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.
Chaos In Punta Cana as 1st Prize Likely to be Near $200K
With close to 450 registered to play at this year’s Punta Cana Poker Classic, Gambling911.com can confirm that another close to 100 walk-ins arrived late in the evening Tuesday. With the combined registrations and walk-ins, this year’s $500,000 guaranteed Punta Cana Poker Classic could present a prize of close to $180,000, officials suggested.
Ben Lamb Out Fast at World Series of Poker Final Three
Ben Lamb was the first to go of the three remaining poker players at this year’s World Series of Poker final. Play resumed Tuesday with three remaining players. Six of the finalists were eliminated on Sunday.
Lamb is widely considered the most likely candidate to receive “Poker Player of the Year” honors. He was already named the “WSOP Player of the Year” for 2011.
Pius Heinz of Germany and Martin Staszko were vying for the $8.72 million grand prize.
Fast Folding Not a Violation of 70 Billionth Hand Promotion Says PokerStars
Following a controversy that surrounded the PokerStars 70 billionth hand promotion, the online poker site was forced to issue a statement insisting there were no rules broken.
Players insisted that “collusion” had occurred as the individual awarded with the 70 billionth hand had been soft-folding his cards over the previous fifteen minutes with a partner.
From PokerNewsReport.com:
World’s Largest Poker Tournament: PokerStars Tries to Break Own Record
PokerStars is attempting to break its own record for the largest poker tournament ever held.
The world’s largest online poker room announced an online micro-stakes MTT that will be held on December 4 costing a mere $1 to enter and with a $250,000 guaranteed prize pool. 150,000 players were expected to enter.
PokerStars can host approximately 16,000 tables on its servers.
Last week, PokerStars had its 70 billionth hand.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
Bwin.party Shares Stable: Benefit Heavily From Full Tilt Poker Closure
Bwin.party reported a year-on-year revenue growth of 3 percent in the third quarter, benefiting from the abrupt closure of what had been the world’s second largest online poker firm, Full Tilt Poker.
According to Sharecast.com, third quarter pro-forma revenue of €201.1m was up from €194.7m in the third quarter of last year, ahead of the €194m Panmure Gordon had been predicting, and up 9% on the second quarter.
Black Friday Bank Shut Down
A bank implicated in the processing of funds for three of the world’s largest online poker rooms last April 15 has finally been shut down.
SunFirst Bank in Saint George, Utah, was closed down by US Feds at the close of last week. It is the 87th bank of 2011 to fail.
The US Justice Department alleges that Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and UB.com enticed officials of SunFirst to disguise online poker transactions as dog food and golf balls. Executives of the three online poker companies were charged with money laundering and bank fraud as a result.
Odds to Win the 2011 World Series of Poker – Final 3
The odds to win the 2011 World Series of Poker Final 3 were now available for betting heading into Tuesday November 8 with 6 eliminations taking place on Sunday.
Germany’s Pius Heinz was the near even favorite as the chip leader while Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic was listed with 4/1 odds and Ben Lamb at 12/5.
Pius Heinz even (107,800,000 in chips)
Martin Staszko 4/1 (42,700,000)
Ben Lamb 12/5 (55,400,000)
Heinz has only won $108,318 to date in live poker tournaments with two cashes.
South Point Poker Joins The Gambling911.com Family
In case you haven’t seen their banners flashing all over the site, we at Gambling911.com would like to officially welcome South Point Poker on board as the first Las Vegas Internet poker room.
“We are very thrilled to have them on board,” noted Payton O’Brien, Senior Editor of the Gambling911.com website. “Their entry ushers in a new era of legalized US-based casinos now offering online poker rooms.”
For now, the site will be free-to-play, however, the incentives are enormous.
ACROSS Online Poker Tournament Schedule Released for November – December 2011
2011 World Series of Poker Final Three
The 2011 World Series of Poker Final was down to three players heading into Tuesday’s remaining play, which will ultimately determine this year’s winner.
The three players left standing were as follows:
Seat Player Chips
1 Pius Heinz 107,800,000 (Germany)
2 Ben Lamb 55,400,000 (USA)
3 Martin Staszko 42,700,000 (Czech Republic)
Ben Lamb is vying to become this year’s Poker Player of the Year and will probably already receive the honor after making it this far in the WSOP Main Event.
2011 WSOP Final Table Eliminations
The first of the 2011 WSOP Final Table eliminations occurred on Sunday with the final two playing against one another on Tuesday to determine the winner of this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event.
Anton Makiievskyi was eliminated in eighth and Sam Holden of Great Britain went out in ninth place. Badih Bounahra, a 49-year-old grocery wholesaler from Belize, finished seventh after gambling the last of his chips with an ace-five.
MGM Head: “Positive Momentum in Congress Toward Passing Online Poker Bill”
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal, MGM Resorts Chairman, Jim Murren, expressed his strong belief that the US Congress will get a bill passed to legalize online poker in the very near future.
"We think there is positive momentum in Congress toward passing a bill," MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said. "It's time for the federal government to address this issue."
Punta Cana Poker Classic, WSOP Final Table Kick Off Tuesday
The 2nd annual Punta Cana Poker Classic will officially begin on Wednesday with delegates and players arriving in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Gambling911.com will be covering this event from Punta Cana so visit this site often for all the latest updates.
Also on Tuesday, the Final Table of the 2011 World Series of Poker will begin with live coverage (30 minute time delay) on ESPN. The final two players will go at it following Sunday's eliminations.
US Justice Department Online Poker Case Confuses Willie Nelson With Kenny Rogers
Odds to Win the 2011 WSOP Final Table: Winning Hand Odds Offered
BBC: The New British Invasion as Poker Pros About to Topple US
The BBC featured an extensive report on Friday about the “New British Invasion” and this one involves its growing pool of successful poker pros, one of whom will be playing in next week’s World Series of Poker Final, Sam Holden.
From Mario Cacciottolo of the BBC:
The US-dominated world of poker is under threat of invasion from a wave of British players, with a 22-year-old from East Sussex about to compete for the biggest international prize at the weekend. So how did Britons barge their way in?
Time Based Online Poker Tournaments Introduced by ACR
America’s Card Room is priding itself on becoming the most innovated online poker room. They have just announced the introduction of time based online poker tournaments.
Full Tilt Poker, Groupe Bernard Tapie US Justice Dept Settlement: Not Quite
Reports surfaced this week that Groupe Bernard Tapie out of France had entered into an agreement with the US Justice Department that would result in payment of all players. But as we here at Gambling911.com have come to expect over these past several months, news coming out of the Full Tilt Poker camp is not always what it seems.
This is yet another perfect example.
An attorney for Groupe Bernard Tapie revealed on Thursday that, while talks were ongoing, a final settlement has yet to be agreed upon in writing.
New Amendments for Nevada Online Poker Released
In anticipation for legalized online poker in the state of Nevada, regulators released new draft amendments that include the ability for operators to cover funds in the event of a shutdown.
The agreement calls for a “federally-insured financial institute” to hold a reserve.
Online Poker Traffic Rises 2.2 Percent
Online poker traffic has risen 2.2 percent and there is likely to be another increase in the coming week with PokerStars 70 billionth hand promotion continuing. The world’s largest online poker room witnessed a traffic increase of 6 percent. Traffic also tends to increase leading up to the World Series of Poker Final Table, which will take place next week.
The weekly statistics tell only part of the story, PokerScout.com noted. Same-day comparisons show that the true increase in PokerStars cash game traffic is more than 30 percent.
World Series of Poker Final Table 2011 Looks to be a Bit of a Yawner
The World Series of Poker Final Table 2011 will commence this coming Tuesday, November 8. It will be broadcast with a 15-minute time delay on ESPN. Yes, Gambling911.com encourages its readers to watch. There should be plenty of excitement. But coming into this year’s Final Table, the personalities are sorely lacking in our view.
Bwin.party Shares Soar on News of MGM, Boyd Partnership But Caution Advised
While shares in Bwin.party have soared in recent days with news that the company has joined forces with powerhouse casino brands MGM and Boyd Gaming to offer online poker to US residents once legislation is passed in the States, some analysts have advised caution.
Share prices rose 11p at 120.7p following the news. The companies have entered into a long term 15-year deal.
PokerStars Cracks Down on US Players
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, has begun to crack down on innovative US players who have found a way to play on the site. PokerStars began blocking US players since an indictment was leveled against the company’s founder for money laundering and bank fraud on April 15.
Bwin, Boyd, MGM Online Poker Deal Terms Revealed
Bwin, PartyPoker, MGM and Boyd Gaming announced Monday their intention to offer Internet poker to US players should the industry become legalized. There is a strong push to get Web poker sites up and running for real cash play at the federal level especially since states like California and New Jersey are vying for a piece of the pie ahead of the federal government.
Under the terms of the deal, Bwin would own 65 per cent of a new company to offer poker to US players, while MGM would own 25 per cent and Boyd 10 per cent.
High Stakes Poker Player Alan Meltzer Passes Away
Music executive and high stake poker pro Alan Meltzer passed away at his home at the age of 67. The cause of death was sudden and not yet known, according to reports.
Meltzer started New York-based Wind-up Records along with his wife Diane in 1997 after purchasing indie label Grass Records. Creed and Evanescence were two of the big commercial successes signed to Meltzer’s label. He left Wind-up in 2000.
Meltzer appeared on High Stakes Poker in 2009 and was a prominent online player.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
Full Tilt Poker Attorney Jeff Ifrah Claims US Justice Dept Approves Sale
An outspoken attorney for disgraced online poker firm Full Tilt Poker claims the US Justice Department has reached an agreement whereby they will permit a French company to acquire FTP. Unconfirmed reports suggest the US Justice Department would be responsible for facilitating payouts to players.
Groupe Bernard Tapiehas sought to purchase Full Tilt Poker after following a series of indictments in April 15 that forced the one time second largest Internet poker room to exit the US market. Players worldwide have not received payment in months.
Daniel Negreanu: “Ray Bitar is a Buffoon”
In an interview with PokerStrategy.com this week, outspoken poker pro Daniel Negreanu called out Full Tilt Poker boss Raymond Bitar as a “buffoon”.
Negreanu made the comment when asked how aware he thought other Team Full Tilt Poker pros might have been about what was going on with that company, which has since been charged with money laundering while some of its principals were implicated by the US Government of running a “ponzi scheme”.
888 Holdings Sees Record Quarterly Rise
Publicly traded 888 Holdings, which runs the 4th biggest online poker room in the world, has reported a record quarterly high.
888 climbed as much as 5.3 percent, the most since August 30, before trading 2.3 percent higher at 33.75 pence as of 9:10 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg News Tuesday. This gives the Gibraltar-based company a market value of 117.1 million pounds ($187 million).
Poker Player Accused of Installing Trojan on Two Computers to See Hole Cards
A German poker player is being accused of installing a Trojan virus on at least two computers of fellow players, one Swiss and one Austrian.
From High Stakes DB:
The Swiss had lost $350,000 and the Austrian $40,000 to the German cheater who is now living in England.
MGM, Boyd Join Forces With Bwin, PartyPoker to Offer Online Poker
Yet another major casino company has announced a partnership with an already existing online poker group.
Casino operators MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corp. have teamed up with Bwin.party to prepare to offer Internet gambling. Bwin.party is the largest Web betting firm worldwide, comprising of PartyPoker, the 2nd biggest Internet card room, and Bwin, the largest Web sportsbook. The combined company’s net revenue last year was 814 million euros.
