• Poker News
• Poker Forum
• Land Based Casinos

• Pinapple Poker
• 5 Card Stud Poker
• Online Casinos
• 7 Card Stud Online
• Razz Poker

Subscribe

Support Grows For Wexler’s Skill Gaming Protection Act

Congressman Robert Wexler, Democrat of Florida, recently proposed the Skill Gaming Protection Act which aims to carve-out poker, as a skill game, from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006. Backing for Wexler’s Bill has been steadily growing, and now consists of 12 politicians who have signed on with their support.

The first to sign on to Wexler’s campaign was Bennie Thompson [Miss-D] in late June. From there, the list has quickly expanded to include the following 11 co-sponsors:

• Gary Ackerman [New York-D]
• Shelley Berkley [Nevada-D]
• Michael Capuano [Mass-D]
• Steve Cohen [Tennessee-D]
• Alcee Hastings [Florida-D]
• John Larson [Conn-D]
• James Moran [Virginia-D]
• Tim Ryan [Ohio-D]
• Linda Sanchez [Calif-D]
• Edolphus Towns [New York-D]
• Anthony Weiner [New York-D]

The rapid growth of support for Wexler’s Bill coincides with a widely read interview published by PokerNews.com, where Wexler often emphasized the importance of American poker playing citizens to contact their local representatives and congressmen and relay their desire for a more liberal US government in relation to online poker, and to protest the UIGEA and several other legislations that prohibit a citizens personal pastime.

Robert Wexler is also a co-sponsor of Congressman Barney Frank’s [Mass-D] initiative, Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA), which would effectively reverse the UIGEA. The IGREA seeks to legalize the regulation and taxation of online gambling operators through licensing. According to Frank’s Bill, to be approved for such a license, an operator must display protective measures against problem and underage gambling, as well as competent security and payout abilities for their member.

3D PKR Poker Review & Bonus Info

3dPKRpoker.com is a fabulously informative web site focused of every aspect of the 3D online poker room, PKR Poker.

The site suggests every online poker enthusiast who’s never tried 3D poker should at least try out the free play games to see what all the commotion is about. From there, the site offers a special PKR Bonuscode that awards new players a welcome bonus of 100% up to $600. You’ll also find screenshots, news, videos, and more detailing all facets of PKR Poker.

Delving further into the world of 3D poker, the site provides an enormously descriptive PKR Poker Review that includes information about the company, the software, the game variety and many other features of the 3D online poker room.

GamblingPHD.com – Reviewed

GamblingPHD.com is a fabulous resource for reviews and bonus details from Online Casinos.

The site currently contains a short but descriptive review of 11 online casinos with the highest and/or easiest clearing Online Casino Bonus offers. Details include game variety, payout percentages, graphical interface, software provider and overall functionality.

GamblingPHD includes other features that can be appreciated by Online Casino Gambling enthusiasts, such as betting news, gambling tips, Texas Hold’Em tips, social gambling issues, a history of betting and more. The site also features a Daily Tips section for true gaming aficionados.

World Poker Congress

The organizers of the World Poker Congress (WPC) are elated to state publicly that Steve Lipscomb, president of the World Poker Tour, and Jeffery Pollack, commissioner of the World Series of Poker will both impart the opening keynote lecture at WPC 2007 on November 29 and 30 in St. Julian’s, Malta. The men are veterans and each the head of competing poker organizations; together they will discuss the state of affairs regarding poker, and the ever changing world around it.
“With Steve Lipscomb and Jeffery Pollack, we will present two of the individuals most responsible for the recent poker boom,” says Sue Schneider, president of River City Group, one of the organizers of the World Poker Congress. “With their unique perspective and wisdom, they will examine the global reach of the game and how it is penetrating international markets.”

An award-winning producer/director in various forms of media, Lipscomb has directed the remarkable growth of the World Poker Tour, including the launch of the Professional Players Tour (PPT) in 2005, international expansion of WPT, and the branding of the WPT with a variety of different licenses including clothing, poker tables and décor, artwork and much more.

The first commissioner of the World Series of Poker, Jeffery Pollack has brought professionalism to the event it in no way had before. The recently completed World Series Of Poker 2007 introduced several advanced enhancements that have been acclaimed by professional poker players. He developed his branding sense as the managing director of broadcasting and new media at NASCAR Digital Entertainment, and as the founder of the Sports Business Daily. As he has perfected his talent elsewhere, he was able to maximize his productivity in the poker industry.
The World Poker Congress is the first assembly intended to wholly investigate the synergies between the live and online games. The convention will feature two approaches dedicated to the different forms of the game, as well as focused and general sessions present topics that appeal to each audience. Participants will join colleagues to discuss a variety of issues from marketing your poker room, to player development, to legislation and economics in Europe, and all that comes between and around poker development.

“The World Poker Congress is the premier conference for the business of poker globally,” says Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business and PokerBIZ magazines, the other producer of WPC. “There is clearly a synergy between online poker rooms and real world poker and the WPC examines how to capitalize on the growth of the game no matter which side of the equation your business operates.”

The business of Poker has never been so expansive and it is still growing. This creates so many opportunities that it is hard to keep up with the ever-changing gaming world. Between the politics world wide, and the affect it has on the internet, as well as local gambling rules and poker classifications, keeping up with it all would be a full time job with in itself. The World Poker Conference will facilitate a simple way to track the applicable changes, laws, and fundamentals for each aspect of the industry.

Slots Games Review – BestBuySlots.com

BestBuySlots.com presents a virtual library of information on Slots and Online Slots Games.

Visitors will find everything from classic (pull-lever) and modernized (video style) slot machines for purchase and placement in your own home or establishment, to a list of featured online real-money slots and Free Slots. Online slot listings include reviews of all featured sites.

In addition, BestBuySlots.com provides Online Casino Bonuses, gambling news, information about progressives and a list of the best places to find online slots games. Visitors can also search the online slots list by various accepted payment methods, including NETeller, Click2Pay and Paypal.

Poker Man vs. Poker Machine

Consider this, you are face to face with your toughest competitor, playing Texas Hold’em Poker. You know you have a strong hand, but it can be beat. Your opponent raises, you think about your cards again. Not able to look your opponent in the eye, you fold. There are no tells when you are playing a computer.

A $50,000 face-off between a poker-playing computer and 2 of the world’s impressive poker professionals will take place on Monday in Vancouver, Canada. There is no way to determine or even guess who will bring home the prize.

The machine, nicknamed Polaris by its University of Alberta originators, is designed to play to its opponent’s weaknesses, effortlessly switching from guarded under-betting to assertive bluffing. “With poker, the key thing is unpredictability,” said Jonathan Schaeffer, one of the lead artificial intelligence researchers on the Polaris project. “A computer is very good at predicting odds … it can do that very quickly. But in poker, if you play cautiously, then the opponent can pick up on that and they start exploiting that … so the goal of (Polaris) is to be unpredictable for the human.”

The high-stakes tournament is part of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence conference being held at a Vancouver hotel. An audience will be on hand to watch professional players Phil Laak and Ali Eslami in mind-vs. -machine match with the simulator, each with the opportunity to take home $25,000 if they win all four of their games. Both Laak and Eslami are world renowned for their poker prowess.

The Man-Machine competitions have grabbed a hold of the imagination before; one of the best examples of this was the 1997 match between IBM’s “Deep Blue” chess program and Garry Kasparov, world known grandmaster. Technology has improved since then, and now computers are ready to face a more difficult challenge – trying to wrest supremacy from the humans at poker. While artificial intelligence research has created computers that are virtually unbeatable in strategic games such as chess and checkers, Polaris may have a tougher time with the role of pure luck in poker.

“I’m not at all sure that the computer is going to win this thing, precisely because it is so difficult to learn about the style of your opponent,” said Oliver Schulte, a cognitive scientist who worked with the Polaris project creators.

UK Abandoning Online Gambling Ads

The UK Times is reporting that plans to allow online gambling advertising on TV and radio in the United Kingdom may be abandon as Prime Minister Gordon Brown is reconsidering the country’s position regarding gambling live and online.

At present the on air broadcast advertising of any nature of gambling is banned in the nation. This covers all forms, including online poker room advertising. However, with the new Gambling Act being put into affect, former PM Tony Blair and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell were making progress to end the ban.

New culture secretary James Purnell told the local paper that church leaders who believe the advertising will lead to more problem gambling have expressed opposition to the end of the ban. For this reason, the decision to end the ban is being reviewed. Purnell will be reviewing the complete impact of the new Gambling Act and has the Prime Minister’s authorization to amend the plans as he sees fit.

The Gambling Commission had recently presented more information in relation to gambling advertisements and the rules and regulations following discuss with other organizations in the industry. The rules approach for gambling advertisement on TV and radio were intended to ensure the advertisements are socially responsible. The rules will shield children, young persons and other susceptible individuals from being injured or exploited by advertising that features or promotes gambling. Subsequent to consultations, the gambling industry has taken initiative to set up its own code of practices for advertising as well, according to the U.K. Gambling Commission.

“We welcome the industry code of practice which will supplement the CAP and BCAP codes of practice for the advertising and promotion of gambling,” said the Commission in a June 29 media release. “The Commission will monitor the effectiveness of the industry code of practice in delivering socially responsible advertising.”

The aforementioned guidelines were to go into effect coinciding with the Gambling Act in September. This may now change, as the culture secretary is reviewing the act, and maybe modifying it with the approval of the new prime minister. This shift in attitude is impacting the industry, and has business people world wide, watching England.

Prime Minister Brown was recently in the news for expressing reservations over the super casino planned for Manchester as the best option for helping create economic growth for the city. This is a 360-degree turn from Tony Blair, as he was supportive of both the super casino and the possibility of more in the United Kingdom based on results in Manchester.

LatestCasinoBonuses.com – Detailed Bonus Reviews

LatestCasinoBonuses.com is a constantly updated database of No Deposit Casino Bonus information.

Visitors will find literally hundreds of online casino, poker and bingo site reviews focusing on bonuses, especially No Deposit CasinoBonus information. The site features online casinos, poker rooms, bingo halls and sports betting sites. Bonus info and reviews are searchable 22 variable categories.

Other features of Latest Casino Bonuses include gaming rules, strategies, glossary and a Casino Whoring Guide that teaches players how to make the most of online gambling bonuses.

Free Slot Machines Casino

An exciting collection of Free Casino Slots and many other casino games. All games are free to play by downloading the software. Players may also choose to partake in any of the Slot Machine Games for real money, which includes a first time deposit bonus of 100% up to $555.

Slots include 3 line, 5 line and MegaSpin varieties. For instance, Double Magic MegaSpin present 9 separate 3-line spins in just one round of play. The software is only 6MB and runs smooth with over 150 games and realistic graphics/sound effects. Players may also choose the no-download flash version, though it contains fewer games.

Players interested in developing slots skills and strategies, or strengthening their pre-existing experience with Online Slot Machines, are encouraged to give them a try.

For those who choose to go on to real money play, please note that US players are accepted. New players earn a 100% matching bonus on your first deposit up to $555. The bonus is automatically granted, but requires 10x play-through before it can be withdrawn.

Payment methods available: NETeller, Click2Pay, FirePay, UseMyBank, PaySpark and eChecks (eChecks for deposits – check by mail for withdraws).

Customer support is very reliable, friendly and generally very fast to reply to e-mails as they offer 8 separate support categories/e-mails. They also supply 13 different toll-free and international numbers to conveniently (and freely) serve as many members as possible.

Golden Casino – Online Gambling Review

Golden Casino is one of the oldies in the online casino industry. Members have been betting on poker and Casino Gaming since before the turn of the century. Licensed in Curacao, Golden Casino offers good game variety, frequent promotions, excellent customer support and a nifty welcome bonus. On the up-side, Golden Casino still accepts US players, for free play or real money – on the down-side, Golden Casino does not offer a no-download flash version of the software, therefore is only compatible with Windows operating systems.

Online Gambling at Golden Palace consists of more than 80 casino games to choose from, including Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Internet craps, Red Dog Poker, Tri-Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, War, Slots (3, 5 and 7 Reel), Video Poker and Multi-hand Video Poker, Keno and more. Many of the games offer progressive jackpots as well.

New players who sign-up an account and make their first deposit of $25 or more are eligible to receive a 100% matching bonus of up to $555. Bonus cash is held in a separate Bonus Account and must be played through 10 times before a withdraw request can be made. Until the Bonus Account is deplete, all betting amounts will be taken from this account. If a wager is won, the wager amount is redeposited into the Bonus Account, with winnings deposited into your cash account. If a player requests a withdraw before bonus requirements (10x play-through) are met, one notice will be given by the cashier. If the player still wishes to withdraw, all bonus cash and winnings derived from it will be forfeited.

Other promotions are offered on a regular basis at Golden Palace. Tournaments are offered on Table Games, Slots, Video Poker and other Online Casino Gaming. Players who make a deposit on Mondays will automatically receive a 25% matching bonus of $50 to $1,000 on their first deposit of the day – also on Wednesdays with a 50% matching bonus of $50 to $500 – again on Fridays with a 100% matching bonus of $50 to $250. Make a deposit by Wire Transfer for a 15% bonus. Comp points can also be used for betting – every $10 wagered awards 1 comp point. Comp points convert to dollars at varying rates, depending on your VIP level. Finally, Surprise Bonuses are present several times a week to randomly chosen players.

Deposits and withdraws are processed in USD only. Deposit methods include Credit Card, Citadel, myCitadel, NETeller and Wire Transfers. Withdrawals can be made via myCitadel, NETeller, Bank Wire and Bank Draft. All deposit methods require a $20 minimum except Wire Transfer, which incurs a $100 minimum deposit.

Customer support may be obtained 24/7 through e-mail and telephone. The staff is friendly and reliable, with e-mail responses generally realized well within 24 hours. Two separate e-mails are provided, along with two US toll-free numbers. The FAQ can also be very helpful in answering most questions.

PokerGuide – Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker has developed into one of the world’s largest and most popular online poker rooms. Player traffic is well above the industry average, with the latest Poker News reporting traffic at Full Tilt Poker tournaments during peak hours to be 60,000. The high player volume can be partly attributed to Full Tilt Poker’s continued acceptance of US players.

Poker games are run on Full Tilt Poker’s own privately developed software, allowing for steady and stable gameplay with fantastic graphics. Lobby stats provide all the vital info like average pot size, viewed-flop percentage and hands played per hour. Notes can be taken during play and hand histories may be saved to the local drive for future referencing. Players are also provided the opportunity to join in “Pro Chat”, frequented by Full Tilt Poker’s resident pros to offer advise and Poker Tips.

Full Tilt Poker offers first time depositors a 100% matching bonus of up to $600. To claim the poker bonus, sign-up a new account, make a first deposit, then play cash games and tournaments to collect points. Every point equals $.06 of the bonus. Points are earned by playing cash games at a rate of 1 point for every $1 raked from the pot. Tournaments also acquire points at a rate of 7 points for every $1 paid in tournament fees. Points may also be used to buy-in to special tournaments and freeroll poker tournaments, or to purchase items from the Full Tilt Poker Store.

Poker articles and Poker Reviews regarding Full Tilt Poker seem to consistently agree on one thing, the game variety at Full Tilt Poker is among the most versatile of any online poker room. Players can choose from Texas Hold’Em, Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, H.O.R.S.E., H.O.S.E. and H.A.. Fixed Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit varieties are available, along with heads-up, short-handed and full-table action. Soft competition is hard to find in Hold’Em games except at the micro-limits, though Omaha and other poker games often reveal loose play.

Full Tilt Poker promotes a minimum of $4-million in prize winnings every month. Tournaments are scheduled all day, every day at Full Tilt Poker, with buy-ins as little as $1 reaching up to the thousands. The well structured tournaments attract players of all skill levels with the more expensive buy-ins presenting very aggressive competition, especially at the latter stages and final tables.

Customer support at Full Tilt Poker is among the finest, providing friendly, expert service to their members. Support is only offered via e-mail, but the response time is extremely fast, supplying 15 separate e-mail addresses to cover all possible support needs. The Full Tilt Poker web site provides a FAQ page and SiteMap, both useful for answering common question.

Deposit methods include Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, NETeller, Click2Pay, ePassporte and Cash Transfers. Withdraws may be requested via NETeller, Click2Pay, ePassporte and checks by mail. Withdraws are generally made in the same manner as the original deposit. Withdraw requests by check may only be made in amounts of $150 to $5,000 and may take up to 15 business days to receive.

InternetPokeri.com Tops for Finland

The number one online poker resource site for the Finnish Poker fan is certainly Internetpokeri.com.

Anyone searching for Nettipokeri (online poker)  will find what they need easily and smoothly as the site navigation is clearly laid out. Designed to promote online poker, the online poker player and everything needed for any avid poker player, the designers have thought of everything. You will find the rules to the most popular online poker games. Also on Pokerti are recommendations for the best online poker rooms for any Finnish Poker Player.

You can find a wonderful breakdown of 7 card stud, Omaha säännöt (rules) , and Texas Holdem säännöt (rules). Reviewing the rules before playing a live game is prudent, even for the best poker players. Having them on hand especially for beginners allowing a player to acquaint and reacquaint themselves with the game before they play live in an online poker room, will allow for a competitive game. It would be a positive step for anyone visiting this site to take a look here first.

The avid Finish Poker Player would find some of the best reviews for online poker rooms. Every Poker Room written about on this site is ranked, reviewed, and experienced to provide the most pertinent information available. Two of the sites have reached the significant ranking is Betsson and Pokerisäännöt, here you will learn about the online poker room, it’s strengths and how it best applies to the Finish Players.

When you combine the online resources available through this site with the updated news articles, and online poker room reviews, any devoted Finish Poker Fan will be able to find what they need here.

Holdem Strategy and Odds Calculation

A sure advantage created for any Texas Holdem Poker player is Texas-Holdem-Poker-Page.com
Texas Holdem Poker strategy is one of the hardest to learn. On this very useful poker portal the strategy of the game is a major focal point. Also creating an advantage for the poker fan would be the Texas Hold’em Poker room reviews, odds calculators, and simple software downloads.
Regardless of your skill level this site has what you need to play a good Texas HoldEm. The strategy section of this site has some apparent recognition of play ability. This will simplify your search for what you need. They offer a section for each level of strategy, each lesson needed broken down to the simplest methods.

Resources available on the site are second to none. A tool that will calculate pot odds for you helps assist poker players hand by hand while playing, this tool is best utilized in conjunction with the sites poker odds calculator offering the best odds based on the available cards.

The Advanced Strategy guide is amazing for the experienced Texas Holdem Poker player. Allowing even the most skilled player to hone their talents.

An important area for any player to note is the Calculate Pot Odds tool. This education in estimation of odds allows a player, of all skill level, become more profitable, and knows better when to fold or go all in.

One area of the strategy section that will definitely benefit players at all levels is the Calculate Pot Odds tool. Being able to gauge your odds for any hand allows a player, of any level, to become more profitable, have a better feel for when to fold, and when to chase just a bit.

Philip Hilm – 2007 WSOP Chip Leader

Philip Hilm, the World Series of Poker final table  chip leader started out as a professional poker player in late 2003 when a shortly after a business gone bad took a side burner to a job selling coffee machines to grocery stores. A friend of Hilm’s, who is by the way a professional backgammon player, introduced him to the world of online poker.

Hilm spent about a month studying the game, read poker books, and honed his skills playing Internet poker. It didn’t take long before Hilm’s new-found love of poker was earning him more than his day job, selling coffee machines, the natural step, get rid of the day job.

Since his entrance into the poker world, 31 professional poker play Philip Hilm has cashed in one World Series of Poker Event (the Short Handed NL Event at the 2005 36th Annual World Series of Poker) where he took home a cash prize of $6,390 from a $2500 buy in event.

Hilm, who currently resides in Cambridge, England, and was born in Denmark, also achieved 2 cash place finishes in the European Poker Tour, and a fourth place finish at the 2006 Scandinavian Open, in addition to a 15th place finish at the 2007 Monte Carlo Grand Final.

French High Court Rules in Favor Of Online Gambling

French internet gamblers received a major ruling in their favor from the French High Court (le Cour de) which made a ruling disallowing the Parimutuel Urban from preventing Malta based ZeTurf’s offering of French Horse Racing bets online.

The case was brought to the courts originally in 2005. On July 8th of that year, the Paris Court of First Instance ruled it against the law for ZeTurf to accept these wagers from French citizens online. This being against the violation of a monopoly granted to PMU by the government in France.

Last year, on the 6th of January, ZeTurf lost their court appeal, however the founders of ZeTurf left the country entering a more gambling friendly turf, Malta. PMU continued to pursue ZeTurf in Maltese courts, however the case was thrown out due to jurisdiction, bringing the case back to the original French courts. The new ruling, from the highest court in France is perhaps a wake up call for those in opposition of EU internet gambling.

Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker has it all, a smooth lined site, professional poker players, live poker chats, and poker games. What more would you need?

Finding poker attire, poker strategy, and game play is easy to do with Full Tilt Poker. Anticipation and excitement is spread when you see the promotions and list of professional poker players who log on to host games and live chat sessions. Not the least of which include the Hendon Mob who is also hosting a 4 game tournament where the reward includes dinner with them in England during one of the most competitive tournaments in the world, the Great British Poker Tour Main Event in Bristol, England.

Gambling on this site is made effortless with various methods of funding your account, and straightforward site navigation. This includes a player-to-player option to transfer money from a friend to another with a solid deposit history. Further to insure you security they have various types of encoding for the site, protecting you and your earnings from outside threats.
News on this site is up to date and accurate keeping the players informed about what is going on in and around the poker world. Poker strategy is plainly laid out, and available to all players, novice and beyond.

New Online Slots

NewOnlineSlot.com offers online slots players a resource for finding the best new internet slot machines available as soon as they’re released! In fact, the slots review site features a review of every single online slot machine created by all of the following top slot machine creators;

• Microgaming
• Real Time Gaming
• Playtech
• Cryptologic
• Odds On

In addition to online slots, casino reviews are also individually available on the site, giving slots players piece of mind by providing valuable reputation history and information about various online casinos offering a free slots bonus, free slot play and other cool casino perks!

CariCom Backs Antigua In UIGEA Dispute With US

The Caribbean Community and Common Market, CariCom has thrown their weight behind the small island nation of Antigua and Barbuda in their efforts to combat the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.Antigua brought the dispute to the World Trade Organization who recently ruled in favor of Antigua, declaring the US must remove prejudice legislation which allows remote betting within their country, but not from offshore markets. The United States, however has yet to respond with any action.

Antigua and Barbuda then filed a lawsuit in US District Court in June against the US Attorney General (Alberto Gonzalez), the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Federal Reserve to put a halt to enforcement of the UIGEA.

The Caribbean nation’s suit seeks formal annual trade sanctions of $3.4 billion to offset the losses of their Internet gaming industry and overall economy, which consist of 80,000 residents.

The support of CariCom is not to be taken lightly, as it includes 28 nations – 17 members and 11 observers – first established in 1973. The goal of CariCom is “the eventual integration of it’s members and economies, and the creation of a common market.” CariCom members include:
Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands,Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

CariCom’s 28th Heads of Government Conference is currently being held in Barbados, calling on the US government to comply with the recent WTO rulings. Antigua’s Prime Minister, Baldwin Spencer said, “This matter has been fully ventilated at the conference and the position of CariCom is that Antigua and Barbuda should be fully supported by CariCom in this matter because it should have serious implications for the region going forward as we seek to develop the financial services sector in the region.”

Online Gaming Law Challenged in Court

Many states have passed laws in an attempt to regulate online gambling. The State of Washington is no exception. Last year saw an online gambling law passed establishing it to be a class c felony to play in that venue. Attorney Lee Rousso is seeking to have SB 6613 over turned. He sites the bills as unconstitutional, and should be overthrown as such.

Rouso’s lawsuit asserts that the Washington law is in direct violation of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. He also notes that the only benefactors of this law are the traditional casinos already established in the state. Also released with the accompanying lawsuit was this statement.

“Most state attempts to regulate the internet run afoul of the Commerce Clause and Washington’s law, which was passed to protect the state’s brick and mortar casinos from otherwise legal out-of-state competition, should be no exception.”

Lee Rousso is the Washington State representative of the Poker Players Alliance, and was quoted by a Seattle newspaper as believing that his challenge to the law, should be the only challenge needed. “I think my chances are darn good,” said Russo to another reporter.

In his lawsuit Rousso specifically lists 7 items in the Washington State law that are unconstitutional. He also notes that the author of the original bill, State Senator Margarita Prentice, received financial support from the Washington casinos, and alleges that the ‘established’ casinos “were the intended and/or actual beneficiaries of SB 6613”

Should the bill pass, it will prevent any form of Internet poker being established as a felony, having long reaching implications in a person’s life.

Billavara wins WSOP event 49 for $722,914

For the returning nine players of the 2007 – $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event 49, Monday’s action was like playing in the division title, play offs and World Series in the same day.

With the largest Main Event field in World Series of Poker history narrowed to the final nine competitors, the focus had centered on Greg Mueller. He started the day fourth in chips, yet he was favored to take down the bracelet. Either unaware or simply without fear of the poker pro, opponents repeatedly pushed their chips against his.

Short-stack Lewis Titterton moved on Leandro Pimentel but failed his flopped two pair of Aces and Tens. Titterton went home with $45,162.

Then Mueller hit the rail. After several difficult plays, Mueller’s day ended when his triple fours fell to Taylor Douglas’ triple fours with the bigger kicker. Mueller earned $55,914 finishing eighth in the event.

Ray Spencer was the first casualty of the post-Mueller action. After watching his stack dwindle through the day, Spencer pushed with a king/jack, but was overcome by Douglas’ ace/jack. Sealing Spencer’s fate, the flop was another ace, leaving him to take home $79,270 in 7th place.

The next player meet the cashier was Cort Kibler-Melby. After trading several big hands early, Kibler-Melby pushed in the big blind position. Unfortunately, he ran into John Hunt’s pocket nines and failed to overcome when the board helped neither player. He collected $96,775 for finishing sixth, and playing for 3 days.

Although quiet throughout early play, Duane Felix was heard when he went all-in against Hunt with ace/duce. Well behind Hunt’s ace/nine, Felix failed to gain ground while Hunt achieved the ace-high flush. Felix collected $131,184 finishing fifth.

While many players have fan followings, few could match Leandro Pimentel’s rail on Day Two. Unfortunately for Pimentel, his final day of play would take place in front of a global audience not in front of his life supporters. Despite making a noble effort, Pimentel sent home after running into Chandrasekhar Billavara’s pair of aces with a queen kicker. He took home $189,249 putting him in fourth place in this main event tournament.

As the game reached it’s final three players it became difficult to determine who would dominate each successive hand. John Hunt earned third place after he fell to Billavar’s better hand, leading into a straight, and Hunts elimination. John Hunt went home with $292,476.

Taylor Douglas and Chandrasekhar Billavara’s faced each other at the final table. Douglas held the chip lead most of the game. Once down to two, Billavara cut that chip lead to bits. In the final hand Billavara got the lucky turn giving him a pair of aces to win the bracelet. Although Douglas plays well and effectively through out the day, he still left in second with $467, 101, and Billavara took first with $722,914. This ushered in a new event champion.

Next Page »

Hot Online Poker News from Full Tilt

Free Poker

Download and Play Poker for Real Money