Poker Daily News 16-01-2012

Poker Daily News: Abramhoff Speaks On Online Gambling

Former lobbyist Jack Abramhoff believes that the recent changes in opinion towards online gambling in the United States will lead to increased lobbying efforts by various groups. Abramhoff was a former lobbyist for Tribal casinos and spent three years in jail for mail fraud and conspiracy.
http://www.gambling911.com/poker/former-tribal-casino-lobbyist-jack-abram…
News: Social Gambling To Real Gambling
International Game Technology has announced that it intends on purchasing social media gambling operator, Double Down Interactive for $500 million. The news has investors looking to pressure social gaming giant Zynga to reconsider its online gambling position and tap into an estimated $1 billion market.
 http://www.gambling911.com/poker/double-down-interactive-ddi-acquir…
 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-glaringly-obvious-sign-that-zygnas…
 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/13/business…
Forum: http://www.gpwa.org/forum/igt-acquires-double-down-interactive-500…
News: Bronson Talks Internet Gambling
Richard Bronson of U.S. Digital Gaming answers questions about the state of online gambling in the US. He believes that the recent opinion published by the US DoJ is significant and opens the door for states to present their own solutions. He believes that land based casinos will also play a major role in the regulated market.
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/01/the-insiders-u-s-digital-gaming…
News: Push For California Regulation
A presentation by U.S. Digital Gaming is encouraging lawmakers in California to embrace online gambling. The presentation projects a $2.5 million profit in the first year for the state and it could reach as high as $78.8 million within five years.
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/California-company-lobbies-law…
News: MGM Confident About US Poker
MGM chairman James Murren claims that online gambling regulations will pass in the United States in 2012. Murren outlined his opinion on CNBC but was unsure whether the regulation would come at a federal or state level.
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/01/mgm-ceo-james-murren-inter…
BlogBuzz: Belgian Online Gaming Updates
The Belgium government has announced that they will allow more poker sites to apply for operating licenses. As well, they are planning to introduce a ‘blacklist’ which would prevent financial institutions from dealing with unlicensed sites.
http://direct.pokerupdate.com/news/law-and-legislation/belgium-continued…
BlogBuzz: Major Gaming Firms Eye Online
A discussion of the increasing frequency in which major American gambling operators are entering into strategic partnerships with online gaming firms.
http://www.tightpoker.com/news/major-gaming-companies-eager-to-grab-us…

News: Abramhoff Speaks On Online GamblingFormer lobbyist Jack Abramhoff believes that the recent changes in opinion towards online gambling in the United States will lead to increased lobbying efforts by various groups. Abramhoff was a former lobbyist for Tribal casinos and spent three years in jail for mail fraud and conspiracy.http://www.gambling911.com/poker/former-tribal-casino-lobbyist-jack-abram…News: Social Gambling To Real GamblingInternational Game Technology has announced that it intends on purchasing social media gambling operator, Double Down Interactive for $500 million. The news has investors looking to pressure social gaming giant Zynga to reconsider its online gambling position and tap into an estimated $1 billion market. http://www.gambling911.com/poker/double-down-interactive-ddi-acquir… http://www.businessinsider.com/the-glaringly-obvious-sign-that-zygnas… http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/13/business…Forum: http://www.gpwa.org/forum/igt-acquires-double-down-interactive-500…News: Bronson Talks Internet GamblingRichard Bronson of U.S. Digital Gaming answers questions about the state of online gambling in the US. He believes that the recent opinion published by the US DoJ is significant and opens the door for states to present their own solutions. He believes that land based casinos will also play a major role in the regulated market.http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/01/the-insiders-u-s-digital-gaming…News: Push For California RegulationA presentation by U.S. Digital Gaming is encouraging lawmakers in California to embrace online gambling. The presentation projects a $2.5 million profit in the first year for the state and it could reach as high as $78.8 million within five years.http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/California-company-lobbies-law…News: MGM Confident About US PokerMGM chairman James Murren claims that online gambling regulations will pass in the United States in 2012. Murren outlined his opinion on CNBC but was unsure whether the regulation would come at a federal or state level.http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/01/mgm-ceo-james-murren-inter…BlogBuzz: Belgian Online Gaming UpdatesThe Belgium government has announced that they will allow more poker sites to apply for operating licenses. As well, they are planning to introduce a ‘blacklist’ which would prevent financial institutions from dealing with unlicensed sites.http://direct.pokerupdate.com/news/law-and-legislation/belgium-continued…BlogBuzz: Major Gaming Firms Eye OnlineA discussion of the increasing frequency in which major American gambling operators are entering into strategic partnerships with online gaming firms.http://www.tightpoker.com/news/major-gaming-companies-eager-to-grab-us…

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WPT Legends of Poker 2011 Final Table

Will “The Thrill” Failla has won the 2011 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker main event at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California. Failla has bested a field of 757 players and taken home the $758,085 in prize money at his first final table at the World Poker Tour.

After eliminating Jeff Vertes in the third place for $186,400 in prize money, Will Failla found himself heads-up against Ken Aldridge, who has won a World Series of Poker Bracelet. At first Ken Aldridge was able to gain the chip lead after a big pot, but soon after that Failla managed to gain an overwhelming 6-to-1 chip advantage. Few hands later it was all over and Will “The Thrill” Failla took home the victory stating: “Second happiest day of my life.” Ken Aldridge won $365,800 in prize money for the second place.

“I didn’t get nothing from anyone,” Failla said. “My boys were trying to give me information on breaks and I said, ‘Just leave me alone right now. I just want to play the game. I don’t care about any anything.”

Final table standings and payouts:
1st – Will Failla – $758,085
2nd – Ken Aldridge – $365,800
3rd – Jeff Vertes – $186,400
4th – Joshua Pollock – $128,500
5th – Adam Aronson – $102,800
6th – Owais Ahmed – $77,100

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WPT Legends of Poker 2011 Day 4

The final table has been set at the season X World Poker Tour Legends of Poker event at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California. The day started off with 33 players and Will “The Thrill” Failla is leading the field of final six players with 6,775,000 in chips.

The final seven players have been playing for more than one hour until the official final table was set. Ray Henson could not make it into the finla six, as he was eliminated by the chip leader of the previous day Jeff Vertes, who stands in the 3rd place by the chip count with four million in chips. Ray Henson took home $64,250 in prize money.

Joshua Pollock has shown great skill at day 4, finishing it in the second place with 5,315,000 in chips. Ken Aldridge, Adan Aronson and Owais Ahmed will accompany them to the final table when one of them will be crowned champion of season X World Poker Tour Legends of Poker. The eventuall champion will take home the first prize of $758,085 in prize money.

Final table seating and chip count:
Seat 1 – Joshua Pollock – 5,315,000c
Seat 2 – Owais Ahmed – 1,720,000c
Seat 3 – Will “The Thrill” Failla – 6,775,000c
Seat 4 – Adam Aronson – 2,185,000c
Seat 5 – Ken Aldridge – 3,640,000c
Seat 6 – Jeff Vertes – 4,005,000c

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Daily Online Poker News 30-08-2011

FTP Lawyer Answers Questions
Full Tilt’s lawyer, Jeff Ifrah, has joined the Two Plus Two forums and has been active in issuing statements and responding to questions about Full Tilt’s situation. The change in activity follows the end of an exclusive negotiation period with an investor.

Who Knew About Bluff Chip Dump
A forum user polls the community asking them who of the three people implicated in the ‘Girah Scandal’ they believe was aware of the Bluff Challenge chip dump at the time it occurred.

Black Friday’ Cost In U.S. Jobs
Steve Ruddock discusses the cost of ‘Black Friday’ in terms of the number of jobs it eliminated from the American economy.

Why US Online Poker Is Far Away
J. Todd of APCW explains the situation of online poker in the United States. He considers that the country will not see regulation for quite some time, noting that California, despite its efforts, still fails to embrace online poker, and that doing so on a state by state basis would take an extremely long time, though the potential profits may motivate congress into action.

What Makes Good Poker TV
An article covers ten improvements to the coverage of poker on TV. The list highlights certain technical improvements, such as the rabbit cam, as benefits for the televised game.

Kimberly As WPT Hostess
An article discusses one of the assets of the World Poker Tour’s televised events, its hosts. Kimberly Lansing has been the host for the past two seasons and has been hostess for the tour in earlier seasons as well, while Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten are recognized names in the industry.

Meet With Senators, Reps
A Poker Players Alliance forum representative suggests that during the congressional recess, poker players should attend the town hall meetings for their Senators and Members of Congress, and use it as an opportunity to be able to meet and speak with them about online gambling.

The Mob In Online Poker
A forum poster reports hearing a story on CNN in which it was suggested that some form of criminal organization has either been trying to get in to, or has already gotten in on the running of online poker site’s.

GUKPT Goliath
The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Goliath tournament had a £100 buy-in, three starting days, and a multi-entry format. The goal was to break record of 1,440 players set in 2009 at the Boyle Poker IPO for the largest live tournament in UK and European history. In the end, the GUKPT Goliath succeeded with a total of 1,765 entrants.

Betfair Poker Live Season Two
A writer looks at the upcoming second season of Betfair Poker Live. The season begins with the first stop in Dublin, Ireland from September 22nd to September 25th.

Why Legislation Has Failed
Steven Ruddock discusses his thoughts on why online poker regulation in the United States always failed so far.

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WPT Legends of Poker 2011 Day 3

Jeff Vertes has outplaed the 99 players starting on day 3 of the season X World Poker Tour Legends of Poker event at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardes, California, being able to accumulate a massive stack of 2,712,000, thus being the only one with more than two million in chips.

James Carroll is behind him in the second place by the chip count with 1,9 million in chips, followed by David Daneshgar in the third place with 1,85 million in chips. The chip leader of day 2 Ken Aldridge was also able to gain more chips, being in the sixth place with 1,541,000 in chips and Will “The Thrill” Failla is right behind him with 1,450,000.

The unfortunate title of the tournaments bubble boy went to Joe Ressler, who was eliminated in the 82nd place. All of the players who survived the money bubble went home with at least $7,000 in their pockets.

Only 21 players have survived the day and will continue to day 4 when the final table will be set. Everyone of them will go home with at least $14,315 in their pockets.

Top ten by the chip count after day 3:
1st – Jeff Vertes – 2,712,000c
2nd – James Carroll – 1,900,000c
3rd – David Daneshgar – 1,850,000c
4th – Joshua Pollock – 1,645,000c
5th – Mike Eskandari – 1,597,000c
6th – Ken Aldridge – 1,541,000c
7th – Will “The Thrill” Failla – 1,450,000c
8th – Shawn Buchanan – 1,343,000c
9th – Owais Ahmed – 1,134,000c
10th – Adam Aronson – 1,082,000c

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Daily Online Poker News 29-08-2011

D.C. To Kick Off Online Poker
The D.C. Lottery Corporation will begin trials for its online intrastate poker service by September 1st. 20-30 locations around the city will give access to regulated poker sites. The effort is expected to create $13 million in revenue over the next three years.

Full Tilt Poker Discussions Revealed
Amidst other poker news, Harry Demetriou has exposed some of the deals that Full Tilt Poker was in negotiations with after Black Friday. He voices his concerns that the company is not doing the right things to bring the company back to operational status and speculates that the poker site could shut its doors permanently soon.

PartyPoker Relents To Player Protest
After a successful player protest, PartyPoker has announced they will keep their rake caps unchanged but will proceed with the switch to ‘weighted contribution’ rake calculation method.

FTP Shortfall Even Bigger
Previously, the amount of funds that Full Tilt Poker had never collected from players who they had credited deposits to was estimated at $60 million. According to new reports, that number is actually $128 million, very near the believed amount the poker site currently owes players.

Nevada Online Gaming Regulations
Writers review the proposed Nevada gambling regulation amendments that were released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board to regulate online poker.

DoJ Continues Online Poker Pursuit
A forum writer claims to have information from a family member who works for the Office of Enforcement Operations. The writer suggests that the United States Department of Justice is still actively and aggressively pursuing online poker sites. The online site he specifically mentions is Sportsbook.com on the Merge Gaming Network.

Reexamining The Question Of Rigged
Blogger Steven Ruddock discussed the idea of online poker rigged in a blog on August 1st, 2010. He now takes another look at this subject.

Ad Ban Helped Paddy Power
Peter Marcus of Rock Consulting talks about how the use of getting ads banned in certain areas can actually turn to benefit the advertiser. He points out that ads banned by the UK ASA for trivial reasons can increase publicity, and some sites actually use that to their advantage.

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WPT Legends of Poker 2011 Day 2

The starting field of 340 players has been cut down to 99 survivors on day 2 of the season X World Poker Tour Legends of Poker event at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardes, California.

Ken Aldrigde has taken the lead with 659,500 in chips, only 1,500 more than his closest competitor Cody Slaubaugh, who has taken the third place by the chip count on day 1a. The third place goes to Will “The Thrill” Failla with 550,500 in chips.

J.C. Tran, who has started the day with the chip lead, has lost almost 90,000 in chips, is now standing with 176,500. His food friend Nam Le unfortunately was not able to finish the day.

Out of the notable players who have advanced to day 3 were Allen Kessler, Ray Henson, Alec Torelli, Dan O’Brien, Gavin Smith and Dwyte Pilgrim. The most notable players who have hit the rail on day 2 were Ali Eslami, Scott Clements, Andy Frankenberger and Barry Greenstein.

Top ten by the chip count after day 2:
1st – Ken Aldridge – 659,500c
2nd – Cody Slaubaugh – 658,000c
3rd – Will “The Thrill” Failla – 550,500c
4th – Matt Berkey – 502,000c
5th – Tom Braband – 482,000c
6th – Saifuddin Ahmad – 465,000c
7th – David Tuthill – 464,000c
8th – Ray Henson – 454,500c
9th – James Carroll – 450,000c
10th – Brent Hanks – 430,000c

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Daily Online Poker News 28-08-2011

Battle For Second Place Continues
PartyPoker has retaken the second place ranking on PokerScout from the iPoker Network. The poker network obtained second place standing last week, but now averages about 150 fewer real cash players than Party Poker.

Poker Is Horse Racing
A writer believes that the future of the online poker industry could closely mirror the shape of the horse racing industry in the United States. He points out how the horse racing industry currently handles various operations and how it would likely be that poker would have to deal with similar issues.

The Importance Of Preparation
A writer talks about the preparations he takes in order to play poker. He notes that with the experience that many players have, especially with online poker players, preparation is one of the most important aspects of the game.

Confidence In Online Operators Shaken
Online gambling companies are putting every effort to assure players and potential players that their operations are safe and secure. Worries over funding and security have become top priority when the US Department of Justice cracked down on the top three online poker companies.

N.J. Legislation Due In August
According to a New Jersey radio station, new legislation that would legalize and regulate the online gaming industry in New Jersey is due to be released on Thursday, August 25th.

New Poker Show The Rail
Sky Poker has launched a new show called The Rail. The show will cover events in the poker industry and be produced on a weekly schedule.

WPT Regional Summer Splash
Brian Hastings has just won the $2,200 buy-in World Poker Tour Regional Summer Splash Event at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. He overcame a field of 391 players over four days to the take the title and $213,877 payout.

APAT WCOAP Set To Begin
The Amateur Poker Association and Tour World Championship of Amateur Poker is set to begin on Thursday, August 25th at the Dusk Til Dawn club in Nottingham, England.

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WPT Legends of Poker 2011 Day 1B

Another 435 players have joined for day 1b of the season X World Poker Tour Legends of Poker event at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardes, California. Out of the 181 players who were eliminated on day 1a, 116 of them reentered the tournament on day 1b. The total players field of 757 players has made a total prize pool of $2,570,015 with $758,085 set aside for the eventuall champion.

Although being late for the tournament, J.C. Tran made the best out of it, taking the top spot of the day with 265,000 in chips. The second place goes to an unknown player with 189,600 in chips and Gary Miles took the third spot by the chip count with 177,300 in chips.

Kathy Liebert, Tony Dunst, Jennifer Tilly and Justin Young reentered the tournament but all of them were not able to finish the day with chips in their bags, as all of them hit the rail, loosing $7,000 in two days.

Day 2 will start off with 340 players surviving the first two registration days.

Top ten by the chip count after day 1b:
1st – J.C. Tran – 265,000c
2nd – Unknown – 189,600c
3rd – Gary Miles – 177,300c
4th – Michael Woo – 167,000c
5th – Paul Lieu – 148,000c
6th – Marek Uharcek – 146,100c
7th – Andrew Taylor – 142,000c
8th – Michael Winnett – 139,200c
9th – Owen Crowe – 138,500c
10th – Henry So – 136,800c

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Daily Online Poker News 27-08-2011

Gabe Kaplan Returns Some Money
According to a report, Gabe Kaplan has given back nearly half the money he won at the alleged illegal high stakes Hollywood poker game.

No Significant Interest For November 9
Considering the volatility of the American economy, the World Series of Poker decided to play it safe with the $21.1 million in winnings waiting for the ‘November Nine’. This means that while the funds have the maximum security it is not likely to see any significant interest.

Reid Bullish On Online Poker
Staff members for Senator Harry Reid have responded to inquiries from the Las Vegas Review Journal stating that Internet poker legislation will get done. Reid staffers emphasized that the legislation will benefit Nevada.

More Barton Bill Backers
Bill HR2366, submitted by Rep. Joe Barton, received another 5 co-sponsors bringing the total number of supporters up to 25.

Federal US Online Gambling
An article claims that ‘a source’ is expecting regulated online gambling by the end of next year. The source believes the only point of contention will be how the regulations will take shape and whom it will favour.

Online Gambling Gives Money
CNBC believes that the current fiscal situation for many places in the United States may provide the biggest motivation to regulate online gambling. The movement may also find some challenges as the jurisdiction for online gambling might be disputed by the US Federal government and the Department of Justice.

N.Y. Times Features Online Gambling
The New York Times has published a feature on the future of online gambling in the United States. The paper prominently features gambling expert Professor I. Nelson Rose and his thoughts on the direction of the industry.

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