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Kentucky Seizure Of Illegal Online Gambling Domains Frozen

A Kentucky court in Frankfort held another hearing Friday, September 26, that resulted in freezing the previous court ruling which called for 141 online gambling domains to be seized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky due to illegal online gambling operations. This most recent hearing is considered a major, if not temporary, victory for pro-gambling advocates.

 

According to a press release from the Kentucky governor’s office, one online gambling operator with at least two domains on the list of 141 has already succumb to the initial order for seizure, but the remaining domain owners are not willing to hand over their assets so easily.

 

Circuit judge Thomas Wingate heard the defense statements on Friday of multiple counsels defending the interest of online poker and online gambling operators. Judge Wingate agreed that the defense would need time to prepare legal briefs in the case, granting a continuance. The previous ruling has been frozen, and the hearing will resume in early October, on the 6^th or 7^th of the month.

 

Though Wingate was not pleased that attorneys for the defendants would not reveal the names of corporations or owners of the domains in questions, he did describe the case as “very complex” when calling for a continuance. The judge reiterated to the defense that he is not lifting the order for seizure, stating this is only a temporary freeze, and that “You are going to have to eventually pony up and say who these people are.”

 

The PPA (Poker Players Alliance) and iMEGA (Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association) each file “friend of the court” briefs in the case that advised judge Wingate of related difficulties concerning the way the case had been filed up to this point.

 

Executive Director of the PPA, John Pappas commented after Friday’s hearing. “The Poker Players Alliance is pleased that the court decided to allow for a full review of this case, including arguments from both sides. Until this point, the state and its hired gun class-action attorneys have acted in an ex parte fashion – only presenting one side of the argument to the court. The continuance granted today will ensure all the cards are on the table and allow the current owners of the domain names of the 141 websites to retain ownership in the interim.

 

“The PPA believes that a thorough review of the facts of the case will result in a favorable outcome for the thousands of Kentucky residents who play online poker.”

Amateur Paul Featherstone gets his shot against 5 of his favorite pros

Poker After Dark: Dream Match II Airs on 9/29
Amateur Paul Featherstone gets his shot against 5 of his favorite pros

NBC’s Poker After Dark brings viewers another match this week that most fans would give their eye teeth to play in, as 25 year-old amateur Paul Featherstone from Woodland, CA butts heads with five of his favorite players in Dream Match II. The players Paul selected are Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Sexton, Jennifer Harman, and Gavin Smith. Paul won his seat in an online competition, while the others will put up $20,000 each and play for the $120,000 winner-take-all first prize.
This is the second dream match on Poker After Dark. Viewers may remember Ken Light’s appearance in Dream Match I, where the amateur played well but was knocked out on the final hand along with Jennifer Harman when Phil Hellmuth made trip sevens on the turn to eliminate both players and win his first ever match on PAD. It will be interesting to see if Paul fares better than Ken did, and he is sure to have a great number of supporters rooting for him as the match’s underdog.
After Matusow’s 4th place finish last week in the “Mission Impossible” match, he remains winless on PAD with a record of 0-9. Mike’s obviously feeling the pressure of having the worst record on the show, so you know he’ll be focused. Hellmuth comes into the match with a record of 3-8, and would love nothing better than to become the show’s first 4-time winner.
Proud new father Mike Sexton comes into this match with a 1-1 record, scoring a victory in Match 19. Jennifer Harman seems due, as she is now 1-6 with her victory coming way back in Match 8. Gavin Smith currently sports a 1-2 record on the show, with a victory in Match 22.
Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing on NBC late night Monday at 2:05 a.m., September 29, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the “Director’s Cut” will air late night Saturday, October 4, at 1:00 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature Leeann with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews. Viewers can also watch the match at www.nbcsports/msnbc.com/poker.
This match has plenty of action, with lots of all-in moves, a number of suckouts and bad beats, some behavior by Hellmuth that fans have come to expect, and a great heads-up match with a dramatic final hand. Viewers can expect a very entertaining match, with plenty of opportunities to ride along on the emotional roller coasters of their favorite players.
Matusow, Mike: (Seat 1)
• Known as “The Mouth” for trash talking at the tables, and one of poker’s most recognizable players
• Winner of three WSOP bracelets, his latest in the prestigious 2008 $5000 no-limit 2-7 draw event w/rebuys
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $6.87 million, and ranks 19th on the all-time money list
• Won a $100,000 prop bet with Ted Forrest at the beginning of the 2008 WSOP by losing more than 50 pounds since the 2007 WSOP, weighing in at a svelte 179
• Self-proclaimed unluckiest player in the game when he’s running bad

Hellmuth, Phil: (Seat 2)
• Known as the “Poker Brat,” a name he now embraces, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007
• 1989 World Champion, and won his 11th World Series bracelet in 2007, making him the first and only person in history to do so
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $10.67 million, and ranks 3rd on the all-time money list, despite never having a cash for more than $755,000
• Now has more World Series cashes (67) and has made more WSOP final tables (41) than any other player in history
• His fame has given him the opportunity to be involved in many businesses on the side, and he is highly acknowledged as the game’s best self-promoter

Sexton, Mike: (Seat 3)
• A journeyman poker player, he began playing professionally in the late 1970s
• Owns one WSOP bracelet
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $3.66 million
• One of television’s most recognizable and respected poker commentators, and perhaps the game’s greatest ambassador
• At the age of 60, became a father for the first time on August 21, 2008 when he and his wife Karen celebrated the birth of a baby boy, Ty Michael

Harman, Jennifer: (Seat 4)
• Only woman to regularly compete in the “Big Game” at the Bellagio
• Owns two WSOP bracelets, and finished 2nd in the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe H.O.R.S.E. event
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $2.21 million
• Wrote the section of playing limit hold’em in Doyle Brunson’s book Super System II
• Married to poker professional Marco Traniello, and spends considerable time hosting charity events which raise money for the Nevada SPCA and other worthwhile causes

Smith, Gavin: (Seat 5)

• Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and attended the University of Guelph
• Holder of 1 WPT title, and was the WPT’s Player of the Year for season IV
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $3.97 million
• Talkative at the tables, and a self-proclaimed “wild card” due to his aggressive play
• Known to engage in unusual prop bets during the World Series of Poker, especially with good friend poker professional Joe Sebok
Featherstone, Paul: (Seat 6)
• Is 25 years-old, single, and a resident of Woodland, CA
• Won his seat to play on Poker After Dark via a freeroll at FullTiltPoker.net, and the players chosen to play against him are all among his personal favorites
• Has been playing poker for about 3 years, sometimes as much as 10 hours a day, both online and in home games with friends
• Worked for 5 years in the food service industry and is currently employed as a warehouse worker, but wants to return to college to become a veterinary technician
• Other hobbies include jogging, golf and basketball, and is a huge fan of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings

Dennis Oehring serves as the Public Relations Coordinator for the firm POKER PROductions. Statistical information courtesy of The Hendon Mob database. Photos courtesy of Stephanie Moore.

Poker Affiliate Tournament in Barcelona Shut Down by Police

A freeroll poker tournament offered to private members of a poker affiliate forum during an industry convention in Spain was shut down by local Police. Poker tables, and chips were confiscated from the event, set in Barcelona, reported NoSoloPoker on Friday.

Police raided the Hotel Princesa in Barcelona Spain where a private freeroll tournament was being held. This years ASOP brought together 42 online poker affiliates, each of whom earned their seats in the event though a series of  private (members only) online poker events sponsored by a variety of poker rooms online.

It’s common knowledge among poker affiliates, and most poker players even, that cash poker games aren’t allowed just anywhere, and in Barcelona, they’re only allowed in actual casinos. There was definitely an air of surprise afoot however as affiliates found out that a private members only free poker tournament would be shut down, and supplies confiscated. No arrests are reported, no charges filed at this time.

The tournament in question is the Affiliate Series of Poker, held during many Casino Affiliate Program events, and open to members of Poker Affiliate Programs, a web resource for online poker affiliates, affiliate managers, and others involved in the poker industry online.

This is not the first time an ASOP has been shut down during a CAP convention.

More than $10,000.00 in cold hard cash was to be won at this event, in addition to the coveted gold and diamond bracelet valued at nearly $15,000.00.

Kentucky vs. Online Gambling Domains: Update

As you probably already know, the Franklin Circuit Court of Kentucky has ordered the seizure of 141 online gambling domain names declared by the courts to be guilty and/or in connection with illegal online gambling activities pertaining to residents of the state.

On September 18, the court judge ruled that the plaintiff in the case, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, was to take control of these domain names.

4Flush.com has obtained a link to the actual order to seize the domain names, signed by the Kentucky court judge, stating the names of the 141 domains in question and the course of action to be taken.

You can view the document here: Order Of Seizure Of Domain Names

Below is the entire list of 141 online gambling domains set to be seized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

123bingo.com
777dragon.com
7sultans.com
absolutepoker.com
aceshighcasino.com
alljackpots.com
allslots.com
arthuriancasino.com
atriumcasino.com
aztecrichescasino.com
bellavegas.com
bet21.com
betroyalcasino.com
bigtimebingo.com
bingoknights.com
bingoville.com
bingoworkz.com
blackjackballroom.com
bodoglife.com
bonuslevelslots.com
bookmaker.com
bugsyclub.com
cakepoker.com
capitalcasino.com
captaincookscasino.com
caribbeangold.com
casinobar.com
casinoclassic.com
casinoextreme.com
casinofortune.com
casinograndbay.com
casinokingdom.com
casinoshare.com
casinous.com
cirruscasino.com
clubusacasino.com
cocoacasino.com
coolcatcasino.com
countycasino.com
crazypoker.com
crazyvegascasino.com
desperatehousewivesbingo.com
doylesroom.com
dsipoker.com
englishharbour.com
ezbets.com
firstwebcasino.com
fortunejunction.com
fortuneroom.com
fulltiltpoker.com
galaxiworld.com
gamblingboard.com
goldencasino.com
goldgatecasino.com
goldenpalace.com
grandmondial.com
highrollerslounge.com
indiancasino.com
inetbet.com
itsrealpoker.com
ivegas.com
jackpotcapital.com
jackpotcity.com
jackpotkingscasino.com
jackpotwheel.com
jupiterclub.com
kingneptunescasino.com
lakepalace.com
lasvegasusacasino.com
linesmaker.com
luckycoincasino.com
luckynugget.com
luckypyramidcasino.com
magicislandcasino.com
mapau.com
maplecasino.com
miamiparadisecasino.com
microgaming.com
mightyslots.com
millionairecasino.com
musichallcasino.com
mysportsbook.com
oneclubcasino.com
orbitalcasino.com
orchidcasino.com
paradise8.com
phoeniciancasino.com
pitbullpoker.com
platinumplay.com
playersonly.com
pokerhost.com
pokerroyaleonline.com
pokerstars.com
pokertime.com
powerbet.com
redflush.com
redstarpoker.com
reeferpoker.com
riopartycasino.com
riverbelle.com
rivernilecasino.com
roadhousereels.com
royalbetcasino.com
royalvegas.com
rushmorecasino.com
sbgglobal.com
showdowncasino.com
simonsayscasino.com
slotfever.com
slotocash.com
slotsoffortune.com
slotsplus.com
sportsbetting.com
sportsbook.com
sportsinteraction.com
sunpalacecasino.com
sunvegas.com
superslots.com
thisisvegas.com
thunderluckcasino.com
tridentlounge.com
truepoker.com
ukcasinoclub.com
ultimatebet.com
usabingo.com
valueactive.com
vegascasinoonline.com
vegaslucky.com
vegasmagic.com
vegaspalms.com
vegasusacasino.com
vegasvilla.com
vicsbingo.com
viploungecasino.com
virtualcitycasino.com
wildjack.com
win4real.com
winabingo.com
worldwidevegas.com
wsex.com
yukongoldcasino.com

WSOPE Pre-Main Event: Brunson VS Obrestad In Heads-Up Poker

On Friday, September 26, just one day before the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in London, poker fans will have a chance to watch history in the making as the legendary Doyle Brunson will go heads-up against the 2007 WSOPE Champion, Annette Obrestad.

Pitting aged wisdom against quick-witted youth, the match between 75 year old Brunson and 20 year old Obrestad will certainly be one for the history books. The event will be a best-of-3, with the first player to win 2 matches crowned the victor.

Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson is a living legend in the professional poker world, having made a monumentally successful career out of playing poker for more than 50 years now. Brunson has earned himself 10 WSOP Bracelets, only one behind the world record holder Phil Hellmuth, and tied for second with another legend of the game, Johnny Chan.

Endorser of the well established online poker room, Doyles Room, launched in 2004, Brunson’s professional poker exploits have earned him well over $5 million in live tournament winnings, and no telling how much in high stakes cash games.

Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad hasn’t spent nearly as much time as a professional poker player, but has certainly proven her more than capable skills at the card tables. One day prior to her 19th birthday, Obrestad amazed the world by taking down the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event in its inaugural season. Before that time, her online poker nickname “Annette_15” had already earned a reputation as one to be reckoned with.

At the mere age of 15, Obrestad began playing online poker as “Annette_15”, and claims she never once deposited money into an online poker account, rather building her own bankroll from scratch in Freeroll tournaments. In a six month period (Sept ’06-Feb ’07), Annette raked in more than $500k on PokerStars, $200k on UltimateBet and another $136k at Full Tilt Poker. Her live tournament winnings already exceed $2.5 million, nearly half of Brunson’s career live tournament earnings.

The Brunson-vs-Obrestad event will begin Friday at 1pm, local London time, at the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square. Massive attendance records are expected, including spectators and media, having just been alerted to the upcoming live poker event yesterday via a press release from the WSOP.

Kentucky Judge Orders Seizure Of Online Gambling Domains – PPA Responds

Poker players and those involved in the online poker industry were  absolutely flabbergasted this morning when browsing the online poker news headlines, their email boxes, and poker forums, they found that a court judge in Kentucky, USA, has ordered the seizure of 141 poker and gambling domains, to be transferred to ownership of the plaintiff – the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Among the 141 online gambling domains to be seized are some of the biggest players in the industry – PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, DoylesRoom.com, AbsolutePoker.com, Bodoglife.com, CakePoker.com and even the leading online gambling software developer, Microgaming.com.

I cannot fathom how the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear – who instigated the whole thing – got the idea that he can take control of domain names belonging to small companies outside of the US, but according to the Franklin Circuit Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, he can.

Here’s what happened…

Secretary of Justice Michael Brown brought the civil action before the Franklin Circuit Court, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, calling for the forfeiture and seizure of 141 online gambling domains that he demonstrates to be promoting and/or providing illegal gambling services within the state of Kentucky.

A hearing was held on September 18th where the court found in favor of the plaintiff, stating probable cause existed to seize the domains in questions as they are believed to be in connection with facilitating illegal gambling within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The end result is that the registrants of each domain have been ordered by the judge to transfer ownership to the plaintiff’s account. Electronic notifications were sent out to the registrants of each domain, detailing the order, according to the legal procedures set forth by ICANN.

Thus far, it has only been reported that two online gambling domains – luckypyramidcasino.com and highrollerslounge.com – have actually been seized. Both companies domain names were registered with the ENOM registrar service, based in the US, thereby allowing the seizure of the domain names.

None of the major online gambling domains mentioned earlier in this article – PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, etc. – are believed to be registered with US-based companies, therefore it is not yet unclear whether the seizure of these domains would actually be possible.

Why Kentucky?

We can think of one very good reason the governor of Kentucky would target online gambling sites, and especially online sportsbooks – Kentucky is home to major horse racing events like the Kentucky Derby. If citizens of Kentucky place their horse racing bets online, Kentucky will receive no revenue from these wagers. Instead, let’s oust the competition by snatching the foundation out from beneath their feet.

Kentucky Governor Steve Bashear, who’s always supported pro-gambling laws, lashed out at the online gambling industry, basically rehashing the UIGEA word for word. He spoke of the dangers of underage and problem gambling, as well as the industry’s alleged use for money laundering.

“Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity,” claimed Bashear.

PPA’s John Pappas Responds…

Poker Players Alliance executive director, John Pappas, berated the court’s decision with the following statement:

“Many of Governor Beshear’s arguments – that online poker is illegal, unregulated and without a mechanism to capture tax revenue – are false. Online poker is not illegal under Kentucky law, is regulated in its home jurisdiction and the Commonwealth of Kentucky chose not to license and regulate poker websites.

“If the Governor truly wants to implement tighter regulations, taxation mechanisms and consumer protections on Internet gambling, the PPA suggests he publicly support federal legislation by U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, H.R. 2460, which would achieve those goals.

“Poker is a game of skill, a true American pastime and has a proud heritage in Kentucky. Simply because the game has evolved into the 21st Century, it should not be treated as suspect activity. Forcefully and secretly seizing control of websites that offer online poker games is not a sound public policy or a sound legal solution.”

PPA Statement on Kentucky Seizure of Poker Websites

WASHINGTON, DC. (September 23, 2008) – John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nation-wide and more than 13,000 members in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, today issued the following statement in regards to legal action taken by the Commonwealth to seize the domain names of Internet gambling websites.

“The Poker Players Alliance is outraged at the actions taken by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and the Franklin County Circuit Court to seize the domain names of Internet gambling websites.  We believe this action not only unduly restricts the freedom of Kentucky residents to play games of skill, such as poker, online, but sets a precedent for censorship of the Internet by force.

“Many of Governor Beshear’s arguments – that online poker is illegal, unregulated and without a mechanism to capture tax revenue – are false. Online poker is not illegal under Kentucky law, is regulated in its home jurisdiction and the Commonwealth of Kentucky chose not to license and regulate poker websites.

“If the Governor truly wants to implement tighter regulations, taxation mechanisms and consumer protections on Internet gambling, the PPA suggests he publicly support federal legislation by U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, H.R. 2460, which would achieve those goals

“Poker is a game of skill, a true American pastime and has a proud heritage in Kentucky. Simply because the game has evolved into the 21st Century, it should not be treated as suspect activity.  Forcefully and secretly seizing control of websites that offer online poker games is not a sound public policy or a sound legal solution.”

“ckingusc” Takes The Bracelet At PokerStars WCOOP Main Event

It was a long and grueling battle to the finish, but PokerStars has awarded its final bracelet to Zachary “ckingusc” King for taking down the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event.

The final event of the PokerStars 2008 WCOOP kicked off Sunday, September 21st at 4:30 pm ET and the action was practically non-stop right up until the end, just before 10:30pm Monday night. It started out with a field of 2,185, proffering the $5,000 + $200 buy-in – or winning a seat via satellite competitions – to take part in the massive $10 million guaranteed prize tournament. With so many entries, that purse actually jumped nearly one-million to $10,925,000.

An elite field of participants fought hard for to make their way into the money bubble, practically drooling at the chance to take home to top prize of more than $1.7 million – the highest 1st place prize in online poker tournament history.

Coming into day 2 of the WCOOP Main Event, August35 held a sizable chip lead, but it was still anyone’s game. It didn’t take long to further dwindle the field as 10 of the remaining competitors that went into the second day of action were eliminated within the first 20 minutes. By the time an hour had past, only 32 participants remained seated.

Monday’s incoming chip leader, August35, suffered a devastating loss of chips that resulted in a 23rd place. Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Gropsellier, who had an amazing run in this year’s WCOOP with 7 event cashes worth more than $400k, was sent to the rails in 21st place. Both competitors were awarded $22,942.50 for their high ranking finishes.

The final table took under two hours to complete, getting underway shortly after 8:30pm. The blinds started at 65k/130k with 13k antes, giving short-stacked players very little time to recover position. The final table consisted of the following players, ordered by chip counts:

liberace – 13,111,107
Markush13 – 11,433,207
ckingusc – 8,056,086
ShoesRDurrty – 6,547,232
klslcz – 4,828,175
AJKHoosier1 – 3,700,250
BOLLDOZER – 3,310,739
Sumpas – 2,959,856
kovi99 – 561,348

With little left to lose, Kovi99 made the first move, tripling up winning two all-in pots. Unfortunately, his third attempt was not so lucky, resulting in a 9th place exit. BOLLDOZER would be the next eliminated in 8th position just three hands later, pushing 1.3 million all-in against ckingusc. Taking a 7th place leave was klslcz, whose pocket Aces fell to the pocket Kings of Markush13 when the River dropped another King.

Then came the ousting of Sumpas in 6th place after going all-in for 4.74 million, called by the high stack of liberace. The cards fell greatly into liberace’s favor, leaving him with a dominating lead of 55 million chips when the hand was over.

At this point, the final 5 agreed to a deal. Low stacked at the time, AJKHoosier1 came out $100k extra from the deal just before doubling up against ShoesRDurrty, who would take the 5th place spot after the crippling loss.

Markush13 would take a momentarily successful run at chomping into liberace’s chip lead, but liberace came right back and returned the favor, eventually sending Markush13 to the rails in 3rd position. A move from ckingusc doubled him up through AJKHoosier1, then chipped away at liberace’s lead for a few hands. He then managed to send AJKHoosier1 packing when the exceptionally talented online poker champ pushed 4 million all-in with A-7 off-suit. Pocket 9’s from ckingusc held true and AJKHoosier1 made his 3rd place exit.

It came down to heads-up play between ckingusc, at 20 million chip count, and the dominating chip leader of the day, liberace, with 34.5 million. It didn’t take long for ckingusc to turn things around, however. A successful check-raise of 3 million from ckingusc encouraged a thoughtful all-in from liberace. By the time the river card fell, ckingusc would control the board with 40 million to liberace’s 14.5.

Just a few hands later came the finale… From the button, ckingusc pushed all-in and was immediately called by liberace.

ckingusc: Ac-8c
liberace: Kd-Jd

The Flop came down, As-Kc-10h, and ckingusc sighed relief with top pair. The Turn, 4c, was no help to anyone. It now came down to the river card to determine the fate of these two fearsome poker players, and a 9d fell, offering no assistance to liberace. It was all over…

The winner of PokerStars 2008 WCOOP Main Event would be ckingusc, awarded the prestigious WCOOP Bracelet and $1,265,432.

Note that the prize would have been higher – $1,775,312.50 – had it not been for the deal struck between the final 5 participants.

PokerStars 2008 WCOOP Main Event Final Table Results
(Pay out structure affected by deal between final 5)
1st – ckingusc – $1,265,432 (WCOOP Bracelet Winner)
2nd – liberace – $1,375,249
3rd – AJKHoosier1 – $782,542
4th – Markush13 – $961,718
5th – ShoesRDurrty – $801,153
6th – Sumpas – $415,150
7th – klslcz – $305,900
8th – BOLLPOKER – $196,650
9th – kovi99 – $121,267

Chicago Husband/Wife Team Win Big on the Televised Heartland Poker Tour

Mary Jo Belcore-Zogman Win the HPT Main Event in LakeMille Lacs

Lake Mille Lacs, MN, September 22, 2008-Mary Jo Belcore-Zogman wins the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) televised poker tournament on Sunday, September 21 at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs making history. Belcore-Zogman hails from Mc Henry, Illinois about sixty miles from Chicago. She is the second woman to win the No-limit Texas Hold’em championship and becomes the FIRST HUSBAND/WIFE DUO TO BOTH WIN A HPT POKER TOURNAMENT. Her husband, Dan Zogman, won a HPT tournament and over $220,000 at the Majestic Star Casino, in Gary, Indiana last year. Both Mr. and Mrs. Belcore-Zogman’s final table will appear in over 74 million homes.

“I can’t believe how great I feel right now,” said Mary Jo Belcore-Zogman, whose entire family now plays poker. “Dan may still be the king because his prize pool was bigger, but I’m definitely the queen of poker in our household.”

The Zogmans are quite the example of the modern poker playing couple after pick after playing in a Texas No-Limit Hold’em limit game on Valentine’s Day. “We used to be like any other couple and go out to dinner and go to shows and stuff like that,” said Mary Jo. “Now we travel the country playing poker and it’s way more fun.”

The rest of the final table had some other interesting stories as well. The sixth place finisher Ray “Stingray” Bendijo was making his second final table appearance at Grand Casino having finished 2nd at the last HPT event at Mille Lacs in February. Bendijo’s sixth place finish has now pushed him into the lead for the HPT Player of the Year. It’s a very close race for the Player of the Year award with six more events this year.

Also, HPT recorded an historic moment as the family theme appeared once more during this final table. Pete Bigelow followed in the footsteps of his son Paul by making the final table. After playing in several HPT No-Limit Texas Hold’em Poker Tournaments, the senior Bigelow made his first HPT final table and finished in fifth place.

The Heartland Poker Tour motors on with six events in the next eight weeks. The next tour stop is in Blawkhawk Colorado over the next two weeks.

2008 – Grand Casino Mille Lacs Final table-LakeMille Lacs, Minnesota, Final Table Sunday, September 21, 2008

Total Players in the Main Event -201

Total Qualifier players – 728

Total Prize Pool -$288,747

Final Table

1. Mary Jo Becore-Zogman - McHenryIL – $85,723
2. Jason Banfy – River FallsWI – $42,862
3. Dan Lawrence – BismarckND – $25,717
4. Greg Hillesheim – BeckerMN – $20,002
5. Pete Bigelow – MooseLakeMN – $17,145
6. Ray Bendijo – RamseyMN – $14,287

Exchanging Chip Leads At WSOP Europe Event #1 Final Table

The long-awaited World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) finally got underway last weekend with the first of four events, a £1,500 NL Hold’em event with no Re-Buys or Add-Ons. 410 entries drove the prize pool to an impressive £615,000.

Scheduled as a 4-day event, the WSOPE opener that began Friday, September 19th, will wrap up today with 3 participants currently remaining at the final table – Jesper Hougaard, Fuad Serhan and Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

It’s anyone’s game right now as the three battle it out for 1st place and the prestigious WSOPE Bracelet. Chip stacks are flying around the table right now as Timoshenko just lost a massive pot, and subsequent chip lead, to Hougaard, moving Timoshenko into last position. As it stands now, Hougaard holds a substantial chip lead at 1.5 million.

Jesper Hougaard is a young Danish poker pro with one WSOP Bracelet already in his grasp, having earned $610,304 for a 1st place finish at the 2008 WSOP NL Hold’em Event #36.

American Yevgeniy Timeshenko has seen his own exceptional success of late, having won the 2008 APT just last month for a cool $500,000, followed by a 2nd place win worth $133,390 at the EPT Barcelona Open on September 13.

This would be an ultimately sweet victory for Faud Sehran of the United Kingdom should he pull it out today, having seen his last live tournament cash in September of 2006.

Monday, September 22, will also see the hosting of WSOPE Event #2, £2,500 H.O.R.S.E., scheduled as a 3-day event. Wednesday, September 24, the WSOPE will host its 3rd event of £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha, also scheduled for 3 days.

Then finally, on Saturday, September 27, the WSOPE Main Event will begin. Featuring a £10,000 buy-in and 6 days of NL Texas Hold’em, this year’s WSOPE Main Event is sure to be as phenomenal as last year’s inaugural tournament, where budding poker pro Annette Obrestad emerged victorious, having turned 19 just two weeks prior.

Poker After Dark’s “Mission Impossible” – With a 0-8 record coming in, will Mike Matusow finally win a match?

NBC kicks off four consecutive weeks of original programming on Poker After Dark with a match that’s being called “Mission Impossible.” The reason is a lighthearted jab at one of poker’s best known personalities, Mike Matusow, who despite the tremendous success he has experienced in his lifetime, so far has come up empty on PAD and now sports the worst record of any player who has appeared on the show.

Mike’s record on Poker After Dark is a dismal 0-8, and if past performance is any indication of future success, his mission this week will be formidable indeed as he looks for his first victory against five pros who have already won a PAD match at least once. Looking to keep Mikey’s perfect record intact will be Phil Laak, Phil Hellmuth, David Williams, Clonie Gowen, and Gavin Smith. Each player will put up $20,000 and compete for the $120,000 winner-take-all first prize.

“The Unabomber” comes into this match with a PAD record of 1-3, winning Match 5. Hellmuth, who sported the worst record on PAD through the first two seasons, redeemed himself in Season 3 by winning two out of three matches, and with his victory in the Heads-Up Challenge in Week 33, now has a record of 3-7.

Williams is 1-1, having won “Jam-Up Week” in Match 27, as is Smith who won Match 22 before settling for 4th in Match 23. Gowen has been impressive on Poker After Dark, winning two of her four matches, and looks to join Johnny Chan and Hellmuth as PAD’s only three-time winners.

But all eyes with be on “The Mouth” to see if he can break his horrific losing streak on the show. When told what the theme would be, Matusow was very good-natured about it, but viewers will definitely be able to feel the heat that Mike is experiencing in trying to break into the winner’s column. Whether he will do so this week, or whether he will have to wait for another match is something viewers will definitely want to tune in for and find out.

Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing on NBC late night Monday at 2:05 a.m., September 22, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the “Director’s Cut” will air late night Saturday, September 27, at 1:00 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature Leeann with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews. Viewers can also watch the match at www.nbcsports/msnbc.com/poker.

None of the players this week are noted for being quiet at the table, so expect lots of interesting and entertaining banter in addition to some darned good poker. Clonie has a new look in this match which will probably catch the eye of more than one viewer, one player gets a little irritated, and the heads-up battle for the title is one of the most dominating performances in the show’s history.
Matusow, Mike: (Seat 1)

• Known as “The Mouth” for trash talking at the tables, and one of poker’s most recognizable players
• Winner of three WSOP bracelets, his latest in the prestigious 2008 $5000 no-limit 2-7 draw event w/rebuys
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $6.87 million, and ranks 19th on the all-time money list
• Won a $100,000 prop bet with Ted Forrest at the beginning of the 2008 WSOP by losing more than 50 pounds since the 2007 WSOP, weighing in at a svelte 179
• Self-proclaimed unluckiest player in the game when he’s running bad

Laak, Phil: (Seat 2)

• Nicknamed “The Unabomber” for the trademark hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses he usually wears
• Holder of one WPT invitational title
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $1.40 million
• Dates actress and poker player Jennifer Tilly
• Known for his unusual and often humorous antics and mannerisms at the table

Hellmuth, Phil: (Seat 3)

• Known as the “Poker Brat,” a name he now embraces, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007
• 1989 World Champion, and won his 11th World Series bracelet in 2007, making him the first and only person in history to do so
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $10.67 million, and ranks 3rd on the all-time money list, despite never having a cash for more than $755,000
• Now has more World Series cashes (67) and has made more WSOP final tables (41) than any other player in history
• His fame has given him the opportunity to be involved in many businesses on the side, and he is highly acknowledged as the game’s best self-promoter

Williams, David: (Seat 4)

• Highly intelligent, he scored 1550 out of 1600 on his college SATs
• Winner of one WSOP bracelet, and was runner-up to Greg Raymer in the 2004 WSOP main event
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $6.13 million, and ranks 25th on the all-time money list
• Known for wearing “just a touch” of bling at the tables
• Owns more than 300 pairs of Nike Air Force One sneakers

Gowen, Clonie: (Seat 5)

• • Real first name is Cycalona, a name inspired from being born during a powerful storm in Oklahoma
• • Won a $5000 no-limit hold’em event at the 2008 Bellagio Cup IV in July, 2008, her biggest cash ever which was good for nearly $438,000
• • Career tournament winnings in excess of $1.21 million
• • Is involved with chapters of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition and United Cerebral Palsy
• • One of poker’s more attractive women players, she appeared on the cover of the July 2006 issue of Maxim magazine

Smith, Gavin: (Seat 6)

• Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and attended the University of Guelph
• Holder of 1 WPT title, and was the WPT’s Player of the Year for season IV
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $3.97 million
• Talkative at the tables, and a self-proclaimed “wild card” due to his aggressive play
• Known to engage in unusual prop bets during the World Series of Poker, especially with good friend poker professional Joe Sebok

Online Poker Players Anxiously Await Full House Vote On HR 6870

Online poker fans in the US were cheerfully surprised when Congressman Barney Frank’s online gambling bill, HR 6870, passed through the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, and are now anxiously awaiting the full House vote that could come as early as next week.

Congressman Frank has spent the last two years – since the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 – diligently working to reverse the effects of the UIGEA. This is the first time one of his campaigns has actually been approved by the House, and millions of eyes from around the world will be watching to see the bill come full circle.

HR 6870 – the Payments System Protection Act – was devised to give financial institutions a full outline of definitions as to what is and is not considered illegal gambling in the United States. Even more appealing to online poker players and online gambling operations as a whole is the bill’s effective halting of thee UIGEA; set to suspend enforcement of any and all regulations within the UIGEA.

Thus far, Frank’s bill has received much more support in the House than any previous proposal. Some opposition has been met, especially from Representative Bacchus, but for the online gambling world, things are looking much brighter than ever before.

During the previous approval phase, Frank successfully defended HR 6870 stating “Adults are entitled to do with their money what they want to do.” If voted through, HR 6870 would do just that; returning US citizens their right to enjoy their leisure time however they wish.

One online poker fan, Tyler Hatterfield, was more than happy to express his viewpoint on the issue: “This was a great day for online poker, and if all goes well next week, online poker will take its place among the top entertainment options in the country.”

PKR ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF OKTOBERFEST

Forget the autumn gloom with PKR’s biggest festival

London, September 19, 2008 – PKR.com have announced their richest online poker festival to date. Starting October 17, the second coming of Oktoberfest arrives hot on the heels of the summer’s Super Series and promises to deliver the biggest spectacle of poker ever seen on PKR.com.

Boasting a massive prize pool totalling over $260,000, Oktoberfest 2008 repeats last year’s inaugural festival but will offer almost double the size of the prizes with generous increases on the guarantee of every event.

Following the success of the Super Series, Oktoberfest will feature a similar structure – twelve hot events set over as many days, capped off with the hugely popular ‘PKR Masters’ and the ‘Tournament of Champions’, which pits the best players of the series against each other for a cool $5,000 and bragging rights to champion status.

The events on offer at Oktoberfest are tailored to appeal to everyone with both speed and long running deep stack tournaments included in the schedule, in addition to popular Terminator and bounty tournaments. There are many ways in with a massive range of satellites on offer as well as lotteries to ensure everyone has a chance to book a seat to this fantastic series.

Cardroom Manager Neil Wright said, “Last year’s festival was a huge success and this year’s will be bigger and better. We are also looking forward to achieving our biggest prize pool ever in The PKR Masters.”

All final tables will be televised with the action broadcast to millions of televisions across Europe and also via youtube.com and PKR.TV – PKR.com’s very own web-based video channel. Full information will be available soon on PKR.com.

September Brings Flood Of Online Poker Players

According to the Poker Listings MarketPulse, there’s been an incredible swell of online poker player traffic at pretty much every online poker room this September, and there are two very good reasons that might have contributed to this sudden burst of extra participation.

First and foremost, we must recognize that thousands upon thousands of students are undertaking their first semester courses at college. It’s no secret that college students make up a significant portion of online poker players, and what better way to spend your evenings than studying mathematics at your favorite online poker site?

Next up is the ongoing World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), hosted by PokerStars and guaranteeing an eye-popping $30,000,000 overall. The WCOOP explains the highest percentage increase in traffic of all online poker rooms at PokerStars.

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, saw the highest added traffic flow, increasing 34% from August to an amazing 17,451 players every hour on a daily average, making September the most active month for the online poker room thus far in 2008. Those numbers are more than double that of PokerStars’ nearest competitor, Full Tilt Poker.

To widen your eyes a little further, PokerStars saw its busiest day on September 14th, drawing a massive 20,406 players per hour. The hosting if WCOOP Event #20, $1,050 NL Hold’em, which drew 3,467 players, certainly didn’t hurt the situation. The online poker room sees its highest rate of traffic between 4-6pm ET, nearing an astonishing 30,000. That’s almost half of the online poker industry overall, averaging 80,000 from 4-6pm.

Coming in second is – you guessed it – Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt saw an increase of 28% in player traffic, averaging 7,890 player per hour. We can’t blame a major online poker tournament for this one since the FTOPS series ended well before September, but it could be the attractive viewership of the high stakes “RailHeaven” table that’s assisting in the excessive numbers at Full Tilt Poker.

Other major online poker rooms that have contributed to the higher than normal traffic rates include th following…

Hollywood Poker: 6,495 – up 11%
Titan Poker: 5,052 – up 2%
PartyPoker: 4,205 – up 1%
Mansion Poker: 4,200 – up 12%

Online Poker Player AIM Accounts Hax0rd!

Online Security: Pro Poker Player Durrrr Gets Haxor3d

According to the rumor mill, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan’s AOL Instant Messenger account was hacked into this weekend. The would be scammers used the account to hit up friends of the Pro Poker Player for cash. Asking other online poker players (Mikey41414) for instance if they would send him cash via Money Gram in exchange for online poker chips. This is a pretty common practice among online poker players.

In the conversation below, you’ll see that Dwan’s messenger contact MIKEY41414 was more than willing to make the trade, asking the swindler on the other side of the internet screen where he’d like the money sent.

However, when the slimey culprit impersonating the online poker pro known as Durrrr answered Limi Peru, the virtual gig was up.

MIKEY41414: how about I get Tom to give me 10k to find the person behind the computer right now and cut your ****ing throat out you disgusting little rat ****

MIKEY41414: I hope your children get ritualistically raped for the next 30 years and that your face gets burned with a blow torch like that **** from Hostel – get a job you ****

As the conversation continues, MIKEY41414 threatened the would be scam artist with torture by blowtorch while outing him in the 2p2 poker forums. In an apparent effort to ensure the future safety of this not-so-smart internet scam artist, Tom Dwan made an offer in the 2p2 thread that provided for a $50,000.00 reward to anyone that can recover solid info on the alleged would be thief, and see him [safely] behind bars.

“does anyone know law well enough to know if it would be illegal for me to like hypothetically offer a 50k bounty for anyone who got this guy 6 months in jail? strictly hypothetical obv, i mean hypothetically people could pm me if they did it and i could pay them if they proved it b/c he definitely could go to jail if someone got the proof right? hypothetically obv.

btw: i’d assume this is someone inside of aol doing the hacking. B/c the last time the accounts were hacked i had them fixed and made very random passwords/answers, and haven’t used the account in a very long time.” – Poker Player DURRRR asked in the public forum.

nt months, however, It would appear, do to the low amount requested by the scammer, he didn’t know just who’s AIM he had control over.
This incident is one of several instant messenger scam attempts targeting online poker players over recent months, and as far back as a year ago when Andy Bloch’s AIM account was hacked.

“Someone got control over my AOL AIM account last night and went through my buddy list asking people for money. (I’m not sure whether he cracked the password or convinced AOL support that he was me and that he forgot his password.) If you got an AIM from me in the last day or two, or get one from me soon, it’s not me. I’m not sure if I will create a new AIM account since it seems that they are easily hackable.” – Andy Bloch September 2007

US Online Poker News: Barney Frank’s HR 6870 Passes In Committee

Since the deceptive passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, Congressman Barney Frank has spent a great deal of time and effort to halt the enforcement of the bill and further clarify its intentions. Yesterday, Frank got one step closer when his proposed bill, HR 6870 – the Payments System Protection Act – was voted through in the House Financial Services Committee.

This is the not the first bill Barney Frank has proposed, but it is the first to be approved by the US

government. HR 6870 was written up to provide financial institutions with detailed definitions of what is and is not considered illegal in regards to online gambling. The bill will also act to suspend inaction of any regulations within the UIGEA.

When the bill was receiving its committee mark-up yesterday, Representative William Lacy Clay berated the position of professional sports leagues, stating, “I’m alarmed that major league sports would come forward to announce their opposition to the Bill. I’m puzzled by their stance especially when you have legal sports books in Las Vegas. I can’t figure out what the difference is between Internet gambling and Las Vegas sports books.”
Barney Frank has stood firm on his belief that the United States government should not have the right to choose how Americans spend their leisure time. It is Frank’s decisive goal to give that right back to the people of this country by legalizing, regulating and taxing online gambling in the US.

Can Bodog Poker Afford To Pay For WSOPE Main Event Seats?

Last weekend, Bodog Poker made the headlines for awarding two fortunate online poker players prize packages of $24,000 each, including seats in the upcoming World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE). However, considering the current financial situation at Bodog, some are speculating as to the accurate pay out of such rewards.

The problems with Bodog Poker first began in early summer when it was announced by Forbes.com that several of the online gaming company’s bank accounts had been seized by the United States Government. Online payment processors immediately started backing off from their business interactions with Bodog Poker for fear of the company’s potential inability to pay their customers.

As it turns out, those online payment processors may have been correct in alienating Bodog Poker as numerous customers have reported rubber checks from Bodog. Further attesting to the financial insecurities at Bodog Poker, just last month the online gaming company laid off 200 employees.

According to Gambling911.com, one Bodog Affiliate complained “This is the third check they bounced with me. I need to yank them down off the site.”

Not all is lost for members of Bodog Poker – at least not on the European side of the market, where regional Bodog Poker affiliates are not expected to experience the bounced check issues that plague US affiliates. In the same token, Bodog Poker doesn’t carry nearly the weight in Europe, where it maintains a significantly low market margin at this time.

Automated Pot Limit Omaha Tables Teeming At Land-based Casinos

With the recent headlines attesting to the new-found, mass popularity of Pot Limit Omaha poker, it comes as no surprise that land-based casinos are running themselves ragged to acquire new automated Pot Limit Omaha poker tables.

Traditional land-based poker rooms are also making a great effort to bring PL Omaha into the live dealer card rooms, offering mixed games like H.O.R.S.E. and H.O. to further increase the appeal for Texas Hold’em fans as well.

However, the latest craze in land-based casino poker rooms is that of the sophistaced ‘automated poker tables’. These tables are developed with computer technology and random shuffling software that creates for a very realistic game, but without the need for a live dealer or even a deck of cards.

Everything is automated, giving players their own mini-monitors, built directly into the tables, to view their cards, chips, pot size and more. In fact, it’s much like bringing an online poker room into a brick and mortar setting.

The latest poker room to integrate automated PL Omaha tables is the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, who recently installed 12 new PokerTek tables. PokerTek has supplies more than 230 automated poker tables to casinos across the United States, and expects those numbers to rise much more quickly in the coming months.

“The acceptance of the [tables] has grown substantially in the last year,” stated PokerTek CEO Chris Halligan, “and continues to grow as our footprint expands.”

Vito Casucci, PokerTek director and former manager of a poker room, said that PokerTek’s Pot Limit Omaha tables can actually produce 30 hands of PL Omaha in an hour. “That is unheard of for a game as popular as PLO, and only PokerPro can offer that kind of speed.”

Titan Poker ECOOP III Announced: $4.15M Guaranteed

Titan Poker, the pride and joy of the iPoker Network, announced in a press release the launch of ECOOP III; the online poker room’s third installment of the European Championship of Online Poker. Within the release came the marvelous news that the upcoming ECOOP III will boast a record-breaking overall guarantee of $4.15 million in prize pools.

Though enormously popular since its inception in December of 2007, the 3rd edition of Titan Poker’s ECOOP boasts an astonishingly higher overall prize pool than the past two series. In its inaugural season, the ECOOP guaranteed $2.5 million over ten days worth of events. Online poker player “wllkllu” made the history books by winning the first ECOOP Main Event worth $220,000, and the trademark ECOOP Bracelet.

When the managers of the online poker room discovered just how intense the player reaction was to Titan Poker’s ECOOP, it kept the 10-day schedule, but increased the profitability to pay out a minimum of $3.6 million at the ECOOP II. “Jeanss89” was crowned the victor in the ECOOP II Main Event, claiming the prestigious bracelet and $315,000 for the sensational victory.

This time around, Titan Poker has not only trumped the overall guaranteed prize pools, but extended the schedule to cover 14 days worth of tournaments, including preliminary events and the highly anticipated ECOOP III Main Event.

A representative of Titan Poker gave the following comments, “We extended the tournament period to fourteen days to allow more time for our talented Titan Poker players to showcase their skill and play for the sensational rewards in offer.”

The Titan Poker ECOOP III will kick off November 24th, running through December 7th. Titan Poker has not yet announced its ECOOP III Satellites and Qualifiers, but they are sure to appear on the SNG and MTT tournament schedule in the very near future.

Successful Charity Poker Events Highlight the Political Conventions

PPA’s Tournaments Exceed Goals, Raise over $140K for Paralyzed Vets

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 10, 2008) – Surpassing its initial goals, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy organization with over 1 million members, raised over $140,000 for paralyzed veterans through the two charity poker tournaments that were among the most popular events held during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

The tournament at the Democratic National Convention, “Poker at the Ballpark”, was held at Coors Field and featured over 180 players from across the nation including Hollywood stars Ben Affleck, Seth Myers, Sarah Silverman, Richard Dreyfuss and Montel Williams as well as professional poker players Andy Bloch and Victor Ramdin. A Texas Hold ‘Em tournament was also held at the Republican National Convention, hosted by the PPA and the American Gaming Association (AGA), and featured over 100 players including poker pros Ramdin and Greg Raymer. For both events, 100 percent of the proceeds were donated directly to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (www.pva.org).

“Our events were tremendously successful and they could not have been done without the cooperation and assistance of our PPA members in Denver and Minneapolis. We raised over $140,000 for paralyzed veterans and brought a unique and fun event to both the Democratic and Republican Conventions,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA. “PPA is honored to have held this event to demonstrate the poker community’s deep support for our veterans who fight for our freedoms and rights every day.”

Affleck, a poker aficionado, won the tournament in Denver, and Adam Radman of Americans for Tax Reform, won the tournament in Minneapolis.

“PVA is honored to have worked with PPA on these events to raise money and highlight the strong support for those who serve our country so bravely, even in the face of serious injury,” said Homer S. Townsend, Jr., executive director of the PVA. “Thank you to all who participated and donated, as well as PPA and AGA for hosting such successful events. We look forward to holding more poker tournaments that highlight a great game for a great cause.”

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