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After nine years, Fortune Poker has called it a day on its poker and gaming operations. The site will continue to operate until the end of the month, and players have until midnight on April 2nd to cash out their funds.

There is no indication that players’ funds are at risk, but players who do not cash out in time may experience significant delays in getting access to their money.

Fortune Poker operates on the Speilo G2 owned Boss Media International Poker Network which saw a traffic decline of nearly 50% in 2012. It is now down to a seven day average of only 330 cash game players.

A warning notice on the site’s home page lays out the timetable for the shutdown. Rakeback, VIP Prizes or Rake Race Prizes will be credited to player accounts on April 1st, giving players just 24 hours to cashout their balances.

Affiliates and partners will be paid monies owed by April 10th, and will be able to resolve queries with the Fortune support team until April 15th. Therafter the company is effectively shut down. After that, unresolved withdrawal issues will need to be directed to [email]EnvoySweSupport@envoyservices-com[/email] and any gaming related issues should be submitted to [email]support@pokerresponse-com[/email].

Fortune Poker explains its decision with regret: “Over the past 9 years, we have been very grateful to service you and provide you with the most personal and VIP oriented poker room online. With many changes in the online gaming industry, it has been a struggle to continue to support our players and affiliates to the fullest.”

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Fortune Poker Quits, Puts a Time Limit on Withdrawals | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Over the past seven days, professional high-stakes gambler Phil Ivey put together his second largest winning streak of the year online. Ivey won more than $760,000 since last Friday, according to tracking data from HighstakesDB.

Despite the upswing, Ivey is still down more than $1 million for 2013. The losses have been unusual for Ivey, who is online poker’s most profitable player ever. He was up more than $19 million on the Full Tilt software prior to 2012.

One of the largest losers during the week-long stretch was Viktor Blom, who dropped more than $600,000. The Swede had been on an upswing prior to the dismal week. His year has been a roller coaster since starting off the year by winning $5 million in three weeks.

High-stakes online poker is highly volatile for the game’s best players. Huge upswings can evaporate in an instant, and downswings can be abruptly ended by unbelievable winning streaks. Here’s a look at who is up and down through the first three months of 2013.

Winners

Alexander “PostflopAction” Kostritsyn: $3.5 million
Viktor “Isildur1” Blom: $3.4 million
Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene: $1.9 million
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond: $1.8 million
Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius: $1.6 million

Losers

Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky: -$1.9 million
Gus Hansen: -$1.6 million
patpatpanda: -$1.3 million
Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver: -$1.2 million
punting-peddler: -$1.1 million




High-Stakes Online Poker: Phil Ivey Wins More Than $760,000 This Week

Poker just might become a whole new game in Texas.

As state lawmakers work on issues ranging from balancing the budget to banning texting while driving, they are also considering measures to give people more leeway to play poker with legal wagering in Texas -- online, at bingo halls or at special clubs.

"We make criminals out of poker players, and we don't have to," said Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, who is among those who have filed poker-related bills.

"The rest of the country is catching up to this idea. I hope Texas will follow suit."

The bills include the Social Poker Gaming Act of 2013, the Poker Gaming Act of 2013 and an effort to permit online poker.

Supporters say poker is primarily a game of skill, not luck, and should be legal even if casinos, with games of chance, are not.

"It is time to bring this game out of the shadows and back into the light as the great pastime Americans have enjoyed for nearly two centuries," said Matt Allen, director of the Poker Players Alliance of Texas.

Friendly poker games, where the pot goes to the players, are already legal in Texas.

But games in which the house gets a percentage -- including help covering the costs of food or utilities -- are illegal.

While it's possible to play poker online for money, those websites are based in other countries and are not subject to U.S. laws. Legalizing online poker would allow winnings to be taxed and the games to be regulated to ensure fairness.

Opponents say it doesn't make sense to legalize poker in Texas.

"We don't think it's a good idea," said Rob Kohler, a consultant with the Christian Life Commission, part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. "We don't think it's smart business for the state to commercialize poker.

"We don't think it's a good way to raise funds for the state."

Either way, political observers say, the bills that deal only with poker will take a back seat to broader legislation to legalize casinos.

"In the event that [casino legislation] is unable to overcome the resistance to gambling within certain sectors of the GOP and there remains sufficient time remaining before the end of the regular session on May 27, then it is possible that one of the poker bills might have a chance of passage this session," said Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston.

Shuffle up and deal

Rodriguez filed the Poker Gaming Act of 2013, which would allow poker tables at bingo halls, licensed horse and dog tracks, and American Indian tribal lands.

It would allow "live-dealt" poker, not video or Internet poker.

Players would have to be at least 21, and establishments could not offer free drinks to players. The Texas Lottery Commission would oversee rules and enforcement, determining the number of tables at each location and licensing manufacturers, dealers and operators.

"I've seen poker bills come before the Legislature before, and I get asked about poker a lot when I'm talking to constituents," Rodriguez said. "I tried to come up with a plan that would both have a positive economic impact on the state but not expand the footprint of gambling."

In the bill, he states that legalizing and regulating poker can "benefit the general welfare" of Texans by "enhancing investment, development and tourism in this state."

More than that, it could generate money to help the homeless.

The bill creates an 18 percent tax to be paid from gross receipts at facilities that allow poker. The tax would be 16 percent at racetracks, with an additional 2 percent going toward a purse fund for the horse industry.

Licensed operators could charge a "collection fee" on each poker hand played, not to exceed 10 percent of the pot, capped at $4.

Proceeds for the poor

Taxes paid to the state would go toward the oversight of the program, and the surplus would go to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Communities and nonprofit organizations would receive grants to provide shelter for the homeless, help them find permanent housing, and offer them medical and psychological counseling.

"This seemed like a reasonable approach to bring Texas hold'em back to Texas in a regulated and safe manner," Rodriguez said.

At the same time, Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, has filed the Social Poker Gaming Act of 2013, intended to create "social poker" clubs -- places that operate a "private food and beverage club" and allow "poker services."

Registered members could play poker for money, but the bill would not allow video poker or casino gambling. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation would oversee the process, and any establishment would have to be licensed.

The Poker Players Alliance of Texas is urging supporters of poker measures to send a form letter to their lawmakers.

"All of these bills address our state's outdated laws when it comes to poker," the letter states. "They deal with the reality that many Texans play poker in a variety of forms and venues, but they do so without any regulation or oversight. These bills will regulate poker in the state and ensure the safety and integrity of the games."

Log on and play

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, and Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, are trying to make it legal to play online poker in Texas if federal law ever allows it.

They filed measures proposing a constitutional amendment to put the issue before Texans and laying out the framework for how the Texas Lottery Commission would "promptly" license online poker rooms if a federal law is passed.

This comes as U.S. Rep. Joe Barton is ready to renew his years-long effort to legalize online poker.

Barton has long maintained that poker is a measure of skill, not luck, and says a federal change would legalize and regulate the online poker industry and create tax dollars for the government.

"I continue to be supportive of the Americans who play poker online," said Barton, R-E

The Vice President of Player Relations for the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), Rich Muny has thanked US poker players for taking an active role in pushing for changes in legislation, and credited them for the significant advances seen in the online poker laws in a number of individual states.

According to Muny, players have worked tirelessly by contacting their legislators and federal officials and introducing them to the idea of a legalized and regulated online poker industry.

Commenting in the latest newsletter put out by the grassroots lobbyist group which boasts over one million members, Muny wrote:

“Being organized allowed us to have strong lobbyists fighting for us on the Hill. Our letters, phone calls, and social media grassroots activism gave them the ammo they needed for their fight, while the lobbying effort gave us our voice on Capitol Hill. The synergy did not end there. As we increased the likelihood of online poker becoming authorized in the U.S., supporting us became +EV for other interests, including U.S.-based potential providers, state lotteries, some tribal interests, and others. Thus, rather than opposing us, our efforts helped bring many stakeholders over to the side of the poker community.”

Muny continued that with Congress unable to pass laws strengthening the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, but slow in moving on legislation to license and regulate the game, individual states are rapidly moving forward.

“As the first few dominoes have fallen, we are in a great position for our push across our great nation!” he wrote. “With recent news that Congress may look to take up licensing legislation again this year, it looks like we may now have a race between the states and Congress to take action.”

Muny ended his message by calling on poker players to continue their fight to keep the process moving.

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Whether state by state run online poker operations in the US would garner a big enough player pool to be lucrative has continued to be a concern for potential gambling companies stateside. Now, however, Native American tribes may have found the answer and are currently considering pooling their resources and working together to provide internet poker and other casino games across the country.

Native Americans took their first big step into the casino industry after President Reagan signed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1998. Since then, Indian gaming revenue has skyrocketed and in 2011 there were 240 tribes running 460 gambling operations generating $27 billion in total annual each year.

The Native Americans tribes could now soon be well placed to take advantage of the country’s fledgling online gambling market, which could be worth around $7.4 billion in poker, casino and bingo gross winnings within the next five years.

Only last year, The Northern Bear Casino became the country’s first real-money tribal online casino, with its CEO announcing at the time: “I’ll be operating under the same inherent, treaty, constitutional and sovereign rights as when I opened the first Indian casino in Canada on February 26, 1993. Our forefathers traded globally 100-plus years ago and entrepreneurship has been in our DNA for 10,000-plus years. This is what November 6, 2012, is going to stand for.”

The fact that states like Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have started regulating their own online gambling markets has forcedthe tribes to examine more closely their own options, and commenting on the potential alliance of native American tribes, executive director of public affairs for the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians, Jacob Coin, said:

“We’re starting to see more force behind the idea of developing Internet coalitions. It’s a positive development in that it means tribes are finally beginning to embrace the technology.”


Native American Casinos To Create Online Poker Network?

I would like that.

Ultimate Poker, a Nevada site expected to launch real money games later this year, named Antonio Esfandiari as its brand ambassador on Tuesday.

“We’re thrilled to have Antonio Esfandiari represent our company,” Ultimate Poker Chairman Tom Breitling said in a news release. “Antonio is the ultimate champion and modern poker player. He brings the gaming lifestyle to the online arena with his work-hard, play-hard attitude.”

The release called Esfandiari the first poker pro to represent a US-licensed online poker company. “The Magician” catapulted his way to the top of tournament earnings list with his $18 million win last year in the $1 million buy-in “Big One for One Drop.” He has collected more than $23 million in tournaments, including two World Poker Tour titles and three World Series of Poker bracelets.

In mid-March, former poker pro turned MMA fighter Terrence Chan announced that he had signed with Ultimate Poker.

At present the play money site runs strictly as a facebook app, with a handful of play money ring games and tournaments, but its fan page has more than 41,000 likes.

On March 27, Ultimate Poker asked its fans: “Who’s your favorite poker pro?” The responses included Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Scotty Nguyen, Victor Blom and Tony G. No one named Esfandiari.

The site expects to lure fans from the world’s most popular mixed martial art company: Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is owned by parent company Fertitta Entertainment. Fertitta, which runs the Stations Casinos in and around Las Vegas, founded Ultimate Gaming in 2010.

Ultimate poker has no relationship with the now-defunct UltimateBet.


Antonio Esfandiari Joins Ultimate Poker | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

The time is at hand for Zynga to take its place in real-money online poker and casino games. In the next few days the company will be releasing their first real-money online gambling games and with those offerings begin the process of trying to compete with the giant’s of online poker.

The two games that will be launched will be ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker and will have the look and feel of most of Zynga’s popular social gaming options but will offer real-money prizes. Zynga’s release of these games is a direct result of their partnership with European online gaming giant Bwin. This partnership will allow Zynga to offer games in the United Kingdom through Bwin’s already existing licenses.

Zynga’s progression to real-money gaming has been coming for quite some time. In a recent interview, the company’s chief revenue officer Barry Cottle revealed that Zynga’s “whole mission is to be the platform to play. At heart, we’re a social gaming company. We view real-money gaming as a natural extension of that.”

While the games are coming soon, they will only available to desktop client user and web users only. For right now, Facebook and mobile users will not be able to play real-money Zynga games. In an interview with AllThingsd-com, he said that “In the first versions of the launch, there’s a lot of things to get feedback on. Then over time you’ll be able to play different versions, with more elements added to the games.”

While real money Zynga games will be coming soon for users in the U.K., there still seems to be little movement by Bwin to take part in the legalized US poker market. The company has yet to file for a license in Nevada and they also failed to put in a proposal with Delaware to offer gaming in that state.

Should the company choose to enter the US market, Zynga games would have an established user base to tap due to their social media offerings. It is unclear whether bwin.Party is just dragging their heels regarding Nevada and Delaware or if they are waiting for the federal government to step in with nationwide online poker regulations.


Zynga to Launch Real-Money Online Poker Games in UK This Week

Romania has created a regulating body as part of its efforts to regulate online gambling in the country. The National Gambling Office (NGO) is scheduled to take on the responsibility of facilitating Romania’s internet gambling program on April 15.

Gambling legislation covering online gaming was passed in December 2010, but has not been put it into effect because the law required a monitoring and reporting agency. The NGO will take on that responsibility.

Operators will be able to apply for licenses after the NGO begins operating, but the conditions under the Romanian legislation are onerous. The EU Commission has twice rejected the Romanian proposals for non-compliance with EU law.

Under earlier versions of the law, tax calculation for online poker would have seen every bet on every street taxed; however, the tax scheme for poker has been rewritten to reflect Gross Gaming Revenue rather than total amount wagered. Still, the overall provisions are unlikely to have altered sufficiently to overcome all the EU Commission objections.

The 2010 law criminalizes players for playing on unlicensed sites and the creation of the NGO may see attempts to enforce this provision. Criminal penalties for players carry a maximum of two years in prison.

The law also requires that all licensed operating companies be legally based in Romania. Companies legally established in the EU but unlicensed in Romania.face strict restrictions on advertising. It is likely that only the largest gaming operators will see value in securing licenses.

Romania is a small gaming market, home to Timisun SRL, owners of the controversial ENET Network.

The judicial system in Romania has come under regular attack from other EU member states for its high levels of corruption. They vetoed the recent application to join the Schengen agreement which provides free movement between 26 European countries including all EU member states except the UK and Ireland. Romania has also been criticized for the extensive influence of organized crime.


Romania Establishes New National Gambling Regulator | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Zynga took a step from “social” online gaming giant to real-money online poker and casino play by launching ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino in the UK.

Available on the bwin.party platform per a partnership agreement brokered last October, punters in the UK over the age of 18 can play on a downloadable client or a web version. Logging on via Facebook and using mobile devices is expected to be rolled out later this year.

Cash games and tournaments in a variety of games and stake levels are available at ZyngaPlusPoker, while ZyngaPlusCasino is offering roulette, slots, blackjack, video poker and baccarat.

Zynga Chief Revenue Officer Barry Cottle stated on a company blog that Zynga’s long-term goals are to offer players a multitude of real-money games on several platforms in regulated markets throughout the world. He added that Zynga is proud to be aligned with a reputable and outstanding company such as bwin.party.

Many online poker players are salivating at the thought of inexperienced social online poker players making the transition to real-money play. There is no estimate on how many players will actually convert, but a number of real-money welcome package promotions are expected to entice some players. Even if a small fraction of the millions who play socially eventually jump into the real-money pool, it could create a poker boom reminiscent of 2003 when Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP Main Event after qualifying via an online satellite.

Zynga is also interested in participating in the U.S. online gaming market and is expected to do so when the regulated market has launched and become established. Thus far, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have enacted forms of online gambling legislation, with sites expected to be up and running in at least two of those states sometime this year.



Zynga Rolls Out Real-Money Online Poker in UK

As seen from the game selection and from the actual license of the operation, Bodog88 is a distinctly Asian-oriented operation. That does not impede it from accepting wagers in Euros, US dollars and GBPs too though, in addition to TWD, THB, RMB, SGD and MYR.

The supported languages are English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.


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Welcome to the Asian market!!

China is a big country, with many online players!!

Maximus Freeroll Giveaway


Carbon Poker is continuing to keep our tournament series rolling. Poker Maximus 5 is slated to launch this coming May. To get the festivities started early we are launching a Poker Maximus Freeroll Giveaway where players can win free seats to the tournaments and over $25,000 in prizes.


(We will be issuing the top 500 players in the Poker Maximus Freeroll Giveaway coupons for entry into the Poker Maximus 5 tournaments. We will not issue an entry coupon to qualified players. As soon as players have earned the 50 VIP points, they can register for the tournament.)


Welcome!!

The iPoker Network has added anonymous tables to its NL cash game offerings, pokerfuse has learned.

A spokesperson for the network informed pokerfuse that they were “soft-launching” the new feature and more details will be announced next week.

Various “top-tier” skins hint at the addition, with a new “anonymous” option in cash game filters. However, apparently only Titan Poker is currently spreading the new tables.

Currently, only 6-max and HU tables at 10c/20c, 25c/50c and 50c/$1 are available, with a couple of active tables as players test the water.

However, according to PokerStrategy-com, a large affiliate for many iPoker rooms, games up to $100/$200 will be spread for the initial launch, as well as low-stakes full ring tables.

Anyone sat at such tables will have their screen names masked from other players, showing up simply as “player1” through “player9.”

The idea of hiding the identity of players at online poker tables is not new, but not widespread.

Its most common adoption is at heads up tables, with MPN (formerly Microgaming) and PartyPoker both offering anonymous tables. MPN rolled this out to ring-game tables in November 2011. Around the same time, Bodog infamously changed the entire network to anonymous-only.

PokerStars and its sibling Full Tilt, along with other major networks including 888poker, Revolution and Ongame, do not currently offer anonymous tables in any capacity.

Anonymity greatly reduces the effectiveness of tracking databases like Hold’em Manager and PokerTracker, as data from hands cannot be used to gain reads on opponents at future encounters. Proponents argue that it levels the playing field and reduces “predatory” practices.

Opponents argue that it prevents players from policing the games for collusion and other forms of cheating, and does nothing but reduce the potential skill edge between opponents.

Spreading both anonymous and regular tables across many stakes also faces the issue of spreading liquidity among more tables, which can negatively affect the poker room ecology.



iPoker Rolling Out Anonymous Cash Game Tables | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

A ban on gambling-parlor “internet cafes” that includes comprehensive language defining a wide range of electronic devices as “slot machines” cleared the state’s Senate Rules Committee and is being brought up for a full Senate vote, perhaps as early as today.

The Florida House recently passed a similar measure on a 108-7 vote, with the bill expected to be picked up when introduced by its primary Senate sponsor, Sen. John Thrasher (R-St. Augustine).

The proposed legislation, now known as SB 1030, continues Florida’s rapid response to a scandal involving a major chain of the low-scale gambling outlets. Legislators are seeking to wipe out the storefront gambling operations, which exploit loopholes in the state’s gambling laws.

The broad definitions in the bill could possibly endanger all sorts of electronic gaming not directly targeted by the bill, from online poker to fantasy sports and social-network games, and even the arcade-style games found in family entertainment centers.

The internet cafes, which offer video slots and similar games, were at the center of a recent scandal involving purported charity organization Allied Veterans of the World. Allied, which operated 49 of the outlets throughout Florida, allegedly diverted all but $6 million of approximately $300 million it generated to its own owners instead of to the charities it claimed to serve.

The resulting crackdown has led to 57 arrests, including several prominent officials, and caused the resignation of Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, due to her business ties with the Allied Veterans group.

The move to ban the gambling establishments has drawn protests from seniors groups, several of which are planning to send customers of the internet cafes to Tallahassee to argue against the bill in hopes of creating an exception for so-called adult arcades, which cater specifically to seniors.

Under both versions of the bill, prizes are limited to a maximum value of 75 cents, which would shutter even the least expensive of the cafes, the low-budget machinitas which are common throughout south Florida.



Florida Senate Panel Advances Sweepstakes Gambling Ban | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Make a read and stick with it. Far too often, I see people go through each stage of a hand with the notion that they will wait to see what their opponent does next and then re-evaluate. This is a fancy cover-up for two silly mistakes: being indecisive and getting attached to a hand.

Anybody who has played a lot of poker is familiar with this faulty pattern. I recently observed a perfect example of it in a live $5/10 no-limit hold 'em game.

Sitting in the four seat, a serious and competitive player had raised before the flop to $60, getting two callers who had initially just limped in. Holding pocket kings, he was already anticipating raking in a big pot.

The flop brought Jh 8c 7d, and both of his opponents checked. Still happy with his hand, he bet $150, a typical amount with $195 already in the pot. One player folded, and the other raised to $400.

As the player in the four seat began to analyze the situation, I had a good idea of what he was thinking. He was losing confidence in his hand. Many likely hands could beat his, and he never expected to be check-raised in the first place. He was hoping that somebody would call him the whole way and have a lower pair than his kings. This is when he became indecisive, feeling like he couldn't fold yet. I'm sure he considered that it would only cost $250 more to call, and that there was already $745 in the pot, giving him nearly 3:1 pot odds. Besides, he was in position, so he could see what happened on the next card. At the same time, he was attached to his two kings. He had not picked up any strong hands all night. It was frustrating. So, he began to rationalize his desire to continue. He no doubt thought about the possibility that if he folded a strong pair like this one, everyone at the table would start to bluff him relentlessly. Not to mention that he would appear scared of even a small amount of money, the paltry $250 being insignificant at these stakes.

Of course, he concluded that he could not fold. But he came to that decision not by sound reasoning, but rather by the attachment to his pair of kings that cursed him from the beginning.

Watching him, I could see that he never really made a read on his opponent. He got bogged down in coming up with excuses for not folding. When he finally decided to call and see what happened on the turn, which brought the 2c, his opponent went all in for a little over $1,000. After agonizing for a couple of minutes, the player in the four seat said, "I just can't fold this hand," and called, losing to a set of sevens.

Always make a read even if it is hard to stomach, and make the right play even when it is difficult.

Never let your emotions get the better of you. Success in poker comes mostly from patience and discipline.

Viktor Blom decimated Ben Tollerene yesterday, as the Swedish pro finished up $1.7 million, while Tollerene was down about the same. The pair were engaged in some $500-$1,000 capped pot-limit Omaha action on Full Tilt. On one of the tables, Blom amassed $1 million.

Blom had started the past week on a downswing, but thanks to playing Tollerene ended up as the biggest winner over the past seven days. Blom is now up more than $4 million this year. He was up $5 million for 2013 by the end of January, though. Tollerene was one of the biggest winners on 2013 prior to this week, but just gave back nearly all of his profits.

In other news, Gus Hansen had managed to sort of tread water recently, not losing much. However, the past seven days were horrible for the Danish poker player. He dropped more than $1 million, which brings his losses since November to just under $6 million.

November was when Full Tilt relaunched (outside the United States) under the ownership of PokerStars, which acquired the site as part of its settlement with the American government.

He’s had some upticks during the time frame, but any sign of turning things around has been almost always quickly followed by a losing session. Hansen just can’t get anything going.

What’s remarkable about Hansen’s horrific downswing is that he was on an upswing of about the same magnitude prior to Black Friday in April 2011. Thus, Hansen is back to being more than $9 million in the hole on Full Tilt during his volatile career. He was a site pro under old ownership and was tapped by PokerStars to endorse the rebooted software.

Figures are according to HighstakesDB, which contiously tracks the action on Full Tilt, among other sites. Below is a look at the up-to-dtate results from this calendar year.

Winners

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom: $4 million
Alexander “PostflopAction” Kostritsyn: $3.7 million
Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius: $2 million
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond: $2 million
Kyle “KPR16” Ray: $1.1 million

Losers

Gus Hansen: -$2.7 million
Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky: -$1.9 million
Phil “Polarizing” Ivey: -$1.6 million
patpatpanda: -$1.3 million
Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver: -$1.2 million





Online Poker: Viktor Blom Wins $1.7 Million In Just A Handful Of Hours Thursday

Amid the flurry of activity over the past year or so with online gaming and poker, there have been some success stories. The moves by Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey to enact online regulations for the industry (in Delaware and New Jersey’s cases for full online gaming and Nevada’s online poker only laws) have been seen as a golden threshold for many online players. Some states, however, have taken the opposite tack regarding the online gaming question, be it on an intrastate or interstate level.

Earlier this week, the Kansas Senate passed a proposal that would ban online gaming in an attempt to lure a land-based casino to the state. According to Bloomberg Business Week, the vote in the Kansas Senate was 26-11 in favor of banning online gaming and repeal the current laws allowing horse and dog racetracks to have slot machines. This is in an attempt to build a casino in southeast Kansas which, under the previous laws, would have required the investor to put up $225 million; the changes in the law would reduce that investment to only $50 million.

The proposed law is rumored to have the support of Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, a 2008 Republican presidential candidate who withdrew from the primaries before they even started.

In New Mexico, a proposed amendment to the state’s compact with the Navajo Indian Nation could place a similar ban on online gaming activities. Under the current laws, the Navajos share their gaming revenues with the state in exchange for limits on what other gaming options, including lottery, horse racing and slot machines, the state can operate. In that current law, there was no mention of online gaming or poker.

With the revised law, the state would put online gaming and poker on a list of banned activities. If it was allowed, either on an intrastate or interstate basis and regardless of whether it was full casino play or just online poker, the new regulations would allow the Navajo Indian Nation to stop sharing their revenues with the state. The Albuquerque Journal’s Thomas J. Cole quotes Governor Susana Martinez’ spokesman Enrique Knell as saying, “This provision was intended to discourage the adoption of Internet gaming in the state while ensuring that, if it was adopted, revenue sharing continues in light of any new benefit or detriment to the Navajo Nation.”

Cole’s discussion with Knell continued into what Governor Martinez’ office believes the impact of online gaming and poker would be. “While the impact of Internet gaming is uncertain, the state believes that brick and mortar tribal facilities will provide for more jobs and better serve the interests of New Mexico economic development,” Knell is quoted by Cole. “It is also reasonable to believe that social and financial problems related to gambling could be worse if Internet gaming is allowed.”

These two states aren’t the only ones that are apparently pushing themselves away from the table regarding online gaming and poker. Last year, the state of Utah enacted laws that would opt the state out of any federal regulations regarding the issue, if they are ever passed. The Utah law went to the lengths to put it in the state’s Constitution, barring future legislatures or Governors from breaking that law without having to amend the Constitution.

Meanwhile, other states continue to dance around the issue of online gaming and poker. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is holding up a new gaming bill (with an online gaming component) in an attempt to force the state’s legislature to move on pension reform in the state. California is once again trying to push an online poker bill through its General Assembly (an effort that has been several years in process), while Iowa has dallied with the thought of online casinos in an intrastate format but has yet to actually move on the issue. Other states, such as New York, Hawaii, Florida, Pennsylvania and Mississippi, have either tabled their discussions on the subject or, in the cases of Hawaii and Mississippi, have rejected proposals that would open their states up for online gaming. Florida’s legislature recently passed revised gaming regulations that would make it illegal for electronic devices to accept bets, something that may impact any future for online gaming or poker in the state.

With the federal government’s push to regulate online gaming and poker seemingly dead at this time, it is up to the individual states to move forward. Some online players, however, may not like what their state leadership has to say on the subject.






While Online Gaming and Poker

Back in April, 2012, Hong Kong’s Jennette “Jay” Tan joined Bodog Poker as one of its glamorous sponsored pros. At that time, rising star of the east Tan had $63,852 in earning to her name since cashing in at her first tournament a year earlier.

Since joining Bodog, the Los Angeles born poker pro has added a further $188,855 to her tally for total career earnings of $252,707, and Bodog has been suitably impressed with her results that she has been given another year’s sponsorship deal.

Commenting on the renewal of her sponsorship deal with Bodog, Jay Tan explained: “Becoming a sponsored player has always been a dream and to do so well in my first year was an unexpected bonus. I feel very at home with Bodog and look forward to carrying on where I left off.”

By far Tan’s biggest success over the past year came in January, 2013, at the Aussie Millions $10,600 Main Event, where she finished 7th from 629 competitors to claim her biggest score to date of $158,355.

Jay Tan had enjoyed a lucrative job at Goldman Sachs before she started using her skills to carve out a successful career at the poker tables, instead. In addition to being a talented poker player, the multi-lingual starlet also has an elegant, attractive look which plays well with Bodog’s marketing style, especially as it continues to try and target Chinese speakers in its Asia-focused Bodog88 poker client.

Commenting on its decision to renew Tan’s contract, Bodog Network President, Jonas Odman, said: “Jay has had a great year and is a natural in front of the camera as well as at the felts. She is an integral part of the ongoing Bodog Poker story which has seen us create the only Network made in Asia with the emerging Asian player in mind. We are thrilled to have her back on board for another year and hope she can light up the WSOP in the same way she did the Aussie Millions.”