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Representatives in the Congress supporting the legalization of online poker in the United States never tire to propose innovative bills to convince his peers of the value of this legalization. Thus, a new bill called the Consumer Protection & Revenue Generation Act of 2011 to legalize online poker in Florida has been deposited by Joe Abruzzo in the Congress. This text that takes into account only as authorized players over 18 years of the State, offers the only permission to play at licensed operators websites within a legal framework that is protective for players while providing new resources for the State. It is mentioned in the text that a license hub operator "will be available to companies interested which in return, will pay $ 10 million non-refundable to the State and an annual fee of $ 500,000 for the license”.

In addition, companies must also pay a 10% tax on gross income monthly. This poker license for a period of five years renewable will have its process detailed later. Besides the automatic exclusion of companies offering online games for a period of three years since the launch of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, are additional requirements for obtaining a license as permission to operate in Florida, the tenure of a contract offering lottery games on U.S. soil, the adequate competence in online games or constructive possession of a legal foreign online license of gambling outside the United States jurisdiction and to be in good standing with federal and State laws in its country of origin.

When hundreds of poker players began playing in the North Dakota State Poker Championship in Minot yesterday, they nearly had to do it without poker chips.

It seems the 70,000 chips required to put on the event were stuck in a customs logjam

and the supplier told organizers they wouldn't be able to deliver the specially-made chips.

The poker chips were made in China and shipped to the US for the tournament.

Pete Bushey of Fargo had the job of supplying the chips and says he called in some family help to bring the thousands of pounds of poker chips from Kansas City, where they were stranded, to Minot.

(Pete Bushy, Poker Chip Supplier) "I talked my mom and stepdad into going down there and taking a couple days off to Kansas City and pick up the poker chips. They picked them up Tuesday morning and we got them back up here just in time for the free roll last night." (Ken Hamilton, New York Mills, Minn.) "The drive was long and boring. The roads were terrible it was bumpy and I need a chiropracter treatment after that ride." (Tomi Hamilton, New York Mills, Minn.) "But we got the chips here and it was a lot of fun."


The person with the most chips by the end of the tournament walks away with $40,000

Last week, Poker News Daily ran an article recapping the top poker news stories of 2010. This, we were charged with the task of coming up with the top ten surprises of the past year. As fate would have it, the biggest shocker of 2010 came on December 30th, making the top surprise a no-brainer. Read on to find out.

10) Hip-Hop Hellmuth – Normally, I wouldn’t put an attention grab by Phil Hellmuth on a list of the year’s biggest surprises, but this one was phenomenal. The “Poker Brat” made a cameo appearance in a hip-hop music video by Ludacris donned in UB.net garb and raking in UB.net chips. Filmed at the Palms in Las Vegas, the video’s plot was supposed to be similar to that of the hit movie “The Hangover.” The song is called “Sex Room.” I’ll just leave it at that.

9) No Rest for the Weary – A crazy record not many people knew about before this year was broken not once, but twice. In June, Phil Laak set the poker endurance record by playing $10/$20 Hold’em at the Bellagio for a staggering 115 consecutive hours, breaking Paul Zimbler’s 72-hour mark from late 2009. Nobody would ever be silly enough to try to top Laak, would they? Of course they would. In November, Christie Teki-Reu and man who goes by the nickname “Chopper” played for 117 hours in the casino at the Grand Hotel in New Zealand as part of an organized effort to set the record in a special charity tournament. Afterwards, Teki-Reu slept for five hours, was up for two hours, then slept for another ten hours. Well deserved.

8) Kessler Max-Cashes – Well, almost. Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler is a very good poker player, but he is known to play to make the money in tournaments. He has definitely gone deep in tournaments and made a couple of WPT televised final tables, but for the most part, the poker community jokes about Kessler taking the conservative route and always looking to “min-cash.”

At the 2010 WSOP, poker players and fans lived vicariously through “Chainsaw” as he not only made the money in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo event, but also continued to move up in the standings, making the final table and then finally reaching heads-up. He eventually lost, but the $276,485 payday was far from a min-cash. He finished with eight cashes, tied for most at this year’s WSOP. Sure, some were min-cashes, but his second place run was one of the most memorable and surprising moments of the 2010 WSOP.

7) Security Fail – In May, it was discovered that the CEREUS Network had a major security hole. The network did not have SSL encryption implemented, resulting in a vulnerability that made it possible to intercept network traffic and see an opponent’s hole cards. In July, the same flaw was found on the Cake Poker Network. It is unbelievable enough that one poker network could fail so miserably at something that should be so basic, but two networks dropping the ball? Sad.

6) WSOP is Healthy – With the down economy and the struggles of online poker in the United States, it would have been reasonable to expect WSOP attendance figures to decline. Not so. 2010 saw 72,966 players participate, the most in WSOP history by a wide margin and besting last year’s record by 20%. The total prize money was the highest of all-time as well, reaching $187,109,850 and beating 2008′s high mark by 3.5%. The Main Event was the second largest of all-time with 7,319 players, second only to 2006, which was the last WSOP Main Event before the UIGEA was passed.

5) Isildur1 is a Star – Isildur1, the nameless online nosebleed-stakes phenom, signed with PokerStars in December. His signing with an online poker room isn’t all that surprising, considering that whenever he plays, he attracts scores of railbirds who love watching his million-dollar swings. The shocker is that all of his high-stakes play has been at Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars’ closest rival. Stars must have given him a sweet deal.

4) Resurgence of “The Grinder“ – While Michael Mizrachi had a few strong performances on the live tournament circuit in 2008 and 2009, his cachet had appeared to have worn off since he made his mark on the WPT in 2005 and 2006. He also ran into major financial troubles this year. But then the 2010 WSOP came along and he exploded back onto the poker map.

“The Grinder” won the $50,000 Player’s Championship for over $1.5 million, placed fifth in the Main Event for more than $2.3 million, and along the way became one of the biggest rooting interests of the summer. To top it off, his three brothers – Daniel, Robert, and Eric – all cashed in the Main Event. Robert also placed fifth in the Player’s Championship and made two other final tables.

3) Partying Has its Limits – In February, PartyPoker suddenly placed a cap on the number of play money chips members could have in their accounts. Overnight, players with millions of chips had their accounts reset to the 250,000-chip maximum. Party cited the sale of play chips as the main reason for the decision as well as instances of players with overwhelming numbers of chips making enormous bets and disrupting games. The reaction was one of almost unanimous outrage by play money customers, many of whom had taken great pride in building up their accounts over several years.

2) Peter Eastgate Takes a Break – Nowadays, we have come to expect WSOP champions to serve as faces of the game and continue playing live tournaments around the world. Not so with the 2008 champ Peter Eastgate. Eastgate, who just turned 25, announced this year that he was taking an indefinite break from live tournament poker. So far, it appears that it has been a break from poker in general. His WSOP win set him up financially, which was enough for him. To top it off, he auctioned off his WSOP bracelet in November and donated the proceeds to charity.

1) Duke and Hellmuth Leave UB – Annie Duke leaving UB, to me, was easily the most surprising moment in poker this year… until Phil Hellmuth did the

It is estimated that anywhere from 10 to 15 million Americans play poker for money online in spite of the fact the activity falls under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which former President George W. Bush signed into law in October 2006.

The legislation did not in fact kill the multi-billion dollar Web-based gambling industry. All it did was strictly regulate the process by which funds are transferred from users of the sites to the offshore companies that own and operate them.

It did in fact force publicly traded companies that had conducted business with citizens of the United States to cease operations, which opened the door for illegal offshore operators to circumvent the system and rake in millions of dollars from bettors in this country.

U.S. Senator Harry Reid wants to change all of that with a bill to legalize playing poker on the Internet in an effort to capture a fresh stream of tax revenues. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates more than $3-billion in new tax dollars would be generated if playing poker online was legalized.

“Ours is a unique industry in that it wants tough regulatory control and strict law enforcement oversight, which ensures the integrity of our business and protects consumers,” said AGA president and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf. “Current online gambling laws do not provide these safeguards, leaving players and the system open to fraud, cheating and other illegal acts.”

The proposed legislation ensures that Federal and state authorities will have the ability to control unfettered access to all forms of internet gambling. It will protect states’ rights to choose whether or not to even legalize online poker. The states that do wish to legalize it will be provided with the authority, tools, and resources necessary for proper policing of the activity.

It would also require the Treasury Secretary to compile a list of unlicensed Internet gambling sites to ensure the unlawful operators can no longer conduct business.

“Without this legislation, players will remain unprotected, law enforcement oversight will remain murky, illegal offshore operators will continue to reap billions from U.S. bettors, and the U.S. will continue to lose out on significant tax revenues and thousands of jobs that could be generated by this already popular activity,” Fahrenkopf said.

The major stumbling block to legalize playing poker online is that it continues to be discussed within the context of the 1961 Wire Act which prohibits sports betting over telephone lines.

Nearly half a century ago, the Internet wasn’t even a glint in technology’s eye, and during the last 15 years regulators and legislators have looked the other way while online gambling was allowed to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry.

Whereas persuasive arguments can be made against betting on pure games of chance online, poker requires an element of skill.

There is a lot at stake for the big-name gambling companies, including Caesars Entertainment Corp., formerly known as Harrah’s Entertainment. The Las Vegas-based casino giant owns the World Series of Poker in which many participants have ties to Internet poker sites.

An Australian gambler used his poker face to fool waiters into serving him 42 beers during a 17-hour period at the Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia. The casino, who has been fined in the past for over-indulging their customers with countless cocktails just couldn’t believe the man was drunk, claiming he had a damn good poker face.

According to the Herald Sun, three waiters served the player endless drinks and failed to keep tabs on the man whose remarkable poker face fooled casino employees. Once he attempted to stand up, casino attendants quickly noticed how drunk the man really was as he staggered out of the casino.

"He didn't appear to be steady on his feet. He was dozing off at the table and the manager had to help him collect his chips so he could cash them in," said bar waiter Helen Mikhael-Ghanime, who was fired for serving the man 15 beers.

The scene caused the Casino Liquor and Gaming Control Board to step in and question the three waiters involved who claimed they could not read the man’s level of intoxication. As a result of the incident, all three waiters were fired for serving the man 42 drinks between 2:29 pm on December 31st to 7:26 am on January 1st 2009.

The Star City Casino has been fined $10,000 for the incident and I’m guessing their waiters will now have to learn how to read poker faces. Apart from their boozy customers, the Star City Casino will be hosting the upcoming Australia New Zealand Poker Tour ( ANZPT) in 2011 which will welcome 500 participants to compete for the grand title.

The Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia is in hot water after serving an unnamed card player 42 beers over a 17-hour stint at the poker table on New Year’s Eve.

The player ordered five beers every two hours until the table finally closed at 7 a.m. on New Year’s Day. The Star City was hit with a $10,000 fine because casinos are barred from letting someone who is intoxicated gamble, but the staff says they kept serving the patron because they didn’t realize how much he had to drink and he didn’t appear intoxicated.

A guy downs 42 drinks in 17 hours and you can't tell he's drunk? That's one hell of a poker face.

“The nature of poker is that players tend to be . . . very controlled in their facial expressions and body movements," Star City's leaked letter to the Casino Liquor and Gaming Control Authority said.

"This level of control means that many of the visible signs that a person . . . is affected by alcohol may be minimized."

The fine has since been cut because of otherwise good standing in dealing with intoxicated patrons, though a number of the staff members who served the man were either terminated or demoted because of the incident.

"[The authority] considers this matter to be a serious breach of Star City's responsible service of alcohol obligations," the authority said to Star City.

"In determining the pecuniary penalty, due consideration was given to Star City's record in relation to the responsible service of alcohol and the action taken to prevent similar incidents in the future."

High-stakes online poker pro Dan “jungleman12” Cates took the top spot on the earnings list for online poker pros in 2010. Cates brought in over US$5 million from the virtual tables at Full Tilt Poker. Cates won over US$500,000 in one marathon session of $300/$600 half no-limit Texas Hold’em/half pot-limit Omaha cash games.


Early in this session, Cates lost about US$250,000 to his opponents, including veteran poker pro Patrik Antonius. Cates quickly rebounded and finished the session with double that amount in profits, closing off a career year for the online sensation.


Cates also earned over US$500,000 in the “Durrr Challenge”, a series of heads-up no-limit Texas Hold’em matches with young online poker wizard Tom “durrr” Dwan. Cates and Dwan have played just over thirteen thousand hands against each other, with the winner of the matches to be determined after fifty thousand hands.


Dwan is also among this year’s big winners, with profits of just over US$3.6 million. Dwan sits behind Cates and Andreas ‘skjervoy’ Torbergsen (US$3.7 million) on the 2010 online cash game leaderboard. Poker superstar Phil Ivey is also among the top five in online poker earnings with just over US$3 million.


Although Cates has had a phenomenal year by 2010 standards, his profits for this year are much less than the top money winners in years past. Last Year, Patrik Antonius earned around US$8.9 million at the online poker tables. In 2008, Phil Ivey took the money list crown when he earned US$7.3 million.

Just before the New Year's holiday, online poker player Peeps took on another opponent in the ongoing King of the Felt challenge defeating them handily and continuing what is the longest win streak in this promotion since April of last year.

NChad took up the challenge on the 30th and was the eighth win in a row for Peeps, meaning that he's won $11,500 so far in the promotion.

On Thursday January 6th, Peeps will play against millhouse11 for their 10th consecutive win. If he comes out on top he’ll play a Bodog Pro for a shot at a 2011 WSOP Seat.

If you've missed out, 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.

Laws on online gambling in Ireland existed since a long time. They were even there for decades but no longer fit the needs of Irish consumers of the 21st century. Fortunately, the government realized up this gap for some time and is trying to bridge the large gap that exists but also to update its legal system. Nevertheless, the procedure to adopt is not easy to have a new law that is at least tailored to players and operators of online games, poker included. The drafting of a new law that requires a clear plan will not happen overnight.

To begin, the publishing of a new report on the future of online games in Ireland, in the preamble has been done. As content, it talks about the various possible ways that the Irish Department of Justice and Law Reform intends to take. The main highlight of this report is the impossibility of regulation that should be on the gigantic size of local online gaming industry that is marked by the failure of advertising bans. To resolve this problem, the report proposes to close casino, sports betting and online poker sites which attempt to violate laws that will manage the future online games. Like other suggestions in the report, it’s mentioned there that a true support system in the new law for the protection of minors and against players who cheat and future legal measures that are robust to prevent gambling addict will be introduced.

Canadian poker pro Sorel Mizzi has been honoured as the best tournament poker player of 2010, after winning The BLUFF Magazine Player of the Year.

The industry’s leading award is highly regarded and only counts top credited tournaments when awarding points based on finishing position, buy-ins and number of entrants.

Sorel Mizzi ended up winning the award after being ahead of the competition for several months before finally finishing on a record-breaking 1,777 points, more than 500 points ahead of his nearest challenger.

The 24 year-old started the year as a Betfair Poker sponsored pro and in January finished 3rd in the Aussie Millions Main Event for $659,917. By March he had shifted over to Titanpoker.com and the very same month went on an unbelievable heater making four final tables with three victories to get his new tenure at the site off to a roaring start.

The rest of Mizzi’s year continued in much the same vein, cashing in all months except July, including a 1st place finish at the €25k EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final for $190,905 and a 2nd place finish at the €20k WPT Rendez-Vous à Paris for $159,543.

The final list of Mizzi’s achievements throughout the year read 26 tournament cashes including 20 final tables, and five victories, for total winnings of $1,895,430.

Mizzi also revealed via his Twitter account some other interesting details of his year as a top poker pro, and posted the following:

“Some facts about my year. Miles travelled: 94,433, Cities visited: 27, amount of $$ spent on massages: $18,800.93 and my back still hurts.”

Congratulations on the team Titan poker on finishing 2010 at the top of the game and we would like to wish him all the best for 2011.

Mizzi has now accumulated a total of $3,507,672 from live tournaments, as well as an impressive $3,099,557 playing tournaments online throughout his lucrative career.

Every Sunday, Bodog Poker hosts a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournaments and the new year kicked off in style with 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. bikiniwaxsux took first place this week, earning $25,000. They were followed by TerrorOfDK ($15,000) and slayray, who rounded out the top three spots and pocketed $9,500. Here's the rest of the final table results: WonderChild($7,000); CANCEL1 ($5,700); dougclay ($4,500); 100girls ($3,500); Banshee420 ($2,200); jishii ($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 27 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack IMUSTBREAKU2
* December 28 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack bigbaldguy
* December 29 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack mattlee3

(A repeat win from last week!)
* December 30 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack bootsy1170
* January 2 $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack match 21
* January 2 $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack Gino42

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

One of the hallmarks of the World Series of Poker has always been the endurance test; the ability to play poker for days, weeks, even months for some, with some sessions running well into the morning. Well part of that challenge is going to be stripped away for the 2011 WSOP.

The 42nd WSOP will once again play out at the Rio in Las Vegas and will start on May 31 and go until July 19. But where it will differ (other than the dates which always shuffle a little bit), is that play will always be stopped for the day after 10 levels are played.

After hitting the 10th level, all surviving players will get their poker chips bagged and logged for the night and that tournament will continue the following morning. According to the WSOP, this stoppage will be mandatory and enforced no matter how many players remain in the tournament.

This new rule should put an end to the late nights that would sometimes see players still competing as the sun came up the following day – a great way to get yourself drained and sick for the rest of the WSOP tournaments.

The WSOP $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event structure will not change however, as it will see its Day 1A on July 7. The final November Nine will be established 12 days later on July 19 and there will be no mandatory stop time.

Once the November Nine are established they will return to the Rio, as usual, in November to play it out for the WSOP bracelet, millions of dollars and of course, poker’s greatest honor.

Last year’s winner was Jonathan Duhamel from Quebec, Canada. He beat a field of 7,319 players and returned home with nearly $9 million in cash.

The top story for online poker fans in the USA is the negative news that the Republican swing in the House of Representatives has stalled the regulation and legalization of the past time for another indefinite period.
US politics being very slow to begin with the addition of Spencer Bachus from Alabama being named chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has put a thorn in the sides of many a poker player. The Washington Time recently reported that other GOP lawmakers also were opposed to legal online gambling within the borders of the USA.
The Poker News.com web site posted a comment, "If 2010 is any sign of what's to come in the future for online poker, the only thing that is really for certain is that the road is a long, bumpy one and the legalization of online poker will be very difficult to come by,"
The UPI.com news from the States suggests that should this issue be a priority for the House Financial Services Committee Mr. Bachus he could in effect make existing laws that already prohibit the transactions associated with online gambling even more effective. The Republican majority in the house may not be the end of the line for online poker players in America. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not attain the critical mass needed to swing the vote to allow U.S. casino companies set up internet poker sites and access at least a share of the multibillion dollar industry that currently leaves the USA for offshore locations.
There is a slim chance that the issue will cross party lines and the freedom loving Republican members will see eye to eye with the Democrats and make playing online poker legal again in America. It has been a rough ride for anyone who wants to see the laws changed, anyone in a hurry that is.

Casino gambling in The Republic of Ireland falls under the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act. This law makes casino gambling illegal, except for private clubs. This loophole has allowed casinos to operate within the country but it has also served to keep away the major companies and their mammoth gambling establishments. For more information on laws you may check this [LINK REMOVED]

The long grind of a trial in Oakland is finally winding down and it's now up to a jury to decide of the web of circumstantial evidence surrounding the case is enough to send poker pro Ernest Scherer III to prison for the murder of his parents. In his closing argument, prosecutor Michael Nieto said that Schererer killed his parents because of financial pressure from the purchase of an expensive home and gambling debts accrued in Vegas. Among the pieces of evidence entered was a videotape of Scherer's car entering the complex where his parents lived and phone records and receipts that show a clear trail leading up to the crime.

Richard Foxall, Scherer's lawyer is presenting his opening statement this morning. At the preliminary hearings in 2009, Foxall accused prosecutors of bending the evidence to fit the crime and it's believed he'll take the same approach today. It is hard to deny the fact that Scherer bought an $880,000 home in Orange County (with help in the form of a $616,000 loan from his folks) and less than two weeks after the killing had a dinner date with a woman that wasn't his wife at the Carnelian Room on top of the Bank of America building in San Francisco, spending $446.

It seems like it's been shaping up to be a very bloody week in the annals of poker as papers in Connecticut report that 29-year-old Wendy Georges of Norwich fatally stabbed a man on December 14th during a poker game and pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Monday morning at his first appearance in New London Superior Court. Georges, who is Haitian, was assisted by a translator during the proceeding.

According to the affidavit, Georges was playing poker with John Stevens Fleurimond and a few others other Fleurimond's basement when the stabbing occurred. Georges told police that he suspected the other of cheating and grabbed him by the throat, but was slashed after Fleuromind pulled a knife. He said that he was able to get the knife from the man he accused of cheating and that he stabbed Fleurimond in the back after a scuffle.

He was arrested by police at his apartment, where police noted that he had a small cut and dried blood on his palm. During his interview with the cops, he said "Those guys jumped me. I was defending myself."

Bodog's online casino is about to deal its billionth blackjack hand and to celebrate this unbelievable milestone – Bodog is offering its loyal online casino players a chance to win thousands of dollars in cash prizes… and a Billionaire’s Experience!

If you’re the lucky grand prize winner you’ll have one of two Billionaire Experiences to choose from:

1. Weekend in Monaco during the 2011 Grand Prix, which includes (among other sweet perks) luxury accommodations at a top hotel in Monte Carlo, fine dining and a private yacht.

2. Private Island Holiday in Fiji, which will give you an opportunity to kick back and relax at one of the world's top resorts – the Bure in Fiji! Live like a billionaire and sip on some of the world's priciest wines...enjoy full access to the private beach and spa, and you can take advantage of your own personal Bure Manager, who will ensure the perfect holiday isn’t a pipe dream.

All you have to do to get in on the Billionaire’s Experience Prize Draw is play blackjack at Bodog’s online casino. The more blackjack hands you win, the more entries you gain… and the better the chances of winning the grand prize!

But wait! Starting with hand 979 million, Bodog Casino is handing out $1000 for every millionth hand leading up to the big one. The player that hits hand one billion gets $1,000 and a choice between the “Weekend in Monaco” or the “Private Island Holiday” Billionaire’s Experience.

For more details on Bodog’s Billionth Blackjack Hand & Billionaire Experience, head over to Bodog Casinos Live Like a Billionaire promotions page.

A new year brings hope that in 2011 the U.S. government will recognize that Internet poker is as legitimate an activity as playing the stock market.

Online poker made more progress on Capitol Hill than ever before in 2010, but progress doesn't carry over at the federal level.

As the ball drops each New Year's Eve, any progress bills made short of being passed by both legislatures gets wiped clean like the swipe of an Etch-a-Sketch®.

Poker efforts will start anew with a less-favorable Congress, thanks to the Republican gains in the November elections.

In previous years, Barney Frank and the House Financial Services Committee has been the avenue used by the Poker Players Alliance to push for federal legislation. Now that committee is chaired by Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the staunchest opponent to Internet gambling in the House.

This change in committee makeup means the PPA will need a new conductor for federal legislation, and a worthy candidate emerged at the end of 2010 -- Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

"I think it's clear that Senator Reid will continue to be a major player on this issue," PPA executive director John Pappas said. "Any time the Senate Majority Leader takes notice on an issue, we will need to continue working with his office. If his bill is leading the way, that means the House becomes kind of a secondary body for us to work in. I think for sure the Financial Services Committee no longer will be the leading body in this jurisdiction."

Reid coming out publicly in favor of regulating Internet poker was the best thing coming out of 2010 that should carry over to the new year. During the lame-duck session to close out 2010, Reid tried to attach legislation to license and regulate online poker to larger, must-pass legislation. If he introduces the bill this year, it likely will have to stand on its own and face public debate.

"We hope he will introduce a bill for 2011, and we expect it to go through a more normalized process on the Senate side with hearings, debates, markups and things like that," Pappas said. "We will work to make sure the bill introduced doesn't contain some of the offensive language of the previous proposal."

Parts of Reid's previous bill, particularly a 15-month blackout period for the industry, drew the ire of poker players, many of whom refused to support it.

However, even with the backing of the Senate leader, 2011 figures to be difficult going on the federal level. With the Republican gains in the Senate, Reid has less power than ever before. And at some point a bill will still have to get through the House, which is now controlled by the Republicans who have generally been less accepting of online poker.

What 2011 likely will become known for is being the year a state legalized Internet poker for the first time. At the state level, progress does carry over from previous years. That means the bill to license and regulate Internet gambling being offered through Atlantic City casinos in New Jersey enters the year very close to passing.

It already having been passed through the State Senate by a wide margin and gone through the committee level in the State Assembly. The full State Assembly is scheduled to vote on the issue on Monday and it is expected to pass the bill. That would mean it would head to the desk of Gov. Chris Christie and only need his signature, or him ignoring it for 45 days, to become law.

With the federal level looking a like challenging road over the next two years, New Jersey is likely to be the start of a more state-oriented focus for Internet poker.

"We still have concerns of the potential liquidity of a state regulatory model," Pappas said. "But this is kind of what we want, and one of the reasons we thought a federal bill was so important to get done, that we are going to have states going this route."

Online gambling site 888.com has bought web domain Poker.com.au for US$100,000 according to Smart Company and will use the address to direct people to “a seriously exciting new poker revolution" which is “coming soon”.

The price however was lower than expected due to restrictive laws on advertising gambling in Australia – last year Poker.ca in Canada sold for $400,000.

One expert told Smart Company that the price could have been 10 times what was paid if gambling advertising were allowed in Australia.

Bodog Poker’s King of the Felt promotion is coming close to its first major climax as Peeps is only one win away from competing for a seat at the 2011 World Series of Poker. For the past nine weeks, Peeps has dominated the game, serving as King of the Felt and taking down challenger after challenger in a special $1,000 heads-up tournament. He’s earned $11,500 so far and if he wins tonight's matchup he’ll get to face down a Bodog Poker Pro for his spot at the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

How do you compete to be King of the Felt? Just cash in during three or more qualifying Sit-and-Go tournaments at Bodog. The more you play, the more chances you get to win and the poker room is even offering up special freerolls for those that go the extra distance and beat the bubble in six or more tourneys.