Poker

What are some of the hottest headlines in the world of poker? Here you will find all the latest juicy stories along with other important news and tournament results. A must read for the poker enthusiast with articles published throughout the day.

Will BuddyBet be the Next Social Online Gambling Phenom

Social gambling website BuddyBet has secured $3 million in funding from private investors.

BuddyBet lets buddies play against one another as opposed to playing against the actual website or a bookmaker.  The site itself focuses exclusively on sports betting but will move into other sectors in the coming months.

VentureBeat.com explains the BuddyBet concept:

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/23/2013

Colorful Characters Emerge in High Stakes Poker Case With Russian Mob Ties

NEW YORK — (Associated Press) -  It’s a case teeming with colorful characters: a reputed Russian mob boss once accused in an Olympic scandal, a wealthy art world impresario who hung out with Leonardo DiCaprio and a woman named Molly Bloom who gained a celebrity following by hosting them at high-stakes poker games.

Submitted by Associated Press on, Apr/23/2013

Aku Joentausta Leads at EPT Barcelona

Finnish player Aku Joentausta, who came 14th at EPT Barcelona at the beginning of the season, is chip leader going into Day 3 of EPT9 Berlin with 751,300.

Day 2 started with 478 players and 168 have made it through including tennis legend Boris Becker and Team Pros Liv Boeree, Theo Jorgensen, Alex Kravchenko, Jan Heitmann, Sandra Naujoks and Team Online's Mickey Petersen.

The 912-strong field has made this the second biggest EPT in Germany, generating a €4,423,200 prize pool and €880,000 first prize; 136 players will get paid.

- Source: www.pokerstars.com

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/23/2013

European Poker Tour 2013 Main Event: Michael Mizrachi Leads

Lock Poker pro Michael Mizrachi leads after day 1b of the European Poker Tour 2013.  565 players registered at the start of day 1b.  314 remained by day’s end.

Mizrachi is one of the most successful poker players, having won over $14 million in live tournaments to date.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Apr/22/2013

Bet365 Named in Affidavits Tied to Criminal Complaint

Bet365 was recently mentioned in the affidavits supporting a criminal complaint filed against two individuals in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York who are accused of money laundering connected with an Internet gambling operation. Bet365 was not named as a defendant, but the question remains; can a non-U.S. facing site be at risk for prosecution as a result of customers who obtain access to their sites through masked IP addresses?

Submitted by C Costigan on, Apr/22/2013

Anonymous Poker Players Busts Out of APT Philippines 2013: $10k Pay Day

The world’s first anonymous poker player at a live event promised to pay anybody who managed to kick him out of APT Philipines $1,000, that man was a very pleasantly surprised Mark Dalimore.

Jonas Odman, President of the Bodog Poker Network, who funded the mystery player’s entry, commented: “Zorro did pretty well making Day 2 and we’ll certainly bring him out again at another big tournament in the near future. Anonymous poker is no longer just an online phenomenon.”

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/22/2013

WSEX Founder Shoots Self in Head: Commits Suicide

World Sports Exchange founder Steve Shillinger killed himself late Saturday, it was learned by Gambling911.com.

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The company he founded was forced to shut down this past week as it was insolvent.

Shillinger shot himself in the head.

It was not immediately clear if the other two founders of WSEX.com, Hayden Ware and Jay Cohen, still had access to player funds.

Submitted by C Costigan on, Apr/22/2013

European Poker Tour Announces First-Ever Monaco Cup for Grand Final Festival

ONCHAN, ISLE OF MAN – The European Poker Tour announced today that there will be an inaugural €1,100 Monaco Cup (event 26) as part of the 50-strong event offering at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final. It will have a guaranteed prize pool of €500,000.

The newly named event, which will take place from May 11-15, forms part of the spectacular 11-day festival at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final, which runs from May 6 -15.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/22/2013

EPT9 Berlin Results: Day 1A

German player Ronny Voth is leading the EPT9 Berlin Main Event at the end of Day 1a with 196,100 in chips. There were 347 players today including tennis legend Boris Becker and Team Pros Liv Boeree, Matthias de Meulder, Johnny Lodden, Max Lykov, Michael Keiner, Jan Heitmann and Marcin Horecki.

Please click for: Day 1a survivors | Day 1a players

Day 1b players are set to include Team Pros Vanessa Selbst, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Luca Pagano, Dario Minieri and Jake Cody as well as former Berlin champ Kevin MacPhee.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/21/2013

Pieter de Korver Wins First Ever Berlin Cup Poker Tournament

EPT5 Grand Final champion Pieter de Korver has won the inaugural Berlin Cup after defeating German pro Sebastian Gohr heads-up. De Korver, 30, cut a three-way deal with Gohr and Russian player Anatoly Filatov to take €145,400 for his win.

Although de Korver, who comes from Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, has been taking a two-year break from EPTs, he has had a phenomenal run in the last few months including runner-up in the Amsterdam Master Classics in November and third place in the Hold'em Challenge Winter Edition in Namur in December.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/21/2013

Poker Princess Pleads Not Guilty in High Stakes Poker Russian Mob Probe

A woman cited for running high stakes poker games for celebrities, athletes and Wall Street bigwigs has pleaded Not Guilty. 

Bloom and 33 others were indicted this past week in connection with their affiliation to a multi-million dollar international gambling ring alleged to have ties to the Russian Mafia.  She was arraigned in a Manhattan federal court on Friday.

Submitted by Ace King on, Apr/21/2013

Anatoly Filatov Chip Leads at Berlin Cup

Russian player Anatoly Filatov is chip leader for the final table tomorrow of the inauguaral €1,100 Berlin Cup event. The 24-year-old has 5,880,000 after eliminating Eddy Scharf.

Also still in contention for the €180.000 first prize are EPT Snowfest champion Vladimir Geshkenbein from Russia, EPT Grand Final winner Pieter de Korver from Holland and German pro Sebastian Gohr.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/20/2013

Lock Poker to Offer Its Own Exclusive Online Tournaments

Lock Poker has unveiled its own exclusive online tournament schedule due to network changes. 

Details of these network changes were not immediately known, however, Gambling911.com has been provided with the new tournament breakdown for Lock Poker, which appears below.

These tournaments occur daily Monday thru Saturday.

Better still, there will be a bounty on one of Lock Poker's pros in every tournament.

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Apr/20/2013

Geshkenbein Leads at Berlin Cup 2013

EPT Snowfest champion Vladimir Geshkenbin is leading the remaining 36 players as the debut €1,100 Berlin Cup goes into Day 3 with 1,500,000 in chips. The 24-year-old Russian has already accrued more than $1.1million in live tournament winnings, including the €390,000 he snagged for taking down Snowfest in Season 7.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/19/2013

Full Tilt Poker $4 Million Guaranteed MiniFTOPS XXII Kicks Off Sunday

DUBLIN –At least $400,000 will be won this Sunday at Full Tilt Poker as MiniFTOPS XXII kicks off, starting with Event #1, a $24 + $2 No Limit Irish Knockout tournament.

Later that day, $350,000 guaranteed is on the line in Event #2, a $20 + $2 No Limit Hold ‘em event taking place at 13:00 ET.

Irish tournaments are one of three new and exclusive tournament types featured on the schedule, which also includes a 5-Card Stud Tournament (Event #25) and an Escalator Tournament (Event #30). 

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/19/2013

Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth Left Out of Commemorative High School Year Book

Wisconsin native and – yes – high school graduate Phil Hellmuth has apparently been left out of that school’s commemorative yearbook. 

Hellmuth, the current record holder for most World Series of Poker bracelets at 13, is arguably among that high school’s most famous alumni.

The self-proclaimed “Poker Brat” tweeted Thursday evening: 

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Apr/19/2013

Caesars Interactive Entertainment Seeks New Jersey Online Gambling License

Caesars Interactive Entertainment is the latest company to apply for an online gambling license in the state of New Jersey.

Caesars Entertainment operates the World Series of Poker and currently holds an Internet poker license in Nevada.  But the Silver State only has around 3 million people living there compared to New Jersey’s nearly 9 million along with the other couple million just across both rivers in New York City and Philadelphia.  New Jersey will permit anyone to access licensed online gambling sites provided they are physically located inside the state. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/18/2013

Tampa Downs Summer Series 2013 Announced: Second Big Florida Poker Tournament

The Players Poker Championship has unveiled its Tampa Downs Summer Series 2013 schedule, which runs July 15-21.

The two-day Main Event will take place on July 21.  The event itself be held at the Silks Poker Room.

This is the second big poker tournament to be announced for the state of Florida in recent days. 

Submitted by Patrick Flanigan on, Apr/18/2013

Not a Pretty Picture Painted of Art Dealer Tied to Poker, Sports Betting Probe

The Business Insider of Australia gave the low down on New York-based art dealer Helly Nahmad, a Lebanese-American indicted this week in connection with an international high stakes poker/sports betting ring.

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It ain’t all that pretty either.

Megan Willett writes:

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/18/2013

Poker Player Esben Guenther Leads After Day 2 of 2013 Berlin Cup

Norwegian player Esben Guenther is leading the remaining 281 players as the €1,100 Berlin Cup goes into Day 2. There were 638 players today and 196 made it through, including EPT Snowfest champion Vladimir Geshkenbein, EPT Berlin winner Kevin MacPhee, Erich Kollmann, Jan Collado, EPT Player of the Year Ondrej Vinklarek, EPT Kyiv winner Max Lykov, Pieter de Korver, Max Heinzelmann, Kevin Vandersmissen and Ana Marquez They will be joining the 85 Day 1a survivors for Day 2.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/18/2013

2013 Berlin Cup Attracts 638 Poker Players

There were 638 players for Day 1b of the €1,100 Berlin Cup today which combined with yesterday's 273-strong Day 1a field, means 911 players in total, creating a €883,670 prize pool with €180,000 for first. 112 places paid.

Nearly half the players (435 / 48%) came from Germany - more than ten times the number from the next biggest country Russia, which has 5% of the field with 43 players. It's the first time the Berlin Cup has ever been held and the €883,670 prize pool far exceeds the €500,000 guarantee.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/18/2013

Producer of Showtime’s ‘Ray Donovan’ Denies Wrongdoing in FBI Poker Sting

Bryan Zuriff, an Executive Producer for the upcoming Showtime drama “Ray Donovan” has denied any wrongdoing in connection to an FBI probe of high stake poker games and sports betting with ties to the Russian Mafia.

Submitted by Ace King on, Apr/18/2013

Probability Plc Looks at Potential US Online Gambling Alliances

(Reuters) - UK-based Probability Plc, a maker of gambling games for mobile phones, is in advanced talks with potential U.S. partners to break into the American online gaming market as several states relax betting restrictions.

The legalization of online gambling in New Jersey this year, following similar legislation by Nevada and Delaware last year is expected to persuade other states to change their laws.

Submitted by Reuters on, Apr/18/2013

Macau Poker Cup 2013 Schedule: PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams Will Host

The Macau Poker Cup 2013 schedule features events that kick off April 17 and run through April 28.  The event itself will be hosted at the newly branded PokerStars LIVE at the City of Dreams in Macau.

Stars has moved from their temporary home in the Grand Waldo Entertainment Complex. 

One of the most highly anticipated events taking place during the Macau Poker Cup is the $HK$11,000 Macau Poker Cup: Red Dragon Main Event, which last year featured the largest number of entries for any tournament held in Asia to date.  It includes a $5 million guaranteed prize pool.

Submitted by Ace King on, Apr/18/2013

Massachusetts Online Gambling Bill Would Not Allow PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker

A measure to legalize online gambling in the state of Massachusetts includes a provision that would prevent wagering firms that engaged US citizens post 2006 prohibition from obtaining a gaming license. 

Among those companies that continued to accept business from Americans up until April 2011, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker would be excluded under such a provision.  It should be noted that New Jersey and Illinois both contained similar language in their own Internet gambling legislation only to remove such a provision later on in the process. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/18/2013

Insurance Broker Used $1.9 Million of Clients Funds to Gamble Online

An insurance broker from Prudential has been indicted, charged with allegedly bilking his insurance clients out of over $1.9 million and using those funds to gamble online.

The indictment alleges that Daniel J. Trolaro, 34, unlawfully used the funds of nine clients to place wagers via the Internet from June 2008 through February of this year while employed at Prudential in East Hanover, New Jersey. 

Trolaro will not be arrested, however, he must appear before a judge in Morris County in the coming weeks. 

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Apr/18/2013

Full Cash Games Confirmed at European Poker Tour Grand Final

Edgar Stuchly, President of the European Poker Tour, has confirmed a full slate of cash games at this year’s EPT Grand Final (2013)….. 

Today I’m happy to confirm that this year’s PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final will be the largest festival of cash games in the tour’s history.

Yes, cash games.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/18/2013

It’s Official: PokerStars Applies for NJ License to Operate Atlantic Club Casino

While news broke earlier in the year that the world’s largest real money online poker room was in talks to acquire the Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, PokerStars had not yet filed for the necessary licensing application with New Jersey’s Gaming Commission.

The company filed the application last week and will now undergo a 90-day review.  Most industry experts believe PokerStars will ultimately be permitted to operate in the state. 

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Apr/18/2013

Frederic Vacher Leads After Day 1a of First Ever Berlin Cup

French player Frederic Vacher is chip leader with 239,200 at the end of Day 1a of the first ever Berlin Cup. There are 85 players remaining from the 273 who started at noon. The €1,100 tourney has a guaranteed prize pool of €500,000. Today's survivors include Team Pro Jan Heitmann, Connor Drinan, Petr Jelinek, ************************, Yury Gulyy, Michael Tureniec and Thomas Mühlöcker. Updates are on www.pokerstarsblog.de (in German).

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/17/2013

Poker Maximus V to Feature $2 Million in Guaranteed Prizes

Poker Maximus is back and bigger than ever! This time featuring over $2,000,000 in guaranteed prizes!

CarbonPoker is excited to announce we are running our fifth tournament series this year with the launch of Poker Maximus V. The last 4 Poker Maximus tournament series were so successful that players have been clamoring for the next installment.

Submitted by Press Release on, Apr/17/2013

Breaking News

Andy Beshear Odds to Become President at 100-1

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear odds of becoming the Democratic nominee were sitting at 66-1 and 100-1 from 77-1 immediately following last Thursday's debate to become President of the United States.