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Life Liberty and the Pursuit of FREE POKER

Two leading online poker sites are celebrating Independence Day with freedom from buy-ins this July 4th

MIAMI, FL (MARKETWIRE), July 4, 2009 – Postpone the parades, the picnics and the political speeches for just a bit longer on the Fourth of July, because UltimateBet and Absolute Poker will mark this U.S. national holiday with a special Independence Day Freeroll at 12:00pm ET. Both leading online poker sites will be lighting up the tables with some fireworks of their own, giving away five free seats in the CEREUS Poker Network’s $100,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack tournament at 5:30pm ET.

The pair of online poker rooms is delivering poker players’ freedom from buy-ins in honor of life and liberty and the American way. With free entry to the 12:00pm ET 4th of July Freedom Tournament, you could soon find yourself at the table of Saturday’s $100,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack tournament at 5:30pm ET with a shot at walking away with a share of the $100K in prize money.

If that’s not enough incentive to clear your Independence Day schedule, the celebrations are set to continue later that evening with a special $30+3 Satellite that will award five seats in the CEREUS Poker Network’s signature Sunday $200K Guaranteed tournament.

Enter the 4th of July Special $200K Satellite at 9:30pm ET for only $30+3 to win one of the handful of guaranteed seats up for grabs. Log on early and take advantage of satellites from as little as $2, only on this Independence Day.

Celebrate today’s federal holiday commemorating America’s declaration of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain with UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. Poker players at both online poker rooms on the CEREUS Poker Network will enjoy free entries and low limit buy-ins for a chance at bagging one of ten free tournament entries throughout the day. You don’t have to throw tea in Boston Harbor to score it.
Complete details on Absolute Poker and UltimateBet’s Independence Day offerings can be found at absolutepoker.com and ultimatebet.com.

Angry Player Breaks Dealers Hand

It’s been reported that Semi Pro poker player Thang Luu of Las Vegas Nevada, was removed from the Rio Casino last night, for breaking a dealer’s hand.

There’s two players in this hand, seat one against Thang Luu in seat nine. The hand goes all the way to a showdown, when the player in seat one tells the dealer he cannot see the player in Thang Luu’s cards. The dealer takes the cards from Luu, and slides them closer to the player in seat one. According to reports, Luu then balled his hand into a fist… and smashed the dealer’s hand, breaking it.

Players at the table report that he then told Luu to never touch his cards again. Reports say the bones between the dealer’s knuckles and wrist was broken.

When 4flush staff contacted the Rio to confirm this story, we were told that the Rio Casino could not confirm the incident occurred because police were still investigating it.

Luu was taken into custody, and banned from Harrah’s casino property’s. It looks like he may have gotten his wish, being that he won’t be allowed back into Harrah’s, the dealer will never again touch his cards.

Full Tilt Poker and NBC .. and You?

Full Tilt Poker along with NBC has announced online poker qualifiers for their new television show, Face the Ace. This is a huge opportunity for up and coming poker pro’s to get out there and create a some media buzz, get their faces on television and begin building a name for themselves.

For everyone else, heck it’s a chance to be on TV and win up to a million bucks! Full Tilt Players can register for the online qualifier tournaments in the Full Tilt Poker lobby. Winners will be given the opportunity to pit their heads up game against the skills of Full Tilt Poker Pro’s.

The best part of this, those same pro’s (such as are teaching at the all new Full Tilt Poker Academy, so not only is that available as a resource for poker players of all skill levels to work on their games, it’s a great way to study future opponents!

During the Face the Ace poker TV show, which is hosted by none other than Steve Schirripa of the Sorano’s contestants will be given a choice of four smoky glass doors, behind the doors, are Full Tilt Poker Pro’s, like Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, or Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch may be behind the doors.

Contestants might just find Mike “The Mouth” Matusow or the ever beautiful Jennifer Harman (Who had the opportunity to sit across from Ben Affleck at a poker table this week, up until she busted him out of the game) behind a Smokey glass door. Sort of reminds you of Hollywood Squares don’t it?

Once the player has chosen a door, and revealed their poker pro opponent, or ‘Ace’ the poker game begins; the player gets a shot at beating the pro poker player in a heads up match. Should the contestant succeed, they are given a choice, similar to the choice made on the game show Deal or No Deal…

The player can keep the money they’ve won, or they can face another poker pro, and risk it all, or win some more. Should the player win three consecutive match-ups, they win a cool million bucks.

Face the Ace begins filming in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 9th. The show then premieres on August 1st at 9pm ET on NBC.

Qualifying To Appear on FACE THE ACE

The journey to Face The Ace begins on Full Tilt Poker:

• Start by playing in round-the-clock Face the Ace – Round 1 Freerolls; the winner of each Round 1 Freeroll earns an entry to a Face the Ace – Round 2 Freeroll

• Face the Ace – Round 2 Freerolls take place every Wednesday and Sunday at 9:15 p.m. ET; the winner of each Round 2 Freeroll earns an entry to a Face the Ace – Final Qualifier tournament

• Face the Ace – Final Qualifier tournaments take place at 9:15 p.m. ET on Monday, May 25th, 9:15 p.m. ET on Monday, June 8th and 9:15 p.m. ET on Monday, June 22nd, 2009; the top ten finishers in each Final Qualifier win a free prize package, which includes a trip to Las Vegas for an audition on Face The Ace.

To find a Face the Ace – Round 1 Freeroll: Open the Full Tilt Poker game software and log in; select the Tournaments tab in the lobby; look for the tan color-coded Freeroll tournaments labeled “Face The Ace – Round 1″ and get ready to play your way to Vegas!

PokerStars Signs Luske and Mercier to Team PokerStars Pro

The list of poker pros on PokerStars Team PokerStars Pro has gotten a bit longer. PokerStars recently announced the addition of Marcel Luske and Jason Mercier to their Pro Team. Both will join the ranks of such poker pros as Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein and the many others who create the all star team.

Marcel Luske otherwise known as “The Flying Dutchman” is a highly experienced player. Luske has had a long career as a poker pro and won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 at the European Poker Awards. Luske was ranked number one poker player in Europe in 2001 and 2003. He is known for his classic and stylish dress at the poker table as well as his poker game.

Jason Mercier is a twenty two year old poker player who just won his first WSOP bracelet this year when he won the $1,500 pot limit Omaha event. Mercier has won over $3.2 million in live cashes since his first major tournament appearance. That appearance was just one year ago at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Not a bad amount for such a short time frame!

Both players are welcome additions to Team PokerStars Pro and can be found online at PokerStars as well as representing the online poker giant at live events. They both play under their first and last name at PokerStars so fans or players who want to try their luck against the pros should look for them online at PokerStars.com.

Series culminates on July 23 with one winner walking away with a $12,000 prize package to the 2010 WSOP* Main Event

Online poker players who didn’t make the trip to Las Vegas for the 2009 World Series of Poker* can get a jump on the field for next year’s Main Event in the upcoming Bodog Mini Poker Series. The 13-event series gets underway this Friday, July 3, at 8:35pm EST, and culminates with the series’ final on July 23, where one player will be the first to win a seat to the 2010 WSOP* Main Event as a member of Team Bodog 2010.

“If you missed your shot at competing for fame and glory in this year’s Main Event, you can at least be the first to secure a seat in 2010,” said Bodog.com poker pro David Williams. “Like all Bodog.com online poker tournaments , the Bodog Mini Poker Series gives you all of the intense action of a major tournament series but at a fraction of the cost.”

The 13 preliminary events of the Bodog Mini Poker Series will be held over 13 consecutive days, beginning Friday, July 3. All events start at 8:35pm EST and the buy-in for each is just $10 + $1. The top 30% in each tournament earn points based on their finish. These points will then be used to rank players, with those who finish in the top 10 on the series’ tournament leader board (“TLB”) receiving automatic entry into the Final Tournament on Thursday, July 23. The remaining top 40 players on the TLB will play in the Semifinal on Tuesday, July 21, with the top 18 finishers there moving onto the Final Tournament.

Players can also earn an invite into the Final Tournament by playing in all 13 Bodog Poker Mini Series events. Players who enter seven of the 13 events receive an invite to compete in the Semifinal.

The winner of the Final Tournament will walk away with a $12,000 WSOP* prize package and become one of the first to win a seat to the 2010 WSOP* Main Event and the first member on Team Bodog 2010. Second and third-place finishers receive a Bodog Poker Open IV Prize Package, which consists of a buy-in to every event of the Bodog Poker Open IV, which is scheduled for the fall of 2009. Fourth and fifth-place finishers win a seat to any Bodog Flight Club Semifinal, valued at $270. Finally, those placing sixth through ninth earn a seat to the $100,000 Guaranteed Tournament held each Sunday at 4pm ET, a $162 value.

UltimateBet’s Brand Cantu Wins WSOP Bracelet in Event #48

Cantu’s second career bracelet won in Event #48 of the World Series of Poker just days after a profitable 2nd place finish.

How do you spot an UltimateBet player in Vegas at this year’s WSOP? Just look for bling. Brandon Cantu today added to the growing number of UltimateBet players who have won bracelets at this year’s World Series of Poker.
The UltimateBet pro poker player took the top spot in Event #48, a $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better event, besting a field of 762 players for $228,867 and redeeming himself after a recent runner-up finish.

Last week, Cantu finished second in Event #39, a $1,500 No Limit Texas Hold’em event that featured 2,715 players. The UltimateBet pro earned $403,951 for edging as close as possible to the first place spot.

This is Brandon Cantu’s first bracelet of 2009 and the second of his career. In 2006, Cantu earned his first for conquering a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Event.

Cantu’s win comes just days after Matt Graham, another UltimateBet pro, crushed a field of 295 players in Event #40, a World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event at the World Series of Poker, to capture a first place prize of $679,379 and a second WSOP bracelet.

With close to 200 UltimateBet players expected to play in the Main Event of the WSOP, and with many of those players slated to play in the smaller events that are scheduled in the days ahead, several more bracelets for UltimateBet players could be in the cards.

Online poker players can learn about the success stories of all UltimateBet players by visiting the online poker site’s blog, accessible from the UltimateBet.com homepage.

Absolute Poker Signs Acclaimed Poker Pro Matt Vengrin

Absolute Poker today announced the signing of respected poker player Matt Vengrin as its newest pro. The Texas Hold’em champion, who was most recently associated with Full Tilt Poker, had been on the radar of a number of online poker rooms before connecting with Absolute Poker. The leading online poker site, which is part of the CEREUS Poker Network, is building a roster of poker players and is thrilled to start with one of Texas Hold’em’s finest.

“I am honored and humbled that I was chosen to help represent Absolute Poker,” stated Vengrin. “I believe in the brand and look forward to a long term relationship working side by side with the management team.”

In a little over two years, Vengrin has won over $717,000 playing online poker at UltimateBet, Full Tilt Poker, and Poker Stars. In 2009 alone, the online poker pro has amassed five top ten finishes in several popular online poker tournaments, including a 9th place showing in UltimateBet’s UBOC Event #1, a Pot Limit Omaha tournament, for $1,800. Other notable wins include a 1st place finish in a recent No Limit Hold’em event for $61,600 in February and a 2nd place finish in a $100k tournament for $21,327 in January.

Totaling close to $400,000, his land-based tournament wins are equally impressive. Most recently, Vengrin finished strong in Event #9 of the 2009 Aussie Millions for nearly $10,000. At UltimateBet’s 2008 Aruba Poker Classic, the world’s most popular island-based tournament that’s going into its 8th year, Vengrin collected $6,670. And at last year’s 2008 World Series of Poker, the online poker star secured $167,973 for a 3rd place finish in Event #29.

Online poker players at Absolute Poker can employ the online poker site’s free Absolute Buddy software to discover where Matt Vengrin is seated. He will be featured in red text while playing at Absolute Poker’s tables under the name mattvengrin.

50k Guaranteed Online Poker Tournament at Aced Poker Prone To Overlay

Aced Poker hosts a $50k Guaranteed tournament every Sunday. The name of the tournament is the Sunday $50,000 Guaranteed. The tournament, is a rebuy game, allowing 3 rebuys per player. Players can use their VIP points to enter, a satellite coupon, or pay cash and enter directly.

The game played is Texas Holdem poker, and as we’ve mentioned, the prize pool will be at least $50k.

Players begin with 3,000 chips each. Players rebuying will be rebuying for 3k in tournament chips as well.

The blinds increase every 15 minutes, and there’s a four minute break for the players every hour. Registration for this week’s game is already available; according to Aced.com registration is always available at least 24 hours in advance.

This is a great tournament option, for those accustomed to playing $100 tourneys, and persons looking to move up in stakes, the reason for that is that the competition just isn’t that fierce. Additionally, and most importantly is that the tournament is very prone to overlay, in fact, the tournament has been known to overlay as much 30k in the past.

Thirty Thousand Dollars in Overlay. That’s huge. Of $50,000.00 in tournament prize money, $30,000.00 is unprotected…

You can’t miss this tournament. In fact, click here to play now!

Aced Online Poker also offers an guaranteed overlay option for the lower stakes poker player.
There’s a low stakes tournament at Aced that you might find yourself interested in. Aced Poker just announced a $100 guaranteed tournament that will only cost you a buck…. Here’s the best part, there’s a maximum of fifty players allowed in to the tournament.

Aced poker has guaranteed an overlay for players of this game; in fact, playing in this tournament is much the same as buying in after clearing half of the field.

• $1 buyin (you can use points VIP points too)
• 10 minute blinds
• 50 MAX entrants
• $100 prize pool
• Every Saturday at 12:00 server time

If you’re looking to begin building a solid bankroll, this tournament is a must on your schedule this week.

PartyPoker Begins to Build Poker Team

Just a short time ago PartyPoker announced they had signed a sponsorship deal with Ian Frazer to begin creating their own poker team. The site has now announced that Felipe “Mojave” Ramos and Remy Biechel have also joined the first ever PartyPoker team.

Frazer has earned more than $1 million while playing in major poker tournaments including: online final tables, three WSOP cashes, a European Open title and a UK Open title. Biechel is a popular French poker player who is a member of the PartyPoker team. Palladium Lounge. He recently won the €5,000 side event in Monte Carlo during the EPT Grand Final. Ramos is from Brazil and he is well known on the Latin American poker circuit. He has seen great success during his poker career and most recently finished sixth in the $5,000 Pot limit Omaha WSOP event.

A spokesperson forPartyPoker team. commented: “The sponsored player and grassroots team initiative will continue to grow with all VIPs reviewed for suitability. We have seen growth in VIPs coming back to Party since our launch of the new software and continued huge strides in the VIP programme which culminated in the launch of the new PartyPoints Store this week.”

“We are looking for players that have shown themselves to have star quality in their play but who are also fun, humorous and possess a strong character and willingness to co-operate. Our extensive international television distribution gives players the chance of brilliant exposure.”

Frazer also commented that he is ‘delighted’ to have got a deal PartyPoker and it will allow him to ‘focus more on poker’ than his everyday job. He went on to say he has been with PartyPoker for a while now since the early ‘Poker Den days’ so the deal between himself and PartyPoker makes sense.

Betfair Reports Wimbledon Match to Corruption Investigators

Betfair reported Tuesdays reports Wimbledon match to corruption investigators after recieving massive wagers following commentators announcement. Cheating? Corruption? Or just misinformation?

Betfair, one of the largest bookmakers in Britain, as well as a force in the online sports betting world alerted tennis corruption investigators about unusual betting patterns during the first-round match that was held this Tuesday between tennis pro’s Wayne Odesnik a United States tennis player, and Jurgen Melzer of Austria.
Betfair received roughly $980,000 in bets on the match; the norm for a first round Wimbledon match according to a report made by ESPN is less than $163,000.

Mark Davies of Betfair spoke to the Associated Press, “It’s being reported as potential corruption, but I don’t see it that way at all,” He went on to say “I doubt that there was any wrongdoing.” He continued explaining why the report was made: “Because of the transparency … we pass that info on to the Tennis Integrity Unit,” Davies told the press. “Then they can make a judgment. But having heard the commentary on the match, I don’t suspect that this is going to turn out to be any kind of corruption story.”

So what happened here: During the match, a sports commentator reported that Odesnik had a thigh injury, effectively shortening Melzer’s odds, ‘significantly’. In the end, Melzer did win the match, however; Odesnik says he did not have a thigh injury.
Espn spoke with Odesnik after the match they reported the following conversation:

“I don’t have an injury! I called a trainer after the first set when I felt a tiny something in my hamstring. He put hot cream on it during the chageover — I didn’t even call an inury timeout — and it went away. The trainer waited a game and asked me and I said it was fine. It didn’t affect the outcome of the match.
“I have no injury — I’m perfectly fine.

PokerStars Offering Free Roll Entry to Petition Signers

Yesterday we told you about the Poker Players Alliance announcing the dates for National Poker Week and how they had several new websites launched online. One of those sites is www.pokerpetition.com, where poker players can go and sign a petition which supports the right of Americans to play games of skill including online poker. The petition will be sent to President Obama in July so the PPA would like to get as many signatures as they can, so to help support the PPA, Pokerstars is offering people who sign the petition an entry into a free roll.

Greg Raymer, a member of the PPA Board, sent an email invitation to PokerStars players. In the email, it stated that PokerStars would be rewarding anyone who signs the poker petition using their special link, www.pokerpetition.com/pokerstars. Those who use the link will become eligible to participate in a $3,500 free roll tournament hosted at Pokerstars.

The petition will be shown to President Barack Obama on July 22^nd and hopefully it will have enough signatures to make a strong impact. Most poker players are probably going to sign the petition anyway, if they haven’t already, so they might as well get a free tournament entry in the process.

PokerStars will be holding the free rolls each Saturday from June 27^th until July 25^th at 14:30 ET. Each tournament is limited to 20,000 and the top finishers of the free rolls will share in the $3,500 prize pool. Players who register via the above link will be given a special ticket that will allow them to play in one of the free rolls at PokerStars.

If you don’t already have an account at Pokerstars Please click one of the links in this article, and then head to the petition to sign up!

UltimateBet’s Matt Graham Grabs Hold of Second WSOP Bracelet

Respected online poker phenomenon wins second bracelet at this year’s World Series of Poker in Pot-Limit Omaha Event #40

Miami, Florida (Marketwire) June 23, 2009 – Matt Graham is making a habit out of winning WSOP bracelets. The Ultimate Bet pro successfully conquered a field of 295 players in Event #40, a World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha event at the World Series of Poker last night, securing a first place prize of $679,379 and his second WSOP bracelet.

“Ultimate Bet’s Vegas Empire is stronger than ever and Matt Graham’s performance over the past few days is proof of it,” stated Annie Duke, Ultimate Bet’s Cardroom Consultant, referring to the online poker site’s current 10th anniversary Roman-themed marketing campaign that has attracted the strongest online poker community to this year’s series.

In March, Ultimate Bet signed the 25-year-old poker sensation to its Star Players team, a roster of poker talent that includes the most revered players in online poker. With career winnings now totaling nearly $2.5 million, and with over $1 million of it won in World Series of Poker events, Graham is living up to his Star Player title.

Members of the Star Players team continue to prove that online poker players can achieve equal success in the world’s biggest land-based events. In addition to Graham’s online poker winnings, the poker pro has a number of impressive land-based wins under his belt.

In 2008, Graham won his first WSOP bracelet when he took down the Limit Hold’em Shootout, taking home more than $278,000. Other noteworthy wins by the former pre-med student include the 2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic and the 2008 World Poker Challenge.

All eyes will be on Graham in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, set to get underway on July 3rd. Online poker players at UltimateBet can employ the online poker site’s free UltimateBuddy feature to find out where Matt Graham is seated.

Learn how to Play Poker: Including Omaha Holdem, Texas Holdem and more!

Steve Sung Continues Strong Run Heading to Asian Poker Tour Macau Event

Almost halfway through this year’s World Series of Poker®, Steve Sung, who will be heading to this year’s Asian Poker Tour event in Macau, is already running in high gear with a bracelet win and a final table showing.

The Poker Pack member kicked things off by winning Event #4 at the 40^th World Series of Poker®. He outlasted a field of 6,102 and dominated the final table to win the $1,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em event, which was the biggest non-main-event tournament in history. With the win, he picked up his first-ever WSOP® bracelet in addition to $771,106 in prize money.

Just a little over a week later, Sung made his presence felt again by finishing third in Event #23, which was the $10,000 World Championship in No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball. While he barely missed out on his second bracelet this year, the Korean poker pro did pick up $112,042 to bring his total winnings for this year’s WSOP® to almost $900,000.

The other members of The Poker Pack have been cashing in this year as well. Aside from Sung’s two big finishes, fellow members JC Tran and Quinn Do both have two cashes while Nam Le has one. All in all, the Pack has combined for seven cashes totalling $974,421.

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 approximately $23 million in live tournament winnings.

Asian Poker Tour Macau 2009 will be held at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau from August 12 to 23, 2009. Buy-in is set at HK $32,000 + $2,400 (approximately US $4,300).

For more information, log on to the Asian Poker Tour’s web site at www.asianpt.com

Full Tilt Poker and PPA On eChecks and US Poker Money

To online poker players, it feels like theft. It feels like the United States Government stealing not only their money, but most importantly, their freedom.

The story hasn’t unraveled completely, but many online poker rooms are having trouble getting Americans their money. A major player in the world of Instant eChecks seems to be to blame, or perhaps as Gambling911 has reported; it’s the US Government that is robbing the coffers of online gamblers who opt to play poker as a form of recreation from inside their own homes….

Thus far, this round of online poker payment processor hell seems to be shaping up much the same as the NETeller debacle back in 2007. Not to mention ePassporte in 2008.

You might recall the hurricane like chaos poker players like us went through with the initial passing of the UIGEA. I for one wrote to my senator, and to everyone I could find that would listen. I was in a state of disbelief that it was even possible for our freedoms to even be encroached upon in such a way..

I also believed that our representatives represented us.. But the letters I received in response explained to me the representatives views… Why now do I care about a state representatives damn opinion?

He’s supposed to be representing MY, and your opinion, my neighbors, all the people of my state.. his opinion is irrelevant is it not?

There is some good poker news to report however, Full Tilt Poker has released a statement today wherein they have reassured us that however difficult it is to deposit, and to withdraw, the monies that online poker players have at Full Tilt Poker is safe. . .

“In light of recent events involving freezing of certain poker players’ money in the United States of America, Full Tilt Poker would like to assure all players that their funds remain safe and secure. Processing of both deposit and withdrawal requests is proceeding as normal and is still available to all of our players in the US.

The issue involving the freezing of some funds affected only one of the many check processors that Full Tilt Poker uses to support player withdrawals. We do not expect any further interruption in check withdrawals or any other withdrawal methods, and any player who wishes to make a withdrawal should expect normal processing times. All players who were affected by the current situation have had their funds returned to their Full Tilt Poker accounts and all new withdrawal requests are processing normally.

We assure all of the players on Full Tilt Poker that your online playing experience will not change and that you will be able to both deposit and withdraw funds as needed. Your money remains safe, secure and always accessible at all times.

Full Tilt Poker remains committed to the protection of our players’ security and legal rights, and will continue to provide the best – and safest – online poker room available worldwide.”

The Poker Players Alliance alleges that the United States federal government has frozen more than $30 million in the accounts of payment processors that handle the winnings of thousands of online poker players.

CNBC – Documents obtained by the AP show that a judge in the district issued a seizure warrant last week for an account at a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco, and that a federal prosecutor told a bank in Arizona to freeze an account.

n a letter dated Friday and faxed to Alliance Bank of Arizona, the prosecutor said that accounts held by payment processor Allied Systems Inc. are subject to seizure and forfeiture “because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses.” The letter was signed by Arlo Devlin-Brown, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

In another letter faxed the same day, Devlin-Brown asks that the bank treat the funds “as legally seized” by the FBI, saying that the government has probable cause that the gambling payments of U.S. residents had been directed to offshore illegal Internet gambling businesses.

PPA Statement on Southern District of NY Action Against Online Poker Players

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today released the following statement by PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato on questionable actions taken by a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York to freeze payment processor accounts containing more than $30 million in poker players’ deposits and payouts.

The PPA also sent a letter to the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York asking for an opportunity to be heard in any future warrant hearings. The letter is available at www.pokerplayersalliance.org.

“The PPA is disappointed that this unprecedented action has been commenced against law abiding poker players. The payment processor funds frozen by the Southern District of New York belong to individual poker players – not operators of poker websites – and do not represent the proceeds of any gambling activity, much less illegal gambling activity. This money should be immediately released by the Southern District to ensure that player payouts are not further disrupted. To that end, the PPA is coordinating a legal strategy to appropriately protect PPA members who are impacted by the Southern District’s actions. Further, the PPA has contacted the affected poker websites and has been informed that deposit and payout issues of players are being addressed and will be fully satisfied.”

“There are many legal issues that question the merit of the Southern District’s actions. Of greatest concern is that, in at least two cases, these actions were taken without first obtaining a seizure warrant. Seizure of money without judicial authority and litigation tactics inconsistent with previously stated Department of Justice policy appear to be the type of conduct that the Department has recently committed to change. Accordingly, the PPA on June 8th wrote to the prosecutor in charge of the matter and raised appropriate challenges and constitutional concerns with the actions taken to date.

“We are also concerned that the Southern District has selectively taken action against online poker when the current law regarding the activity is far from clear, and policies from various levels of government are inconsistent at best. In fact, no federal or state court has ever found a payment processor or a player accessing an Internet poker site to have violated the federal laws alleged by the Southern District in this case.

“For more than three years the PPA has advocated for a clear US policy, established through licensing and regulating skill games like peer-to-peer Internet poker. The PPA remains committed to legislation that creates a clear regulatory framework and we will continue to pursue every legal course available to ensure that in this instance poker players’ funds are not seized and their right to play online poker is protected.”

Minnesota Drops Enforcement Against ISPs Allowing Access to Internet Poker

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide (and more than 15,000 in Minnesota), declared victory as news broke that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety was dropping enforcement action against Internet Service Providers that provide access to Internet gambling sites, including legal Internet poker sites. The announcement was made by Representative Pat Garofalo, who indicated that the matter was concluded after “the legal position underlying the issuance of the notices was reconsidered.” Garofalo specifically credited the PPA and the Interactive Gaming Council with contributing to the conclusion of the matter.

“This is a great day for internet freedom,” said Garofalo. “In the spirit of cooperation and in recognition of the rescission of these notices, I am more than happy to withdraw my bill and in its place sponsor a discussion aimed at establishing a framework for regulating and licensing the online gaming industry.”

“Minnesota poker players made our voices heard, the state listened and ended its ill-advised and improper attempt to circumvent the rights of Minnesota poker players,” said Matthew Werden, Minnesota State Director of the Poker Players Alliance. “We commend Representative Garofalo for literally taking this misguided effort head on and resolving it without incident.”

“We are extremely proud of our membership for unifying so quickly and effectively in opposition to this action,” said John Pappas, Executive Director of the PPA. “We look forward to working with all parties involved to reach a sensible framework for regulation of this 21st Century pastime.”

Strange Going’s On in the Poker World Today

Today has proven to be an interesting day in the wonderful world of Online Poker. First we lost the echeck options for both Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars from the United States, and now both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker seem to be having ‘technical difficulties’.

Neither poker site is available to players. Ultimate Bet’s website is loading super slow, and Absolute’s website seems to be having major technical difficulties. We’ve emailed press personnel and are awaiting their response.  Again we have no word as to whether there is any relation to all of these strange occurrences and the UIGEA or not, thus far, it’s just a strange day in the poker world.

Players are still able to play poker at both Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker, the trouble seems to just be in moving the money. In fact, there’s more… there are reports of PokerStars checks not going through at banks, in fact, check holders that contacted stars about the problem were reportedly asked not to attempt to cash the checks again until further notice.

On a happy note, in the past when this sort of thing has happened, bankrolls grew.

Steve Sung to participate in Asian Poker Tour’s Macau Event

With the biggest live tournament win of his poker career, Steve Sung is already looking forward to even more success. The Poker Pack member confirmed his participation in this year’s Asian Poker Tour Macau 2009 event just hours after winning Event #4 at the 40^th World Series of Poker®.

Sung, a prominent figure in high-stakes online cash games, outlasted a field of 6,102 and dominated the final table to take first place in the $1,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em event, which was the biggest non-main-event tournament in history. He cemented his victory with pocket kings winning against pocket eights to pick up his first-ever WSOP® bracelet in addition to $771,106 in prize money.

Afterward, the Korea-born pro talked about how excited he was to get the win. “I pick up my first bracelet in a field of over six thousand – what a great way to kick off the WSOP!” he said. “Hopefully I continue to run good all the way up to the Asian Poker Tour event in Macau, which will be the biggest tournament in Asia to date. I’ll be there with my buddies from The Poker Pack and it would be great if one of us wins it.”

The victory pushes Steve Sung’s career live tournament winnings to almost $3 million. His previous biggest payday was when he took second place at the 2008 Bay 101 Shooting Stars $9,600 No Limit Hold ‘Em Championship for $585,000 in winnings.

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 approximately $23 million in live tournament winnings.

Asian Poker Tour Macau 2009 will be held at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau from August 12 to 23, 2009. Buy-in is set at HK $32,000 + $2,400 (approximately US $4,300).

eCheck Option Disapears from Two Major US Poker Rooms.

Two of the largest online poker rooms removed  their Instant eCheck deposit options. The deposit method  has been disabled for United States Poker players.

Hello,

Thank you for contacting PokerStars.

Due to processing problems, our eCheck option is currently unavailable.

Please try using another deposit method to fund your PokerStars account. If you would like information on any of our other deposit options, please visit:

http://www.pokerstars.com/realmoney.html

We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you.

Thank you for playing at PokerStars.

Regards,

Travis G
PokerStars Support

No other official announcements have been made, but this could be a big big deal for online poker players from the United States. Both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have disabled Instant  eChecks as a  poker deposit option for United States poker players.. aftermath of the UIGEA? Or merely a software issue?

We have contacted both PokerStars and Fulltilt Poker for comment. Both rooms were asked if this move has any relation to the UIGEA and United States banking regulations, we will update the moment we hear back.

Online poker players have multiple ways to win prestigious 2009 WSOP packages at Titan Poker.

Online poker players everywhere interested in playing in the biggest poker event of the year can qualify for their 2009 World Series of Poker seats at TitanPoker.com (http://www.titanpoker.com), the leading poker room in Europe and the largest venue on the iPoker Network.

Titan Poker is awarding its top players with $13,000 WSOP packages, which include the $10,000 buy-in to the World Series of Poker Main Event, 7 nights of luxury accommodation at the Rio Hotel and Casino, and travel to Las Vegas, where the prestigious poker tournament will be staged this summer.

Online poker players from around the world have been competing for the WSOP (http://www.titanpoker.com/wsop_09.html) prizes at Titan Poker’s satellite qualifiers, which start for entries as low as $0.77+$0.07.

In addition to the tournament series leading to the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, players are also vying at Titan Poker’s satellite tournaments to win seats to the 2009 WSOP World Championship of Pot-Limit Omaha. A satellite series is also taking place awarding winners with seats at two WSOP No Limit Hold’em $1,500 Buy-in Events.

Titan Poker WSOP Main Event Super Satellite tournaments are staged every Sunday night, while the other Super Satellites are running on Saturday nights, giving players multiple ways to win their way to Las Vegas and a possible WSOP bracelet.

New depositors at Titan Poker during the month of May have a chance to win a $13,000 WSOP Package completely for free. New depositing players receive tournament entries to a series of freeroll satellites, players can win their way to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas without making a single tournament payment.

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