Sportingbet (SBT.L), is seeking a bail hearing for its two junior staff members who were arrested in Turkey last month in connection with Sportingbet's Turkish-facing sports betting operation Superbahis.com. Read more »
In an unexpected turn of events on Wednesday, HR 5767, a bill proposed by Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) that would have stopped the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve from implementing the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, was defeated in the House Financial Services Committee. A vote for an amendment by Congressman Peter King that would have required cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice to identify what "illegal" and "legal" transactions were under the UIGEA ended in a dead heat largely along party lines. When the smoke cleared, the 32-32 vote meant that the amendment was defeated. The Committee then turned to a verbal vote for HR 5767, which was defeated when the "Nays" greatly outnumbered the "Yays." The news came as a shock to many in the internet gambling industry. Read more »
Let's start by making something clear: this player's real name is Juan Carlos Mortensen. He explained recently that when he first arrived at the United States he spoke no English, and he must have spoken too quickly when he introduced himself, as he soon found everybody calling him just "Carlos". Now you know how to greet him if you ever come across him in a tourney! Read more »
The notorious "Poker Brat" is undeniably a player of great skill – if not great manners – with a love for the limelight. Phil Hellmuth Jr. stormed into the poker world in 1989 when he became the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event, and almost a decade later he shows no sign of slowing down. 2007 saw him break his tie for most WSOP bracelets (which he shared for years with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan) when he won his 11th bracelet. All of Hellmuth's bracelets have been won in Hold'em events. Read more »
A member of the new poker generation, Erick Lindgren is young, fit, attractive and successful; he is friends with the likes of Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey and has become famous for his outrageous prop bets involving millions of dollars. E-dog, as he is also known, is a prominent member of Team Full Tilt and also featured in the popular poker video game ‘Stacked'. Read more »
Starting July 16, PokerRoom.com will host the ultimate poker "reality" competition, complete with plush accommodations, tropical beaches, and the chance to win a six-figure poker sponsorship. The promotion, dubbed Poker Island, will pit online qualifiers against each in live poker competitions in order to determine who will receive a lucrative sponsorship from PokerRoom.com. The sponsorship will include buy-ins to some of the richest land-based poker tournaments around: the WSOP, WSOP Europe, WPT Championship, and WPT Five Diamond Classic. Read more »
Having been a leader in the fight to cure Multiple Sclerosis since he was diagnosed with the disease in 1999, television celebrity Montel Williams host a poker tournament in June in order to raise money for the Montel Williams MS Foundation. Read more »
A Grandville, Michigan woman was sentenced earlier this month for an April incident in which she neglected her kids in order to play poker. Read more »
While not as dramatic an update as the one this past November, Bodog Poker has released a new beta version of its poker software to the general public. Typically, beta software is distributed on a limited basis to preselected testers, but in this case, Bodog is looking for as much feedback as possible. Read more »
To quote Mike McDermott in Rounders, "…[poker is] not about pride or ego. It's only about money." Tell that to Patrik Antonius. In his most recent blog entry, the Finnish poker star expressed his discontent with some of the young online poker phenoms who have been "dodging" him on Full Tilt Poker. Read more »
It is daunting to attempt to write a short bio of Doyle Brunson, so as a bow to Tex Dolly's long and epoch-making career this bio will be longer than most bios we offer. A living legend, Brunson is one of the few men who started out playing poker with a gun in their pockets and turned it into the international, multi-million, televised celebrity sport it is nowadays. Over 74 years young, "Texas Dolly" is still one of the best players in the circuits and shows no intention of slowing down. Read more »
Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott must be one of the most popular and well known poker legends of his time. He has everything: the criminal background, the sexy nickname, the suave look, the iconic jewelry and hundreds upon hundreds of anecdotes. Most importantly, he has the poker skills to put the fear of God into almost any player in the world, and the money to show for it. Read more »
It is not easy to accuse one of the hottest, hippest young pros around of being a closet nerd, but we must do it. Behind David Williams's good looks and sleek style lies an honor student who scored a 4.0 GPA and a 1550 SAT score, was admitted to Princeton and was among the world's best players of the fantasy game "Magic: The Gathering." Read more »
In March, the Remote Gambling Association filed a complaint with the European Commission. The issue stemmed from the United States allowing domestic operators of sites that allow U.S. citizens to wager on horse racing, fantasy sports, and lotteries, but prohibiting operators like PartyPoker from soliciting U.S. customers. This inconsistency prompted the RGA, whose membership includes the major online poker companies like Victor Chandler, Unibet, and Ladbrokes, to file a formal complaint. In response to the RGA's complaint, the Commission sent the U.S. Trade Representative a formal questionnaire. Read more »
If you're like many of the people looking at this article, you just read that headline and thought, "Really?" Well, it's true. No one from the country of Belgium had captured a World Series of Poker bracelet, until late Sunday night, that is. Brussels native Davidi Kitai became the first Belgian player ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #38, a $2,000 pot limit hold'em tournament. He bested a field of 605 of poker's elite, cashing for $244,583. More importantly, he put his own country on the WSOP map. For one night, it seemed, Belgium was on top of the world. Read more »
The stereotype of the poker player as an overweight man with a cowboy hat and a cigar is due a revision. The new poker player is a lot more like Annie Duke: attractive, athletic, hip and female. Indeed, it seems that a large percentage of online poker players right now are women, and Annie Duke has been partly responsible for this surge of women's interest in poker. Read more »
Andy "The Rock" Bloch must really enjoy going to alumni reunions: with two Electrical Engineering Degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School, he has managed to make a fortune of over $3,700,000 playing poker for a living. He must be quite the hero among his white-collar former classmates. Read more »
Some young poker stars enjoy the limelight and make the most of their new celebrity status appearing in TV shows, computer games and modeling stints. None of that for young Allen Cunningham, who has quietly and unassumingly collected 5 WSOP bracelets and over $10,100,000 in tournament winnings while still managing to keep a low profile on the streets and casinos of the world. Read more »
Everybody loves Daniel Negreanu! Young, good looking, talented and popular, he is the poster boy for poker around the world. He was nicknamed "KidPoker" in 1998 – when he became the youngest WSOP bracelet winner so far at the age of 24 – and to this day he shows no signs of slowing down. With his own books, software, a syndicated column, a blog, an online video diary and an instructional poker video site, Negreanu has brought poker into the 21st century and made it friendly and attractive for everyone Read more »
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson is instantly recognizable, with his long hair and beard, mirrored sunglasses and cowboy hat. The very image of the rugged cowboy, you think. Take away the hat and glasses and you'll see what Ferguson tried to hide with them: the image of the career academic with a PhD in Computer Science and a deep understanding of mathematics. Read more »
Chip Jett and Chris Moneymaker share the odd honor of having the coolest poker names ever. Jett, who was actually christened Charles, was given his nickname by a nurse in the hospital where he was born. Jett is easily recognized by his slick style and looks, and once on the table he has a solid reputation as a fearless player who is constantly improving his already fearsome game. Read more »
With 40 events completed at the 2008 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the Rio has become the center of the poker universe. This is the one time during the year when online tournaments seem to take a back seat. Read more »
While you were busy hitting the links or just taking it easy this weekend, two big developments occurred on the legislative front in the United States. To catch you up to speed, back in 2006, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, from Tennessee, pushed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act through Congress. Read more »
The break room at the offices of Full Tilt Poker was buzzing on Monday morning with news that one of its pros, David Benyamine, had won his first World Series of Poker bracelet over the weekend. Read more »
Shares in PartyGaming (PRTY.L), parent company of PartyPoker, were up over 10% Friday amid rumors that it has come to an agreement with U.S. authorities over its prior U.S.-facing activities. Read more »
