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.
Online Poker Room Allows Re-entry of Tournament After Busting Out, Join New Table
Talk about feeling invincible at the tables. US-friendly online poker site Americas Cardroom today announced the launch of Re-Entry tourneys, a new tournament feature that allows players to get back into a tourney after they've busted out, and join a new table with a refreshed chip stack as if nothing happened.
Bodog Shuts Down Costa Rica Office
Bodog has shut down its Costa Rica based office. Employees reported arriving to find they were locked out.
The company still operates from bases outside of Montreal, Quebec, Antigua and in London.
British Poker Player Faces Murder Charges in US: Allegedly Killed Wife
British poker player Marcus Bebb-Jones, 48, is accused of killing his wife and dumping her body in western Colorado in 1997. A preliminary hearing has been running from February 24 and is scheduled to end March 15.
A judge will decide if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial.
British police arrested Bebb-Jones in Worcestershire, England, in 2009. He was extradited only after prosecutors said they would seek a life sentence and not a death sentence if convicted of killing his then wife, Sabrina Bebb-Jones.
Ernie Scherer III Poker Murders Gets Heavy Traction With ’48 Hours Mysteries’
Saturday night turned out to be a banner night for Gambling911.com with mega traffic following the ’48 Hours Mysteries” segment on Ernie Scherer III, the man sentenced for the bludgeoning of both his parents in 2008.
State Legislators Want Push to Legalize Online Gambling at Federal Level Stopped
The push to legalize Internet gambling at the federal level seems to be losing steam as individual states jump head first into the fray.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has come out in opposition to the federal legalization of Internet poker, writing a letter addressed to both Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
Cyprus Drops Gambling Charges Against Grannies
(Reuters) - Cyprus authorities say they will drop charges against dozens of elderly women for gambling after reports of their prosecution triggered disbelief among the public.
Some 42 women aged between 60 and 98 had received a summons to appear in court this month after police nabbed them playing a local version of gin rummy at a private residence in 2009.
Gambling for even the smallest amounts - in the women's case, police netted a total figure of about 100 euros ($130) - is banned on the east Mediterranean island.
888 Poker Cam Ad Banned for Displaying Bikini Clad Female
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in Great Britain is at it again, this time condemning 888 Poker Cam for featuring an ad with a bikini-clad woman.
The ASA calls the ad “suggestive” with the implied message being “gambling linked to seduction results in sexual success in bed”.
Memo to Calvin Ayre: Head for Hong Kong…or Zimbabwe!
They say Laos is lovely this time of year.
So are Qatar, Angola and Nepal.
Vietnam gets a little hot, however, as does Cambodia and Indonesia.
And of course Libya, Tunisia and Syria are hot spots right now too, but in a different way.
For Canadian billionaire and Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre, however, these Third-World hell-holes might be looking like islands of paradise right about now.
Poker Player Who Murdered Parents Ernie Scherer to be Profiled on 48 Hours Mystery
Gambling911.com was the first site to break the news that Ernie Scherer III, a poker player who killed both his parents in cold blood, would be profiled on the CBS news magazine “48 Hours Mystery”. Saturday, March 3 at 10 pm EST, you can finally watch the segment.
The Scherer story was already profiled on NBC’s “Dateline”, delivering significant traffic to the Gambling911.com website.
Largest Poker Room in Florida Opens: Best Bet at Regency in Jacksonville
March 1, 2012 marked the opening of Florida’s largest poker room, the Best Bet at the Regency in Jacksonville.
News 4 Jacksonville reported there was a line outside the door.
Pirates Come to Ayre’s Defense
The Pirate Party of Canada has lashed out at the US Government’s indictment of native son and Bodog founder, Calvin Ayre.
Doyle Brunson: ‘Full Tilt Poker Deal Likely to Fall Apart’
Though Full Tilt Poker’s French suitors attorneys continue to insist the deal to acquire the troubled company is still in, Texas Dolly and poker icon Doyle Brunson agrees with a number of other pros who have come forward to express their concerns, suggesting the deal is likely to fall apart.
98-Year-Old Woman, 40 Other Seniors Charged in Poker Raid
A 98-year-old woman and 40 other female senior citizens have been charged in Cyprus after a raid on their weekly poker party. (woman shown in photo is not individual charged)
Zynga May Partner in Online Gambling Venture
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) Chief Executive Mark Pincus said Wednesday he sees "mind blowing" possibilities for weaving real-money gambling into social games pending regulatory changes in the U.S., and suggested the company may partner with a traditional casino company before the end of this year.
Pincus, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, said his San Francisco-based company sees a great deal of opportunity "to start to bring this gambling element into more than just casino games."
Epic Failure: Epic Poker League Files for Chapter 11 Protection
There is no easy way to say this, but, at the end of the day yesterday, Federated Sports + Gaming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Our company needs a new start.
Think the US is Bad When it Comes to Online Gambling: The Dutch are Far Worse
When one thinks of the Netherlands, the first thing that typically pops into their mind is the European nation’s liberal stance on just about everything from smoking pot to legalized prostitution. When it comes to online gambling, however, Holland’s approach has become even more hard line than that of the United States.
The Dutch Supreme Court this week ordered Internet gambling firms that operate outside the country to install blocking software to prevent its citizens from gaining access to said sites.
Say what?
Poker Maximus 2012: Prepare to Conquer
Many online poker players are talking about the upcoming Poker Maximus 2012, being promoted throughout the Merge Network including our friends at CarbonPoker.ag.
Phil Hellmuth First Poker Tournament Win in Nearly 5 Years
After finishing in 2nd place in three of last year’s World Series of Poker tournaments, Phil Hellmuth has finally actually won a tournament, his first in five years.
Hellmuth won the 2012 LA Poker Classic $2080 Buy-In 8-Game Mixed Tournament early Wednesday morning.
This was Hellmuth’s first victory since winning the 2007 World Series of Poker $1500 No-Limit Hold’em Event for $637,254.
After the big win, the self-proclaimed “Poker Brat” tweeted:
I win!! Feels great to win a tournament, FINALLY!!
More Cake Online Poker Client Improvements Unveiled
Popular online poker network, the Cake Network has released an update to its 2.0 poker client with improvements in speed, stability, navigation and graphics.
Online Gambling Payment Processor Facilitator Don Hellinger Pleads Guilty
Nylon Magazine Publisher and one time online gambling payment processor facilitator, Don Hellinger, has plead guilty to Count number 2 of an indictment filed against him.
Hellinger admitted to “operating an illegal money transmitting business” during a period of time in the early to mid portion of this past decade.
Techdirt.com: Federal Agents Did Not Gamble on Bodog.com
An interesting argument was raised by a colleague of Gambling911.com Tuesday following the indictment of Bodog.com and four individuals connected to the company.
The US Attorneys Office in Maryland announced the indictment Tuesday immediately following the seizure of the Bodog.com domain.
Almost Paradise: Poker Site Sees Sharp 33 Percent Decline
Paradise Poker, once among the top three largest Internet card rooms in the world, witnessed a sharp decline in revenues of 33 percent in the first 6 months of its financial year to end January 2012.
The company, which is owned by sports betting powerhouse Sportingbet Plc, called the current poker market conditions “challenging”.
Poker makes up 6.0 percent of gross gaming revenue.
Sportingbet overall recorded a loss for the period.
Kentucky, Indiana Looking at Internet Gambling Options Though Odds Against It
In a report filed by Grace Schneider of the Louisville Courier it was revealed that both Kentucky and Indiana may be interested in legalizing online gambling, albeit she notes, it won’t be any time soon.
“Our job right now is to look at what the options can be,” said Arch Gleason, the Kentucky Lottery’s president.
2012 WPT LA Poker Classic Down to 18: Noah Schwartz Leads
The 2012 WPT LA Poker Classic was down to 18 players having had 549 entrants.
Noah Schwartz leads the pack with 1,770,000 chips while Dan Kelly follows with 1,749,000. Schwartz has won close to $2 million in live poker tournaments to date.
Canadian Jason Somerville continues to go strong in 7th place heading into Wednesday.
David Sands, World Series of Poker Main Event winner Joe Hachem and Sorel Mizzi are other big names still hanging in there and looking to make the final table.
Ayre Don’t Care: Bovada, Bodog Say Business as Usual
Following an indictment against Bodog founder Calvin Ayre Tuesday after a year’s long investigation into online sports betting, Ayre told his own self-named news website his life won’t be impacted.
Black Friday Defendant Ryan Lang Pleads Guilty
(Associated Press) - NEW YORK — A Canadian citizen pleaded guilty to U.S. conspiracy charges Tuesday in connection with an investigation of Internet poker gambling that shut down the three largest online poker companies in the United States.
Ryan Lang, 37, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, saying he served as a middleman between poker companies and brokers who tricked banks into processing money for the gambling businesses.
Bodog, Calvin Ayre, et al. Indictment (Full Court Document)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :
v.
BODOG ENTERTAINMENT GROUP S.A., d/b/a BODOG.com, CALVIN AYRE, JAMES PHILIP,
DAVID FERGUSON, and DERRICK MALONEY,
Defendants.
: : CRIMINAL NO. : (Conducting gambling business, : 18 U.S.C. §1955; Money : laundering conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. : §1956(h); Aiding and : abetting, 18 U.S.C. §2; : Forfeiture, 18 U.S.C. : §§982(a)(1) and 1955(d)). :
...ooo0ooo... INDICTMENT COUNT ONE (Conducting gambling business)
Bodog Founder Calvin Ayre Indicted
Federal prosecutors in Baltimore on Tuesday unsealed an indictment against Calvin Ayre following the seizure of the Bodog.com domain name late Monday night. Ayre was profiled in the cover story of the Forbes Billionaire issue.
A press release was expected by the US Attorney’s Office out of Maryland shortly.
Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore, indicted Ayre and three other men, James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney. The company, Bodog Entertainment Group, is also under indictment and its domain name has been seized by federal prosecutors.
Defendants in Hellinger Case to Reach Plea Agreement Tuesday
Gambling911.com has learned that defendants in an online gambling case dating back to 2005 are set to enter pleas on Tuesday.
The US Attorney’s Office in Eastern Pennsylvania charged Don Hellinger and four other men with illegal distribution of over $40 million in Internet gambling winnings during the years 2005 and 2006 through a money transfer company, Payment Processing, Inc. Hellinger was also alleged to have been involved in mail fraud.
Bodog.com Domain Seizure ‘Dog’ Years in the Making
The sudden seizure of the Bodog.com domain name late Monday night was not so sudden, Gambling911.com can reveal, nor was it exactly easy to achieve.
The US Attorney’s Office in Maryland, which was responsible for a series of online gambling company domain seizures last May, had been probing Bodog and the company’s colorful founder, Calvin Ayre, since 2003.
