Antonio Esfandiari Scoops $600,000 Pot on High Stakes Poker

Antonio Esfandiari Scoops $600,000 Pot on High Stakes Poker Thumbnail

Saturday night’s episode of the GSN cash game series “High Stakes Poker” featured the largest pot by far of Season 7, which is now just two hours old. Last week, two $400,000 pots were played and, this week, Victory Poker pro Antonio Esfandiari scooped one worth $593,000. Former “Saturday Night Live” funny man Norm Macdonald… Read more »

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Gregory Brooks Wins 2011 WPT L.A. Poker Classic

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Call it an upset if you will at the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic. With Full Tilt Poker pro Carlos Mortensen seeking to become the first player to four WPT wins and holding down the chip lead entering the final table, rookie Gregory Brooks ultimately came away with the title and banked $1.6… Read more »

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Chris Christie Vetoes New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill

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In breaking news from New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie has vetoed a bill passed overwhelmingly by both chambers of the state’s legislature that would have created the first intrastate internet gambling market in the U.S. According to the Wall Street Journal, Christie’s decision was in part based on doubts about whether the bill could withstand… Read more »

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Carlos Mortensen Leads WPT L.A. Poker Classic Final Table

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Carlos Mortensen has racked up several impressive distinctions as a player. He’s the only person ever to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship. He’s the WPT’s all-time money leader at $5.7 million and, on Thursday, he’ll have a chance to extend that mark. Mortensen will… Read more »

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Vivek Rajkumar Leads WPT L.A. Poker Classic with 18 Left

Vivek Rajkumar Leads WPT L.A. Poker Classic with 18 Left Thumbnail

Eighteen players remain in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic. Full Tilt Poker pro Vivek “Psyduck” Rajkumar has a stranglehold on the top spot on the leaderboard with 3.2 million in chips after four days of play. In fact, his stack is 40% larger than the second place tally of 2.3 million belonging… Read more »

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Jason DeWitt Leads WPT L.A. Poker Classic on Day 4

Jason DeWitt Leads WPT L.A. Poker Classic on Day 4 Thumbnail

On Sunday, the money bubble popped at the L.A. Poker Classic, a stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Sixty-three players remain and a top prize of $1.6 million is up for grabs. The tournament will dole out the first seven-figure grand prize of Season IX and Jason “TheMasterJ33” DeWitt holds down the top spot… Read more »

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UB.com COO Paul Leggett Responds to Alleged Extortion

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The poker world was stunned last week when Travis Makar, one of the people allegedly involved in the Ultimate Bet super user scandal, called into the DonkDown Radio show and revealed that he had a large number of documents regarding the site’s involvement in the scandal from years ago. Makar stated that he never worked… Read more »

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NBC Announces National Heads-Up Poker Championship Field

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The seventh annual National Heads-Up Poker Championship will return to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas next month and the excitement began building this week with the announcement of the 64-player field. Defending champion Annie Duke will join the world’s top pros and a handful of celebrities to compete for a record payday when the event… Read more »

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The Showdown Welcomes Jason Koon

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This week, the Poker News Daily exclusive web-based series “The Showdown with Jon Friedberg” welcomes Jason “NovaSky” Koon. He’s fresh off a $458,000 score for final tabling a Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) event and has become one of the top dogs in the industry. UB.com sponsors “The Showdown,” so support the show by… Read more »

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NFL Denies Players Entry to Charity Poker Tournament

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Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Johnny Chan, and several of poker’s biggest names joined a host of celebrities and NFL players for a charity poker tournament at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas over the weekend. The tournament was set up to raise money for the Starkey Hearing Foundation and Pros for Africa,… Read more »

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EPT Grand Final Leaves Monte Carlo for Madrid

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There’s a major change in the offing for the PokerStars-backed European Poker Tour (EPT). The tournament series’ Grand Final, which has been held in Monte Carlo for the past six seasons, will pick up and head to Madrid, Spain. The Casino Gran Madrid will serve as the host venue for the Season 7 EPT Grand… Read more »

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WPT Celebrity Invitational Final Table Set

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The final table of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Celebrity Invitational is set. The group of six was determined last night at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles and lawyer Damon Schramm leads the way with a stack of 865,000. A top prize of $100,000 is on the line in the invite-only tournament and each… Read more »

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Travis Makar Speaks Out on Ultimate Bet Scandal

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For the first time, one of the major players in the Ultimate Bet Superuser Scandal has spoken out about the case on a poker radio broadcast. On Wednesday night, “The Cold Call Show” hosted by World Series of Poker bracelet winner Todd “DanDruff” Witteles and Bryan “The Icon” Micon on DonkDown Radio, featured an interview… Read more »

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PartyPoker Launches Win Tonight Promotion

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Samsung 3D televisions, Apple iPads, and Monster Beats headphones are just a few of the prizes up for grabs as part of PartyPoker’s Win Tonight promotion, which runs until March 28th. The series of daily freerolls is open to new players only. The PartyPoker Win Tonight promotion began back on February 15th and gives players… Read more »

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Poker Prop Betting May Be Coming to Nevada Casinos

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If the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Las Vegas bookmakers have their way, betting on non-sporting events will soon be coming to casinos around the state. An article on the website Covers.com, written by Case Keefer, tells the story of how the Nevada Gaming Commission recently amended regulations to allow for wagering on “event betting.”… Read more »

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Eric Baldwin Joins The Showdown with Jon Friedberg

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This week, Poker News Daily’s exclusive news show “The Showdown with Jon Friedberg” welcomes one’s of the game’s hottest young guns, UB.com pro Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner discusses his rapid ascent in the game and how he continues to keep his edge. UB.com sponsors “The Showdown,” so support… Read more »

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Party Gaming May Be Inking Deal with U.S. Casinos

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Rumors out of the recent International Casino Exhibition (ICE) conference, which was held in late January in London, seem to point to a new era in online gaming in the United States – if and when the government legalizes and regulates online gaming. According to an article from the Daily Mail in London written by… Read more »

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Poker Players Celebrate Valentine’s Day

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Whether with their significant others or spending the day alone, poker players took the time to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Monday. Passing out his Valentine’s Day wishes to his lady, Mike Matusow also was apparently looking for a ride to the airport. “Just woke up, need to pack,“ Matusow Tweeted to his followers. “Happy Valentines… Read more »

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PokerStars Axing Double or Nothing Sit and Gos

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On February 15th, Double or Nothing Sit and Gos will be history on PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. “PokerStars Steve” made the announcement on the TwoPlusTwo forum four days ago: “This is not a decision that was made easily, as these tournaments have proven to be quite popular with players. However, after thorough… Read more »

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Gus Hansen Up $5 Million Since October

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On Thursday, HighStakesDB published an article lauding that Full Tilt Poker pro Gus Hansen is up an amazing $5 million since the beginning of October. $5 million! He’s played about 100,000 hands over the last four months and, despite his first World Poker Tour (WPT) title coming nine years ago in 2002, Hansen has remained… Read more »

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2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship Field Taking Shape

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This week, a partial list of entrants in the 2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship was released. The unique single-elimination tournament, which emanates from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, is set for March 3rd to 6th and will feature 64 of the game’s brightest minds. Last year, former UB.com pro Annie Duke defeated good friend Erik… Read more »

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