Under the terms of a new deal, Canadian group Amaya Gaming will pay an initial €15m in cash for Bwin.party’s Ongame poker network. Amaya may pay a further €10m if progress is made in the US on regulating online gambling.
Earlier this year a similar deal was struck with ShuffleMaster for an initial €19.5m and a potential further €10m. However, the deal fell apart after ShuffleMaster grew nervous about the slow progress in the US on regulation and the market conditions in Europe.
Ongame used to be the third biggest online poker site, behind Party Poker and PokerStars.
Bwin purchased Ongame from its Swedish creaters for €473m in 2005, however, it became unnecessary after Bwin and PartyGaming merged last year.
The Ongame network offers regulated poker in France and Italy and includes poker rooms for Betfair, Coral and others. In the second half of last year it had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €0.04m.
The joint Chief Executives of Bwin.part, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, said: “The sale of Ongame conforms to our strategy, especially as we move closer to launching our single, proprietary technology platform in the next few months.”
New Buyer Found for Ongame Poker Network - Online Casino Archives
PokerStars’ purchase of the Full Tilt assets included Rush Poker, the fast-fold creation that PokerStars copied with Zoom Poker, but now is hoping to protect.
When Full Tilt’s Rush Poker hit the market in 2010, the concept that brought fast-fold poker to the Internet was seen as amazingly innovative, allowing players to play much more quickly without having to do a lot of the waiting around that is typical in playing poker.
Fast-forward to the fall of 2012 and the market is now flooded with fast-fold variants on a number of websites, including Zoom Poker at PokerStars, Blaze Poker on the Microgaming Network, Speed Hold’em at iPoker, Relax Gaming’s Fast Poker, FastForward at PartyPoker, and InstaDeal’s version via the Terminal Poker skin.
Prior to Black Friday and Full Tilt’s eventual shutdown–when Rush Poker was the lone fast-fold game on the market–the company had applied for patents in a number of global markets in order to protect their product from being copied. Full Tilt filed documentation in patent offices in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, hoping to secure the rights of marketing their innovative software invention. At the time, the company stated that "Full Tilt Poker, its Affiliates and/or its Parent Company will take vigorous legal action against any infringement of their patent rights."
The aftermath of Black Friday and the Full Tilt shutdown saw other sites attempt to fill the void in the marketplace left by Full Tilt and create their own fast-fold versions. InstaDeal Poker Network got things rolling with their fast-fold variant in late 2011 with chairman Per Hildebrand believing that the Rush Poker patent was not enforceable as company lawyers informed him that Rush Poker "only met one of the three criteria required to be granted a patent," Hildebrand said.
"From that time on we were confident they were never going to get a patent for it and so we felt it was safe to start moving forward with InstaDeal," Hildebrand added.
Read More: PokerStars Hopes To Secure Rights To Fast-Fold Poker
It’s still a little surprising that Joe Serock, considering his more than $2.5 million in career winnings, started out playing online poker freerolls. After just a year of grinding these free tournaments, Serock’s poker career started to take shape.
Years later he is still have tons of success on the poker scene.
His 2012 has been especially solid. The New Mexico native has accumulated more than $700,000 in winnings so far, including a pair of impressive final table cashes in the World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star and the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
Currently in at 41 in Card Player’s Player of the Year race, the laid-back and humble Serock answered a few questions about how he approaches the game, his recent success and some of the things he has learned over the course of his poker career.
Read More: [url=www-cardplayer-com/poker-news/14191-joe-serock-i-m-not-sure-what-my-playing-style-is]Joe Serock: 'I'm Not Sure What My [Playing] Style Is'[/url]
Italian online gambling regulator L’Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (AAMS) has now released its latest report concerning the state of gambling in the country, and the result has sent shock waves throughout the industry.
Over the past year alone, Italy has seen a massive decline in its online poker market with revenue from its segregated cash games and tournament player pool down a huge 30.7% from its August 2011 peak of €33.8m to €23.4m in August this year.
Breaking the figures down further, since regulation was first introduced in Italy tournament revenues have fallen nearly 75% from a peak in January 2011 of €35.3m to a low of €9.1m in August 2012. In addition, cash games has plummeted by 41% over the last year to just €14.2m.
At the heart of the worrying figures would seem to be the high gaming taxes imposed by the government, which are the highest across the whole of Europe. However, also of chief concern is the low player liquidity caused by allowing only Italian citizens to play online, which has resulted in narrower game selection and lower tournament prize pools.
Nevertheless, regulatory body AAMS has now become aware of the acute challenges facing their domestic gambling market and discussions are currently afloat to come up with ways to reverse the situation. A similar situation exists in Spain and one suggestion being touted includes the two EU countries combining their player pools in 2013. In fact, a meeting was held this summer involving other countries with similar dilemmas including France and Portugal, with a press announcement released later stating:
“Discussions took place on the conditions necessary for a possible shared liquidity in certain games among some of the countries participating to the meeting.”
Meanwhile, Italy will be hoping to stem the leak in its online gambling market after online slot games are officially launched in December.
With billions of dollars at stake, the head of the gambling industry’s main lobbying group sounded a pessimistic note about the prospect of Congress passing Internet regulatory laws this year.
American Gaming Association chief Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. cast online wagering hosted by sites overseas as “the next frontier of our business,” and one of the biggest threats to the casino industry in the United States.
But Fahrenkopf told reporters in Las Vegas that passing a measure such as one backed by Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona would need quick action during the post-election congressional session.
“We will need plenty of hard work and a little gambler’s luck to see a federal bill pass this year,” Fahrenkopf said during his annual state-of-the-industry media briefing at the Global Gaming Expo. “Obviously, nothing is going to happen before the election. That means a lame duck (session) is our last chance.”
Fahrenkopf, a former Republican party national chairman, said about 85 countries have legalized online gambling, and some estimates say almost $35 billion is being bet worldwide online each year, including millions by people in the U.S.
“These are numbers generated with only minor participation by players in the U.S.,” Fahrenkopf said, citing figures from a United Kingdom-based industry researcher, H2 Gaming Capital.
The number compares with gross commercial gambling revenues in the U.S. of some $35.6 billion for all of 2011. It does not include American tribal gambling, which the Senate Indian Affairs Committee reported topped $27 billion in 2011.
Meanwhile, casino revenues have increased so far this year in 17 of the 21 states that allow commercial gambling nationwide, and are up almost 6 percent overall, according to association data compiled from state regulators. The numbers include Ohio, where two casinos opened this year, and compare with the first nine months of 2011.
No matter which party wins the U.S. elections on Nov. 6, Fahrenkopf promised his association will keep lobbying Congress to create a legal framework for regulating online poker. Otherwise, he said, states will adopt a patchwork of rules and regulations that will make oversight difficult and put customers at risk.
“No matter what Congress does, based on the growth trends ... and the actions of the various states, it’s no longer a matter of if online gambling will be legalized in the U.S., but when, where and how.”
David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, called passage of online betting regulations “inevitable at the state level” in the U.S.
“At the federal level, it’s a toss-up,” he said.
Several local Las Vegas casinos have been licensed by Nevada regulators and are within weeks of beginning to accept online bets from state residents.
Nevada and Delaware began taking steps to allow online betting after the U.S. Justice Department last December narrowed the application of the federal Interstate Wire Act of 1961 only to sports wagering. Several casinos have been licensed in Nevada to offer online poker to residents within the state. Meanwhile, Illinois has begun selling lottery tickets online.
“We know there will be more states to come,” Fahrenkopf said, including California and New Jersey.
Massachusetts is developing a regulatory structure for gambling, he said, and new properties are opening in other states, including Illinois. Voters in Oregon, Rhode Island and Maryland will decide gambling initiatives Nov. 6.
Fahrenkopf Jr. says time short for US online poker regulations :: GamingToday-com
Kingdom of Poker was an online poker room that was originally aimed at Asian players. Kingdom of Poker even offered Chinese Poker, a game normally not available at most online poker rooms. Kingdom of Poker opened as an independent online poker room in late 2011, with the site offering players a 100% up to $1000 first deposit bonus.
A major online poker affiliate was then contacted to provide propositional (prop) players to the poker room to help boost traffic. Props are typically paid 100% rakeback to help start new games and keep existing games from dying. Even with props, there was still little or no traffic at Kingdom of Poker. Kingdom of Poker also tried an $8 no deposit bonus to help draw players. None of this worked.
Most of the traffic on the network consisted of props getting paid all of their rake back and players getting paid $8 to try the poker room. Few players deposited with their own money. This is not a formula that makes an online poker room successful. The poker room subsequently closed in August 2012.
Read More: Kingdom of Poker Accused of Stiffing Players and Props
Recently, Bodog.EU closed its doors and redirected players to Bodog.co.uk. while also withdrawing from a score of European markets. Now, the company has announced it is to cease providing online poker altogether via its UK website and will instead be focusing on its casino game offering, such as baccarat.
The Bodog brand continues to operate in the US and Canada through its licensees Bovada and Bodog.CA. However, while Bodog scales back its operation in Europe in order to maximize its profits, the Asian market has become the new focus of attention for the online entertainment brand. In fact, recently Bodog Asia (Bodog88) purchased the Bodog Poker Network, and the Asian market is still very much in mind with the company’s latest move to relaunch Bodog.co.uk. As Bodog88′s Managing Director Robert Gustafsson, explains:
“There are estimated to be at least 100 million Chinese living outside China and if you then include Thai, Malay and Vietnamese expats you have more than just a niche market but one that has been ignored by other operators despite being far and away the largest consumer group of casino games on the planet.”
In the meantime, Online Sports Betting, Casino, Poker & Horse Racing at Bovada is temporarily unavailable for UK and European players as it undergoes its overhaul and prepares for relaunch. Anyone currently attempting to access the site will be met, instead, with the message; “improvements are coming soon.” When it goes online once more, its sportsbook, racebook and online poker features will be missing and replaced by live dealer games and traditional casino games. Elaborating further on the company’s business plan, Robert Gustafsson commented:
“Bodog.co.uk can offer a totally different product to a totally different audience and while we will still offer sports betting the all-important casino customer will be our main source of revenue.”
Once the World Series of Poker Europe Cannes events finished up, players headed over to Italy to compete in a stop on the European Poker Tour. While most players would travel by car or train, two players decided to head to the EPT via bike. Bertrand Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov both decided to stretch their leg muscles and make the trip by bicycle.
The Team PokerStars Pros would take the trip, which was 118 kilometers, to get to Sanremo for the EPT. The two began the trip on Friday morning and were joined by their trainer Lincon Rodrigues and Petra Jannssen van Doorn, Rodrigues girlfriend.
The two players took the bike trip due to a bet that was placed during the World Championship of Online Poker. Katchalov was able to make more money during the series than Grospellier, but he still agreed to take the long journey via bike with his friend. The wager was that the player who made less would make the journey on bike, but apparently Katchalov didn’t want Grospellier traveling alone!
Grospellier stated to the EPT officials that he had not rode a bike in fifteen years. During the trip, he even got lost and stated: “I was following the others and then they disappeared. So I followed signs to Italy, but they went a different way to Italy.”
Rodrigues commented that the group managed to ride the distance from Cannes to Italy much more comfortably than he had anticipated. Katchalov was joking with the group that they will have a nap for a few hours than hit the gym again! The two have now begun competing in the EPT Sanremo event. Katchalov commented that both he and Grospellier would like nice and comfortable seats in the event!
The countdown begins and until then we are watching the building blocks of what use to be one of my favorite online poker rooms…Full Tilt Poker.
Last month we all read the news of Nelson Burtnick, the head of payment processing for online poker room, Full Tilt Poker, pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to deceive banks into handling Internet gambling transactions that violated U.S. laws.
Burtnick admitted committing the crimes while working at both Isle of Man-based PokerStars and later at Full Tilt. “We had to do this type of deception to enable U.S. poker players to load their accounts” with funds, Burtnick told the magistrate. “I know that what I did was wrong.” Burtnick faces as long as 15 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
Then there was the news that their repayment plan to pay back $184 million to former Full Tilt Poker customers from outside the US was in full effect. Working since August 9th, the day they closed the deal with the United States Department of Justice, PokerStars has conferred with many different regulators in jurisdictions all over the world to ensure that the repayment process they will use will follow local regulatory requirements. The repayment process will vary according to the jurisdiction in which the player lives.
Read More: Full Tilt Poker Countdown, The Road to Relaunch Online Poker | Casino Scam Report
It has been four months since the regulation of online poker in Spain, and, after a spluttering start, traffic has been growing steadily.
The traffic increase comes mostly at PokerStars, which now commands two-thirds of the Spanish market for cash games, according to independent tracker PokerScout.
Regulated online poker in Spain went live on June 5. Licensed poker rooms are required to segregated all Spanish players on separate dot.ES websites, and pay a 25% tax on all gaming revenue from the site.
When sites first opened their doors, an initial peak soon subsided and cash game traffic declined during June. PokerStars.ES dropped approximately 15% during the first two weeks.
However, traffic has steadily increased over the last three months, and has surpassed its original peak. On PokerStars.ES, cash game traffic has hit 1500 active cash game players on average, 20% higher than when it first went live and a 40% increase above its lowest point in June.
PokerStars.ES is expected to soon overtake its Italian counterpart to become PokerStars’ largest poker site in a regulated country. And it will be nipping at the heals of Winamax.FR, the French-only site which is sixth internationally and the largest non-international network of poker players.
PartyPoker.ES, third in Spain, has also seen growth, up approximately 25% since its launch. The site operates two brands on the same network in Spain, PartyPoker and bwin.
It has closed the gap on the second largest site, 888, which has gone against the trend and seen a 20% drop in cash game traffic since its launch. This can be explained at least partially by the recent decision to stop non-Spanish players from playing on 888.ES. PartyPoker continues to permit anyone to register on its Spanish sites.
The overall growth in the market can be attributed to the marketing in Spain—such as the PokerStars/Rafal Nadal signing—as well as increased recognition and confidence in the market. The recent clarification of the income tax law may also win back some higher volume players.
The growth offers a marked counterpoint to the troubles of the regulated markets in France and Italy. Both have struggled to retain players in online poker as the market matured and the effects of high operator taxation set in.
Online Poker Market Grows in Spain | Pokerfuse Online Poker News
An online poker company which went bust in 2011, leaving players £115m out of pocket, is to relocate from Alderney to the Isle of Man.
Full Tilt Poker has since been taken over by Isle of Man based PokerStars, which has agreed to pay the outstanding player liabilities in full.
The deal will see PokerStars acquire the Full Tilt Poker brand and its software and install new management.
Around 50 e-gaming companies are currently licensed in the Isle of Man.
Full Tilt Poker will start trading on 6 November after receiving a license from the Isle of Man's Gambling Supervision Commission.
Steve Brennan, CEO of the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, said it was "confident that Full Tilt Poker will safeguard the interests of its players and adhere to the strict policies and procedures governing Isle of Man licensed gaming companies".
Both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker along with Absolute Poker were closed in 2011 and hit with civil money laundering charges.
Criminal charges were brought against executives and payment processors.
Full Tilt Poker was previously regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, which stripped the online poker site of its operating licence in June.
BBC News - Bust online poker company relocates to the Isle of Man
This fall, South Point Poker is expected to launch the first legal, real-money online poker site in Nevada. The initiation of the historic poker site will likely result in a domino effect of companies entering the space and competing for a share of the state's liquidity pool.
Nevada's gaming commission is in the process of reviewing a number of Internet poker license applications for service providers and operators, and some already licensed companies are having their technology tested by regulators. The wheels are in motion for gaming giants like Caesars Interactive Entertainment and MGM Resorts International to team with service providers to have a platform in place by next year.
But while the prospect of real-money poker is exciting to many Nevada residents, several pros are concerned that an intrastate offering won't be large enough to make a living. Nevada ranks 35th in the U.S. in population, and although the Silver State’s regulations will allow tourists to play online poker while they visit Nevada, it's still not a large pool to draw from compared to multinational offering of industry leaders like PokerStars.
"I don't think I could play online poker for a living if it is intrastate," said New Orleans-based poker pro Justin Truesdell. "The player pool wouldn't be big enough to keep games running that would make it profitable to play for a living. Some players would obviously rise above the median and profit but the one thing poker needs to survive is players and more new players. I don't think if it was limited to a state with the population of Nevada that it would be able to maintain the player base that is needed."
Read more: Poker Pros Fear Nevada's Online Poker Liquidity Pool | PokerNews
After the divisive election is over, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller said Thursday he's confident he and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid can work together to pass an Internet poker bill this year that could benefit Nevada's gaming industry.
"Absolutely, absolutely," Heller said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board when asked about the chances of legislation despite the two senators' head-butting on the issue.
Heller and Reid have traded sharp charges of political gamesmanship surrounding Internet gaming as the Republican runs for the Senate against a Reid-backed Democratic challenger, Rep. Shelley Berkley.
Before Congress recessed last month, Reid blamed Heller for not gathering the needed 15 to 20 Republican votes in the Senate to pass a bill. Heller had said the better strategy was to approve a measure in the GOP-controlled House to outlaw Internet gaming - something most lawmakers would support to avoid a state-by-state free-for-all - and then carve out an exception for online poker when the bill gets to the Senate.
Congress is set to reconvene after the Nov. 6 election for a lame-duck session when the bill could come up.
Heller said despite any hard feelings, he's confident he and the Senate majority leader will set them aside.
Read More: Heller says he can work with Reid on Internet poker bill - News - ReviewJournal-com
On Sunday, PokerTube-com released an interview between Rikard Aberg and Tom “durrrr” Dwan. Akberg was able to snag a few minutes with Dwan in Cannes, France, after he busted from the World Series of Poker Europe Majestic High Roller, and the two talked about a handful of topics including live tournament stops, Macau, and Dwan’s return to online poker.
According to the interview, Dwan no longer considers Las Vegas “home.” When asked if he still resides in Sin City, he answers, “I have my mail sent to Vegas, but I’m not there as much. I’m overseas way more than I’m in Vegas. I’m in Macau more than Vegas too.”
Dwan also tells Aberg that he hasn’t played online for “a year and a half now.” He says he has yet to change his online poker account’s (the site is not specified) location to Macau, but he plans to.
“Yeah I think I’m going to get my account set up where it’s from Macau so I can play from there because I have a place there.”
Aberg then asks Dwan to talk about the games in Macau, citing that they are “mysterious” and there is not much said about them.
“I think there’s a bunch of information out there,” Dwan tells him. “There’s a whole load of games. It’s usually no-limit and the stakes just vary a lot.”
Dwan also admits that he has “no idea” whether or not poker will continue to thrive in Macau, but he hopes it will.
The subject then changes to Full Tilt Poker, and Aberg asks whether or not Dwan was involved in the sale process.
“There was a bit of stuff, especially early on, that I was involved in, but it didn’t, the ways I thought I could help didn’t end up materializing and that’s — and it made me really unhappy.”
Read more: Tom Dwan Talks Macau Residence, Absence and Return to Online Poker | PokerNews
Number of operators launching websites in the country after its government legalised regulated online poker back in June.
Although sites initially saw a peak of traffic in the summer, users quickly declined dramatically, and some operators reported losses in traffic by as much as 15 per cent within the first two weeks.
Online poker in Italy has encountered similar problems, leading to suggestions that the two EU states could see their online gambling industries merge, combining player pools as early as 2013.
However, Spanish websites have seen a dramatic increase in players over the past three months which has far surpassed its initial peak seen back in June.
Regulations from the government declare that licensed poker sites must segregate Spanish players from those in other countries, with a 25 per cent tax is applied to all revenues.
Spanish Online Poker Market Sees Growth - 777 Casino News
Last June, Bally Technologies and International Game Technology were given the first online gaming licenses in Nevada.
3G Studios is a local video game company that has applied for one as well.
James Kosta, the CEO of 3G said they and the Eldorado have teamed up, in hopes of providing online poker as soon as this spring.
"What we are looking forward to is two, three, or four years from now at a federal level, you'll be able to start gambling on casual games and arcade games with your friends."
Kosta said online gaming is the next step for the gaming industry. He envisions betting on sports from your iPhone and eventually, even throwing down a $1-$2 dollar on the cell phone game Words With Friends.
There are still some hurdles at the federal level, however. Online gaming has not been given the nod by Congress. Although, last night in the Senate debate between Dean Heller and Shelley Berkley, Heller said they will pass legislation by the end of the year to legalize online gaming.
I asked Kosta what he would say to those who say he is wrong for supporting gambling and wanting to offer it online.
"When people contain themselves within that box and decide they're going to spend $10 an hour gambling or $50 an hour gambling, whatever they can afford that's responsible, then it absolutely is a form of entertainment."
To watch the interview, tune into Face the State. It airs four times this weekend.
4:30 am and 4:30 pm Saturday and 5:30 am and 2:30 pm on Sunday.
Online Poker Expected to Launch This Spring - KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video -
Yesterday, United States Senator Dean Heller stated that he is confident that he will be able to work alongside fellow United States Senator Harry Reid to pass an online poker bill this year. Heller was interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Heller stated that he believes eventually the bill will be passed.
Heller was asked by the Journal what are the chances of legislation passing despite the fact that the senators have butted heads constantly on the issue and Heller stated that ‘absolutely’ the bill will pass. Both senators have traded blows and have fought for their opinions on online gambling. Heller is currently taking on Representative Shelley Berkley for the senate seat so supposedly after the race is over this November, Heller believes the two can work together.
Just last month, the two were going at it over the bill. Reid was blaming Heller for not gaining enough votes in the Senate for the bill to pass. The bill needed 15 to 20 republican votes to pass in the Senate and it did not receive this number of votes. Heller believed that he had a better strategy; have the House outlaw online gaming, which is something the majority of lawmakers would support to avoid a state for state option, and then create an exception for online poker when the bill moved to the Senate.
The bill may come up again when Congress reconvenes once the November 6th election is completed for a lame-duck session. Heller has now stated he feels confident that he will be able to work with Reid to see the bill passed. Heller commented: “I have no doubt when this race is over, Senator Reid and I will sit down and say, ‘OK, we got this behind us now, let’s work together and get this done,’. And I have no doubt that it needs to get done by the end of the year. And I fully support working with Senator Reid in making that happen.”
Heller Confident Online Poker Bill Will Pass After The Election
Online poker gambling site Full Tilt has announced they will be offering Internet gambling services once again beginning on November 6th for real money. These services had been suspended due to the legal shake-up surrounding online poker around the world in the past few years.
Full Tilt can now offer this service after acquiring a gambling license from the IoM Gambling Supervision Commission, permitting Full Tilt to operate legally and securely, without fear of litigation against Internet gambling.
These events have taken place after Rational Group acquired the assets of Full Tilt in August. Rational Group already operates an online poker gambling site called Pokerstars. This previous contact with the Isle of Man (IoM) was a major asset for Full Tilt in gaining its permission to operate, as the relationship between IoM Gambling Supervision Commission and the Rational Group has been very positive throughout the operation of Pokerstars.
Gambling Supervision Commission, CEO, Steve Brennan, commented on the reputation of Rational Group, stating that the Rational Group management had shown complete compliance with the gambling regulations of the IoM. Mr. Brennan added that Full Tilt was approved through the assessment of its own merits and demonstrates the determination and ability to comply with the IoM regulations.
FTP Online Poker Expected to Re-open After Short Hiatus : ADI News
Online poker players can expect a new live poker product at PokerStars in 2013 because the online poker room has invested in Hippodrome Casino, which is based in London. While Hippodrome Casino would serve as a base for PokerStars’ live poker product, PokerStars will provide online poker at an online casino that Hippodrome plans to launch in the near future.
PokerStars Group Strategy Director Guy Templar said, “The Hippodrome has dramatically raised the quality bar for the UK casino industry. So together we will give poker players the same great poker experience, live 24/7 in the heart of London that they get from PokerStars online. We are looking forward to unveiling some great new live events for the UK poker market in 2013.”
Read More: PokerStars to Offer Live Poker from 2013
The father, triathlete and amateur poker player will sit down on October 28 sixth in chips. We chat to Michael Esposito about his journey to the final nine.
Poker players are fond of stating that the World Series of Poker Main Event represents poker’s ultimate test of endurance, which might have given Michael Esposito an edge. Esposito had already turned his own life around by becoming a triathlete, so he’s had a bit of experience in developing the endurance and concentration for a deep run.
Maybe that’s part of why the 44-year-old New York commodities trader finds himself right in the mix as the October Nine reconvenes late this month. Esposito returns to the finale in sixth position (of nine), with a very playable 16,260,000 stack.
Getting there, however, represented both a change of attitude and just a bit of luck.
Esposito stands as one of the contrasts in this year’s final. Unlike his eight remaining opponents, he considers himself only an amateur player, participating in only a handful of events each year. He’s still sampled big-event poker for more than a decade, first making the major online results databases with a 2002 seven-card-stud score worth $3,480. The following year, still playing stud, he cashed for more than $33,000 in a United States Poker Championship event.
As so many players did, Esposito started mixing no-limit hold’em tourneys into his schedule. In 2005, a final-table showing at the 2005 Atlantic City WSOP Circuit main event brought his then-biggest score, $47,310.
He’s kept taking his shots, sometimes cashing, sometimes not. His first WSOP main event cash came in 2006, when he eased into the money in 540th spot for another $22,266. All told, Esposito’s career tourney cashes add up to about $170,000—not bad for a dabbler.
Esposito credits changing his own focus as the secret to making a deep run. Instead of trying to run over players early, as he tried in earlier appearances, he took a page from his triathlon-training guides and settled in for the long haul.
As Esposito told pokerfuse, “I believed going in that if I played focused I would have a good shot at a deep run. From the start, my goal every day was to play well and have a shot at the next day, which didn’t mean I didn’t [sit back] but I wasn’t reckless. I folded J-J, A-Q and 10-10 when I felt was at too much risk. So I felt good about my chances for the final table.”
Still, as anyone fortunate enough to make a deep tourney run can attest, there are those moment when one has no choice. For Esposito, a moment of truth came on Day 7, when his all-in pocket tens held up against Daniel Strelitz’s A-K. The 12 million chip vaulted Esposito into the final-table mix, being a coin flip that went his way.
As other players did as well, Esposito bided his time when the final table neared. He noted that France’s Gaelle Baumann, the last woman in the Main Event, played exceptionally well, being very aggressive, before finally being knocked out in tenth. Baumann ramped it up while the other short stack in the final 11, Norway’s Elisabeth Hille, tightened up a bit but also fell just short.
As often happens, a tourney’s final-table bubble involves deep stacks hoping to wait out the short stacks, sometimes even hoping to avoid their own all-in collisions. In the 2012 Main, those deeper stacks prevailed late.
Esposito, like Steven Gee, the other “elder statesman” in the October Nine, recognizes poker’s place in the public eye and would welcome a chance to serve as the game’s next ambassador.
As he told the fuse, “I think any player in the spotlight has responsibility to treat others with respect, and to realize the line from success to failure in the game is very thin. (It’s important) to show the game as a game of ladies and gentlemen, not degenerate gamblers.”
In other words, a game for everyone, from hoodie-wearing grinders to moms and pops who just want to take a shot. Like Esposito himself, who even skipped playing the 2011 WSOP to go on a vacation to Ireland with his college-aged son, or who spends his Wednesday evenings at dinner with his daughter.
In Michael Esposito’s life, poker’s something to enjoy, but not his overriding concern. Win or lose, that’s not likely to change, despite the attention and the $754,798 payday each of the October Niners has already locked up, with many millions more at stake.
Even if he won, as he told the WSOP back in July, “Honestly, I’d just go live the same life I live. I have a pretty happy life. The $8.5 million, believe me it would be the greatest thing. But I have a pretty content, happy life. I don’t need cars, I have a nice house, I have a nice quiet life.”
WSOP October Nine Profile: Michael Esposito | Pokerfuse Online Poker News
Earlier this year a similar deal was struck with ShuffleMaster for an initial €19.5m and a potential further €10m. However, the deal fell apart after ShuffleMaster grew nervous about the slow progress in the US on regulation and the market conditions in Europe.
Ongame used to be the third biggest online poker site, behind Party Poker and PokerStars.
Bwin purchased Ongame from its Swedish creaters for €473m in 2005, however, it became unnecessary after Bwin and PartyGaming merged last year.
The Ongame network offers regulated poker in France and Italy and includes poker rooms for Betfair, Coral and others. In the second half of last year it had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €0.04m.
The joint Chief Executives of Bwin.part, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, said: “The sale of Ongame conforms to our strategy, especially as we move closer to launching our single, proprietary technology platform in the next few months.”
New Buyer Found for Ongame Poker Network - Online Casino Archives