24-year-old Christopher Rivers from Atlanta won the first event at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City. The network engineer and enthusiastic poker player beat a field of 1,250 entrants that each put up $350 for a buy-in in the No Limit Hold 'Em event. The huge field made it the largest in Harrah's Atlantic City history, trouncing the previous record of 1,181 players set at the 2008 WSOP Circuit opener.
Rivers came into the nine-seat final table in eighth place, but the limitation of other key chopstick holders along with some savvy play quickly moved him to the middle of the pack and then to a showdown with Matthew Diggs that kicked off just after 3:00am with both players holding about the same number of chips. Some jabs back and forth were exchanged until a decisive hand where a 6s5c4s flop led Diggs down a path where he only had 700,000 in chips afterward, leaving him to be easily dispatched by Rivers.
For his win, Rivers collected $64,565, the coveted WSOP Circuit Gold Ring and 50 points toward the Circuit National Championship to be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in May. Diggs, a 27-year-old from Edgewood, MD earned $23,654.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said late Wednesday that his proposed online poker legislation is still alive - contrary to some published news reports.
The Las Vegas Sun reported earlier that he was dropping the efforts, but Reid said his comments were taken out of context.
One of the states most likely to be affected by potential federal legislation is neighboring California, where multiple online poker bills could be fighting it out in the newly-minted legislative session.
On Monday, Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, introduced poker legislation on behalf of the California Online Poker Association. This organization is led by a pair of southern California gaming tribes, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Correa’s SB 40 calls on the California Gambling Control Commission to offer a license to offer online poker within California.
Morongo had been shopping to be the sole legal source for online poker in California. Any California tribe could be a member, and revenues would be split.
“COPA opposes the current lame-duck effort by Harry Reid because it hurts California,” said Association spokesman Ryan Hightower. “Reid’s effort rewards the Nevada gaming interests that gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations during the recent election. California has a $25 billion deficit and an unemployment rate of 12 percent. Any revenues generated by Internet poker in California should stay within the state and not be shipped off to Washington, D.C., or Nevada or even offshore.”
But Correa’s bill – surprisingly, to some - does not contain language that would offer an exclusive license to the Morongo-leg consortium or anyone else. Some feared that the tribe was trying to create a monopoly.
David Quintana, the lobbyist and political director for the California Tribal Business Alliance, said the tribe had been using the specter of federal legislation to push for state-sanctioned poker in the near term. Proposed language of the Reid legislation had been circulating since at least last week.
In addition to pre-empting state rules, Reid’s plan would also have trumped key pieces of previous federal legislation relating to online gambling. Those include The Wire Act, the pre-Internet 1961 law that prohibits “betting or wagering knowingly using a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers.” In doing so, it would end the as-yet legally unsettled debate over whether this law bans Internet gaming.
The bill would also end some of the provisions of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), the 2006 law it purports to strengthen, by making exemptions for horse racing bets across state lines. However, Reid’s bill would specifically outlaw most other forms of Internet gaming.
Reid’s bill was seen by critics as an effort to make sure that Nevada casinos would not be left out of any nationally sanctioned online poker system. These casinos, particularly Harrah’s and MGM, have given heavily to Reid, including this year, when he survived a tough general election challenge in a big Republican year.
But that same big Republican year has probably doomed federal poker legislation for the foreseeable future.
It was the last Republican majority in Congress that passed UIGEA in 2006, and many members of the GOP have said they are morally opposed to expanded gambling. With Reid’s Democratic majority in the Senate dropping to a bare 51 seats - nowhere close to the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster - many believed the current lame-duck session was his best chance to push something through.
Reaction from tribes to Reid’s bill was generally negative. Much of this has to do with Reid’s historically cozy relationship with Nevada casinos, and many believe the bill is written in such a way to give these casino interests a leg up over tribes in offering Internet poker.
The Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, a 14-tribe organization that includes the biggest Southern California gaming tribes, including Morongo and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, has been circulating a letter opposing the bill on the grounds that it would shut tribes out of this potentially lucrative new form of gaming.
Correa’s bill may be one of several competing pieces of poker legislation on the table. Sen. Rod Wright, D-Los Angeles, introduced a bill in May. His SB 1485 called on the state to offer up to three five-year licenses to offer online poker to California residents. But lacking support, Wright killed his own bill in September in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which he chairs.
However, sources told Capitol Weekly on Wednesday that Wright reintroduce his poker bill from last session on Thursday morning as SB 45.
Vanessa Rousso may have been the chip leader going into the final table of the event, held at the Bellagio, but The Magician asserted his place from earlier in the event after an amazing comeback. Of the six that made it to the end: Vanessa Russo, John Racener, Andrew Robl, Kirk Morrison, Antonio Esfandiari and Ted Lawson, the last was the first to be eliminated. Lawson had only 10 big blinds at the start of play and he 3-bet all-in with 99 against Rousso, who had pocket queens, Lawson made a set with the flop but Rousso hit a queen on the turn, giving her three of a kind and booting Lawson from the tourney, but he ended up with $126,000 in his bankroll.
Kirk Morrison was taken out in fifth place by Andrew Robl, earning $168,000 and he was joined fairly shortly by WSOP 2010 second-placer John Racener. Racener got $232,000 for this victory, or about 4% of his World Series of Poker payday. At the 89th hand of final table day, it looked like Esfandiari was running on fumes, only have 10 big blinds in his chipstack. However, some canny play against Vanessa Rousso left him doubled up and her on the sidelines with $358,000.
It was then that Esfandiari hit heads-up play against Andrew Robl, who had a slight chip lead (9.5m to 8.1m.) Robl shoved all-in with Q10 and got called with KJ. The AK6 flop was all diamonds, giving Esfandiari a pair but also opening up the chance for Robly to score a flush. the six of clubs and five of spades filled out the rest of the board and Esfandiari earned his second WPT title.
A key New Jersey Assembly committee has passed a dozen different bills related to the state’s gambling and horse racing industries, including a bill that would legalize online gambling for residents of the state.
The bills, in general, received broad support from both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature. The bills are expected to be voted on by the entire Assembly before the end of the year, after which they would go to the desk of Governor Chris Christie. For his part, Governor Christie has not voiced objections to online gambling or the other measures being considered, though he has questioned the legality of online gambling.
The online gambling bill would do some very specific things, and would not change the online gaming situation for most of the United States. The bill would allow the creation of websites that would provide online gambling, including poker, to only New Jersey residents. According to the latest version of the bill, neither out-of-state residents nor international players would be permitted to play on these sites.
The bill would also set tax rates for the operators of these sites. The tax rate would be set at 15% on Internet gambling revenue. According to State Senator Ray Lesniak, who supports the bill, an economic analysis predicts that the bill would generate $210-$250 million in annual gross revenues.
About $30 million in tax revenue would then be used to fund purses for the state’s horse racing events, which would remove that burden from a similar fund that is currently taken from Atlantic City casinos. This would help solidify the position of the horse racing position, while removing a burden from the struggling Atlantic City gambling sector. Eventually, the fund would be eliminated and funded by off-track betting.
Supporters believe that the series of bills are likely to be signed into law by the end of the year. Other bills in the package include the creation of an Atlantic City Tourism District, new regulations for the casinos in the city, and incentive packages that will encourage horse breeders and trainers to remain in New Jersey.
The poker community in the US which was eagerly awaiting a gambling bill that permitted them to play online poker was once again disappointed with the latest tax bill that was pushed forward in the US senate a few days ago. The lack of provisions in regards to online poker has made it obvious to the people that a pro online poker law will not be passed this year.
The bill in question was the year-end tax bill which had no clauses or riders discussing online poker and gambling. It was expected that Senator Harry Reid, who has taken a pro-gambling stance, would use this particular bill as a mode to pass the legalization of online poker in the United States. Needless to say, when this did not happen, the entire poker community was disappointed and casino owners in Nevada saw it as a setback. This was because they were hoping to gain some money from internet gaming which would change their profit margin for the year; however, this will now not be possible on account of Reid’s decision to not put provisions for the legalization of poker in this year-end tax bill.
Senator Jon Kyl, put up a strong opposition against the idea of putting provisions for the legalization of online poker in this tax bill and Reid eventually cowed down to this. According to a spokesman of Senator Harry Reid “the poker language will not be in the tax bill.” It must be noted this does not mean that the idea of legalizing online poker in the United States has been put away by Senator Harry Reid, but rather that it may have been put on hold until next year since the lame duck session will be ending next week.
The decision to keep online poker away from the tax bill was backed by Capitol Hill officials and some industry professionals.The bill had 44 pages and did not mention poker at all; neither did it contain a provision for online poker via the context of gambling in its text.
Brian McGill, a gaming analyst for Janney Capital Markets, commented on the issue in his report which appeared to support Reid’s decision. “Senator Reid really must try to appease both MGM and Harrah’s who made financial contributions to his re-election campaign. Therefore, we expect that Reid will continue to publicly say he is working on the issue until the lame-duck session ends.”
“We would put the odds at passage at less than 10 percent now. If the bill does not pass in the lame-duck session, there is zero chance it will get passed in 2011,” McGill added.
Maybe things aren't so bad for Las Vegas. The state's Gaming Control Board show that in October of this year, casinos in the Las Vegas won over $880,000,000, an 11% increase over 2009 and that a 22% increase in casino gambling taxes meant another $60,000,000 for the state. Poker rooms continue to be a vital part of the state's gaming revenue — even if the percentage earned from players is smaller compared to other casino games, the growth of the game and the regularity of tournaments in Las Vegas mean a steader stream of income.
The state's income from gaming has been tumultuous lately, with the state only posting a monthly rise on year-on-year results in November of 2009 and February of 2010 before hitting a dry spell. The last few months, however, have seen things shifting a bit, with August showing an 11.5% rise in income, a 1% rise in September and now an 11% rise in October. Some analysts like Union Gaming's Bill Lerner believe this means things have begun to turn around.
"This data continues to suggest we’ve moved beyond stabilization in Las Vegas and have entered the early stages of recovery. Everything we are seeing on the visitation front … along with convention similarly underscores positive inflection in Las Vegas."
However, the rest of the state shows that Las Vegas doesn't necessarily mean that everything is better off there. Washoe County and Elko County are both up year-to-year, but South Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley are are both down significantly.
California Senator Rod Wright has reintroduced a new version of his bill to allow California to offer online poker to its residents. The bill was know as SB 1485 during the last legislative session, and the new version is titled, SB 45.
The bill allows the California Gambling Control Commission to arrange three contacts with “hub operators,” allowing these licensed operators to offer online poker to the residents of California.
Read the full text of the bill (California State Senate).
It had been rumored a few months ago Wright would re-introduce the bill, but given his issues in September of this year, it was a surprise to see him back to present it. In September 2009, Senator Wright was charged by state prosecutors with voter fraud and perjury. Interestingly, it is said that despite the charges, Wright has not lost any of his political power, influence or the ability to push the poker legislation.
This California bill is completely seperate form the one introduced earlier this week by Senator Lou Correa.
It starts next week, but you can enter now and reap big rewards when you play poker online with us! Here's a schedule of Holiday Pokerfest events that you'll be enrolled for and the rewards you get just by earning 100 Bodog points!
Pokerfest Event #1: December 18-19 (Saturday and Sunday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, get $10 in cash!
Pokerfest Event #2: December 20-21 (Monday and Tuesday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, get $20 in Bodog Casino chips!
Pokerfest Event #3: December 22-23 (Wednesday and Thursday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, get a chance at entry into a $100,000 tournament!
Pokerfest Event #4: December 24-25 (Friday and Saturday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, get a seat at a $20,000 freeroll!
Pokerfest Event #5: December 26-27 (Sunday and Monday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, Get a free $20 bet at Bodog Sportsbook!
Pokerfest Event #6: December 28-29 (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, Get a ticket to any $5,000 guaranteed poker tournament!
Pokerfest Event #7: December 30-31 (Thursday and Friday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, Get a free ticket for any $11 Bodog Poker tournament!
Want to start playing? Visit the Holiday Pokerfest page and enroll. It takes just a few seconds and you'll start earning some very nice presents just for being a good poker player!
John Racener, the second-placer in this year's World Series of Poker main event and winner of over $5.5 million for his play apparently can't afford a cab. The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the 24 year old was booked early Saturday morning on this third DUI charge. Racener, who lives in South Tampa, was arrested at about 4 o'clock in the morning at the corner of W. Azeele Street and S. Westland Avenue.
Racener refused blood-alcohol testing and was taken straight to the Hillsbodough County Jail where he was booked and held on $1,000 bail. The Times reached his manager, Jeff Gigante, who confirmed that Racener had been arrested but had not spoken to him and that there was currently no comment to be made.
Jail records show that this is Racener's third DUI charge and fourth overall arrest. In 2005 and 2007, he was arrested on DUI charges and in 2009, he was booked on a misdemeanor battery charge.
The attacks on eCommerce launched as part of Operation Payback in relation to WikiLeaks seem to have had little to no effect on the world of online poker – so far.
The group known as “Anonymous” took credit for disrupting service at Visa.com this week with a coordinated attack on the credit card website.
It has also launched (and inspired) attacks that have affected service for the websites of MasterCard, PayPal, and Moneybookers. Moneybookers is a commonly used eWallet utilized throughout the online poker community.
However, judging by the lack of furor on online poker forums, the attacks have done little to slow the flow of money in the online poker world. The Visa attack took place on Dec. 8, and the PayPal and Moneybookers attacks occurred Dec. 10
“Anonymous” launched the cyber-attacks as part of the larger “Operation Payback” movement. The recent attacks are in response to eCommerce sites that have acted to stop donations to WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks is a media organization that publishes information and documents from anonymous sources and leaks. A Twitter account for Operation Payback posted the following the successful attack on Visa.com: “IT’S DOWN! KEEP FIRING😡 #DDOS #PAYBACK #WIKILEAKS.”
The attacks have also raised interesting free speech issues for sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which have been some of the primary distribution points for information relating to the attacks, including detailed methods and other forms of support for continuing and escalating the attacks.
It appears the attacks may continue as long as “Anonymous” feels the eCommerce sites are still trying to disrupt the flow of money to WikiLeaks. So the impact to eCommerce in general, and perhaps online poker in specific, could be increasing disruptions in coming days and weeks as the fallout from the attacks continues to ripple through the banking sector online.
Playing poker on the internet is one of the most popular ways to play the game, but it is not your everyday, typical online casino poker we’re talking about here. Rather it’s live poker that features real living and breathing dealers who interact with players right on their home computer screens.
Online poker is largely responsible for a very dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Brick and mortar venues for playing poker are often intimidating for new players and are quite often located in inconvenient locations. Online venues on the other hand draw novice players and offer players the opportunity to play for low stakes.
Live poker is not your father’s poker game but rather it is modern-day poker that keeps in stride with today’s technology. We are using the internet to shop, pay our bills, keep in touch and to read the news so naturally we are now also able to play poker on our computers in a brand new way that uses the help of direct video feeds to bring the casino poker experience right into our homes.
Ever since the big poker boom in 2003, players had just two options for real money poker: either play at a brick and mortar casino or at an virtual, online poker room. But now we have the live-feed poker which quite frankly blows the other two right out of the water. It is far more convenient than having to travel to a land-based casino and far more realistic to play live-feed poker than it is to play in a virtual poker room.
With live poker, you are able to interact with the other players and the dealer. You don’t have to worry about having someone stand over your shoulder while you play your hands out nor are you distracted by clinging bells and loud noises you have to put up with while playing poker inside a land-based casino. Online live action poker is really amazing and once you give it a try, the chances are good that you’re going to be hooked.
The popularity of live poker is growing dramatically with no end in sight. This brings to mind the question of what’s next? Could there be a genius out there that can somehow take the poker playing experience to an entirely new level and make live poker obsolete? Well, the answer to that question is “never say never” because you never know. Stranger things have happened, but for now the poker players of the world are pretty darned pleased with the experience they’ve been granted so we’ll just have to wait and see what’s on the horizon.
Gus Hansen is celebrating being $1 million richer after taking down the Full Tilt Poker Million IX in front of a Live TV audience on Sky Sports last weekend. The Dane bested the toughest ever table assembled in the tournament, beating Patrik Antonius, Howard Lederer, Barny Boatmen, James Bord and Brighton Chairman Tony Bloom along the way.
During the 2010-2011 NFL season, Bodog Poker and Bodog Sportsbook have been giving poker players and bettors alike a chance to enjoy two of America's biggest passions at the same time in our spectacular Monday Night Football tournaments. The Bodog online poker room hosts a pair of tournaments on Mondays at 8:00PM. Each tournament represents a team that's playing that night and if the team whose tournament you're playing covers their spread, you get a $10 Free Football Bet at our online sportsbook!
However, this week, we had a special Sunday Night Football event with tournaments representing the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, who went head-to-head. A 3.5-point spread that gave the Cowboys a bit of an edge kept the players in the Eagles tournament from getting the free bet they likely assumed they'd receive after observing Dallas's fairly abysmal performance this year.
Bodog playertonovmaster won the Cowboys tournament, and took away $115 for their $10 buy in. In addition to those who beat the bubble getting their share of a $230 prize pool, everyone who played in that tournament got a free $10 football bet at Bodog Sportsbook. Meanwhile, Margies Kid took the top spot in the Eagles tourney, earning $183, but not the free sports bet.
As long as there's football, there will be Monday Night Football Tournaments on Bodog Poker. Show your acumen in two fields and score a free bet while you enjoy a great tournament on one of America's favorite online poker sites!
Every Sunday, Bodog Poker hosts a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournaments and December 12th featured yet another installment in the blockbuster series. These massive all-hands-on-deck events take place at 4pm EST on Sundays and feature some of the best online poker action going. MBH_LUCK-PLZ took first place and ended up earning a very tidy $25,000 for their superior play this week. They were followed by El Rubio ($15,000) and Tron Carter, who rounded out the top three while earning $9,500. Here's the rest of the final table results: sa na ($7,000); bearbeer ($5,700); woodbine ave ($4,500); NR220 ($3,300); npopa6 ($2,200); TopAce87 ($1,300);
In addition to our show-stopping Sunday events, Bodog hosts its regular weekly tournaments to players, and here's the winners of last week's events!
* December 6 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack MasterJimIII
* December 7 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack metsfan189
* December 8 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack moranimal
* December 9 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack EstyzBalln
* December 12 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack PokerBabeb
* December 12 $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack woodbine ave
Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool. Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!
If you play online poker for money, you’re probably breaking the law. Four years ago, Congress stopped banks and credit card companies from sending money to gambling websites. That could change soon.
Before the lame duck session is over, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to tackle a bill to legalize online poker. The Nevada Democrat and his staff won’t talk about it – but a draft bill has been circulating on Capitol Hill.
It would restrict licensing for online poker to the brick-and-mortar casinos that have been in business at least five years and that make at least 5 percent of the national take from gambling. The bill is a sort of “thank you” to casinos in Reid’s home state.
Dave Levinthal with the Center for Responsive Politics says "more so than any other lawmaker in the United States, Harry Reid over the years has benefited from money for his campaign from casinos and gambling interests."
The Center for Responsive Politics is the Washington, DC-based group that tracks campaign contributions on its website OpenSecrets.org. Levinthal says more than $700,000 rolled into Reid’s campaign from gambling interests since the senator began his fourth term in office. Harrah’s – which runs 14 casinos in Nevada - gave more than $50,000.
"It’s a gamble by the gambling industry," Levinthal says. "They’re spending some degree of money now so that in the future when things are going to happen or materialize in a legislative format to maybe have a better chance at getting the result that they want." And Nevada casinos want a piece of the online poker pie.
But Senator Harry Reid isn’t the only lawmaker getting casino campaign contributions - and Nevada casinos aren’t the only gambling interests giving money to lawmakers. Levinthal says there are "several California representatives and senators who are represented on the top 20 list of the casino and gambling money recipients."
Most of the gaming money given to California lawmakers comes from Indian tribes that would also qualify to run online poker. Lawmakers on the receiving list include Democratic LA Congressman Xavier Becerra; he got nearly $50,000 from Indian tribes in the past two years. During that same election cycle, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer got $46,000; so did newly-elected Republican Congressman Jeff Denham of Fresno. None would comment on how they’d vote on legalizing online poker.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for a last-minute bill to legalize Internet poker -- at least for operators of existing brick-and-mortar casinos.
The measure is seen as a windfall for Las Vegas-based companies like MGM Resorts International, which closed down its online gambling operations nearly a decade ago amid regulatory uncertainties, and Caesars Entertainment, which operates the World Series of Poker.
The bill, now under discussion. would legalize only Internet poker, not games like roulette or where players are betting against the casino.
"Senator Reid is working to find a way to get it done," a spokesman for the Nevada Democrat said in an e-mailed statement.
Reid's office declined to comment on whether the measure would be added to the omnibus spending bill or other legislation before the current lameduck session of Congress ends.
In November 2008 -- after the election that ushered in President Obama and Democratic control of Congress -- the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve issued a final rule aimed at stopping illegal Internet gambling.
The rule solidified the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed in 2006 when Congress was still controlled by Republicans.
The 2006 law -- which barred credit cards and banks from accepting Internet gambling payments -- cost Europe's online gambling companies billions in lost market value as they were forced to retreat from one of their most lucrative markets.
U.S. casino operators had already pulled back from the Internet. MGM closed its online unit in mid-2003, citing an "unclear" legal and political climate in the United States and elsewhere.
With Republicans set to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, the casino industry believes the next couple of weeks are all that is left before the window of opportunity for legislation closes for at least several years.
That is because groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and some key Republican lawmakers remain opposed to online gambling.
The American Gaming Association, the trade group representing commercial casinos in the United States, supports Reid's legislation.
"This is tough law-and-order legislation that puts in place a solid regulatory framework and legal oversight that will prevent illegal activity and protect the estimated 15 million Americans who already are playing poker online," Frank Fahrenkopf, the trade group's chief executive, said in a statement.
He estimated the proposed legislation would bring in more than $3 billion in tax revenue and create thousands of jobs.
Barrett Duke of the Southern Baptist Convention conceded that the bill's revenue-raising potential was its biggest draw for lawmakers at a time of fiscal uncertainty.
"We think it is an irresponsible way to raise revenue," he said in a telephone interview. "We believe it is not in the best interest of the family to have even regulated gambling over the Internet..."
In case you thought we needed such a thing, Young Guns is a poker reality show that someone is apparently sending up the flagpole in an effort to get a production deal. A "leaked" video on YouTube shows four twenty-something players (Chris "Sparks" Sparks, Chris "The Capitan" Jackson, Jurran "The Kid" Joshu and Seth "Seth" Otterstad) as they try to make their dreams come true while living it large in the Hollywood Hills. Interestingly, their landlord seems to be the only real reason to watch the show if you don't enjoy general poker douchebaggery. Chris Murphy provides a breath of fresh air a bit of the real world to a show that seems determined to help make sure that poker is viewed as gambling, not as a sport.
You can watch the trailer for Young Guns on YouTube.
Personally, we're more excited about The Micros, an animated series about online poker that's actually funny, featuring sharp writing by Jay Rosenkrantz and John Wray and voice acting that is a notch above the rest. The animation's a bit primitive, but as we've seen from other online ventures, the more attention things get, the more polished they'll get. You can watch the pilot here.
The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour came to a dramatic close last week when online pro Jonathan ‘xMONSTERxDONGx’ Karamalikis beat some of poker’s biggest names to wrap up the Sydney Grand Final for AUD$459,510.
The 22-year-old squared-off against the likes of four-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu and WSOP, WPT and EPT triple crown holder Roland de Wolfe on the final table, but became the fourth consecutive Aussie winner when his pocket fives held over Benjamin McLean’s A-6 heads-up.
‘It's quite a prestigious title, so I'm really glad to have it under my belt,’ said Karamalikis, whose win puts him fourth in Australia’s all-time money winners list behind big names Joe Hachem and Mel Judah.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1 Jonathan Karamalikis $459,510
2 Benjamin McLean $294,780
3 Tom Rafferty $164,730
4 Peco Stojanovski $121,380
5 Antoine Amourette $97,970
6 Eddy Sabat $79,765
7 Manuel Hansimikali $65,025
8 Roland de Wolfe $50,285
9 Daniel Negreanu $36,415
It's been a whirlwind of excitement since the first rumors that Sen. Harry Reid would be passing online poker legislation during the lame-duck session of Congress, but that excitement halted immediately Wednesday night. According to multiple sources, the bill will not be voted on or attached to another bill during the last few days of this session.
"We are disappointed that Congress failed to act and provide the necessary consumer protections and sensible oversight over this multi-billion dollar industry," John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, wrote in an e-mail to ESPN.com. "Sadly, some politicians remain with their heads firmly in the sand. The leadership of the Poker Players Alliance got the debate this far and we are determined to see this through."
For current online poker supporters, there have been two basic reactions.
First, it's relief in the fact that they can still play poker online. Yes, there are no safeguards or regulations in place to protect them, but the game is still available as it has been over the past decade. Second, while current online poker as it stands today would still be available, there's fear of what might be ahead on the federal level come next year.
Three anti-online gambling supporters -- Spencer Bachus, Dave Camp and Lamar Smith -- will be heading some of the most powerful committees in Washington when House of Representatives reconvenes for business in 2011. As mentioned on ESPN Inside Deal, the key to the industry will be the availability for payment processors to do their jobs and if the Department of Justice amps up their enforcement regarding the UIGEA, those processors might be too cautious to serve the U.S. market.
With an unforeseeable future, online poker players will now go back to the grind and wonder how the process will eventually play out. Action now returns to those fighting for poker legality on the state level, especially in New Jersey and California. If online poker does get legalized on the state level, only interstate games would be illegal as playing across state lines would violate the Interstate Wire Act of 1961. Clearly, while this might be an option for states to generate more revenue in terms of taxes, players would deal with a smaller player base and perhaps a tougher challenge to find games to beat.
At 3:50 AM on Tuesday morning, a man walked onto the floor of the Bellagio, clad in a motorcycle helmet. He pulled out a handgun and began helping himself to the piles of poker and casino chips, pushing them into his backpack. He then dashed across the lobby and jumped onto a motorcycle he'd parked outside, speeding off with over $1.25m in casino chips.
The robbery mirrors another crime that took place last week, in which a thief made off with around $20,000 from the Suncoast Casino's poker room in Vegas. This time, however, chips are in play, which changes the game considerably for the thief.
"They have to have a plan B and that is to redeem the chips," Jeff Voyles of the Gaming Network told reporters. "Not always the easiest thing to do, because the chips are mostly the high denomination are marked and tracked and trackable. So, to be able to redeem that is the toughest part, I think even more difficult that the robbery itself."
Yes, the crime has already been dubbed "Ocean's 14″ by the sort of people who didn't really understand why Danny Ocean and his gang are so beloved.
Rivers came into the nine-seat final table in eighth place, but the limitation of other key chopstick holders along with some savvy play quickly moved him to the middle of the pack and then to a showdown with Matthew Diggs that kicked off just after 3:00am with both players holding about the same number of chips. Some jabs back and forth were exchanged until a decisive hand where a 6s5c4s flop led Diggs down a path where he only had 700,000 in chips afterward, leaving him to be easily dispatched by Rivers.
For his win, Rivers collected $64,565, the coveted WSOP Circuit Gold Ring and 50 points toward the Circuit National Championship to be held at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in May. Diggs, a 27-year-old from Edgewood, MD earned $23,654.
Play online poker at Bodog Poker