Poker forum archive

The Native American Casino Poker Tour Choctaw $1,000 no-limit hold’em main event is set to begin on Dec. 10, and CardPlayer.com will host a live-streaming broadcast of the first ever NACPT final table on Dec. 11. Multiple cameras will bring you all the action as the final players battle it out to win the title, the money, entry into the 2012 WSOP Circuit Choctaw and the bragging rights of being featured on the cover of Card Payer magazine.

2008 World Series of Poker main event third place finisher Dennis Phillips will be there to help provide live commentary during the final table broadcast. Phillips has lifetime earnings of just under $5.1 million, but after being thrust into the limelight as a member of the inaugural November Nine, has spent a lot of time as an ambassador for the game. He co-hosts a radio show called “The Final Table” with Paul Harris on Tuesdays, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT on 590 The Fan KFNS/St. Louis, which has had 148 episodes.

“I’m excited to come down,” said Phillips, “I’ve known Choctaw’s Director of Poker Ken Lambert for years, and I know that it will be a quality production with Choctaw teaming up with Card Player.”

With Phillips providing analysis, it is sure to be an exciting final table broadcast. Go to the NACPT landing page on CardPlayer.com on Dec. 11 to follow all the final table action.

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Still interested in traveling to Choctaw Casino Resort to participate in the event? Those coming into town for the series will be able to take advantage of a special discounted hotel rate, which lowers the room cost to $69 during the week and $99 on weekends.

The casino is also offering a full satellite schedule for discounted entry into the $1,000 championship event.

Here is a look at the full satellite schedule:
Date Time Event Buy-In
Dec. 9 4 p.m. Super Satellite with $50 Rebuys $75+$25
Dec. 9 8 p.m. Super Satellite with $50 Rebuys $75+$25
Dec. 9 12 a.m. Last Chance Super with $50 Rebuys $75+$25
Dec. 10 10 a.m. Mega Satellite No Rebuys $175+$25
Dec. 11 12 p.m. Mega Satellite No Rebuys $175+$25

On Wednesday morning the Nevada Gaming Control Board said that it will send Internet poker regulatory proposals to the Gaming Commission — as part of a process that will end with regulations being adopted by February 2012 and operator licensing on the horizon.

At a hearing in Carson City, state regulators discussed at length some of the recent changes and ongoing industry concerns to the crafted language.

Representatives from 888 Holdings, International Game Technology and Fertitta Entertainment gave testimony in regards to a number of items that the companies want clarified by February. Both 888 and IGT have already filed for a license to participate in a Nevada-based Internet poker system.

Gaming attorney and former Control Board member Mark Clayton spoke on behalf of 888 and introduced proposed language that would allow players to wager money while their full-scale age and identity verification is ongoing.

According to Clayton, online poker sites would run and finish the first stage of verification immediately, giving players access to tables for a window of 30 days before any required documents must be submitted.

Clayton said that tourists attending the World Series of Poker might want to register, deposit and begin online play quickly.

The proposal was questioned when regulators wanted to know what would happen to the funds of a player who failed to complete the verification process. Regulators still need to decide whether that money would be forfeited to the casino or held untouched for when the player returns to action. In addition to player registration, language on rake was discussed. The current regulations limit it to 10 percent for cash games — the same maximum brick-and-mortar poker tables take. Attorney Ellen Whittemore, representing IGT, wanted the language to also reflect poker tournament-specific rake.

Most of the hearing’s time on Internet poker centered on how to regulate operators having different skins — or separate poker rooms under a single ownership or partnership. Regulators wanted to figure out if there was any way a player could have two screen names engaged on a site at one time.

Anthony Cabot, attorney for Fertitta Entertainment, spoke at length about the clarity needed to prevent any loopholes for player collusion within a network.

Cabot, Whittemore, and Clayton never disagreed during the hearing, and all three urged regulators to address business concerns when tweaking the regulations.

Altogether, there isn’t much that needs adjustment before the final Control Board paperwork is delivered to the Gaming Commission. At the end of the hearing, Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli thanked his colleagues for their hard work on the regulations.

Some of Nevada’s casino companies are looking to establish the nation’s first intrastate online poker system, and down the road offer the game nationwide if federal legislation passes or the Justice Department gives the OK.

Bodog Poker’s recent launching of new software that removed screen names of players to conceal player identities and protect recreational players by preventing more skilled players from obtaining information through HUDs and various other data mining sites was breached by a hacker from a website that sells hand histories, and eventually corrected by Bodog.

HH Smithy, the company that offers players hand histories for use in tracking player data, released a video on the internet showing how Bodog’s software was able to be compromised. In the video, narrated by hacker Kyle Boddy, account numbers of opposing players were obtained. Once a player is identified with an account number, the unscrupulous hacker can again use poker-tracking software to keep records of each player.

Several Bodog Poker players were worried about the security breach and emailed support at Bodog for an explanation. Here is the email that Bodog sent to its concerned players:
“Thank you for contacting Bodog Poker Customer Service.

It’s very understandable if our players are very concerned about the security of their accounts because of this video that has been posted on the Internet but we are assuring all of our players that all your account information is secured. We are aware of this video and we are investigating looking into this.

As per the anonymity of our poker tables, for the vast majority of our players, they will not know who they are playing against as they can’t see a screen name or account number while at the tables; however, if someone wants to and has the technical skills to develop the software you saw on the forum they are able to — we are confident this will only be pursued in very isolated cases between now and a future upgrade which will prevent it from working.

If you are worried about the security of your account, having access to an account number is similar to having a screen name in the past. You still must have a password or the answers to your private security questions in order to access any personal or banking information.”

HH Smithy claims that Bodog is guilty of violating a major tenet of information technology security procedures by trusting the client with such sensitive or proprietary information. Never trusting the client is “a simple concept that novice coders learn early on when writing database calls and a web form,” according to an article on the HH Smithy website.

In a light-hearted article posted on the Bodog website regarding the video, Bodog points out that 99.9% of the population wouldn’t have a clue how to hack into software and jokingly thanks Boddy for exposing the glitch in the new Bodog Poker software featuring anonymous tables, saying that “the exploit was a simple fix that the Bodog Poker technicians were able to repair overnight.”

Bodog released the following statement regarding the hack job and ultimate repair:
“The talents of the online poker community have been enormously helpful in testing the new software we have released. Obviously, any release has its teething problems and equally obviously we take any fault very seriously and we have released an update we are confident have addressed the most pressing issues.”

In a comment posted in reply to his writer’s article, Bodog founder Calvin Ayre pointed out that computer hacking is a criminal offense, but that Bodog had no intention of pursuing that avenue, saying that the anonymous table software issue has created a great deal of passion among poker players and that, ultimately, “we all essentially want the same thing, a healthier poker industry.”

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) has commissioned an independent review committee to assess their actions that saw Full Tilt Poker’s licences revoked and suspended back in September.

Full Tilt Poker (FTP) have not had their troubles to seek after they were shut down by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) back in April this year, have struggled to repay seized bank accounts and have also recently seen claims made by shareholders, board members and famous players – including co-founder Ray Bitar and shareholder pro Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson – as they attempt to access their accounts.

The committee will be led by Peter Dean CBE, the British Gambling Commission’s former chairman, with the AGCC stating in a media release that the review has been established “to provide full transparency”.

Dean, who between 1990 and 1997 was the United Kingdom’s Monopolies and Mergers Commission deputy chairman and was also the investment ombudsman with the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation (IMRO) from 1996 until 2001, will provide his report some time before the close of March next year.

André Wilsenach, the AGCC’s executive director, said: “As soon as we became aware that there were possible irregularities in relation to FTP’s operational integrity, AGCC acted to discharge fully our statutory obligations.

“We believe we acted appropriately and fairly at all times, but – following our own internal assessment and the inevitable questions that have been raised by third parties – the commission decided that it is in the best interests of players, licence holders and AGCC itself to commission an independent review and to make the outcome public.

“I am delighted that Peter Dean has agreed to conduct the review. He has many years of experience at the top of the British Gambling Commission and commands wide respect from operators and regulators alike.

“He has been asked to review fully the actions taken by AGCC in respect of FTP and to focus specifically on the appropriateness, timeliness and fairness of those actions.”

Danilo Donnini has won the 2011 Italian Poker Tour (IPT) Campione, after overcoming a field of 482 players on his way to capturing the title, and the €221,504 ($317,751) first place prize.

It didn’t take long before action at the eight man final table got into full swing and the first player hitting the rail was Gaetano Mazzitelli, whose short-stack ran into the pocket aces of Andrea Dato.

Next, Russian Semen Apokorin was all-in pre-flop holding Ac-8c, only to be called and eliminated in 7th by Mikica Mitrovic holding Kh-Qh.

It was then the turn of the last woman standing Tania Scremin to exit in 6th, after her Ah-Kh failed to improve against Mitrovic’s pocket kings.

She was followed soon after by Andrea Dato, who moved all-in pre-flop with A-3 into Danilo Donnini’s pocket fours. The 6-5-2-4 board made him a straight but a 2 on the river completed a full-house for Donnini and so Dato was out in 5th.

Alexander “bubukonan” Fasolis then found himself in bad shape after being dealt pocket sixes at the same time Danilo Donnini picked-up pocket sevens and after he exited in 4th, the three surviving players struck an undisclosed deal for the remaining prize-money.

The fast paced action then continued unabated as Giacomo Rosa moved all-in with K-J on a Q-10-7 flop. Danilo Donnini called him (8-7) with bottom pair which held sending Rosa to the rail in 3rd for CHF 135,000 (€109,130).

It was then up to good friends Mikica Mitrovic (Serbia and Montenegro) and Italy’s Danilo Donnini to decide the eventual champion. Mitrovic started with a 7 million stack to Donnini’s 5 million, but that all changed after Mitrovic was dealt K-7 to his opponent’s pocket jacks.

Mitrovic was three-bet by Donnini pre-flop, before calling his opponent’s bet on a 7-6-9 flop. Donnini disguised his hand by then checking the 2 on the turn inducing Mitrovic to bet big and Donnini to subsequently move over the top all-in.

After making the call, Mitrovic fell to a 5 to 1 chip disadvantage and soon after he finished the runner-up for CHF 200,000 (€161,670). Meanwhile, Danilo Donnini was crowned the €2,200 IPT CampioneChampion, and with his win now has $363,441 in live tournament earnings.

It'll be a few weeks before the 2012 World Series of Poker schedule is announced, but the Big One For ONE DROP, a $1,000,000 buy-in tournament is already being planned as part of the 43rd Annual World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It's scheduled to take place between July 1-3, 2012 and has already hit its minimum requirement for the number of players to move it into WSOP bracelet territory.

What is ONE DROP? It's a global initiative from Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil that is truing to fight poverty around the world by helping people get access to water while educating the masses about why clean water is so important. While it's likely that everyone reading this takes access to clean water for granted, in many parts of the world, it's difficult, if not impossible to find potable water.

Each player will contribute the largest entry fee ever for a poker tournament -- $1,000,000 – for a chance to win what likely will be the largest first place prize ever awarded in a poker tournament. From each entry fee, $111,111 will be donated to ONE DROP with a goal of raising enough money for a legacy project that will see a needy country receiving access to clean water.

In a press release, Jonatham Duhamel said: "I am absolutely thrilled to participate in the biggest poker event ever organized. One million dollars is a lot of money but my participation comes naturally, being a spokesperson for ONE DROP and because of my attachment to such a great cause. Life starts with water and because of its uneven distribution, a person dies every 20 seconds. The Big One for One Drop will raise $111,111 per participant, which will definitely prove the poker community attachment to ONE DROP. As for me, I personally commit to give 5% of my winnings from this tournament to ONE DROP."

A lot of people argue that the World Poker Tour kick-started the poker boom around the world a decade age. Its premiere event, Doyle Brunson’s Five Diamond Classic, has kicked off once again at the Bellagio, back where it all began.

The first day of play saw 283 players left out of a field of 365, but registration continues through the end of level 8, which will be shortly before 5 this afternoon, so there's no telling how many more might join the fight. Vanessa Selbst is current the chip leader, holding 165,800 in her stack, but less than 1000 behind her is John Smith, who's got 156,075 in front of him. This early in the tournament, however, it's impossible to say who's got a real advantage over whom but considering the kind of year that Selbst has had, it's likely she'll end up in the money, at the very least.

Along with Selbst, Erik Seidel, Freddy Deeb, Barry Greenstein, and Jeff Madsen have joined in the action. As always, Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten have been part of the coverage, kicking off the whole thing with the traditional call of "shuffle up and deal!" The $10,000 buy-in tournament continues through Saturday, when the final table will go down. The Bellagio has already agreed to host next year's event.

A study conducted by FairPlayUSA determined that federal regulation of online poker would not threaten the income generated by state lotteries because poker players and lottery players are not one and the same, they are different consumers using two different products.

The report, entitled “An Evaluation of the Effects of Online Poker on State Lotteries” was done by Christiansen Capital Advisors (CCA) on behalf of FairPlayUSA. The study analyzed economic and demographic data and also looked at a recently published report by the Public Gaming Research Institute (PGRI).

“This study uses empirical data to refute any claim that the federal regulation of online poker would adversely impact U.S. lottery sales or state lottery revenues,” said Marisa McNee, FairPlayUSA’s executive director.

The study outlined the reasons why online poker would not affect individual state’s lottery sales, the main factor being that federal regulations would permit states to opt-out of allowing online poker in their state. Other determinants of the study include the fact that many different types of online gambling games are currently available to gamblers and if the lotteries would be adversely effected, the effects would have already been felt. Also, lotteries may actually benefit from federal guidelines that would abolish the existing poker sites currently catering to the U.S. market. Lastly, proposed federal laws would regulate internet poker and develop new tools and methods to actively enforce statutes against casino-type games and online sports wagering.

“Americans who want to play poker online deserve a strictly regulated, safe industry here in the United States,” McNee said.

Eugene Christiansen, who helped found the CCA, the authors of the analysis, said that the compiled data showed that lottery games and poker games are as different as milk and wine.

“Wine and milk satisfy different consumer appetites,” Christiansen said. “Similarly, playing online poker and buying lottery tickets are fundamentally different forms of consumption. They really have nothing in common other than their legal status as gambling.”

The study was commissioned to respond to PGRI’s report, which opposes federal legislation of internet gambling and suggests that individual states should tax and regulate online gaming if legalization is realized, and for state lotteries to be able to offer the games as well. Lotteries are currently available in 43 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The PGRI study claims that all states combined stand to lose $1.4 billion in revenue if online poker is regulated on the federal level.

“With states facing more revenue shortfalls, a federal online poker initiative would exacerbate revenue shortfalls being faced by governors and legislatures in lottery states,” an October report published by the institute said.

FairPlayUSA’s commissioned study calls the PGRI report “fundamentally flawed” and that the PGRI study “should not be used as the basis for any public policy decisions, particularly those related to the legalization of online poker.”

The CCA report, as a basis for proving that online poker and lottery games are fundamentally different, briefly touches down on the skill-chance debate. The two games are not alike because the lottery relies on pure luck and chance for a player to be successful, while poker “is a game of mixed chance and skill,” the study concluded.

“This study will be an important tool in FairPlayUSA’s ongoing efforts to educate and create public momentum for effective law enforcement, consumer protections and regulation surrounding the legalization of online poker,” said Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania’s former governor and currently an advisor at FairPlayUSA.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson has broken ranks with the bulk of the casino industry, telling Washington, D.C. insiders he opposes federal legislation that would allow states to license and regulate online poker.

His comments immediately drew criticism from rival gaming operators who are hoping Congress will approve Internet poker legislation. Many casino companies have deals in place with online gaming providers to start up U.S.-based Internet poker websites catering to American gamblers.

Adelson told leaders of the Washington D.C.-based American Gaming Association he doesn't believe available technology is good enough to prevent underage gamblers from making wagers on the Internet.

"Sheldon has long been concerned about underage gaming on the Internet, but it's happening now and it's totally uncontrolled," Caesars Entertainment Corp. Senior Vice President Jan Jones said.

Caesars Entertainment, which owns the World Series of Poker, has been the gaming industry's most vocal proponent for legalizing Internet poker.

"The solution is fixing legislation, not looking the other way," Jones said. "His concerns are real, but I'm not sure he really understands the issue. Doing nothing is not being responsible."

American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., said Adelson visited the lobbying organization's offices Monday to express his "concerns about this issue."

Earlier this year, the lobbying group announced its support for the legalization of Internet poker, believing the activity can be safely regulated. Fahrenkopf said the backing came from the organization's board of directors. Las Vegas Sands President Mike Leven is a member of association's board.

Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese said Wednesday that Adelson's views "were a personal viewpoint." The casino operator's board of directors has not developed a strategy for the company's position on Internet gambling.

Adelson told Capitol Hill insiders he is "morally opposed" to Internet gaming.

His view differs from most Strip casino operators, who believe Congress should legalize Internet poker in the U.S. and that the technology is in place to police the activity.

In October, MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corp. announced deals with British-based Party Poker to operate online gaming sites in the United States if the activity is legalized.

MGM Resorts Senior Vice President Alan Feldman said that if the federal government fails to legalize Internet poker, individual states and state lotteries might step in, creating intrastate gambling sites "that would be all over the place."

Feldman said Adelson "may not like the notion of Internet gaming, but it's happening already." He said the best solution proposed by the casino is federal regulation with websites "operated by known entities."

Nevada gaming regulators are proceeding with plans to approve regulations that would allow the state to oversee and license Internet poker providers should the U.S. approve the activity.

Fahrenkopf said the American Gaming Association wants Congress to modernize and strengthen the Wire Act of 1961 with conforming amendments to the 2006-approved Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

"Such action would preserve the right of states to allow or disallow online companies to offer online poker to their residents and, at the same time, ensure a consistent national regulatory and legal framework," Fahrenkopf said. "It would protect the millions of U.S. consumers already playing poker online, keep children from gambling on the Internet and provide the tools law enforcement needs to shut down illegal online operators."

In Washington, lawmakers and lobbyists were weighing Adelson's comments, which come as Congress is trying to complete major year-end bills.

In 2006, Republicans secretly attached an anti-gambling rider onto an unrelated port security bill that was one of the final ones to pass that year. Ever since, strategists have not ruled out similarly legalizing online gaming by inserting it into late-session legislation that could avoid major roadblocks.

Whether that might happen this year remains to be seen. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has been forming a bill to legalize online poker, has not tipped his hand on either the substance or the strategy behind his effort.

Adelson, who has donated millions of dollars to Republican causes, carries no weight with Reid, lobbyists and congressional officials said. But several said Adelson is influential with Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Reid's GOP partner in negotiations who could scotch a deal.

One report indicated Adelson had communicated with Kyl, whose office did not respond to a query about the matter. Reid similarly did not comment Wednesday.

A Senate source who was not authorized to speak and asked not to be identified, said Reid and Kyl and their respective staffs "have spoken about the issue in the past and discussions are ongoing."

As powerful as Adelson may be, Las Vegas Sands is outnumbered by Nevada casinos eager to enter the online business.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., favors legal online gaming and will continue to push for legislation, his spokesman said.

"Senator Heller believes it's Congress' responsibility to craft a balanced, comprehensive approach to online poker that will provide new economic opportunities for Nevada's gaming industry," spokesman Stewart Bybee said. "He will continue to work with Senator Reid to find a workable solution that allows law-abiding citizens to play online poker in a safe and secure manner."

During his congressional career, Heller received $54,400 in contributions from donors associated with Las Vegas Sands, including $12,300 from the company's political action committee and $11,700 from Adelson , according to the Federal Election Commission and the Center for Responsive Politics.

But overall, Heller has received more than a half-million dollars

Major social game company Zynga has decided to bring its popular Zynga Poker into the living room via a new native app for Google TV.

This new version of the game will run on any television using the Google TV platform, and has been specifically optimized to allow control via the Google TV remote.

On Facebook, Zynga's poker title is currently the fifth most popular app, and pulls in more than 29 million monthly active users, according to AppData.

The title's new Google TV version is Zynga's first direct foray into the smart TV market, a space that has offered increasing support for games over the last several months.

For instance, set-top box company Roku recently added a motion-sensing game remote to its line of products, and AMD and Happy Cloud have partnered to stream Windows games to internet-enabled televisions.

Last week, Zynga revealed that it will make its long-anticipated IPO later this month, with public trading set to begin December 16.

Yes, every online poker room offers up deposit bonuses to their players, but nobody can beat Bodog's deposit bonuses. We instantly reward our players for making their first deposit with us and keep paying them back as they play at our tables.

That's right – you can get up to up to $1100 back on your initial deposit, and all you have to do is play poker like you normally would. Every ten poker points earned while playing at Bodog's online poker tables gets you $1 in additional bonus dollars – when you have earned 100 poker points, you're issued your first bonus of $10.

Here's an example: you deposit just $100 with Bodog. You instantly receive a $10 bonus from us. When you earn 100 points by playing, you get an additional $10 for your bankroll. When you earn 500 points by playing at Bodog, you get an additional $40 and so on — up to $1100! All you have to do is keep playing to earn even more points and bigger bonuses, even if you make more than one deposit. To sweeten the pot, Bodog gets you your money fast – other sites make you wait to get your bonus cash in your bankroll, Bodog issues bonuses to players the day after they earn the required points.

Want to know more? Get all the details when you visit the Bodog Poker

A short while ago we were discussing the fact that PokerStars were setting up to break their own Guinness World Record. This was for the biggest number of people playing simultaneously in a single online poker tournament. The incentives were obviously too good to resist, with a buy-in of only $1 to compete, and great prizes up for grabs.

On Sunday, 200,000 players logged-in and smashed the previous world record. In the last record attempt they had 149,196 players buy in. If this does not cement the fact that PokerStars is the largest online poker site in the world, then nothing will! It is also interesting to note that the tournament was capped at 200 000 registered players, so one wonders, just how far things might have gone if there was no cap on the tourney?!

Guinness World Record Adjudicator – Gaz Deaves – confirmed that the record had been broken, and joined Team Poker Stars Fatima Moreira de Melo in a celebration at the Hilton Hotel – Prague. De Melo said that “Online poker is so popular because it allows anyone to compete in the same tournaments with the best players in the world, and gives them the opportunity to become champion poker stars.” Prague is the latest pit-stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour.

Tournament champion in this World record beating attempt, is Russian player “sokoluk1991″. If the date behind his alias is an indication of his age, sokoluk1991 is only 20 years old! He/she walked away with a guaranteed prize of $50 000 in their online poker account. Not a bad return on investment with a $1 buy-in and seven hours of poker play. The site gave away a total of $250 000 in guaranteed prizes. Currently there are also some amazing prizes on offer including 100 trips to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which coincide with PokerStars 10th anniversary celebrations.

Bodog has come a long way for sure.still havent tried the new software yet. hmmmmmm

Dang thats like winning the lotto.new meaning for the term,bang for a buck,lol

A foray by Ontario into internet gambling like video poker and instant 6/49 tickets could bring in $100 million over five years to relieve the burden on taxpayers, the provincial lottery system said Friday.

The estimate came as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. launched a request for proposals from internet gaming companies to run the online operation, seeking a chunk of the $450 million Ontarians wager annually on the web.

With several provinces like B.C. already in the internet gambling business, in addition to well-known sites like Poker Stars, “we want to . . . get this right the first time,” said lottery spokesman Tony Bitonti.

The aim is to start phasing in online gaming next year, boosting the $1.9 billion annually that OLG pumps into provincial coffers from its lotteries and casinos.

Critics questioned the morality of boosting provincial revenues with more gambling and OLG’s ability to deliver given a series of spending scandals at the Crown agency, which has been studying online prospects for a year.

“The bottom line for me is (that) trusting Dalton McGuinty with a new revenue source is like giving the keys to the liquor cabinet to teenagers and going away for the weekend,” said Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, who has been pressing the minority Liberal government to cut spending in the face of a $16 billion deficit this year.

“The motivation is going to be to try to find another tool to take money out of our pockets,” added Hudak, saying there are plenty of online gaming sites already, such as Poker Stars and Bodog.

“There’s a product out there that’s successful. How is the OLG going to trump that?”

The NDP said provincially-run internet gaming will make it easier for problem gamblers to get in over their heads because they won’t have to leave the house.

“We might have people in their pyjamas and their underwear gambling all morning or all night,” said MPP Jagmeet Singh (Bramalea-Gore-Malton), his party’s consumer services and attorney general critic. “Why is this a government priority?”

The OLG is promising “responsible gaming” features on its site, such as “self-control options that pop up on the screen” asking gamblers if they are playing too much, and possibly online chats with counsellors, Bitonti said.

There will also be a system for age verification to keep minors off the site but Bitonti acknowledged that will be a challenge.

“Is it going to be 100 per cent foolproof? That is the question we have to ask,” he said.

Bubble Protection, a company that hopes that the US federal government will soon legalize, regulate, and tax the US online poker industry, has already launched a special insurance product for offshore online poker players—the poker tournament insurance. The insurance product is available only to those players who reside in countries that do not criminalize playing online poker. Bubble Protection Founder CEO Eugene Castro said, “It might be easier to be a European company, but out goal is to cover the world, and we think in the future, 60 percent of online poker will be US based.” Legalization of US poker might take a long time, but Bubble Protection is already taking steps to grab their share of what they believe will one day be a huge industry.

Recently, Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts International joined hands with Bwin.Party to launch online poker services in the US as soon as the industry became legalized and regulated in the US. Castro said, “You look at announcements like that from MGM CEO Jim Murren and you can start to see how big this is going to be for the gaming industry.”

Bubble Protection’s insurance product aims to protect players on the bubble, or in other words, the last person to leave the table without winning anything. For instance, if 10 participants of an online poker tournament are destined to win something, the 11th player is said to be on the bubble. Bubble Protection enables players to insure their entry fees so that they can get back their entry fees if they end up in a bubble.

The company launched its official website BubbleProtection.com just two weeks back, and according to Castro, players have already begun purchasing policies. Besides, the company is also receiving plenty of customer emails almost every day, with 800 enquiries being received this week alone. Most of the queries are on coverage because Bubble Protection is the only insurance product of its kind in the arena of online poker insurance.

Even the online poker gaming industry has extended a warm welcome to Bubble Protection because operators feel that this product will encourage more and more players to participate in tournaments. The advertising companies, however, are yet to climb on board. Castro says, “No mainstream advertisers will attach to poker, but that time will come.” He says that top companies will start sponsoring online poker tournaments once the industry is legalized and regulated in the US.

Online poker pro turned consummate live game player Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has returned to the head of the Global Poker Index (GPI) rankings of the top 300 players in the world after a fourth-month timeout in second place. The 30-year-old French player was last saw the number one spot back in August but thanks to some attrition in Erik Seidel's score, he saw himself in first place again.

While Seidel started 2011 with some big money events in his GPI portfolio - he had massive wins and paydays in the AUD$250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em event at the Aussie Millions in January, followed by the following month’s $25,100 High Roller Event from the LA Poker Classic, and the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at the NBC National Heads-Up Championship in Las Vegas in March - but he's not been nearly on fire of late and the points have slowly trended downward for him.

After this, the rest of the top ten has stayed fairly stable, with some people moving up or down by one spot but nothing truly tragic or triumphant. After Grospellier and Seidel, they are: Jason Mercier; Eugene Katchalov; Sam Stein; Shawn Buchanan; Sam Trickett; Chris Moorman; Fabrice Soulier and Matt Waxman.

Play online poker at Bodog today and you could start your journey towards being on the Global Poker Index!

The running battle between the Department of Justice and Internet poker companies appears to be coming to a head according to recent news reports. For years since the UIGEA, the DOJ has contended that companies that help online poker for money are breaking U.S. law. For just as long, these companies have claimed that they abide by existing legislation. The sparring between the two parties has till now taken place before the Congress and in the media, with the ammunition of choice being the quoting of obscure statutes and the presenting of inspired interpretations of the law. This contest has now moved to a court of law presided over by federal judge Lewis Kaplan.

Specifically, the case involves the motion put forth by John Campos and Chad Elie seeking the dismissal of the indictment brought against them by the federal government. In April, the two men along with nine others were indicted in a sweeping government action against the online poker industry in the U.S. More than just deciding the fate of Campos and Elie, the verdict in this case will define the very future of the online gambling industry in the U.S.

Although it’s too early to predict the final outcome, in the opening hours of the trial Judge Kaplan appeared to be highly sceptical of some of the arguments presented by Campos’ lawyer Fred Hafetz.

Campos was the vice-chairman and part-owner of SunFirst, a bank that processed online poker transactions. His lawyer is trying to argue that according to the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act financial transaction providers are exempt from criminal liability and therefore his client had not broken the law. He sought to link an exemption for SunFirst with exemption for Campos. The judge firstly did not agree with the contention that financial institutions were exempt and also questioned the linking of SunFirst’s status with that of its ex vice-chairman.

Chad Elie’s lawyer Paul Clement on the other hand sought to remove his client from the ambit of the Illegal Gambling Business Act saying that PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker – companies with which Elie had dealings – were both registered offshore. He also argued that poker was not mentioned in IGBA’s list of gambling games. He also argued that his client had not committed bank fraud as alleged because the banks did receive the payments that they had been promised. His client had merely lied to the banks about the nature of the transactions, he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Arlo Devlin-Brown, who is spearheading the prosecution, countered these arguments saying that the two companies, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, were not off shore entities because they actively marketed their sites in the U.S. and they had quickly moved to block U.S. players from their sites in the aftermath of the April indictment.

The trial is scheduled for March and it is not sure if a jury will be called upon to decide on the status of poker with regard to gambling. It was revealed in the course of the proceedings that one of the eleven persons who were initially charged and arrested, Ira Levin, has struck a deal with the government and that he would not be tried.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the sponsor of a proposed bill aimed at legalizing online poker, was a keynote speaker at the two-day Digital Gaming and Lottery Policy Summit held in the nation’s capital this week and again espoused the need to pass online poker legislation during the current Congressional term.

“One of the caveats that I asked the stakeholders before I created the bill was I want to get it done in this Congress, which means this year or next year,” Barton said. “The bottom line is we want to get to it as quickly as possible. The poker bill has a chance in this Congress.”

The Congressman addressed an assembly of gambling operators, policymakers, regulators and technology providers gathered together to discuss impending policy changes in the U.S. that may result in regulations of internet poker and gambling. Barton talked about the different ways that a poker bill could eventually become legislation.

“My best guess is that if we move our bill out of the Energy Commerce Committee there would be some sort of discussion between the Speaker of the House John Boehner and Majority Leader Reid in which they’ll try to reach an agreement on a vehicle over in the Senate,” Barton said.

“I’m not doing something for the Congress after, so my operating premise is that sometime in this Congress, we will attempt to move the bill out of the Energy and Commerce Committee,” Barton added. “We will attempt to move it to the floor of the House of Representatives, and we will attempt to get a bill out of the Senate or get a vehicle we can marry in a conference committee.”

Barton told the summit attendees that getting a bill passed through Congress is more times than not a very difficult process. He said it’s very likely that “if the House moves first, the Senate almost never moves at all, so we don’t want to move a bill through the House and have it just sit over there in the Senate, especially since for some of our members in the House, this is not a vote they would prefer to take.”

Barton also spoke about the possibility that a bill could be attached as a rider to another measure as was done with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, which rode through on the tails of the SAFE Port Act. The super committee considered it last month, but poker legislation was never included in the final product. Barton also hinted about the outside shot of an attachment in the near future for passage, but implied that it is not a likely scenario.

Barton appears focused mostly on the bill meandering through the typical passage route out of the House of Representatives. “I think we have the votes in the House to get it through. If we get it to a vote on the floor of the House, I think it will pass,” said Barton. “A lot of this is politics and in this case it’s not Republican and Democrat politics. It’s more House and Senate politics. Is this something the leadership of both houses wants to spend time on in an election year? It is such a sensitive subject and there is some controversy about whether you should allow any type of internet gaming to go on at all.”

Barton readily acknowledges being a winning poker player most of the time, and dutifully sharing his winnings with his wife. Industry observers have wondered aloud as to how many Congressmen actually play poker, either online or in live poker games. In a light-hearted comment, Barton insisted that many Congressmen are poker players, though few will admit to it. “They just don’t play as well as I do,” he said.

InstaDeal has developed its own version of “Rush Poker” and is rolling it out for both mobile and online poker. It has decided to go ahead with the rollout after its consultations with legal experts lead it to conclude that Rush Poker does not meet the requisite criteria to qualify for a patent. Full Tilt Poker, whose operations are currently suspended, developed Rush Poker and has applied for patents for the high speed poker version in many markets worldwide including the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. FTP has sworn to protect its software creation and has promised to take stringent action against any infringement. InstaDeal’s chairman and vice president sales, Per Hildebrand explained the reasoning behind their decision to move ahead with their product. He said that the expert opinion of his attorneys on the possibility of Rush Poker getting a patent was “fairly negative, even from the start, as FTP only met one of the three criteria required to be granted a patent.” That gave InstaDeal the confidence to push forward with InstaDeal.

He indicated that the buzz in the industry was that the biggest operator, PokerStars, might be in an advanced stage of unveiling their own version of a similar product.

In early 2010 FTP released Rush Poker and the game quickly became popular amongst certain sections of the player population. Some seasoned professional players however had reservations about Rush Poker. One of their main grouses was that if they spotted a poor player - a “fish” in player parlance – it would take them quite some time before they got a chance to play at the same table as the fish.

The recent deal between the Groupe Bernard Tapie and the U.S. Department of Justice involves FTP forfeiting the company to the DoJ who in turn will sell the company’s assets to GBT. One of these assets is believed to be the Rush Poker software.

Hildebrand says that InstaDeal is designed for the casual player. The high speed game will make them less willing to play weak starting hands and also shield them from pros with the constant changing of tables. He said that high speed playing was ideal for mobile poker and the explosion in the use of smart phones could convince other companies to launch similar products soon.

He said the original plan for InstaDeal had been to target terminals after establishing the product through online websites. Now that the mobile poker market has come up as a sizeable alternate market, InstaDeal’s next target would be online operators and the regulated markets in the terminal format.

Reviews for InstaDeal have been generally favourable and the company’s website says that players can access the game from their iPhone, iPad or Androids. The site promises play up to 5 times faster than regular poker.