars Officially Launches Zoom Poker
PokerStars officially launched Zoom Poker Tuesday, making the popular game a formal offering for the world’s largest online poker room after two months in public beta testing mode. There was plenty of testing done during that period; more than 300 million Zoom Poker hands have been dealt since mid-March. Zoom Poker is PokerStars’ fast-paced ring… Read more »
Korean Buddhist Monks Caught in High Stakes Poker Game
It’s been said that to succeed in poker one must “have the patience of Buddha.” As it happens, it appears that a handful of men took that a bit too literally. In a scandal that has shaken South Korea, a group of Buddhist monks were caught drinking and playing high stakes poker in a luxury… Read more »
PartyPoker Launches Championship Challenge Promotion
Fresh off the excitement of Manchester City’s historic stoppage time comeback in its season finale to win the English Premier League, PartyPoker has launched the Championship Challenge. Running May 14th through June 30th, the Championship Challenge is a promotion that gives real money players the opportunity to win cash prizes and freeroll entries by earning… Read more »
Belgium Bans More Online Poker Sites
The Belgian Gaming Commission is certainly taking its new online gambling laws seriously. This past week, the Commission placed more online poker sites on the country’s blacklist, making it a crime for the country’s citizens to play on those sites. Including in the new batch of blacklisted sites are such popular names as Betfair, William… Read more »
Mohegan Sun Teams With Pocono Raceway For Charity Poker Tournament
While the world descends on Las Vegas this summer for the 2012 World Series of Poker, one of the top casino operations on the East Coast will be teaming up with arguably the top auto racing tour in the world for a special charity event. The Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs will team up with… Read more »
Jonathan Duhamel Still Leads Major POY Races, But The Lead Is Shrinking
With slightly more than two weeks to the start of the 2012 World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour World Championship beginning next week, former World Champion Jonathan Duhamel still leads two of the three major Player of the Year races, but that once dominant lead is now shrinking. Duhamel, who started off… Read more »
New Jersey Internet Poker Legislation In Limbo
According to a report in a prominent Pennsylvania newspaper, the legislation that would open up the state of New Jersey for internet gaming and poker is now in limbo, apparently due to the politics of the 2012 Presidential election. In an extensive article, Philadelphia Inquirer writer Suzette Parmley reports that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie… Read more »
WSOP Retires Fun Police
It appears that World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials are going to lighten up and let the players have a little fun this year. In a conference call Tuesday, WSOP representatives discussed some changes to what had previously been strict rules governing behavior at the tables. One of the biggest complaints from players last year… Read more »
bwin.party Partners with California Tribe for Future Online Poker Licensing
Online gaming company bwin.party is readying itself to enter the California online poker market should the game become legalized in the state. The operator of bwin.com and PartyPoker.com, bwin.party announced Tuesday that it has inked an agreement with the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) to provide online poker games to residents of California when and… Read more »
Titan Poker Splits with Trickett, Rettenmaier
Titan Poker, one of the leading sites on the iPoker Network, has ended its relationship with its resident pros, star European players Sam Trickett and Marvin Rettenmaier. In a sign of the times, the departures were not announced via a press release or a news item on Titan’s site, but rather by the players themselves… Read more »
ESPN Releases 2012 WSOP Broadcast Schedule
With less than three weeks until the start of the 2012 World Series of Poker (WSOP), it is now permissible to begin getting excited for the annual poker festival. Before the party ends, ESPN will once again begin its broadcasts of the WSOP, starting with a special airing of the Big One for ONE DROP… Read more »
Lock Poker to Acquire Cake Poker Network
When it comes to online poker network reorganizations, things usually happen in one of three ways: one network buys another, a poker room leaves a network, or a poker room joins a network. On Monday, though, a significant move was made that did not fit any of these categories. Yes, Lock Poker announced that it… Read more »
Poker Pros Network Launches
Industry conditions be damned. A new U.S.-friendly online poker network, the Poker Pros Network, launched last week, hoping that its player-friendly atmosphere will attract casual and serious players alike. The Poker Pros Network, owned by Costa Rica-based CMK Interactive, is currently comprised of seven online poker rooms and is new enough that cash game tracking… Read more »
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Signs Bill Expanding Poker At Racetrack Rooms
In a demonstration of bipartisan agreement – and rapid movement of legislation through the appropriate bodies of government – Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota signed a bill on Friday to expand the poker rooms at the two thoroughbred horse tracks in the state. The legislation had been proposed to settle a long-simmering battle between two… Read more »
“The Bernard Lee Show” Celebrates Fifth Anniversary With Trip To Television
Making it five years with any poker programming – whether it is radio or television – calls for a time of celebration. Poker professional Bernard Lee will be doing just that over the month of May as he celebrates his fifth anniversary of his namesake poker radio program by offering a televised version of the… Read more »
PocketFives Offers New Innovation To Connect “Local” Players
One of the unique things about the game of poker is that it is a social activity (taking money off your opponents is an added benefit!). With that in mind, one of the most popular online poker information sites is offering its members a way to connect with like-minded poker players in their respective state… Read more »
Heartland Poker Tour’s Season Eight Broadcasts Premiere In Syndication
While they are still in the midst of what is arguably one of their best seasons ever, the Heartland Poker Tour is ready to open up its broadcasts of its Season Eight schedule beginning this weekend. The HPT broadcasts, which appear in syndication on over 250 television stations and is seen by over 100 million… Read more »
Major Changes Coming For European Poker Tour’s Ninth Season
Hot on the heels of wrapping up its Season Eight tournament schedule with its Grand Final in Monte Carlo, the European Poker Tour has announced their Season Nine schedule of events. For those that have been longtime fans of the EPT, however, it will be a significant change of course for the tournament series. After… Read more »
Two State Legislatures Vote To Expand Live Poker Offerings
Two state governments, looking to add revenues for different projects, have voted to expand live poker offerings inside their borders. In the state of Ohio, a Senate panel slipped an amendment into a casino regulatory bill on Tuesday that would allow every county in the state to operate a charity poker room. The proposed bill,… Read more »
Shawn Cunix Wins WPT Jacksonville BestBet Open
On Shawn Cunix’s website, he writes that he is committed to the core purpose of “inspiring happiness.” We think that $400,600 could be quite the inspiration. This is what Cunix won Wednesday for his triumph in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Jacksonville BestBet Open, along with a $25,500 into the season-ending WPT Championship and a… Read more »
WSOP Expands to Australia, Adds WSOP APAC
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) starts in less than four weeks. That’s this month. But before the main course arrives, Series officials would like to give poker fans a bit of an appetizer. On Tuesday, it was announced that the WSOP would dip its toes into international waters for a second time, creating a… Read more »
WPT Jacksonville BestBet Open Final Table Set, Shawn Cunix Holds Chip Lead
The final table has been set at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Jacksonville BestBet Open as the field was narrowed from 16 to just 6 players on Tuesday. Shawn Cunix will start the final table with a solid chip lead over the rest of the field, holding 2.77 million. That’s more than 600,000 more than… Read more »