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.

Poker Pro Paul Phua Ambassadorship to Montenegro Revoked After Arrest

A poker pro arrested for operating a World Cup betting ring out of a Las Vegas resort was San Marino’s ambassador to the city state of Montenegro for three years before having that status revoked due to the allegations lodged against him.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/29/2014

Poker Pro Paul Phua and Son Released by ICE After Ivey Bailout

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released the father-son tandem of Paul and Darren Phua late Monday after poker pros Phil Ivey and Andrew Robl posted their initial $2.5 million bail.  Both had initially been charged with running an elaborate World Cup betting operation from a swank Las Vegas resort.  ICE had immediately taken them back into custody upon their release and threatened deportation back to Malaysia.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/29/2014

Poker Pro Phil Hellmuth Dresses Up as a Baby for ‘Poker Night in America’ Game

Poker pro Phil Hellmuth is once again living up to his nick “The Poker Brat”.

On Monday, he dressed as a baby for “Poker Night in America”.

“I am dressed up as a baby on the set of "Poker Night in America!" W a onesie, a bonnet, a bottle & a rattle,” Hellmuth proudly proclaimed on his Twitter page.

“Poker Night in America” features a two day celebrity event going from July 29-30 and taking place at the Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover, Maryland.  The full event started at the beginning of the month.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/28/2014

Phil Ivey, Andrew Robl Post $2.5 Million Bail for Paul and Darren Phua: Still Jailed

Phil Ivey this past weekend posted a portion of the $2.5 million in cash needed to bail out fellow poker pros, the father-and-son tandem of Wei Seng “Paul” Phua and Darren Phua.  Both men remained jailed heading into Monday however. Another poker pro, Andrew Robl, contributed $1.5 million of the $2.5 million bail.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/28/2014

Fabián Ortiz Wins LAPT7 Panama

The third stop, of the Seventh Season of the Latin American Poker Tour in Panama, has come to an end with a new favorable and double victory for Argentina and Fabián Ortiz. 550 players paid USD $ 1,700 to enter another stage of the regional tournament sponsored by PokerStars.net. Together they managed to make a prize pool of USD $ 826,925 to be distributed among the first 79 players. But it was Fabián Ortiz who took all the glory of the LAPT title again.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/27/2014

2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Odds to Win – Betting Online

BetDSI.com has your 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event betting odds to win here.

The 2014 World Series of Poker main event is down to the November Nine who will come back to decide the champion in early November. Let’s look at the current World Series of Poker odds at Diamond sportsbook.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/27/2014

Rick Salomon and Pamela Anderson Back Together Again Two Weeks After Divorce

Third time could be the charm.  Just two weeks after “Baywatch” babe Pamela Anderson filed for divorce from her estranged husband Rick Salomon, the two were spotted in a steamy embrace, lips locked, on the island of Sardinia. 

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/27/2014

Americas Cardroom Launches Satellite Schedule for $1 Million Guaranteed

As if a $1 million guaranteed poker tournament for US players wasn't newsworthy enough, Americas Cardroom is making even more noise by announcing that players can get into the tournament for free. The online poker site today released its satellite schedule for Winning Millions, a $1 Million poker tournament set to get underway on December 14th. The satellite schedule includes two freerolls per day.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/24/2014

Dan Bilzerian on Howard Stern Show: Talks Gambling, Guns and P****

Appearing on the Howard Stern Radio Show Wednesday morning, poker pro and Instagram sensation Dan Bilzerian made for quite the lively interview.

Stern opened by stating that “everyone told me I should have him (Bilzerian) on” and that he is a “big hit on Instagram because his whole Instagram account is about gambling, guns and p****”.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/24/2014

Satoshi Poker Closes: Players Migrated to BurnTurn Amidst ‘Blame Game’

Satoshi Poker unceremoniously shut its doors after just over one year in business and it has done so amidst much finger pointing.

One of the first bitcoin-only poker sites, Satoshi sold to new owners last month, however, this group plans to abandon the Satoshi Poker software in favor of their own including the migration of all remaining players to BurnTurn.com, a soon-to-open online poker room.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/23/2014

Bwin Activist Investor Jason Ader Wants to Bring Major League Soccer Team to Vegas

An activist investor at one of the world’s largest online gambling firms Bwin.party is floating the idea of bringing a Major League Soccer team to the gambling Mecca of Las Vegas.

BetOnline

Submitted by Aaron Goldstein on, Jul/22/2014

Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu Turns 40 in Style: Party at the Cosmopolitan

If you happen to be in Vegas this weekend, be sure to check out the Marquee Day Club Friday and the night club on Saturday to come celebrate the 40th birthday of poker icon Daniel Negreanu.

All are invited including Gambling911.com readers!

According to PokerStrategy.com, the pre-party will take place Friday at the Day Club, complete with pool and drones that deliver champagne.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/22/2014

2007 WSOP Main Event Champion Jerry Yang Watch Selling for $787k on eBay

A watch awarded to 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Jerry Yang is apparently up for auction on eBay, according to a listing recently discovered by poker media outlets.

Yang lost his bracelet and other prized possessions as part of an IRS seizure for failing to pay taxes.

The listing appears below and the bids were currently coming in at $787k.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/20/2014

Disgraced Ex-Utah AG John Swallow Court Dates Set: Ties to Poker’s ‘Black Friday’

Former Attorneys General John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff are due to appear in court on on July 22 and 30, respectively, after the two men were charged last week with racketeering following a sweeping public corruption investigation.

Swallow faces 11 felonies and two misdemeanors, including a pattern of unlawful activity, receiving or soliciting a bribe, evidence tampering and making false statements.

Submitted by Jagajeet Chiba on, Jul/20/2014

Hallucinogenic Drugs Likely Led to Poker Pro’s Death

An autopsy has revealed that hallucinogenic drugs were found in the system of 29-year-old German professional poker player Johannes Strassmann.

Slovenian police confirmed that a body found in the Ljublijianica River last week was that of Strassmann.  The poker pro had been visiting some fellow players.  He went missing after a trip to the town of Ljubljana.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/18/2014

Poker Player Paul Phua Among Those Charged in World Cup Betting Scheme

A high-stakes poker player, Paul Phua, was among the eight men charged this week with running an elaborate World Cup betting ring out of Las Vegas.

A criminal complaint detailed the scheme to take bets over WiFi and DSL lines they had casino employees install in their suites at Caesars Palace.

According to the Department of Justice press release:

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/18/2014

HPT Season X Debuts Nationwide

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA - New episodes begin airing around the globe this week for Heartland Poker Tour's milestone tenth season. Now available in over 110 million homes throughout the United States and millions more overseas, HPT is showing no signs of slowing down in Season X. With more stops than ever before, the tour will produce a record number of original episodes in 2014.  At least 48 one-hour shows will air over the next 52 weeks.  HPT televises more poker tournaments than any other tour in the world.   

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/16/2014

Online Poker Comes to California Courtesy of Iipay Nation

Forget waiting around another 10 years for online poker to become legalized in the world’s 8th largest economy.  One California Tribe is moving ahead, with or without legislation.

The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel established Santa Ysabel Interactive and launched the I-gaming poker website Private Table at www.privatetable.com to offer Class II gaming to customers through Internet servers located on tribal lands, according to a press release issued by that Tribe. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/16/2014

Mark Newhouse Historic Two Consecutive November Nine Appearances

Talk about beating the odds.  Mark Newhouse managed to outperform a field of 6,677 to make it into the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table.  That’s no small feat.  But to have done this in back-to-back years?

That’s exactly what Newhouse has done.

He was among last year’s November Nine finalists, finishing in ninth place.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/15/2014

Bwin to Make Additional Cuts of More Than $13.6 Million to Meet Targets

(Reuters) - Online gambling company Bwin.Party, under pressure from an activist shareholder to boost its performance, said an additional 10 million euros ($13.6 million) of cost cuts would help it to meet its targets for the year.

Bwin said last month it was looking at ways of boosting shareholder value but denied a report it was considering a break-up or sale of its business.

In a trading statement on Tuesday, bwin said sports betting had benefited from the soccer World Cup but described the performance of its poker and casino business as "soft". 

Submitted by Reuters on, Jul/15/2014

November Nine for 2014 World Series of Poker Determined

The 45th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship is down to its final nine players.  The so-called “November Nine” will meet November 10 to face off in the 2014 World Series of Poker Final.

Here is your November Nine (courtesy of WSOP.com):

Seat 1 - Billy Pappaconstantinou – 17,500,000

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/15/2014

WSOP 2014 Main Event Drawing Down: Many Newbies Grace Scene

Just over a dozen players remained at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event with the November Nine to be determined shortly.

Some of those playing are newbies who have yet to cash in a WSOP event.

Thomas Sarra, Jr., from Girard, OH is one such newbie, Nolan Dalla reports for the World Series of Poker website. 

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/14/2014

Americas Cardroom To Host $1 Million Guaranteed Tournament This December

Poker in America is officially back. Americas Cardroom today announced Winning Millions, a $1 million guaranteed poker tournament set to get underway on December 14th, 2014. The historic online poker tournament will feature the single biggest online poker prize pool US players have seen since April 2011.

Qualifiers for the $500+$40 buy-in tournament will be available soon.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/14/2014

Dan Smith Still Hanging In as Field Dwindles at WSOP Main Event

Two big name poker pros were sitting pretty at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event Saturday evening: Brian Hastings and Dan Smith.  By Sunday night, Hastings was ousted but Smith was still going strong with just over a dozen players remaining.

Few of the other names remaining were recognizable to those but the most hardcore of poker enthusiasts.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/12/2014

WSOP Main Event Notable Survivors After Day 3

When Day 3 began, there were 1,871 hopes entering the Rio.  That number dwindled down to 746.  Phil Ivey was the chip leader heading into the day. The ten-time bracelet winner’s tenure at the top did not last long though.  It only took 30 minutes for Ivey to be knocked off his perch. 

Heading into Day 4, Ivey was 72nd among chip holders.

Heading home during Day 3 were this year’s Poker Player Champion John Hennigan, Day 1 big stack Nick Divella, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Marvin Rettenmaier, and Matt Matros.

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/11/2014

Ultimate Poker Leaving New Jersey Market?

It’s no secret that online poker in the state of New Jersey has underperformed.

Ultimate Poker, one of a handful of online gambling firms licensed by the New Jersey Gaming Commission, announced on Friday September 19, 2014 it would be leaving the New Jersey online gambling market after the Taj Mahal announced pending bankruptcy. 

Robert Dellafav of OnlinePokerReport.com predicted the exit earlier this summer

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/10/2014

Phil Ivey On Top: Leads With Chip Counts at WSOP Main Event

One of poker’s greatest players of all time, Phil Ivey, continues to excel at this year’s World Series of Poker Main Event.

After Day 2, Ivey led with chip counts, 505,000.

From WSOP.com:

Submitted by Ace King on, Jul/10/2014

English Only at the Poker Tables Rule Passes

Starting now, poker players at South Dakota’s Deadwood Casino will be required to speak only English at the tables during the play of a hand.

“The reason we can is because gaming is a suspect activity,” Mike Shaw, the attorney for the state Gaming Commission, said. “It is not subject to the same protection that other activities are.”

The rule is one of a package of changes for Deadwood card games that received final clearance Tuesday from the Legislature’s rules review committee.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/09/2014

Pamela Anderson Divorcing 4th Place Finisher at WSOP One Drop Again

Rick Salomon, known more for his high profile relationships prior to finishing in 4th place at last week’s World Series of Poker Big One For One Drop event, is being served with divorce papers by wife Pamela Anderson for the second time.

Submitted by Nagesh Rath on, Jul/09/2014

EPT Set to Break Qualifier Records for 100th Event in Barcelona

ONCHAN, Isle of Man – Moore than 230 players have already won seats to #EPT100 in Barcelona, the debut event of EPT Season 11. The historic 100th EPT kicks off mid-August and numbers already look set to beat last year’s EPT Barcelona Poker Festival record of 378 qualifiers.

Submitted by Press Release on, Jul/09/2014

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