Maps mean nothing In what would be yet another move to make college football less fun and more of just a minor league for the NFL, the Big Ten is considering moving its season-ending championship game to Las Vegas. The traditionally Midwest-centric league has held its championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis since… Read more »
Editorial
Editorials by our staff members
What Was Going on With That Gronk Field Goal Promo For FanDuel During the Super Bowl?
One kick for millions If you watched Super Bowl LVII Sunday night – and congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs – you may have seen a quick 30-second bit in which again-retired tight end Rob Gronkowski attempted to make a 25-yard field goal. It was a promotion for FanDuel and I must say, it was…odd.… Read more »
BetOnline Embarasses Itself in Wake of Damar Hamlin Tragedy
Horror on the field When a tragedy occurs, the reaction of most people is to be sad or scared, to wonder what they can do to help, to seek the comfort of loved ones, or at least sit and ponder. Last night, though, BetOnline’s move was to try to profit in the moment, an act… Read more »
Editorial: The Hustler Casino “Cheating” Allegations Much Ado About Nothing?
There have been plenty of times when cheating in poker has occurred. The Russ Hamilton-led Ultimate Bet Superuser scandal is one particular moment that comes to mind, and the Mike Postle Stones Live situation has never been fully explained. Add into that the history of cheating in the game of poker – the usage of… Read more »
Editorial: Does Poker Need a Housecleaning? A “Black Book” Might Solve Some Issues
So, has anything happened in the poker world over the last week? It seems as if the news in the poker world – both live and online – has been one consistent black eye after busted lip after broken finger over the past few days. As the weekend has rolled by, it has continued to… Read more »
Editorial: It Is TIME for the WSOP To Rein in Phil Hellmuth
As my colleague and friend Dan Katz pointed out earlier this week, the 2021 World Series of Poker has been relatively uneventful to this point. Yes, the numbers have been a bit lower, as the MILLIONAIRE MAKER tournament showed (down from its 2019 level of 8809 entries to this year’s 5326). More than likely the… Read more »
Editorial: Are We Devaluing Our Trophies in Poker?
If you look back at the history of poker, there used to be so few methods of measuring success. In the distant past, the best way to prove who was the best poker player was by who won the most money. It was really simple to see who had the skills (either legitimate card sense… Read more »
Editorial: “Black Friday,” Ten Years Later
There are two things that I have learned about time: it is undefeated when it comes to a human’s lifespan and opinions and it continually marches forward. Ten years ago, the poker world was tossed into turmoil by what became known as “Black Friday,” or the shutdown of the most powerful poker rooms on the… Read more »
Editorial: To GGPoker…If You’re Ditching Kade, You Need to Ditch Bilzerian
After maintaining a “radio silence” after the signing of a new ambassador and the resulting controversies that has resulted from it, GGPoker has finally responded on a multitude of issues. In one situation, it blames the female in the case for the issues that have arisen and, in another, it continues to back their ambassador… Read more »
Editorial: Will There Be a 2021 World Series of Poker?
The confetti has been swept up, the noisemakers…oh, wait a second. There were no big gatherings for New Year’s Eve this year. It was quite odd looking at an empty Times Square on New Year’s Eve, but it has become the situation we face under the current COVID-19 pandemic. And, especially after the massive cluster…(my… Read more »
Editorial: Poker Hall of Fame Needs to Induct More, Not Less, New Members
When Caesars Entertainment and the World Series of Poker postponed the 2020 WSOP, one of the things that also seemed to be postponed was the induction of new members of the Poker Hall of Fame. Usually held simultaneously beside the final table of the $10,000 Championship Event, the WSOP looked to be bypassing that during… Read more »
New York Casino Workers Holding Rally to Pressure Governor to Reopen Casinos
New York’s commercial casinos are still closed by order of the governor and employees have had enough. A group of casino workers have planned a rally for Thursday morning outside the state Capitol Building in Albany to protest for their right to get back to their jobs. The casinos closed in mid-March, as did every… Read more »
Editorial: The Online “World Series of Poker” is a Joke
The announcement this week that Caesars Entertainment would provide an 85-tournament slate of events under the “World Series of Poker” banner was met with a mixture of enthusiasm, regret and outrage. Because of some of the restrictions on the events – not by Caesars and the WSOP, mind you, but by current laws and regulations… Read more »
Farewell, MPN, It Was Fun
MPN closes its doors Though online poker is booming right now, there is a bit of a dark cloud hanging over those of us who have been in the industry for a long time. Today, Wednesday, May 20, is the first day in over 17 years that MPN is not dealing any cards. MPN, a… Read more »
Editorial: What is the Future of Poker Rooms and Casinos?
The current lockdown of society due to the COVID-19 outbreak has brought everything to a screeching halt. This has been particularly hard on the casino industry and, by extension, the poker world. At no other point in history has the gaming industry faced such travails, but it may be even more problematic looking towards the… Read more »
Editorial: It’s Time for the WSOP to Decide…Postponement or Cancelation?
The world is now nearly four months into what has become a worldwide pandemic, as declared by the World Health Organization. Basically every facet of life has been affected, from people’s work situations to their home life to what they do for recreation. The future has become even more complex as people begin to wonder… Read more »
Editorial: What to Do When the Poker World Shuts Down
We are in an unprecedented time in the history of this country, if not the world. Everyday life has pretty much ground to a halt and those pastimes that we used to turn to for a respite – be it sports, casino gaming or poker – have been taken away as well. With the breakout… Read more »
Editorial: ANOTHER Ludicrous Decision from the WSOP With Late Registration
For 50 years, the World Series of Poker has been the pinnacle, the Pantheon, that all poker players aspired to take part in. For 50 years, the WSOP Championship Event – now going under the moniker of the “Main Event” – has been the apex of the poker world. Winning that event has earned the… Read more »
Editorial: An “Old School” Poker Tournament Series? Why Not?
Poker is a game that has been around for at least the past century or so (OK, you can go back to the 17th century and find a form in the game as nas from India, but that’s another discussion for another time). Over those years, there’s been moves to change the game, to make… Read more »
Editorial: Arrest Postle, Shut Down the Card Room, But End the Ongoing Situation
I’ve been reluctant to discuss the situation going on regarding poker “player” Mike Postle, even though his name has seemingly been in the news for the last two weeks. Quite honestly, the snafu has gotten more attention than it should have been and, as more time goes on, it just gets worse the more you… Read more »
Editorial: There’s No Need for a “Rounders 2”
When it comes to cinematic efforts about the poker world, there are some standouts on both the good and the bad side. Lucky You, despite a scintillating star turn by tournament director Matt Savage, isn’t considered one of the masterpieces of poker moviedom. Same goes for such films as Deal and the online poker themed… Read more »
Editorial: Time to Separate the “High Rollers” from the Record Books
The history of tournament poker isn’t a long one. At best it dates back to the 1960s, when the first “Texas Road Gamblers” (the predecessor of the World Series of Poker) convention was held in Reno. Even in 1970, when the late Benny Binion brought the convention to his Horseshoe in Las Vegas and rebranded… Read more »
Editorial: Want to Drive Away Players? Continue with Re-Entry Tournaments
There’s very little that can harm the game of poker. A bloody U. S. Civil War? Nope, both sides saw their combatants pass time between skirmishes by playing the game. Shuttling it off to seedy casinos and back alley poker rooms? Nope, just adds to the mystery and the charm of the game. Have massive… Read more »
Editorial: Didn’t the World Poker Tour Learn Anything from the WSOP “November Nine?”
This last weekend, the World Poker Tour was playing in one of its venerable abodes, the Borgata in Atlantic City. The WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event has become one of the preeminent poker stops on the tournament poker schedule, routinely drawing over 1000 entries in each of the last three years. But instead… Read more »
Random Untimely Thoughts: November Nine Was a Good Idea That Needed to Go
As I mentioned in a previous article, this is a very slow time for poker news. As such, my mind has been wandering while I have been sitting at my laptop, trying to come up with something to write. I was perusing recent posts and when I stopped on Earl Burton’s article about the WSOP… Read more »