They’re coming down to the final days of the 2019 Aussie Millions at the Crown Casino in Melbourne and it is delivering on the promised excitement. Day 3 is in the books, with 38 players remaining and one of last year’s final table players, Mike Del Vecchio, holding the lead and making another run for… Read more »
After being arrested in late 2018 on a variety of federal and state drug charges, poker professional Micah Raskin has pled guilty to a lesser federal charge of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and seen all state charges dropped. Although the plea bargain takes some of the more severe charges off the table, it is still… Read more »
There were 177 poker players who went to bed happy last night, as they made it through Day 2 of the 2019 World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Winter Poker Open, surviving the money bubble which burst on the last hand of the night. Leading the pack is Alex Aqel with 1.260 million chips. Chase Bianchi… Read more »
According to multiple poker media outlets, PokerStars is preparing to ban seating scripts in order to create a more welcoming environment for players, recreational players, in particular. It is a continuing effort by Stars – as well as other online poker rooms – over the last few years to retain casual players by making the… Read more »
Do you want a venue record? Because this is how you get a venue record. After the two starting flights of the 2019 World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Winter Poker Open, a total of 1,204 entries have been paid, only about 100 shy of the all-time record for any WPT Borgata stop, set in 2011… Read more »
He didn’t eliminate everyone at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Russia Main Event final table – he missed the first knockout – but Denys Shafikov began with the chip lead and cruised all the way to heads-up en route to winning the title and $255,258. Shafikov had 5.335 million chips to start the six-handed final… Read more »
One of the most popular events on the World Poker Tour (WPT) kicked off on Sunday, as Day 1A of the 2019 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open got off to a great start. There were 424 entries on the first of two starting flights, already 81 more than last year. The tournament allows for unlimited… Read more »
Somewhat overshadowed in the early stages of the 2019 tournament poker season has been action “Down Under.” The 2019 Aussie Millions schedule has been being played over the past week with several preliminary events already in the books. One of the bigger tournaments of the early schedule, the $25,000 Challenge, wrapped up yesterday as players… Read more »
It has all come down to this. After what proved to be a longer Day 4 than expected, the final table has been determined at the Casino Sochi in the World Poker Tour’s stop in Russia. When the cards fly on Sunday to determine the champion, Denys Shafikov will hold the lead, but Day 3… Read more »
Day 3 of the World Poker Tour’s foray into Russia at the Casino Sochi has worked its way down to the final 17 players. With a payday of over $250,000 on the line, Oleg Pavyluchuk will be the one in the best position to take down the championship as he holds the chip lead with… Read more »
Slightly more than four years ago, Sochi, Russia was the host to the world for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Since that time, the site has been the home for the Russian Grand Prix and the world’s greatest drivers from the Formula One ranks. But with winter blanketing the Russian countryside, the games have moved inside… Read more »
The final of the three starting flights of the 2019 World Poker Tour (WPT) Russia Main Event came and went on Wednesday and as expected, Day 1C was the largest of the trio. Days 1A and 1B combined at 96 entries, but Day 1C alone saw another 122 entries pay the buy-in to bring the… Read more »
One of the key questions posed in the aftermath of last week’s new Wire Act opinion published by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) was, “Will this even have any effect on online poker?” It didn’t take long to find out the answer, as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board quickly sent a letter… Read more »
Well, it has yet to eclipse 100 players, probably guaranteeing that it will be one of the smallest events ever on the Main Tour portion of the World Poker Tour, but WPT Russia has already beaten all of the three WPT Tournaments of Champions, finishing Day 1B at 96 entries. There is still Day 1C… Read more »
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to host a World Poker Tour event in your own house? Impossible, right? Not at all, if your house is in Sochi, Russia. The WPT Russia Main Event kicked off on Monday and it has attracted a field that, so far, could comfortably fit in my… Read more »
The World Series of Poker continued its trickle of updates last week, this time announcing the schedule for all of the events this summer that will cost $10,000 or more to enter. There are 20 such tournaments at the 2019 WSOP, including, of course the $10,000 Main Event, which had been previously announced. One of… Read more »
Poker playing robots – more realistically, poker programs that utilize artificial intelligence, or AI, to make their decision – have been under development for the last 20 or so years. And with each ‘bot,’ they have gotten better at the game. Now comes the development that the AI that defeated four top professional poker players… Read more »
Since the U. S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a reversal last Monday of the 2011 decision by the Obama Administration’s decision regarding online sports betting, gaming and poker, there have been a flurry of opinions on the issue. Some entities have called the new opinion “unfortunate,” while other organizations are tempering… Read more »
When the best players in the game today are discussed, his is a name you seldom hear mentioned. You’ll hear about the best Germans – Fedor Holz, Dominik Nitsche, Rainer Kempe, among others – or about Justin Bonomo or Michael Mizrachi here in the U. S. With his victory in the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure… Read more »
It was a poorly-kept secret for months, but on Tuesday PokerStars finally launched “6+,” a game also known in poker circles (and on the PokerStars blog) as 6+Hold’em. 6+ Hold’em follows several novelty cash games from 2018, though PokerStars has not said if it will temporary like its predecessors. 6+ Hold’em gets its name from… Read more »
What started with 865 is now down to just six as the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event has reached the final table stage. Chino Rheem is the chip leader going into Wednesday’s action, holding 7.550 million chips. After Rheem is Scott Wellenbach with 6.015 million chips; the Canadian qualified for the $10,300 Main Event… Read more »
The poker world is mourning the loss of Gavin Smith today, who passed away unexpectedly in his sleep last night at the age of 50. Smith, a native of Guelph, Ontario, was one of the most formidable poker pros during the poker boom and was by far one of most loved, most popular players among… Read more »
Around Christmas of 2011, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued an opinion on the Wire Act, saying that it online made interstate online sports betting illegal, not all interstate online gambling. This paved the way for states to begin legalizing online gambling and so far, four – Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey,… Read more »
Following a criminal scheme that seemed like something straight out of a movie, a Virginia Naval officer was sentenced to more than four years in prison for scamming the U.S. Navy out of nearly $3 million. One of the primary reasons 45-year old Lt. Randolph Prince concocted and carried out the plan was to pay… Read more »
After spending much of 2018 in a state of hibernation, the Poker Alliance – the Poker Central-owned entity that used to be the “Poker Players’ Alliance” – seems to have come to life at the start of 2019. The Poker Alliance has named an Advisory Board for the group, three top professionals who are well… Read more »
