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A coalition of California Indian tribes is asking the Legislature not to rush an Internet gambling bill through in the final weeks of session.

"Last minute, back-room brokered deals on an issue that is vital to our tribal governments is the type of action that we must, and will, oppose until the final minute of this legislative session," the California Tribal Business Alliance wrote in a letter sent to lawmakers today.

The group supports legalizing Internet gambling but opposes the most recent bill on the issue -- Sen. Rod Wright's Senate Bill 1463, which hasn't made it out of its policy committee.

Read more here: Capitol Alert: Coalition of California tribes gearing up for online poker fight

Law firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice (MOP) is in line for a €75,000 pay day from the transfer of Full Tilt Poker to a rival.

Pokerstars is due to take over Dublin-based Full Tilt in return for repaying $731 million to clients of the Irish online poker group.

The deal is the result of a settlement with the US government, which last year launched a civil suit against both companies in the New York courts.

Documents detailing the settlement show that MOP is to receive €75,000 for winding down the Irish-based Full Tilt companies. The solicitors’ firm refused to comment yesterday.

Full Tilt was owned by a group of US investors and poker players, but its main centre of operations was in Cherrywood in Dublin.

Read More: Legal firm in line for €75,000 as Full Tilt Poker set to be taken over - The Irish Times - Wed, Aug 08, 2012

The online poker site that's famous for listening to its player base and making enhancements that make its software more attractive has done it again. Americas Cardroom has introduced CAP tables as part of their latest software release. The tables will be available in low-stakes tables to start.

A CAP table essentially limits how much every player in the hand can bet. Set at 30 times the big blind, the CAP is always the same for each hand, and the same for every player seated at the table. When a player has bet the CAP over the course of the hand, they're considered to be all in.

"CAP tables level the playing field for every hand, giving short-stacked players more opportunity to play and win," stated Americas Cardroom spokesperson Julius Maxwell. "And poker players sitting with large stacks can look forward to more action from players who'd otherwise be reluctant to jump on a raise. It's a new type of table that our players have asked for, and we're excited to deliver it."

Read More: Americas Cardroom introduces CAP tables in latest software update

A massive crowd of 478 players descended on Stoke this weekend for the Genting Poker Series Stoke Main Event, a £430 deepstacked tournament that has captured the imagination of the UK poker community. At the end of the three days (including two starting days) it was Yucel Eminoglu who walked away with the trophy and £30,000 in prize money.

Eminoglu's style of play earned him the nickname “Mad Turk,” a title he took in good spirits. He could have walked away with more prize money but he and Simon Deadman struck a deal heads-up that saw them take £30,000 each.

Nineteen players returned to their seats for the second and final day's play and it did not take long for the nine-handed final table to be set. When the final table was decided the players lined up as follows.


Read more: Yucel ?Mad Turk? Eminoglu Wins Genting Poker Series Stoke | PokerNews

Last week, 41 poker players were gathered in front of Chattanooga District Attorney Neal Pinkston as the result of a police raid conducted on June 7. Chattanooga Police Department busted an establishment called "The Poker Depot" and found a $20 buy in poker tournament in action. 39 of the players taken in that evening were hit with illegal gambling charges and two others were actually taken into custody for other offenses. The raid netted the Chattanooga authorities an undisclosed amount of cash, marijuana and undisclosed pills. along with a loaded .22 caliber pistol.

A plea deal was offered in order to expedite the process for so many players being held at once, giving them the opportunity to plead guilty and face judicial diversion, which allows you to have your plea stricken from the record as long as you meet some basic requirements. Nearly all of the players accepted the deal.

The laws regarding gambling in the state of Tennessee are clear in what is allowed. The law in the state does allow for charities to host one gaming event per year for fundraising, with raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks and cake wheels falling into that category. Bingo, pull tabs, punchboards, keno and "games of chance associated with casinos" remain unauthorized, according to state law.

Tennessee has seen an increase in poker news of late. Back in April, a gun battle went down during a police raid of a poker game and in July, a group of players filed a class action lawsuit against the Chattanooga Billiard Club and its owner, Phil Windham, for canceling a series of poker tournaments.

South Point owner Michael Gaughan received initial approval Wednesday to proceed with launching a real-money intrastate poker website.

The State Gaming Control Board in Carson City recommended approval of his Las Vegas company South Point Poker LLC as Nevada’s first interactive gaming operator.

The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider the application Aug. 23.

Three slot and game manufacturers have received state approval as interactive gaming service providers.

Gaughan is now poised to be the first physical casino operator to operate real-money online poker within the borders of Nevada.

Gaughan staff said that subject to final technical and regulatory approvals, actual wagering with field tests could begin in October.

Read More: South Point owner gets initial OK to offer real-money online poker - VEGAS INC

Lawmakers in the state of California are working hard to reach the August 31st deadline with an online poker bill but it looks as though the deadline may be missed. Senate President Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg has told reporters that he believes it is possible that the work will be completed on the bill but he does not see it happening in the last four weeks.

The online poker bill was co-authored by Steinberg and the bill was introduced into legislation by Rod Wright, a senator in the state. Steinberg’s office has worked hard to move negotiations along with tribes and the casinos, horse tracks and other gambling establishments.

Despite everyone’s hard work, the bill has not moved since it was introduced this past February. On Monday, Steinberg spoke out about how some tribes are in support of the legislation and some are opposed to the bill but support the concept in the bill. Other tribes are totally against online poker becoming legalized in the state.

Read More: California Online Poker Legislation May Miss Deadline

Maxx Dansky defeated Miguel Hernandez heads up to become the first ever Card Player Poker Tour main event Champion at the tour’s inaugural stop at the Choctaw Casino Resprt in Durant, Oklahoma. For the win the 25-year old pro earned $152,008.

Read More: Maxx Dansky Wins Card Player Poker Tour Choctaw Main Event - Poker News Video

One of the largest developments in the ongoing battle for online poker in the United States took place on July 31, when the U.S. Department of Justice announced that PokerStars completed a deal to acquire the assets of Full Tilt Poker. Many poker players have voiced their opinion on the deal on the internet, from members of Team PokerStars Pro to online professionals worldwide. Daniel Negreanu is one of the most recognizable faces on Team PokerStars Pro and he is a well-spoken media-savvy member of the poker community, so BLUFF spoke with Negreanu in order to gleam his thoughts regarding the news.

Read More: Sit-N-Go: Daniel Negreanu Reacts to PokerStars-Full Tilt Poker Deal | BLUFF Poker News

On Wednesday, state gaming regulators in Nevada handed South Point, the Las Vegas Casino owned by Michael Gaughan, the approval to operate a website for online poker within the state of Nevada. The casino could be ready to offer online poker as soon as this fall, if all goes well.

Steve Harris, the attorney for South Point, spoke with the Gaming Control Board and stated that the technology the casino will use for an online poker site is in the advanced stages of approval by an independent testing laboratory. Gaming regulators hired the laboratory to test the gaming option.

Harris went on to state that if the conditions are met then the website created by South Point could be up and running by this October. However, the site will not go live until the stipulations placed by the control board have been met. The board wants to make sure the site meets all of the state requirements before it goes live with real money wagering.

Read More: South Point Could Offer Online Poker This Fall

Just a short time ago, we brought you the news that lawmakers in the state of California are working to have an online poker bill ready before the August 23rd deadline. Darrel Steinberg, the senate president Pro Tem, announced that despite the hard work, the bill will most likely miss the deadline. Now, we have learned that a coalition of California Indian tribes are now working together to fight the rush of the online poker bill.

The group has asked the legislative body in California not to rush the online gambling bill during the final weeks of the session. The California Tribal Business Alliance wrote a letter to lawmakers which read: “Last minutes, a back-room brokered deal on an issue that is vital to our tribal governments is the type of action that we must, and will, oppose until the final minute of this legislative session.”

The group of tribes is in support of online gambling legalization but they do not support the new bill on the subject. The new bill, 1463, was created by Senator Rod Wright and has yet to make it out of the policy committee.

Read More: California Tribal Coalition Ready to Fight Online Poker Bill

Preparing for their ceremonies next month, the British Poker Awards have announced the nominees for their 2012 awards show, featuring several prominent members of the British poker community vying for ten different honors.

The British Poker Awards, sponsored by Genting Poker and the English Poker Open, are in their third year of existence and have traditionally honored the best in the British poker community for their performances both on and off the green baize. Over the span of ten categories – Best Cash Game Player, Best Tournament Player, Best Online Player, Poker Personality of the Year, Best Poker Forum, Best United Kingdom Poker Tournament, Best Poker Blogger, Best Poker League, Best International Player and Player of the Year – the public gets to choose the winners for most of the categories (Best International Player and POY are chosen by a judging panel). The opportunity to vote on these categories has opened up at thebritishpokerawards-com and will choose the eventual winners.

There are several players who have each earned two nominations for a BPA this year. Sam Trickett, who has seemed to be a fixture at any poker event around the world over the past few years, is nominated for Best Cash Player and Best Tournament Player. Chris Moorman and Chris Brammer have earned dual nominations in the Best Tournament Player and Best Online Player categories. Earning two nominations each for their excellent work off the felt, both Vicky Coren and Neil Channing have been nominated in the categories of Poker Personality of the Year and Best Poker Blogger.

Read More: 2012 British Poker Awards Nominees Announced

With less than a month remaining in its legislative session, the President Pro Tem of the California Senate stated to a Golden State newspaper that he doesn’t expect a proposed bill that would regulate online poker on an intrastate basis to pass before the end of the term.

Jim Miller of the Riverside Press Enterprise interviewed Democratic President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg earlier this week regarding the future of a proposed bill that would open up California – by far the biggest prize in any online gaming endeavor – to an intrastate online poker system. In that interview, Sen. Steinberg opined that, with the legislative session ending on August 31, that “it’s possible, but I don’t see it” that such legislation would make its way through the California State Assembly.

Surprisingly, Sen. Steinberg is the co-author of a bill with Sen. Rod Wright that would open up the state for online poker operations. It is estimated that, simply through licensing fees alone for online operators, there would be a $200 million influx into the coffers of the state, which is facing a $16 billion shortfall. Since that bill was introduced by Sen. Wright, however, there has been a great deal of debate over the issue.

There are several factions inside the state of California that seem to be blocking the moves by the legislature to open up intrastate poker. The California Online Poker Association is in support of passing legislation, but the organization is opposed to the present state of the Wright/Steinberg bill.

Read More: California Legislator Doesn?t Expect Online Poker Bill To Pass

Tyler Forrester (28), who has a Slavic literature degree from Duke University, is least bothered about academics right now because he is a professional poker player, earning his living from playing online poker for hours and hours every day. Forrester, who hails from Dillon, is one of the 150 odd US professional poker players, who migrated to Costa Rica following the events of April 15, 2011, the day on which the US federal government cracked down on three major online poker rooms and seized their domain names.

Most of the US professional poker players are young men in their twenties and not happy about having to leave the US in order to play poker. They have all expressed their anger at being forced to leave their home because US federal law does not allow them to earn a living playing poker from their home country. They also feel that the US land casino industry is responsible for the crackdown on the online poker rooms.

Read More: Poker Refugees Unhappy about Leaving the US

Maxx Dansky has been playing poker since he was 16-year-old, competing in private home games in his native Nashville, Tennessee. After turning pro, Dansky played online poker before Black Friday forced a change.

He moved to Las Vegas and tried his luck in the local tournament scene. Though he had a number of close calls, nothing seemed to go right for him when it mattered most. After a disappointing summer, the now 25-year-old pro decided to make a drastic move to Costa Rica to continue playing online poker.

Read More: Maxx Dansky Analyzes Key Hand At Card Player Poker Tour Choctaw Main Event - Poker News

The high-stakes online action on PokerStars has been going strong since the end of the World Series of Poker, and this week was no exception as “ChaoRen160” finished as the biggest winner with $467,533 in profit from 46 sessions comprised of 3,519 hands.

Not far behind were the week’s other big winners: Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (+$343,931 in 9,057 hands/116 sessions), “Gozoboro” (+$325,591 in 5,209 hands/62 sessions), and Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$293,905 in 9,829 hands/59 sessions).

Meanwhile, after finishing last week as the biggest winner with $535,000 in profit, Joeri “L0ve2playU” van der Sman gave $307,000 back this week in 6,727 hands spread over 131 sessions, though that only made him the third biggest loser of the week because both “patpatman” (-$413,290 in 905 hands/20 sessions) and Daniel “w00ki3z” Cates (-$410,538 in 9,588 hands/71 sessions) lost more.

Read More: The Online Railbird Report: ?ChaoRen160? Wins $467,000; Cates & van der Sman Lose Big | PokerNetwork-com

Not yet 30, Andrew Schiestel is a rising star in London’s hi-tech sector and a partner in tbk Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in social media.

Schiestel aspired to be a professional pool player, an online poker champ or a police officer.

Now the title on his business card is Chief of WOW! Projects.

Schiestel prides himself on a career path guided by instinct and high energy.

“I am belief on fire . . . I don’t need evidence to support my beliefs. If I see something as possible, I am willing to go after it.”

His company also has some unusual origins. It grew out of Tagged by Kindness (tbk) a school fundraising product based on proactive acts of kindness popularized in the movie Pay It Forward.

Launched in 2008, the company marketed a “gift card” that could be passed on after an act of kindness. The recipient used an identification number on the card to document the deed online.

By 2010 the company had evolved into its current business focus and Misha Allard, one of the three original partners, had left to pursue a marketing career in Toronto leaving Shiestel and Melissa McInerney, whose official title is Queen of Creation.

The client list includes Siskinds LLP, North Star Windows & Doors, Libro Financial Group, Brescia University College, City of London, Crabby Joe’s and Coffee Culture.

Read More: Online marketing guru shows his poker face | Business Monday | Money | London Free Press

InterPoker is actually pretty small for being around since the beginning of the millenium but most poker players still find it to be a serious poker room. InterPoker is an online poker site with license in Malta that has been around for quite a few years. InterPoker has a great bonus for new players with a 200% up to EUR 1000.00 bonus that is available as a signup bonus.

InterPoker IPN Software

Monthly Reload Bonuses on invite, Good Multi-Tabling Software, Evclusive VIP Races, Big Tournament Schedule, €110K in Prize Pool in Monthly 2011 GTD tournaments! A good poker room from an established operator with no shady past

Cheers!!

State Sen. Rod Wright, chairman of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee hearing, at the June 12 committee hearing where he pulled his online poker bill.


Divisions among tribes with successful casinos have stacked the odds against legislation to legalize and license online poker in California, with less than three weeks left in the two-year session.

Some tribes support the proposal co-authored by the Senate’s top Democrat. Others support the concept but want changes to the legislation. And some tribes oppose the idea, saying it risks eating into the business of bricks-and-mortar casinos legalized by voters in 1998 and 2000.

Other complicated end-of-session measures, meanwhile, could consume lawmakers’ attention and time as the clock winds down. Those include possible bills dealing with public-employee pensions, workers compensation, and other issues that could emerge in the closing weeks.


ONLINE POKER: Legislation faces tough odds before deadline | Breaking News | PE-com - Press-Enterprise

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