The tournament was played over two very, very long days with only 72 players making it into the second day. Seven hours into day two, the final table was determined. While Brian Ali, Matthew Lope and Joseph Opie were all clustered together in the top of the heap, Lu overcame their stacks and earned his victory.
Lu walked away with $43,184 and his first-ever World Series of Poker gold ring. He also takes the early lead in the point race for top player at the Caesars Atlantic City series. The player that accumulates the most overall points in the series of ten gold ring tournaments receives a pre-paid entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in May at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.
Congratulations to Michael H. who reached the ONE-BILLIONTH HAND OF BLACKJACK MILESTONE and won $1,000 in cash plus the option of taking a fabulous all-inclusive trip to either Fiji or to Monaco to watch the 2011 Grand Prix in style.
Our second winner was Joey W. who won the Billionaire’s Experience prize draw by having his name chosen randomly from our long list of casino players who also qualified to win the grand prize.
As much as both players would like to take advantage of the awesome trips they’ve won, it seems that due to busy work schedules, neither player will be able to take either trip but according to Joey, he’s going to do everything he can to make his way to Fiji. Let’s hope that at least one the guys make it out there, they deserve it and we’d love to see pictures.
Congratulations to Michael and Joey on their big win and we’d like to congratulate them both on a job well done. For a more detailed account of their spectacular win, make sure to catch up with us on Monday as we cover this story in our Bodog Casino Articles section.
Congratulations guys!
You can either go down the street to the Meskwaki casino and join a table, or travel to another casino, or you can get online and likely join a website based in some other country, and hope that it is legitimate. But a bill working its way through the Iowa Senate would give you another option.
You may soon be able to register with a state casino, open an account and play from home legally.
"It's one of those bills that's truly non-partisan," said Rep. Lance Horbach, R-Tama. "I don't think it's Republican or Democrat."
The vote on the bill, which passed out of the Senate State Government Committee this week, would seem to support that assumption. That bill gained the support of two Republicans and seven Democrats in committee.
Two Democrats joined four Republicans in voting against the measure. One of those voting against it was Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center.
Sodders said the intent of the bill is to allow a way for Iowans to play poker with other Iowans, for money, in the convenience of their own homes. However, he said he is not sure the bill would accomplish that.
How would residents in other states be excluded? What would happen if an Iowan moved to another state after opening an account?
How would fraudulent accounts be discovered and policed?
"I don't think we've fully looked at all that," Sodders said.
If those issues could be resolved, Sodders said he would be more open to considering the idea. That is not true of Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown.
"I have always totally been opposed to any efforts to expand gambling," he said.
Iowans have plenty of gaming opportunities now, he said.
Sodders said he is also unsure how the bill would affect the closest casino to the Marshalltown area, located on the Meskwaki Settlement. The plan calls for allowing state-regulated casinos to participate. While the Meskwaki casino is accountable to the state in some ways, it is not a state-regulated casino in the traditional sense.
"That's something else that we need to look at," Sodders said.
Horbach, whose district includes the Meskwaki Settlement, said he has not had contact with any members of the tribe or the tribe's lobbyist, Thomas Jochum, about the Senate bill. Calls left for Jochum and at the tribal offices seeking comment about the bill were not returned Friday.
There could be a good reason for the tribe's silence up to this point, Horbach said. Members of the tribe may feel the bill is not going to go anywhere this year - and they are probably right, he added.
"There's not a big constituency pushing this bill right now," Horbach said. "I don't think it will see floor time in the House, but I've been surprised before."
However, the bill has survived the funnel and could move to the floor of the Senate, and then be forwarded to the House.
Unlike other measures attempted previously in New Jersey, California, and even on the Federal level, the Iowa bill that was introduced by State Senator Jeff Danielson only applies to online poker, and would also limit the scope of the law to Iowa –meaning the bill would legalize intrastate online poker where only Iowa residents would be permitted to play.
While the numbers are far from precise, an estimated 150,000 Iowans play online poker, and the independent studies have predicted that the state could reap a windfall of some $40 million annually from the measure.
Republican Senator Rick Bertrand is in favor of the bill but not for the typical reason. Bertrand sees the states in a race with the Federal Government to legalize online poker, and wants to make sure his state does not get the short-end of the revenue stick. PokerNewsDaily.com reports Bertrand as stating: “If we don’t make a move now, the Federal Government is going to make a move in the next few years and we’ll lose the revenue… I think it’s forward-thinking.”
Seidel's trip to the top wasn't an easy one, he bested both WSOP 2010 final tabular Jonathan Duhamel and David Oppenheim before facing down Chris Moneymaker in a match that reiterated each player's importance to the game of poker in its current state. Siedel was in the movie Rounders and Chris Moneymaker is famous for being the first online poker player to score big with his 2003 victory at the World Series of Poker.
"It is always exciting to compete against my fellow poker players who showcased great skill on the tables this year," Seidel told reporters.
Seidel won $750,000 for his victory while Moneymaker got a decent-enough $300,000 for being the runner up. The 64-player championship was taped for broadcast on NBC over six consecutive Sundays beginning April 17.
"[The collection's aim] was to show the independent woman, to focus on individuality and freedom of expression," Burney told the The Express Tribune, and it's certainly easy to see how poker can offer the smart woman both things, even in a culture as notoriously difficult when it comes to gender issues as that country's.
Unusually for a presentation in Pakistan, the fashion presented featured lots of western influences, but that was part of the point. Designer YBQ addressed the students about their role: "You have to bring revolution in the Pakistani fashion world. The responsibility does not lie on my shoulder any longer for I am old, it lies on yours."
While haut couture isn't normally within the purview of this blog, it's always nice to see how poker impacts other cultures, even if it's something as seemingly inconsequential as expensive dresses.
It doesn't matter what you wear when you play online poker at Bodog Poker!
Esfandiari made a continuation bet of $6,200 with 8-7 of the suit for flush and straight draws, Peat called with 7-6 for middle pair, and Barry Greenstein raised to $30,000 with pocket fours for bottom set. Esfandiari three-bet to $106,000 and Peat, wisely, folded. Greenstein responded by four-betting all-in and Esfandiari responded in kind.
"The Magician" asked Greenstein if he wanted to run the hand once or twice they agreed to just do it oncer. With a pot worth $593,000 hanging in the balance, the turn was the queen of hearts, giving Esfandiari a flush. Needing the board to pair – any pair – on the river, Greenstein watched as an eight hit.
With moments like this and former SNL-er and comedic genius Norm Macdonald hosting the series, it's easy to see why High Stakes Poker is even more worth your time than NBC's inexplicably popular-past-its-sell-by-date series.
In a press release, TintWorld franchise owner Charles Bonfiglio said, "We are very excited to have Michael and Robert on the TintWorld team. They have already made great progress and I have no doubt that they will continue to do great things at TintWorld not only for their nationally recognized names, but also their intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit."
The Mizrachis have earned millions playing poker around the world with both hosting seminars on the sport and helping others become better players. The first of their three Tint World franchises is located in North Miami Beach, FL and opened in October 2010. Ina move that helps prove that their business management skills are on par with their poker skills, they've already expanded the first TintWorld from solely automotive services to also provide residential and commercial window file. Additionally, they have several major commercial national accounts for window tinting services and high-end car dealerships for auto styling services.
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Iowa’s 1165 will allow the state’s racing and gaming commission to license and regulate online poker “hub” operators. These operators would need to pay $3 million upfront, credited against future taxes, and based on revenues. Only residents of Iowa will be allowed to play at online poker sites and certain player protection mechanisms would need to be set in place.
In the meantime, Governor Christie’s decision to delay New Jersey’s online gambling efforts for now was greeted by disappointment by proponents of the bill. However, they were left with a slither of optimism after Christie said that although he vetoed the bill, he still suggested that efforts could be made to revive the bill by asking voters to approve online gambling through a referendum.
“The expansion of gambling in New Jersey has been slow and cautious,” he said in his message. “If the Legislature believes that expanding gambling outside of Atlantic City is in the best interests of the State of New Jersey, it should place the question on the ballot for voters to decide.”
Christie said that one of his misgivings about the bill was that revenue would go towards supporting New Jersey’s horse racing industry. The governor wants to remove the industry off state subsidies and feels that the online gambling bill would be taking his efforts backwards.
The Czech native came from behind to beat fellow countryman Luboš Galuška heads up and collect a €30,000 at the Card Casino.
"I've been playing poker for a number of years so to win an event like this is fantastic," he said.
"In many ways the feeling of being the winner is even better than the money. I really enjoyed it; the event was really well-organised and I think it's a great idea, giving normal players the chance to experience a big tournament like this."
The €550 buy-in The Paradise Poker Tour Prague main event drew 230 players, running March 2-6 with a €125,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Here's how the final table finished up:
1 Radoslav Průcha €30,000
2 Luboš Galuška €21,300
3 Mariusz Chrusciel €14,000
4 Tibor Boros €9,150
5 Bernd Wachter €6,000
6 Salim Alibas €4,900
7 Ivan Buchbauer €4,100
8 Jiři Vojta €3,500
9 Petr Hlavaček €2,900
This watching were flabbergasted: it didn’t matter Ippolito was the favorite or the underdog when the chips moved in, it just seemed like his wish list of cards hit the board, time and time again. Perhaps no hand illustrated Ippolito’s good fortune more than one moment that took place right before the final table started. Ippolito was dealt A-K (clubs) and pushed all-in against an opponent holding A-K (spades). In a case like this, the vast majority of situations split the pot, but Ippolito caught three clubs and seized the chip lead. That was just one of the many moments that defined his run to the top.
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The 23-year-old van der Sloot is accused of killing Stephany Flores in his hotel room in Peru after she supposedly learned of van der Sloot’s involvement in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
If convicted of the charge of first-degree murder, van der Sloot faces between 15 and 35 years in a Peruvian jail. However, if the judge accepts his "violent emotion" plea, the man who's been on every news show and bringing down the name of poker would receive a sentence of just 3 to 5 years in prison.
Van der Sloot signed a written confession last year, admitting that he slammed Flores in the face with his elbow and strangled her, before finally, removing his shirt and asphyxiating her with it. The methodical nature of the murder makes van deer Sloot's appeal for insanity look a bit more sketchy.
Yeah Baby! We are proud to announce that we have found not one but two blackjack players who are going down in the history books here at Bodog after having won the Bodog Billionaire’s Experience giveaway, which means that they are both our grand prize winners! Congratulations guys!
Congratulations to Michael H. who reached the ONE-BILLIONTH HAND OF BLACKJACK MILESTONE and won $1,000 in cash plus the option of taking a fabulous all-inclusive trip to either Fiji or to Monaco to watch the 2011 Grand Prix in style.
Our second winner was Joey W. who won the Billionaire’s Experience prize draw by having his name chosen randomly from our long list of casino players who also qualified to win the grand prize.
As much as both players would like to take advantage of the awesome trips they’ve won, it seems that due to busy work schedules, neither player will be able to take either trip but according to Joey, he’s going to do everything he can to make his way to Fiji. Let’s hope that at least one the guys make it out there, they deserve it and we’d love to see pictures.
Congratulations to Michael and Joey on their big win and we’d like to congratulate them both on a job well done. For a more detailed account of their spectacular win, make sure to catch up with us on Monday as we cover this story in our Bodog Casino Articles section.
Congratulations guys!
Who won during came out on top in the most recent tourney? Aljoxa took first place this week, earning $23,600. They were followed by kt4949 ($13,600) and DrSwisstard , who rounded out the top three spots while taking away $9,100. Here's the rest of the final table results: livlife ($7,000); Hasn82 ($5,700); doylesoldier ($4,500); bringitbtchs ($3,300); Vida_1973 ($2,200); jhill_madami ($1,300);
In addition to our show-stopping Sunday events, Bodog hosts its regular weekly tournaments to players, and here's the winners of last week's events!
* February 28 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: mole ($3,206.50)
* March 1 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Giselle ($2,798.12)
* March 2 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: franknut26 ($2,750.00)
* March 3 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: iwillraiseyou2 ($3,251.87)
* March 6 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: thecure19 ($3,070.37)
* March 6 • $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack Moneystop ($3,390.00)
Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool. Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!
The fourth event at Caesars was a $570 buy-in no limit hold 'em tournament and with the lead that Mun Nguyen had over everyone else at the final table (1,350,000 in chips vs his closes competitor, who had 930,000,) many assumed he was going to take the top stop. However, when it was all was said and done, A 38 year old account from Brooklyn won the tournament and $41,186. Paul "Paulie Nuts" Lambrakis, famed for his tight aggressive play among locals. He's earned a gold ring and is on the leaderboard for entry into the $1 million 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit National Championship, to be held in May at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.
The states' efforts follow a push by big casino companies and others to create a federal law legalizing online poker, which failed in Congress last year. The bill was supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
Now some pushing a federal solution have turned to statehouses. Iowa, California and Florida are among other states considering online poker bills that limit play to people in the state. New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie last week vetoed such an intrastate bill, the first to pass a state legislature.
Nevada passed a law that set the stage for legalizing Internet gambling around ten years ago, but regulators never wrote rules allowing it. State Assemblyman William Horne on Thursday introduced a bill that would order regulators to allow poker for Nevada residents and others in states that legalize online poker.
"I'm hoping something like this in Majority Leader Reid's backyard serves as a further clarion call that the federal government needs to step up and do this first," said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, an organization that represents U.S. online poker players.
Online gambling was effectively banned in the U.S. by a 2006 federal statute that outlawed financial transactions related to Internet gambling across state lines. The U.S. online poker market yields about $5 billion in revenue.
The lobbying force behind the Nevada bill is Rational Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., which does business under the name Poker Stars. Based in Britain's Isle of Man, it runs gambling sites the U.S. considers illegal.
Much of Nevada's casino industry came out against the bill Thursday. MGM Resorts Spokesman Alan Feldman said the company would oppose the bill because it makes it too easy for Poker Stars and another company, Full Tilt, to be licensed.
"You have one company trying to impose a business model on legislation," Mr. Feldman said of Poker Stars. "We have to eliminate illegal online gambling and crack down on foreign operators that don't comply with federal law."
The game will use the same format as their popular (if mysteriously discontinued) take on 1 vs 100 — players play in scheduled games that last 30 minutes. There are no sit-and-gos or cash tables with Full House Poker, just a game show style format. The game kicks off on March 15th 2011 for both the 360 and Windows Phone 7 through the Zune marketplace.
In the meantime, if you want to play poker for fun or for real money, cheek out the action at Bodog Poker! We offer terrific free online poker for players as well as games with stakes at every level!
While Matthew Piccolo's jovial (and sometimes annoying) disregard for etiquette was the center of the show, it was Korea-born, Japan-raised Jaeik Cho that made poker history when he became the first-ever Japanese player to win a World Series of Poker-related tournament. The 21-year-old college student is from Tokyo and while he was born in South Korea, he grew up in Japan and only speaks Japanese and English. He's currently studying economics at William and Mary University in Virginia.
Cho learned the game while playing with friends and has won over $200,000 playing online poker. He earned $29,843 in prize money for his victory.
Zachary K. of NY came in a close second by using his skills at the blackjack tables to earn a mega wad of cash totaling $35,800.
We have plenty more winners to add to our list, check below for a complete list of our daily winners.
Other big Bodog Casino winners included:
Michael C. of TX won $21,245 playing Triple Toucan slot machine.
Chris W. of MA won $14,915 playing Caribbean Holdem Poker.
Edmund S. of G won $14,830 playing European Blackjack.
Jackie M. of CA won $14,727 playing Incan Goddess slots.
Justin G. of NC won $12,058 playing Prince of Sherwood slots.
Steven F. of ND won $10,737 playing Crystal Waters slots.
Michael P. of AZ won $10,020 playing Witches and Wizard slots.
James B. of WV won $9,212 playing Goldbeard slots.
Michael C of TX won $9,145 playing Incan Goddess slots.
Craig F. of CA won $6,614 playing online Blackjack.
Edward F. of CA won $6,141 playing online Blackjack.
Dave S. of CA won $6,029 playing Witches and Wizards slots.
Congratulations to all of our casino winners for the day who enjoy all of their favorite Vegas-style games in one of the most popular online casinos on the net.
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By the time play went three-handed, Brooks had the lead and would not let go. Mortensen was kicked to the curb, earning $640,680 for third place, which is surely a nice consolation prize. Rajkumar was defeated by a pair of sevens after going all-in on jack high.
The World Poker Tour LA Poker Classic drew 681 players to the Commerce Casino creating a $6,537,600 prize pool.
Here's how the final table finished up:
1 Gregory Brooks $1,654,120
2 Vivek Rajkumar $908,730
3 Carlos Mortensen $640,680
4 Amir Lehavot $421,680
5 Steve Gross $304,000
6 Darryll Fish $235,350