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.
Belgium Brutal Clampdown on Internet Gambling: Players to Face Fines of €25,000
Belgium is the latest country to clamp down on unlicensed Internet gambling operations, some of which are now appearing on a blacklist.
Operators stand to pay fines from €100 to €100,000 while players could be fined as much as €25,000. Players must check to determine if a website is licensed or else face a visit from local police, who will have access to the nation’s blacklist.
Jason Mercier Overtakes Erik Seidel on 2012 Global Poker Index
Who’s the best poker player thus far in 2012? The honor now goes to Jason Mercier, who managed to overtake Erik Seidel on the 2012 Global Poker Index.
From PokerNewsDaily.com:
New Harry Reid Cyber-Security Bill a Likely Vehicle for Internet Poker
After two controversial Internet piracy bills were shelved last month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is back with a revised bill that could potentially include an amendment to strengthen the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) while legalizing Internet poker. Gambling911.com should stress that there is no confirmation of such plans to tie the two bills at this early stage. That may all change shortly.
Ladbrokes Punters Bet £13 billion in 2011: Poker Revenues Down 25 Percent
Ladbrokes reported strong returns for 2011 with punters staking £13 billion in 2011 and profit per shot increased 6.9 percent over 2010.
Gaming machines drew almost £10.5 billion, up 13.7% on a year earlier while over-the-counter betting enjoyed £2.5 billion in bets placed.
Carbon Poker Largest Guaranteed Online Poker Tournament Increases From $100k to $125k
Carbon Poker has announced that its largest guarantee online poker tournament will be increasing from $100K to $125 this weekend. Get full deals at Carbon Poker here.
125 Seats to $1125k
Zynga Stocks Fall After 4th Quarter Disappointment
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors sold off shares of Zynga on Wednesday after the company behind the most popular Facebook games fell shy of high expectations for its first earnings report as a publicly traded company.
Zynga Inc. of "FarmVille" and "CastleVille" fame reported better fourth-quarter results than what Wall Street was expecting, at least according to the average estimate compiled by FactSet. But Barclays analyst Mark May said the results fell short of some recent, more bullish expectations.
PokerAddict.net Warning: Do Not Deposit on Everleaf Poker Network
PokerAddict.net is the latest industry news site to blast the Everleaf Gaming poker network for its sudden withdrawal from the U.S. market, suggesting it has more to do with liquidity issues than with a seizure of funds confirmed this past October.
Everleaf Poker Should Never Have Been Allowing Washington State Citizens to Play
We have finally learned after days of speculation that Everleaf Poker’s woes come from transmitting funds for online poker to and from the state of Washington. It is the only state in the U.S. to make playing Internet poker a Class C felony and has done so since 2009 when the investigation into a payment processor utilized by Everleaf had commenced.
Title 18 U.S.C 1084(b) was cited in the seizure affidavit issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
U.S. Secret Service Targeted Everleaf Poker Payment Processor in Washington State
The news website Diamond Flush Poker confirmed that the U.S. Secret Service field office out of Seattle, Washington had been monitoring a payment processor utilized by Everleaf Poker since early 2009.
The Seattle entry into the investigation into online gambling payment processors is nothing new.
Lock Poker Welcomes Two New Pros: Jason Lee and Tim West
Lock Poker is thrilled to announce the new additions to their LockPRO ELITE team: Jason Lee and Tim West.
Jason spent his College years at the University of Florida, He stumbled upon the game of poker when he stopped by a group of friend's home game. Describing himself as "horrendous" at the time, Jason quickly fell in love with the game and became engulfed in the study of the game. Through hard work, long nights and some help from friends, he quickly found himself among the upper ranks of online poker professionals. The rest is history.
LSOP Double Down Points This Weekend
This weekend is your best chance to kill two birds with one stone!
Everleaf Poker Down a Mere 12 Percent After U.S. Market Pullout
The Everleaf Gaming Network has seen just a 12 percent drop off in its overall traffic in the past week after shutting out U.S. players according to PokerScout.com.
The small online poker network appears to be relying heavily on its acquisition of an Italian player pool last year.
High Stakes Online Poker Player Doncarignano Biggest Winner of the Weekend
Pocketing $120,000 this weekend playing high stakes online poker was a player by the name of Doncarignano. He had the biggest take of the weekend and HighStakesDB.com explains how it all went down:
PPA Director: ‘Payroll Tax Extension Bill Probably Not Right Vehicle for Internet Poker’
A lot of excitement is building in the online poker community with news that a Payroll Tax Extension bill could be passed within the week. There has been much speculation that Senate Leader Harry Reid and Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl might attempt to attach an amendment to legalize Web poker by strengthening current prohibition, The Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
Zynga to Post 4Q results
(Associated Press) - Zynga will show whether it was able to further boost its rapidly growing number of followers, as well as its profit and revenue as a publicly traded company, when the online game maker reports fourth-quarter results Tuesday.
It will be Zynga's first quarterly report since going public in December. Analysts, on average, expect the San-Francisco company to post earnings of 3 cents per share on revenue of $302.1 million, according to a poll by FactSet.
Payroll Tax Extension Measure Could be Voted on This Week: Internet Poker Inclusion?
A measure to extend payroll tax cuts through to the end of 2012 is expected to be voted on this week. Those in the online poker sector are eyeing this bill as one that could contain an amendment legalizing Web poker in the U.S.
Tax Free Online Poker for Finland and Sweden
In an effort to offer tax free online poker to players in both Finland and Sweden, PokerStars has opened up an office in the online gambling Mecca of Malta while launching a new domain name, PokerStars.eu.
Minted Poker Rep Back Pedals on Funds ‘Seizure’ Claims
Following a rather abrupt exit of the Everleaf Gaming Network from the U.S. poker market and subsequent announcement by one of its online card room representatives that the U.S. Government had seized funds, that very same rep now claims the aforementioned seizure never happened. More so, he denies ever making such an assertion despite the post being made by him on a public forum.
Probability Seeks Nevada Online Gambling License
Probability plc, a UK-based mobile gaming company, is the latest to apply for a license in the state of Nevada that would ultimately permit it to feature real cash games.
Probability has over 5 years experience specialising in mobile gaming, with around 1m UK customers and over half a billion transactions on our proprietary m-gaming platform so far. It allows customers to play a variety of casino games including slots and Bingo! Games can be played on over 8,000 types of mobile phone from mid-1990′s Nokias to the latest iPhone and iPad devices.
Rinat Bogdanov Wins World Poker Tour Venice, Christian Vanzieleghem Win Deepstack Tournament
Rinat Bogdanov has won the World Poker Tour Venice while Christian Vanzieleghem has won the European Deepstack Poker Championship V this past weekend.
The final table payouts were:
1: Rinat Bogdanov — $302,065
2: Alessandro Longobardi — $146,826
3: Andrea Dato — $95,003
4: Simon Ravnsbaek — $69,095
5. Gianluca Trebbi $56,134
6: Andrea Carini — $42,319
No Lovin’ for Luvin Poker as It and Others Must Find New Network to Serve US
Following an abrupt announcement (or lack-there-of) by the Everleaf Gaming poker network that it will no longer be serving U.S. players, a few dozen of its skins may be looking for new homes. Most of these online poker rooms were relatively small.
Everleaf Gaming Skin Luvin Poker: ‘DOJ Did Not Seize Our Funds’
In what has been a hectic and harrowing 48 hours for customers of the Everleaf Gaming Network, finally some clarity came from Jennifer Winters, a spokesperson for what is widely believed to be the network’s second largest room, Luvin Poker.
Winters sent out an email to customers of the online card room essentially denying initial reports that the Department of Justice had seized the company’s funds as previously reported.
Music Execs Streaming Pirated NFL Games as DOJ Seizes Hundreds of Similar Websites
The music industry has been behind a massive push to knock file sharing and download websites offline while engaging in the same practice they condemn last week.
VEVO, a music portal owned by a few major record labels in the US reportedly had a pirated NFL playoff game playing on screens throughout its ‘PowerStation’ venue at last week’s Sundance festival, according to TechCrunch.
2012 LSOP Online Poker Satellites Now Running
The 2012 LSOP online poker satellites were running at Americas Cardroom, one of a handful of online poker room partners that will be sponsoring this summer event in Lima, Peru.
World Poker Exchange Shuts Down
In an ominous sign of things to come at World Sports Exchange, the struggling online poker site’s World Poker Exchange has announced it is closing its doors for good.
WSEX.com has engaged in slow payouts over the past two years and is believed to owe players close to one million dollars.
At last check, the online poker room only had an average of 10 reach cash players at any given time during the week.
The following message was sent out to customers and affiliates on Friday.
Churchill Downs Buys Bluff Media
Churchill Downs Incorporated announced today that it acquired the assets of Bluff Media, an Atlanta-based multimedia poker content, brand and publishing company. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Bluff Media's assets include:
-- the industry-leading poker periodical, BLUFF Magazine;
-- BLUFF Magazine's online counterpart, BluffMagazine.com;
-- ThePokerDB, a comprehensive online database and resource that tracks and ranks the performance of poker players and tournaments;
Golden Nugget Latest to Launch Free-Play Online Poker Site With ChiliGaming
The Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas will be the second Sin City property to launch a free-to-play online poker site in so many months.
Agreement Made to Add Internet Poker to Payroll Tax Extension Bill
A tweet by the highly reputable gaming news media outfit GlobalGamingBiz reveals that an amendment to legalize Internet poker in the U.S. is heading for attachment to the upcoming Payroll Tax Extension legislation.
The tweet was made during the early AM hours.
Online Gambling Foe Spencer Bachus Subject of Insider-Trading Probe
One of the online gambling industry’s most outspoken opponents, Republican Spencer Bachus of Alabama, is being investigated as part of an insider-trading probe.
From Market Watch:
Jon Kyl on Legal Internet Poker in US: ‘Quite Possibly Something Will be Done’
In an interview with the National Journal conducted recently, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl revealed that he and Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid are in discussions on how to get Internet poker legalized in the US.
