WSOP Team Members “strongly encouraged” to get vaccinated Late last week, we reported that everyone attending the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to gain entry. At the time, the WSOP’s announcement of the new policy implied that poker dealers would be included in… Read more »
The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is currently underway, but that does little good for players in the United States, who cannot play on the dot com version of the poker room. Good news, though, as Stars just announced that its sites in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey will all have “COOPs” of… Read more »
Most licenses taken already Arizona’s sports betting industry is set to launch on September 9, which is likely not coincidentally the first day of the NFL season. But injunctions filed by two entities have forced emergency hearings this coming Friday and threaten to delay sports wagering in the state. Before we take a brief look… Read more »
In a stunning move this morning, Caesars Entertainment and World Series of Poker officials took a monumental step for their upcoming tournament series. All people who enter WSOP tournaments will be required to show that they have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. This new requirement will extend to the personnel working the event, including… Read more »
It had to happen at some point. After defeating some of the toughest players in the game – and an amateur who took his shot – Phil Hellmuth’s streak in the made for streaming poker show High Stakes Duel ended. In the resumption of High Stakes Duel III, poker professional Tom Dwan was able to… Read more »
If Phil Ivey is officially back, that is some amazing news and terrible news for the poker world. Amazing because he’s arguably the best poker player of all time, so naturally getting to watch him play is a treat. Terrible because now other poker players are going to have to get past him in tournaments.… Read more »
It is no secret that casinos happily offer free alcoholic beverages to gamblers (just be sure to tip your server!) so that they continue to gamble and continue to gamble poorly. A drunk casino patron is one thing, but what about a high one? It appears that two Native American tribes are going to test… Read more »
That didn’t last long Phil Galfond is now four-for-four in his “Galfond Challenges” after his latest opponent, Brandon Adams, conceded the match on Monday to the RunItOnce poker room founder. Galfond was $270,000 ahead – he keeps that money – and won a $100,000 from Adams. The plan was to play 10,000 hands of $100/$200… Read more »
The visited lots of convenience stores In our latest tale of gambling-related crime, this writer’s first thought is: “I mean, you knew you were going to get caught eventually, right?” Over the span of eight years, Ali Jaafar, now 63, and his sons Mohamed Jaafar, 31, and Yousef Jaafar, 28, cashed in over 13,000 lottery… Read more »
The hits keep coming The second summer of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the poker world. On Thursday, the Maryland Live! Casino announced that it has postponed its World Poker Tour stop, scheduled for September 15 through September 28. The Main Event was to be September 24 through the end of the festival. In… Read more »
2020 saw the casino industry worldwide suffer at the hands of the COVID pandemic. For several months in 2020 and 2021, casinos were shuttered around the world and poker rooms have been the ones that have suffered the most. In Massachusetts, these poker rooms have remained in a state of limbo, but that could change… Read more »
It may have taken some time to get off the ground, but the online gaming industry in Pennsylvania is finally beginning to hit its stride. In July 2021, the burgeoning online casinos in the Keystone State cracked the $100 million mark in revenues. Leading the way were online slots and table games, with online poker… Read more »
There was a day when poker sponsorships were handed out like coupons for a free ice cream cone at Dairy Queen. These deals usually encompassed the online poker rooms paying for a player’s buy-ins to tournaments, with the player holding up their end of the deal by “patching up” in wearing the logo of the… Read more »
Starting with its esports venue Former World Poker Tour owner Allied Esports Entertainment is reportedly considering getting out of esports altogether, a move which would include selling the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this isn’t just a “well, anything is possible” situation, but rather a… Read more »
Poker legend Erik Seidel won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 1992. He won his eighth and last in 2007. It has been a long bracelet draught for the Poker Hall of Famer, but that draught ended Tuesday, as Seidel won Event #11: $10,000 Super MILLION$ High Roller of the 2021 WSOP Online… Read more »
Marafioti’s troubles were known for years Tragedy has struck the poker community as law enforcement has confirmed the death of poker pro Matt Marafioti in an apparent suicide. Marafioti, 33, leaves behind a one-year-old son. Marafioti was of the generation who rose to prominence during the poker boom and around Black Friday. The Toronto-native won… Read more »
A new era in sports betting My friends north of the border, if you have been itching to put a few bucks down on a Blue Jays game or really want to degen it up and bet on the NFL preseason, your wait is just about over. Next Friday, August 27, sportsbooks in Canada will… Read more »
Get vaccinated or stay home On Monday, August 16, Harrah’s New Orleans casino becomes what is believed to be the first casino in the United States to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test for entry. The decision comes not from casino operator Caesars Entertainment, but from the City of New Orleans itself.… Read more »
If you look back at the history of poker, there used to be so few methods of measuring success. In the distant past, the best way to prove who was the best poker player was by who won the most money. It was really simple to see who had the skills (either legitimate card sense… Read more »
The situation in the tournament poker world is one that is currently in a great deal of flux. After postponing their stop at bestbet Jacksonville in August, the World Poker Tour will move one of their flagship stops, the Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City, to a fully online affair. As a part of the… Read more »
In a pretty quick turnaround, the 2021 U. S. Poker Open has been picked up for broadcast by one of the major sports channels in the States. NBC Sports Network, which has past background in airing poker, will be the television outlet for the USPO. There are three days that are being set aside for… Read more »
Earlier this week, Caesars Entertainment and World Series of Poker officials ignited a storm of controversy. By simply introducing one new rule into their books for the 2021 competition beginning in September, the WSOP seemed to shoot themselves in the foot with the only contingent that could come to this year’s event, the U. S.… Read more »
Dimitri Vorbe, an amateur poker player, won the $5,250 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) Championship Tuesday night, overcoming an 1,180-entry field and winning $929,365. It was only the second recorded live tournament cash for the man who typically just plays home games with his buddies. His only other score was for just over $2,000… Read more »
20th anniversary for online poker’s highlight series PokerStars has announced the complete schedule for the 2021 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), the 20th running of the granddaddy of all online poker tournament series. Running August 22 to September 15, the 2021 WCOOP will have 102 events and $100 million in guaranteed prize pools. Through… Read more »
Consistency across the board Bally’s Corporation plans to rebrand almost all of its casinos with the Bally’s name within the next year. Continuing a branding push since acquiring the Bally’s brand, the company’s president and CEO explained in an investors conference call on Monday that the decision is about increasing brand awareness. “In the next… Read more »
