Poker forum archive

There must be something in the water in South Florida besides chlorine and a weird aftertaste, because another player from the region has taken the top spot in a World Series of Poker event. Matt Waxman, a 25-year old pro that hales from Parkland won the WSOP Circuit Main Event Championship at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City last night. He joins a group of tournament winners and cashers like the Mizrachi Brothers, Mike Beasley, Maurice Hawkins and John Racener.

After a swath of cashes at big-money tournaments, including eight in the last two World Series of Pokers in Vegas, Waxman's pleased as punch that he finally took one down. "I’ve been winning a lot of major online tournaments, but only coming close in the live ones, so it really feels great to lock one up," he told WSOP.com

The WSOPC Main Event in Atlantic City featured 351 players in a $1,650 buy-in tournament. The top spot earned Waxman $117,797. He defeated a final table that included Tam Ly, Dave Cubeta, Christopher Bonita, Mark Sykes, Brandon Croft, Dennis "Mike" Summers, Manish Patel and Jesus Cabrera, who took the second place slot and $72,824.

The online gambling world has been spurned again by lawmakers in Washington, and this time, Senator Harry Reid will have some serious explaining to do to Las Vegas executives. Reid was pushing an online poker bill to be attached to must-pass legislation during the lame-duck session.

Wednesday evening, ESPN reported that their sources told them that Internet gambling prohibition will continue in the US for the foreseeable future. Reid's bill, which would have regulated an industry that currently involved millions of Americans, will not be voted on as a stand alone bill, nor will it be attached to any other legislation in the final few days of the lame-duck session, according to ESPN.

Senator Reid raised the hopes of millions of online poker players earlier this month when he started to put together a bill that would have allowed existing casinos in the US to apply for online gaming licenses in their states. At first, gamblers were relieved that yet another lawmaker was pushing for regulation.

This was no ordinary legislator, either. Senator Reid is the top ranking Democrat in the Senate, so it was conceivable that he could convince other legislators to support the online poker bill. The following weeks, however, saw top ranking Republicans come out and blast Reid's intentions.

Suddenly, the same Republicans that used earmarks to get the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act attached to a port security bill back in 2006 developed a conscience. Republicans such as Senator Jon Kyl and Representative Spencer Bacchus, both in favor of online gambling prohibition, attacked Reid, claiming that the senator was only including the bill to appease his supporters back in Nevada.

While that may be true on certain levels, it was typical political banter that now appears to have worked. The online poker bill appears dead, and Republicans can claim victory against millions of online poker players.

"What they are doing in Washington is criminal and something has to change," said frustrated poker player Chad Solomon. "To live in a country where legislators are blatantly disregarding millions of people they represent is embarrassing. I hope these lawmakers are proud of themselves for achieving their personal victory."

Solomon is just one of the many poker players across the country that will be outraged when word of the decision Wednesday circulates. With Conservatives taking control of the House come January, this was the last chance for the players to gain protection from their government, and much like many times over the past decade, their legislators have let them down yet again.

Bodog holds its weekly $ 100,000 Guaranteed tournament every Sunday premier. For every 480 registered players, Bodog other sites is another $ 28,000 to the track. The players are a whole range of options in the final round of the $ 100,000 Guaranteed tournament on Sunday afternoon to get the table:
# Start with the cheap seats tournaments twice a day. $ 1 + $ 0 in sales to a place winners receive $ 100,000 in the semifinals.
# cheap seats winners advance to the semifinal $ 100,000 Sit & Go, which occur every day. The tournament winner receives $ 162 in credit as an entry for the tournament guaranteed to be used for good.

The popular poker TV show High Stakes Poker has started taping its new season at the Bellagio this week, according to reports from multiple online poker sites. Producers decided to up the ante a bit this year and moved the show from the Golden Nugget to the Bellagio. The move, compounded with other delays, shifted the production schedule from November to December.

The new season is going to start airing in February on the GSN. Gabe Kaplan's back behind the mic with commentary. The show shoots over a relatively short period and several big-name pros, including Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius will not be appearing because of sponsorship deals.

However, viewers can look forward to seeing Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Scotty Nguyen (who's make his debut) and a host of others, including a group of hand-picked amateurs who think they have the right stuff and a bankroll to back it up.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid's effort to legalize, license and regulate Internet poker during the lame-duck session took a fatal blow last week, according to Poker Players Alliance executive director John Pappas.

"I think Sen. Reid made a very good-faith effort to try to get the bill in a form that would be acceptable to be added to the tax bill that Congress did end up passing last evening," Pappas said. "Those negotiations broke down last Thursday evening into Friday morning. At that time, we knew the bill wasn't going to be able to go into the tax bill and that the opportunity to get a bill done this year was very limited."

Pappas said it wasn't President Obama's decision to negotiate directly with Senate Republicans on the tax bill that was the death blow to the effort, but rather the House of Representatives sending a very strong signal that it would oppose a package bill. The PPA held onto the little hope that online poker talk could be revived but finally marked the time of death last night after the tax bill passed.

"We've come to the reality that this is not going to happen this Congress," Pappas said.

Pappas said it was fair to say the different versions of the bill floating about were an effort by Reid to negotiate with Senate Republican leaders Jon Kyl and Mitch McConnell. Though poker players weren't pleased with the changes in the drafts, Pappas thought it was encouraging that "Kyl and McConnell sat down and tried to come up with a solution rather than just being obstinate."

Pappas said the PPA was working on trying to shorten the blackout period, in which operators would have to leave the market in order to be licensed, and concerned with the three years blocking international play, but that he thinks those were heading in a good direction before the deal fell apart. He thinks that, if there were a final version, it would have been different than the last draft that was floated.

The PPA will now turn its attention to next year, when they hope that Reid will again push for online poker legislation.

"I think it's clear Sen. Reid will continue to be a major player on this issue," Pappas said. "Any time the Senate Majority Leader takes notice on an issue, we need to continue working with his office. We want to make sure that a bill is introduced and that it doesn't contain some of the offensive language from these drafts."

Online poker player Peeps has been taking all comers in the King of the Felt challenge at Bodog since November 5th and is just three wins away from earning a shot at a 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event seat! Peeps has more than the longest streak of King Of The Felt wins on the site so far — his victory over machete1 on December 16th meant that he's earned a tidy $9,500 as King.

If you've not kept up, King of the Felt is a Bodog-exclusive event where players defend their throne against those that have proven worthy of the challenge. To qualify to become King of the Felt, you must be paid out in three or more qualifying Sit and Go Tournaments in a week. The more you play, the more chances you have to compete against the reigning King.

Cashing in three to five sit and go tournaments earns you one entry into the draw; six to eight tournaments gets you two entries and entry into a $1,000 freeroll; 9 or more sit and go cashes gets you three entries into the draw, entry into the $1,000 freeroll, plus entry into an additional $500 freroll. If the draw is held and your name comes up, you'll face down the current king for a shot at poker greatness.

What does being King mean? Outside of being crowned by Bodog poker, you defend your throne in a tournament with a $1,000 prize each week, and the more you win, the bigger the prizes get including a chance at a 2011 WSOP seat.

Get more details on King of the Felt at Bodog Poker

Matt Waxman may be the champion of the Main Event at the World Series of Poker event at Harrah's Atlantic City, but there was one more event that needed a bow on it: the $350 no-limit hold em event #7. 482 players and a low buy in meant the action went on for an extra day, but in the end Jared Eisenberg of Long Island came away the winner, pocketing $30,156 and earning himself a gold ring in the process.

Eisenberg defeated more than a hefty field: the weather stood between the Long Island native and Atlantic City. "Me and my buddy Mike came out from Long Island and we almost went back. It was icy and snowy, I mean, I’ve never seen weather on the LIE [Long Island Expressway] like that before.

"But man, I am so happy we decided to go ahead and make the drive."

This was Eisenberg's first major real-world tournament win. He hit the final table with a significant chip lead: 1,000,000 in front of him while his nearest opponent had 770,000 and he kept generating more chips in his stack as the event wore on. Second place went to Jeffrey Cole, who was distinctly in the middle of the pack and fought his way up to earn $18,645 as the runner-up.

2011 The Bill Will Pass!!

Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss the bill legalizing and regulating online poker introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). On the likelihood of a bill passing before the current Congressional session expires, Pappas candidly told Bloomberg viewers, “It would really have to take a Christmas miracle at this point.” Watch now.

The four-minute segment, dubbed “The High Stakes of Internet Poker,” hit television airwaves at 11:45am ET on Friday. Pappas admitted that the window for legalized internet poker was quickly closing: “Unfortunately, I think Congress is missing an opportunity to get this done and get it done sooner than later. I think next year is really our next best venue. The vehicles this year just didn’t add up to get a bill done and there was really no way to get the bill as a standalone measure anytime in the last week or so. I just don’t think there’s any way it’s going to happen now.”

Reid may have been close to adding the online poker language to the tax relief act, which was signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday. Despite an early report from The Hill claiming that the “lame duck” Congressional session would expire on Friday, Congress was still going strong at the time of writing tackling the topic of gays in the military.

In 2011, the House of Representatives will switch to Republican control, causing pro-internet gambling members of Congress like Barney Frank (D-MA) to lose their positions of power. Frank is the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, but Pappas expressed optimism that online poker won’t be lost in the fray: “I don’t know how any member of Congress – Republican or Democrat – can be happy with the status quo. They passed a bill in 2006 that tried to prohibit internet gambling, but it’s grown. Millions of Americans continue to play online poker and they’re doing it without any of the protections the Federal Government could provide.”

On Friday, an article by the Associated Press revealed that unemployment rates in 21 states rose month-over-month, the largest number in four months. Accordingly, Pappas told Bloomberg viewers that legalizing online poker isn’t just about generating revenue for the Federal and State Governments, it’s also about creating jobs: “The bills that have been introduced would mandate that these companies establish a presence here in the U.S. These are high-tech, high-paying jobs that internet gaming companies generate. It’s not cocktail waitresses at a casino. These are really high-tech jobs, from software security to software development as well as customer service.”

Any bill not acted upon by the end of the Congressional session is deemed dead. Besides Reid’s bill, Frank’s HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, will also fall by the wayside when the new Congress is seated in January. HR 2267 would have created a licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry sans sports betting. The Financial Services Committee approved the measure by a 2:1 margin in July, but it has not been discussed since.

A Sartell man continued his run of recent poker success, winning a national tournament this weekend in Las Vegas. Nels Peterson was one of 24 players from 15 states to compete in a free tournament that offered $20,000 in prizes. Peterson played for about six hours Saturday and won the top prize of $5,000.

Peterson was profiled in the Times last week for his success in free Texas Hold'em poker events.

He and another player played head-to-head for about an hour before Peterson called his opponent after his opponent went all in with a pair of Queens. Peterson had King-10 and drew a King on the river. That pair of Kings held up to beat the Queens.

He credits a massage his wife got for him before the game for helping him relax.

"Last night was just my night," he said Sunday from Las Vegas.

The Poker Players Alliance in the USA is one very big group of poker players and has some serious influence in America’s political spheres when it comes to regulating and legalizing the game. The big issue being the debate as to weather poker is a game of skill or pure chance.
Executive Director John Pappas appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss the bill before Congress that intends to legalize and regulate online poker which was recently introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a Democrat from the gambling State of Nevada.
Touted as a political bargaining chip online poker and internet wagering has been folded into other issues such as gays in the military and tax relief but has not lost it’s place in the rights and freedoms debate both sides of the political fence are keeping alive and vibrant.
Next year, 2011 the House of Representatives will swing towards a Republican majority and the Democrat members will be out voiced by those on the political right.
In the short but intence interview on television Pappas optmistically commented,“I don’t know how any member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, can be happy with the status quo. They passed a bill in 2006 that tried to prohibit internet gambling, but it’s grown. Millions of Americans continue to play online poker and they’re doing it without any of the protections the Federal Government could provide.”
As the Congressional session come to a close, Pappas also said, “Unfortunately, I think Congress is missing an opportunity to get this done and get it done sooner than later. I think next year is really our next best venue. The vehicles this year just didn’t add up to get a bill done and there was really no way to get the bill as a standalone measure anytime in the last week or so. I just don’t think there’s any way it’s going to happen now.”
After revealations in the Associated Press about the rising unemployment rate in the USA Pappa commented, “The bills that have been introduced would mandate that these companies establish a presence here in the U.S. These are high-tech, high-paying jobs that internet gaming companies generate. It’s not cocktail waitresses at a casino. These are really high-tech jobs, from software security to software development as well as customer service.”

Players in the Lehigh Valley area of the northeast and down in Tampa, Florida alike have a new place to go face to face when you're tired of looking at a monitor and playing online poker.

The Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA added eleven new poker tables at nine in the morning on Friday and by 11, more than a hundred players were going face to face. The poker room now has a total of 23 tables, which may not sound like a lot, but considering that the casino just added table games in July, it's a huge success considering the region and the economy.

A big reason for the casino's poker table success is that they are right in the middle of the Sands, unlike a lot of regional poker rooms, where they're tucked away. "It's right in the center of the action — they seem to like it," Sands president DeSalvio told a local newspaper. "We give poker a real prominence in our company."

Meanwhile, the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa has opened a new poker room and if you're down visiting aged relatives for the holiday, it's a great place to kill a few hours and take on the local competition, which includes names like John Racener and the Mizrachi brothers They're running special events around the week, including freebies like t-shirts and a freeroll tournament with a $100,000 guarantee.

What Is Holiday Pokerfest?
Bodog Poker’s giving you a reason to leave your family around the tree and get online this holiday season with seven events over a two-week period that reward you for doing what you enjoy: playing poker at Bodog.

How Does it Work?
Holiday Pokerfest began on Saturday and runs through New Year’s Eve. Our first prize package was $10 cash and if you start playing right now, you'll get $20 in Bodog Casino chips when you earn a hundred points at our tables on Monday and Tuesday of this week! Here's a complete list of the remaining events.

Holiday Pokerfest Event #3: December 22-23 (Wednesday and Thursday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, get a chance at entry into a $100,000 tournament!

Holiday Pokerfest Event #4: December 24-25 (Friday and Saturday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, get a seat at a $20,000 freeroll!

Holiday Pokerfest Event #5: December 26-27 (Sunday and Monday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, Get a free $20 bet at Bodog Sportsbook!

Holiday Pokerfest Event #6: December 28-29 (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Earn 100 Bodog Points, Get a ticket to any $5,000 guaranteed poker tournament!

Holiday 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!

From the crowning of a 19-year-old champion at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January to Jonathan Duhamel becoming the first Canadian world champion in November, 2010 was filled with great moments. Fans witnessed the creation of a new, exciting poker tour and were given more opportunities to see their favorites earn television time. Players witnessed changes made by tournament teams to offer the right buy-ins at the right times. It was a great year for poker in 2010.

But … everything hasn't been heading in the right direction. A world champion not only decided to leave the game, but sell his bracelet along the way. A robbery and a cheating debacle scarred two of the more notable tournaments in Europe, and despite a great effort, poker players are still searching for the protection as consumers they deserved.

Gary Wise will tackle the top 10 stories of the year in a column later this week, but for now, I present to you three feel-good stories and three real-life bad beats for poker in 2010.


The Good

1. WSOP: There's never a better place to start when talking about success in the industry than the World Series of Poker. To be clear, the real barometer on how the industry is doing is those six weeks in the summer. During that time, we finally get to see how the game is expanding or contracting by offering a variety of events at a variety of buy-ins. This year, the WSOP boasted 20 percent growth in participation, including 12 percent in the main event. More players than ever are ready to come to Las Vegas and put up their money for a shot to prove that they are the best, and to see this type of turnout should tell all those who believe poker is dead to take another look. Another "good" item to share from the WSOP was the return of the Tournament of Champions, which was broadcast live on ESPN3.com.

2. The North American Poker Tour: Since the announcement at the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the NAPT has been on fire. With impressive turnouts at each of their stops (872 Venetian, 716 Mohegan Sun, 701 Los Angeles), the NAPT has become the home for larger $5,000 buy-in events. Complete with televised coverage, the key to the success has been the ability for players to satellite into the events online, something that won't become commonplace until our industry dramatically changes. However, while the NAPT is able to pursue that route, we can expect more of the same in Season 2, which begins with the 2011 PCA. No other stops have been announced as of yet, but no matter where it does, expect solid turnouts for a tour that seems poised for long-term success.

3. Taking steps forward: There's no denying that watching and producing poker on TV can be a challenge at times. After all, how many times can we see all-in preflop races? Well, the World Poker Tour has taken the first steps to bringing itself into 2011 with a bang, full of changes that should excite both the casual and hard-core poker fans. From new production to Tony Dunst calling out players and giving a little more strategy and new-school insight, the new WPT season could be one of the most exciting items on the agenda for 2011. At the same time, the WSOP Circuit tried to reinvent itself and if I wrote this column two weeks ago, I'd say that everything was going great. The Regional Championships and the National Championship idea is a great idea for the biggest brand in the game, and up until the stop in Atlantic City, all stops were breaking records and looking great. In any case, these are two of poker's major properties and 2010 showed that they are dedicated to sticking around and providing great content.

Also earning consideration: Expanded live tournament coverage on digital and linear platforms. … SCOOP, WCOOP and FTOPS see strong turnouts. … Legislation being presented on federal and state levels is a step in the right direction. … Big names (Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Ivey, etc.) win big-time events.


The Bad

1. The legalization front: Poker insiders were optimistic throughout December as hype picked up regarding Congress passing a bill that would legalize online poker. After weeks of hype, Sen. Harry Reid's bill failed to rally the support needed. No, the bill wasn't the best for poker players who would've faced some hardships due to some of the restrictions, but it was a start and would've created a legalized and regulated environment in which consumers would be protected. Instead, we're back to the drawing board on the federal level and in a spot where many believe little progress will be made until another shift of power occurs. On a state level, Washington's efforts to ban online poker were upheld by the state's Supreme Court and have forced many residents of the state to make tough decisions. In addition to all these issues, the UIGEA continues to get enforced and seizures of millions have been made with hopes of quelling the industry. It's a tough time right now for the online poker industry, which is seeing the games get tougher and a lack of available deposit and withdrawal options for players.

2. Can't we all just get along? The PokerStars and Full Tilt competition for market share around the world continues to heat up, and with that we're seeing the two rival companies act in questionable fashions. Instead of working together to grow and build the still-young industry, the divide began in 2009, when PokerStars pulled its players on the Full Tilt sponsored "Poker After Dark." It continued at the NAPT Venetian main event, which Team Full Tilt skipped. In more recent news, Full Tilt also decided to not allow its players on the upcoming season of the PokerStars sponsored show "High Stakes Poker" currently being taped (in 3D). It's not like the industry is that strong that we could simply pull the best players from one show or the other. Wouldn't it just make more sense for the opposition's sponsored-players to try to win on their competitor's shows

The online gambling market in Italy has been expanding at break neck speeds ever since the jurisdiction was liberated a short time ago. The poker market has done very well with Italians flocking to online gambling sites in droves. The new division of Harrah’s Entertainment now known as Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. will move on the poker market in Italy with a long term agreement with Microgame S.p.A. an Italian online gambling joint stock company.

Microgame operates both as an application service provider and developer of online platforms and integrated systems of service, and through the online community People's Poker Network, which is made up of more than 130 online partners in all Italy and counts more than 1.5 million gaming accounts. Microgame has around 30% of the Italian online poker market and 27.1% of online sports betting marketgiving the firm 9.4% of overall sports betting market.


Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc., will be utilizing its World Series of Poker brand to enter the Italian market. CEO of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Mitch Garber commented on the announcement, “This agreement is a logical step in our European and global expansion strategy to partner with leading local companies as we look to expand the WSOP brand,” adding, . “Microgame is a clear leader in Italy and we look forward to working hard together to grow the poker market.”


Microgame CEO, Fabrizio D’Aloia, also said, “We are honored to have been selected as the exclusive Italian partner for the WSOP.” D’Aloia continued, “The People’s Poker Network, powered by Microgame, confirms its position of leadership in the Italian Poker Market and we are truly excited to offer our customers something unique. The WSOP has over 40 years of history and heritage and an alliance with Microgame online marks an exciting new chapter for both of us.”

Every Sunday, Bodog Poker hosts a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournaments and December 19th 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. constans took first place this week, earning $25,000. They were followed by NegreanuJr ($15,000) and BadReception, who rounded out the top three while earning $9,500. Here's the rest of the final table results: BodogMander aka Bodog Pro Amanda Musumeci came in fourth place ($7,000); thezzman ($5,700); whoosh ($4,500); Hdoggy ($3,500); WIZz3285 ($2,200); billsg702 ($1,700);

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 13 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack doylesoldier
* December 14 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack Banshee420
* December 15 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack WillyNilly
* December 16 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack IMUSTBREAKU2
* December 19 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack amaru34
* December 19 $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack BertieWooster

Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool. Play poker online at Bodog Poker and get your share!

If you somehow missed it, 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 during the 2010 season. 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!

This week's Monday Night Football poker tournament featured a game that's been talked about for the last few weeks: the Chicago Bears taking on the Minnesota Vikings in the latter's first outdoor home game since 1981. With the Superdome's recent collapse and Brett Favre's (possibly career-ending) injuries, all eyes (and a lot of hope) were on the Twin Cities, but Chicago blew the 7.5-point spread with ease, winning 40-14.

Bodog playerBuffalobomb won the Bears tournament, and took away $219 for their $10 buy in. In addition to those who beat the bubble getting their share of a $730 prize pool, everyone who played in the Bears tournament got a free $10 football bet at Bodog Sportsbook. Meanwhile, bex1321 took the top spot in the Dolphins tourney, earning $160.

As long as there's a football season, 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!

Cyprus has put off legislation to ban online gambling because of a three-month delay in feedback on its plans from its European Union partners, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

The east Mediterranean island's Communist-led government wants to ban online poker, slot machines and other casino games, which legislators say have an estimated turnover of 2.5 billion euros a year. It does not intend to ban online sports betting.

There are no casinos in Cyprus, but gamblers have exploited a loophole in the law which means that online gambling via providers based in other countries is virtually unregulated in Cyprus. Police and government officials have described the practice as a "scourge" which encourages vice.

A draft law calls for the creation of a licensing authority to issue permits and regulate permitted forms of gambling, and a legal source told Reuters "This legislation would bring some order to the whole spectrum of betting."

The government sent its proposed legislation to the European Commission but has learnt that feedback from the EU executive and member states will not be ready until March 2011, rather than mid-December as it had hoped, the finance ministry said.

The government is opposed to casinos of any kind, but residents of the divided island can cross freely to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in north Cyprus and play at dozens of casinos there.

A tweet from 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth has seen the online forums go wild with speculation as to whether the poker brat will feature in the upcoming series of Dancing with the Stars.

With the rumour being started by the tweet “OMG! Phil Hellmuth (me!) on ‘Dancing With the Stars!’ Outrageous! Might make a fool of myself on national television one more time,” poker blogs instantly began speculating on whether the claims were true.

Certainly, there is a precedent for poker players to star on the show, with Shannon Elizabeth having had a stint on the program that lead to her cheating on her boyfriend with dance partner Derek Hough – and Hellmuth did audition for the show last year.

Hellmuth appeared alongside professional dancer Karina Smirnoff in April 2009, so we know that an appearance on ABC’s top-rated reality TV show has been on the cards for awhile, but detractors think the tweet may just be another publicity stunt.

Whether his latest tweet proves to be the start of the poker brat’s last waltz or whether it’s merely one of the game’s biggest egos crying out for attention, Hellmuth’s latest update certainly seems to have done exactly what he intended.

The witches and wizards slot game has been bugged last 48 hours. The numbers on top displays 000000000 and only that.

Anyone knows what to do ?

I have cleared my cache, cookies.

Installed new adobe flash player and uninstalled the bodog casino client and re-installed it but still bugged.

All other casino games works like supposed to.