The European Poker Tour has been enjoying their stay at the Casino Barcelona in Spain as they have worked their way to the final table of their Main Event. In a rather shocking move, it was one of the start of day “shorties” in the field, Simon Brandstrom, who ascended to the top of the… Read more »
Month: August 2019
PokerStars to Bring Back Players’ Championship at New Location
At the start of 2019, PokerStars presented a tournament that, to be brutally honest, the poker industry wasn’t sure would be a success. The PokerStars Players’ Championship actually turned out to be a roaring success, so much so that it will return in 2020. In announcing the return of the PSPC, however, PokerStars also stated… Read more »
2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 4: Final 16 Players Determined as Rui Sousa Takes Over Lead
Much like Thursday, the players were in a rush to get to the final table of the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event on Friday. How much of a rush? The players dropped so quickly that, instead of stopping at three tables remaining, they played down to the final 16 (two tables) before calling it… Read more »
2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 3: Down to Final Six Tables, Pasquale Braco Rules the Roost
The history making largest ever trip by the European Poker Tour to the sunny shores of Spain and the Casino Barcelona is going to be a very profitable one for some people. The third day of the EPT Barcelona Main Event is in the books and 48 players will come back on Friday from the… Read more »
SLS Las Vegas Will Be Re-Renamed to Sahara on Thursday
Thursday will be the start of a new era in Las Vegas. Or the start of a new old era. Or the end of an era and the start an old one. I don’t know, none of this makes sense. What I am trying to say is that the SLS Las Vegas, which was originally… Read more »
GGPoker to Introduce “Smart Betting” Software Feature
If you are reading this from the United States, there is a good chance that you have never heard of the online poker network GGPoker. Hell, I read about poker for a living and I barely know anything about it. Europeans might not know much about it, either. GGPoker, while open to most countries across… Read more »
2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 1B: Tournament Sets New Attendance Record
Timur Margolin emerged from Tuesday’s action as the Day 1B chip leader of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event, holding 261,800 going into Wednesday’s Day 2. Benjamin Chalot still remains the overall leader, though, with 300,000. Registration is still open until the start of Day 2, but this tournament is already the largest… Read more »
New Jersey Legislature Passes Bill to Lift Sports Betting Restriction on Golden Nugget
Sports betting has been all the rage in Atlantic City casinos since it became legalized in New Jersey last year. Aside from in-house amenities, there is never going to be a massive difference between sportsbooks, so most casual gamblers probably won’t go wrong with whatever casino they are visiting at the moment.* Place a bet,… Read more »
2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 1A: Benjamin Chalot Hits 300,000 Chips
After a two-month break, the European Poker Tour (EPT) is back in action. The Tour remains in Spain, this time at the Casino Barcelona. Monday featured the opening of the EPT Barcelona Main Event and of the 726 entrants for the first starting flight, just 259 remain. Benjamin Chalot is the chip leader, bagging up… Read more »
Hooters Casino Hotel Las Vegas Acquired by Oyo Hotels & Homes
The original owner of this site was a large online poker affiliate. We did a lot of fun promotions with our customers during the poker boom; one of the best was a poker league that I organized (SICK BRAG) where we awarded World Series of Poker seats to the winners. As part of the WSOP… Read more »
New Documentary “Poker Queens” To Focus on Women of the Game
There are plenty of ways to tell a story in the world of poker. One of those that isn’t tapped often, however, is the documentary film. Past documentarians have told the story of online poker, the life and passing of the legendary Stu Ungar, and the “poker boom” of the 2000s. Now the ladies are… Read more »
Online Legend Phil Galfond Responds to PokerStars Table Cap Move
The move by The Stars Group, the owners of the #1 online poker site in the industry (PokerStars), to limit the number of cash game tables that players can play simultaneously has brought an avalanche of reactions. The reactions have been about 50/50, surprisingly, with some admitting that the new move will improve their game… Read more »
Phil Ivey’s 2019 WSOP Winnings Garnished by the Borgata
In just the latest salvo in the ongoing war between poker professional Phil Ivey and the Atlantic City casino the Borgata, Ivey’s winnings at the 2019 World Series of Poker have been garnished and are in the hands of federal authorities. By taking this action, the state of Nevada and its businesses are officially endorsing… Read more »
Early Reports in On Pennsylvania Online Gaming, New Jersey’s Industry Storms Forward
No matter what your position regarding online gaming and poker, there’s only one thing that matters to politicians who have passed regulations regarding the industry – how much money are the online sites bringing in? There are early reports in on the burgeoning Pennsylvania online gaming scene – albeit sans online poker – as the… Read more »
Poker Player Makes Life Easy for Police, Calls Cops on Herself
Time to lighten things up around here. Now, this story is about law enforcement being called to a poker game, so on its face, it doesn’t necessarily seem like a “light” story, but it’s actually pretty funny. Lesson for today: be careful what you wish for. The entertainment was relayed by poker player Will Givens,… Read more »
PokerStars Cuts Cash Game Multi-Table Cap to Four
PokerStars stunned the poker world on Tuesday when it announced that it is capping the number of simultaneous cash game tables at which one can play at just four. This number, down from 24, applies to “regular” cash game tables. Zoom Poker games and tournaments are unaffected. PokerStars liked what it saw in tests The… Read more »
PokerStars Publishes 2019 WCOOP Schedule
Fall is one of the best times of year for online poker. The weather begins to cool so people have more of a desire to stay inside (unless you are me, can’t stand hot weather, and prefer to venture outdoors when it cools off). The kids go back to school so we grown-ups have more… Read more »
Hard Rock Las Vegas to Close for Most of 2020 as It Becomes Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
Renovations would impede operations It seems like temporary casino gaming shutdowns are a theme today. I wrote about some games at Wind Creek Bethlehem being taken out of service during the casino’s rebranding, but what will be going on next year at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is much more extreme.… Read more »
Wind Creek Bethlehem Temporarily Shutting Down Games During Branding Transition
Many patrons of the Pennsylvania casino Wind Creek Bethlehem were likely surprised today when they walked in to play some blackjack, only to see the blackjack tables closed. Same for craps, three card poker, roulette, and every other manually dealt table on the casino floor. This is because beginning at 6:00am, all non-electronic table games… Read more »
DOJ to Appeal Wire Act Lawsuit Defeat
We all hoped they would just go away. Just stop. But we knew they would be back. On Friday, the Department of Justice filed a Notice of Appeal of the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire’s Wire Act ruling from June. In that ruling, US District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro said that… Read more »
Poker Professional Michael Borovetz Arrested for Bilking Travelers
A poker professional who routinely crisscrosses the States of America and the tournament poker circuit will have plenty of opportunities to meet and socialize with the people of this country (and, in some cases, the world). One of those poker pros allegedly took it a bit farther than that, bilking fellow travelers out of thousands… Read more »
Houston’s Prime Social Poker Club Announces Reopening Date
After being shut down due to a raid by law enforcement earlier this year, there were questions as to whether Houston’s Prime Social Poker Club would ever reopen. Those questions have now been answered as the owners of the membership only poker club have stated they will reopen in September. September 5 Official Date for… Read more »
Poker Central Names New Sponsor, Reveals Dates for 2019 Poker Masters
Poker tournaments, and their specific Player of the Year races, haven’t usually gone the natural route of having a title sponsor. Unlike their tournament brethren in golf (which seems to have a sponsor for every tournament it runs), poker runs off the monies generated by the players themselves. Poker Central is looking to change that,… Read more »
Pennsylvania, West Virginia Slow-Walking Online Poker Rollout
Back in 2013, after three states – Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware – passed online gaming and poker regulations, it was thought that there would be a “gold rush” for other states to get their intra-state industries established. In the more than six years since then, there have been relatively few states who have entered… Read more »
Chinese Government Vows Crackdown on Philippine Online Gambling Sites
The Chinese government is not known to be the most forgiving. A soft touch it does not have. In its crosshairs at the moment is online gambling and more specifically, online gambling sites based in the neighboring Philippines. Last week, the Chinese Embassy issued a lengthy statement on the problems it has with such sites.… Read more »