U.S. v. DiCristina Could Have Huge Ramifications for Poker, Esfandiari Gives Back

Written by :

Ace King

Published on :

26 June, 2013

These are the top gambling news stories here at Gambling911.com Wednesday June 26, 2013 (Afternoon EDT). Follow us on Twitter here.

*Potential Impact of U.S. v. DiCristina Decision for Online Poker – In case you missed it, OnlinePokerReport.com has a terrific piece on the implications of a case currently being heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

From OnlinePokerReport.com:

Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral arguments in U.S. v. DiCristina, a 2012 decision in which the district court held that poker, as a game of skill, did not constitute “gambling” and therefore could not form a basis for prosecution under the Illegal Gambling Business Act (“IGBA”).

It remains to be seen how the appeals court will rule in the case, though observations from sources at the hearing suggested that the panel seemed very likely to affirm the ruling from the district court.

There are some other interesting observations made here.

*Poker’s Richest Man Antonio Esfandiari Gives Back – Last year’s WSOP $1 Million Buy-In Big One for One Drop tournament tells the Las Vegas Review Journal:

“I live a pretty fortunate life. I’m probably one of the luckiest guys on the planet, so when the opportunity came to go to El Salvador and Honduras and see where that money was actually going to, it was a no-brainer. I had to go,” said Esfandiari, who donated $222,000 to One Drop at last year’s event. “It was a really eye-opening journey I’ll never forget. It was very humbling, because when you get back to the life you have, you appreciate it a lot more. We’re incredibly lucky to live in this country that has running water, food and supplies. Down there, it’s all about survival for these families. How can we eat today?

*Jesse Martin Wins First WSOP Bracelet, Norbert Szecsi Wins One for Hungary - “When you have no outs, to use a poker term, and you’re drawing dead, you kind of give up. What One Drop has done is given them a sense of hope they’ve never had.”

Jesse Martin outlasted a stacked final table and beat David "Bakes" Baker heads-up to win his first gold bracelet in the $10,000 2-7 No Limit Single Draw event at the 44th Annual World Series of Poker Tuesday night. In addition to his first gold bracelet, Martin earned $253,524.

Martin is a poker professional from Shrewsbury, Mass. He's had success at the WSOP, now laying claim to 31 cashes, but his most recent win marks his first six-figure score and catapults his career earnings to almost $700,000.

Here are the final table results for the $10,000 No Limit Deuce-to-Seven Single Draw event:

1st: Jesse Martin - $253,524

2nd: David "Bakes" Baker - $156,674

3rd: Konstantin Puchkov - $99,313

4th: Jeffrey Lisandro - $67,264

5th: Jon Turner - $47,792

6th: Layne Flack - $35,549

7th: John Hennigan - $27,633

Here are the final table results for the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Event 42:

1st: Norbert Szecsi - $345,037

2nd: Dennis Gnidash - $214,760

3rd: Chris DeMaci - $149,281