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Absolute Poker has nice Sit n Go's as well as multi-table tourneys. Their multi-tables typically have about 20-100 people and are good for those players who don't want to play against the huge 2,000 player fields at Party or Pokerstars. Their multi-table buy-ins range from $3.00-$40.00 so there is something for everybody. You can also set up Special Tournaments to play only with people you invite.[url="www-casinoscorner-com"][/url]

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Between Pokerstars, FullTilt, and AP/UB, I trust AP/UB the least as it seems the new owner has not owned the joint very long and probably put up a lot of personal funds to buy the site only to have it yanked by the DOJ. It woulda been nicer if the new owner could have had 5 years of profits before the DOJ stepped in. It would be a lot easier to pay players accounts back, in my opinion.

Politicians are trying to legalize online poker. Prosecutors are trying to shut it down.

Neither is succeeding. Last week's government seizure of 10 gambling sites following indictments by a federal grand jury in Baltimore is another loss for the industry and may further stall legislation in Washington and some states to regulate and tax online poker.

But don't bet against online betting. The day after the indictments were unsealed, Bodog.com, a popular gambling site that was part of a previous investigation by the Maryland U.S. attorney, changed to a European domain — Bodog.eu — in an apparent attempt to avoid a crackdown by U.S. authorities. No doubt Bodog and other operations will win business from Fulltiltpoker.com, Truepoker.com and others nailed by the feds. And if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank have their way, today's outlaw poker sites could become 2013's tax-paying corporate citizens.

Given that Congress badly needs revenue and Republicans have vowed not to raise taxes, eventual legalization of online wagering is a certainty. Trade groups and legislators have suggested that Web wagers could generate more than $2 billion in annual taxes.

Democrats such as Reid and Frank will get the revenue they want. Republicans can pretend that Internet gambling taxes aren't new taxes and take credit for defending the freedom to ruin your life online.

Meanwhile, Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein has been a key player in efforts to send Congress' future cash cow to the Hormel plant.

An investigation led by Rosenstein's office led to the April 26 indictment of two firms charged with processing money for Internet gambling and the closure of popular sites such as Truepoker and Doylesroom. Try to play those rooms and the screen flashes a big Justice Department seal and Homeland Security badge, FBI-bust style.

Authorities also seized nearly a dozen bank accounts associated with the companies. The indictments were unsealed Monday.

The attack goes beyond previous efforts by Rosenstein, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard C. Kay and allied agencies to go after virtual poker tables and sports betting sites. A few years ago a government mole started betting on Bodog, a site widely reported to have turned owner Calvin Ayre — who grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan and whose motto is "Gambling, drinking and carrying on" — into a billionaire.

That investigation, well chronicled by Van Smith last year in the Baltimore City Paper, led to the civil forfeiture of more than $20 million from bank accounts the government said were linked to Bodog.

It's hard for prosecutors to go after the virtual poker rooms directly; they're operated outside the United States. So they aim for the funds moving from the American gambler to the sites and the companies that handle them. Processing the funds also seems to be more clearly against the law than running a virtual gambling joint.

This time, instead of just assigning a mole gambler, the feds set up an entire fake processing company. Over two years, Linwood Payment Solutions reached deals with BetEd and K23 Financial Services and processed $33 million in transactions linked to online betting in Maryland and elsewhere, according to federal charging documents.

"That's a brilliant move on the part of the prosecutor — having undercover agents present themselves as legitimate processors and gathering evidence for statements against interest from the operators directly," says Jeff Ifrah, a lawyer based in Washington who has represented Internet gambling defendants. "It's a much better way of building your case."

One indictment charged ThrillX Systems and Canadians Darren Wright and David Parchomchuk with running an illegal gambling business and money laundering. Another made the same allegations against K23 and Ann Marie Puig of Costa Rica. I was unable to contact the defendants.

Although Rosenstein's office helped blaze the trail on Internet gambling enforcement, in typical bigfoot fashion the Southern District of New York has swooped in for the biggest cases.

On April 15, known among online gamblers as Black Friday, Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara unsealed bank fraud and money-laundering indictments against operators of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker, three of the biggest online gambling sites. The government seized their Internet addresses and seeks at least $3 billion in civil penalties and forfeitures.

But online U.S. poker is by no means bust. There are still hundreds of sites allowing Americans to bet. Their business spiked after Black Friday as customers of Absolute Poker and the other seized operations sought new outlets, according to the American Gaming Association, a trade group that wants Web gambling legalized and regulated.

"You can't expect to put every operator out of business," Rosenstein said in an interview. "But the ones that are the most flagrant violators of the law and generating the most business — those are the logical targets."

He said he couldn't comment in response to a frequently asked question among online bettors: How come the government hasn't seized Bodog's Web address? (Bodog didn't respond to emails.)

In any event, the New York and Maryland indictments have stalled legislative efforts to legalize online gambling, Ifrah said. "It remains to be seen whether the momentum that was present prior to Black Friday can be reinitiated," he said.

Bet on it. Internet gambling is legal in the U.K. and much of Europe. Someday soon taxes from the likes of Absolute Poker and PokerStars will help pay the salaries of Rosenstein, Bharara and the others who have been persecuting them.

The restructured World Series of Poker* Circuit has seen a tremendous amount of growth in its 2010-2011 season with a total of 154 points-qualifying tournaments played across 15 different venues throughout the United States, all of it cumulating with a 100-seat tournament at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. After two days of play, the final table of nine hit the felt on Sunday for their chance to earn the first WSOP bracelet of 2011.

While Jonathan Poche went in with the chip lead, it was Sam Barnhart's steady play that gave him the top spot and $300,000 after he defeated James Anderson (who won $200,000.) Josh Evans came in third, earning $135,000. The rest of the top ten were paid out as follows: La Sengphet ($100,000); Jonathan Poche ($75,000); Charles "Woody" Moore ($55,000); Drazen Illich ($42,500); Adam Hui ($35,000); Matt Lawrence ($30,000); Huy Nguyen ($27,500.)

With the circuit wrapped up, it's now time for players to start thinking about the big show going down at the Rio in a few weeks. You can still qualify for the World Series of Poker Main Event with Bodog for as little as a buck, and several players on Team Bodog already have!!

With Bodog's World Series of Poker* satellites, we're sending players from around the world to the big event in Las Vegas and we're going to help you get to know them a bit better. Today, it's Gary Bremer, or fitterboy as Bodog's online poker players might know him.

How often do you play poker, online and live?
Online daily, and about once a month live.

What are you most looking forward to about your trip with Bodog?
Playing the Main Event.

What's your biggest tournament win to date?
$12,000.

Have you played in the WSOP in Vegas before?
Yes

What made you want to qualify with Bodog?
The number of opportunities to qualify.

How did you qualify for the satellite you ended up winning?
I played in a $35+3 satellite and won a seat.

Want to join Gary and the rest of Team Bodog in Vegas? You can qualify online for the WSOP Main Event with Bodog up through June 20!

Two illegal internet gambling sites and their foreign owners were indicted by federal investigators in Baltimore, Maryland, last week, a move that resulted in 10 Web domain names to be shut down and the seizure of 11 bank accounts.

Named in the indictments were: ThrillX Systems Ltd., its owners Darren Wright and David Panchomehuk of British Columbia, Canada, and K23 Financial Services, also known as BMX Entertainment and its owner Ann Marie Puig of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Among the domain names affected, reportedly, was Doylesroom.com, a poker site names after poker legend Doyle Brunson. However, Brunson said his involvement was minimal and he had asked that his name be removed from the site. He was not among those indicted in Baltimore.

Federal investigators explained that they had set up a payment-processing business to infiltrate the online gambling sites.

"It is illegal for Internet gambling enterprises to do business in Maryland, regardless of where the website operator is located," said U.S. Atty. Rod Rosenstein. We cannot allow foreign website operators to flout the law simply because their headquarters are based outside the country."

The indictments came on the heels of New York federal indictments of well-known Internet poker operators PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute.

The American Gaming Association (AGA) praised the latest round of indictments but called the move a "half measure" toward fixing the problem.

"The full solution," said CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., "is law enforcement and federally sanctioned state licensing and regulation of online poker for gaming companies that currently abide by U.S. law."

On that score, Texas Congressman Joe Barton announced he is planning to introduce legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker. He said he is working with the Poker Players Alliance to finalize the bill’s preparation.

Phil Ivey says he's sitting out the World Series of Poker and is suing Tiltware, the software and marketing provider for Full Tilt Poker, over its failure to reimburse online player accounts in the wake of the federal online poker sting.

"I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm," Ivey, who has played online on Full Tilt and appeared in the company's TV commercials, said in a statement posted on his website. "I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible," he said.

Ivey, widely regarded as one of the game's best players, has won eight WSOP bracelets and $5.3 million at the annual tournament in Las Vegas.

In an entry on his Twitter page, Tom Dwan, another prominent poker pro associated with Full Tilt, said that he would play in the WSOP, which started Tuesday.

The entry on Dwan's Twitter page said: "I'll be playing wsop. Feel fine about that morally b/c I've already said I'll give back 100% I was paid by ftp if players aren't paid in full"

Dwan was ranked sixth in ESPN.com's most recent poker player ratings. Ivey was No. 2, behind Erik Seidel.

Full Tilt was one of three online sites shut down by the FBI in an April crackdown on online gambling. Two other poker sites, PokerStars and Absolute Poker, were shut down and 11 people were indicted on charges they tricked banks into illegally processing payments for gambling.

PokerStars and Full Tilt subsequently reached agreements with federal officials to reopen their domain names in order to repay players. While PokerStars has announced it has repaid players, a message on the Full Tilt Poker site advises users that it's still working on returning their money.

"Please know that your funds are safe and secure and we are working to resolve the distribution of these funds," the site says.

Ivey said he wasn't waiting any longer and decided to take action.

"My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others, and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer," Ivey said. "I have electronically filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me.

"I wholeheartedly refuse to accept non-action as to repayment of players funds and I am angered that people who have supported me throughout my career have been treated so poorly," he said.

"I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action," he added.

Not that the first one wasn't a gigantic, Shaquille O' Neal-sized boot but since the indictments of eleven principals of the three largest U.S – facing online poker rooms, poker players have been wondering if the other shoe was going to drop. On Monday, it did, although nobody knows for sure how many feet the U.S Department of Justice has left. [url="www-casinoscorner-com"][/url]

A sign listing the World Series of Poker Main Event champions hangs inside the ballroom at the Rio, perfectly situated about 30 feet away from the table that will be used all summer for heads-up matches when the tournament’s 57 events are played down to two players.

Poker legends Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth were at the table Thursday, playing in the made-for-television World Series of Poker Grudge Match — a series of three heads-up matches revisiting past final table battles at the Main Event, epic matches that helped shape the poker landscape.

Chan couldn’t help seeing the banner during his rematch with Hellmuth, a gigantic sign that lists the 10-time bracelet winner Chan as the 1987 and ’88 Main Event champ. He could have very easily won a third straight year.

But in 1989, a 24-year-old Hellmuth won his first of a record 11 World Series bracelets by beating Chan heads up. In that match, Hellmuth’s pocket 9s held up against Chan’s suited A-7 for the title, making him the youngest Main Event champ at the time.

Chan got some small revenge Thursday, taking a chip lead early against Hellmuth in prevailing in a two-hour match — about 40 minutes longer than officials expected because Hellmuth caught cards four times on all-in bets when trailing.

On the final hand, Hellmuth went all-in with King of spades-10 of clubs and was called by Chan, who had the chip lead and pocket 8s.

The 8s held up to give Chan a small piece of redemption 22 years after the 1989 final. One supporter in Chan’s cheering section jokingly yelled, “Give him your bracelet” immediately after the match ended.

Poker has grown by leaps and bounds since the late 1980s, when Hellmuth won $755,000 for topping Chan in the Main Event. Both players are popular because of the poker boom and considered two of the sport’s best.

“I hope everyone enjoyed it. That is what it is about,” Chan said. “It doesn’t matter to me winning or losing, if everyone has a good time. We both played our hearts out at the table (for the fans).”

The mood at the table was relaxed with the players joking between and during hands. It became semi-comical as the match went back and forth, especially with Hellmuth rallying multiple times with all his chips in the pot and behind in the hand. Each player started with $890,000 in tournament chips and Chan took the lead almost immediately. He trailed briefly after Hellmuth survived his fourth all-in, but went all-in and made a straight on the river to retake the lead.

A few hands later, with the blinds up to $25,000 and $50,000, Chan finally prevailed. The event was televised live by ESPN3. Chan received a $25,000 appearance fee for winning; Hellmuth pocketed $10,000.

“It was enjoyable, but I didn’t expect it to last for more than two hours,” Chan said. “We really didn’t have much chips to play with.”

Chan was scheduled to play a single-elimination match against Erik Seidel Thursday as part of the Grudge Match event. Chan’s victory against Seidel in the 1988 Main Even final table was made popular in the poker movie “Rounders.” Additionally, Chris Moneymaker and Sammy Farha were scheduled to close the night with a best-of-three series in a rematch of their 2003 final table, when the amateur Moneymaker bested the professional Farha to help fuel the poker boom.

So Full Tilt Poker just keeps player deposit safely locked away, right? Money may change hands as poker hands are won and lost, but isn’t the total deposit base intact?

Wrong. At least according to Phil Ivey’s lawsuit.

Ivey alleges that “Full Tilt Poker failed to maintain a reserve account sufficient to satisfy the return of funds to U.S. players.”

Full Tilt Poker, like most places that take your deposits, doesn’t just sock away the money. Instead, it invests a large chunk of that money. Banks do it, brokerages do it, and even insurance companies do it.

For example, in a country with a bank reserve requirement ratio of 10 percent, banks would only hold 10 percent of their total deposits in cash. They would then lend/invest 90 percent of the money to earn returns.

Of course, the greater percentage of depositor money banks invest, they more money they can make for themselves.

Regulators know this.

That’s why there are laws governing how much reserves banks maintain. Moreover, if banks ever run into trouble, a government central bank is usually there to help bail it out.

In the case of illiquidity, the central bank can just lend money to banks. Illiquidity is usually caused by an unusual high demand for withdrawals. Or, some banks just have really illiquid assets (i.e. they can’t be sold quickly, like real estate investments).

In Full Tilt Poker’s case, the US government shut it down on April 15. On April 20, it reached an agreement with the US government to return all US player deposits. Perhaps understandably, Full Tilt isn’t prepared to return this huge amount of money all at once.

In the case of insolvency, taxpayers usually bail out the banks. Insolvency is usually caused by investments gone awry.

For Full Tilt Poker, the situation is unclear.

Is there legal requirement for reserve ratios for online poker rooms? What did Full Tilt invest in – loans, stocks, other financial securities? Is Full Tilt illiquid, insolvent, or financially sound? If it’s in trouble, will the government bail it out, just like it did for Wall Street in 2008?

All these questions remain unanswered.

Ivey alleges that Full Tilt owes around $150,000,000 to US players. Tight Poker reports that “US poker players who have their money stuck in Full Tilt Poker bank accounts are still awaiting their money” and “it has become a bit obvious that not everyone is going to get paid and no one would receive all their money.”

Full Tilt didn’t immediately return IBTimes’ request for comments. IBTimes can't independently verify Ivey's allegations because IBTimes can't get access to Full Tilt's financial statements. The U.S. Attorney's Office also declined to comment.

One of the biggest stories to emerge from this year’s WSOP was Phil Ivey’s decision to boycott the WSOP 2011 and to sue Full Tilt for damages that can go up to as much as $150 million. Ivey posted on his website a lengthy statement condemning Full Tilt for the slowness in which it is facilitating player refunds. Full Tilt Poker, however, would not take this one lying down, and issued its own statement in the matter – quite convincingly, might I add.
Phil Ivey’s Law Suit

In an announcement that shocked the entire industry, Ivey broke his long silence about the Black Friday incident. However, instead of asking people to cut Full Tilt some slack like a good Full Tilt pro would have done, Ivey went on to lambast the company, saying that he was ‘disgusted’ at how Full Tilt was treating its American players. He claimed that his name was ‘dragged through mud’ and that he’s “embarrassed” by Full Tilt’s actions. He says he’s not going to play at the WSOP because it seems unfair that others will not be able to do so because of Full Tilt’s ineptitude in facilitating the refunds. The community’s reaction to Ivey’s statement was pretty much mixed. Others admired him for it, while others called it self-serving. Full Tilt, of course, is first to think that the latter is true.
Self-serving, says Full Tilt

Full Tilt, as you may know, owes $150 million to the American players, and it’s doing pretty much everything it can just so that amount gets paid. But then, Ivey’s seeking to gain $150 million worth of damages through his lawsuit. Slap me if I’m the only one seeing the irony here. Either way, Full Tilt’s statement called Ivey’s statement “sanctimonious”, and said that it’s about helping just one player – himself. They say that Ivey’s only trying to build his wealth even further at the expense of others. Also, Full Tilt warned that if the lawsuit does get to see the light of a court room, then they certainly are looking forward to presenting facts that prove their point. Other poker pros in the industry are also of the same opinion and are thinking that Ivey’s just trying to distance himself from Full Tilt and that he’s not really helping anyone with all this drama of his.

Indeed, things could get really messy from this point on – not to mention interesting. It’s hard to imagine how all this would have happened a few months ago.

As Unibet Open Barcelona kicks off later this week in the Catalan capital the Unibet team are not resting on their laurels with three more events planned for July and August.

Two Unibet Open Online events take place at Unibet.com on July 3 and August 14 and players can qualify for the €300+€20 buy in events in two ways:

Monday to Wednesday 10 p.m. — €55+€5 final satellite
Thursday to Sunday 10 p.m. — €100+€10

Looking forward to August and the Unibet Open rolls into Citywest Hotel, Dublin, Ireland for its third live stop of the season.

The buy in is €1,500 + €150 and the event can accommodate up to 400 players who’ll start with 15,000 in chips/ Players can qualify from next week at Unibet.com.

Unlike his American counterparts, defending World Series of Poker champion Jonathan Duhamel didn't see his online wagering activities curtailed by the U.S. government's crackdown on Internet gaming providers.

A resident of the Montreal suburb of Boucherville, Quebec, Duhamel is Canadian. It's still OK to gamble online north of the border.

However, travel to poker tournaments throughout Europe, Macau and the United States since winning poker's ultimate title at the Rio last November diminished Duhamel's time on the computer.

He doesn't really mind.

Duhamel, 23, knew becoming the game's newest ambassador would change his life.

In Canada, he was treated like a Stanley Cup champion. As the first Canadian to win the World Series of Poker's Main Event, Duhamel spent his first few weeks as titleholder giving interviews to media outlets from Prince Edward Island to British Columbia.

"It's been a crazy time traveling everywhere," Duhamel said. "It makes things a little different than just playing poker. I'm enjoying it and poker is still a big part of my life."

Duhamel is back in Las Vegas with thoughts of becoming the first person to repeat as the Main Event champion since Johnny Chan won in 1987 and 1988.

Duhamel collected $8.9 million in winning last year's $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship, beating a field of 7,319 players. Before his victory, Duhamel was best known within the Internet poker community. His total winnings in live tournament poker had been $43,000.

The pressure at this year's World Series of Poker is a little different from a year ago.

"Last year, my main goal was just to see how well I could do," Duhamel said. "Now, my motivation is to play good solid poker and win gold bracelets (for individual event champions)."

The bankroll from winning the World Series of Poker let Duhamel continue playing the game, but it also allowed the one-time University of Quebec student to give $100,000 to a children's charity foundation in Montreal.

"It was important to me to be able to give something back," he said.

Duhamel plans to play up to 25 events at this year's tournament, which will have 58 events over 50 days. He participated in the $25,000 buy-in Heads Up No Limit Hold'em event last week that had 128 players. He didn't finish in the money.

Still, Duhamel has a pair of impressive finishes since winning the Main Event.

He collected $125,000 in March for fourth place in the National Heads Up Poker Championship held at Caesars Palace and televised on NBC. In January, Duhamel won $272,209 for first place in a No Limit Hold'em High Roller Event in Deauville, France, and sponsored by PokerStars.

Duhamel has remained loyal to PokerStars, even though operators of the website were among 11 people indicted by federal prosecutors in April in a nine-count indictment that alleged such activities as money laundering, bank fraud and operating an illegal gambling business. The federal government blocked American gamblers from accessing PokerStars, FullTilt Poker and Absolute Poker.

PokerStars reached an agreement with the government and said it has refunded more than $100 million to U.S. poker players who had money on account with the website. PokerStars has continued to offer Internet gambling in other countries, including Canada.

Duhamel, who was sponsored by PokerStars during last year's World Series of Poker, said he's noticed a drop-off in the number of players on the website the few times he's been playing online since April.

During the Heads Up event at the World Series of Poker, Duhamel wore a shirt with a PokerStars logo. The trademark wasn't as prominently displayed as it was during the Main Event's final table, when Duhamel sported several PokerStars logos on his hoodie-style sweatshirt for the ESPN television cameras.

Duhamel said he was "glad PokerStars stepped up" and is returning money to American customers.

"In Canada, things are fine and I'm hoping it will soon be fine for U.S. players," Duhamel said.

Last year, Duhamel's run to the title included winning two of the largest single-pot hands in World Series of Poker history.

He won a 42 million tournament chip pot to earn a seat at the final table of nine when he made a straight on the river when it appeared he would lose to a player with pocket aces. Later, Duhamel secured a place in the final two players when he collected a 95 million tournament chip pot with a pair of queens.

"I wouldn't have played the hands any differently," he said.

We took a bit of a break over the weekend, but we're back and let's just dive right in with the latest from the World Series of Poker* at the Rio in Las Vegas!

Event #1, the Casino Employees Championship, was won by Sean Drake from Folsom, CA. The part-time poker dealer works at the Folsom Lake Bowl and plays online poker regularly. He earned over $82,000 in prize money.

The UK's Jake Cody took Event #2, the $25,000 Heads-Up No Limit Hold 'Em Championship and earned a whopping $851,192 in first-place prize money. This is his first victory on this side of the Atlantic for the 22-year-old who hales from Rochdale in the UK, just outside of Manchester.

Event #3, the $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split Championship was won by 37-year-old pro Cheech Barbaro, who got to claim more than just the $252,283 in prize money: he's topped the biggest Omaha poker tournament in history, in which the prize pool came to $1,248,750 and the top 90 players were paid out.

Allen Bari won Event #4, the $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold 'Em tournament. The player known for his bravado and bombast, cleaned house in the closing stages of the tournament, dominating play completely. "I do not think my swagger is undeserved. I’ve been playing poker a long time and have been working hard at it. I’ve been putting in the hours and learning. I am not arrogant in terms of everything. Just poker, because – I’m really good at poker. I do not lie. I am just better than most people," he told reporters as he collected his $874,116.

We'll continue the updates in tomorrow's WSOP post!

*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.

Did you know that Bodog's online poker room hosts a weekly $100,000 guaranteed tournament on Sundays? And you can get on the action for as little as $1 thanks to our aggressive satellite schedule? These massive tournaments take place at 4pm EST and feature some of the biggest and best action online.

Who won during came out on top in the tournament this past Sunday, June 5th?? Doked took first place this week, earning $25,000. They were followed by fix969 ($15,000) and jjn4207 , who rounded out the top three spots while taking away $9,500. Here's the rest of the final table results: if_6was9 ($7,000); sparkydog10 ($5,500); Muertas ($4,500); rivermen123 ($3,500); bumpingbooster ($2,200) and digitalballs ($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!

May 30 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: metsfan189 ($3,539.25)
May 31 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: Jamalshabazz ($3,297.25)
June 1 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: GES44 ($3,206.50)
June 2 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: tokenjay ($3,282.62)
June 5 • $10k Guaranteed Double-Stack: calbears ($3,115.75)
June 5 • $10k Guaranteed Turbo Double-Stack DAK92 ($3,480.00)

Bodog's guaranteed tournaments mean that there's always a big cash pool and with more players getting in on the action every week, that means there's more to be won Play poker online at Bodog and get your share!

Fox News recently ran an interesting online article regarding the effect of Black Friday on the estimated 50,000 full time online poker pro players in the United States. According to the article, the crackdown by the Department of Justice on poker in the country, literally overnight, has stripped most of these players with their primary source of income, and those who are really suffering are the ones with families to support.

The vast majority of these players follow the same rules as anyone who is self-employed would. They are essentially part of a community of online poker breadwinners who have been left “financially paralyzed” following the shutdown, concerned about how they will make ends meet for their families.

The article highlights the problems faced by these players by using full-time online poker player, Brian Mogelefsky, as an example. “If I was single and on my own it would be a lot easier to deal with, or if it was just like a hobby. But it’s my wife and my kids who depended on me – that’s why it really hurts,” he is quoted as saying.

The player now joins over 13.9 million Americans who are unemployed.

The double whammy for Mogelefsky and many thousands like him is that even money that he had in his online poker account is tied up in one or more of the three sites who had their domain names seized by the DOJ. If he is lucky, his account was held at Poker Stars, which is the only one of the three which has started paying players back. However, it may be months before the fate of the millions owed by Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker is known. Some players have already accepted the fact that they may never see their money again.

“There’s a big question mark: Am I ever going to get it back, and if I do, how long is it going to take?” another player is quoted in the article.

A heat wave has got a lot of the country sweating, but some people are clinging to the cool air of the Rio's poker rooms during this year's World Series of Poker. Let's check in with the winners of the last few events and see what they've talked away with.

Eugene Katchlov's hot streak continued with a victory in the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Championship, Event #5. He collected $122,909 and his first WSOP gold bracelet. When talking about the three-day event, he said: "It’s very, very tough. To sit here for three straight days and not break down is not easy. I put in a lot of work, and I am glad to see it pay off."

Event #6 was won by 29-year-old poker pro Harrison Wilder wilder, who dropped out of college to play poker at the behest of his parents. Wilder collected $205,065 and his first gold bracelet for his first-place finish in the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em tournament. When talking about his folks and how they influenced his decision to play as a pro, this is what he said: "They have always been very supportive of me. When I was in college, I was racking up student debt; they told me to drop out of college and start playing professionally. One of the biggest regrets I have was that I did not listen to them and I continued to be responsible and stay in college. They encouraged me to get better."

Amir Lehovot took the top spot in Event #7, the $10,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold’em tournament. The 36-year-old businessman and internet developer walked away from the final table with his first WSOP bracelet and over $573,000 added to his bank account. Prior to this stunning victory, Lehavot has cashed in each of the last two WSOP Main Event Championships. He took 228th in 2009 and 448th in 2010.

In a truly insane story, Matt Perrins won Event #9, the $1,500 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball tournament, collecting $102,105 for his first-place finish, along with his first WSOP gold bracelet. What makes Perrin's story so striking is the fact that he had never actually played the game until he sat down in Las Vegas. Looking to change up his game while in Las Vegas alongside Jake Cody (who is also from Rochdale un the UK,) Perrins turned to YouTube tutorials to learn how to play. He estimates that he watched maybe a half-hour of footage before going against people who had been playing against for decades.

Perrin's win has people gabbing nonstop in Vegas and you can join them when you qualify for the WSOP Main Event with Bodog Poker

With Bodog's World Series of Poker* satellites, we're sending players from around the world to the big event in Las Vegas and we're going to help you get to know them a bit better. Today, it's Austin Hayre, or AustinH as Bodog's online poker players might know him.

How often do you play poker, online and live?
I play in live games at least twice a month.

What are you most looking forward to about your trip with Bodog?
Seeing Las Vegas.

What's your biggest tournament win to date?
$1250 in a tournament.

Have you played in the WSOP before, or visited Las Vegas?
No and No.

What made you want to qualify with Bodog Poker?

How did you qualify for the satellite you ended up winning?
Won a free ticket into the qualifier and from there worked my way up.

Want to join Austin and the rest of Team Bodog in Vegas? You can qualify online for the WSOP Main Event with Bodog up through June 20!

With Bodog's World Series of Poker* satellites, we're sending players from around the world to the big event in Las Vegas and we're going to help you get to know them a bit better. Today, it's Edward Yee, or D0ES0N as Bodog's online poker players might know him.

How often do you play poker, online and live?
Frequently. About 70% is online, 30% live.

What are you most looking forward to about your trip with Bodog?
Winning.

What's your biggest tournament win to date?
I've won $50,000 in a a single online poker tournament and $35,000 in a live tournament.

Have you played in the WSOP before, or visited Las Vegas?
Yes.

What made you want to qualify with Bodog Poker?
Best place to win a seat for the main event.

How did you qualify for the satellite you ended up winning?
I bought directly in.

Want to join Edward and the rest of Team Bodog in Vegas? You can qualify online for the WSOP Main Event with Bodog up through June 20!