Poker forum archive

The Iowa Statehouse will become the “people’s house” Monday when lawmakers open the doors to the House chambers for a public hearing on education reform.

Monday’s activities also will include ceremonies to honor the Iowans who perished in the 1945 USS Indianapolis tragedy and a Prayer for Life vigil by abortion opponents commemorating the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, which struck down many state laws restricting abortion procedures.

This also will be an important week for backers of legislation to ban traffic enforcement cameras, legalize online poker under state regulations and other hot-button issues that face an approaching March 16 deadline to clear either the House or Senate and a committee of the other chamber to remain eligible for consideration this session.

The public hearing on proposed education reform being sought by Gov. Terry Branstad is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday. It comes as both the House and the Senate education committees move their versions of education reform through their respective chambers for floor action.

“We expect it to be a fairly packed house,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines. “Hopefully, we’ll get some good input from that.”

The discussion comes after last week’s call from Branstad for state lawmakers to “be bold” and avoid “watering down our aggressive education reform” that is intended to dramatically improve student performance and teacher preparation and evaluation. Already the House Education Committee action has cut 75 pages from the governor’s 156-page education reform package, a move the governor called “a mistake.”

It’s still unclear, however, whether either the Senate version of the bill or the House version will get called up this week. Education committee leaders in both the Senate and the House say they are still working on amendments they plan to offer on the floor. Some areas that are ripe for further changes include online learning, teacher evaluations and student testing.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said lawmakers have an agenda that is narrow and focused heading into the final two months of the 2012 session. “It’s why I think you don’t see as many bills as you have maybe in previous years,” he said.

House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, said the priority reforms in education, property taxes and mental health will continue to get legislative attention and majority Republicans continue to craft their fiscal 2013 spending measures.

“The budget is always the long pole in the tent,” Paulsen noted.

With less than two weeks until the second funnel deadline, Upmeyer said supporters of various non-money bills will be deciding whether they have the votes to move forward.

“People have time to make their case on bills or things they’re interested in, but they need to survive the second funnel, so people will be moving to build the support that they need for any of their issues,” she said. “We all predicted that the second funnel was not going to be as lively as the first, and there wasn’t a great deal of drama in the first. I think things are winnowing down nicely. People are focused, and we’re going to do what we need to do.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said this week isn’t do-or-die for bills to clear a chamber but it’s close.

“The later it is, the less likely it is that the other chamber will take it up,” he said. “That’s probably more true of controversial bills than of non-con bills.”

Gronstal was noncommittal whether the online poker bill would see Senate floor debate this week, although he said the legislation probably is needed.

“We have online gambling right now in Iowa. That exists. It’s unregulated, unrestricted and in many cases unreliable,” he said. “The question is: are we going to do anything to regulate it appropriately in the state of Iowa?

“We’ll see if there’s a consensus in the Senate to move it forward,” Gronstal added. “If we’re convinced that it’s absolutely dead in the other chamber, I don’t know that we’ll spend time and energy on that. I’m not into playing this game of passing bills so we can prove to Iowans where we differ.”

Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, floor manager of the traffic camera ban legislation, said he is working hard to get the 51st vote needed for House passage.

“I’m doing some arm twisting,” he said.

Tech Crunch TV’s interview with Richard “Skip” Bronson, the co-founder and chairman of U.S. Digital Gaming (USDG) on “Why America Should Legalize Online Poker”.

I came across a recent interview that Andrew Keen, from Tech Crunch TV, held with Richard “Skip” Bronson, the co-founder and chairman of U.S. Digital Gaming (USDG) on “Why America Should Legalize Online Poker“.

In Keen’s opening statement he proclaims he is not a “big fan of online gambling, particularly poker”, because he believes “it preys on weak, addictive personalities and all too often can destroy innocent lives.”

Bronson believes that “addictive gambling” is a form of psychotic behavior just as with overeating, over drinking and compulsive obsessive shopping, and that playing online poker is not the root to all evil that will destroy lives.

However that was a precursor to the matter being truly discussed; the legalization and regulation of online gaming; it’s benefits to states that are willing to allow it and how the revenues from taxing online gaming can help elevate U.S. states from dire needs and help in returning financial stability.

Skip’s suggested solution is to have online gaming, especially online poker legalized and regulated so that illegal offshore operators that make billions for themselves are taxed. Bronson told Keen, “online poker is attractive because it can be used to drive business to brick-and-mortar gambling establishments. And this is a good thing, Bronson insists, because it will make online poker not only “safer” but will also guarantee the privacy of gamblers’ data.”

Keen continues in the interview about protection for individuals with addictive behaviors and the responsibility that “we” should uphold as citizens; Keen feels that legalizing poker will cause more damage if states approve intrastate online gaming as it will become more accessible.

In the continuing battle of whether online poker legislation would be better served on the state or federal level, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) sent a letter to both party leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives extolling the need for online poker to be legalized at the state level.

“The NCSL believes the federal government should respect the Justice Department ruling [on the 1961 Wire Act] and would oppose any efforts by Congress to preempt state authority over Internet gaming,” the letter said, which was written by Rep. Greg Wren (R-AL) and Senator Carol Fukunaga (D-HI), co-chairs of the NCSL Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce Committee.

The issue of online poker legislation on a federal level has been mentioned in more than one congressional hearing since the Department of Justice (DoJ) released its findings in December which held that the 1961 Wire Act is applicable only to wagering on sports. Most industry insiders believe that federal legislation of Internet poker would be more advantageous over a state-by-state format, not only in player liquidity, but also in the regulation process. Indeed, more headaches would be apparent with each state enacting their own regulations that may have to be modified upon any interstate compacts or agreements.

But the NCSL feels that individual states would be better suited to administering online poker regulations among themselves, including provisions allowing certain states such as Utah to opt out of any online poker regulation framework.

“States have long been able to choose whether or not other forms of gambling should be legal and have been very successful in its regulation,” the letter said. “We also ask that the federal government respect the rights of states that choose to prohibit Internet gaming.”

It no longer seems to be a question of whether US online poker will become regulated, but whether or not legislation will be forthcoming on a state or federal level. With most people seemingly favoring federal legislation, including both the American Gaming Association and the Poker Players Alliance, the main lobbying organization on behalf of poker players, the letter on behalf of the NCSL drives another wedge into the state-federal debate.

According to the NCSL letter, the regulation of online poker being operated at the state level is the most logical decision when looking at the track record of individual states in that regard. The NCSL position is also in opposition to Indian tribal gaming interests, who support regulation at the federal level, as a state-by-state format would make offering online poker services a privilege instead of a right for Indian tribes.

With Nevada already accepting applications from gaming operators and other states such as Iowa, New Jersey and California making waves about passing their own online poker legislation, it appears that Internet poker on a state level is winning. Coupled with the fact that online poker legislation failed to be included as a rider to last month’s federal payroll tax bill and many federal lawmakers are hesitant to approve its passage in an election year, a state-by-state framework of online poker legislation is continuing to gain momentum.

Las Vegas-based casino supplier Shuffle Master Inc. said Monday it’s buying online poker engine operator Ongame Network Ltd. from bwin.party Services (Austria) GmbH for about $25.7 million.

Ongame, based in Gibraltar, says that as one of the largest business-to-business operators in its industry it reaches more than 20 million customers in more than 25 markets. Ongame says it has an international network licensed in Gibraltar as well as regional networks in Italy and France.

It has online and mobile poker applications such as cellphone poker. It works with such names in the online gaming world as Betfair, Unibet, bwin, Sportingbet, Betsson, Betsafe, EurosportBet, Paf, Bet24 and Gioco Digitale.

Shuffle Master said the deal is consistent with its plan to be a business-to-business online gaming provider in regulated markets — and not to serve online gamblers directly.

Serving consumers directly could put Shuffle Master into competition with some of its bricks-and-mortar casino customers as they migrate to online gaming.

Shuffle Master said it may pay an extra $13.2 million for the business should legalized, real-money online poker be established in the United States within five years.

"Poker is a natural fit for our table-centric online offerings and our many jurisdictional licenses present a compelling opportunity for our current and future online customers," CEO Gavin Isaacs said in a statement.

"We are very focused on creating greater value for our current and future customers and, as a result, our objective is to make Ongame the most comprehensive and competitive poker engine in the marketplace," added Louis Castle, chief strategy officer.

Shuffle Master on Monday separately reported a higher profit for its first fiscal quarter of 2012 ended Jan. 31.

The company, which sells and leases casino equipment like card shufflers and electronic gaming machines, said revenue in the quarter of $56 million was up from $43.8 million in the year-ago quarter.

The profit of $7.6 million or 14 cents per share was up from $4.8 million or 9 cents in the same quarter of 2011.

The company said its installed base of leased card shufflers in casinos around the world grew 11 percent on a year-over-year basis to 8,025 shufflers.

In 2011, Sheldon Gary Adelson was listed in Forbes as the world’s 16th wealthiest man with $21.5 billion in wealth.

Sheldon Adelson is also CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and despite making a fortune from running casinos, the 78 year-old says he is vehemently opposed to the legalisation of online gaming.

Such is the billionaire’s opposition to online gambling that the Las Vegas Sands has resisted arranging potential partnerships with online companies in case of regulation, unlike other Las Vegas Strip casinos. One of the reasons cited for his opposition to online gaming is that he doesn’t believe the technology exists to prevent underage players from gambling, prompting one online commenter to cynically write:

“It’s all about the children, says the tycoon.”

The American casino and hotel magnate is a staunch conservative and reputedly said would donate $100 million to put a Republican in the White House. However, Sheldon was once a Democrat, and switched parties after his wealth increased and he encountered increasing disputes with labor unions at his Las Vegas properties.

Commenting on Sheldon Adelson’s vocal opposition to online gambling, Lawyer Nelson Rose, who testified in front of Congress on the subject, said:

“Casino insiders know Adelson’s politics. He is so conservative and such an avid Republican that he blames President Obama for the Las Vegas recession, which started under President Bush. But now everyone knows that he supports Newt Gingrich, which means his political opinions are irrelevant.”

Despite his opposition, Nevada regulators have already prepared ground rules to become the USA’s first intrastate online poker operator, while California, Iowa, New Jersey and Mississippi are also looking seriously into the matter.

Dr. David Schwartz from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, further added that if someone was able to “demonstrate age verification to Adelson’s satisfaction” then he may become a supporter of online gambling, too.

Facebook games star Zynga on Monday opened an online playground where users can enjoy hit titles without having to visit the world's top social network.

Zynga.com launched with CastleVille, Words With Friends, CityVille, Hidden Chronicles and Zynga Poker, along with a promise of lots more social games by the San Francisco-based firm and outside developers.

"Zynga.com is designed to make it easier for you to play with friends," Zynga founder Mark Pincus said in a blog post.

"We've invested heavily to build a network and infrastructure tuned for delivering social gaming at scale."

Zynga played up its online games community as an expansion of its partnership with Facebook rather than a quest for more independence.

Zynga rose to success on the popularity of it titles at Facebook, where millions of users enlist friends in either collaborative or competitive online play ranging from poker to growing virtual crops or building cartoon cities.

Zynga.com is connected to the Facebook "social graph" so game play and the actions of friends involved will follow users between the online venues, Zynga general manager Manuel Bronstein told AFP.

"I see this as a great manifestation of our relationship with Facebook that goes deeper into gaming," Bronstein said.

"In the morning you may check your news or social feeds on Facebook and then play games, but late in the afternoon you might just want to play, so you go to Zynga.com"

Along with keeping people connected with Facebook play companions, the Zynga website features ways to speed up progress in games and find "zFriends" who share one's passion for certain titles.

Zynga.com was also crafted as a platform on which third-party developers could make titles available to the 240 million people who play the company's games each month.

Zynga jumped into the stock market with a billion-dollar listing in December.

Offering 100 million shares -- one seventh of the company's total -- at $10 each, the maker of Facebook games FarmVille, Mafia Wars and Words With Friends was valued at a whopping $7 billion.

Zynga's stock price rose slightly to $14 a share on the NASDAQ in after-hours trading that followed the launch of the online games community.

Zynga games are free to play but the company makes money by selling virtual in-game goods to players and serving up advertising. The company sees the potential for revenue to grow if players flock to zynga.com.

As the name suggests, the event saw Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari, along with hundreds of other players, battle it out in a variety of events tailored for everyone to have a great time while getting a shot at some very impressive prize pools.

Phil and Antonio are close friends, but that didn’t stop them from giving it their all during day 1B of the $2000 Heads Up Event. And in true Laak and Esfandiari fashion, there was an exciting prop bet to go along with it: the two agreed that whoever was knocked out of the Heads Up Event first would be subject to a “Dunk Tank Humiliation” at the other’s hands.

Both Phil and Antonio won their first match. Antonio came up against a strong competitor in his second match and was eliminated from the tournament quickly. He paced for a couple long hours, while Phil Laak battled it out against his second opponent. Urging Laak’s opponent to “take him down” as he watched from the sidelines, Antonio sighed a breath of relief when Phil was also knocked out in his second match.

Because the HU Challenge didn’t decide who was going to take an icy bath in the dunk tank in the parking lot of Playground Poker Club, the two friends carried the challenge over to the $500 Deepstack event. After a few hours of NLHE play, The Magician busted first giving The Unibomber a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give his friend a bath in 17 degree water.

To take a firsthand look at the how the dunk tank played out, visit: Antonio Esfandiari Gets Dunked in Freezing Cold Water by Phil Laak - YouTube

“Phil and Antonio are two of the most engaging personalities in the poker world,” said Playground COO David Montour. “this event gave our players the opportunity to find that out first hand.”

The winner of the two-day, $2,000 + $200 Heads Up Challenge was Anthony Greco, who defeated Marc-Andre Ladouceur in the final Heads Up match to take down a first prize of $30,000. Ladouceur didn’t walk away empty-handed, however, claiming a second prize of $20,000.

Friday and Saturday saw the $500 + $50 NLHE Deepstack Event get underway with another day 1A and day 1B setup. Day 2 took place on Sunday. After splitting the $100,000 pot evenly Sunday morning, the five finalists played out the event for the remaining $5,000 ($3,500 to the winner, $1,500 for 2nd place).

After mounting a strong comeback, Saide Nehme beat opponent Marc-Andre Racine heads-up to claim first prize and become the 2012 Laak & Esfandiari NLHE Deepstack champion.

Sunday also marked the weekend’s closing event, a $130 + $20 + $50 Bounty tournament. The final winner of the weekend, at least from a poker standpoint, was Mark Cornelissen, who beat out Michael Korovine to take down a $3,950 1st prize. Second place earned a strong payout as well, with Korovine taking home a $2,600 consolation prize.

But the highlight of the weekend was Antonio Esfandiari’s “Dunk Tank Humiliation” Sunday evening. Antonio sat above a tank of ice-cold water dressed only in his undergarments while Phil Laak, armed with softballs and a poor aim, tried to hit the target. When Laak finally nailed it, Antonio dropped into the tank, stunned by the ice-cold temperature.

“I lost my breath for a moment when I first went in,” Esfandiari said a few minutes later, from the warm confines of Playground Poker Club. “I got out very quickly and I’m feeling just fine now.”

His good buddy thought the whole thing was pretty funny, but he was happy to get it over with.

“I really wanted to hit the target. Antonio is one of my best friends and I didn’t want to see him suffer any more than he had to!” Laak said in the aftermath of the dunking.

Dozens of cameras captured the event, and various versions of the footage are available online as the latest example of how Playground Poker Club comes through on their motto of “For Players, By Players” with their latest signature event.

Shuffle Master's fiscal first-quarter earnings jumped 59% as the casino-games business saw sharply higher revenue from its electronic gaming segment. This has led to the announcement that the firm will agree to purchase the European online poker supplier Ongame Network Ltd.for $28.5 million.

A subsidiary of bwin.party Services of Austria Ongame Network has as many as 25 operators and poker networks functioning in Italy and France in its portfolio. Gavin Isaacs Shuffle Master’s Chief Executive Officer commented, "Poker is a natural fit for our table-centric online offerings and our many jurisdictional licenses present a compelling opportunity for our current and future online customers," Isaacs continued, "Our acquisition of Ongame will allow Shuffle Master to offer a scalable, proven and secure solution for online poker."
The table game and gambling equipment vendor located in Las Vegas USA indicated the firm will now supply online products to regulated gambling markets and other internet gaming operators.

This change is obviously in preparation for the eventual regulation of online poker in the USA and follows moves by other slot machine makers International Game Technology and Bally Technologies into the internet business segment.
The company is in the business of leasing its table game titles such as Three Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em and Let It Ride and expects to purchase the Ongame Network with cash on hand or its existing senior secured revolving credit agreement.
In the quarter that ended Jan. 31 grew revenue year-over-year by 28 percent to $56.1 million. Net income increased 59 percent, to $7.6 million, while earnings per share 14 cents, up from 9 cents in the same quarter a year ago. Impressive results announced a day earlier than expected to line up with the acquisition launch. Lin Fox, Chief Financial Officer said the company paid down debt in the quarter through cash flow."This has facilitated our commitment to invest in the business, as demonstrated ... with today's announcement of our intent to purchase Ongame Network,"

Sky Poker's 'Play The Nation' promotion saw online poker players from across the UK battle it out for the entire month of February and results reveal that the South East is incontrovertibly home to the nation's best poker players.

Sky Poker divided its UK customer base into ten regions according to their postcode and tracked their performance in Cash Tables, Sit and Go's and Tournaments throughout February, awarding points for performance in each discipline.

The South East was the runaway winner, amassing 28 points from a maximum of 30 and finishing 8 points clear of nearest rivals, Northern Ireland & the Rest of the World and London, who tied for second place in the leader board.

Sky Poker's Dave Bland said: "When thinking of a way to embrace poker in the UK, we had to think of a promotion that we thought the customers would enjoy but would also tell us something about the players themselves. Play the Nation gave us so many conversation points as well as chances for players to rally around their region and compare their skills. We're delighted with how it turned out and we hope the winning regions enjoy their Cash for Points boosts."

Thousands of players opted into 'Play the Nation' and participants earned bonuses through Sky Poker's 'Cash for Points' rewards scheme, with representatives from the winning region receiving a 100% boost to their monthly points haul.

South eastern players won more Sit and Go's and tournaments than those of any other region, although they were 3rd on the cash tables, with the honours there going to Northern Ireland and Rest of the World (1st) and London (2nd).

At the other end of the table, the North East was rooted to the bottom throughout the month and finished February with just 6 points. In the battle of North v South, the North toiled, with the North West and North East combining for 20 points, while the South East and South West managed an impressive 47!

Elsewhere, they might have won at rugby, but Wales couldn't beat Scotland after the latter finished a respectable 5th place with 17 points, while Wales were 8th with 13.

For more information about Sky Poker's Play the Nation promotion, please visit skypoker-com/playthenation-

About SkyPoker-com

Sky Poker is the online poker division of Sky Betting and Gaming, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting (Bsky😎 and one of the UK's leading poker rooms. Users play online through download or web at Sky Poker - Play Online Poker and Free Poker - Up to 1000 FREE! which offers Texas Hold'em and Omaha in a variety of exciting tournaments and cash games. UK focused, all play at Sky Poker tables is conducted in Pounds Sterling. Sky Poker TV broadcasts on channel 865 on the Sky TV network, screening live tournaments and highlights from Sky Poker TV cash tables. Sky Poker is licensed and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC).

PokerStars Zoom Poker will be up and running for real-money play in the middle of March, according to a PokerStars representative.

The new fast-paced online poker cash game has been in beta testing at PokerStars for a couple of weeks, but it has only been available at the PokerStars test site for play money. However, a PokerStars representative posted at the online poker forum twoplustwo-com, and said real-money play will be rolled out soon.

We are finalizing the last few details regarding the product and expect Zoom to be released as Real Money beta in mid-March.

The representative also said a few changes were made to PokerStars Zoom since the beta test began:

Based on player feedback we have added two new features on the .TEST version:
1) Sit out next BB – Fully operational with the checkbox on the table.
2) “Fold & Watch” – There is still some graphic work to be done on this feature, but for now you can test it by pressing Ctrl+Shift while you click the Fold button. This feature does not work with the ‘Fast Fold’ button.

You can see the entire thread at 2+2 here.

In PokerStars Zoom, players join a large “cloud” of players, and are seated at a table. Players can choose to play the hand, or instantly fold out of turn and be moved to a new table consisting of other players from the cloud. Zoom Poker allows players to see many more hands than they can at regular ring games, on average 200 hands an hour or more.

Go here for videos showing PokerStars Zoom and for player feedback and discussion. And for information about trying Zoom Poker on the PokerStars test client, read this story.

Every week, Bovada hosts thousands of online poker tournaments, ranging from single table events to their massive $100,000 guaranteed events There's really no way we can cover all of them, but we do want to make sure you keep up with who won the biggest of the big games so you know how hot the action is there.
So, who took the top spot in this past Sunday's $100,000 guaranteed online poker tournament? Jeff M came in first this week, earning $20,153.53 for their victory. He was followed by Howard S ($13,435) and Steve L, who rounded out the top trifecta while pocketing $10,231.65. Here's how the rest of the final table fared: Lewis H ($7,492.87); Andrew L ($5,374.20); Bryce J ($4,030.65); Robert R ($2,997.15); Gregoriy K ($2,012.32) and Sean S ($1493.70).

In addition to show-stopping Sunday events, Bovada hosts a series of regularly-scheduled big-money online poker tournaments for players, and here are the winners for last week!

• February 27 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Matthew S
• February 28 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Joshua W
• February 29 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Zachary W
• March 01 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Benjamin B/STRONG>
• March 02 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Mans M
• March 03 — $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack: Bret M
• March 04 — $15k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack: Benjamin M
• March 04 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Greg D
• March 04 — $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: David W

Bovada'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 Bovada and get your share today!

It's officially underway, and online poker players are already claiming their share of the cash in the Black Diamond Poker Open. The winner of the inaugural $20,000 Guaranteed Kick-Off event, held on Sunday, was William M, who added $4747.20 to his bankroll for the top spot. He was followed by Bryan R, who won $3256.80 and Joseph H, who earned a very tidy $2472.96 for his efforts at the final table, which featured some fast and furious play.

Not familiar with the Black Diamond Poker Open? Maybe it's time you were!
In the BDPO, there are two different levels of play, giving every player an opportunity to get in on the action. The Contender Series (which just got underway) and the Championship Series. Including this past Sunday's event, this series features over $100,000 in guaranteed online tournaments with low to mid-range buy-ins, culminating in a $25,000 Guaranteed Main Event on Sunday, March 18.

If you have a little more in your bankroll and want to play for higher stakes,, then the Championship Series is perfect for you. It starts right after the Contender Series wraps up and features tournaments with bigger buy-ins and more money up for grabs, starting on March 19th. Like the Contender Series of tournaments, the Championship Series is all leading up to a main event, but this one is huge — a $250,000 Guaranteed Tournament on Sunday, April 1st. The winner of this event will receive at least $50,000 along with a Championship Watch worth $5,000.

Sound like fun? Satellites start from $1 and players have over 2000 chances to qualify for the Contender and Championship Series with the array of events on the schedule. If you don't have a chance to qualify for the Contender or Championship Series main events using the normal schedule, Bovada's also going to be hosting Super Saturday Satellite Days the day before each Main Event. On Saturday, March 17th you can qualify for the Contender Main Event and on Saturday, March 31st, players can win their way into the Championship Main Event.

Visit Bovada's Black Diamond Poker Open page and get more details and to download their software you can get started right away! In addition to the Black Diamond Poker Open, new online poker players can also get a bonus of up to $1,000 with their first deposit while enjoying the best player support in the business!

An online gambling bill in New Jersey was approved by a Senate Committee but still remains a long way from the winner’s circle as opposition from the state’s horse racing industry is expected to delay New Jersey’s quest to be the first state to offer intrastate online poker.

The bill advanced out of the committee on a vote of 3-0 with two committee members abstaining, but was not supported by horse racing interests such as the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey, who feel that online poker and gambling would cannibalize the revenue currently obtained by the horse racing industry.

A lobbyist for Freehold Raceway and Atlantic City Race Course, Barbara DeMarco, indicated that the horse racing industry may pursue legal action in the matter by telling the Daily Record that, “undoubtedly the racing industry will push to have a constitutional amendment.”

One of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Jim Whelan, who represents Atlantic City, was angered by tactics employed by horse racing lobbyists, who are hindering Whelan’s desire to win the race as the first state to provide online poker to its residents.

“I feel like I’m being blackmailed,” Whelan said. “I‘m open to discussion but I don’t like a gun being put to my head and being told, ‘You will do this or else we will blow this whole thing up.’”

Last year, Governor Chris Christie vetoed a version of the same bill over concerns about the expansion of gambling beyond Atlantic City, which would violate the state’s constitution. Last year’s bill included provisions that dedicated a share of revenue from new online gambling legislation to support New Jersey’s faltering horse racing industry. However, the latest bill recently approved by the Senate Government and Wagering Committee included no such provisions.

The Department of Justice ruling issued in December that found the 1961 Wire Act to apply only to sports betting has many states clamoring to enact legislation to bring online poker and casino gambling to their state residents. In addition to New Jersey, Nevada, Iowa and California are some of the states looking to add much-needed revenue to state coffers by providing internet poker.

“I think New Jersey should be in that [online poker] business,” Christie said last January. “I think we should be an epicenter for that business, but I want to do it right. I do not want to rush and get legislation that either doesn’t pass state constitutional muster, or creates other problems for us.“

The first two post-kickoff events in the Black Diamond Poker Open’s Contender series were held on Monday, and Bryan B came out on top of a field of 738 players in Contender Event #1, the $10,000 guaranteed hold 'em poker tournament, to claim $2,159.02. Contender Event #2, a more modest $2,000 guaranteed tournament, brought out 380 players and Courtney A claimed $950 for their victory.
Tuesday saw Contender Event #s 3 and 4, with Travis K claiming the top spot in #3, a $4,000 guaranteed 6 Max tournament with 442 players. He earned $1,679.78 for the win. Travis was soon joined by Frank F, who won Contender Event #4, a $4,000 guaranteed turbo tournament and beat 306 players to claim $986.95.
Want to get in on the action? You can start right away, and the money only gets bigger as the Black Diamond Poker Open continues! With two series of events (Contender and Championship) offering tournaments aimed at every player, satellites that start at just $1 and guaranteed prize pools of up to $250,000, the Black Diamond Poker Open offers something for every player!
Visit Bovada's Black Diamond Poker Open page to get more details and download their software so you can get started right away! In addition to the Black Diamond Poker Open, new online poker players can also get a bonus of up to $1,000 with their first deposit while enjoying the best player support in the business!

Nearly six years after exiting the U.S. market, PartyPoker parent company bwin.party has submitted papers to make its return. According to Cardplayer, bwin.party officially applied for a Nevada gaming license with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, adding its name to a growing list of companies interested in the space once online gaming is legalized.

After the passage of Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on Sept. 29, 2006, PartyGaming suspended all real-money gaming business with U.S. customers and exited the market. Three years later, PartyGaming signed a Non-Prosecution Agreement to fork over $105 million to the U.S. Department of Justice for offering Internet gambling to U.S. customers prior to the passage of the UIGEA. The settlement cleared PartyGaming from being prosecuted for any of its activities relating to its U.S operations, and also paved the way for company if the U.S. decides to legalize and regulate online gaming in the future.

PartyGaming merged with bwin last April and, six months later, the company partnered with MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming in an "anticipatory" move for legalized on gambling. As part of the joint venture, bwin.party will own 65 percent of the company for providing and maintaining the software for both gaming companies.

MGM will hold 25 percent ownership and Boyd will own 10 percent. MGM and Boyd have already submitted similar applications as online poker operators.

PartyPoker was once the No. 1 online poker room in the U.S. before the company departed the country. Bwin.Party CEO Jim Ryan told PokerNews last month that while the bwin.party/MGM/Boyd venture won't be able to grab 50 percent of the market share that PartyPoker once had pre-UIGEA, it will have a "very meaningful liquidity pool" in a highly competitive space.

PokerNews reached out to bwin.party on Thursday but a spokesperson declined to comment.

Full Tilt Poker has come under intense criticism from customers and poker pros alike regarding the deafening silences it has maintained since April last year, when the US DOJ shut down the site on Black Friday. Now, we are seeing the first signs of life from the beleaguered online poker site, with the Chief Executive Officer, Ray Bitar, coming out publicly to apologize for his silence after nearly 11 months.

One of the first questions asked of Bitar in the interview was why nobody from the site has spoken out to reassure the thousands of players, owed millions of dollars, that they will see their money again. Many commentators have said that players would have preferred to hear that there wasn’t much chance of them being paid out, then hearing nothing at all for so many moths.
In response to the question, Bitar said: “the ongoing legal process which has precluded me from providing any relevant information surrounding the on-going investigation, and of course, I have not wanted to jeopardize the process in any way.” He also said that he had “been working every single day since Black Friday to ensure players are repaid, which has been my top priority, as well as working on the future plans of FTP. This work had to be done out of the scrutiny of the public eye.”
Bitar turned to his public for the first time in nearly a year and said that he was sorry. “I would like to offer my sincere apology to all who have been affected by these events and to clarify that my silence was not an attempt to ‘hide’ or ‘ignore’ the situation.”

Response to Bitar’s apology and comments has mainly been of frustration. Firstly, people are asking why he took so long to apologize, as the word ‘sorry’ could not have jeopardized any deal going on behind the scenes. Secondly, the interview didn’t bring players any closer to an answer to the one question they have – when are we going to see our funds paid back?

This Saturday, Mar. 10 at 6 p.m. in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, PaddyPowerPoker.com is hosting a €150 + €15 buy-in no-limit hold’em Irish Open satellite with three Irish Open main event seats worth €3,500 each guaranteed.

The satellite will allow for two rebuys or one rebuy and one add on.

There are also many ways to win a seat in this year’s Irish Open online at PaddyPowerPoker.com, including the Irish Open Cheltenham Freeroll Satellite taking place on Mar. 12 at 8 p.m..

Paddy Power, Communications Manager for the site, said, “This year we are expecting some of the world’s most famous poker players to attend the Irish Open 2012; Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Eoghan O’Dea are just some of the pros already confirmed to play. Therefore those lucky enough to win their seat to the Irish Open 2012 will not only be playing for an estimated prize-pool of €2 million, but they will have the chance to play against some of the worlds most renowned poker players.”

From a development perspective online casinos have stood still for years despite being the biggest revenue drivers in terms of both margin and turnover for most operators. BodogUK now intends to completely overhaul the online casino market.

With that goal in mind the keys have been given to Adam Joseph to drive and revolutionise this all-important platform. Adam joins BodogUK as Head of Casino from Betfair where he held a similar role. Before moving to Betfair in 2008 he held senior Casino/Gaming positions at Stan James and Mansion, where he had global ownership for Mansion.com, Casino.com and Mansion88, driving revenue increases in Asia through Live Dealer integration. In his new role, he will be responsible for developing and implementing the Casino strategy for BodogUK.

Patrik Selin, CEO of BodogUK, commented: "In this business all roads lead to casino yet it is the one product that has seen the least innovation and investment across the industry. With Adam's drive and our backing we hope to be making some waves in this vital area over the coming months."

SOURCE BodogUK

The history of online gambling in the U.K has seen its fair share of funny and almost bizarre advertizing concepts over the years and some of them have been found objectionable to the general public. The U.K.’s Advertizing Standards Authority has for the most part been diligent in keeping things on an even keel making sure all minority groups and sensitive people aren’t scared for life by images or ideas.

The latest edict has come down from the Authority that asks the ad placed by 888 Poker in 2011 be removed from the airwaves. After the ASA received a complaint about the spot last year, and after careful review of the facts the ASA has come to the conclusion that the spot breached the high standards of the organization. It was determined that the advert in some way connected gambling with seduction.

The spot which promotes the PokerCam innovation on 888 Poker web site is now removed. The details in the reasoning for its removal were revealed with the request. The advertizing depicts a young man turning on his web cam for a game of internet poker with the voice over sound saying, , “You never know who you might meet at a PokerCam table,” The scene then shows a group of other poker players which includes as one might guess a bunch of young women and one playing beside a pool dressed in a bikini.
It was determined that the voiceover and the spot was particularly “flirtatious and seductive.” thus it was in violation of the Code of Advertising Practices set out by the ASA. An objection was made by 888 Poker that maintained it was an innocent advert that promoted an innovative approach to playing online poker something the advocacy group Clearcast supported. Other high profile online gambling firms have been subject to the ASA’s high ethical standards, most recently the spot Paddy Power produced that bent the gender envelope. 888Poker has the option to modify and resubmit the advertizing campaign if it chooses.

Online gambling firm bwin.party are poised to return to the US poker market after almost six years away following their application for a gaming licence with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The Gibraltar-based company – which owns online poker room PartyPoker – have submitted their application to add their name to an ever-growing list of firms showing great interest in taking advantage of the expected legalisation of online poker in the USA.

Read article in full: www-pokernewsreport-com/partypoker-owners-bwin-party-aiming-to-return-to-us-market-7767