Poker News
By Dror Pumper | 22nd September 2011 | Poker News
On the 14 of September, Schleswig-Holstein, a German state, became the first regional authority in the country to legalize online gambling. This move is seen as a positive one in the right direction in opening up the country to the large online gambling market. Before the legislative move made by Schleswig-Holstein, Germany has followed a policy of nationally banning online gambling. This policy was originally created as a way to maintain the government’s overreaching monopoly on all sports betting and lotteries. However, in a recent poll, over two million Germans state that they have accounts “offshore” with various online gambling websites.
The new laws are said to go into effect the first day of January 2012. This will make the day a Happy New Year indeed. This will be subject to the online gambling companies that are able to get all the necessary licensing agreements in on time. A number of online gambling websites have already joined the line to get a piece of the new action and new market in Germany. Many have made statements regarding the welcome change in the new legislation. Many well known online casino companies throughout Europe have committed to participating in the new German online casino gaming market and offer all German consumers innovative, safe and competitive products on their websites.
With this new legislation in place, many are hoping that the other German states (15 in all) will start adopting similar legislation before the end of the 2011 calendar year. This way, all the citizens in Germany will be provided with the new opportunity to engage legally in online gambling, including poker and sports betting. By opening up the market, more potential players will be encouraged to try and hone in on their skills on the available online casino websites.
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By admin | 15th September 2011 | Poker News
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) announced a new date for the Full Tilt Poker hearing regarding their license, September 19. In this new hearing, the AGCC has changed up the venue. The legal representatives of Full Tilt Poker are now going to be questioned at the Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel. This will allow interested parties to attend the hearing, namely those whose accounts are still tied up with the online gaming company.
The original hearing took place after the suspension of Full Tilt’s operating license on June 29 of earlier this year. The hearing is to allow the company’s representatives the ability to explain the FBI indictments against Full Tilt Poker, including money laundering, bank fraud, and a number of illegal gambling offenses.
After Full Tilt Poker’s license suspension, a number of former players in the United States drew up a class-action lawsuit and filed it against the online gaming business under RICO legislation. As such, now a number of Canadian former players are following suit and also demanding the website pay the money they are owed. Many believe that there are more players that will also be adding to the lawsuit in the future.
In August, Full Tilt Poker was assigned to pay the AGCC £250,000 in past overdue licensing fees. Many individuals took this is a viable sign that the AGCC was going to permit Full Tilt Poker to re-open their gaming business outside of the jurisdiction of the United States. However, recent news has broadcasted that a potential investor in Full Tilt Poker has withdrawn from current discussions. As well, the lawyers currently representing Full Tilt Poker, along with the associated companies in the current class action lawsuit, are looking to withdraw as their defense. This makes the future of Full Tilt Poker look extremely bleak and severely dampens the chances of getting their online gambling license returned.
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By Tina Paterson | 14th September 2011 | Poker News
Even though Phil Hellmuth has a long list of wins, including eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, this year, he has developed quite the reputation of coming in at second place, including to other fellow big-name players like Brian Rast and John Juanda. Epic Poker League’s Annual Charity Event to aid Fallen Heroes USA was no different, as Hellmuth came in second to Michael Craig. However, even though he lost, followers of Hellmuth’s Twitter account could see he was having a good time playing cards and raising $25,000 for this charity that supports families of fallen policy officers killed while on duty in the United States.
There were a total of 45 players at the tournament, which began as the Pro/Am qualifier into the Main Even of Epic Poker League closed. Those playing for entries included Andy Bloch, Erik Seidel, Nam Le, and Huck Seed.
Between the 45 players at the charity event, they managed to retain an additional 138 re-buys as well as 30 add-ons. Randy Dorfman, a fellow poker pro, donated an additional $3,700 to the total to ensure the event reached its $25,000 goal.
Craig, the Editor-and-Chief of Epic Poker won the event as he called a “desperate” shove by Hellmuth at a time when Hellmuth had 450K in chips against Craig’s 500K in chips. Craig had a ten of hearts and six of spades, and the ten of diamonds on the flop allowed him to pair up and win the event. At first place, Craig won $1,500 Pro/Am seat plus the Champion’s Bracelet. Hellmuth still left with a $1,500 Pro/Am seat, as well as Brian Castillo, who came in third at the event. Other players who came in fourth place to ninth place won prizes, including a Palms Casino Resort Weekend Getaway and two tickets to any Cirque du Soleil show.
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By Goodluck | 14th February 2011 | Poker News
A man and a woman meet and fall in love at the poker table after 60 years of living as singles. What are the odds of that?
Jeff Zuckerman and his wife, Patty Kruger Zuckerman, met playing poker. They didn’t have any idea that they would hit the love jackpot when playing at the casino. “She’s the only thing I’ve ever won at the poker table,” says Jeff, 62.
Jeff who had retired in 2004 from managing an accounting department in New York, moved to southern Florida in 2005, shortly after his mother’s death. Patty, also 62, had been engaged in her youth, but sadly never married due to the sudden death of her fiancé. They met casually during a Friday morning poker game at the Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach. They played at the max $4 table and were in a group who did lunches after playing at the casino.
Jeff says, “She realized it before I did. But I guess if you keep going to the buffet and bringing back the same things on your plate, there might be something there.”
Patty said she kept throwing hints, “Like, ‘oh, next time you’re in Boca stop by.’ Finally another player said, ‘Don’t you two think it’s time to go out already?’”
As they both didn’t cook, they went out to get something to eat together in June 2009. Three weeks later, they were engaged to be married, and their wedding was four months after that.
“I wasn’t avoiding it. In fact I was hoping it would happen, but never in a million years at a poker table,” Jeff says. “If this is my reward for doing good, thank God. When you’re resigned to a lifetime alone…”
Last year they spent Valentine’s Day playing cards at the casino. Now that they’re married, of course, they can stay in on a rainy day and play video poker or other casino games at the online casino of their choice.
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By Goodluck | 1st February 2011 | Poker News
A charity strip poker tournament in Gainesville, Florida, USA, was held Friday evening at The Vault Nightclub. The Strip Texas Hold’em tournament was held in support of the St. Francis House and Goodwill Industries International and was organized by Jason Bowman, founder and board member of the Pledge 5 Foundation, a Gainesville non-profit organization that coordinates charity drives for other non-profits.
Bowman said “I’ve worked downtown for years. I know a lot of homeless people and want to help as much as I can and find a way to keep them warm.” He also stated that he had never seen an organized strip poker tournament and thought it would be a fun way to get people involved in the community.
Participants had the option either to play the tournament for free or to pay an entry fee of $15 plus a clothing donation – which entitled them to a VIP wristband, an event T-shirt, Hooters wings, beer, priority seating and a raffle ticket with a chance to win a blue and orange Cyclops scooter. Over 500 pounds of clothing were collected and donated during the event.
The rules of the strip poker tournament were fairly simple. A player who fell below the average chip count at each blind was obliged to remove from his or her body a piece of clothing, which was naturally also donated to charity. In order to keep the event at an acceptable level of good taste – and not to let things get out of hand – the rules allowed the poker players only to reach the level of bathing suit or bikini nudity.
Any players who wished to remain fully clothed or to remove all their garments in the name of charity were encouraged to try out video poker in an online casino.
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By Goodluck | 31st January 2011 | Poker News
Republic of China (Taiwan) officials found that 20 percent of randomly picked playing cards have tested for formaldehyde, a highly poisonous and cancerous agent to humans.
As the Chinese New Year holiday approaches, and millions of Chinese people in both Taiwan and mainland China prepare to spend their holidays playing poker with playing cards, they have been warned to be careful by the Taiwanese Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI). The research conducted on playing cards suggests a very high risk in using them, as 20 percent have a highly toxicity level of the dangerous substance.
Huang Lai-ho, Deputy Director General of BSMI, said yesterday in a Taipei press conference, “A total of five out of the 30 tested poker cards were found to contain an above-standard amount of free-formaldehyde.”
The standard amount allowed nationally permits 75ppm (part per million) of formaldehyde to be found in paper products – but this level was not what officials found when they bought and tested random decks of playing cards. One even contained 612 ppm, which could be excessively harmful to anyone playing with these cards. Huang showed concern that a poker player using these cards could experience severe skin reactions, and declined even to speculate what dangers could be caused if they got into the hands of a young child, who naturally puts things in his mouth.
Formaldehyde has been listed by the World Health Organization as one of the possible leading causes of cancer. Manufacturers whose products exceed the legal amount will be fined and potentially punished further. Huang urges consumers to buy and play with poker cards only with clear labels and to stay away from cards that have a bad odor or a suspicious look to them. Also, he advised players to wash their hands after using cards and to keep the cards out of the reach of children.
A great way to avoid touching these cards, yet still to enjoy the holidays, is at an online casino playing online poker. This allows for many more online card games, such as blackjack, and further casino games in a safe and risk-free environment.
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By Casinomom | 24th January 2011 | Poker News
A man from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with 34 years of sobriety was served liquor by accident at Casino Nova Scotia. His reaction was so dangerous that it got him banned from the casino.
The 57 year old man, Emmet Peters, has been sober 34 years, after quitting drinking when he was in his 20s. His drinking problem began at the age of 13 in reaction to the death of his father.
On 6 January Mr. Peters was playing at the poker table while drinking a ginger ale. He ordered an additional ginger ale from the casino waitress, but, when taking a sip from his glass, was horrified to find that the drink she served him was in fact a beer.
In his fright, he threw the glass down on the table with rage and it shattered violently, upon which fled the casino. He claims it took him days to take in what had happened at the casino, and that he specifically stated to the waitress that he doesn’t drink alcohol.
Peters was deeply traumatized from the ordeal and said that he felt violated, describing the experience as a painful reminder of the day he stopped drinking. He felt like he lost his sobriety and couldn’t stop crying from the thought of what had happened. Even after the incident, while eating out in restaurants, he found himself asking the waiters over and over if they could be certain that he had been served only non-alcoholic beverages.
Although he feels that the casino wronged him, the casino’s management has banned him from entering the premises for three months. They did apologize for the mistake, however, stating that the staff was spoken to about the importance of not serving alcohol to people who never ordered it – and specifically not to people who asked never to receive it.
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By vince.baker | 20th January 2011 | Poker News
A new poker league will open soon for the game’s top players. Annie Duke, professional poker player and poker celebrity will govern the new league as commissioner. The league was created by Federated Sports & Gaming (FS+G) and will consist of around 200 members.
The new league, which has yet to be named, will hold four tournaments hosted by the Palms Casino Resort and a championship event in Las Vegas. One of the league’s purposes is to hold tournaments which are “rake free” for the players – which means the house won’t earn any money wagered – and in addition will feature big cash prizes. The championship will be free for qualifiers, with a prize around one million dollars.
World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack founded the FS+G only last year, along with Michael Brodsky, David Goldberg and Jeffrey Grosman, who were senior managers at a popular online betting site before was acquired last November by an online casino. Commissioner Annie Duke is also a WSOP champion and a 2009 runner-up in the popular television show Celebrity Apprentice.
Poker tournaments such as WSOP and World Poker Tour are popular on television and often feature poker celebrities. There are no qualifications for anyone to participate, as long as they can afford the entry fee buy-in of $10K. The new league will rank player qualification with a mathematical calculation of previous winnings and events in a way similar to how professional tennis and golf players are ranked worldwide.
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By Casinomom | 18th January 2011 | Poker News
A new study on gambling has found that the more hands you win playing poker, the more money you are likely to lose. The theory goes way beyond the poker table and it suggests implementing the research findings in real life to avoid great losses in life.
27 million hands of online poker have been analyzed by Cornell University sociology doctoral student Kyle Siler in search of understanding gambling much better. His bottom line conclusion: the more hands you win at poker, the more money you’ll likely lose. Siler was not interested only in researching poker or online poker, but more in shedding light on how people handle risks, rewards and a variety of payoffs. His research findings were published last December in the online edition of the Journal of Gambling Studies and are due to be published in print later this year.
He used a software system to track poker games and results and to analyze the data. That’s when he found the relationship between the quantities of poker hands won to the sum which was lost. Another finding was that beginner and less experienced poker players lost more hands and money.
In summation: most of the hands won were smaller wagers; the longer you play and gain confidence, the more you are likely to blow your money in one go; and low stakes players do better with numerical pair cards than with aces or kings, queens or jacks, because their higher values are more difficult to perceive.
So whether you play poker with friends or video poker online, Siler suggests that people consider implementing his findings in life as we gamble on an everyday basis: while driving, investing, buying property and even crossing the street.
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By Keila Brown | 1st December 2010 | Casino Game Updates, Poker News
Poker players, online casino fans, online poker players and gaming sports memorabilia collectors as one are being offered a chance of a life time to bid on Ebay for the 1999 $1500 Razz World Series of Poker (WSOP) winners bracelet won by, Paul ‘Eskimo’ Clark. One of 3 bracelets won buy this veteran player.
This is the second piece of WSOP sporting history which is offered for auction this year. On November 25th 20101, the WSOP main event champion bracelet which was won in 2008 by Peter Eastgate, former Danish professional poker player, is being auctioned off by EBay with proceeds going to the UNICEF charity foundation. The bidding is said to end on Dec 1st, 10am LA time and current bids stand at $147.500. Eastgate claimed the bracelet was just lying around in a drawer collecting dust and that he would never wear it thus making the heroic choice of donating it to a higher cause.
Eskimo Clark’s gold bracelet is fairly simple version of a WSOP winner’s bracelet nowadays being only gold and engraves with ‘WSOP’. This feature clearly isn’t as ‘razzle dazzle’ as Eastgate’s bracelet which has 291 diamonds encrusted in it reading ‘World Series of Poker 1999′ proudly. A rough estimate on Clark’s 117.1 grams of gold bracelet in melt down terms will make approximately $5000, making it a sought after yet not a big expense item which most casino fans can afford.
Clark’s auction is in early stages with around 8 more days of bidding. The bidding starts at $1000 which got 2 bidders going for it with 6 bids in total. The current price stands at $2080 and the item does have a reserve on it which has not been met yet. If the bracelet does not meet its reserve price by the end date, the seller (susceptibly not Clark as believed to be sold previously) will redraw his item and will have to make the decision whether to try again or keep one of poker great memorabilia’s. Who knows? Maybe even an online casino or player might be the winner?
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