Select your timezone:
Select

Poker forum archive

Reply
Subscribe
Daniel Negreanu fought back to take a win in the second half of his SuperStar Showdown against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom on Sunday, but the margin was not enough to overcome the massive deficit he faced after being stacked in their first meeting.

Negreanu fought valiantly after nearly losing his entire stake for the second consecutive week. Just after the halfway point of their second meeting, Blom had once again jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable lead, and was up another $119,600 over Negreanu.

But the Canadian staged an incredible comeback, wining pot after pot to cut into Blom’s lead. Eventually, Negreanu managed to overtake Isildur1; not only did Negreanu survive their second meeting, but when the final bell sounded, he was up $26,500 after the full 2,500 hands.

Of course, this was not nearly enough to change the overall outcome of the match. Blom stacked Negreanu in their first meeting, winning the entire $150,000 at stake; the second half comeback only managed to lower Blom’s ultimate profit to $123,500.

The SuperStar Showdown series was started by PokerStars after they signed Isildur1 to a promotional contract late in 2010. The matches take place over the course of 2,500 hands of no-limit hold ‘em and (occasionally) pot-limit Omaha. There is no additional stake or side bet on the line; players simply win or lose whatever money is wagered at the table. The match can only end prematurely if either player loses their entire stake during the course of the match. Players are required to bring 1,500 big blinds for the match; for the minimum blinds of $50/$100, that equates to $150,000.

The loss – if it can be considered that, since it was only the second half of a larger, 5,000 hand match – for Isildur1 was only his second over the course of the Showdown series, with the other coming to Issac Haxton in the debut of the series.

The next match in the series will also take place over the course of two weeks, beginning April 3rd. This time, Blom will face off against Scott Palmer, who is better known by his poker room handle of “URnotINdanger.”
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Manne wrote: Daniel Negreanu fought back to take a win in the second half of his SuperStar Showdown against Viktor “Isildur1” Blom on Sunday, but the margin was not enough to overcome the massive deficit he faced after being stacked in their first meeting.

Negreanu fought valiantly after nearly losing his entire stake for the second consecutive week. Just after the halfway point of their second meeting, Blom had once again jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable lead, and was up another $119,600 over Negreanu.

But the Canadian staged an incredible comeback, wining pot after pot to cut into Blom’s lead. Eventually, Negreanu managed to overtake Isildur1; not only did Negreanu survive their second meeting, but when the final bell sounded, he was up $26,500 after the full 2,500 hands.

Of course, this was not nearly enough to change the overall outcome of the match. Blom stacked Negreanu in their first meeting, winning the entire $150,000 at stake; the second half comeback only managed to lower Blom’s ultimate profit to $123,500.

The SuperStar Showdown series was started by PokerStars after they signed Isildur1 to a promotional contract late in 2010. The matches take place over the course of 2,500 hands of no-limit hold ‘em and (occasionally) pot-limit Omaha. There is no additional stake or side bet on the line; players simply win or lose whatever money is wagered at the table. The match can only end prematurely if either player loses their entire stake during the course of the match. Players are required to bring 1,500 big blinds for the match; for the minimum blinds of $50/$100, that equates to $150,000.

The loss – if it can be considered that, since it was only the second half of a larger, 5,000 hand match – for Isildur1 was only his second over the course of the Showdown series, with the other coming to Issac Haxton in the debut of the series.

The next match in the series will also take place over the course of two weeks, beginning April 3rd. This time, Blom will face off against Scott Palmer, who is better known by his poker room handle of “URnotINdanger.”
I really thought Negraneu had a good chance. Players like Durrrrr, Isildur1 and Ziggy, along with others are so tough to beat because they are so fearless but Negraneu is very tricky. Maybe next time....:thumbsup
Join: 2009/05/08 Messages: 191
Quote
0
Dimitry Gromov took it to the wire on Tuesday to capture the first-place slot at the World Poker Tour's stop in Vienna. The €447,840 payout serves as Gromov's biggest score to date, but this isn't his direst time in the winner's circle. He also won $201.363 in the Russian Poker Series Kiev Grand Final last year and walked away with over $315,000 at the 2010 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza III in Las Vegas last July. This means that the Russian pro now has well over $1,000,000 in live tournament earnings over the course of his career.

Here's how the WPT Vienna final table finished up:
1 Dmitry Gromov €447,840
2 Maksim Kolosov € 241,180
3 Simon Ravnsbaek €169,690
4 Mario Adinolfi €115,420
5 Valentin Stroiescu €83,550
6 Maximillian Noll €65,460
7 Alessio Isaia €49,100
8 Mark Jenisch €36,180

Apparently a bit smitten with the country, the World Poker Tour now moves on to beautiful Bratislava where the €2,500+€220 main event kicked off today at the Golden Vegas Casino. Since the Golden Vegas is Less than an hour from Vienna, organizers are running a free shuttle to the event for players.

Want to play in great poker tournaments from your own home? Check out Bodog's array of events, including our massive weekend tournaments with huge guarantees!
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
The World Series of Poker Circuit Western Regional Championship, taking place at Harrah's Rincon near San Diego has hit its final table and today sees circuit regulars competing for their slice in the $10,000 buy=in event. Right now, Tim West is the chip leader and he's had a tremendous month playing poker. He just won the Wynn Poker Classic main event and his 400,000-chip lead on second-placer David Peters means that he's in a dominant position, to say the very least. Dwyte Pilgrim rounds out the top three with 408,000 in chips.

Here's the final table seating chart with chip counts, for those wanting to keep track before the action starts this afternoon.

1 Dwyte Pilgrim 408,000
2 Miller Dao 99,000
3 David Peters 437,000
4 Ali Eslami 395,000
5 D.J. Blanchard 271,000
6 Tim West 843,000
7 Dylan Wilkerson 89,000
8 Steve Brecher 246,000
9 Dana Kellstrom 147,000

The top spot pays out $282,242 while 9th still gets a respectable (if not stunning) $24,235. A lot of good players hit the wayside in the third day of play after seven hours of play, including Daniel Negreanu, Todd Terry and Scott Montgomery.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
The Dallas Stars are on a mission. After laying claim to the Pacific Division lead for most of the season, the upstart young franchise has since fallen out of the Western Conference playoff picture altogether. Those Stars who once surprisingly presided over a tough division, are now the only Pacific Division entry not currently pegged to make the post-season.

Tonight, however, they'll have a chance to do something about it. Bet on the NHL and Sharks vs. Stars tonight in the Bodog sportsbook.

With seven games left in the regular season, and just three points behind current eighth-place Chicago, the Stars are perhaps the most likely non-playoff team to climb into the bracket in the final weeks of the regular season. Though the Calgary Flames sit similarly three points back, the Flames have just four opportunities left to pile on more points – as opposed to Dallas' seven.

If the Stars can handle their upcoming heavy workload properly, they could still sneak into the spot currently held by the reigning champion Blackhawks. Though neither franchise has thrived in the past 10 games (Dallas at 3-3-4 and Chicago at 4-4-2), someone will have to step in. If the Stars plan to make it their spot, they'll have to take down Pacific foe San Jose.

At 44-23-9, the Sharks are the current leader in the division, sitting third in the entire Western Conference. It won't be easy, but a victory on Thursday night could go a long way in what will inevitably be a tight race for the final West playoff spot.

Think the Dallas Stars will have enough left in the tank to edge out the Blackhawks for the final spot?

Get all your NHL odds at Bodog Sportsbook. Always know your odds.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
A bill that if passed into law would make Iowa the first state to legalize online poker is still alive after surviving the funnel deadline in the Legislature this week.

Online gambling is illegal, untaxed, and unregulated in all 50 states, but federal law allows states to legalize online gambling within their borders.

Under Senate Study Bill 1165, Iowa would be the first state to issue online poker licenses to qualified businesses. People wanting to participate would register for an account at one of the licensed businesses, put money into an account at a local casino, and play poker on a regulated website.

Similar legislation is being considered in Florida and California.

The bill is still alive — it passed a Senate subcommittee March 14 — but Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, said he believes the legislation is “on life support.”
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
In breaking news from the Midwest, a bill in Iowa that would have created an intrastate online poker market appears to be dead for the foreseeable future. According to the Associated Press, “Sen. Jeff Danielson, a Cedar Falls Democrat, said lawmakers couldn’t agree on the bill. It will instead be amended to request a report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.”

Danielson told the Associated Press, “I just think people need a clearer picture of the evidence and I don’t think they’re ready in this session to legalize it. So we want to give them the best information possible as we go into next year.” The bill is numbered SB 458 and Danielson served as its primary proponent.

The intrastate online poker bill passed with a 9-6 vote. By the time it reached the Senate, however, many of the standard objections to internet gaming were in play. For example, one Republican told the Associated Press on Friday, “The expansion of gambling and the lack of absolute security that an underage person couldn’t obtain the code of the parent and so forth is probably my biggest objection.”

What will it take for lawmakers in Iowa to consider a bill to bring internet poker to life? The Associated Press speculated, “Danielson said if legislators have a clearer picture of how many Iowans are now playing online poker illegally, they would be more apt to look at regulating the practice next year.”

The news marks the latest hiccup in the movement to legalize internet gambling and online poker at both the state and local levels in the U.S. At the beginning of March, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have created the nation’s first intrastate internet gaming market.

In doing so, Christie put the onus squarely on the legislature: “If the legislature believes that expanding gambling outside of Atlantic City is in the best interests of the State of New Jersey, it should place the question on the ballot for the voters to decide.” No override of Christie’s veto took place and the New Jersey Senate and Assembly have, to date, not taken up the issue.

Nevada, meanwhile, has become the hotbed of online poker discussions after the introduction of AB 258 by Nevada Assembly Majority Whip William Horne. The bill, which is backed by PokerStars according to the Wall Street Journal, has seen casino outlets like Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts come out against it in favor of a Federal licensing scheme.

AB 258 does not allow discrimination by Nevada officials based on whether a room currently or formerly served the U.S. market, which could greatly benefit sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Moreover, AB 258 would allow the state of Nevada to “enter into compacts” with other jurisdictions regarding online poker.

Discussion of AB 258 took place about 10 days ago, but no vote has been scheduled.

One Iowa lawmaker commented to the Daily Iowan on Friday that SB 458 was “on life support.” However, the same news outlet gave a little hope as to its future: “A bill that if passed into law would make Iowa the first state to legalize online poker is still alive after surviving the funnel deadline in the legislature this week.”
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
According to The New York Times, Daniel Cates started his poker career while at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, going from low-stakes $5 games with who he described as his "not really friends" to now in 2010 claiming $5.5 million in earnings from poker.

The 21-year-old plays multiple online poker games simultaneously, and it's not uncommon for him to win (or lose) tens of thousands of dollars in a single sitting.

The New York Times' Jay Caspian Kang did an in-depth profile of Cates and what it's like to be a self-made millionare at such a young age.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
It wasn't an April Fool's Day prank (or if it was, it was both not very funny and ill-conceived.) Todd Brunson managed to get in a fight with controversial (and reportedly obnoxious) poker player and now scuffler Shawn "Sheepy" Sheikhan. This may have something to do with an incident from last month, in which Sheikhan goaded the other players at his table at Aria, from which Todd tweeted: Sean ‘sheepy’ shikan [SIC] in the game. He brags he doesn’t owe a single person on the planet.. asks me to verify..turns out he owe 2 of the 4 here.

This past weekend's incident also took place at Aria and again, Brunson's Twitter feed was involved: He slapped my shoulder and I stood up and punched him right in his little bitch face😡 He's lucky he fell and stayed down.

According to Brunson, security was called and finally it was decided that he acted in self defense and was asked if he wanted to press charges against Sheikhan. He says he didn't but that Aria did so Sheikhan was led away in handcuffs.

However, one online poker news site called Aria and was told that they hadn't heard anything about that incident, which brings the entire story into question.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
While Mark Pearce took the top slot in Event #1 at the WSOP* Circuit Event at Harrah's St. Louis, Dan Sztenderowicz, a 23 year old pro from Philadelphia, made an impressive splash with his first major tournament win, taking away $41,589 and the much-coveted WSOP Circuit ring. While Sztenderowicz impressed many people, with floor chatter indicating that he was on his way to win early on thanks to an unreadable face and uncanny ability to know when to push or back down, there was also a legend walking among the crowd: Amarillo Slim Preston.

Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Amarillo Slim, now 82 years young, wore his trademark cowboy hat and ostrich skin boots, making him quite the standout in the crowd. When asked why he was there, he replied simply: "I got a call from one of my cowboys to come up and play last week. I wasn't doing anything so I decided to come on up."

Nelly, of the smash hit "Hot In Herre," also made an appearance at the tables, but apparently it wasn't hot enough for him to ask everyone to take of their clothes.

Play online poker at Bodog today and warm up for the WSOP Circuit Stop in your neck of the woods!

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Harrah's). HIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, Bodog Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Harrah's.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
A while back, our ongoing "Poker In The Media" article series covered the poker games in Castle, a popular lightheated crime drama on ABC. Poker games are a standard of sitcoms, but it's nice to see a show use them as a dramatic and thematic counterpoint and Castle's games feature a cast of real-life mystery writers who sit down with the show's fictional author and offer up advice and feedback on things troubling Nathan Fillion's character.

With the death of TV icon Stephen J. Cannell (the prolific TV producer and novelist who was a regular fixture of the games,) the show has shied away from using the trope out of respect. April 11th's episode of the series, however, shows what happens when another crime novelist (who is aiming to woo Castle's love interest/muse away from him) shows up at the table. This time around, Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) and Michael Connelly (too many to name) hit the felt. Could this see a renewal of the show's use of the game? Who knows.

You don't have to be a famous TV character to play online poker at Bodog!
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Each and every Sunday, Bodog's online poker room hosts a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournament and you can get on the action for as little as $1 thanks to our aggressive satellite schedule. These huge tournaments take place at 4pm EST on Sundays.

Who won during came out on top in Sunday, April 3rd's Tournament? D0ES0N took first place this week, earning $25,000. They were followed by Dmat27 ($15,000) and Thrash123 , who rounded out the top three spots while taking away $9,500. Here's the rest of the final table results: KoreaGotSeoul ($7,000); TampaBayJams ($5,500); MrYellowBoy ($4,500); Dyzalot ($3,500); FlopMeGood ($2,200); Deyrockz ($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!

* March 28 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: str8blln ($2,813.25)
* March 29 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: gfunkera ($3,000.00)
* March 30 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: elchonco ($3,000.00)
* April 3 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: narf ($3,000)
* April 3 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: LuckyGRB ($3,000)
* March 27 • $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack nevertilt22 ($3,000)

Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool. Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Manne wrote: According to The New York Times, Daniel Cates started his poker career while at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, going from low-stakes $5 games with who he described as his "not really friends" to now in 2010 claiming $5.5 million in earnings from poker.

The 21-year-old plays multiple online poker games simultaneously, and it's not uncommon for him to win (or lose) tens of thousands of dollars in a single sitting.

The New York Times' Jay Caspian Kang did an in-depth profile of Cates and what it's like to be a self-made millionare at such a young age.
Must be nice. when i was in school we couldnt pass notes let alone use a laptop
being so young and multi tabeling can take u up and down truely he has tallent
Join: 2009/03/14 Messages: 3
Quote
0
Manne wrote: An online poker player by the name of Scott Crespo is attempting to recover poker losses he's incurred over some 700 tournaments, suing six top online poker players. The lawsuit is being brought about because of an Illinois law that allows a player to recover gambling losses if they can prove they have been cheated. Crespo is stating that the players have colluded against him and use "illegal" software.

According to the filing Crespo is accusing the six defendants –Andy "BkiCe" Seth, Faraz "The-Toilet" Jaka, Benjamin "Chong94″ LeFew, Mohsin "chicagocards1″ Charania, Ravi "govshark2″ Raghavan, and Tyler "puffinmypurp" Reiman– of "actively recruited other individuals to participate in illegal gambling activity… Having committed acts of collusion… Using real estate or property for the purposes of gambling".

The Poker Players Alliance is looking into the case and offering legal assistance to the defendants. Rich Muny, the state director for the PPA issued a statement that read, in part: "I have spoken with one of the defendants and we have discussed the issue at the highest levels within the PPA. It’s something we take very seriously."

We'll keep an eye on this story as it develops.

:dirol
Hope someone is no telling what the next lawsuit will bring up. it must really suck tio be sued. i vote him the biggest donk award.
Join: 2009/03/14 Messages: 3
Quote
0
This week's televised poker games are pretty much the standard fair we've been expecting of late with ESPN 2 featuring a lot of WSOP* action in repeats (which I've found to be an absolutely perfect late-night companion when writing for this site, naturally) but it's the usually-kind-of-OK-at-best Poker After Dark that looks more interesting this go-round as it features a titan of the game going against the young guns.

Beginning last night and continuing through this week at 2:05AM on NBC, Poker After Dark is presenting "$50,000 Sit N Go Idol," in which Tom Dwan, Melanie Weisner, Eric Baldwin, Annette Obrestad and Andrew Lichtenberger face off against poker legend Doyle Brunson in a $50,000 buy-in sit and go. If you can't stay up that late because you're not a blogger for an online poker site, you can watch the episodes while sipping your morning cup of joe over at NBC.com.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Harrah's). HIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, Bodog Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Harrah's.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
The World Series of Poker* CIrcuit series stop at Harrahs St. Louis continued and Ring Event #3 wrapped up on Sunday night. The Omaha High Low Eight or Better tournament was won by 25 year old Kurt Jewell, who earned his second ring on the circuit. Previously, he'd taken the largest Main Event field in the history of the circuit back in October and has five final-table finishes on the circuit to his name, with two of them at Main Events.

The $345 tournament attracted 181 players, an impressive number for an Omaha 8 event. Jewell, who graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in Sports Management got $13,206 for his play. The final table for the event was pretty heavy – long-time WSOP bracelet-holding veteran “Captain” Tom Franklin and Circuit ring champion La Sengphet joined Jewell among the final nine.

Shockingly, this is Jewell's first-ever Omaha 8 tournament. “I was literally Googling Omaha 8 to see what the optimal starting hands were and to get some tips,” he told the WSOP website.

Play Omaha 8 and other forms of online poker free at Bodog-com!

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Harrah's). HIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, Bodog Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Harrah's.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Do you remember Samuel McMaster, the Albuquerque, NM man that was going to pay back his investment scam victims by playing poker? Turns out that his claims that he was a poker pro were as false as the returns that he promised the 23 investors he bilked for almost $450,000. As a result, the state is now going to look more closely at how restitution is paid back to victims in the future according to Phyllis H. Bowman, lead prosecutor with the state Securities Division for New Mexico.

McMaster pleaded guilty last year to 26 felony charges, including securities fraud, sale of an unregistered security and sale of a security by an unlicensed broker-dealer and a judge gave him the opportunity to pay back the money by playing poker after a discussion with McMaster and his attorney.

"This was long overdue," said J. Dee Dennis Jr., the superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, in a statement. "This individual wanted to con us into believing that keeping him out of prison would help his victims get their money back. We’re calling his bluff. It’s about time we sent him to prison."

You can play online poker at Bodog even if you've not scammed families out of their retirement fund! In fact, we'd prefer it if you weren't that sort of person.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
This is pretty, pretty neat. This summer, the World Series of Poker* is going to feature rematches for three of the most famous heads-up battles from the event's history. Harrah's has announced that there will be three best-of-three heads-up matches held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, two chosen by them and the third determined by a public vote. It's a neat way to remind people of the history of the WSOP and shine a spotlight on those that have helped make it the biggest event in the world of poker. In an interesting twist, both players will begin the first match with the same number of chips as they had during their original encounter then the second battle will see the chip stacks reversed and if a third match is required then the chip stacks will start out even.

The first match will feature the 2003 battle between Chris Moneymaker and Sammy Farha that many say helped trigger the online poker boom after Moneymaker won his seat at the WSOP in a $33 online qualifier. The second match is going to see Johnny Chan take on Phil Hellmuth in a game that is sure to get people tuned in. It's a rematch of the 1989 event when Hellmuth famously became the then-youngest-ever Main Event winner when he was only 24. Hellmuth's victory denied the much-beloved Chan the chance to be a three-peater.

The matches the public will be able to vote over is an interesting set: they can choose between Chan versus Erik Seidel in a rematch of the 1988 Main Event, the 2004 remake of Greg Raymer against David Williams, the rematch of the 2006 battle of Jamie Gold versus Paul Wasicka or a rematch of the rather one sided heads up match from last year's WSOP Main Event between Jonathan Duhamel and John Racener.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively Harrah's). HIE does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, Bodog Poker or its products, services, promotions or tournaments. Any promotion or tournament on this site will not guarantee your seat or ability to register for any WSOP event or any WSOP affiliated event which is at the sole discretion of Harrah's.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0
Poker's Main Event is quickly approaching and Bodog has a unique series of freerolls available exclusively for sites like ixgames, including Main Event qualifiers, Bodog Swag Bags and a Vegas VIP Experience, the Bodog way. Here is how all the exclusive freerolls will run:

1)
Name: Main Event Freeroll Qualifier Series
Who Can Play: Open to all players
When: April 16, 23, 30 & May 7
Prizing: 1 of 10 $35+$3 Qualifier Seats

Promotion Page:

Players From the United States
WSOP Main Event Freeroll

Players From Canada
WSOP Main Event Freeroll

Players From Europe
WSOP Main Event Freeroll

2)
Name: Second Chance Freeroll
Who Can Play: Players who participated in any of the Main Event Freeroll Qualifier Series events in April, and did not win a qualifier seat
When: May 14
Prizing: 1st place: $470+$30 Main Event satellite seat
2nd & 3rd place: $69+$6 Main Event qualifier seat
4th & 5th place: $35+$3 Main Event qualifier seat

Promotion Page:

Players From the United States
Main Event Freeroll Tournament

Players From Canada
Main Event Freeroll Tournament

Players From Europe
Main Event Freeroll Tournament

3)
Name: Bodog's Vegas VIP Experience
Who Can Play: Players who participated in at least $500 worth of Main Event Qualifiers, without winning a seat
When: June 25
Prizing: Las Vegas trip during the WSOP Main Event in July, Bodog Swag Bag, and an invitation to Bodog's Exclusive Main Event party

Promotion Page:

Players From the United States
Main Event Vegas Experience

Players From Canada
Main Event Vegas Experience

Players From Europe
Main Event Vegas Experience

4)
Name: Swag Bag Challenge
Who Can Play: Players who played in at least $100 worth of Main Event Qualifiers
When: June 26
Prizing: Bodog Swag Bag, containing the same gear worn by Team Bodog members at the Main Event

Promotion Page:

Players From the United States
Main Event Qualifier Tournament

Players From Canada
Main Event Qualifier Tournament

Players From Europe
Main Event Qualifier Tournament
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 2120
Quote
0
Washington, D.C., is poised to become the first place in the U.S. to allow online poker, challenging the federal government's effective ban on the practice in its own backyard.

The city council approved a budget last year allowing the district's lottery to operate a poker website accessible only inside district boundaries. City officials say the window for Congress to raise objections to the law was due to expire Thursday, allowing it to take effect.

Opening the district to online gambling could make the nation's capital the first test case for "intrastate" online poker, which allows only players within a state—or the district—to gamble on a site.

States including Florida, California and Nevada are also debating bills to implement intrastate gambling, in part as a way to raise revenue in the face of big budget deficits. The district estimates online gambling could bring in around $13 million over three years, beginning in 2012.

A similar measure was recently vetoed by New Jersey's governor.

Those moves have come despite federal efforts to stop online gambling. A 2006 federal law bans financial companies from processing gambling transactions across state lines, and the Department of Justice has long taken the position that nearly all forms of online gambling are illegal.

Proponents of the intrastate approach say it should pass legal muster, in part because the federal government hasn't raised objections to some lotteries offering gambling products for state residents online for the past few years. Proponents interpret that as a tacit endorsement of online gambling as long as it stays inside the state. The Justice Department hasn't weighed in publicly on the state proposals and had no comment.

The district's move also shows the growing role that lotteries are playing in states trying to introduce online gambling. Some states have taken early steps in that direction, including Minnesota and New York, which allow players to buy an online subscription for their state lotteries.

Online gambling services are essential for lotteries to keep pace with a younger generation of social media-oriented players, said Buddy Roogow, executive director of D.C. Lottery. The lottery's sales have been declining for four years.

"It's not the whole future, but it's a very important part of it, if lotteries intend to continue to grow," Mr. Roogow said of online gambling. "States need the revenue. And whether it's the lottery or someone else, [online gambling is] going to be available anyway."

The lottery hopes to have the poker system operating in a test run available in certain select spots, such as hotels, by the end of the year, Mr. Roogow said. It could still be stymied, however, if the technology to keep out people from outside the district proves ineffective, or if Congress takes additional action, he said.

For many lotteries, providing poker games online would require a change in law to allow lotteries to run card games. Historically, lotteries have been allowed to run random-numbers games but not "skill games" such as poker. In addition to poker, the district's law would also allow the lottery to run a fantasy-sports site.

D.C. City Councilman Michael Brown said he introduced the provision to allow poker and fantasy sports because he thought that it could help solve some of the district's budget problems. His hope is that tourists and workers who live out of town will become some of the biggest users of the system.

"I figured that online poker was already happening here, and we just want to capture some of those revenue dollars," Mr. Brown said. "Every little bit helps."

The Poker Players Alliance, which represents the interests of offshore poker sites that wouldn't be able to participate in the district's system, argues that the pool of poker players in the city of around 600,000 isn't big enough to create a viable business.

Yet John Pappas, executive director of the group, said that because it would be in Congress's backyard, the system might help the organization's goal of getting federal legislation passed allowing online poker.

Efforts from gambling companies to legalize online poker died in Congress last year after several key Republican representatives voiced loud concern about the practice, in part on moral grounds.
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
Quote
0

New posts