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Poker After Dark Jam Up Week Made History

Jam Up week at Poker After Dark ended with two young guns heads up and it also started with a big bang by making a little history. This week featured 6 aggressive pro poker players, David Williams, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Barry Greenstein, Antonio Esfandiari, and Eli Elezra taking a seat for the $120,000 winner-take-all tournament.

All that was quick to change though as in the very first hand, Eli Elezra moved all in with “big slick” (AK) and was called by Howard Lederer who looked down and saw pocket aces. Lederer’s aces held and set off a chain of events that made this event even more unique.

First, this elimination set an unbreakable record of fastest elimination taking that distinction away from Gus Hansen (6 hands). The second decision was announced that if Eli wanted back in he could “re-buy” for $20,000. Eli did and so this week’s tournament became a winner-take-all for $140,000.

Another bit of history was made as Barry Greenstein; short stacked, moved all in with pocket jacks and was called by Antonio Esfandiari who had AK. A king on the flop put Barry in a hole that he couldn’t get out of and was eliminated in 6th place which ended Mike Matusow streak of four consecutive 6th place finishes. No worries though, Mike would start another streak.

There was a bright spot for Mike the Mouth, as he won a side bet with Esfandiari. Howard Lederer re-raised a pot from the big blind and Antonio said it was a steal. Matusow said no and bet $5000 that it was not a steal. The two settled on $1000 and Lederer showed AK netting Mike a quick $1000.

Then a Mikey blow up. He raises with pocket nines and gets re-raised by Eli Elezra with A8 suited. Flop comes 6h 8c 2c and Elezra bets – Matusow raises – Eli just calls. The turn brings the 2h and Mike bets again. Eli throws in a $10,000 bundle not saying a word. Mike FOLDS. Eli says why, I just called?

After much chastising from everyone at the table, even asking the dealer what he thought, in which he said it was just a call since no raise was announced, Mike went down hill from there, eventually going out in 5th place.

Later Mike professed that, “I am not blaming anybody, it’s my own fault and that was a big pot early in this thing and it really set the tone.”

The tournament came down to two of the younger poker pros in the game, David Williams and Antonio Esfandiari aka “The Magician”. David had almost $115,000 chips versus Antonio with 25,000 when Esfandiari found AK and raised. David had Ad7d and put Antonio all in. David flopped a 7 but Esfandiari turned a king and was right back in the game.

A few hands later though, it was Antonio all in with Ad5s and Williams calling with pocket sevens. The flopped gave Williams a set but Esfandiari a straight draw. David avoided the straight and won his first Poker After Dark event and $140,000.

Blackjack Movie ‘21′ Debuts – ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner?’

Based on “Bringing Down The House” By Ben Mezrich, 21 made its way into theaters across the United States today.

The latest in gambling movies, 21 opened today in the United States. 21 was based on a book about blackjack card counting written by Ben Mezrich, a nonfiction bestseller. In both the book and the movie, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students utilized their above average math skills to win big at Las Vegas blackjack tables.

The basic plot of the film revolves around Ben Campbell, who is played by Jim Sturgess). Ben is your typical brainiac when it comes to numbers. He’s already attending MIT, and has been accepted to Harvard Medical. Unfortunately for Ben, he’s broke, he can’t afford tuition.

He is however one of 74 candidates competing for a scholarship. Problem: in this pool of people, amongst these 73 other competitors, Campbell is run of the mill. He’s nothing special, they’re all genius’s, they’ve all done great things.

After an intriguing discussion during a class, a professor, Mickey Rosa, played by Kevin Spacey invites Campbell to become a join in a campus club, so to speak. A small club of MIT card sharps, ie, blackjack card counters. Bonus, the group also includes the blonde Campbell has been drooling over for a few days now, apparently, her daddy was a blackjack player and she ‘grew up on blackjack’.

Throughout the course of a year, 17 visits to Las Vegas, 6 Million dollars is stripped from casinos, counting cards is legal, however, Las Vegas casinos are said to… ‘frown on it’.

Throughout the course of the movie, viewers saw a small glimpse of Las Vegas high roller glimpse. The attraction between the male and female lead was touched upon, though rather skimmed over. There was some mutiny, revenge, and other action type areas, and I did hide my face in my husbands shirt once. In general, the movie lacked attention to detail. It didn’t really ever suck you in.

What must it feel like to be 21, go home at the end of the day, and have won 40 thousand dollars? The first real loss, what does that do to a card counter? Throughout the movie, Campbell lives two lives, one in Nevada, as a high roller rich boy with fake ID. Another in Boston, as a college student, vying for a scholarship, with two geeky best friends, trying to win a science contest. What kinds of changes are made in his Boston Life?

I wouldn’t say that 21 was a bust, I wouldn’t call it memorable either. I am anxious however to buy the book .

PartyPoker Nations Cup Back Again this April

PartyPoker has announced that their Nations Cup will be returning April 7th-10th. Teams from all over the world including the United States, Sweden, Holland and Ireland will be fighting for the top prize and the title.

PartyPoker has assembled the teams from each country with the best poker players including one VIP qualifier. The competition will have the six player teams competing in single heats and then a ‘tag’ final. At the end of the heats the teams chip counts will be determined by their league’s standings from the heats. Each team is made up of very well known players who want to win the tournament and claim their title for their respective countries .

The PartyBets website has formed the odds on favorite as Sweden 3/1, the US in second at 7/2, Great Britain with 9/2, Ireland at 5/1, Germany at 6/1 and Holland in last with 13/2 odds.

A spokesman for PartyPoker has stated that the talent the players have this year is “brilliant”. He also stated that Sweden is the favorite to win because they have the same pros that played in last years tournament and are used to the format. He also stated that the US will be a strong force as well as the Great Britain team.

On the other teams he stated: “Ireland is a bit of a wildcard but there is little doubt that they have strength in depth in their side while Germany appear much stronger than previous years. The Dutch side led by Marcel has to be seen as the underdogs-the names don’t jump out as much at you as they with the other line-ups.”

Team Line-ups:

GREAT BRITAIN
Roland de Wolfe- Captain
Joe Beevers
Ian Frazer
Surinder Sunar
Neil Channing
Francis Durbin-online qualifier

GERMANY
Michael Keiner- Captain
Andreas Krause
Benjamin Kang
Sebastian Ruthenberg
Thomas Bihl
Thomas Potzel-online qualifier

HOLLAND
Marcel Luske-Captain
Thierry Van den Berg
TBC
Eric Van der Berg
Daan Ruiter
Quirijin Van der Peet-online qualifier

IRELAND
Padraig Parkinson-Captain
Donnacha O’Dea
Ciaran O’Leary
Liam Flood
Marty Smith
Darren O’Brien-online qualifier

SWEDEN
Bo Sehlstedt-Captain
Anders Henriksson
Mats Rahmn
Johan Storakers
William Thorsson
Johan Ocklind-online qualifier

UNITED STATES
Robert Williamson III-Captain
Jamie Gold
Chris Ferguson
Freddy Deeb
Chad Brown
Montel Williams- Celebrity player

PokerStars Spending Millions to Send Players to WSOP

It was recently announced that the Poker Stars website has set aside more than $12.5 million to send 1,000 players to this year’s World Series of Poker.

That’s right I said over $12 million dollars! This will create a huge possibility for an online poker player to go to the WSOP and possibly win the title. Poker Stars will be holding several tournaments and qualifiers before the scheduled WSOP to find the top 1,000 players to send to the Main Event.

Each player that wins would receive a sponsorship package of over $12,500 to pay for the buy-in at the Main Event and spending money along with eight nights of accommodations. Players on the site will be able to trade in Frequent Player Points to gain entry into the qualifiers and also play in sit-and-gos as well as satellites that should have buy-ins for as little as $2. Players who are Supernova or Supernova Elite VIP members can get upgrades to their hotel stay as well.

Poker Stars has also stated that they will be offering cash incentives to the players who qualify and play well including up to $50,000 for those that make the televised final table. Players can also choose to receive $1,000 placed into their Poker Stars account instead of the eight night hotel stay. Players must also wear Poker Stars gear in order to qualify for all of the extra incentives.

Since 2002, over 3,000 players have qualified through Poker Stars to attend the World Series of Poker. And of course in 2003, Chris Moneymaker qualified for $39 on Poker Stars and went on to win the Main Event and take home $2.5 million. Players have several ways they can qualify to win one of the many seats to the World Series of Poker this year and more info can be found on the Poker Stars website.

Fantasy Vegas Poker Package At Doyles Room

Doyles Room is giving their poker players a poker fantasy to remember with the start of their latest promotion, Vegas Poker Fantasy.

The winner of this promotion will spend almost 2 weeks in Vegas during which they will receive a chance to receive training from some of the greatest poker minds during a 3-day WPT Bootcamp Champions Event.

During this event the winner will also get play in tournaments for a chance to win entry into additional tournaments along with cash prizes.

The trip does not end there as after the Bootcamp, the winner can put all those new skills to the test as they will be entered into the WSOP Event 2. Here they will battle with top poker pros with the coveted WSOP bracelet on the line and the possibility of a prize pool that could reach 6 figures.

The prize package will include 13 nights right on the Las Vegas strip, $1,500 towards travel expenses and an extra $1,000 spending money. The total prize package will be worth $9,700.

To start your way on the path to Vegas, just enter one of the satellite tournaments offered at Doyles Room. Starting at less than $10, you could spend 13 days in Vegas!

Poker Players Alliance Opens Litigation Support Network This Week

It seems that almost every day there is a different story in the news about poker players, gambling raids or charity organizations being bombarded by law enforcement on poker or gambling issues. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has decided to aid their members in the subject of law by opening the Litigation Support Network.

The Litigation Support Network is a service that PPA members can take advantage of if they have any legal needs. Members can access the Litigation Support Network through the PPA website and receive basic legal advice for their situation. The advice can be accessed over the phone and a list of lawyers can be obtained for the player noting available attorneys in their area.

The PPA Chairman, Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato stated: “As both the popularity of poker and the membership of PPA continue to grow, the Litigation Support Network is an opportunity to provide even more value to our members.”With the myriad local, state and federal laws impacting poker, the Litigation Support Network is an important service that our members can and should use, and I encourage attorneys who want to defend poker players and this great American game of skill to join this effort.”

The PPA is also organizing a group of lawyers who will be able to argue the point that poker is a game of skill not a game of chance. New Hampshire’s PPA state director, Patrick Fleming, will be leading the Litigation Support Network.

The Litigation Support Network will be a very good resource for poker players in my opinion. I think the Network will be able to help those players who may not have the access or resources to receive the best help available for their legal needs. There are over 900,000 members of the PPA who will be able to take advantage of this service.

2008 Irish Open Poker Champion: Neil Channing

What do you do when you are a regular at the cash poker tables at the Vics in London, decide to focus a little more on tournament play and finish in the money 5 times in 2007, including the WSOP and twice in the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) – winning the Grand Final. Start 2008 with two money finishes in the 08 GUPKT including a 2nd in the No Limit Holdem Event 4?

You enter the 2008 Irish Open and bet on yourself at 100-1 shot to win…then win it! That’s what Neil Channing aka “Bad Beat” did, according to Pokernews.com. Though maybe not as well known on the tournament circuit as some of the other participants in the Open like Doyle Brunson, Roland De Wolfe, Sorel Mizzi and others, he did manage one thing they didn’t, out last 667 poker players to win the €801,400 first place price. Not to mention the undetermined amount he bet on himself.

Sometimes tournaments and cards just go your way and this year it was Channing having it his way. He went into the final table with over 1.5 million more chips than the second place player and in just over 2 1/2 hours, dispatched all but one and claimed the title.

Edwin Tournier went out first at the hands of Donal Norton and then it was all Neil Channing. He eliminated Kai Paulsen in fifth with a turned straight vs. Kai’s flopped top pair. Took out Tim Blake in fourth when, short stacked, Blake went all in with KJ and was called by Channing and Q6. Channing flopped a queen and that was enough. Thomas Dunwoodie was next and went all in with A8 and was called by Neil and A7. Thomas was done in on the river by a seven and went home in third.

Heads up was Neil Channing and local favorite Donal Norton but it was Channing’s day and the final hand saw Donal push all in with pocket fives and was called by Channing and A9. An ace on the flop put Neil in front and another on the river was icing on the cake. Neil Channing was the 2008 Irish Open champion.

Final ‘08 Irish Open Final Table Results:

Neil Channing – €801,400
Donal Norton – €420,000
Thomas DunWoodie – €275,000
Tim Blake – €220,000
Kai Paulson – €175,000
Edwin Tournier – €135,000

World Series of Poker Europe Dates Set

The first World Series of Poker Europe was a huge success and main event winner Annette “Annette_15″ Obrestad of Norway was instantly catapulted to the forefront of the poker world. Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. and the WSOPE sponsor Betfair have now announced the dates of this year’s event.

The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe venue will be the same as last years, with the host being the London Clubs International and the events being held at St. James (Fifty), Leicester Square (The Casino at the Empire) and Marble Arch (Sportsman) locations. The dates will be September 19th to October 1st, 2008.

In a press release World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said, “It was a clean sweep for the Europeans last year. There are many, many talented players in the European poker community and I think it caught some of the world’s best known poker players by surprise. It’s safe to say the pros haven’t forgotten about last year and the young guns should expect a tougher fight in 2008.”

“Last year produced a fantastic tournament which exceeded all expectations. Online qualification for the 2008 event is already underway so we’re expecting an even better contest this time around,” added David Yu, CEO, Betfair.

In the 2007 WSOPE, Annette Obrestad won $2,013,102 which is the highest prize for a female poker player and though she is still too young to compete in the U.S. WSOP, she will be in Europe to defend her title.

The schedule for the 2008 WSOPE has not been released.

Online Gambling Proposal IGREA Gets Another Co-Sponsor

New York Congressman Tim Bishop is the latest to sign up as a co-sponsor the Barney Frank’s proposal to regulate the online gambling industry. This brings the total co-sponsors of the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA) to 47.

Congressman Tim Bishop serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Education and the Labor Committee and the Budget Committee. Now in his third term, Bishop’s co-sponsorship comes as reversal to his voting for UIGE A of 2006. Congressman Bishop is the second to co-sponsor this proposal this year.

IGREA is one of several proposals that are being proposed that would address the U.S. stance on online gambling and bring the U.S. closer to World Trade Organization compliance as well as bringing in the potential of billions of dollars in revenues and licensing fees.

Patrick Antonius “cast the gauntlet” – Doyle Brunson is “Prepared to do BATTLE.

According to his blog, though Doyle Brunson he likes Patrick Antonius (known online as FinddaGrind), and thinks he’s a great player, Patrick ‘cast the gauntlet, and Doyle is “Prepared to do battle.”Antonious told CardPlayer Magazine last month that he would play Doyle Brunson, known as the Texas Dolly, and a poker world great in any game of poker, for any amount. Doyle said that was a mistake…

I’ve got 7-10 different games, all of which I’ve played in Las Vegas casinos for high stakes, that I’m willing to commit to for at least a seven figure match.

Antonius says he was responding to a rumor, someone told Antonius that Brunson said he would swim a river to play him. Doyle denys the comment, saying that he may have said something similar, about poker players in general, but that he did not single out Antonius.

The two have played together in tournament events, including a WPT event in which Patrick Antonious pushed all in over the top of Doyle’s limp in, Patrick sitting on acey duecy.. Doyle makes the 4 million dollar call with pocket three’s, Doyle’s pair turns into a boat.

Antonius was in disbelief, he asks Brunson “How can you make that call?” Doyle responded, “How you can you make that bet, we’re playin’ poker, not solitaire.”

Brandon Cantu Wins Bay 101 Shooting Star Poker Tournament

Brandon Cantu, whose previous two wins came in 2006 at the WSOP $1500 no limit holdem tournament and at the Ultimate Poker Challenge $ 300 buy-in no limit hold’em tournament can now claim a third win when he lead all the way at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star main event.

It was a huge day for Cantu who entered the final table with a commanding chip lead that he never gave up and not only took home the $1 million dollar first place prize but also $30,000 in bounties for “shooting” down other poker stars and another $10,000 for leading Day 1A.

The final 6 came down to John Phan (347,000), Steve Sung(474,000), Jennifer Harman(541.000), Noah Jefferson(842,000), Mike Baker(1,964,000) and Brandon Cantu(3,323,000). Besides a very early double up by Jennifer Harman through the chip leader, the eight hour final table was the Brandon Cantu show.

John Phan who came in as the short stack made his move early in and found his Qd 8d in a race with Noah Jefferson and 6c 6d. It was a race Phan would lose and was out in sixth place. It was then Cantu’s turn as he eventually got all the chips of the second place Mike Baker in the pot. Cantu held pocket aces to Baker’s Kd 3d and though two diamonds flopped, no more appeared and now Cantu had close to 75% of all the chips in play.

After Steve Sung’s 7d 7h won a race with Noah Jefferson and Ad Kd eliminating Jefferson in fourth, Brandon did the same to Harman when his pocket nines tripped on the flop to eliminate Jennifer’s Ah Kd.

As the money was laid on the table the chip count was heavily in favor of Brandon Cantu whose 6,133,000 was well ahead of Steve Sung and his 1,385,000. That mountain of chips by Cantu ended up being too tall for Sung to climb and the final hand saw Brandon’s pocket fours hold up against Sung and his pocket three’s giving Brandon Cantu the Bay 101 Shooting Star title.

The final table results for the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star main event:

Brandon Cantu – $1,000,000
Steve Sung – $585,000
Jennifer Harman – $330,000
Noah Jefferson – $265,000
Mike Baker – $200,000
John Phan – $135,000

Anthrax Guitarist Scott Ian Rocks Online Poker Site Ultimate Bet

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, has added another poker notch in his belt by signing a deal to become the next online pro at Ultimate Bet. Ian won VH1’s Rock Stars of Poker at the Palms in Las Vegas which gave him a seat at the 2007 Aruba Poker Classic held by Ultimate Bet. There he was quoted as saying,

“The Aruba Classic was a blast!! What a place to spend a week playing Poker. Even if you get knocked out early you’ve got a week on the beach. It’s a win-win. I’ll be back next year!!”

Looks like he will be back and under the tutoring of 11 time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth may have something more than instinct to go on. According to Scott Ian, skill was not a factor in the first tournament.

“I had no idea what I was doing. My first tournament win was mostly because I had amazing cards. My instinct was all I had,” admitted Ian.

George MacLean, spokesperson for Ultimate Bet said in UB’s press release,

“We’re thrilled to add Scott Ian to our roster of online poker professionals. Scott represents a new breed of poker player that both Texas Hold’em and music fans can relate to.”

Scott will be joining the other Ultimate Bet online poker pros, P0ker H0, Debo34, Shawn Rice, and KrazyKanuck.

The Anthrax guitarist will be featured every Sunday in UltimateBet.com’s $200,000 Guaranteed poker tournament with a bounty on his head. The online poker player that knocks Scott Ian out of the tournament will win their $215 buy-in back.

Like he promised, Ian will be back at the 2008 Aruba Poker Classic as well as playing at the online poker tables on a regular basis at Ultimate Bet.

PokerStars Announces the Latin American Poker Tour

PokerStars has reached a lot of milestones in the online poker industry. Being the biggest online poker room, PokerStars has dealt over fifteen billion hands, run more than 75 million poker tournaments and is paying out more than $300 million in tournament prize money every month. Now it has announced in a press release the launch of Latin America’s first major poker tour, the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT).

The LAPT will officially begin in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from May 3-5, 2008. The tournament will be a $2,500 buy-in and players will compete for a prize pool of over $600,000. This tournament will be one of the biggest held in Brazil.

A couple weeks later the tour will continue in Costa Rica from May 22-24 with the LAPT San Jose and then again August 7-9 in Uruguay for the LAPT Punta del Este.

In the press release, LAPT President Glenn Cademartori said, “Poker is exploding in Latin America and the game is more than ready for its own major poker tour. It’s one of the fastest-growing poker regions and there are thousands upon thousands of players in countries like Brazil and Argentina who will love the chance to take part in events of this kind. In every regard, the LAPT is going to put Latin America on the map as the newest hotspot to play high-stakes international poker.”

As far as the LAPT teaming with PokerStars, who is already in its fourth year as sponsor of the European Poker Tour (EPT), Cademartori added “It’s not just because PokerStars has proven success in launching major poker tours in other regions, but also because it is the world’s number one online poker destination. This means it’s uniquely positioned to give an enormous number of players from across the globe the chance to take part through online qualifying satellite tournaments. Our goal is to provide Latin American players and beyond with the best poker tournament experience in this part of the world.”

The LAPT will bring another well experience leader in as tournament director in Mike Ward. Ward commented that “As director of Foxwoods Resort Casino since 1996 and director of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas since its launch in 2004, I have had the opportunity to witness the dramatic expansion of tournament poker. I’m now really looking forward to bringing my skills and energy to the Latin American Poker Tour.”

Bodog Files Petition Vs. 1st Technology

Bodog Press Release

Bodog, the digital entertainment enterprise based in Antigua, which has been dragged into the collection efforts of 1st Technology in respect of their default judgment granted against a former domain management supplier, announced today that it has filed a petition for reexamination of patent No. 5,564,001, the patent at issue in that case with Data Entry and Domain Management S.A. (Civil Action No. 2:06-cv-01110-RLH-GWF). The filing of such a request will not stop the harassment of Bodog. Even in the highly unlikely event that the patent emerges from the reexamination unscathed, if at all, it may not invalidate the default judgment that is currently in place against the above-noted defendant. So, why do it?

“1st Technology and its founder, Scott Lewis, have preyed on our industry and others long enough,” says Bodog founder Calvin Ayre. “They count on organizations being forced to make the assessment of whether fighting a patent claim will cost more than to simply settle it. They say their patents are valid. They say their claims are legitimate. Well, it’s time to prove it.”
A patent reexamination is a process in which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is advised of the existence of “prior art” that raises a “substantial new question of patentability”. “Prior art” simply means public information that may impact an assessment of whether the patented invention was valid. Since a patent is only properly granted when an invention is genuinely novel and unobvious, if invalidating prior art exists, then a patent granted with respect to that invention is not valid. True inventors with legitimate patents have absolutely nothing to fear from a petition for reexamination.

“We have communicated repeatedly that the Bodog business is simply not the entity against whom 1st Technology has secured its judgment,” says Mr. Ayre. “Through what was essentially inadvertence, Bodog did not transfer the registrations out of this supplier when the supplier ceased doing business. That was Bodog’s oversight and it cost the business those domains; however, the harassment continues, as 1st Technology intentionally uses the subpoena process to hound and attempt to intimidate suppliers and business partners.”

The petition filed in respect of the No. 5,564,001 patent may not stop this harassment, but at least it will require that the patent be tested before it can be used as a weapon against others.

Court records suggest that Scott Lewis and his related “licensing” companies currently have pending litigation against Playtech, Parlay Entertainment, Tiltware, Electronic Arts, Viacom, Microsoft, Betcorp, Giga Media, Harmonic Systems, Grand Virtual, Cambridge Interactive Development, Ultranet Internet Media, Lasseters, Leisure and Gaming, IQ-Ludorum, and Kolyma. The number of outstanding demand letters threatening litigation that may be on the desks and minds of other businesses is unknown.

“We intend to review every patent being used by ‘licensors’ that abuse the patent system in the guise of representing legitimate inventors,” says Mr. Ayre. “Through no fault of its own, the USPTO is under-funded and overwhelmed and we have the resources to support the research into whether these patents should have been issued in the first place. We intend to fund and seek reexamination after reexamination of invalid patents, and we encourage others that have received demand letters offering to ‘license’ these technologies under threat of litigation to join us. Acting independently, the ’settlement math’ almost always favors the aggressor, but together we can turn the hunters into the hunted.”

Trojan Virus Used to Steal From Online Poker Players

Have you ran your Virus Scanner Lately? Recently after finding a Trojan horse virus on her computer, a 4flush.com staff member began paying a bit more attention. The virus in question could not be removed by any of the virus scanners we tried, however, it can apparently be removed manually. The infected computer was put out to pasture, and the matter dropped. Until another of our computers became infected. We looked a little more into the matter, not wanting to put to many more of our computers in that already crowded pasture, and found a story on Tech Radar that claims online poker players are some of the ripest targets there are when it comes to thieves using Trojan viruses to steal from computer users.

A professional online poker player was attacked by someone he would play against regularly online. And we’re talking about professional players, and big money. Hundreds of thousands of euros on the table at a time,” Says Mike Hyppönen, chief research officer at security software company, F-Secure .

The story tells of a professional poker player, one that wins on a regular basis, going on a bad losing streak. He got no action with his winning hands, his bluffs were raised or called, his bankroll was quickly deflating. That player had accepted a tool via an download from another player, the tool was designed to calculate odds, but what the unnamed professional poker player did not know was that the tool also came with a Trojan virus, allowing the other player, the player that originally sent the odds calculator to cheat.

With just a  click of a button the cheating player was able to see a screen shot of his opponents computer. On a side note, it would seam a new online poker room has opened, perhaps to have a little fun with the search term, Bet Trojan comes up first when you’re looking for poker and Trojan’s in a google search.

World Series of Poker Circuit Ends with Unusual Final Table Antics

Sometimes the winner of a tournament is overshadowed by someone else who had a great run, was a sentimental favorite or was just a good story. Like Orel Hershiser’s run at the NBC Heads Up Championship last week ended up the talk of the tournament even though Chris Ferguson was the overall winner.

The World Series of Poker Circuit series at Caesars Atlantic City would end up being one of those tournaments but this time for the wrong reasons. The $300 no limit Texas holdem tournament was attended by 1,056 poker players and eventually won by a 76 year old from New Jersey named Frank Panetta. Frank won $76,104 for besting the entire field and putting up with one unruly player.

According to the tournament report from the WSOP media director, Nolan Dalla, Lesley S. Thornburg, from Richmond, Va. had already received two warnings for “a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours.” When later at the final table and holding on to a slim chip lead, Thornburg was disqualified in fifth place for what officially was called “unsportsmanlike behavior.”

Twice at the final table Thornburg was all in with the worst of it and twice he pulled through and the second time knocking out Edward Sullivan. If that wasn’t strange enough, Dalla said in the report, that it was here things started getting weird.

“Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone’s patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, “all in.” Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg’s immediate disqualification. Lesley Thornburg, a general contractor from Richmond, Va., earned $19,026 in prize money.”

As per tournament rules Lesley’s chip were removed from the table and as more normal play continued, the tournament ended with the following results:

1. Frank Panetta – $76,104
2. Andy Santiago – $42,824
3. Todd Rebello – $25,368
4. Lee Ervin – $22,197
5. Lesley S. Thornburg (disqualification) – $19,026
6. Edward Sullivan – $15,855
7. Donald Mercer – $12,684
8. Mike Santoro – $9,513
9. Francis Snyder – $6,342

Ultimate Bet Online Poker Cheating Scandal Confirmed

The online poker industry as a whole has made a stand. Following the first incident of cheating, online poker rooms and the Kahnawake Gambling Commission, who in the opinion of many poorly mishandled the first case of cheating in poker rooms, are in this newest case of cheating poker players showing a united front.

On January 12th Ultimate Bet learned of a poker player who’s numbers just did not add up. NioNio a player on the popular poker website was showing irregular winnings, some suggested that a player could not have numbers that high unless he was playing with an unfair advantage, perhaps something similar to the case at Absolute Poker where certain players had access to their opponents hole cards. . .

On January 12, 2008, UltimateBet was alerted to allegations that a player with the online handle “NioNio” exhibited abnormally high winning statistics and was accused of having an unfair advantage during play. These allegations were made both directly to UltimateBet by concerned players and the KGC, and indirectly through several web forums. The allegations also included reports of suspicious activity concerning the deletion of the NioNio account and other accounts that may have been related to this scheme.

There is another similarity between this story and the one we watched unfold at Absolute Poker a few weeks ago. In both cases it was not the software or security that unfolded the cheating scandal, but the high stakes poker players themselves. Additionally, there is an unamed ‘expert’ mentioned in the Ultimate Bet press release, players are asking why the ‘expert’ or at least his position is not being disclosed.

Though according to industry experts, it took some time for representatives of Ultimate Bet to come forward with a statement. It has been months since the issue was originally raised in popular poker forum 2+2.

Only one account has been fingered in these cheating allegations, the account of NioNio, primarily a high stakes cash poker player.

“UltimateBet is in regular communications and contact with its regulatory authority, The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), and will continue to cooperate fully with that body.

“UltimateBet is determined to complete a full and thorough investigation. We pride ourselves on providing a safe, secure playing environment for our customers. The investigation has proven to be extremely complex and, therefore, has been more extensive and taken much longer than initially expected. We continue to aggressively pursue the matter and will communicate the findings of our full investigation to our regulatory authority and to our customer base as soon as practicable.”

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IMEGA Online Gambling Case Dismissed but Wins Standing

US District Court for the District of New Jersey, Judge Mary L Cooper dismissed the case brought by Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) that was challenging the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that was passed in October of 2006.

Judge Cooper did grant iMEGA the standing to pursue a challenge of the UIGEA. Even though the case was dismissed, iMEGA attorney, Eric M. Bernstein, Esq., said on the iMEGA website,

“Granting iMEGA standing is a major victory any way you look at it. Judge Cooper’s ruling holds that, even with the passage of UIGEA, online gambling is only illegal in states where a statute specifically says it is.”

The major argument by the Department of Justice was that iMEGA did not have any standing to challenge the UIGEA because it was properly passed by Congress and since the enforcement of the UIGEA had not yet been implemented, iMEGA had no grounds to dispute the law in court.

Joe Brennan Jr., the chairman of iMEGA added, “iMEGA is very pleased that the Court recognized our standing and the weaknesses in UIGEA. Judge Cooper found that banks, credit card companies and other payment system instruments are exempt from criminal sanctions under UIGEA, significantly undercutting UIGEA’s enforcement mechanism. Her ruling echoes the growing consensus of opinion that UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed statute.”

Judge Mary Cooper stopped short of getting involved in whether the law should have been passed or not and in part of her decision wrote:

“The plaintiff’s claims express a fundamental disagreement with Congress’s judgment that Internet gambling should be controlled legislatively, and pose questions as to whether (the law) … will be successful in accomplishing its desired ends. But it is not the court’s role to pass on the wisdom of a congressional act or speculate as to its effectiveness.”

iMEGA plans to appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

You can read the whole ruling here, courtesy of iMEGA. (pdf form)

Full Tilt Fires Jonathan “Fieryjustice” Little For Violating T&C’s

What could have started with a simple question at poketfives.com forum involving Jonathan Little, known on Full Tilt Poker as Fieryjustice quickly escalated into a whole lot more, and eventually, the loss of his poker pro status at Full tilt.

The man has 1227 SNGs played this month, it’s been 7 freaking days…..Is he on a mission to break all records for SNGs on FTP?????

The inevitable conclusion:

I don’t mean to make a big deal about nothing, but if this is true, then wouldn’t that qualify as Jonathan Little cheating?? I mean if people are playing someone in a 5K heads up match and they are not playing the person they think they are, that is totally unfair.

In this case, it would be to their advantage assuming this buddy you speak of is a lot worse than Little. However, this would mean Little could also be playing under a friend’s account and people would have no idea who they are up against.

Also, for people not aware of who Jonathan Little is, if they were to look up his pokerstars name on sharkscope, they would see he is down $115,000. Who wouldn’t want to take that match-up? Having a friend play, thus making you look like a totally fish, is definitely a form of cheating as well.

Was followed up with the firing of Jonathan Little (“Fieryjustice”) as noted in a small locked forum post at the Full Tilt Forum by administrator TilterRick. In the post, Full Tilt states:

Despite having a great year on the WPT, Jonathan Little is no longer affiliated with Full Tilt Poker. He violated the terms and conditions of Full Tilt Poker by allowing other players to play his account. While we encourage our pros to play as much as they can, we do not allow them to share their account with any other players…

The online community is a buzz with a mixture of opinions from “he got what he had coming” to “he should be given another chance”. Many claim that it is common practice for Full Tilt pros to have friends playing on their accounts.

So far there has been no word from Jonathan Little himself. After much online success, Jonathan won the 2007 WPT Mirage Poker Championship. He went on to have a very successful year in WPT events and has over $2 million in WPT cashes alone. He most recently made it to the quarter finals of the NBC National Heads Up Challenge before being eliminated by eventual champion, Chris Ferguson.

Harrah’s Pre-registration Now Open For 2008 WSOP

It is that time again!

Harrah’s announced today that pre-registration for the 2008 World Series of Poker is now open. Interested players in playing in the WSOP can pre-register at http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com or go to the main cage at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas which will again be the host of this event. Players can find all the necessary instructions and rules on the website.

In a press released statement, Jack Effel, WSOP tournament director said, “We’ve received only positive comments about the 2008 schedule, which offers WSOP bracelets in eight variations of poker and at multiple buy-in levels. Because no alternates will be seated at the 2008 WSOP, we encourage players to pre-register early to guarantee their seats. Once again, acceptable forms of payment will include cash, cashier’s checks, wire transfers and Rio casino chips.”

Check out the full schedule of WSOP events which will start May 30th and include 55 bracelets tournaments. The $10,000 WSOP Main event will bring the 2008 WSOP to a close on July 16th. Buy-ins for this year’s events will range from $1,000 to $50,000.

In January of this year the sale of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. was completed to the Apollo Management, L.P. and TPG Capital, L.P for $17.1 billion and this will be the first year the now privately owned Harrah’s will run the tournament.

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