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Online Poker Holiday Promos, $250 Bonus At Doyles Room

Doyles Room online poker is promoting a special offer for the Thanksgiving weekend. Anytime between Thursday, November 27th and Saturday, November 29th, players will receive a 25% reload bonus on all deposits up to $250.

You won’t find this promotion advertised on the Doyles Room web site. Only existing members who receive email from the online poker room will have received the notice. However, if you didn’t receive the email, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the offer.

Simply make a deposit at Doyles Room from now until midnight (ET) Saturday using the Doyles Room Bonus Code “TURKEY3DAY” to get the 25% bonus. There is no minimum deposit required and you can use any available deposit method.

Standard wagering requirements apply to the Doyles Room Holiday Bonus, but the online poker room has made clearing the bonus easier than ever. By playing on any of the “Doyles Den” cash tables, players earn Loyalty Points at a 30% higher rate. Doyles Den cash tables are available in a wide variety of limits and game types, found in the Cash Table tabs in the poker lobby. Once the required amount of Loyalty Points has been collected, the Holiday Bonus will be deposited into the players account in full.

Doyles Room is a renowned online poker room established in 2002. Doyles Room immediately gained a massive fan based due to the exclusive endorsement of its star player, Doyle Brunson, a legendary poker pro with 10 WSOP Bracelets adding to one of the most impressive records of poker career accomplishments in the industry.

60 Minutes To Report On Absolute Poker / UltimateBet Cheating Scandal

CBS News headliner “60 Minutes” is covering the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet cheating scandal that has been ongoing for months now. The report is scheduled to air on the evening of November 30th at 7pm ET titled, “How Online Gamblers Unmasked Cheaters”.

According to information reportedly confirmed by Poker News Daily, 60 Minutes has undertaken a 4-month investigation into the online poker story with the assistance of Gilbert Gaul, newspaper correspondent for The Washington Post.

A sneak preview for the report was posted by 60 Minutes, offering a glimpse into the interview between correspondent Steve Kroft and online poker player Steve Witteles, better know online as ‘Dan Druff’.

“This ‘Graycat’ person was new and at first he seemed like a live one,” Witteles stated in the video clip. “He seemed terrible. He was raising just really, really bad hands against very good hands. He seemed to play crazy. He seemed like he was giving his money away, except the only thing was, he wasn’t losing.”

Witteles went on to further explain why his encounter with ‘Graycat’ was so remarkably unusual. “He was playing in a style that was sure to lose, but he was killing the game day after day.”

The preview told of ‘Graycat’ winning consistently at 15 standard deviations above average, “which was approximately equivalent to winning a one in a million jackpot six consecutive times.”

The username ‘POTRIPPER’ blew the story wide open in September of 2007 when the player called Marco ‘CrazyMarco’ Johnson in a $1,000 tourney holding only 10-high. It was discovered that user number 363, linked back to Absolute Poker’s headquarters in Costa Rica, was observing ‘POTRIPPER’ at the tables.

Since then, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission began an investigation into the matter as multiple players began pointing the preverbal finger and slinging accusations of cheating throughout the online poker room. The investigation revealed that there was in fact cheating going on, and that it went all the way up to the head levels of both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet management.

The cheating first began around the time that Excapsa, formerowner of both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, sold its business to Tokwiro Enterprises. Apparaently it was ex-managers of the online poker rooms that maintained access to the site, even after the transition to new ownership. Tokwiro was left to take the fall and subsequently pick up the pieces.

The new owner immediately responded and, upon the results of Kahnawake’s investigation, promptly filed a suit against Excapsa; the result of which lead to a $15 million ruling in favor of Tokwiro, who vowed to use those funds to repay players who had suffered losses from the escapade.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the details of this story thus far and would like to learn more, tune in to 60 Minutes on CBS, November 30th at 7pm ET and watch the segment, “How Online Gamblers Unmasked Cheaters”.

Online Poker Rooms Boast “The Future Of Poker Is CEREUS”

After months of enthusiasm and anticipation from thousands of Internet poker fans, the future of online poker is here, and it’s CEREUS. Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, under ownership of Tokwiro Enterprises, have finally merged onto the new CEREUS Poker Network.

The CEREUS platform was developed from the ground up to deliver online poker players at both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet with innovative new features, including advanced security measures and a much more lucrative tournament schedule.

“With the proud launch of the unified network CEREUS, our company is well placed to provide significantly better value and superior service to customers of both brands,” said Peter Leggett, Chief Operations Officer at Tokwiro.

“We are dedicated to providing the ultimate online experience,” Legget continued, “and with CEREUS we offer real value for every dollar our players put on the tables, and our unwavering commitment to security and fair play as the foundation of the new network,”

The transition to the CEREUS poker network had little effect on members of either online poker room, aside from a 4 hour suspension in the banking department yesterday morning. From the hours of 5am to 9am ET, members of Absolute Poker and UltimateBet were asked to hold off on making any transactions, deposit or withdrawal, to allow time for modifications to be complete.

There haven’t been, and aren’t expected to be, any negative implications as a result of the CEREUS integration. Existing members of both online poker rooms are asked to simply log onto their respective sites and continue to play online poker in the same manner as they always have. The only noticeable change is the extensively higher traffic rate – due to the merge of player bases – and bigger tournaments with larger crowds than ever before.

“CEREUS, the culmination of more than 12 months of development, delivers a secure, responsive and flexible online poker gaming experience to members of the UB and AP communities,” stated a press release issued by Tokwiro yesterday after the successful transition to CEREUS. “The new poker platform is backed by leading technology and a 24/7 Security Center to deliver a watertight gaming experience for everyone at the tables.”

WSOP Champion Peter Eastgate Antes Up With Poker Royalty

Suddenly one of the most famous 22-yeard-old faces across the globe, 2008 WSOP Champion Peter Eastgate has penned a deal with Poker Royalty, a professional poker management company that will assist Eastgate in the role that was thrust upon him only two weeks ago – the face of poker.

Peter Eastgate made history on November 10th when the incredible skills that brought him to the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event held true, ousting heads-up opponent Ivan Demidov to claim the most prestigious poker title in the world, WSOP Champion.

Poker Royalty will play the role of Eastgate’s global manager, handling all forms of marketing representation. These responsibilities include commercial endorsements, sponsorships, appearances, licensing and all forms of media.

“I believe the team at Poker Royalty is best suited to help me navigate through the duties and opportunities that arise as the reigning World Series of Poker Champion,” noted Eastgate. “They represent the biggest names in poker and I’m honored to have them working on my behalf.”

What made the moment so historic for the Dane was not just how he did it, but that he managed to obliterate a 19 year old record held by Phil Hellmuth as the youngest player to ever win the WSOP Championship. Phil Hellmuth did it in 1989 at the age of 24. Eastgate did it two weeks ago at the ripe age of 22.

Jim Erwood, Poker Royalty’s Director of European operations said, “Peter is the epitome of the young, intelligent and fearless online poker professional whose game has translated fantastically to the world of live tournament poker. It is a very unique opportunity for us, because he’s a very marketable 22 year international player with $9,000,000 in the bank. Peter can afford to be very selective with the endorsement relationships he chooses and align himself with opportunities that suit him perfectly.”

Peter began playing online poker in 2005 and found the experience to be so successful that he dropped out of college one week into his first semester to pursue a career in poker. Most of Eastgate’s cashes have come from online poker play, spending much of his time at heads-up or short-handed cash tables in the $200/$400 range.

Peter Eastgate has been associated with some of the highest ranked online poker rooms in the world including PokerStars and Ladbrokes Poker. His live poker tournament history has derived mostly from events organized by these online poker sites. Eastgate participated in the Ladbrokes ‘Poker Million’ in 2006 and 2007, but fell shy of the money bubble. He did, however, cash in the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour this year on several occasions.

The 2008 Scandinavian Open saw Peter Eastgate whittle his way into a 32nd place cash. Then, while waiting for the ‘117 break’ between the formation of the WSOP final table and the actual play-date, November 9, Eastgate made the trip to London for the European Poker Championship, where he finished 18th.

Eastgate has been extremely busy over the past year, and it’s likely we’ll be seeing much more of his young, Danish good looks, especially over the coming year.

JC Tran Takes out Eastgate taking down PartyPoker.com League III Heat 1

Team PKR representative bests WSOP champ Peter Eastgate to take down opening heat of the PartyPoker.com Premier League III

London, November 25, 2008 – JC Tran, the Team PKR representative in the PartyPoker.com Premier League III, got his campaign off to a blistering start by taking maximum points from heat one of the competition.

After a high-quality heat, Tran beat new World Series main event Champion Peter Eastgate heads up when the Dane’s Q-3 failed to improve against Tran’s big slick.

Heat one of the competition put together one of the toughest six-handed tables ever seen. Alongside Tran (currently the #1 ranked player in the Bluff-ESPN Power Rankings), the field boasted 2008 WSOP main event winner Peter Eastgate, former WSOPE champion Annette Obrestad, defending Premier League champion Andy Black, bracelet winner Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott and EPT and WPT title holder Roland de Wolfe.

JC Tran will next line up in heat four of the competition renewing rivalries with Black, Ulliott and Eastgate while also taking on Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan and Victoria Coren.

Lucky Ace Poker Review 2009

LuckyAcePoker.com was established in early 2008 and quickly became a favorite in the online gaming community. Lucky Ace didn’t seem like a site that was brand new; rather they projected the image of an organization that has spent years in the industry. This is partially true. LuckyAcePoker.com is part of the 888 network. Those who know anything about the online gaming industry will know that this is one of the best known and most respected entities in the industry.

Check Out Lucky Ace Poker

888, was created by Cassava Enterprises and have over a decade of experience running casinos in cyberspace. So there is no doubt that not only do these people know what they are doing when it comes online gaming, but that any product that comes out of their offices is going to be of world class quality.

Lucky Ace Poker Pro’s § Progressive Royal Jackpot § Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot § 100%/$400 Welcome Bonus § Pokerbility Odds Calculator with first deposit

Lucky Ace Poker Cons § Does not accept U.S. players § Support is mostly email and live chat

LuckyAcePoker.com offers ring games, sit n go tournaments as well as multi-table tournaments. In cash games players can compete at a wide variety of blind levels. Blinds start off at 5¢-10¢ and move up to more substantial amounts like $75-$150. Tournaments are equally diverse when it comes to buy-ins.

Lucky Ace Poker Player Traffic
Like any other online casino, most of the players gravitate to the tables where Texas Hold’em is being played. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t action happening at tables that play other games. Thanks to their association with 888, Lucky Ace has a large base of players. The table statistics that are available in the lobby will help users to identify which are the loose tables and where most of the weak players are concentrated.
Lucky Ace Poker Software
LuckyAcePoker.com software is the brainchild of the in-house 888 developers and is available as a download for PC only. The software is fully customizable so that the players can personalize their experience and contains all the features that people have come to expect from a world class online poker room (hand histories, notes, etc.). For players who enjoy playing at multiple tables, Luck Ace offers windows that can be re-sized.
Lucky Ace Poker Lobby Information

• Average Pot Size
• Flops Viewed %
• Hands Played Per Hour
• Note Taking Ability
• Instant Hand History
• Re-sizeable windows
• Find User Feature
• Player Chat
• Multi Tabling

LuckyAcePoker.com Tournaments
LuckyAcePoker.com offers a full complement of tournaments for their players. Every day Lucky Ace sponsors guaranteed 5K and 10K tournaments. Every Sunday they hold a guaranteed 80K tournament. Players who have made their first deposit into an a LuckyAcePoker.com account will be eligible to play in a $3500 freeroll.
Lucky Ace Poker Customer Service
Lucky Ace offers extremely fast email support as well as live chat. They do not offer phone support in most regions. Players in the U.K. have toll free phone support available to them. Those in Spain and Italy will be able to access customer support with a toll call.

Depositing and Withdrawing at LuckyAcePoker.com
All other LuckyAcePoker.com customers may use the following deposit and withdrawal methods:

Lucky Ace Poker Deposit Options:

• VISA
• MasterCard
• Neteller
• Moneybookers
• Wire Transfer
• PrePaid
• Paysafecard

Lucky Ace Poker Withdrawal Options

• Bank Draft,
• FirePay
• Moneybookers
• NETELLER
• UK Credit Cards via BACS
• Credit card and debit card

Full Tilt Poker ‘Red Pros’ Dwindling, Gowen and Benyamine Railed

Perhaps the most well-known aspect of Full Tilt Poker is its consignment with a multitude of today’s top professional poker players, like Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Jennifer Harman. Recent actions, however, are dropping those numbers at an alarming rate. 

Two cases in point would be the sudden disappearance of French poker pro David Benyamine’s Red Pro status at Full Tilt Poker, and the sudden discharge of long-time Team FTP member, Cycalona Gowen, better known as ‘Clonie’. 

In Benyamine’s case (pictured left), there has been no official statement regarding who chose to end his Red Pro status, Full Tilt Poker or Benyamine himself. We do know, however, that David spoke of leaving Team FTP in late 2007. The WSOP Bracelet winner said during a poker table chat, “im done at full tilt”, along with a few other choice statements. 

David “Degenyamine” Benyamine can still be found playing online poker at Full Tilt, but without his fashionably red name tag, or the 100% rake-back all members of Team Full Tilt receive. 

Clonie Gowen’s case is a bit different. Gowen (pictured left) joined Team Full Tilt Poker back in 2004, signing a contract that granted her 1% of Tiltware LLC (FTP’s parent company) and Full Tilt Poker. Since that time, the stunning celebrity has worn FTP apparel and other marketing paraphernalia to promote the online poker room. However, in 2007, when all Team Full Tilt members received their annual distribution checks, Ms. Gowen’s was not delivered. 

In November of that same year, fellow Full Tilt Pro Howard Lederer offered Clonie $250k to commend her performance for Tiltware and Full Tilt Poker. Ms. Gowen refused, stating that $250k was a mere fraction of what was owed her, estimating the company to be worth $4-billion. 

Despite her lack of payment, Clonie Gowen continued to play at and promote Full Tilt Poker, that is up until November 11, 2008, when she was informed that her services would no longer be required, and that Full Tilt Poker would be issuing a press release stating the her dismissal from Team FTP. 

Last Thursday, Clonie took action by filed a law suit in the Nevada courts. The list of charges against Tiltware, Full Tilt Poker and numerous members of Team Full Tilt Poker include: 

1. Breach of Contract 
2. Breach of Fiduciary Duties 
3. Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing 
4. Intentional Misrepresentation / Fraud 
5. Unjust Enrichment 

Clonie Gowen is seeking $40 million in the case against Tiltware, et al. 

Ex-Fellow members of Team Full Tilt Poker named in the court filing are Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson and Patrick Antonius.

Online Poker Rooms Give Full Support to Asian Poker Tour

(Manila, Philippines) – With the success of its two events in 2008 and an expanded schedule on the horizon for 2009, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) is getting the full support of some of the world’s biggest online poker rooms.

  

No less than the iPoker Network, PartyPoker, and Everest Poker – the third, fourth, and sixth largest online poker rooms in the world respectively – will be backing the Asian Poker Tour and sending over their best players to participate in its events next year. Top online poker rooms such as PKR, the Microgaming Network, Poker Trillion, World3DPoker, 888.com, the National Poker League (NPL), and JBET poker will be giving their support and sending players to APT tournaments as well. Together, the poker rooms mentioned combine to reach a substantial percentage of poker players around the world.

  

The Asian Poker Tour recently announced its first event for next year – APT Philippines 2009. It will be held from January 27 to February 1, 2009 at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati City, Philippines with a buy-in of USD $2,700.

 

Asian Poker Tour CEO Chris Parker is optimistic about the growing strength of the Tour, especially with the large number of players expected to qualify through its online poker room partners.

 

 

“With so many players coming in through our online partners, we are looking to exceed the number of players who participated in last year’s Manila event,” said Parker. “The support of all of these online poker rooms is a testament to the growth of poker in Asia, especially the Asian Poker Tour.”

 

 

AsianLogic, PKR Enter Asian Marketing Partnership

AsianLogic Limited (AIM: ALOG), the diversified Asia-Pacific online and land-based gaming company and recent recipient of the Asian Operator of the Year Award from the eGaming Review Industry Awards, is pleased to announce that it has been named as the exclusive marketing partner for Asia for popular online 3D poker room PKR.com.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, AsianLogic will be responsible for developing PKR.com’s customer base in Asia. Using its recognised knowledge of the Asian gaming and affiliate market and local payment processing solutions, AsianLogic will be promoting PKR.com via strategic affiliate partnerships and programs as well as direct marketing initiatives throughout the region.

 

PKR.com is a leading online poker brand known for its innovative poker room software that allows players to play in a truly 3D environment. Last August, PKR.com reached its two millionth player milestone less than a year after gaining its first million users. Because of its leading edge technology and success in the marketplace, PKR.com recently received “Hotshot Operator of the Year” at the prestigious eGaming Review Industry Awards 2008.

 

Tom Hall, AsianLogic CEO, said:

 

“PKR.com is a very innovative and popular online poker brand and to be named their partner in Asia displays PKR.com’s trust and confidence in AsianLogic. With our knowledge of the Asian gaming market, not to mention affiliate marketing in a diversely-cultured region like Asia, we believe the PKR.com brand is destined for rapid growth and success. The PKR.com 3D product is also ideally suited for the huge Asian subscription gaming and play for points markets and we see significant opportunities in these sectors.”

 

Malcolm Graham, CEO of PKR.com, expressed his confidence of the partnership with AsianLogic:

 

“We see huge potential and acceptance of our unique 3D poker product in Asia and for success we need a local partner that understands our needs and possesses the right experience and competency. We believe AsianLogic is the best partner for PKR.com.”

 

Bodog Poker Announces “November Nine” Themed Online Poker Tournament

Tournament takes place Nov. 11 at 9:09 pm EST; features $9 + $0.09 buy-in with 1,999 starting chip stack and nine minute levels

BodogLife.com – While the world is watching the 2008 World Series of Poker* Final Table on ESPN this Tuesday, Nov. 11 to see which of the “November Nine” walks away $9.1 million richer, Bodog Poker will be giving online poker players a chance to get in on some action of their own with its honorary “November Nine Special” online poker tournament.

Featuring as many “Nine” elements as possible, including a buy-in of $9 + $0.09, the tournament kicks off this Tuesday at 9:09 pm EST, just as the ESPN broadcast of the 2008 WSOP Final Table gets underway. The blind levels will be nine minutes long, and players start with chip stacks of 1,999.

The payouts will follow the normal schedule for a Bodog online poker tournament, however, as a bonus, the final nine players in the tournament will receive T$109 to play in Bodog’s Sunday $100K Guaranteed Tournament.

The November Nine Special online poker tournament is just the latest offering from Bodog that guarantees online poker players the absolute best value for their tournament dollars. Every month, Bodog guarantees its players millions of dollars in prize pool money in daily and weekly tournaments, including its popular Sunday $100,000 guaranteed.

For new players, Bodog gives an unrivaled sign-up bonus — a whopping 110% with 10% awarded instantly as an upfront cash bonus. To put their 110% bonus to work, players can take advantage of Bodog’s weekly Player’s Choice Package qualifiers, where winners earn seats to major poker tournaments around the world and play for millions of dollars, all while seeing the world the way only Bodog players do. A wide variety of qualifiers are available at Bodog Poker on a daily basis with buy-ins starting as low as $1.

For  more information on this event and other Bodog online poker tournaments, visit http://poker.bodoglife.com/tournaments.

PAF Launch Partner For New DiceArena Multiplayer Games Network

(Stockholm, Sweden) – Jadestone Networks, the Nordic based owner and operator of the multiplayer skill games network GamArena, announced today that Nordic game operator Paf will be one of a limited number of launch partners for DiceArena, its new multiplayer games offering coming to market this quarter.

DiceArena has been labelled as both a serious competitor and an attractive complement to online poker. It consists of a range of multiplayer dice games, including brand new games and old favorites, aimed at a broad audience of existing, lapsed and latent online gamblers. DiceArena is built on a next generation technical platform and will hit the market with exciting games and inviting community features available for its players.

Paf will launch on the DiceArena network this quarter as one of the first wave partners. Primarily targeting Scandinavia, and later also its additional markets, it will boost the momentum of the launch with a multi-channel marketing campaign that includes both TV and online components.

Tomas Nilsson, Business Manager, Poker, Games & Dice at Paf said: “We’ve enjoyed working with many Jadestone products over the years, but DiceArena is the most exciting concept we’ve seen yet. We believe that our customers will respond very well to the inviting design and the immediate appeal of the games. This is like poker for the rest of us – with a smile. The design matches our target groups and aligns very well with our brand.”

“Paf has been an important partner for Jadestone since we got started in this business,” said Robert Henrysson, CEO of Jadestone. “We’re very happy to see them as one of the first out of the gate with DiceArena and extremely pleased with the strong marketing muscle they bring to the launch.”

The DiceArena suite of games has been in development at Jadestone for almost two years. With a number of high profile network partners lined up for DiceArena games, it’s one of the biggest new product introductions in Jadestone’s history.

Additional information about DiceArena can be found on www.jadestone.se. There is also a newly launched consumer website with information and blogging about the DiceArena games at www.dicearena.com.

WSOP Main Event Final Two: Ivan Demidov VS Peter Eastgate

The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event finally got back underway yesterday after a tremendously long 117 day break that simply took swept the momentum away from everyone. After a slow start to the final table, the action finally ceased with Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate set to battle it out in heads-up later today.

As the November 9 took their seats, everyone braced for an early exit from Kelly Kim, the low stack with about 11 Big Blinds to his name. Kim turned out to be a stronger competitor than expected, however, as Craig Marquis was busted out with a flopped when Scott Montgomery hit a Straight on the River. Marquis was sent to the rails in 9th.

It was a short-lived revitalization for Kelly Kim, however, when the next hand forced him all in on the Big Blind, resulting in an 8th place exit.

David ‘Chino’ Rheem then put his A-K up against Eastgate’s A-Q. Rheem’s impressive luck throughout the 2008 WOSP Main Event never quite returned to him yesterday as his strong hand faltered, sending him packing in 7th. It wasn’t long before Peter Eastgate found another A-Q taking on an All-In A-8 from Darus Suharto. Eastgate hit a Flush on the Turn and it was all over for Suharto, the 6th place finisher.

The most atrocious elimination of the day came for 5th place finisher Scott Montgomery when a set of Aces, including one in the Hole, gave him a false sense of security. Once again it was Peter Eastgate who found the trumps. Holding Pocket 6s, Eastgate snagged a third on the River to complete the Full House. A bit later, Eastgate was blessed with another Full House that saw Ylon Schwartz, with an unimproved A-T, eliminated in 4th.

With only three competitors remaining, America’s favorite, Dennis Phillips, bluff-raised Eastgate into an All-In after the Flop. Phillips held only a backdoor draw that would need double runners for a Straight. Eastgate, on the other hand, had Flopped a set. Phillips’ 5% chance dwindled to 0%, leaving the last American standing to take a seat amongst his 300+ fan club, each wearing the same red St Louis Cardinals hat as the 3rd place finisher.

Later today, the final table will resume with heads-up action between two highly skilled European poker players, Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov. Should Eastgate take the title, he will break Phil Hellmuth’s 20-year-old record as the youngest individual to ever win the WSOP Main Event. On the other hand, should Demidov claim the crown, he will become the first Russian to earn the title.

Though Eastgate handled most of the eliminations in yesterday’s WSOP action, Demidov holds the chip lead with 79,500,000. Eastgate holds an equally respectable stack of 57,725,000 chips.

2008 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results, Thus Far:

1st – (To Be Determined) – $9,119,517 (+$32,899 added)
2nd – (To Be Determined) – $5,790,024 (+$19,571 added)
3rd – Dennis Phillips – $4,503,352 (+$14,421 added)
4th – Ylon Schwartz – $3,763,515 (+$11,459 added)
5th – Scott Montgomery – $3,088,012 (+$8,756 added)
6th – Darus Suharto – $2,412,510 (+$6,052 added)
7th – David ‘Chino’ Rheem – $1,769,174 (+$3,476 added)
8th – Kelly Kim – $1,286,672 (+$1,545 added)
9th – Craig Marquis – $900,670

Note: Harrah’s added $100,000 to the already massive prize pool after profiting from an investment of the original $25 million prize pool.

Paul Leggett Discusses Absolute Poker and UltimateBet Scandals with Susan Reisler

Tokwiro Enterprises announced today in a press release that An hour-long, in-depth interview with Tokwiro Enterprises (“Tokwiro”) Chief Operating Officer, Paul Leggett, is now available on Tokwiro’s new corporate website, tokwiro.com.

According to the press release the interview was conducted by well known journalist Susan Reisler, former anchor of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Newsworld Business News, Evening Edition.
In the interview, Mr. Leggett discusses Tokwiro’s businesses, the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet cheating scandals, and new security measures that these sites have implemented over the last several months.

Ms. Reisler touches on a range of controversial topics in an effort to separate fact from fiction about the cheating scandals and Tokwiro’s responses to them. This is the first and only in-depth broadcast interview on the cheating scandals.

COURT APPROVES $15 MILLION SETTLEMENT OF TOKWIRO CLAIMS AGAINST EXCAPSA SOFTWARE

Tokwiro Claimed Damages As A Result of UltimateBet Cheating Scandal Refunds To Affected Players Completed

MONTREAL — Tokwiro Enterprises, ENRG (”Tokwiro”), the owner of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, today confirmed the settlement of its claims against Excapsa Software (PINK:ECSWF), the previous owner of UltimateBet. The Honorable Madame Justice Sarah E. Pepall of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice endorsed the settlement on November 3, 2008. Under the terms of the agreement, Excapsa will pay US$15 million to Blast-Off Ltd., the Tokwiro-controlled company that originally acquired UltimateBet. This payment will be used immediately to refund players who were affected by the cheating scandal that Tokwiro inherited when it purchased the business from Excapsa.

Paul Leggett, Tokwiro’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are pleased that we have finally agreed to a settlement with the previous owners of UltimateBet, and we are happy to announce the completion of the final refunds to players. Together with our regulatory body, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, we have fought long and hard to hold those responsible accountable for the fraud, to refund players, and to ensure this can never happen again. Now that the main perpetrator has been named, the settlement with the previous owners is behind us, and players have received refunds, it should now be apparent that Tokwiro had no involvement in this cheating and that we have fought to correct it with every tool at our disposal.

“We continue to reserve the right to pursue further legal action against any individual or individuals involved in stealing from us or our customers. With this settlement, however, our claims against Excapsa are satisfied, and all player refunds will be completed. This brings us significantly forward in our search for justice in the aftermath of the cheating scandal,” concluded Mr. Leggett.

Online Poker Community Rejoices; Barack Obama Wins US Presidency

Last night it was confirmed – Barack Obama has won the US Presidential election that will see him take office in January 2009. The majority of the online poker community is rejoicing over the outcome, though it is still unclear what his actions, if any, will be regarding the legalities of online poker in the United States.

Discuss the impacts of the new Presidential Elect in the 4fLUSH Online Poker Forum

It is the responsibility of the House of Representatives and the Senate to introduce new bills and work diligently to push them through congress, but it will be President-elect Barack Obama who gets the final say. Last night’s election came out in the favor of online poker advocates in this regards as well.

Congressman Barney Frank, the leading proponent of legalizing, regulating and taxing the online gambling industry in the United States, won by a landslide with 68% of the vote versus his Republican opponent Earl Sholley, who received only 25%. Just before the end of the 2008 congressional Session, the second revision of Barney Frank‘s bill, HR 6870 – the Payment Systems Protection Act – finally made its way past the House Financial Services Committee. HR 6870 seeks to clarify the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 that was unscrupulously attached to an unrelated Port Security bill and dubiously passed in the wee hours of night by President Bush.

Congressman Robert Wexler, another avid sponsor of legalizing online poker in the US, also defeated his Republican opponent Edward Lynch by an overwhelming vote of 66% to 27%. Wexler introduced the Skill Game Protection Act, HR 2610, in an attempt to make skill games exempt from the current online gambling laws. According to HR 2610, skill games would include poker, chess, bridge and other online games wherein skill takes precedence over luck in determining the outcome of a match.

Other political victories for legal online poker advocates include Ron Paul, who helped co-author Frank’s original Payment Systems Protection Act (HR 5767); Pete Sessions, who introduced HR 6663 to clarify the UIGEA to focus on Internet sports betting; Representatives Shelley Berkley and Jon Porter of Nevada who strove to enact a study of online gambling; Congressman Jim McDermott who proposed two bills associated with the taxation of online gambling.

On the reverse side of the spectrum, Congressmen Bob Goodlatte and Spencer Bachus will both be spending another two years in Washington. Goodlatte played a key role in executing the UIGEA in 2006, while Bachus has become infamous for telling of a fictitious study whose results claimed that 1/3 of all college students who gambled online committed suicide. The study, said to have taken place a Canada’s McGill University, never existed.

While the future is still speculative at best, the future of legal online poker in the United States is certainly brighter than it has been in the past two years.

Khan Takes Down Caesars Million, Stiffs Dealer

Check out the online poker news headlines and you’ll see Hevad “RaiNKhaN” Khan’s name plastered across them after taking down the Caesars Palace Classic poker tournament for the top prize of a cool $1 million. You may not see, however, is that, according to sources, Khan left absolutely no tip for the event’s dealers.

The Caesars Palace Classic began two weeks back on October 16th and finally came down to the Main Event this weekend. 300 players jumped on the chance to take home the 1st place prize of $1 million, but Hevad Khan (pictured left) triumphed over each of them, routing such well-known final tablists as Adam Junglen, John Hennigan and Daniel “Rekrul” Schreiber.

Khan persevered through sheer domination, going into the final table with near three times the chip stack as the nearest competitor. With Junglen and Hennigan out of the way early on, Hevad had no trouble sending the rest of the opposition to the rails.

Heads-up play came down to Hevad Khan versus Michael Kamran. As the final hand came down, the dealer flopped a J-9-2 rainbow. A check came from Kamran, giving Khan the confidence to raise 900,000. Kamran pulled off his check-raise with an all-in over the top. Khan made the call, flipping the J-6 top pair. Kamran turned over K-T and hoped for the best. A 7 on the Turn gave Kamran extra outs, but the 10 on the River was lights-out for 2nd place finisher.

Kamran earned more than half of a million for the gutsy call, while Khan walked away with $1,000,000. When I say walked away, I mean it – he did just that. According to sources, Khan offered absolutely no inclination to the dealers who had worked diligently throughout the Caesars Palace Classic poker tournament. Khan’s actions are receiving due criticism from around the poker world.

Caesars Poker Classic Final Table Results
1st – Hevad Khan – $1,000,000
2nd – Michael Kamran – $520,320
3rd – Gary Freidlander – $266,073
4th – Jonathan Aguiar – $206,946
5th – Joseph Cordi – $177,382
6th – Adam Junglen – $147,818
7th – John Hennigan – $118,255
8th – Daniel Schreiber – $88,691
9th – Michael Fantini – $59,127
10th – Michael Katz – $35,746

2008 WSOP Main Event To Take Center Stage

After several months of mounting anticipation, the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event is finally less than a week away, scheduled for November 9th. Appropriately deemed the “November Nine”, the final tablist are as hyped as ever.

A quick change in plans has been issued for the most prestigious live poker event of the year, changing the venue for the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Instead of gathering at the Amazon Room of the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, the November Nine will take center stage in the Penn & Teller Theater, within the hotel.

At 10:00am (local time) Sunday morning on November 9, chip leader Dennis Phillips (pictured left) will take his seat to battle it out with the other final eight competitors. Blinds will start at 120k/240k with 30k antes. The action will continue until two players remain, followed by an overnight break.

Heads-up play will continue between the final two on Monday, November 10th, and will continue until a bracelet winner emerges.

Seating assignments have yet to be announced. Below are the final tablists – the historic ‘November Nine’ – ordered by chip stacks, largest to smallest. The lowest stack, Kelly Kim, has enough chips remaining to cover 11 Big Blinds.

Dennis Phillips – 26,295,000
Ivan Demidov – 24,400,000
Scott Montgomery – 19,690,000
Peter Eastgate – 18,375,000
Ylon Schwartz – 12,525,000
Darus Suharto – 12,520,000
David ‘Chino’ Rheem – 10,230,000
Craig Marquis – 10,210,000
Kelly Kim – 2,620,000

When all is said and done, a massive purse of $32,633,446 will be divvied up between the November Nine. The first to exit will receive an impressive payoff of little more than $900k, while the bracelet winner takes home the second largest 1st place prize in the history of the WSOP Main Event, $9.1 million. The exact cash prizes for place 1-9 are shown below.

1st: $9,119,517
2nd: $5,790,024
3rd: $4,503,352
4th: $3,763,515
5th: $3,088,012
6th: $2,412,510
7th: $1,769,174
8th: $1,286,672
9th: $900,670

An enormous crowd of spectators is expected to swarm the Penn & Teller Theater as the WOSP Main Event kicks off Sunday morning. Admission is free, opened on a first-come-first-served basis until the ample room reaches capacity, though each of the final nine plan to have a host of friends and family in attendance.

The 2008 WSOP Main Event will come to a close with the winner crowned on November 10th. The event will then be aired on Tuesday, November 11th as ESPN busily edits the previous two days of live poker action to broadcast the most exciting moments, and of course the heads-up finale, of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Scott Montgomery 2008 WSOP Final tableist plays poker at Full Tilt.

Scott Montgomery has accumulated more than $1.3 million in poker tourney earnings just this year, and the event isn’t even seating players yet. Scott earned his seat to this year’s WSOP Main Event final table in Las Vegas, Nevada becoming one of the members of the 2008 November nine.

Montgomery now has the opportunity to play for a much prize bigger, $9 million in addition to a chance at the acquiring the most coveted title in the world of NL Holdem poker – The 2008 WSOP Bracelet winner.

Montgomery, a Waterloo University graduate initially started playing cards only 4 years back, packing a Bachelor of Mathematics degree, and working as an English teacher in Japan Montgomery began his love affair with Texas Holdem Poker. When he wasn’t teaching others back then, he was the one doing the learning. Scott spent all of his available free time playing poker and perusing any poker strategy book that came his way.

Seems that was an ok World Series of Poker strategy, as Montgomery ground his way to this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table.

One of first major cashes this year included the World Poker Tour’s L.A. Poker Classic $9.9K NL Hold ‘em title event game. Scott made the final table, playing eventual winner and familiar face poker pro Phil Ivey prior to busting out in 5th and netting more than $296K.

Before to the big game, Montgomery played well striking pay dirt in three NHLE events at the 2008 World Series of Poker, including a 16th place finish in the Heads Up World Championship. In these 3 tournaments, Scott cashed for an impressive $73K.

Scott’s 2008 Series had only just started out of the 6,844 poker players that set forth in the Main Event, Scott played his way to the main event table, sealing the deal for his chair amongst the November Nine.

Care to test your poker skills with Scott Montgomery as he perfects his World Series skills before the main event this month? Check him out playing online poker at Full Tilt Poker.

WSOP Day two Circuit at Hammond Breaks Final Table Restarts this afternoon, Steve Billrakis Keeps Lead

Day two of the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship Event is being held this year at the newly remodeled Horse Shoe Casino Hammond located in Hammond, Indiana. The tournament kicked off at 2 O’clock yesterday afternoon.

The first day of the event saw 40 players returning from last years feild. Among them, Steve Billirakis carried the chip lead above the balance of the players and although the chip lead changed hands numerous times during the day, Steve ended the second day of play as the leader of the pack, yet again.

It was no easy feat either! Play throughout day two of the WSOP Circuit Event Championship was fierce!

We witnessed Brett Richey make his way to the rail underneath the glimmering light of the new overhead chandeliers. As his pocket pair of 88 tanked when faced by Jason DeWitt’s pocket tens. Hamrick who you may remember as the 2008 World Series of Poker main events bubble boy shoved his stack into the center just in time to take a shot at defending his title.

There were 22 remaining WSOPC hopefuls left belly up to the felt, when Hamrick pushed his modest stack of chips in with top pair. Two cards were left to come and our Bubble Boy found himself up against Dustin Woolf’s bottom pair… complimented by a flush draw.

The turn reinforced Mr. Hamrick’s hand, giving him 2 pair, but Lady Luck does have an evil sense of humor, and to prove it, she added to Woolf’s outs, providing him not just the flush possibility, but an open ended straight draw to boot.

Lady Luck smiled that wicked smile as the last card graced the felt, and Dustin Woolf got a baby wheel. Our boy Dean finished on the bubble once more, merely 3 players away from the money.

WSOPC Hammond goes Hand for Hand

Hand for Hand action started, and went forward over the next hour.

Finally, onetime NBA Hoops player Kenneth “The Snake” Norman pushed his stack into the center. He did not survive it.

We finished the days play with 3 big players in the lead, Steve Billrakis defending the big stack once again. Steve Bilirakis with a total of 754,000. in tournament chips. Leaving him with 100,000 more chips than DeWitt who sustained the 2nd uppermost chip advantage, holding 651,000 in tournament chips. in 3rd place was Dustin Woolf who will start tomorrows play with 419k in chips.

Final table play will begin today (Sunday) at 2pm CST.

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