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2006/12/07
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A recent article in the New York post business news is suggesting that investors of all stripes are looking to cash in on the online poker trend hitting the world wide web. The upset caused by the US Department of Justice crackdown on Full Tilt and others doesn’t seem to have deterred the enthusiasm for the game.
Caesars Entertainment, one of the world's iconic giant casino operators, became the latest power player to make a move filing the papers to go public recently.
The headline for the article says that the smart money is betting Washington will legalize online poker. The larger gambling firms are positioning themselves be ready with all the right tools when the lucrative activity finally gets the nod from the Feds.
Rumours from sources reportedly close to the action on Capitol Hill are indicating the trend that lawmakers are considering new laws because online poker is presenting itself as a “revenue enhancer” in the congressional super committee proposal to reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.5 trillion.
Other indicators of the possibility of legal online poker in the USA are the moves by MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming, which on Oct. 31 separately announced agreements with bwin.party digital entertainment to develop online poker sites and real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, has teamed with Avenue Capital to launch an online poker site. Morgan Stanley has estimated legal online gambling would generate $14 billion annually and if taxed at 25 percent, the Treasury Department and individual states which will have the option to participate or not would share the $3.5 billion gain.
As with all political situations timing and support dictate the outcome of proposed change. It is widely believed that Congress will not pass any controversial bill during the 2012 presidential election year. Advocates for change are leaving their positions either by choice or by election and it may be by next year the tide may turn negative once again.
Caesars Entertainment, one of the world's iconic giant casino operators, became the latest power player to make a move filing the papers to go public recently.
The headline for the article says that the smart money is betting Washington will legalize online poker. The larger gambling firms are positioning themselves be ready with all the right tools when the lucrative activity finally gets the nod from the Feds.
Rumours from sources reportedly close to the action on Capitol Hill are indicating the trend that lawmakers are considering new laws because online poker is presenting itself as a “revenue enhancer” in the congressional super committee proposal to reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.5 trillion.
Other indicators of the possibility of legal online poker in the USA are the moves by MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming, which on Oct. 31 separately announced agreements with bwin.party digital entertainment to develop online poker sites and real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, has teamed with Avenue Capital to launch an online poker site. Morgan Stanley has estimated legal online gambling would generate $14 billion annually and if taxed at 25 percent, the Treasury Department and individual states which will have the option to participate or not would share the $3.5 billion gain.
As with all political situations timing and support dictate the outcome of proposed change. It is widely believed that Congress will not pass any controversial bill during the 2012 presidential election year. Advocates for change are leaving their positions either by choice or by election and it may be by next year the tide may turn negative once again.
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2006/12/07
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29893
Chris Moneymaker is becoming a familiar face in the poker room at Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, helped to open the casino's poker room when he participated in a $25,000 tournament in mid-October.
He'll be back Dec. 14 and 15.
Moneymaker will participate in a $15,750 tournament Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. and a $5,000 cash game on Dec. 15 at 8 p.m.
Moneymaker, 35, who lives in Memphis, Tenn., became a household name in the poker world when he won the 2003 World Series of Poker and its $2.5 million top prize. He has a contract with the Erie casino to visit at least every other month, he said in a prior interview.
Fred Buro, Presque Isle Downs' president, said in a statement that the casino considers Moneymaker a "great ambassador'' for the game.
Christine Stacey, the casino's poker room manager, said in prepared remarks that Moneymaker's "presence made all the difference during our grand opening, and our players can't wait for his return.''
Registration for the tournament will begin Friday at 10 a.m. and is limited to 90 poker players. It requires a $200 buy-in, the minimum amount of chips that must be bought to get into the tournament.
However, gamblers can win a seat at the Dec. 14 main event tournament by placing first or second at each table during a series of "satellite'' tournaments that started Thursday.
On Dec. 15, Moneymaker and nine other players each will be given $200 for a no limit hold 'em poker game.
Four gamblers with the most hours of poker play at the casino from Nov. 11 at midnight through Dec. 14 at 11:59 p.m. automatically will be awarded a seat at the cash game featuring Moneymaker. The other players will get a seat through a drawing.
Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, helped to open the casino's poker room when he participated in a $25,000 tournament in mid-October.
He'll be back Dec. 14 and 15.
Moneymaker will participate in a $15,750 tournament Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. and a $5,000 cash game on Dec. 15 at 8 p.m.
Moneymaker, 35, who lives in Memphis, Tenn., became a household name in the poker world when he won the 2003 World Series of Poker and its $2.5 million top prize. He has a contract with the Erie casino to visit at least every other month, he said in a prior interview.
Fred Buro, Presque Isle Downs' president, said in a statement that the casino considers Moneymaker a "great ambassador'' for the game.
Christine Stacey, the casino's poker room manager, said in prepared remarks that Moneymaker's "presence made all the difference during our grand opening, and our players can't wait for his return.''
Registration for the tournament will begin Friday at 10 a.m. and is limited to 90 poker players. It requires a $200 buy-in, the minimum amount of chips that must be bought to get into the tournament.
However, gamblers can win a seat at the Dec. 14 main event tournament by placing first or second at each table during a series of "satellite'' tournaments that started Thursday.
On Dec. 15, Moneymaker and nine other players each will be given $200 for a no limit hold 'em poker game.
Four gamblers with the most hours of poker play at the casino from Nov. 11 at midnight through Dec. 14 at 11:59 p.m. automatically will be awarded a seat at the cash game featuring Moneymaker. The other players will get a seat through a drawing.
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2006/12/07
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29893
Over the last two years, Goa’s floating casinos have embraced poker rooms and hosted tournaments that seem to be getting more and more popular. The passion of their players and the work of local poker tournament organisers have led to the region developing a name for itself in the poker community. As India wakes up to the worldwide poker boom, international poker brands were sure to follow…
That’s exactly what happened when the Asian Poker Tour held the inaugural APT Asian Series Goa tournament at Casino Royale Goa on November 8-14, 2011. As the first international poker tour to hold a stop in India, the APT Asian Series Goa Main Event attracted a record-setting 158 entries – the most amount seen in a poker tournament in India. While it’s not a huge number compared to other APT events held in Macau and the Philippines, it does signal the rise of poker in a country where just a few years ago you couldn’t even find a legal game.
At the start of the tournament, Asian Poker Tour CEO Jeff Mann, commented, “We are extremely pleased with the player turnout for this first event of APT Asian Series Goa. Normally, local tournaments start in the evening so with a 4 PM start we were not sure of player participation, but we were overwhelmed by the amount of players from all over India that are here for APT week.”
The arrival of APT in India also brought players all the ceremony and glitz of a big poker tournament normally only witnessed in places like Las Vegas or Macau. A contingent of media were there covering the event and gorgeous APT models looking like they were straight out of a beauty pageant were on hand to help with official proceedings and add glamour to the scene.
Well-known overseas poker players also made the journey to Goa to participate in the tournament. Las Vegas poker pro Nam Le made an appearance. He has collected over USD $6 million in tournament prize money over the course of his career and clearly knows the feeling of winning life-changing amounts of money for just a few days of “work” on the felt of a poker table. It’s a feeling no doubt shared with two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Mel Judah, who was also there for APT Asian Series Goa. Judah was actually born in Kolkata, India but lives in Australia and has been playing poker all over the world for decades.
APT Asian Series Goa featured eight side events for a range of different player types. With names like “Greed” and “Head Hunter”, these one-day tournaments created a fresh batch of APT champions such as local player Aditya “Mastermind” Agarwal who bested a field of 78 players in Event #3.
However, the highlight of the week was the Main Event held over four days of play. India’s Sangeeth “Samohh” Mohan was the eventual victor after he defeated a tough final table that included China’s Cindy Wang, England’s Martin Elliot and the USA’s Nam Le who busted out in 6th place. At one stage, Mohan was down to just a small amount of chips but was able to claw his way back with successive double ups and go on to bust out the last four players of the tournament. The man who came closest to stopping Mohan was fellow Indian player Sameer Rattonsey who was the chip leader coming into the final table and finished as runner-up to Mohan.
In an interview after the event, Mohan said, “I was really excited when I came in today and I think I played the best poker of my life… In such a big tournament everyone is playing scared and you can kind of use that to your advantage.”
Mohan became the first Indian player to win an APT Main Event title and will likely inspire his fellow countrymen to do the same when the APT returns for another Goa tournament in May 2012.
That’s exactly what happened when the Asian Poker Tour held the inaugural APT Asian Series Goa tournament at Casino Royale Goa on November 8-14, 2011. As the first international poker tour to hold a stop in India, the APT Asian Series Goa Main Event attracted a record-setting 158 entries – the most amount seen in a poker tournament in India. While it’s not a huge number compared to other APT events held in Macau and the Philippines, it does signal the rise of poker in a country where just a few years ago you couldn’t even find a legal game.
At the start of the tournament, Asian Poker Tour CEO Jeff Mann, commented, “We are extremely pleased with the player turnout for this first event of APT Asian Series Goa. Normally, local tournaments start in the evening so with a 4 PM start we were not sure of player participation, but we were overwhelmed by the amount of players from all over India that are here for APT week.”
The arrival of APT in India also brought players all the ceremony and glitz of a big poker tournament normally only witnessed in places like Las Vegas or Macau. A contingent of media were there covering the event and gorgeous APT models looking like they were straight out of a beauty pageant were on hand to help with official proceedings and add glamour to the scene.
Well-known overseas poker players also made the journey to Goa to participate in the tournament. Las Vegas poker pro Nam Le made an appearance. He has collected over USD $6 million in tournament prize money over the course of his career and clearly knows the feeling of winning life-changing amounts of money for just a few days of “work” on the felt of a poker table. It’s a feeling no doubt shared with two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Mel Judah, who was also there for APT Asian Series Goa. Judah was actually born in Kolkata, India but lives in Australia and has been playing poker all over the world for decades.
APT Asian Series Goa featured eight side events for a range of different player types. With names like “Greed” and “Head Hunter”, these one-day tournaments created a fresh batch of APT champions such as local player Aditya “Mastermind” Agarwal who bested a field of 78 players in Event #3.
However, the highlight of the week was the Main Event held over four days of play. India’s Sangeeth “Samohh” Mohan was the eventual victor after he defeated a tough final table that included China’s Cindy Wang, England’s Martin Elliot and the USA’s Nam Le who busted out in 6th place. At one stage, Mohan was down to just a small amount of chips but was able to claw his way back with successive double ups and go on to bust out the last four players of the tournament. The man who came closest to stopping Mohan was fellow Indian player Sameer Rattonsey who was the chip leader coming into the final table and finished as runner-up to Mohan.
In an interview after the event, Mohan said, “I was really excited when I came in today and I think I played the best poker of my life… In such a big tournament everyone is playing scared and you can kind of use that to your advantage.”
Mohan became the first Indian player to win an APT Main Event title and will likely inspire his fellow countrymen to do the same when the APT returns for another Goa tournament in May 2012.
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2006/12/07
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29893
The Guinness world record in the number of people simultaneously starting an online poker game was broken in Prague yesterday when 200,000 players joined an online tournament, including the best-known Czech player Martin Staszko, who came second in the world series in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.
Prague, Dec 4 (CTK) - The Guinness world record in the number of people simultaneously starting to play poker online was beaten in Prague yesterday when 200,000 players joined an online tournament, including the best-known Czech player Martin Staszko, who ended second in the world series in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.
As from Monday, Staszko will be taking part in the prestigious European Poker Tour in Prague.
yesterday's tournament has been staged by the online game centre PokerStars to mark its tenth birthday.
"There could be even more players in it, the tournament was sold out before it started, but technical limits prevent their number from crossing 200,000," Ondrej Drebota said on behalf of the organisers.
The online tournament will probably end only on Monday morning.
The European Poker Tour will take place in Prague's Hilton Hotel from Monday to Saturday.
Staszko, 35, who won an equivalent to 98 million crowns as he world series' runner-up a month ago, is the second Czech in the PokerStars PRO professional team, after experienced Martin Hruby.
($1=18.647 crowns)
Prague, Dec 4 (CTK) - The Guinness world record in the number of people simultaneously starting to play poker online was beaten in Prague yesterday when 200,000 players joined an online tournament, including the best-known Czech player Martin Staszko, who ended second in the world series in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.
As from Monday, Staszko will be taking part in the prestigious European Poker Tour in Prague.
yesterday's tournament has been staged by the online game centre PokerStars to mark its tenth birthday.
"There could be even more players in it, the tournament was sold out before it started, but technical limits prevent their number from crossing 200,000," Ondrej Drebota said on behalf of the organisers.
The online tournament will probably end only on Monday morning.
The European Poker Tour will take place in Prague's Hilton Hotel from Monday to Saturday.
Staszko, 35, who won an equivalent to 98 million crowns as he world series' runner-up a month ago, is the second Czech in the PokerStars PRO professional team, after experienced Martin Hruby.
($1=18.647 crowns)
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
888, one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment providers, was awarded Poker Operator of the Year at the seventh annual eGaming Review Operator Awards ceremony, which took place in London on November 30th.
888poker's commitment to the new "we play different" strategy and focus on customer experience and product innovation, with industry first technology, has proven to be a winning combination with a reported leading 122% increase in liquidity of active players year over year.
Over the past year 888poker has introduced one click easy to use beginners lobby, crisp and engaging graphics including 3D, tool tips and tutorial videos, webcam table technology, team tournament options and private games that give players a unique social platform to play with old and new friends.
The eGR Awards reward the top performing operators in the gaming industry. 888 was shortlisted for several rewards, including Affiliate Programme of the Year, Casino Operator of the Year, Innovation in Gaming, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Poker Operator of the Year and Operator of the Year.
888.com representatives stated, "Winning the EGR Poker Operator of the Year is a great honour and reflection of a phenomenal year for 888poker. We are committed to continuously enhance the playability at 888poker in order to give our consumers a poker offering that meets their needs, that's intuitive, simple and stands out from the crowd."
About 888
888 is one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers
Founded in 1997, 888 has been at the forefront of the online gaming industry for over a decade
888.com offers a comprehensive gaming experience - including casino, poker, bingo and sports betting - through a number of leading brands in regulated markets around the world
888.com can be used in 22 different languages in 176 countries worldwide
888 is committed to an industry leading corporate and social responsibility programme, and provides a safe, fun, fair, regulated and secure gaming environment
888 is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange
888poker's commitment to the new "we play different" strategy and focus on customer experience and product innovation, with industry first technology, has proven to be a winning combination with a reported leading 122% increase in liquidity of active players year over year.
Over the past year 888poker has introduced one click easy to use beginners lobby, crisp and engaging graphics including 3D, tool tips and tutorial videos, webcam table technology, team tournament options and private games that give players a unique social platform to play with old and new friends.
The eGR Awards reward the top performing operators in the gaming industry. 888 was shortlisted for several rewards, including Affiliate Programme of the Year, Casino Operator of the Year, Innovation in Gaming, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Poker Operator of the Year and Operator of the Year.
888.com representatives stated, "Winning the EGR Poker Operator of the Year is a great honour and reflection of a phenomenal year for 888poker. We are committed to continuously enhance the playability at 888poker in order to give our consumers a poker offering that meets their needs, that's intuitive, simple and stands out from the crowd."
About 888
888 is one of the world's most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions providers
Founded in 1997, 888 has been at the forefront of the online gaming industry for over a decade
888.com offers a comprehensive gaming experience - including casino, poker, bingo and sports betting - through a number of leading brands in regulated markets around the world
888.com can be used in 22 different languages in 176 countries worldwide
888 is committed to an industry leading corporate and social responsibility programme, and provides a safe, fun, fair, regulated and secure gaming environment
888 is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
Again and again players at certain online poker web sites have entrusted their personal information and found that their data had been leaked to outside sources. The latest news to come from various online gambling news sources has made it clear that some of these operators can not be trusted any longer. Ultimate Bet’s latest breach of its security has revealed , that player’s account information had been publicly posted on the internet. As many as 3.5 million poker players personal account information was leaked.
The link to the account information was made via an anonymous posting, and was removed only eight minutes after it went up. Even during that short public interval people identified the link and passed the information around.
The data leaked included the player’s name and screen name; birth date; email, mailing and IP addresses; phone number; deposit methods typically used; VIP, affiliate and blacklist statuses; account balance; and players’ Ultimate Bet account numbers, but not bank account numbers thankfully.
Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, together constitute the Cereus Network have been all but defunct since the U.S. Department of Justice’s actions that seized their domains and much of their assets. Since then most of the players have not been able to cash out, while some overseas non U.S. poker players have been able to withdraw small amounts.
It has been speculated that between the two poker rooms as much as $54 million dollars is owed to the players. Between the two firms it has been suggested that only ten percent of that huge amount is available. Recently the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, where the Cereus Network, is licensed to operate issued an announcement indicating the Cereus Network would liquidate assets to pay the players. Only Ultimate Bet members were affected by the data leak and they are warning those affected to be vigilant of strange phone calls or other uncalled for solicitations.
The link to the account information was made via an anonymous posting, and was removed only eight minutes after it went up. Even during that short public interval people identified the link and passed the information around.
The data leaked included the player’s name and screen name; birth date; email, mailing and IP addresses; phone number; deposit methods typically used; VIP, affiliate and blacklist statuses; account balance; and players’ Ultimate Bet account numbers, but not bank account numbers thankfully.
Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, together constitute the Cereus Network have been all but defunct since the U.S. Department of Justice’s actions that seized their domains and much of their assets. Since then most of the players have not been able to cash out, while some overseas non U.S. poker players have been able to withdraw small amounts.
It has been speculated that between the two poker rooms as much as $54 million dollars is owed to the players. Between the two firms it has been suggested that only ten percent of that huge amount is available. Recently the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, where the Cereus Network, is licensed to operate issued an announcement indicating the Cereus Network would liquidate assets to pay the players. Only Ultimate Bet members were affected by the data leak and they are warning those affected to be vigilant of strange phone calls or other uncalled for solicitations.
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2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
World Series of Poker officials said Monday that 22 players have committed to putting up $1 million each to buy into the most expensive card tournament ever -- enough to make it an official bracelet tournament that counts toward series earnings and title records.
WSOP spokesman Seth Palansky told The Associated Press on Monday that seven more players would make the tournament's top prize the richest ever, beyond the $12 million Jamie Gold won for beating out 8,772 opponents in the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event in 2006.
At 22 players, the top prize is $8.89 million, $173,000 more than German player Pius Heinz won for winning the main event last month. If the tournament's top prize passes the amount generated at the 2006 main event, its winner likely will shoot instantly to the top of the series' all-time money list.
Poker icon Doyle Brunson topped 21 opponents in 1976 to win the main event for $220,000, and tournament officials later adopted the tournament's field size as the minimum future events would need to be counted in records.
The $1 million buy-in includes an 11 percent charity donation but doesn't include the typical 10 percent rake series officials keep in fees for hosting the tournament. The charity, Montreal-based non-governmental organization One Drop, is led by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who is organizing the tournament.
Committed entrants include a who's who of names famous in poker and in the gambling industry. Poker professionals who have said they will enter include Daniel Negreanu, Tom Dwan, Johnny Chan and Jonathan Duhamel.
MGM Resorts International executive Bobby Baldwin, a four-time gold bracelet winner who won the main event in 1978, and billionaire Treasure Island casino owner Phil Ruffin also have said they'll play.
WSOP spokesman Seth Palansky told The Associated Press on Monday that seven more players would make the tournament's top prize the richest ever, beyond the $12 million Jamie Gold won for beating out 8,772 opponents in the no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event in 2006.
At 22 players, the top prize is $8.89 million, $173,000 more than German player Pius Heinz won for winning the main event last month. If the tournament's top prize passes the amount generated at the 2006 main event, its winner likely will shoot instantly to the top of the series' all-time money list.
Poker icon Doyle Brunson topped 21 opponents in 1976 to win the main event for $220,000, and tournament officials later adopted the tournament's field size as the minimum future events would need to be counted in records.
The $1 million buy-in includes an 11 percent charity donation but doesn't include the typical 10 percent rake series officials keep in fees for hosting the tournament. The charity, Montreal-based non-governmental organization One Drop, is led by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who is organizing the tournament.
Committed entrants include a who's who of names famous in poker and in the gambling industry. Poker professionals who have said they will enter include Daniel Negreanu, Tom Dwan, Johnny Chan and Jonathan Duhamel.
MGM Resorts International executive Bobby Baldwin, a four-time gold bracelet winner who won the main event in 1978, and billionaire Treasure Island casino owner Phil Ruffin also have said they'll play.
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2006/12/07
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29893
MGM Resorts International has filed lawsuits against two companies and four individuals it accuses of trademark infringement by registering domain names for poker websites that use the names of several MGM-owned casinos in Las Vegas.
The domain names of a few of the websites were registered many years ago in 2002 and 2005. MGM Resorts is apparently thinking ahead regarding online poker becoming legalized in the United States and is attempting to avoid any cyberspace confusion about ownership of the poker sites.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Las Vegas listed seven sites that MGM believes is infringing on its domain, which are: circuscircuspoker.com, bellagioonlinepoker.com, luxorpoker.com, excaliburpoker.com, ariapoker.com, mgmpoker.com and mandalaybayonlinepoker.com.
According to the lawsuit, the MGM casino names are well-recognized because MGM Resorts doled out billions of dollars in promoting and advertising the land-based casinos over a period of many years, and the six defendants are attempting to capitalize on MGM’s investment. The individuals and companies who registered the names did so with the intention of profiting from the “substantial fame, goodwill and consumer recognition” of the casinos.
“The defendants have or have had a bad faith intent to profit from their registration of the domain names,” the lawsuit charges, and alleges that the defendants have committed either “cybersquatting,” which is known as using the trademarks of others to profit online, or have fully infringed on the trademark, or are possibly guilty of both infractions.
“The defendants have done nothing more than tack on the descriptive terms ‘poker’ or ‘online poker’ to each of the MGM marks to form the domain names. Accordingly, there is no question that the domain names are confusingly similar to the MGM marks,” said MGM Resorts’ attorneys from the firm of Lewis and Roca LLP, in a legal document requesting the judge to order the defendants to temporarily restrain from the usage of the names.
The named defendants in the legal action are:
Shahram Kolahzadeh, said to be a Zimbabwe resident who allegedly registered ariapoker.com.
Evan Krentzman of Woodland Hills, Calif., the alleged registrant of bellagioonlinepoker.com.
Roberto Ciamillo, residing in Shelby Township, Mich., the alleged owner of circuscircuspoker.com.
Adam Majewski, from McKinney, Texas, named as the alleged registrant of excaliburpoker.com.
PokerSons, a London-based company that allegedly registered mgmpoker.com and luxorpoker.com.
RevNet, a Hackensack, N.J. entity, alleged to own mandalaybayonlinepoker.com.
Earlier this year, MGM forged a partnership with land-based casino company Boyd Gaming Corp., and Bwin.party, which operates Party Poker, aimed at entering the U.S. online poker market if, and when, legislation is enacted that will permit online poker in America.
Under the agreement, the U.S. casinos and the Gibraltar-based Bwin.party will each have a stake in brand new online poker companies that would offer online gaming under the name of PartyPoker and additional brand names. The deal will create a new entity that divides ownership by giving a 65 percent stake to Bwin.party, 25 percent to MGM, and Boyd Gaming receiving a share of ten percent. Boyd and MGM will use Bwin.party’s software to run online poker sites featuring their own brand names.
The domain names of a few of the websites were registered many years ago in 2002 and 2005. MGM Resorts is apparently thinking ahead regarding online poker becoming legalized in the United States and is attempting to avoid any cyberspace confusion about ownership of the poker sites.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Las Vegas listed seven sites that MGM believes is infringing on its domain, which are: circuscircuspoker.com, bellagioonlinepoker.com, luxorpoker.com, excaliburpoker.com, ariapoker.com, mgmpoker.com and mandalaybayonlinepoker.com.
According to the lawsuit, the MGM casino names are well-recognized because MGM Resorts doled out billions of dollars in promoting and advertising the land-based casinos over a period of many years, and the six defendants are attempting to capitalize on MGM’s investment. The individuals and companies who registered the names did so with the intention of profiting from the “substantial fame, goodwill and consumer recognition” of the casinos.
“The defendants have or have had a bad faith intent to profit from their registration of the domain names,” the lawsuit charges, and alleges that the defendants have committed either “cybersquatting,” which is known as using the trademarks of others to profit online, or have fully infringed on the trademark, or are possibly guilty of both infractions.
“The defendants have done nothing more than tack on the descriptive terms ‘poker’ or ‘online poker’ to each of the MGM marks to form the domain names. Accordingly, there is no question that the domain names are confusingly similar to the MGM marks,” said MGM Resorts’ attorneys from the firm of Lewis and Roca LLP, in a legal document requesting the judge to order the defendants to temporarily restrain from the usage of the names.
The named defendants in the legal action are:
Shahram Kolahzadeh, said to be a Zimbabwe resident who allegedly registered ariapoker.com.
Evan Krentzman of Woodland Hills, Calif., the alleged registrant of bellagioonlinepoker.com.
Roberto Ciamillo, residing in Shelby Township, Mich., the alleged owner of circuscircuspoker.com.
Adam Majewski, from McKinney, Texas, named as the alleged registrant of excaliburpoker.com.
PokerSons, a London-based company that allegedly registered mgmpoker.com and luxorpoker.com.
RevNet, a Hackensack, N.J. entity, alleged to own mandalaybayonlinepoker.com.
Earlier this year, MGM forged a partnership with land-based casino company Boyd Gaming Corp., and Bwin.party, which operates Party Poker, aimed at entering the U.S. online poker market if, and when, legislation is enacted that will permit online poker in America.
Under the agreement, the U.S. casinos and the Gibraltar-based Bwin.party will each have a stake in brand new online poker companies that would offer online gaming under the name of PartyPoker and additional brand names. The deal will create a new entity that divides ownership by giving a 65 percent stake to Bwin.party, 25 percent to MGM, and Boyd Gaming receiving a share of ten percent. Boyd and MGM will use Bwin.party’s software to run online poker sites featuring their own brand names.
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2006/12/07
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29893
Intertops Poker has begun its 26-day Endurance Challenge and a month of extraordinary holiday giveaways and poker tournaments. Until December 27th Intertops Poker players will be earn cash prizes and New Years Day Free Roll entries just by accumulating Frequent Player Points.
Endurance Challenge Points Race
It’s all about Points -- but Intertops players earn Points quickly as they play. Playing as few as five days can qualify for the $750 New Years Day Free Roll and more frequent players can win more cash and entry in the $1000 or $1500 free roll, also on New Years Day. No registration is required. Players automatically earn points as they play and wager and can check their standings any time on the FPP Scoreboard.
$50,000 Gold Card Tournament Series
As a thank you to players that have been with them through the last year, Intertops is wrapping up 2011 with a $50,000 Gold Card Tournament Series -- a push towards the ring games for players with an eye on a seat in the exclusive Gold Card Wrap-Up Finals.
Gold Cards will hit ring game tables at triple the speed on Turbo Tuesdays through December. Daily Gold Chip MTT’s will offer seats to Intertops’ biggest guarantees.
Intertops was one of the first online casino, poker and sportsbook sites on the internet and has been trusted by players around the world for more than fifteen years. They take pride in their friendly customer service and their reputation for hassle-free deposits and withdrawals.
Endurance Challenge Points Race
It’s all about Points -- but Intertops players earn Points quickly as they play. Playing as few as five days can qualify for the $750 New Years Day Free Roll and more frequent players can win more cash and entry in the $1000 or $1500 free roll, also on New Years Day. No registration is required. Players automatically earn points as they play and wager and can check their standings any time on the FPP Scoreboard.
$50,000 Gold Card Tournament Series
As a thank you to players that have been with them through the last year, Intertops is wrapping up 2011 with a $50,000 Gold Card Tournament Series -- a push towards the ring games for players with an eye on a seat in the exclusive Gold Card Wrap-Up Finals.
Gold Cards will hit ring game tables at triple the speed on Turbo Tuesdays through December. Daily Gold Chip MTT’s will offer seats to Intertops’ biggest guarantees.
Intertops was one of the first online casino, poker and sportsbook sites on the internet and has been trusted by players around the world for more than fifteen years. They take pride in their friendly customer service and their reputation for hassle-free deposits and withdrawals.
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2006/12/07
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We've not gotten a full update on who won what, but the Harrah's Atlantic City stop on the World Series of Poker Circuit is in full swing and Richard Smith has already beaten a field of over 700 other players to take the top spot in Event #1, a $300(+45) No Limit Hold 'Em tournament with a prize pool of $204,864 that paid out the top 72 players. Smith hails from Warrenton, VA and is a 22-year-old part-time poker player. He earned $41,995 in prize money for the victory, securing his biggest victory ever at the tables.
Second place went to John Johnston, a 32-year-old trainer from Howard Beach, NY. He held up remarkably well over two days of poker but Smith's unrelenting aggressiveness finally put the poker part-timer down. He got $25,987 for his play, though, which is a nice enough consolation prize.
Harrah's Atlantic City is a big part of the WSOP Circuit. It was the first casino to host a tournament for the event back in 2005 and since then has proven to be a popular stop. indeed. It’s one of only four Caesars properties to host a WSOP Circuit stop during all eight seasons – the other casinos being Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego), Harrah’s New Orleans, and Harvey’s Lake Tahoe.
With his victory, Smith moves into the top spot as the early leader in this WSOP Circuit stop's "Best All-Around Player" standings. The player who accumulates the most overall points in Atlantic City’s twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas next May. At least two players from this tournament series are going to qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is classified as a WSOP gold bracelet event. The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of Harrah’s Atlantic City’s Main Event championship.
Second place went to John Johnston, a 32-year-old trainer from Howard Beach, NY. He held up remarkably well over two days of poker but Smith's unrelenting aggressiveness finally put the poker part-timer down. He got $25,987 for his play, though, which is a nice enough consolation prize.
Harrah's Atlantic City is a big part of the WSOP Circuit. It was the first casino to host a tournament for the event back in 2005 and since then has proven to be a popular stop. indeed. It’s one of only four Caesars properties to host a WSOP Circuit stop during all eight seasons – the other casinos being Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego), Harrah’s New Orleans, and Harvey’s Lake Tahoe.
With his victory, Smith moves into the top spot as the early leader in this WSOP Circuit stop's "Best All-Around Player" standings. The player who accumulates the most overall points in Atlantic City’s twelve combined gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in Las Vegas next May. At least two players from this tournament series are going to qualify for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, which is classified as a WSOP gold bracelet event. The other automatic qualifier will be the winner of Harrah’s Atlantic City’s Main Event championship.
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2006/12/07
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Two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Jesper ‘Kipster’ Hougaard has been signed up by European online poker room Bet24 as their team captain.
Jesper Hougaard is just the latest in a long line of pros to sign a deal with online poker websites – and should prove a quality additional to their roster following his success at the 2008 WSOP when he picked up $610,304 for winning event #36, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, as well as £144,218 for securing the first event, a £1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, at the WSOP Europe in London the same year.
Primarily a cash game player, the Danish star has also enjoyed great success at other tournaments, most notably online at PokerStars with two Sunday Million triumphs to take his total career earnings beyond the $2 million mark.
In fact, Hougaard, who turned pro back in 2007, is just one of a handful of players to succeed twice in the PokerStars Sunday Million, although he is primarily a Pot-Limit Omaha player.
The 29-year-old former table tennis international and coach to the Danish team – who is also a co-founder of Donkr.com, the Danish department of the international poker community – said: “I’m very excited to be signed by Bet24.com and I’m sure that, with me as team captain (at) Bet24, I can be a great ambassador to make Bet24.com the leading betting company and the natural choice for poker players in Denmark after the legislation. It feels very good to be on the winning team.”
The Copenhagen-based Hougaard, with 10 cash finishes at the WSOP, will not officially join up at Bet24 until January 1 of next year, but will definitely be flying their flag at the €5,000+€300 main event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague that kicks off today.
Jesper Hougaard is just the latest in a long line of pros to sign a deal with online poker websites – and should prove a quality additional to their roster following his success at the 2008 WSOP when he picked up $610,304 for winning event #36, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, as well as £144,218 for securing the first event, a £1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, at the WSOP Europe in London the same year.
Primarily a cash game player, the Danish star has also enjoyed great success at other tournaments, most notably online at PokerStars with two Sunday Million triumphs to take his total career earnings beyond the $2 million mark.
In fact, Hougaard, who turned pro back in 2007, is just one of a handful of players to succeed twice in the PokerStars Sunday Million, although he is primarily a Pot-Limit Omaha player.
The 29-year-old former table tennis international and coach to the Danish team – who is also a co-founder of Donkr.com, the Danish department of the international poker community – said: “I’m very excited to be signed by Bet24.com and I’m sure that, with me as team captain (at) Bet24, I can be a great ambassador to make Bet24.com the leading betting company and the natural choice for poker players in Denmark after the legislation. It feels very good to be on the winning team.”
The Copenhagen-based Hougaard, with 10 cash finishes at the WSOP, will not officially join up at Bet24 until January 1 of next year, but will definitely be flying their flag at the €5,000+€300 main event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague that kicks off today.
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2006/12/07
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Andrey Pateychuk has just won the WPT Prague, after defeating a field of 586 players over five days to lift the title, and collect the €450,000 ($630,263) first place prize.
The 22 year-old Russian pro only cashed in at his first live tournament in May 2010, but with his latest victory in the Czech Republic now takes his live earnings to an impressive $2,119,612.
Pateychuk’s other accolades also include victory at the EPT San Remo for $975,470, and a 15th place finish at this year’s WSOP Main Event for $478,174. He has also amassed a further $229,035 playing online as “aangierr.”
As the WPT Prague final table got underway yesterday, Pateychuk was sitting in 3rd place out of the table of six. The short-stacks Russell Carson (6th for €63,000) and Sigur Eskeland (5th for €80,000) soon found themselves out and after Benjamin Pollak, too, exited in 4th (€104,000), Pateychuk was then able to wrestle the chip lead from German Stanislaw Kretz.
Pateychuk flopped a set of kings to win a big pot against the German before then cracking his pocket nines with A-6 to dispatch Kretz to the rail in 3rd (€158,000).
Pateychuk and Spanish player Adria Bagaleur then began the heads-up phase of the competition fairly even in chips. However, Pateychuk got off to a bad start after pushing his As-5s into Bagaleur’ pocket eights to go behind by a 10 to 1 chip count.
Nevertheless, Pateychuk kept on rallying back, including winning with A-6 against Bagaleur’ A-J and eventually had his opponent down to just 13BB when the final hand was played.
Bagaleur was dealt pocket queens and pushed his short-stack into Pateychuk’s A-5, who then rivered the wheel on a 4-7-9-3-2 board to relegate Adria Balaguer to a runner-up finish worth €238,000.
Meanwhile, Andrey Pateychuk picked-up the WPT title, €450,000 in prize money, as well as a WPT Championship seat worth $25,500.
The 22 year-old Russian pro only cashed in at his first live tournament in May 2010, but with his latest victory in the Czech Republic now takes his live earnings to an impressive $2,119,612.
Pateychuk’s other accolades also include victory at the EPT San Remo for $975,470, and a 15th place finish at this year’s WSOP Main Event for $478,174. He has also amassed a further $229,035 playing online as “aangierr.”
As the WPT Prague final table got underway yesterday, Pateychuk was sitting in 3rd place out of the table of six. The short-stacks Russell Carson (6th for €63,000) and Sigur Eskeland (5th for €80,000) soon found themselves out and after Benjamin Pollak, too, exited in 4th (€104,000), Pateychuk was then able to wrestle the chip lead from German Stanislaw Kretz.
Pateychuk flopped a set of kings to win a big pot against the German before then cracking his pocket nines with A-6 to dispatch Kretz to the rail in 3rd (€158,000).
Pateychuk and Spanish player Adria Bagaleur then began the heads-up phase of the competition fairly even in chips. However, Pateychuk got off to a bad start after pushing his As-5s into Bagaleur’ pocket eights to go behind by a 10 to 1 chip count.
Nevertheless, Pateychuk kept on rallying back, including winning with A-6 against Bagaleur’ A-J and eventually had his opponent down to just 13BB when the final hand was played.
Bagaleur was dealt pocket queens and pushed his short-stack into Pateychuk’s A-5, who then rivered the wheel on a 4-7-9-3-2 board to relegate Adria Balaguer to a runner-up finish worth €238,000.
Meanwhile, Andrey Pateychuk picked-up the WPT title, €450,000 in prize money, as well as a WPT Championship seat worth $25,500.
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2006/12/07
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The small online poker network called ‘Everleaf Gaming’ has moved to level the playing field at its virtual felts by restricting winning player’s access to certain ‘fishy’ cash games.
In a move designed to keep a “healthy player and financial balance within the card room,” any player now winning more than €750 in a week from the US friendly site’s cash games will be greeted with a pop up stating:
“You are not allowed to play on this table because your player rating is too high.”
However, each week on Sunday at 00:00 hours the timer resets itself to zero until a player then wins €750 and the whole process starts all over again.
Everleaf Gaming has 125 individual poker rooms with around 400 players on the network at any given time. In responding to the complaints made by winning player in light of the new system, one of the networks top poker rooms Minted Poker, stated:
“Less than 0.004% of the entire player pool [will be affected]…It is this 0.004% of the player pool that accounts for over 50% of the net win on the entire network.”
Likewise, he reiterated that 99.996% of the remaining player will enjoy easier games. In fact, as an extra precaution, if a poorly rated player attempts to sit at a table which has winning players, he, too, will be greeted with a pop-up stating:
“The rating of the table is higher than yours, do you really want to play on this table?”
For a few years now, it has been argued that recreational players and casual customers are the life-blood of the poker industry and that winning players were harming the quality of the games.
Bodog, for instance, has already banned the use of Data Mining and Hud‘s in order to protect their customers from more experienced players. The latest measures taken by Everleaf Gaming would seem to be in line with similar thinking.
In a move designed to keep a “healthy player and financial balance within the card room,” any player now winning more than €750 in a week from the US friendly site’s cash games will be greeted with a pop up stating:
“You are not allowed to play on this table because your player rating is too high.”
However, each week on Sunday at 00:00 hours the timer resets itself to zero until a player then wins €750 and the whole process starts all over again.
Everleaf Gaming has 125 individual poker rooms with around 400 players on the network at any given time. In responding to the complaints made by winning player in light of the new system, one of the networks top poker rooms Minted Poker, stated:
“Less than 0.004% of the entire player pool [will be affected]…It is this 0.004% of the player pool that accounts for over 50% of the net win on the entire network.”
Likewise, he reiterated that 99.996% of the remaining player will enjoy easier games. In fact, as an extra precaution, if a poorly rated player attempts to sit at a table which has winning players, he, too, will be greeted with a pop-up stating:
“The rating of the table is higher than yours, do you really want to play on this table?”
For a few years now, it has been argued that recreational players and casual customers are the life-blood of the poker industry and that winning players were harming the quality of the games.
Bodog, for instance, has already banned the use of Data Mining and Hud‘s in order to protect their customers from more experienced players. The latest measures taken by Everleaf Gaming would seem to be in line with similar thinking.
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
LAS VEGAS — A casino-backed group pushing for federal legislation to make online poker explicitly legal says regulating online card play nationwide won’t hurt state lotteries.
Fair Play USA released a data analysis on Tuesday that showed no correlation between spikes and dips in the online poker market with changes in revenues for state lotteries.
Eugene Christiansen, a founding partner with the firm that wrote the analysis, Christiansen Capital Advisors, LLC, said the data showed that poker and lottery games are fundamentally different. Poker isn’t a threat to the lottery, he said, comparing the games to different beverages like milk and wine. "Wine and milk satisfy different consumer appetites," Christiansen said. "Similarly, playing online poker and buying lottery tickets are fundamentally different forms of consumption. They really have nothing in common other than their legal status as gambling."
The analysis is in response to a report from a rival group that wants states to regulate and tax Internet gambling if it’s ever legalized, and for lotteries to offer the games. State-run lotteries are offered by 43 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Running online poker operations that allow players to gamble real money is illegal because of a 2006 law that prevents financial institutions from processing the transactions. That law didn’t stop thousands of players in the United States from playing anyway, until the U.S. Justice Department began cracking down on sites earlier this year, stopping play for the vast majority of players.
With the top sites out of the U.S. market, others in the gambling industry sense an opening and want to fill the void.
Major commercial casino companies, including Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International, back federal regulations of online poker, saying the Internet is a medium where gambling requires federal oversight rather than a patchwork of state laws.
The Public Gaming Research Institute, which opposes federal regulation of Internet gambling, says states would lose $1.4 billion in funding if online poker is allowed.
"With states facing more revenue shortfalls, a federal online poker initiative would exacerbate revenue shortfalls being faced by governors and legislatures in lottery states," the institute said in its October report.
Marisa McNee, executive director of Fair Play USA, said the group wants regulations that allow states to opt out if they don’t want their residents to be able to play poker online.
Paul Jason, CEO of the Public Gaming Research Institute, said Tuesday that the issue is about more than just the possible crossover between lottery and poker players.
"The Internet will be the organizing principle for all gaming, wagering and gambling in the future. Anyone attempting to compete in the broader industry, whether it be in casino gambling or lottery or whatever, must be a premier operator on the Internet," Jason said.
"The direct impact of lottery players migrating a portion of their spend over to (Internet) poker does not even scratch the surface of what this will mean to states and their lotteries."
Fair Play USA released a data analysis on Tuesday that showed no correlation between spikes and dips in the online poker market with changes in revenues for state lotteries.
Eugene Christiansen, a founding partner with the firm that wrote the analysis, Christiansen Capital Advisors, LLC, said the data showed that poker and lottery games are fundamentally different. Poker isn’t a threat to the lottery, he said, comparing the games to different beverages like milk and wine. "Wine and milk satisfy different consumer appetites," Christiansen said. "Similarly, playing online poker and buying lottery tickets are fundamentally different forms of consumption. They really have nothing in common other than their legal status as gambling."
The analysis is in response to a report from a rival group that wants states to regulate and tax Internet gambling if it’s ever legalized, and for lotteries to offer the games. State-run lotteries are offered by 43 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Running online poker operations that allow players to gamble real money is illegal because of a 2006 law that prevents financial institutions from processing the transactions. That law didn’t stop thousands of players in the United States from playing anyway, until the U.S. Justice Department began cracking down on sites earlier this year, stopping play for the vast majority of players.
With the top sites out of the U.S. market, others in the gambling industry sense an opening and want to fill the void.
Major commercial casino companies, including Caesars Entertainment Corp. and MGM Resorts International, back federal regulations of online poker, saying the Internet is a medium where gambling requires federal oversight rather than a patchwork of state laws.
The Public Gaming Research Institute, which opposes federal regulation of Internet gambling, says states would lose $1.4 billion in funding if online poker is allowed.
"With states facing more revenue shortfalls, a federal online poker initiative would exacerbate revenue shortfalls being faced by governors and legislatures in lottery states," the institute said in its October report.
Marisa McNee, executive director of Fair Play USA, said the group wants regulations that allow states to opt out if they don’t want their residents to be able to play poker online.
Paul Jason, CEO of the Public Gaming Research Institute, said Tuesday that the issue is about more than just the possible crossover between lottery and poker players.
"The Internet will be the organizing principle for all gaming, wagering and gambling in the future. Anyone attempting to compete in the broader industry, whether it be in casino gambling or lottery or whatever, must be a premier operator on the Internet," Jason said.
"The direct impact of lottery players migrating a portion of their spend over to (Internet) poker does not even scratch the surface of what this will mean to states and their lotteries."
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2006/12/07
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29893
An online poker bill out of the US Congress could send Elray Gaming, Inc, an online gaming company which is traded under the name Elray Resources, Inc (OTC:ELRA), higher as investors seek out plays that could benefit from any change in US gaming laws.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), whose proposed bill to legalize online poker which is currently before Congress, is optimistic that some form of internet poker legislation can be approved during this term in office. Rep. Barton recently commented, “Our whole strategy is to get something on the president’s desk this Congress, so we have 13 months to go”.
This news should have a very positive effect on casino, gaming, and online poker stocks as this news progresses from committee to the floor of Congress.
Online Gaming Stocks
When looking how to play possible legalization of online poker the obvious large cap plays come to mind, such as MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) and Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE:BYD).
Small Cap Online Gaming Play
For the more aggressive investor, one may want to take a look at Elray Gaming, Inc, an online gaming company which is traded under the name Elray Resources, Inc (OTC:ELRA). Although speculative, stocks such as these would have large upside potential on any news that the US Congress may legalize online poker. At a current price of only $0.005 ELRA may see it retest its March 2011 highs of around $0.07 per share, which would equate to nearly 1000% return from its current levels.
ELRA Forex Trading
Elray Gaming, a pure play online gambling turn-key stock, is also expected to expand its online gaming portfolio to now cover online Forex trading under its international footprint. In addition to its online casinos, and poker websites, Elray Gaming will expand its operations into currency trading, which trades around $4 trillion each day world-wide.
As currencies fluctuate wildly on news out of Europe, US, and Japan, traders are finding big gains trading through the Forex market, and Elray Gaming will explore how to harvest this growing market. Areas to be explored are online Forex trading, turn-key platform solutions, and managed Forex accounts for institutional investors.
Mobile Apps and Social Networking
In addition, the Company is expected to develop, and or acquire, a basket of mobile applications and social networking sites focused on gaming, and fantasy sports area to broaden their investment portfolio. Information on these new ventures are expected to be released from the company in the coming weeks.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), whose proposed bill to legalize online poker which is currently before Congress, is optimistic that some form of internet poker legislation can be approved during this term in office. Rep. Barton recently commented, “Our whole strategy is to get something on the president’s desk this Congress, so we have 13 months to go”.
This news should have a very positive effect on casino, gaming, and online poker stocks as this news progresses from committee to the floor of Congress.
Online Gaming Stocks
When looking how to play possible legalization of online poker the obvious large cap plays come to mind, such as MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) and Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE:BYD).
Small Cap Online Gaming Play
For the more aggressive investor, one may want to take a look at Elray Gaming, Inc, an online gaming company which is traded under the name Elray Resources, Inc (OTC:ELRA). Although speculative, stocks such as these would have large upside potential on any news that the US Congress may legalize online poker. At a current price of only $0.005 ELRA may see it retest its March 2011 highs of around $0.07 per share, which would equate to nearly 1000% return from its current levels.
ELRA Forex Trading
Elray Gaming, a pure play online gambling turn-key stock, is also expected to expand its online gaming portfolio to now cover online Forex trading under its international footprint. In addition to its online casinos, and poker websites, Elray Gaming will expand its operations into currency trading, which trades around $4 trillion each day world-wide.
As currencies fluctuate wildly on news out of Europe, US, and Japan, traders are finding big gains trading through the Forex market, and Elray Gaming will explore how to harvest this growing market. Areas to be explored are online Forex trading, turn-key platform solutions, and managed Forex accounts for institutional investors.
Mobile Apps and Social Networking
In addition, the Company is expected to develop, and or acquire, a basket of mobile applications and social networking sites focused on gaming, and fantasy sports area to broaden their investment portfolio. Information on these new ventures are expected to be released from the company in the coming weeks.
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
Poker Stars smashed its own Guinness world record for the largest online poker tournament this week, hosting a $1 buy-in event in which 200,000 players took part. The record was confirmed in Prague Sunday, where top poker pros were gathering for a European Poker Tour event.
Record are made to be Broken
PokerStars easily broke the record for largest simultaneous poker game, bringing together precisely 200,000 internet poker players from around the world - and achieving it all well in advance of the planned event start.
The online poker room is no stranger to planning these events. It also held the previous record for largest tournament of 149,196 players, which it achieved a little less than two years ago on December 23, 2009.
Prague Celebrates
The massive tournament was timed to coincide with the European Poker Tour Prague event, perhaps because PokerStars sees the Czech capital as one of the capitals of our beloved card game. Guinness adjudicators announced the record in Prague, and PokerStars held a special celebration afterward at the city's Hilton hotel, where Team PokerStars pros were gathered.
EPT Prague was as much of a success as the world record tournament, especially for Russian online player sokoluk1991 - who defeated all other participants within seven hours to take home the fantastic first prize of $40,000
Record are made to be Broken
PokerStars easily broke the record for largest simultaneous poker game, bringing together precisely 200,000 internet poker players from around the world - and achieving it all well in advance of the planned event start.
The online poker room is no stranger to planning these events. It also held the previous record for largest tournament of 149,196 players, which it achieved a little less than two years ago on December 23, 2009.
Prague Celebrates
The massive tournament was timed to coincide with the European Poker Tour Prague event, perhaps because PokerStars sees the Czech capital as one of the capitals of our beloved card game. Guinness adjudicators announced the record in Prague, and PokerStars held a special celebration afterward at the city's Hilton hotel, where Team PokerStars pros were gathered.
EPT Prague was as much of a success as the world record tournament, especially for Russian online player sokoluk1991 - who defeated all other participants within seven hours to take home the fantastic first prize of $40,000
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
24Poker.com, the online poker site which is part of Microgaming’s online poker network, had its operating license suspended by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, it was reported today. As a result, the giant online casino software provider suspended all of 24Poker.com’s game play.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission rescinded the online poker room’s license after it failing to responding to authorities and customers. After several failed attempts to reach the online poker site, Kahnawake decided that the best course of action would be to revoke 24Poker.com’s operating license.
Microgaming then decided to follow suit, issuing a statement which read: “Microgaming today announced that all game play on the 24Poker.com website has been blocked due to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission suspending 24Poker.com’s gaming license.”
“Both Microgaming and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission have tried without success to contact the 24Poker.com’s management team,” continued the statement. “Further announcements will be made as additional information becomes available.”
24Poker is owned by BPR Services Limited, with an address in County Durham in the United Kingdom. Not much more information is provided about the online poker room.
It is also not clear right now what will happen to the funds that players have deposited in their accounts at 24Poker.com.
24Poker’s online site is still up and running, continuing to claim that it is “licensed and operated from Kahnawake Gaming Commission” and that “all transactions… are monitored by Microgaming’s advanced network security and collusion detection methods.”
Ironically, one of the promotions advertised on the site calls for players to “make a kill, get paid, earn money for busting your opponents”….
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission rescinded the online poker room’s license after it failing to responding to authorities and customers. After several failed attempts to reach the online poker site, Kahnawake decided that the best course of action would be to revoke 24Poker.com’s operating license.
Microgaming then decided to follow suit, issuing a statement which read: “Microgaming today announced that all game play on the 24Poker.com website has been blocked due to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission suspending 24Poker.com’s gaming license.”
“Both Microgaming and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission have tried without success to contact the 24Poker.com’s management team,” continued the statement. “Further announcements will be made as additional information becomes available.”
24Poker is owned by BPR Services Limited, with an address in County Durham in the United Kingdom. Not much more information is provided about the online poker room.
It is also not clear right now what will happen to the funds that players have deposited in their accounts at 24Poker.com.
24Poker’s online site is still up and running, continuing to claim that it is “licensed and operated from Kahnawake Gaming Commission” and that “all transactions… are monitored by Microgaming’s advanced network security and collusion detection methods.”
Ironically, one of the promotions advertised on the site calls for players to “make a kill, get paid, earn money for busting your opponents”….
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2006/12/07
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29893
On Wednesday, Nevada will take another step toward having the nation’s first intrastate Internet poker system. The state Gaming Control Board is set to meet in Carson City to possibly take action on a new set of regulatory drafts for the industry.
A bill that was signed into law in June mandates the Nevada Gaming Commission to adopt regulations by the end of January 2012 — making February the earliest possible time a real-money poker site could be operational.
New versions of six separate regulations were publicly released to the Control Board’s website, with few changes. At the last Control Board hearing in November, Chairman Mark Lipparelli said the last batch needed “clarity.”
Over the past month the key change to the language came in the rules for operating online poker. A new provision says that a company can’t offer the game to a pool of players across a multi-room poker network unless authorized by state officials.
The hearing on Wednesday is the first of two scheduled for the month of December. On the 22nd, the Gaming Commission will meet to discuss the regulations crafted by the Control Board.
Lipparelli said it’s possible the regulations will be finalized and adopted by the end of the year, but the end of January 2012 is more likely.
The Control Board has already received applications from a handful of companies seeking to participate in the online poker business. Regulators have started to review some of the paper work, according to Lipparelli.
The chairman said that some companies may act more conservatively by waiting until regulations are done before applying. He also said that gaming companies that have a history with Nevada regulators won’t be subjected to as significant of an investigation period as those that are new to the state.
Even though regulations will be set in February, Lipparelli said that laboratory testing and approval of software and other technologies will likely take longer than issuing licenses — making a timeline for Nevada Internet poker uncertain.
A bill that was signed into law in June mandates the Nevada Gaming Commission to adopt regulations by the end of January 2012 — making February the earliest possible time a real-money poker site could be operational.
New versions of six separate regulations were publicly released to the Control Board’s website, with few changes. At the last Control Board hearing in November, Chairman Mark Lipparelli said the last batch needed “clarity.”
Over the past month the key change to the language came in the rules for operating online poker. A new provision says that a company can’t offer the game to a pool of players across a multi-room poker network unless authorized by state officials.
The hearing on Wednesday is the first of two scheduled for the month of December. On the 22nd, the Gaming Commission will meet to discuss the regulations crafted by the Control Board.
Lipparelli said it’s possible the regulations will be finalized and adopted by the end of the year, but the end of January 2012 is more likely.
The Control Board has already received applications from a handful of companies seeking to participate in the online poker business. Regulators have started to review some of the paper work, according to Lipparelli.
The chairman said that some companies may act more conservatively by waiting until regulations are done before applying. He also said that gaming companies that have a history with Nevada regulators won’t be subjected to as significant of an investigation period as those that are new to the state.
Even though regulations will be set in February, Lipparelli said that laboratory testing and approval of software and other technologies will likely take longer than issuing licenses — making a timeline for Nevada Internet poker uncertain.
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2006/12/07
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29893
Every week, Bodog hosts thousands of poker tournaments, ranging from single table events to our massive $100,000 guaranteed tournaments. There's just no way we can cover all of them, but we want to make sure you keep up with who won the biggest of the big games.
Who took the top spot in the $100,000 guaranteed online poker tournament held this past Sunday, November 20? bkvt17 took first place this week, earning $23,600. They were followed by Bryan606 ($13,600) and KunkMan , who rounded out the top trifecta while earning $9,100. Here are the rest of the final table results: Ironman76 ($7,000.00); Brizzle85 ($5,700); Abe_AA64 ($4,500); ilmagowalter ($3,300.00); meantime ($2,200) and LAG_FIN-S ($1,300).
In addition to show-stopping Sunday events, Bodog hosts a series of regular weekly tournaments for players, and here are the winners of last week's events!
November 28 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Russell H ($4,070.00)
November 29 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Lindsay N ($3,602.50)
November 30 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Joel W ($2,783.01)
December 1 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Richard K ($2,674.16)
December 2 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Rickey K ($2,909.05)
December 3 • $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack: Adam L ($3,074.50)
December 4 • $15k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Eric P ($4,269.00)
December 4 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Matthew D ($3,036.00)
December 4 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Joseph H ($2,819.36)
Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool and with more players getting in on the action every week, that means there's more to be won! Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!
Who took the top spot in the $100,000 guaranteed online poker tournament held this past Sunday, November 20? bkvt17 took first place this week, earning $23,600. They were followed by Bryan606 ($13,600) and KunkMan , who rounded out the top trifecta while earning $9,100. Here are the rest of the final table results: Ironman76 ($7,000.00); Brizzle85 ($5,700); Abe_AA64 ($4,500); ilmagowalter ($3,300.00); meantime ($2,200) and LAG_FIN-S ($1,300).
In addition to show-stopping Sunday events, Bodog hosts a series of regular weekly tournaments for players, and here are the winners of last week's events!
November 28 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Russell H ($4,070.00)
November 29 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Lindsay N ($3,602.50)
November 30 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Joel W ($2,783.01)
December 1 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Richard K ($2,674.16)
December 2 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Rickey K ($2,909.05)
December 3 • $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack: Adam L ($3,074.50)
December 4 • $15k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Eric P ($4,269.00)
December 4 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Matthew D ($3,036.00)
December 4 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Joseph H ($2,819.36)
Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool and with more players getting in on the action every week, that means there's more to be won! Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!
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2006/12/07
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29893
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In an article on the Financial Times website written by James Wilson on November 30, the online gaming outlet Betfair has challenged the legality of proposed regulations in Germany. As directed by members of the EU, member nations have the right to propose legislation and regulation for their nation (to protect its citizens against problem gambling, for example), as long as such regulation doesn’t unfairly close the market to outside competition. According to Wilson, Betfair feels that the current proposals in place by the German government unfairly restrict such companies from outside the country to compete fairly for German players.
The debate comes on the heels of a decision by the European Court of Justice, which last year ruled that the existing rules in Germany constituted a monopoly that violated the treaties that all Member Nations sign as a part of being with the EU. Fifteen of the sixteen states that comprise Germany have rewritten their online gaming laws (the sixteenth state has proposed regulations that online outlets are apparently pleased with), but Betfair believes that the updated regulations still do not provide for adequate competition and, in fact, still constitute a monopoly.
Wilson quotes Martin Cruddace, the chief legal and regulatory affairs officer at Betfair, as saying, “The salient points of the European Commission’s detailed opinion have, as of yet, not been addressed. Under these current proposals, Germany’s new state treaty will be out of line and out of touch with fundamental EU law.”
The new regulations being proposed by Germany would expand the number of companies that can operate in Germany from seven to twenty. The regulations would also lower the tax rate. The proposed new German regulations are supposed to be put to the European Commission in Brussels in time for each state to enact the laws by December 15. Betfair believes, however, that there is little changed in the new regulations and that the new proposal makes a potential German monopoly even more likely.
Although online gaming and poker are freely regulated in Europe, there are many countries that have placed stringent guidelines on international companies or have put in place regulations that, in essence, have nationalized their operations. France and Italy, for example, requires that any online operation be nation specific and not allow people from outside the country to play on the site. This has brought out such new sites as PokerStars.fr and PokerStars.it, which currently rank as the sixth and seventh largest online poker outlets in the industry, according to PokerScout.com.
Other countries in the EU have enacted state run gaming operations, which has drawn the ire of the European Commission. In Sweden, Svenska Spel is in charge of online gaming options such as poker and the lottery. Its online poker operation is ranked in the Top Twenty in the online poker industry.
The eventual outcome of the proposed German regulations should be known within the next two weeks and – if the proposed new laws go into effect – could be in operation at the beginning of the next year.