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There have been many activities, including major sporting events like the 2020 Olympics, the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500 that have been postponed until later in this year or 2021. There is a bigger list of events that have been canceled outright. Thus, it comes as little surprise that PokerStars announced this morning that… Read more »
Opening night for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa was a huge success, especially if you look at just the poker room. Running at only half-capacity, the 46-seat poker room had a running list all night and apparently went off without a hitch. On the other end of the spectrum, however, is… Read more »
After two months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida’s poker rooms and, perhaps more importantly, the Seminole Indians casino system will begin the slow process of reopening their properties. In these reopenings, there is an extreme importance placed on the cleanliness of the properties and keeping the players distant from each other. For… Read more »
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 »
As the decision to “reopen the economy” during the COVID-19 pandemic is up to state governments largely because of the lack of a plan on the federal level, different states are naturally doing different things. Wise or not (mostly not, probably), many states are trying to return to some semblance of “normalcy.” For some, regular… Read more »
After over two months of complete shutdown in society from the COVID-19 pandemic, many places in the States of America are beginning to entertain the notion of opening themselves up and trying to reestablish “normal” life. For many, this might entail the casinos and card rooms across the country. But different casinos and poker rooms… Read more »
On Saturday, PokerStars hosted a whopper of a celebrity charity poker tournament on PokerStars.net. The Stars CALL for Action tournament raised $1 million for charity. Emerging victorious and winning $100,000 for his cause was actor David Costabile, known for his supporting roles in some of the best shows on television like “Breaking Bad,” “The Wire,”… Read more »
While it has not been proven to be an actual plan for the future of one of Las Vegas’ most powerful casino conglomerates, there is an alleged plan for the opening of the MGM Resorts properties making the rounds on social media. The plan, while logical, may be rooted in information that came from a… Read more »
In a spirited and informational meeting on Thursday afternoon, the Nevada Gaming Control Board officially enacted their regulations for the reopening of the Nevada gaming industry. These rules will be in force for every major casino operation on The Strip in Las Vegas, in the historical downtown Fremont Street area and for the more than… Read more »
I’ll admit, despite being an incredibly well-respected subject matter expert and trend-setter, I am not an avid consumer of online poker streams. This weekend, however, while I sit at home not doing yard work, I will likely pull up Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook and check out what should be an extremely entertaining poker tournament. On… Read more »
“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ‘em.” Pepper Brooks, Dodgeball (2004) In a report from the “this should go well” files, the Island Resort & Casino in Harris, Michigan announced on Friday that it will reopen this coming Wednesday, May 6. Shutdown order not a concern But wait, you… Read more »
After nearly two months of closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting quarantine, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has come out with minimum standards to allow for the reopening of casinos in the state. In some cases, the standards will be extreme in that it will not allow for the usual “fanfare” that… Read more »
With the COVID-19 outbreak keeping people at home, many poker players have been looking for ways to entertain themselves. One way of doing that is through movies about the game and there are plenty out there to choose from. One of those is a hugely underrated classic from the mid-Aughts called Freeze Out, which has… Read more »
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the announcement of the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series on GGPoker. In the announcement, the WSOP said that it would be made up of “hundreds” of tournaments. To that, I had the hottest of takes, “Hundreds is a lot of tournaments, if you ask me.” And holy jeez,… Read more »
The last couple months have been pretty bad, which is the understatement of this new decade. There are silver linings and rays of light in all this darkness, though. One such positive is the immense creativity that so many people have displayed in the ways they work, entertain, and just generally live while largely stuck… Read more »
There’s been a great deal of everyday life that has shut down since the COVID-19 pandemic began and people were put into, to paraphrase The Clash, “the clampdown.” Along with carry-out meals from restaurants and grocery stores, there have been some businesses that have experienced a resurgence, however. One of those, perhaps not surprisingly, is… Read more »
Just after the beginning of the year, the Commonwealth of Kentucky was moving forward with discussions regarding online gaming and poker in the state. It had been an abrupt turn for the state from its previous approaches to the controversial subject. Unfortunately, however, the discussion of online poker and gaming has been derailed by something… Read more »
Poker during a pandemic is a bad idea We were all waiting for this shoe to drop. It felt inevitable. Caesars entertainment finally announced that the 2020 World Series of Poker has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to begin just over a month from now on May 26th, the goal is… Read more »
According to various reports, Las Vegas officials and their casino operations are currently in discussions as to how and when to reopen the city. In most of these scenarios, there will be a significant reduction in the numbers of people – guests, gamblers and employees – who will be allowed in the businesses. The bottom… Read more »
Virus spread quickly Eight retirees ranging from age 70s to mid-90s had been getting together for a home poker game at their condo in South Florida for years. Five days a week, they played a low-stakes game like many of us might, just having a blast spending time with friends. A month ago was their… Read more »
It was the oracle Kevin Garnett who once said, “Anything is possiblllllle!!!”* On Sunday, self-described “washed-up poker pro” and founder of the Run It Once online poker room, Phil Galfond, completed his comeback in the first match-up of the Galfond Challenge. Down €900,240.17 after the February 9th session, Galfond nailed down the win with fewer… Read more »
Dan Smith, fifth on the all-time poker tournament money list, announced on Monday that he has launched an initiative through his Double Up Drive organization to raise money for households in the Las Vegas area that are most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, he has teamed up with Phil Galfond,… Read more »
Poker is a funny game, isn’t it? One minute, you can be down and out, not able to do anything right, and the next minute you can be flying high, hitting every card you need. Such has been the case for Phil Galfond in the first matchup of the Galfond Challenge. In February, he was… Read more »
When it came out in 2014, the book Molly’s Game pulled the curtains back on the high stakes poker world. Written by the ringmaster of those games, former Olympic skiing hopeful Molly Bloom, the story entranced both the poker community and the celebrity world as Bloom documented the exploits of celebrities and businessmen inside the… Read more »
The COVID-19 outbreak has seen something that has never happened in the history of the casino industry in the States of America. The closure of all gaming activity in casinos across the land has left several states wondering what the impact will be from the strangulation of revenues. In one state, however, that abrupt shutoff… Read more »
