More Pros Added To Caesars Cup Teams
August 31, 2009
Daniel Negreanu and Annette Obrestad have been working hard to create the eight person teams for the inaugural Caesars Cup which is coming up in September. Negreanu recently added poker legend Doyle Brunson and Jennifer Harmon to his team while Obrestad added Patrik Antonius and Ilari Sahamies to the European team.
The event will take place as part of the World Series of Poker Europe and will begin at 10:00 am on September 25th at the Casino at the Empire in Leicester. The Caesers Cup will be recorded and televised on ESPN branded channels around the world as part of the 2009 WSOPE coverage.
The two teams of eight will be competing in a No-Limit Hold’em tournament over a series of Heads up and two-man doubles matches. Single points will be awarded for each match and doubles formats will include alternate betting. The first team to earn four points will win.
The first match to take place will be Doubles: Alternate Bet. Two players will compete from each side. One player from each side will play pre-flop and on the turn while the other player will play the flop and the river. Once players have been chosen for their type of game, places cannot be changed. Two matches will take place in the Doubles which means four of the eight players on each team will be competing.
The next two matches will be Doubles: Same Stack. Two players will be competing per side and they will share the same chip stack. Each alternate playing two hands at a time so both have the button. Once the doubles matches are complete Heads Up play will begin, but only if necessary. If Heads up play does take place, the captains will decide who will compete.
One final place on each team will be given to a player who qualifies via Betfair who is sponsoring the World Series of Poker Europe. The last player on each team will be named right before the competition begins.
Below is a list of the players on both teams.
Americas:
Daniel Negreanu
Phil Ivey
Phil Hellmuth
John Juanda
Doyle Brunson
Jennifer Harman
Europeans:
Annette Obrestad
Peter Eastgate
Dario Minieri
Bertrand Grospellier
Patrik Antonius
Ilari Sahamies
The famous MansionPoker.com frog meets the ‘Godfather’ in these two brand new online poker Omaha promotions!
August 29, 2009
Calling all lovers of the number 1 alternative to Texas Hold’em, Omaha, this is your big chance to test your online poker skills against the world’s greatest Omaha fans in this exciting promotion.
Grab your share of a massive $130,000 being dished out to our Omaha Pot-Limit & Omaha Hi-Lo players over a 6 week period!
Fresh from surfing the high waves in the ‘Summer Splash Out’ league the MansionPoker.com frog has hopped across the tables to launch this new ‘Omaholics’ promo starting 7th September.
All Pot Limit Omaha & Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Cash table raked hands are eligible for Leaderboard points. Online poker players will be ranked by the number of raked hands they participate in with the highest ranked players appearing in an updated Leaderboard.
Not only are we giving away cash prizes we are also giving away free entry into our ongoing ‘$8,000 Guaranteed Monday Night Omaha Showdown’ (see below).
For full details of the online poker ‘Omaholics’ promotion visit MansionPoker.com.
Monday night is Omaha night in this weekly $8,000 showdown!
Just like ‘The Godfather’ himself, you will need to be as cool as ice, ruthless and calculating to come out on top of this cut throat Omaha promotion.
At MansionPoker.com we are running a weekly Monday Night (20:00 GMT) Omaha turf-war starting on 21st September. The event is an $8,000 Guaranteed Tournament, 6 online poker players per table, $100 + 9 buy-in with a 5,000 starting stack and 15 minute levels.
Can you hold your nerve and become ‘The Don’ of the Omaha table?
MansionPoker.com for full online poker details. It’s not personal….. It’s strictly business…..
Build Your Poker Bankroll For Free
August 28, 2009
It’s hard to imagine you could start out with absolutely nothing in the way of an online poker bankroll, and end up with a padded virtual wallet. Honestly, it’s not that uncommon. But with a little skill and a solid poker strategy, you can do just that.
Take famed female poker pro Annette Obrestad for example, winner of the first annual World Series of Poker Europe in 2007. Ms. Obrestad started out playing online poker, and as the story goes, never once made a single deposit into her poker account. Instead, Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad registered an account and began playing online poker freeroll tournaments.
It didn’t take long before Annette was cashing in these Freerolls, building her poker bankroll without ever spending a dime of her own money. Obrestad went on to win a rather famous poker tournament, not famous for its prowess – it was merely a $4 180-seat Sit’n’Go - but for the way in which she won. “Annette_15” claims she never looked at her hole cards, except on one occasion when faced with an all-in bet. She instead chose to base her entire strategy on her position and reading her opponents throughout the event. Needless to say, she finished in 1st place.
Is Annette Obrestad particularly gifted? Does she have a sixth sense for poker? Absolutely not. Heck, she was only 18 years old at the time! What she had on her side was intelligence. She knew very well the kind of strategy she would need to win a freeroll poker tournament. She had the patience to observe her opponents, one by one, and determine how they were playing; accurately predicting their hand strength through pattern recognition.
It doesn’t take a psychologist to figure someone out, and it doesn’t take a savant to realize that freeroll tournaments can be the easiest of all to cash in, if you just maintain a little poise on the virtual felt.
Winning Freeroll Tournaments
So what does it take to win a freeroll, building your bankroll for free? Think about it. There is no risk involved in a freeroll poker tournament, correct? With no risk, there’s no incentive to fight. No reason to play your strictest poker game. After all, there’s nothing to lose, right? That’s exactly what 90% of the participants in an online poker freeroll are thinking when faced with a marginally good hand and an all-in bet.
Most players will take more risks than they would if they had actually invested to play. This is where you sneak in and walk away with a substantial cash, if not a 1st place victory. Stick to your guns, playing your tightest poker strategy. When competing against loose players, a tight player will most always come out on top.
Most online poker freerolls with real cash up for grabs have a relatively small prize pool, like $50 or $100. The first place prize alone isn’t going to be enough to give you a comfortable bankroll, but it will get you started. Keep grinding away at the freerolls and building your free poker bankroll.
WPT Legends of Poker Won by Prahlad Friedman
August 27, 2009
The 2009 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship final table took place yesterday evening and it was Prahlad Friedman who earned his first ever WPT title after besting Kevin Schaffel in heads up play.
Schaffel held the chip lead when final table play began and this was his first live tournament to participate in since making the November Nine of the WSOP Main Event. It looked as though Schaffel was going to take the win but in the end it would be Friedman earning the title.
The first player to be eliminated from the final table would be Mike Krescanko. Up against Friedman, Krescanko would go all in with A-Q and was called by Friedman who held pocket kings. The board held a king on the flop so Friedman won the hand with trips and knocked Krescanko out of the competition in sixth.
Schaffel would knock out the next player when Sam Stein moved all in with K-Q. Schaffel would call with pocket sevens and a seven on the flop would secure his win and his chip lead as well. Fourth place would go to Toto Leonidas when he went up against Friedman, who once again knocked out a final table player. Leonidas A-9 was no match for Friedman’s A-K.
Todd Terry would exit in third after going against Friedman and of course Friedman would take the hand and build his chip stack yet again to then face Schaffel in heads up play. Heads up play would not last very long and Friedman would take Schaffel down just like he did the other players at the final table.
On the final hand Schaffel opened with a raise and Friedman re-raised. Schaffel moved all in and Friedman called. Friedman held A-Q and Schaffel flipped over K-J. The board fell 10-3-2-4-9 and Schaffel was out in second place leaving Friedman to claim his first ever WPT title.
Final Results:
1: Prahlad Friedman — $1,009,000
2: Kevin Schaffel — $471,670
3: Todd Terry — $231,300
4: Toto Leonidas — $144,600
5: Sam Stein — $116,225
6: Mike Krescanko — $89,220
World Poker Tour Bought by PartyGaming for $12.3 Million
August 25, 2009
It was announced yesterday that Peerless Media, a subsidiary of PartyGaming, has purchased the World Poker Tour for $12.3 million. World Poker Tour Enterprises made the announcement yesterday and stated that along with the purchase price, PartyGaming will be earning at ongoing 5% participation in gaming and revenues that are generated by the assets.
In early August World Poker Tour Enterprises had announced they sold the WPT to Gamynia Limited for $9 million. it was when PartyGaming offered the larger $12.3 million proposal, WPTE decided to terminate the agreement with Gamynia Limited.
“PartyGaming has been an important partner for a number of years and we are confident that they will be an excellent manager of our brands in the future,” stated Steve Lipscomb, WPTE's President and CEO. “The Board of Directors has determined that PartyGaming’s acquisition proposal is financially superior and we look forward to working with one of the pioneers and leaders in the poker and online gaming markets to provide a strong vehicle for the WPT brand to continue its global expansion and return to online gaming.”
The new agreement with PartyGaming will see the WPTE selling their Television library and all intellectual property as well as branding rights to PartyGaming. At the same time the WPTE will retain their cash, debt securities investments and future license revenues from the Season Seven sponsorship deal with PokerStars.
The WPTE will retain the net cash proceeds from the sale of their assets and use the money to develop a business away from the game of poker instead of dividing any dividends to the company’s stockholders. This of course has many shareholders angry and upset. The majority of the shareholders of the company must approve the sale of the company and despite WPTE’s decision to not distribute the dividends, the major investors have already agreed to vote for the sale.
VIVE LA FRANCE! PKR QUALIFIER TURNS US$5 INTO OVER $HK3,000,000!
August 24, 2009
ADRIEN ALLAIN WINS 2009 ASIAN POKER TOUR MACAU MAIN EVENT
23-year-old Adrien Allain from Rennes, France, is the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival Main Event Champion! He scooped HK$3,035,000 - a fantastic return on his investment of US$5 through an online satellite on PKR!
Allain, who recently turned professional said: "I’m overwhelmed, this is so wonderful. I qualified for this tournament through a $5 lottery tournament on PKR and end up beating all these top players. Vive La France!"
Allain, known by many as ‘zlatan35’ online, now aims to use the winnings as a bankroll to push forward his poker career. He impressively dominated the final table that included the likes of Poker Pack star JC Tran, Casey Kastle and David Steicke. No mean feat when this is your first major event and your biggest previous win is online and US$8,000! The runner-up was Inwook Choi from Korea. Choi got his money in with the best hand after pushing with AQ but Allain spiked a 3 on the flop and his A3 was enough to take the title. That said - Allain had been like a train since the first card was dealt and had Choi dominated 2,182,000/1,078,000 at the heads-up stage.
As Asian Poker Tour CEO Chris Parker expressed his congratulations, Adrien’s delighted group of supporters waved French flags in celebration as the Asian Poker Tour closing ceremony at the Starworld Hotel and Casino drew to its customary colourful conclusion. The crowd of supporters grew throughout the afternoon after the now legendary Asian Poker Tour Macau Party in the Presidential Suite the night before.
There were five small stacks on the final table and after shuffle up and deal was called by the world’s leading tournament director Matt Savage, the action was fast and furious. First out was Casey Kastle, who departed after the third hand on his third consecutive Asian Poker Tour final table appearance! He was followed very shortly by Winifred Yu, who came to the Starworld Hotel and Casino as a member of the crew for Chinese poker language film ‘Poker King’ and left with a HK$26,112 final table payout.
Christer Hallberg was next to exit, followed by Michael Woo. By this point Allain was making all the play and could do no wrong and had built himself a significant chip lead. In the background, dangermen JC Tran and David Steicke were lurking but the young Frenchman’s stack was continuing to tower. Next to go and out in fifth was Chris Chau, followed by Steicke – whose fourth place finish caps a memorable Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival for him which saw him also take down the Poker Pack High Rollers event.
What followed was a long session of small ball poker with Allain continuing to dominate, Inwook Choi holding up well and poker superstar JC Tran seriously short stacked but fighting back. In the end Inwook Choi’s queen high straight saw off Tran’s challenge, much to the disappointment of the large group of Poker Pack supporters on the rail. It has been a fantastic 12 day festival for The Poker Pack. Tran won The Poker Pack headhunter event and Korea, featuring Steve Sung, David Chino’ Rheem and Brandon Wong, won the inaugural JBET Battle of the Nations event. Quinn Do took down ‘The Poker King Movie’ Celebrity Charity event, while David ‘Chino’ Rheem won the HKGC No Limit Hold ‘em R+A side event.
JC said “It has been a great 12 day festival for The Poker Pack - it is disappointing not to take down the Main Event but congratulations to Alain, he played good poker and is a deserving champion. To take down such a major tournament for just $5 is quite something – there’s no doubt he has great potential.”
Full details on all the hands can be found at: http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2009-apt-macau/
Day 1B marked the start of filming of ‘Poker King,’ the first Chinese language poker film. Many, including the legendary Johnny Chan, predict the movie could have the ‘Rounders’ effect on the growth of poker in Asia. Five of the crew entered the Main Event with Hong Kong’s Winfred Yu making the final table! It would be fair to say that Poker King nearly had its own Poker King!
There was an encouragingly large regional contingent taking part in the event, with over 50% of the Day1A field from Asia. There were also plenty of well known names at the StarWorld Hotel and Casino including ‘The Poker Pack,’ John Juanda, Johnny Chan, Liz Lieu, James Akenhead of the WSOP Main Event November Nine, the in-form Stewart Scott, David Chiu, Ian Frazer, Praz Bansi, JP Kelly, Young Phan, Amnon Filippi, Casey Kastle, Steve Yea, David Steicke, Cecilia Nordenstam, Liv Boeree, Mel Judah, Karl Mahrenholz and Kim Wooka. Chan, Frazer, Scott and Wooka were amongst those that cashed. Last year’s champion Yevgeniy Timoshenko was also in attendance and failed to cash in the Main Event.
Tournament Director Matt Savage confirmed that there were a total of 326 runners, 133 on Day 1A and 193 on Day 1B. The total prize pool was HK$10,919,040 with first place HK$3,035,000. The buy-in for the Main Event was set at HK$34,400. Last year’s event attracted 257 runners.
The Asian Poker Tour Macau hosted over 20 events with 15 official side events. Amongst the online networks which sent players were The Ongame Network, the iPoker Network and PartyPoker.com. In addition, online rooms BWin, PKR, Dafa Poker, JBET Poker, Betfriends, 888.com, Titan Poker, RedKings, 32Red, ChiliPoker, Winamax, BetSafe, PafPoker, The Asia Poker, JPL and PokerLoco are in on the action which guaranteed the significant online qualifier contingent. Sponsors of the side events and collaterals include the Hong Kong Game Club, DafaPoker, Dafa888, The Poker King Movie, JBet, PartyPoker.com, BWin, Zipang Casino, 777babycasino and PKR.
Full details can be found at http://www.asianpt.com/ and pictures can be downloaded from the site.
Videos capturing the action and atmosphere at the festival can be found at: http://www.asianpt.com/videos
2009 ASIAN POKER TOUR MACAU FESTIVAL – MAIN EVENT – FINAL TABLE PRIZE MONEY
1st Adrien Allain (FR) HK$3,035,000
2nd Inwook Choi HK$1,660,000
3rd JC Tran (USA) HK$117,470
4th David Steicke (Hong Kong)HK$91,378
5th Chris Chau (Hong Kong)HK$65,279
6th Michael Woo (Hong Kong)HK$52,223
7th Christer Hallberg (Sweden) HK$39,167
8th Winifred Yu (Hong Kong) HK$26,112
9th Casey Kastle (Slovenia) HK$16,966
2009 ASIAN POKER TOUR MACAU FESTIVAL – MAIN EVENT – FINAL TABLE CHIP COUNTS
Seat 1: Casey Kastle (130,000) Slovenia
Seat 2: Winfred Yu (61,000) Hong Kong
Seat 3: David Steicke (876,000) Hong Kong
Seat 4: J.C. Tran (444,000) USA
Seat 5: Adrien Allain (482,000) France
Seat 6: Michael Woo (64,000) Hong Kong
Seat 7: Inwook Choi (934,000) Korea
Seat 8: Chris Chau (143,000) Hong Kong
Seat 9: Christer Hallberg (132,000) Sweden
PokerStars Inaugural EPT Kyiv Main Event won by Maxim Lykov
August 24, 2009
The first ever PokerStars European Poker Tour Kyiv event had its share of chaos but nevertheless the event saw a good turnout of 296 players from over 30 countries competing for the first ever title. The event was moved from its original destination of Moscow to the Ukraine and by the final day of play eight players returned to the Sport Palace to see who would win the title and the first place prize.
The atmosphere was that of celebration and support as fans gathered to watch the final table unfold. Many of the spectators were dressed in blue and yellow in support and celebration of the Ukrainian Flag Day which was the same day.
The Kyiv event was a filmed event so just after midday the final table began competing and the cameras began rolling. It would take almost an hour before the first player would be eliminated. The first to go would be Vadim Markushevski when he put his pocket kings up against Alexander Dovzhenko’s pocket aces.
Just a half hour later the next player, Torsten Tent, would be eliminated. Tent had the better cards but when his opponent paired both his cards it was over and Tent exited in seventh place. Maxim Lykov would do much of the eliminating as he got rid of Tent and then Ad Schaap in sixth.
It would then be a few hours before the next player would go. Out in fifth would be Lucasz Plichta and then Arthur Simonyan in fourth and Vitaly Tolokonnikov in third. This would leave Alex Dovzhenko and Maxim Lykov to compete in heads up play.
When heads up play began, Lykov held an almost 2 to 1 chip lead after earning a good bit from the last elimination. Lykov would play very aggressively and this would prove to be Dovzhenko’s downfall. On the final hand both would check and see the flop of 4spades Jack diamonds and 7 spades. The turn brought a 4 clubs and Dovzhenko would bet 400,000 and Lykov would check raise to 1 million. Dovzhenko would then go all in and Lykov would call.
Dovzhenko would turn over J clubs 10 hearts which gave him two pair, while Lykov flipped over 4 hearts and nine hearts which of course equal trip fours. A blank Ace on the river gave no help to Dovzhenko and he was out in second place giving Lykov the win.
Final Results:
1. Maxim Lykov (Russia) - €330,000 (approximately $473,000 U. S.)
2. Alex Dovzhenko (Ukraine) - €220,000
3. Vitaly Tolokonnikov (Russia) - €140,000
4. Arthur Simonyan (Russia) - €100,000
5. Lucasz Plichta (Poland) - €80,000
6. Adrian Schaap (Holland) - €60,000
7. Torsten Tent (Germany) - €45,000
8. Vadim Markushevski (Belarus) - €30,000
Poker Pro goes to Trial for Parents Murder
August 22, 2009
Professional Poker Player Ernest Scherer III will stand trial for the murder of his own parents 
last year. Authorities have charged Scherer with the murder of both his mother and his father, pretty much for their home and possessions.
The elderly couple was slaughtered in what appeared to police to be a 'staged burglary'. Scherer allegedly drove to the home of Ernest Jr. and his mother Charlene Abendroth, beat and stabbed them, and then drove to his own home in Orange County California.
Scherer is up on two counts of murder and murder for financial gain. The poker player is eligible to be put to death in the state of California.
Scherer will be arraigned on September 4th.
Microgaming Kicks Bankrupt Linx Media to the Curb, Players get Screwed.
August 21, 2009
Following more than a two month wait for several online poker players to cash out their Eurolinx Poker accounts, Microgaming has ended their network agreements with online casino Eurolinx and a sportsbook that has for quite some time been known as a respectable entity in the sportsbetting world, BetOnBet.
The following statement is posted on the three websites:
21. August 2009
MALTA – The Linx Media Group has today announced that it is seeking to put its businesses into liquidation and will cease trading with immediate effect.
As yet, the Linx Media Group does not know how long this process will take, but it will provide updates on the situation as and when information becomes available and when liquidators are appointed.
A company spokesperson from the Linx Media Group stated: “It is with great regret that we make this announcement. I appreciate the concern and frustration that this will inflict on the Eurolinx, BetOnBet, and Linx Casino player community. Affected account holders are those individuals who have agreed to a contractual relationship with the Linx Media Group through Eurolinx, BetOnBet and Linx Casino. All available player funds are held by these businesses. As soon as we have information on how to lodge claims with the liquidators, we will communicate this via www.eurolinx.com, www.BetOnBet.com and www.linxcasino.com.”
Microgaming Kicks Linx Media to the Curb, Players get Screwed.
Microgaming has ended their network agreements with online casino Eurolinx and a sportsbook that has for quite some time been known as a respectable entity in the sportsbetting world, BetOnBet.
The following statement is posted on the three websites:
<blockquote>21. August 2009
MALTA – The Linx Media Group has today announced that it is seeking to put its businesses into liquidation and will cease trading with immediate effect.
As yet, the Linx Media Group does not know how long this process will take, but it will provide updates on the situation as and when information becomes available and when liquidators are appointed.
A company spokesperson from the Linx Media Group stated: “It is with great regret that we make this announcement. I appreciate the concern and frustration that this will inflict on the Eurolinx, BetOnBet, and Linx Casino player community. Affected account holders are those individuals who have agreed to a contractual relationship with the Linx Media Group through Eurolinx, BetOnBet and Linx Casino. All available player funds are held by these businesses. As soon as we have information on how to lodge claims with the liquidators, we will communicate this via www.eurolinx.com, www.BetOnBet.com and www.linxcasino.com.”
Microgaming spokespersons have advised online casino players, online poker players, and sports betters and all others contractually owed monies by the above companies (such as poker and casino affiliates) to submit inquiries to the liquidator once those details become available,
As of now however, there’s no liquidation representative details available, players with balances of thousands of dollars are forced to simply sit and wait without any idea of when the wait will be over.
Although Microgaming has asked players to contact the liquidator directly, online poker news website PND has provided their contact telephone number for players looking for updates and further information. Microgaming, located in the Isle of Man can be reached at +44 (0)1624 647777.
Some high stakes poker players have reported possible losses in excess of $250,000.00 each.
20,000 Poker Enthusiasts Enjoy Poker In The Park
August 21, 2009
Europe’s largest annual Poker festival, Poker in the Park, opened to a horde of poker enthusiasts last week as thousands of people took to London’s famous Leicester Square for the event.
The festival welcomed people from all over the UK to come and join the poker festivities, including free tournaments, live tutorials and the chance to learn from and meet some of poker’s most famous faces.
The event, that ran from noon on Thursday 13th August and ended Friday 14th at 9.30pm, was headlined by sponsors PKR, who in turn hosted a number of UK’s top pub poker leagues into the PKR Dome in order to run their respective tournaments.
The Unibet Lecture Marquee played host to some of the world’s most successful poker talent as they addressed the crowd in a series of lectures. Attendees were fortunate enough to meet 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold, who spoke on both days of Poker in the Park as well as hosting the Jamie Gold Charity Tournament in the Casino at the Empire on Thursday evening.
Amongst the rest of the speakers were 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate and a top line-up of British poker professionals including Neil Channing, Paul Jackson, Ian Frazer, Nik Persaud, John Tabatabai, Liv Boeree and Alex Rousso.
Littlewoods Poker ran the Littlewoods Poker Tuition Tent, where players could play open-handed against their celebrity players Mark Goodwin, Michael Greco and Tony Cascarino.
Other highlights of the event included the Bluff Europe Heads-Up Tent, where people were able to pit their wits against each other on the PokerTek Heads-Up Challenge electronic tables, and the introduction of PTG Poker from Prime Table Games.
Finally, visitors were greeted by Neteller, London Poker Circuit, pokershopuk.com, Gamcare, Blackbelt Poker and London Chess & Bridge in the Poker Multitent, which offered a menagerie for players both amateur and expert.
Poker in the Park will return in 2010 bigger and better than ever.
PokerStars To Begin Poker Television Show This Fall
August 20, 2009
We all know that Full Tilt Poker has their hand in reality television with their poker show Face The Ace on NBC and now their rival PokerStars is planning their own new television show. The new PokerStars show will be called the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge and players will be able to qualify online to participate on the show in heads up matches against Team PokerStars Pros.
The new show is set to debut on October 11th on the FOX network. Players will be able to participate in special free rolls to begin making their way on the new show. Those who make the show will be able to compete against celebrity players as well as Team PokerStars pros in heads up play to try for a seat in the December Grand Final.
PokerStars will be hosting free rolls twice a day at 8pm and 11pm Eastern until November 25th. The top ten players of the free rolls will be asked to submit a video, of two minutes, on why they should be chosen to participate on the television show. The lucky players chosen will have to battle three different celebrity and Team PokerStars Pros in a best of three No Limit Hold’em heads up matches to move forward to the Grand Final.
Daniel Negreanu will be on the television show to help the contestants throughout the show until they make the third round where the player will have to face Negreanu for a seat in the grand final. Filming of the show will begin on September 30th and after the premier show on the 11th of October, viewers will be able to watch more episodes on October 18th, November 22nd and December 13th. The grand final is set for December 27th.
It will be interesting to see how well PokerStars new show will do on the FOX network. The Full Tilt show on NBC has failed to make big ratings and does not seem to be in good shape for a long television run. It will be interesting to see if PokerStars new show will be able to outlast the Full Tilt show or vice versa.
Online Poker Room offers chances to win tickets to Sports Legends Challenge
August 19, 2009
More Chances Now for Sports Fans to Win a Ticket to the Sports Legends Challenge, Exclusively Online at Absolute Poker.
Absolute Poker, one of the largest online poker site's in the world is giving fifteen lucky players a shot at winning the prize package of a lifetime to be part of the inaugural Sports Legends Challenge at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort and casino.
Absolute Poker is giving online poker players the chance to cross the line from spectator to competitor to win one of five weekly Sports Legends Challenge prize packages in their Sports Legends Challenge Super Satellite, scheduled nightly Wednesday through Sunday at 22:45 ET.
The Sports Legends Challenge, presented by online poker sponsor Absolute Poker, is the sports fan’s ultimate fantasy featuring four days of casino gaming, poker, and golf tournaments with stellar cash prizes, 25 of the world’s greatest sports superstars, and all in the magnificent surrounds of the turquoise lagoons of Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
For the first time ever, sports fans have a chance to play with and against 25 of the world’s greatest sports superstars, including mixed martial arts legends Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, skateboard icon Tony Hawk, hockey legend Mark Messier, Troy Aikman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Richard Petty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joe Namath, Reggie Jackson and many others. To up the ante, the event will also feature 25 of the world’s top Poker Pros such as Annie Duke, Johnny Chan and Mike Sexton, who will play with and coach event participants.
Unique to Absolute Poker, the online qualifiers for this prestigious event will run each week Wednesday through Sunday between now and September 6th inclusive, with a direct buy-in of $200 + 15. Every Sports Legends Challenge Super Satellite will award a minimum of one luxury prize package, which includes entry to the inaugural four-day Sports Legends Challenge.
Play your cards right, and you could be on your way to be part of this momentous event, confirmed for Sept. 14 – 17, 2009 at the luxurious Atlantis Paradise Island resort and casino. The Sports Legends, Poker Pros and participants will compete for up to $10 million in prize money in a variety of events including blackjack, slots and golf tournaments, plus a No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament to be telecast nationally.
Full details of the Sports Legends Challenge and Absolute Poker’s online qualifiers are available on Absolutepoker.com
Doyles Room to Focus on Young Pros in New Campaign
August 19, 2009
Doyles Room has announced they will be launching a new campaign that will feature some of the best young talent the online poker community has to offer. Doyles Room revamped the site some time ago and now they are rebranding the Doyles Room name to focus on the next generation of poker players.
The new campaign is called The Brunson 10 and Will Griffiths, the new vice president of global marketing for Doyles Room, is currently recruiting players under the age of twenty five who are “achieving at the highest level, and who have potential at becoming future legends.”
The first three members of the 10 member group are Alec Torelli, Amit Makhija and Zach Clark. In the coming months the final seven players will be selected and announced. Griffiths also stated that each player in the group of 10 will hold clauses in their contracts that will reward them as Doyles Room grows. This will give the 10 an added incentive to make the poker room as great as it can be. The players will advise the site on how it can be better and they will also represent Doyles Room during live events.
Zach Clark commented on making the 10 by stating: “it’s definitely just such an honor to be selected by them as one of the 10. I’m definitely going to try and live up to it.” Torelli commented “It’s really cool that it’s very exclusive. One of my big concerns about signing with a site was because these days, what’s another pro with a website? Everyone’s a pro on Full Tilt or Stars. It’s so diluted, that being a pro on a website isn’t really something you aspire to — not to say that the pros are bad or that the deals aren’t great for them.”
It will be interesting to see who the other seven players are that will make up the group of 10. Hopefully the group will be able to bring Doyles Room to more online players and make the site even more popular than it already is.
Dual Milestones For Online Poker Room PKR
August 19, 2009
PKR is an online poker room that launched 3 years ago on the premise of offering the most realistic, 3D environment in which to play online poker. The next generation poker room has announced two incredible milestones this week, both occurring within 24 hour of the other.
First came the incredible announcement of PKR registering its 3-millionth member. This occurred on August 16th, 2009. The very next day, PKR celebrated its 3rd birthday, having launched on this day, August 17th, 2006.
PKR saw immediate success 3 years ago when the online poker room opened its virtual doors, offering players something unheard of in the industry – a fantastic 3D environment that brought the poker game out of the computer screen and into reality. Avatars were more realistic than ever, using body language to react to every situation just as the player would choose to react in a live cash game or tournament.
It was little surprise that just one year after PKR’s historic launch, in early September of 2007, the online poker room proudly proclaimed the signing of its 1-millionth member. That’s less than one month after the first anniversary of PKR.
Even more interestingly, exactly one year later, in September of 2008, PKR did it again. The 3 poker room announced the signing of it 2-millionth member, again just after celebrating the site’s 2nd anniversary.
Now, here we are in 2009, and PKR has done it again. What can we say – PKR averages one million new members each and every year. Not many online poker rooms can claim that!
David “Chino” Rheem Takes Down the Fourth Side Event at the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau
August 18, 2009
Just four days in, The Poker Pack already made its presence felt at the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau when David “Chino” Rheem defeated Tommy Le to win the Hong Kong Game Club (HKGC) No Limit Hold ‘Em R+A tournament.
Rheem went heads-up against Poker Pack member Nam Le’s younger brother after building up his stack at the final table. In the end, his Q-9 proved to be better than Le’s J-10 on a Q-7-J flop. For the win, Chino took home HK $64,200 and the winner’s trophy. Le, on the other hand, won HK $38,500 for his runner-up finish. Also on the table was AsianLogic CEO Tom Hall, who finished seventh for HK $9,200.
The HKGC tournament was the fourth side event at the 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau. Rheem and the rest of The Poker Pack will be on hand during the twelve day festival of poker to play in the side events as well as the main event, which will be held on August 20.
The Poker Pack is a team of specially selected players of Asian origin who are ambassadors for the Asian Poker Tour. The group is composed of JC Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do, David “Chino” Rheem, Steve Sung, and Kwang Soo Lee. Together, the six have more than US $24 million in live tournament winnings.
The 2009 Asian Poker Tour Macau will be held at the StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau from August 12 to 23, 2009. Buy-in for the main event is set at HK $32,000 + $2,400.
World Series of Poker and ESPN Sign New Seven Year Deal
August 18, 2009
It has been reported by Fox Business that the World Series of Poker and ESPN have signed a new seven year broadcast deal. The new agreement will become valid as soon as the current deal expires which is the 2010 WSOP.
Jeffrey Pollack the president of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment and the WSOP was quoted in a statement: “The WSOP is proud to call ESPN home for another nine years. This long-term agreement ensures that our content will continue to reach sports fans around the world through a wide variety of platforms.”
The new agreement will see ESPN airing a minimum of thirty two hours of WSOP footage on an annual basis. The footage will air on ESPN networks that include ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. “We are very excited to continue our relationship with Harrah’s to deliver the largest, richest, and most prestigious gaming event in the world to fans across a variety of our platforms,” Doug White, senior director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN, said in a statement. “Poker continues to be a solid ratings performer for us and allows us to continue offering diverse programming to our viewers.“
The new contract has come as a surprise to some as the ratings have been down from previous years. The long commitment by ESPN to air the footage has been questioned by some. In 2008 the WSOP had an average of 1.13 million viewers which was up 15% from 2007. The 2009 WSOP has fallen by 8% from the 2008 numbers. However since the November Nine footage is now drawn out over the summer and not shown until November the ratings tend to go up during that time significantly.
“Despite some recent ratings decline, ESPN remains the strongest possible home for the WSOP. While other networks may have historically shown ratings blips for airing poker, ESPN already delivers a consistent base of the male demo the WSOP is trying to reach on a daily basis,” said Jeff Gagne, in charge of sports buying at MPG.
Billy Kopp Signs with UltimateBet
August 17, 2009
Poker Pro Billy Kopp has been a busy man. Kopp finished in 12th place at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event and most recently he won the Full Tilt Online Poker Series Razz Event. So with all this success comes great reward. It was announced today by online poker room, UltimateBet that Kopp is the newest member of their poker team, Team UB.
Kopp has worked hard during his poker career and has earned over $2.6 million in online poker games as well as land based tournaments. His finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event earned him just over $896,000 and his FTOPS XIII earned him $38,000.
Kopp has an impressive record when it comes to poker tournaments and online play partly due to intimidation from his loose-aggressive style of play. This year alone he achieved the above finishes as well as placing 2nd in Event #20 of Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP circuit and an 8th place finish in Event #15 of the WSOP.
Kopp has also earned eight top ten finishes in several online poker tournaments this year at UltimateBet and Absolute Poker as well as other online poker sites. Because of his achievements, Kopp will now represent UltimateBet at land tournaments as well as online. Those who would like to take on the poker pro can use the UltimateBet UltimateBuddy software to locate the pro and find out which room he is in. Billy will be playing under the user name billy_kopp.
A Full Turnout for the Jamie Gold Charity Tournament
August 14, 2009
The Jamie Gold Charity Tournament reached its cap of 50 players as an array of celebrity and poker playing talent took to the felt last night in the Shadow Lounge within the Casino at the Empire.
The Jamie Gold Charity Tournament, that took place as part of the Poker in the Park festival in Leicester Square, was hosted by the 2006 WSOP Main Event winner Jamie Gold and co-hosted by 2008 WSOP Main Event winner, and youngest ever WSOP Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate.
The tournament, which aimed to raise money for The Jamie Gold Foundation’s numerous charities, took place at The Empire’s Shadow Lounge, where a number of famous names were present including celebrity players Teddy Sheringham and Michael Greco, as well as top UK poker pros John Tabatabai, Nick Persaud, JJ Hazan, Sam Trickett and Ian Frazer.
Although the tournament buy-ins will go towards the Jamie Gold Foundation, there were a number of generous donations to the prizepool including an EPT seat worth £5,200, donated by PokerStars, as well as a seat to the Unibet Open, worth £3,000.
In the end it was a Swedish Pro, Mikael Gabrielsson, wearing Unibet colors that took the title.
Four camera crews were on hand to capture the atmosphere as celebrities and poker players battled it out on the felt in good spirits.
Poker in the Park continues all throughout today where Jamie Gold amongst many top pros will be delivering a lecture in the Unibet Lecture Marquee. Visit www.pokerinthepark.com to find out the full schedule of speakers.
The event runs until 9.30pm on Friday 14th in the centre of Leicester Square.
Native Tribes Enter Battle For Legal Online Poker In California
August 13, 2009
According to recent reports out of California, local Native Indian Tribes have joined the initiative to support legal online poker in California. Up until this point, Native Indian Tribes have shown no interest in entering the fight to legalize online poker; albeit understandable as they control all of the land-based casinos in the state.
Just recently, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians formed a limited liability company termed “California Tribal Intrastate Internet Poker Consortium, LLC”, aligned with card clubs like the Commerce Club and others. The Consortium will spearhead the group’s movement to provide legal online poker to residents of California.
The current draft of the bill imposed to legalize and regulate online poker in the state comes equipped with research findings that show a record number of Californians are playing online poker without proper regulation, therefore limited assurance of security and protection. The bill claims to have found a “loophole” in the UIGEA that allows for “intrastate” Internet gaming.
If accepted, California stands to bring a wealthy fortune in licensing fees and taxation of Internet poker. The online poker industry is currently netting $4 billion annually. If the 1 million or more Californians who are sending their funds offshore to play unregulated online poker were to begin playing securely via intrastate online poker rooms, the revenue potential is unlimited.
As always in a worthy battle, the Morongo Band and supportive consortium members have met with great opposition, mostly from other Native Indian Tribes in the area. The California Tribal Business Alliance (CTBA) believes passage of the bill would endanger the state’s current tribal gaming status. According to the CTBA, the bill would breach a clause that grants tribes exclusive control of California gaming.
Stand Up for California, a tribal gaming watchdog, has states that such legislation would divert from the current argument that poker is a game of skill. The watchdog company believes the bill is too vague and would allow for other Internet games, such as Pai Gow, which cannot be compared to poker in regards to skill and strategy versus the element of luck.
Cheryl Schmit, group leader of Stand Up for California, commented on a portion of the bill, towards the very end, which referred to “personal, networked or server computers” not falling into the category of the state’s computerized poker machine laws. Schmit said “What they’re trying to do here is fishy. They think by changing the definition, they’re going to get around the legality of it. They can’t.”
At this point, it’s hard to pick a side. For California poker players, legal online poker in the state would be welcomed with open arms, but if opposing groups are correct in their speculation of undermining laws and breaching tribal clauses, it could backfire on the very tribes who fought to give it to those players. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as this story continues.
Legends Of Poker Main Event to take place in New Grand Poker Ballroom
August 13, 2009
The 2009 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker is set to begin in just a few days and as it is one of the more popular stops on the WPT, players are already anticipating the event. this year the event will take place in a new addition that was recently completed at the Bicycle Casino.
The Bicycle Casino has added a new Grand Poker Ballroom which is part of the new event center addition. The Ballroom will hold more than fifty poker tables which will be very convenient when the tournament begins. The Main Event usually has to have two starting days but now with the new room the tournament can hold enough players to hold only one starting day.
In years past the tournament has seen the final table in odd positions as the old poker room did not have the capacity to hold the amount of people at the tournament. The amount of spectators was limited in previous years and now the event will be in a large area where players will be able to enjoy the tournament more freely.
Bicycle Casino Director of Marketing Kelly O’Hara commented on the new area stating: “We’ve already had an amazing poker facility here for a long time, but with this newly expanded and luxurious event center, we now step to the head of the class for not only Southern California, but the country. This grand event center will be the future home of our Legends of Poker tournament, our WPT televised events and numerous other first-class, large-scale poker tournaments and special events held here throughout the year.”
The Main Event will begin on August 22nd and we will be able to see the televised final table on August 26th. So players and fans have only a few days before they can check out and enjoy the new Grand Poker Ballroom at the Bicycle Casino.