Poker forum archive

The Tropicana Las Vegas has announced that 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Jamie Gold has been named the casino’s Poker Spokesperson and Ambassador. Additionally, the Tropicana’s redesigned poker room will be named “The Jamie Gold Poker Room.”

“The ownership and management of the new Tropicana, as well as Jamie, have an incredible vision for this relationship,” said Gold’s agent, Randy Kasper of Poker Players International in a press release. “This deal is by far the biggest of its kind and the poker world will be shocked by many of the components as they are unveiled.”

Gold will be on hand at the Tropicana every day until the mid-January re-launch of the poker room and plans to return at least once per month thereafter. Amongst the poker room’s promotion are fan-focused events, memorabilia, and the opportunity to actually sit down and play against Jamie Gold for as little as a $100 buy-in.

“For the past three years, I have been focusing on raising money around the globe for worthy causes,” said Gold. “It has been so rewarding; I couldn’t begin to put it into words. I will continue to live up to my nickname as ‘The Poker Philanthropist’ while at the same time getting back to the game I love which has given me countless opportunities.”

“This deal with Tropicana covers everything I could have ever wanted in a relationship with a major Las Vegas Strip resort and it will serve as my anchor and the conduit to all of my future poker and philanthropic endeavors,” he continued. “I really couldn’t be more excited!”

The Tropicana poker room has traditionally been a bit of an afterthought on the Las Vegas poker scene. The casino itself, while perfectly fine and generally more affordable than the more extravagant ones on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, is not much of a destination casino for tourists. The poker is small and unassuming.

But the “Trop” has been undergoing a $100+ million remodel, which includes a new poker room, so things very well may change. The poker room offers free daily poker lessons at 9:00am and holds daily tournaments at 10:00am, 2:00pm, 6:00pm, and 11:00pm. While most of the games spread are of the Hold’em variety, Razz is offered on Tuesdays, HORSE is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and special Dealer’s Choice games are offered on Saturdays.

Jamie Gold was a complete unknown in the poker world until storming through the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. He took a huge chip lead on Day 4 and ran that all the way through the finish, using an extremely loose-aggressive style of play, a lot of luck in key situations, and a knack for talking opponents into the decisions he wanted them to make. His $12 million win was the largest in WSOP history, coming just before the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the United States, which hurt subsequent registration numbers. Since his win, he has made some appearances on poker television shows, but has not won another live tournament.

It wasn't the star-studded World Series of Poker, but Kansas farmer Kirk Stewart bested a field of 324 players to win the first Native American Casino Poker Tour title after a deal between the last three players giving him top prize. Stewart netted $50,000 cash for 1st place, as well as a $1,500 WSOP Circuit seat, the trophy, and a Card Player Magazine cover.

The 57 year-old only took up the game three years ago, not letting the field's younger—but often more experienced—players run over him at the tables. That included the other two players in the final three, former PokerStars Supernova Brandon Vise and Jason Simon. Each took an equal share of the remaining spoils, totaling $45,000 each after two days of exhausting play before cutting the deal. Despite the long event and late hour, Stewart was all smiles at the end, and said he would put most of the money back into his farm. Minus a little poker playing money, of course.

The turning point for Stewart was an all-in hand against Seneca Easley at the final table, with his Ace-King beating Easley's pair of tens when an ace hit on the turn, giving him the pot and a massive chip stack over the other players.

The $1,000 buy-in created a prize pool of $290,681, wrapping the 21-event inaugural tournament at Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma. While not as glamorous (or profitable) as the Las Vegas WSOP, the Oklahoma tournament brought out a few big names such as T.J. Cloutier, Dennis Phillips, Adam Geyer, Tommy Vedes, and Gregg Merkow amongst a field comprised mostly of local and regional players. Phillips also provided live streaming commentary on the event for sponsor Card Player magazine.

The rest of the final table placings included: Reggi Trotter (4th), Martin Tyson (5th), Vartan Tonian (6th), Brett Rager (7th), Jeremy Vaughn (8th) and Sebastian Tejada (9th).

The PokerStars Belgian Poker Series Grand Final is underway at Casino De Namur, Belgium with 538 players stumping up the €1,500 + €200 buy in.

The total prize pool is €749,972 and 80 players will get paid with 255 players returning today and tomorrow for day 2A and B after the four day 1s played out.

The final table payouts are:

1: €175,000
2: €105,000
3: €63,250
4: €46,502
5: €35,500
6: €27,500
7: €20,500
8: €14,500
9: €10,300
10: €10,300

Phil Hellmuth discussed online poker legislation last week and also revealed that he may be signing a new sponsorship deal in coming weeks during a radio broadcast entitled “Short Stacked Radio” with the show’s host, Mark Hoke.

“I happen to be in a pretty lucky position where we have had more than one discussion recently, you know, there’s some very big companies and some very big people that are starting to get ready for the legalization of online poker,” Hellmuth told radio listeners. “You may find me signing something in the next two weeks. You may find me signing with a company that no one’s ever heard of. Don’t be surprised if that happens.”

The Poker Brat had long been sponsored by and affiliated with UltimateBet since its inception in 2001, but ended his relationship with the online poker site in Dec. 2010, prior to the fallout from the events of Black Friday in April of this year. Along with Full Tilt and PokerStars, UltimateBet and its sister site Absolute Poker were charged with fraud, money laundering and violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcemant Act (UIGEA). UltimateBet has since stopped providing internet poker services to the U.S. market and has lost 99% of its player traffic, according to recent PokerScout statistics, as part of the CEREUS Network with Absolute Poker.

As the record holder for the most World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets with 11, and one of the most famous and outspoken poker pros in the world today, Hellmuth is undoubtedly one of the most sought after pros for endorsement and sponsorship purposes. His in-your-face trash talking style and brat personality make him the kind of player that others in the poker industry either love or hate. Those who love him watch his every move and those who dislike him do so as well, looking for an opportunity to vent their rage and displeasure with his style and/or personality.

Regarding the legalization of online poker in the U.S., Hellmuth is certain that it will happen in the near future. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it passed before Feb. 1 … I think there’s going to be the biggest explosion in poker history the minute [online poker] is legalized,” he said.

A 2007 inductee into the WSOP Hall of Fame, Hellmuth has tallied over $13 million in lifetime tournament winnings, including 45 final table finishes in WSOP events. His popularity soared upon winning the WSOP Main Event title in 1989 as a 24-year-old, which was, at the time, the youngest age at which any player had ever captured the crown.

Viktor ‘Isildur1′ Blom joined PokerStars in December, 2010, and automatically proved a great draw for the online poker room, as fans flocked to watch his series of heads-up challenges against fellow poker superstars, as well as his assault on the site’s high stakes cash games.

However, for the past three months Isildur1 had disappeared off PokerStar’s radar only to then make a reappearance recently in spectacular fashion.

Over the weekend into Monday, Viktor Blom hit the $100/$200 heads-up and six-max PLO tables in a big way. Subsequently, the player noted for his volatile swings wasted no time making up for lost ground and proceeded to win around $1.6 million from an assortment of top pros, which included Brian ‘aba20′ Townsend, Phil ‘MrSweets28′ Galfond, VietRussian, Fake Love888 and Jens ‘Jeans89′ Kyllonen.

One of the biggest pots played occured after Blom was dealt Kc-Qd-Jd-Ad to VietRussian’s 9h-10d-7s-8x, with both players all-in on a 10s-Ac-7h flop. The 2d turn changed nothing but a Qd on the river then filled Blom’s straight to ship the massive $214,000 pot his way.

At the end of his 12 hour winning run, Isildur1 had propelled himself into third place on PokerStars 2011 cash game leaderboard with $1.9 million in profits for the year, just behind Ilari Sahamies and Israeli pro Rafael Amit.

The Swedish swing machine was then in full operation again on Tuesday, with a report from cardplayer suggesting he had taken his entire account balance to the tables. This time, however, his fortunes took a turn for the worse and he dropped around half his previous days’ profits to end the day down a massive $800,000.

Nevertheless, despite his trademark roller-coaster ride, Viktor ‘Isildur1′ Blom has still managed to notch-up nearly $1.2 million in profits at PokerStars throughout 2011

As of today, fans of Bodog in the United States will no longer be able to access the popular online gambling site, but that doesn’t mean Bodog customers are out of luck when it comes to finding a new place to play. While Bodog may be technically exiting the US, the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG), the group who held licensing rights to the Bodog name in the US, today announced the launch of a new gaming site for US customers, Bovada.lv.

Back in July, the Bodog brand obtained a license to operate in the UK. Shortly after that announcement, Bodog announced it would not be renewing its licensing agreement with MMGG and that the Bodog name would be exiting the US marketplace by the end of 2011.

While the end of the year is still two weeks away, MMGG launched Bovada today. All of the existing US customers on Bodog have been automatically transferred to the new site, which bears a .lv web address. The web address, which implies an abbreviation for Las Vegas, suggests that the company might be applying for one of the online gaming licenses Nevada plans to offer should regulated online poker legislation pass. The official announcement of the cessation of Bodog in the United States came from the Bodog brand, there has yet to be an official announcement from MMGG regarding the new site.

“The Bodog brand is confident MMGG’s customer account information and funds will continue to remain safe and secure, as it has done since MMGG entered its original agreement with the Bodog Brand in 2006 and we would like to wish MMGG the greatest success in its new venture,” reads the Bodog Brand press release.

The new site, which has a license from Canada’s Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), continues to offer online poker, horse racing bets, an online casino, and sports betting.

Further to the announcement in July that the Bodog Poker brand was to withdraw from the USA, news has come through today of a major re-branding of the USA-facing Bodog Poker site – now to be known as Bovada Poker.

The “new” Bovada poker site will be operated by Bodog´s former US licensees – the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG) – and will be affiliated to the Bodog Poker network in exactly the same way as skins on other online poker networks share player databases.
Bovada Poker Exclusively for US Players

Online poker players outside of the US hoping to register on the new site will be disappointed to learn that Bovada Poker will be operated exclusively for US poker players only. Rest of the World players will still be able to play their former American Bodog adversaries on Bodog Poker, as the whole of the US Bodog player database is being migrated over to the networked Bovada Poker. For existing players in the US, the only change they will notice is that they will no longer be able to access their Bodog poker client and instead have to download the Bovada Poker client from Bovada Poker´s web site. US player´s poker bankrolls will be carried forward to Bovada Poker and log-ins and passwords will remain the same.
Bovada Poker Traffic Should be Unaffected

The news of the change to Bovada Poker should have only minor influence on the volume of traffic on the Bodog Poker Network while the transition is taking place. The Bovada Poker web site was shut this morning (14th December) while the migration of the database was taking place, but has re-opened by now. Players from the Rest of the World will notice a temporary lull in traffic until this time but, as it is not a time of day when many of the US poker players would have been playing on the site, the disruption is anticipated to be minimal.
The Future for Bovada Poker and Bodog Poker

The rebranding to Bovada Poker could have a positive impact on the volume of players playing on the Bovada Poker site and the Bodog Poker Network. Bodog´s traffic levels increased immediately after Black Friday in April (up 64% year-on-year), but started to decline following the Merge Poker Network´s announcement that it was to accept new registrations from the States once more. Existing Bodog players will hope the opposite is true as they continue to prosper from under-subscribed guaranteed tournaments and a very weak standard of play in the micro and low stake levels.

Today, the Epic Poker League awarded its first-ever Lifetime Card to legendary poker icon, Doyle Brunson. Based on the success and longevity of Brunson's career, in addition to his ambassadorship and many contributions to the sport of poker, the league granted him a Lifetime Membership, which guarantees his entrance into all future Epic Poker League events.

"Doyle Brunson epitomizes excellence and class in poker and we're honored to award him with the league's first lifetime membership," said Annie Duke, commissioner of the Epic Poker League. "There is no better player or person to receive a Lifetime Card and we look forward to welcoming Doyle to many future Epic Poker events."

Prior to the kickoff of the League's third live tournament today at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, a special ceremony was held for Brunson where he received his Lifetime Membership, a special gold and sapphire ring and witnessed the unveiling of a commemorative pennant that will hang in the Epic Poker "Hall of Champions."

"I gladly accept this lifetime membership card," said Doyle Brunson. "Epic Poker is taking our game to the next level and I'm honored to be part of this league and think every player should support it."

"It is humbling to be recognized as a pioneer in this incredible game and it has been my life-long passion to help take poker to the highest level possible," added Brunson.

Epic Poker League players qualify for a Five-Year, Three-Year or Two-Year card. The length of each "card" term -- otherwise known as the "exemption period" -- is based on the player's achievement level and the exemption period is the amount of time a qualifying player will be eligible to enter the Federated Sports + Gaming professional poker league tournaments before his or her status comes up for review.

The Epic Poker League Inaugural Season includes four rake-free $20,000 Main Events, each with $400,000 in added money, and a $1,000,000 freeroll Championship Event for the top 27 players in the League. To be eligible to compete, Main Event players must earn membership determined by a rigorous set of objective criteria Epic Poker League Documents . A complete roster for players that have qualified for Season One of the league can be found on the Epic Poker website at: epicpoker.com/players/player-directory.aspx .

Bluff Media, publisher of poker industry magazine Bluff, has acquired a stake in the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT), with plans to immediately rebrand the event the Bluff Magazine Mid-States Poker Tour and eventually the Bluff Poker Tour.

The monthly magazine—which has a circulation of about 100,000, according to Bluff Media president Eric Morris—streams poker events live on its website and also operates an online tournament database, the pokerdb.com.

“We think it’s just a matter of time before online poker is regulated, so we think there’s going to be another bump in the market sooner rather than later,” says Morris. “It’s a good time to diversify our business a little bit to not just advertising in the magazine but developing our brand on the land-based level.”


Bluff declined to offer further details on Bluff’s stake in the tour.

Currently, the Mid-States Poker Tour consists of nine events per year, mostly in Minnesota and Iowa. With Bluff, the tour will up the frequency to twelve to eighteen per year, extending into cities such as Las Vegas, Biloxi and Tunica, as well as others in Oklahoma and Florida, says Morris.

Morris, with help from his web and editorial teams, plans to work closely with MSPT founder Bryan Mileski to run the events, which will also be broadcast on BluffMagazine.com using a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) poker table that allows viewers to see players’ cards. Morris says at this point, he doesn’t expect to bring in outside sponsors beyond the casinos hosting the events.

Bluff plans to announce in the coming months an online component allowing anyone to compete virtually.

Doyle Brunson is a poker icon and the Epic Poker League has decided to honor him with their first-ever lifetime player card, making him automatically eligible to play in all future tournaments, no matter what his status in the Global Poker Index. Annie Duke, the EPL's commissioner, told the AP that Brunson was a clear choice to receive the invitation, especially given his decades of success in the game and contributions to making it more accessible to the masses.

Jeffrey Pollack, executive chairman of the company that owns Epic, and Duke say that the player known as the Texas Dolly will be honored Wednesday at the start of a $20,000 regular season no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament — the third of four regular-season events for Epic in its inaugural run.

"It's unnecessary but I guess it's nice to be remembered for what we went through to get poker to this point," Brunson said in response to the honor. "Most people just don't realize exactly what all transpired ... but we went through some pretty adverse things."

Brunson has over $6.1m in lifetime poker tournament earnings including nearly $3 million from the World Series of Poker alone. He has also earned ten bracelets in the WSOP since 1976.

"The modern history of poker is Doyle's life," Pollack added.

It has just been announced that the Bodog name brand has changed to Bovada, as far its US operation is concerned, while its Bodog name will still remain the same for the rest of the world.

To all intense purposes, it is only the name which has changed while the service will stay practically the same with the exception of a few tweaks. Therefore, in future when US players try to access the original Bodog site they will automatically be re-directed to the new Bovada.lv address, instead.

This is the fourth time Bodog has decided to change its name, primarily as a result of the USA’s negative stance on online gambling and the DoJ’s authority to seize dot com domain names.The company’s past names have included newbodog-com, bodoglife-com, Bodog-com, and more recently Bodog-eu and now Bovada.lv, putting them out of reach of the DoJ.

In addition, the latest move will help satisfy the concerns of online gambling licensed countries where the Bodog brand operates, who may not have wanted to be associated with a brand name opposing the US government’s ban.

The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG) has held the licensing rights to the Bodog brand in the US since 2006, when the Bodog gaming organization withdrew from the huge market following the passage of the SAFE Port Act. The MMGG will continue to operate the new site Bovada.lv, and offer a range of online gambling services, including online poker, horse racing, online casino and sports betting.

Wishing the operation success for the future, a recent press release stated:

“The Bodog brand is confident MMGG’s customer account information and funds will continue to remain safe and secure, as it has done since MMGG entered its original agreement with the Bodog Brand in 2006 and we would like to wish MMGG the greatest success in its new venture.”

Two online poker operators, Bet24 and Scandic Bookmakers, have joined the Ongame network in Denmark as the country prepares to regulated online poker in January.

Ongame will operate a dedicated Danish network and David Pittel, managing director, said, “Enabling our partners to enter every major regulated market on day one is our strategy. Ongame was among the first in Italy, first in France and we will soon be the first in Denmark and Spain as well.

Lars Kollind, poker manager at Bet24, added, “We need specialists in poker to provide a complete poker experience, and that makes Ongame a perfect fit. Only Ongame can offer a presence in all markets as well as provide support for iPhone and Android devices.

Bet24 recently signed Danish poker pro Jesper Hougaard.

The online poker market in Denmark is estimated to grow over 60 percent in 2012 to €87 million.

Earlier this week Ongame’s owner, bwin.party digital entertainment plc said it was at an advanced stage of selling the company.

On Thursday, the Danish Gambling Authority announced that 38 operators have been granted licenses to operate online gambling sites when the new regulatory framework goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

Among the operators awarded licenses include PokerStars, Betfair, 888, bwin.party, PKR and Unibet. In total, nearly 200 domain names will be allowed to offer online gambling in Denmark. Each operator will pay a 20 percent flat tax on gross revenues from the online industry.

Denmark is the latest in a growing line of European countries to implement a new online gambling structure. The country currently lacks any sort or regulatory policy regarding the issue, but proposed legislation was approved both by the Danish Parliament and the European Commission earlier this year to ensure that online gambling would be regulated beginning next year.

"From January the gambling market will be orderly and we will ensure that holders of a betting and online casino license to operate on the Danish market also contribute to the society," said Thor Möger Pedersen, Denmark's Minister of Taxation. "Danes as well as the many associations supported by the gambling market can be joyful."

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

That's right – you can get up to up to $1000 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 Bovada'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 Bovada. You instantly receive a $10 bonus from the site. When you earn 100 points by playing, you get an additional $10 for your bankroll. When you earn 500 points by playing at Bovada, you get an additional $40 and so on — up to $1000! All you have to do is keep playing to earn even more points and bigger bonuses, even if you make more than one deposit.

Three months after a tragic accident took the life of local resident Kenny Polk, his friends and family are sponsoring a charity poker tournament in remembrance and are inviting the community to celebrate his life while helping raise money for a scholarship in his name.

A 2007 Stephen Decatur High School and 2011 McDaniel College graduate, Polk was planning on continuing his education in New York with the goal of eventually becoming a doctor but was killed in a car accident last September. Friends say the charity poker tournament will serve as a sendoff for locals who could not attend Polk’s funeral in New York.

“A lot of us couldn’t make it from back home,” said friend Becca Swistak, who is spearheading the charity tournament and said that she, along with many of Polk’s other friends, felt poker was the right way to go with the event because it was one of his passions.

The tournament will be held Saturday, Dec. 17 from 5-8 p.m. at the American Legion Boggs Disharoon Post 123 in Berlin. The cost to enter will be $20 and all skill levels are encouraged to play. Proceeds will go towards funding a scholarship that will be awarded to a graduating Decatur senior who excels in athletics, academics and science, all focuses of Polk.

The community response has already been strong, said Swistak, with more than 50 people already confirmed on the event’s Facebook page and nearly as many listed as “maybe attending.”

Pam Polk, Kenny Polk’s mother, revealed that the end goal is to offer his scholarship annually.
“We’re hoping to be able to give out a $1,000 scholarship every year,” she said.

The tournament itself will feature a variety of prizes for winners, mostly in the form of gift cards.
One local organization that went above and beyond was the American Legion itself.

“The whole gaming permit was a big hitch,” she said. “They facilitated the whole thing, signing the gaming permit and donating space.”

Though the event is tomorrow, Pam Polk said that the group is still grateful for any last minute donations from businesses, especially in the form of food or drinks to cater the event. It’s her hope that this first year will be successful enough to lay the groundwork for the tournament to become a local tradition.

For more information on the event, call 410-641-0428 or 443-497-0267 or visit the In Memory of Kenny Polk Facebook page. Direct donations can be made care of The Kenneth J. Polk Memorial Fund Taylor Bank, 9923 Golf Course Road, Ocean City, Md. 21842.

Yep,updated and was simple and painless.all funds etc there and all the same but the name. yeehaw

Denmark has published the list of online poker operators who will be allowed to offer their services in the country form January 1.

Thirty-eight operators received a total of 55 licences including 888, PokerStars, Betfair, Betsson, Cryptologic, Danske Spil, Party Poker, Entraction, 24hPoker, Paradise Poker, Mermaid Poker, Red Club Poker, and Unibet.

Yesterday Bet24 and Scandic Bookmakers confirmed they would operate on the Ongame network when the market opens.

Minister of Taxation, Thor Möger Pedersen said, “From January the gambling market will be orderly and we will ensure that holders of a betting and online casino licence to operate on the Danish market also contribute to the society.

“Danes as well as the many associations supported by the gambling market can be joyful.”

Operators who continue to offer their services in Denmark without a licence after January 1, 2012 face having their website or payments blocked the Gambling Authority warned.

In the recent ranking by PlayPokerOnline.com on the best places to play online poker at, Bodog Poker and Party Poker have made it to the top 3 on the list. Topping the list of poker sites from an industry of several hundred poker sites is no mean feat and yet, with the experience both the sites have, it is no surprise either. Despite the fact that both the sites have had to withdraw from the US market, they have remained pretty popular through the rest of the world. The reviews by PlayPokerOnline.com show why the two companies top the poker industry as of now.

Party Poker is actually a favorite in European nations, with most of the traffic at the site during peak hours coming from Europe to play poker online for fun or for real money. In its review of Party Poker, PlayPokerOnline.com mentions the software, powered by Real Time Gaming as being one of the coolest features of the site, featuring excellent graphics and player features. The site also mentions the attractive bonus offers and the party poker bonus code as something that makes playing at Party Poker unique. Party Poker, launched in 2001, is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar.

Bodog Poker was one of the few leading names in the online poker industry that was allowed to operate in the US. Now with the US closure on real money poker sites, the site has made its decision to withdraw from the US market, where the site has a lot of players, after 2011. This was head-lining making news in the US and Europe. That, however, doesn't seem to have tarnished the company's reputation, which has a sizable following from Europe and Asia to play poker online at their site.

The review by PlayPokerOnline.com mentions the huge sign up bonus of over $1,000 offered by Bodog Poker. Though the review is not very ecstatic about the players that play online poker real money games there, it does commend the quality of the software as well as the banking methods available. Special mention has also been made here about the tournaments offered.

In a press release that was released mere moments ago, the number one online poker site in the industry, PokerStars, and one of its most recognizable faces have decided to part ways.

In that press release from the London offices of PokerStars, 2005 World Series of Poker Championship Event winner Joe Hachem and the poker site officially announced the end of their six year relationship. After becoming the World Champion in 2005 in what was, at that time, the largest Main Event field in history (5619 players) and still ranks as the sixth largest Main Event in WSOP history, Hachem promoted PokerStars around the world as poker’s goodwill ambassador.

“It’s been a great run with PokerStars and I’m proud of my association with the people and the company,” Hachem said in the official announcement. “But it’s time for me to pursue other career opportunities and it will be fun to have some down time to spend with my family. I look forward to the future with much excitement and anticipation and will always have fond memories of my time at PokerStars.”

“Joe has been a terrific endorser for PokerStars over the year and, while we are sad to see him leave the Team, we are looking forward to continuing to watch him play,” the head of Corporate Communications for PokerStars, Eric Hollreiser, stated in the announcement. “We thank him for all he’s done for our brand, and for poker, and we wish him all the best at the poker table and in life.”

The departure of Hachem comes on the heels of several key cuts from the Team PokerStars Pro roster. Back in September, 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy, two time WSOP bracelet winner Bill Chen and 2008 WSOP “November Niner” Dennis Phillips were a part of a purge from the PokerStars sponsored player rolls. These departures were quietly done, with no announcement from PokerStars as to why, but it is figured that the after effects of “Black Friday” were at least in part the reason for letting the American pros go.

Earlier this year, arguably one of the most high profile members of the Team PokerStars Pro roster also announced his surprising departure. When negotiations broke down on an extension of his sponsorship deal, 2004 World Champion Greg Raymer and the company parted ways. Unlike Hachem’s departure, there seems to have been some acrimony with the Raymer situation, as PokerStars allegedly wanted him to take less money in a new deal than what he had previously earned.

Although he earnestly discussed wanting to spend more time with his family as a reason for leaving PokerStars, Hachem would be a key free agent, if he wanted to obtain another sponsorship deal. After winning the World Championship in 2005 (and its $7.5 million bounty), Hachem proved to be one of the best ambassadors that poker has seen. He traveled the world following his WSOP victory and, as time passed, proved that he wasn’t a “one hit wonder.”

In 2006, Hachem would earn four cashes at the WSOP, including two final tables, a runner up finish in the $2500 Six Handed NLHE event and a 238th place finish in pursuit of defending his World Championship. As 2006 came to a close, Hachem would add a World Poker Tour championship to his mantle, taking down the WPT’s Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic at the Bellagio for another $2.2 million. He has barely missed becoming one of poker’s “Triple Crown” holders as, in 2008, he missed the final table at the European Poker Tour’s Grand Final by finishing in eleventh place.

Hachem’s career numbers are stellar and, as he plays poker on his terms, promise to get even better. Along with his WSOP and WPT championships, Joe has earned 51 cashes around the world, with 25 of those finishes at the final table. In a nod to his consistency, Joe has been able to earn a six figure score from tournament poker each year since his World Championship victory in 2005. As of the end of the 2011 tournament poker season, Joe has lifetime earnings of $11.4 million, placing him in the Top Ten in poker history in that subject.

According to Twitter, Sam Trickett's had a very nice trip to Macau. The poker pro, who's seen a pretty stellar 2011, tweeted that he played "6 handed with Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan,$10k/20hkd" and put in some marathon hours including an, "insane session, played for 25 hours str8!" before he got on a plane to fly back to the states to prepare for an Epic Poker League Main Event in las Vegas.

A source spoke to an Asian-centric poker news blog and confirmed that he was seen in No Limit Hold’em games at stakes that were frequently in the range of HKD $5000/$10,000 and HKD $10,000/$20,000. His opponents included Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Peter "Garfield25" Chan, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, Johnny Chan and a host of Chinese businessmen. All told, it looks like Trickett left Macau with around $2.3 million in profit, an impressive piece of work by anyone's standards.

Even with Trickett back in the States, high stakes cash action in Asia's gaming capitol seems to be de rigeur for the time being. Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius are all said to still be playing marathon sessions, but that might not last too much longer. Ivey is said to be coming back to the states for Christmas and it's likely that Dwan would be on a similar flight as well. Antonius, on the other hand, seems to be interested in staying down there through the New Year before the Aussie Millions.