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Circa, the first casino built from the ground-up in downtown Las Vegas in forty years, officially opened just after midnight on Wednesday. From all first-hand reports at the invitation-only celebration, the new, glitzy gambling beacon is a glamorous venue that looks like it belongs on Strip. “I’m feeling great,” Circa owner Derek Stevens told the… Read more »
In what is rapidly becoming the format du jour for poker players to demonstrate their prowess, 15-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth completed his domination of fellow pro Antonio Esfandiari. Making “The Magician” “disappear,” Hellmuth finished off by winning three consecutive matches and, in the final match, $400,000. PokerGO Program What Poker World… Read more »
2020 has seen many special events either postponed or canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The British Open golf tournament, the New York City and Boston Marathons, and Wimbledon were all canceled this year while other events such as the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball saw significant… Read more »
Veteran poker pro Sam Grizzle passed away Tuesday after suffering a massive stroke. According to reports from friends close to the situation, the stroke was so bad that Grizzle fell into a coma with no hopes of recovering. His family made the decision to end life support. My introduction to Sam Grizzle was the same… Read more »
After a few years where he didn’t release any new material (or at least any material that was respected by the audience), rapper LL Cool J blasted back on the scene in 1991 with an album and song of the same name, Mama Said Knock You Out. The first line of the song set the… Read more »
Poker is an activity that has a multitude of discussion angles. From the way to play hands to the politics behind its legalization, there are many things that lend itself to a round table discussion. With this in mind, the founder of the CardPlayer Lifestyle website, Robbie Strazynski, has come up with exactly that –… Read more »
For those that were a part of the inaugural stop by the Midway Poker Tour in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, the outcome probably wasn’t what they were expecting. The problems continue to increase for the founder of the organization, Dan Bekavac, as other issues have arisen. All of it is leaving many with… Read more »
It’s been slightly more than a year since the state of Pennsylvania opened the doors on their online casino gaming industry. When they first opened, none of those with an online casino license opened for online poker, however. That changed in November of last year when Mount Airy Casino and PokerStars brought their online poker… Read more »
It’s been a long time in coming and the path hasn’t always been the smoothest. It now seems, however, that there will be a new addition to the online gaming and poker industry in the States of America. The state of Michigan is working on final approvals with operators and casinos inside the Wolverine State,… Read more »
We’re a little short This past weekend, a new live poker tournament series called the Midway Poker Tour debuted in Chicago. For those jonesing for a regional, relatively low-to-mid stakes tournament series, that’s great. But oh dear, was it a mess, unless you don’t like to travel light. The $1,100 Main Event had two starting… Read more »
Despite a court not finding that he was innocent of the allegations of cheating at the table, Mike Postle just can’t seem to let the subject drop. The disgraced former star of the Stones Gambling Hall online streaming program Stones Live has sued for libel against a litany of defendants. In the court papers for… Read more »
Paying a premium Well that was fast. Just two days after Caesars Entertainment confirmed that it was in “advanced talks” to acquire London-based bookmaker William Hill, the deal got done. On Wednesday, the companies announced that Caesars has purchased William Hill for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion). Caesars paid 272p ($3.52) per William Hill share, a… Read more »
Following a statement last week from William Hill, Caesars Entertainment confirmed on Monday that it is “advanced” talks to acquire the UK-based sports betting leader. The offer on the table right is for Caesars to pay 272p ($3.50) per William Hill share, making the total value of the potential takeover £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion). The… Read more »
Four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former WSOP Player of the Year Shaun Deeb has admitted to his Twitter audience that he has contracted the COVID-19 virus. While playing the 2020 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) from Mexico, Deeb contracted the virus and was so severely affected that he had to be… Read more »
The rollercoaster that became known as ‘PostleGate’ started off with a band but ended with a whimper. After seeing the courts (justifiably) rule that they could not hold either disgraced poker player Mike Postle, disgraced floor manager Justin Kuraitis nor Kuraitis’ employer, Stones Gambling Hall, responsible for the travesty that became Stones Live, 62 of… Read more »
Just had to wait it out After nearly a decade, it appears that online poker’s Black Friday ordeal is finally over. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg to time served and a $30,100 fine for a single charge of operating an illegal gambling business. My friend Earl Burton… Read more »
The year 2020 got a bit worse on Saturday evening. After a surgical procedure, former World Series of Poker final tablist Darvin Moon passed away due to complications from that surgery. He was only 56 years old. Brightest Light Shines Twice As Bright The New Orleans Saints-capped Moon is known as the lumberjack from the… Read more »
Next week the founder of the largest online poker site in the industry, former PokerStars owner Isai Scheinberg, will face the music. On September 23, Scheinberg will appear in federal court in New York City to learn what his fate will be from the charges that he has faced for almost a decade. But don’t… Read more »
No proof of cheating More than 60 of the 88 plaintiffs who sued Stones Gambling Hall, Justin Kuraitis, and Mike Postle over an alleged cheating scheme have entered into an “amicable settlement” with the casino. The financial terms were not disclosed, but a Stones source told The Sacramento Bee that the amount paid to each… Read more »
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak and the inability for many to travel, Caesars Entertainment utilized one of their biggest assets – the name of the World Series of Poker – and went online (for its part, Caesars has given lip service to having a live schedule in the U. S. in 2020, but time is… Read more »
This past week, the poker world had to come to grips with the fact that World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker champion, Poker Hall of Famer and the worldwide recognized Ambassador of Poker, Mike Sexton, was in the battle of his life against prostate cancer and in hospice care. It was announced on… Read more »
After pulling a stunning one-outer out of the fire near the final table, Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev battled back to capture the championship of the 2020 online WSOP. In defeating the 5082 entries that were compiled over a two-week period, Madanzhiev earned his biggest payday in his career – and in the history of online poker… Read more »
PokerStars is pulling out of China, Taiwan, and Macau, this according to an e-mail that the online poker room recently sent to its customers in the three countries. PokerStars has yet to make an official comment; the e-mail was posted on the Two Plus Two forums. The policy takes effect Tuesday, September 1. The trio… Read more »
You could be forgiven if you didn’t know it, but the 2020 online WSOP Main Event is ready to start “Day 2” this afternoon. To cover their $25 million guarantee, however, they have had to run 22 “Day Ones,” even running one on the VERY SAME DAY as the start of “Day 2.” In other… Read more »
It used to be that poker professionals aligned themselves with pretty much any product out there, eager to get their names in the ether so they could increase their notoriety. In 2020, however, those opportunities are few and far between. One pro who has beat that monkey is veteran poker professional Allen Kessler, who has… Read more »
