Gossip, twitter, etc.
Simple scheme didn’t last long 32-year old ex-casino dealer Ming Zhang was sentenced to 18 months in prison last week for leading a cheating scheme that bilked Maryland’s MGM National Harbor out of more than $1 million. He was also hit with three months supervised release after he completes his prison term. Zhang was a… Read more »
A French court ruled against professional poker player Rick Salomon, who sued wealthy Saudi Arabian Raad al-Khereiji for $2.8 million in unpaid poker debt. The poker game in question took place at the Tiara Miramar Beach hotel in Théoule-sur-Mer, France in 2014. Gambling law goes back to start of Napoleon’s reign The court made its… Read more »
In an interesting and unfortunate case, former World Poker Tour L. A. Poker Classic champion Dennis Blieden has pled guilty to several charges of embezzlement of millions of dollars. While he hasn’t been sentenced yet, it is highly likely the poker champion will not see the outside world for some time. Charges Include Identity Theft,… Read more »
One of the toughest things to come up with when programming a network – whether it is terrestrial, cable or streaming – is adequate material to put on your channel. In the case of PokerGO, there’s only so many tournament poker replays that can be put on the air. With that in mind, the streaming… Read more »
It is arguable that the tournament poker scene has never been more popular than today. The World Series of Poker Championship Event reached numbers that haven’t been seen since the mid-Aughts, it seems that stops on the World Poker Tour are consistently breaking previous records and even lower scale events (daily tournaments) seem to be… Read more »
In sitting at the poker table, players will try to mix up their game lest their opposition gets locked in that they are taking an ABC approach to playing. One of the more popular ways to deviate from the norm but with still apparently strong holdings is to play paint cards. “Paint” cards – any… Read more »
Phil Galfond, the founder of the young online poker room Run It Once Poker (RIO) and former high stakes poker pro, issued a challenge yesterday to all comers. Posting on the Run It Once blog, Galfond is looking for people to take him on in high stakes heads-up matches. The challenge outline Galfond has a… Read more »
It was a case that seemed rather stunning, considering that it was a supposedly successful businessman and poker player that was charged. But, in a Michigan courtroom last week, poker player Michael Borovetz pled guilty to a singular charge of theft by false pretenses. In reaching the plea deal, Borovetz probably will avoid lengthy jail… Read more »
MGM wants to get lighter MGM continues to look to shed properties, as Bloomberg is reporting that MGM Resorts International and MGM Growth Properties LLC, a real estate investment trust spinoff, are looking for an investor to buy the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay. Bloomberg’s sources provided little detail and MGM Growth Properties did not… Read more »
You know the joke about “Florida Man?” Well, if there was ever a Florida Man, 21-year-old Michael Psilakis is that person, because he is perhaps the dumbest shit ever to (allegedly) commit a murder. Psilakis was arrested on November 2nd by Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing a man… Read more »
The talk of the poker world the past few days has been the mess the World Series of Poker found itself in on Friday when it was discovered that a data entry error led to the Player of the Year point totals being incorrect. After fixing the mistake, presumed winner Daniel Negreanu was bumped down… Read more »
One of the most difficult things for a poker player to do is to accurately track critical hands during a live session. Whether a cash game or tournament, these hand histories can help a poker player to improve their game but only if there is an accurate accounting of how the hand played out –… Read more »
When I was sixteen-years old, shortly after I got my driver’s license, I had a bizarre minor accident. I was pulling into a parking space at a strip mall to get my haircut when suddenly, my car sped up, jumped the curb, and hit the shopping center’s façade. To this day, I don’t know what… Read more »
Last week, I wrote an editorial about how there wasn’t a need for a Rounders 2 in the Poker Cinematic Universe (or the PCU, which you can say you heard it here first!). One thing that is timeless, however, are documentaries, as seen by the recent Ken Burns opus Country Music (well worth the time… Read more »
After the second ever final table deal at a World Poker Tour event – after years of claiming that there weren’t any “deals” in a WPT tournament – Executive Tournament Director Matt Savage has admitted there is a problem. In an attempt to correct this issue, Savage has opened up discussion on the subject on both… Read more »
The saga of the city of Houston and its poker clubs has to be one of the top stories of 2019. With arrests made and allegations of illegal money laundering, it seemed as if law enforcement had the upper hand. With the collapse of the case against those clubs, however, it is now pulling back… Read more »
Yesterday The Stars Group, the ownership behind the monolithic PokerStars in the online poker world, announced some of the changes in their 2020 PokerStars Players’ Championship (PSPC) that will come up next August in Barcelona. Buried in the depths of that interview, PokerStars has announced that, after a 15-year run, that the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure… Read more »
Kimesha Monae Williams, the sister of NBA star Kawhi Leonard, was charged on Friday with the murder of 84-year old Afaf Anis Assad at the Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula, California. Both Williams and Candace Tai Townsel were arrested on September 3rd and charged with robbery and elder abuse in addition to murder. According to… Read more »
The years-long fallout from the Phil Ivey edge-sorting case continues. Last we heard, Marina District Development Co, LLC, the Borgata’s parent company, successfully garnished Ivey’s World Series of Poker winnings. Now, two of Ivey’s backers for the WSOP are trying to get their share back. Poker pros Daniel “Jungleman” Cates and Illya Trincher have filed… Read more »
Ken Strauss, the man who was disqualified from Day 1C of the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event for revealing his nether region and throwing his shoe on the table, is in some hotter water. On July 27th, Strauss was arrested for tweeting threats against two Las Vegas casinos and last week was indicted… Read more »
When I was in middle school, my family went on a road trip from Wisconsin to South Dakota. Now, that sort of road trip is not all that exciting on first blush to a kid, but as it turned out, it was a lot of fun. Saw Mount Rushmore, hiked in the Badlands, visited Wall… Read more »
There are plenty of ways to tell a story in the world of poker. One of those that isn’t tapped often, however, is the documentary film. Past documentarians have told the story of online poker, the life and passing of the legendary Stu Ungar, and the “poker boom” of the 2000s. Now the ladies are… Read more »
The move by The Stars Group, the owners of the #1 online poker site in the industry (PokerStars), to limit the number of cash game tables that players can play simultaneously has brought an avalanche of reactions. The reactions have been about 50/50, surprisingly, with some admitting that the new move will improve their game… Read more »
In just the latest salvo in the ongoing war between poker professional Phil Ivey and the Atlantic City casino the Borgata, Ivey’s winnings at the 2019 World Series of Poker have been garnished and are in the hands of federal authorities. By taking this action, the state of Nevada and its businesses are officially endorsing… Read more »
Time to lighten things up around here. Now, this story is about law enforcement being called to a poker game, so on its face, it doesn’t necessarily seem like a “light” story, but it’s actually pretty funny. Lesson for today: be careful what you wish for. The entertainment was relayed by poker player Will Givens,… Read more »
