PKR Announces Pro Team, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 16th April 2009
Joining the likes of the other major online poker rooms, next generation poker site PKR.com today announced the roster of its new “Team PKR Pro.” The six new members will represent PKR.com and act as brand ambassadors for the website.
“Team PKR Pro” will be exclusively sponsored by PKR and act as brand representatives at live events, as well as offering a variety of content for the PKR.com website and PKR TV. They will also be available to play on the PKR.com site in both cash games and specially organized bounty tournaments.
The inaugural members of the team include TV celebrity Ashley Hames (ashleyhames1), GUKPT winner Andrew Teng (PKR username “golfpro699”) and 2008 Irish Open finalist Kai Danilo Paulsen (kingkai84), along with PKR community members Raymond O’Mahoney (callmebabe), James Sudworth (James666) and PKR Live runner-up Henrik Eklund (pokey85).
“We’ve been following our initial ‘Team PKR Pro’ members for some time and are convinced that they all have the game and personality required to be genuinely world class poker players”, said PKR Marketing Director Simon Prodger. “They are also among the most recognized and respected players within the PKR community so are guaranteed to have over two and a half million people cheering them on every time they play.”
Here’s a closer look at each of the new members of “Team PKR Pro”:
Henrik “Pokey85” Eklund (Stockholm, Sweden) -- Eklund, 24, has been playing poker for four years. The Swede has been a regular at PKR’s nosebleed cash game tables since April 2007 and began to make a name for himself on the live tournament scene by taking second place at the inaugural PKR Live in November 2008 followed by a victory in the APT Manila Headhunter side event. Henrik’s ambition for 2009 (beyond winning the WSOP) is to make a final table of a major event.
Ashley “ashleyhames1” Hames (London, UK) -- Ashley Hames is a popular TV presenter and writer who is known for his series Sin Cities -- still Bravo’s highest rating show ever in the UK. Hames is also the PKR TV commentator. He began playing poker in 2008 and rates his poker highs as playing in the WSOP main event, reaching the final of Celebrity Poker Club and playing on the TV table at this year’s Irish Open.
Raymond “callmebabe” O’Mahoney (Dublin, Republic of Ireland) -- Like Eklund, O’Mahoney has been cutting his teeth at the highest cash games and tournaments since April 2007. His first major live cash came courtesy of the inaugural PKR Live $500 Main Event, where he finished fourth for $6,500. Ray’s goal is to win his home major, the Irish Open.
Kai “KingKai” Paulsen (Trondheim, Norway) -- The 25-year-old Norwegian has the finest live tournament record of any PKR regular with more than $322,000 in earnings. This includes two cashes at the WSOP (including an 18th place finish in Event #49 in 2007) and a fifth place finish at the 2008 Irish Open, where he earned $229,358. Kai’s aspirations include winning one of poker’s majors -- and preferably bring home a bracelet.
James “James666” Sudworth (Kent, UK) -- This 22 year old has been a familiar face at the PKR tables since November of 2006, playing some of the biggest cash games the site has to offer. Sudworth’s top poker accomplishment was a runner-up finish at the GUKPT in January 2009 for more than £40,000.
Andrew “golfpro699” Teng (London, UK) -- Teng has been a high-stakes pro across many online sites for the past two years. He made an impact on the live scene in 2008, first making a deep run in the WSOP Main Event (126th place) and then winning the Thanet leg of the GUKPT in October 2008 for £70,000.
PRK, founded in 2005, is an innovative online poker site that features real-time video game-like 3D graphics that has changed the way online poker is played. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Former PartyGaming CEO Hired By Harrah’s, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 14th April 2009
On Sunday, the London Times sent shockwaves through the land based casino industry as well as the internet gaming world with a small article regarding the recent actions of one of the largest casino operations in the world and a former online gaming CEO.
It was announced in the Sunday Times Online that Harrah’s Entertainment – responsible for much of the casino action in not only Las Vegas but the United States as a whole and the owner of the World Series of Poker – and former PartyGaming PLC CEO Mitch Garber have entered into an agreement for Garber to join the organization. What isn’t known is what capacity Garber will have within Harrah’s or what effects it will have on the World Series itself.
Garber, who resigned as the CEO of PartyGaming in early 2008, is thought to be taking a leading role in a reorganization of Harrah’s online operations into a stand alone company that will also encompass the WSOP. After several recent developments in the online gaming world, it is believed that Harrah’s is envisioning that the legalization and regulation in the United States will happen soon and wants a qualified leader to be able to run the resulting operation. With Garber, Harrah’s has landed such a leader.
Garber led PartyGaming through much of its tumultuous last few years after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and the resulting move of PartyGaming to pull out of the American market. While with PartyGaming he focused on international expansion through product diversification and a series of mergers and acquisitions. These efforts helped PartyGaming to absorb the losses of the American market with little effect on PartyGaming’s bottom line.
There are different theories as to if, and/or when the legislative mood regarding online gaming in the United States will be changing. In a recent interview with The Hill, Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, stated that he plans to introduce internet gambling legislation after the Easter recess. The Hill noted that the week of April 20th is a likely time frame for the bill’s introduction and that it would create a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry.
This line of thought is tempered by the current economic and political climate in the United States, though. With the ongoing financial crisis affecting not only the U. S. economy but the situations of most nations worldwide, many believe that the legalization and regulation of online poker and gaming is far down the list of priorities of the U. S. Congress and the Obama Administration. Although the taxation dollars from the online gaming industry - which garners an estimated $12 billion yearly - would be helpful to the American government, other more lucrative financial moves are expected to be implemented first.
Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, has said online poker's legalization is a strong possibility in the United States and recent activities regarding online poker operators have demonstrated that the winds may be changing. In December, former PartyGaming founder Anurag Dikshit pled guilty to violations of the 1961 Wire Act and paid a $300 million fine. Just last week, Garber’s former company PartyGaming also settled their grievances with the U. S. Department of Justice, agreeing to a non-prosecution arrangement and payment of a $105 million fine over the next three years.
With the hiring of Garber to run the online operations of a newly created branch of Harrah’s and – if online poker is a part of that operation – the WSOP, it does appear that Harrah’s is preparing for the day when online poker and gaming will be legal in the United States. Whenever that day may be. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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On Sunday, the London Times sent shockwaves through the land based casino industry as well as the internet gaming world with a small article regarding the recent actions of one of the largest casino operations in the world and a former online gaming CEO.
It was announced in the Sunday Times Online that Harrah’s Entertainment – responsible for much of the casino action in not only Las Vegas but the United States as a whole and the owner of the World Series of Poker – and former PartyGaming PLC CEO Mitch Garber have entered into an agreement for Garber to join the organization. What isn’t known is what capacity Garber will have within Harrah’s or what effects it will have on the World Series itself.
Garber, who resigned as the CEO of PartyGaming in early 2008, is thought to be taking a leading role in a reorganization of Harrah’s online operations into a stand alone company that will also encompass the WSOP. After several recent developments in the online gaming world, it is believed that Harrah’s is envisioning that the legalization and regulation in the United States will happen soon and wants a qualified leader to be able to run the resulting operation. With Garber, Harrah’s has landed such a leader.
Garber led PartyGaming through much of its tumultuous last few years after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and the resulting move of PartyGaming to pull out of the American market. While with PartyGaming he focused on international expansion through product diversification and a series of mergers and acquisitions. These efforts helped PartyGaming to absorb the losses of the American market with little effect on PartyGaming’s bottom line.
There are different theories as to if, and/or when the legislative mood regarding online gaming in the United States will be changing. In a recent interview with The Hill, Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, stated that he plans to introduce internet gambling legislation after the Easter recess. The Hill noted that the week of April 20th is a likely time frame for the bill’s introduction and that it would create a complete licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry.
This line of thought is tempered by the current economic and political climate in the United States, though. With the ongoing financial crisis affecting not only the U. S. economy but the situations of most nations worldwide, many believe that the legalization and regulation of online poker and gaming is far down the list of priorities of the U. S. Congress and the Obama Administration. Although the taxation dollars from the online gaming industry - which garners an estimated $12 billion yearly - would be helpful to the American government, other more lucrative financial moves are expected to be implemented first.
Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, has said online poker's legalization is a strong possibility in the United States and recent activities regarding online poker operators have demonstrated that the winds may be changing. In December, former PartyGaming founder Anurag Dikshit pled guilty to violations of the 1961 Wire Act and paid a $300 million fine. Just last week, Garber’s former company PartyGaming also settled their grievances with the U. S. Department of Justice, agreeing to a non-prosecution arrangement and payment of a $105 million fine over the next three years.
With the hiring of Garber to run the online operations of a newly created branch of Harrah’s and – if online poker is a part of that operation – the WSOP, it does appear that Harrah’s is preparing for the day when online poker and gaming will be legal in the United States. Whenever that day may be. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
World Series of Poker Europe Tournament Dates - 14th April 2009
Harrah’s Entertainment Inc, announced the schedule of its third annual World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) tournament yesterday.
Sponsored by Betfair, the WSOPE will take place between the 17th September and 1st October and will feature four bracelet events, including a new £2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event.
David Yu, CEO of Betfair said, “We are delighted to be working alongside Harrah's again for a successful third year of our sponsorship of the World Series of Poker Europe. We will remain the only place to qualify online for the WSOPE tournament and we are also very excited about the new $1 million promotion which with free entry will give the WSOPE a wider appeal and add more value than ever before."
This year’s WSOPE will be held at the Empire Casino in Leicester Square, London. This has been the venue for the WSOPE before and has since become a poker ‘hotbed’, with several cash games and tournaments running around the clock.
Michael Silberling, chief operations officer at London Clubs International said, “The Casino at the Empire has quickly become the destination for poker in the UK. We look forward to hosting the best players in the game for the WSOPE this autumn and will continue to offer the finest poker action daily for those in Leicester Square.”
WSOPE Bracelet Tournaments:
Friday, Sept. 18 and 19, 2009
Event 1 – No-Limit Hold'em (3-day event/2 start days)
Monday, Sept. 21, 2009
Event 2 – Pot Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha (3-day event)
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009
Event 3 – Pot Limit Omaha (3-day event)
Saturday, Sept. 26 and 27, 2009
Event 4 – World Championship No-Limit Hold'em Day 1A (5-day event/2 start days) "Main Event"
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Harrah’s Entertainment Inc, announced the schedule of its third annual World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) tournament yesterday.
Sponsored by Betfair, the WSOPE will take place between the 17th September and 1st October and will feature four bracelet events, including a new £2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event.
David Yu, CEO of Betfair said, “We are delighted to be working alongside Harrah's again for a successful third year of our sponsorship of the World Series of Poker Europe. We will remain the only place to qualify online for the WSOPE tournament and we are also very excited about the new $1 million promotion which with free entry will give the WSOPE a wider appeal and add more value than ever before."
This year’s WSOPE will be held at the Empire Casino in Leicester Square, London. This has been the venue for the WSOPE before and has since become a poker ‘hotbed’, with several cash games and tournaments running around the clock.
Michael Silberling, chief operations officer at London Clubs International said, “The Casino at the Empire has quickly become the destination for poker in the UK. We look forward to hosting the best players in the game for the WSOPE this autumn and will continue to offer the finest poker action daily for those in Leicester Square.”
WSOPE Bracelet Tournaments:
Friday, Sept. 18 and 19, 2009
Event 1 – No-Limit Hold'em (3-day event/2 start days)
Monday, Sept. 21, 2009
Event 2 – Pot Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha (3-day event)
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009
Event 3 – Pot Limit Omaha (3-day event)
Saturday, Sept. 26 and 27, 2009
Event 4 – World Championship No-Limit Hold'em Day 1A (5-day event/2 start days) "Main Event"
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Sunday, April 12, 2009
Poker in the Park Returns April 13th and 14th, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 11th April 2009
The third running of Poker in the Park will take place on April 13th and 14th in Leicester Square in London. Its organizers bill the event as “Europe’s largest free poker festival,” featuring live tournaments, educational lectures, and a bevy of brand name poker pros on hand celebrating the game.
In 2008, the second running of Poker in the Park featured over 10,000 people descending upon the historic square, whose Casino at the Empire plays host to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities each year. This time around, the tournament series shifts from being held on a Friday and Saturday to taking place on a Thursday and Friday, although a reason for the change in schedule was not given.
A variety of European poker pros were on hand last year to share their insight into the game with the festival’s patrons. Speakers included Tony Holden (who read from his book “Bigger Deal”), Ian Frazier (who discussed playing in short-handed poker games), David “Devilfish” Ulliott (who appropriately lectured on table banter), Paul Jackson (who discussed identifying and exploiting live poker tells), and Liv Boeree (who described to newcomers how to play No Limit Texas Hold’em). Other special guests on hand in 2008 included Nik Persaud, Neil Channing, Marc Goodwin, and Tom Sambrook.
The 2008 running of Poker in the Park was sponsored by Bluff Europe, PKR, Aces Royal, Fox Poker Club, Poker Kings, Jackpot Joy, Ace Poker, and Cardoza Books. Patrons were able to partake in a variety of free poker tournaments held throughout the massive Leicester Square, which is located in the heart of the historic European city. Tournaments held last year were the Sky Poker Cup, Gambling.com Sit n Go, SubTV Student Poker League Cup, LondonPubPoker.co.uk Trophy, Royal Surrey Trophy, iGaming Business Open, Nuts Poker League Challenge, LondonPokerMeetup.co.uk Cup, England Poker League Cup, and the Bluff Europe Championship, which capped off the two-day event.
Bluff Europe’s Editor-in-Chief Michael Caselli commented in a press release distributed last week, “Poker in the Park is about bringing poker enthusiasts from all over the U.K. together to meet their poker heroes, improve their play, and play poker absolutely free with other lovers of the game from all around the nation.” Companies interested in sponsoring Poker in the Park III should contact Ed Whittington of Lyceum Publishing at +44 (0) 207 828 6988.
Last year’s WSOP Europe Main Event was won by Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda, who took home £868,800 and his fourth bracelet. A pair of Russian poker players finished second and third, as Stanislav Alekhin cashed for £533,950 as the runner up and Ivan Demidov, the WSOP Main Event runner up, grabbed another £334,850 for third place. Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu and Scott Fischman also reached the nine-handed final table that took place last September and October.
The WSOP Europe festivities also include three preliminary tournaments. Jesper Hougaard brought home the gold in a £1,575 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for £144,218. He defeated Fuad Serhan heads-up with Yevgeniy “atimos” Timoshenko, Boyle Poker pro Neil Channing, and Adam “A_Junglen” Junglen also making the final table. The tournament was the first of WSOP Europe and attracted a healthy field of 410 entrants. Sherkhan Farnood, who bested a final table that also featured Howard Lederer and Phil Ivey, won a £2,650 buy-in HORSE event. Finally, Danish poker pro Theo Jorgensen defeated Team Betfair’s Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi heads-up in a £5,250 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event.
Poker in the Park is open to the public and is an 18 and up event. We’ll have more details as they are released right here on Poker News Daily. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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The third running of Poker in the Park will take place on April 13th and 14th in Leicester Square in London. Its organizers bill the event as “Europe’s largest free poker festival,” featuring live tournaments, educational lectures, and a bevy of brand name poker pros on hand celebrating the game.
In 2008, the second running of Poker in the Park featured over 10,000 people descending upon the historic square, whose Casino at the Empire plays host to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festivities each year. This time around, the tournament series shifts from being held on a Friday and Saturday to taking place on a Thursday and Friday, although a reason for the change in schedule was not given.
A variety of European poker pros were on hand last year to share their insight into the game with the festival’s patrons. Speakers included Tony Holden (who read from his book “Bigger Deal”), Ian Frazier (who discussed playing in short-handed poker games), David “Devilfish” Ulliott (who appropriately lectured on table banter), Paul Jackson (who discussed identifying and exploiting live poker tells), and Liv Boeree (who described to newcomers how to play No Limit Texas Hold’em). Other special guests on hand in 2008 included Nik Persaud, Neil Channing, Marc Goodwin, and Tom Sambrook.
The 2008 running of Poker in the Park was sponsored by Bluff Europe, PKR, Aces Royal, Fox Poker Club, Poker Kings, Jackpot Joy, Ace Poker, and Cardoza Books. Patrons were able to partake in a variety of free poker tournaments held throughout the massive Leicester Square, which is located in the heart of the historic European city. Tournaments held last year were the Sky Poker Cup, Gambling.com Sit n Go, SubTV Student Poker League Cup, LondonPubPoker.co.uk Trophy, Royal Surrey Trophy, iGaming Business Open, Nuts Poker League Challenge, LondonPokerMeetup.co.uk Cup, England Poker League Cup, and the Bluff Europe Championship, which capped off the two-day event.
Bluff Europe’s Editor-in-Chief Michael Caselli commented in a press release distributed last week, “Poker in the Park is about bringing poker enthusiasts from all over the U.K. together to meet their poker heroes, improve their play, and play poker absolutely free with other lovers of the game from all around the nation.” Companies interested in sponsoring Poker in the Park III should contact Ed Whittington of Lyceum Publishing at +44 (0) 207 828 6988.
Last year’s WSOP Europe Main Event was won by Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda, who took home £868,800 and his fourth bracelet. A pair of Russian poker players finished second and third, as Stanislav Alekhin cashed for £533,950 as the runner up and Ivan Demidov, the WSOP Main Event runner up, grabbed another £334,850 for third place. Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu and Scott Fischman also reached the nine-handed final table that took place last September and October.
The WSOP Europe festivities also include three preliminary tournaments. Jesper Hougaard brought home the gold in a £1,575 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for £144,218. He defeated Fuad Serhan heads-up with Yevgeniy “atimos” Timoshenko, Boyle Poker pro Neil Channing, and Adam “A_Junglen” Junglen also making the final table. The tournament was the first of WSOP Europe and attracted a healthy field of 410 entrants. Sherkhan Farnood, who bested a final table that also featured Howard Lederer and Phil Ivey, won a £2,650 buy-in HORSE event. Finally, Danish poker pro Theo Jorgensen defeated Team Betfair’s Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi heads-up in a £5,250 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha event.
Poker in the Park is open to the public and is an 18 and up event. We’ll have more details as they are released right here on Poker News Daily. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Daniel Negreanu Appears in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 4th April 2009
In the upcoming release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, poker players may be able to catch a glimpse of one of the game's top stars. According to various sources that have viewed a pirated copy of the movie, there is a scene involving a game of Texas Hold'em featuring Wolverine, Gambit, and Daniel Negreanu.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine officially premieres on May 1st in the United States and Canada. In the meantime, editors in Hollywood will be busy paring down the film from its length of two and a half hours. The scene lasts for less than one minute and Negreanu is featured twice. While he offers no dialogue, the member of Team PokerStars Pro is seated a table playing a game of poker with the film's namesake and Gambit. The scene has been described to Poker News Daily as “nothing more than a quick cameo” and whether it will make the final cut upon its opening in the United States is unknown.
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), X-Men Origins: Wolverine is described as follows: “Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.” The film stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth. Negreanu appears uncredited.
This isn't Negreanu's first trip to the big screen. In 2007, he appeared in the movie Lucky You, which featured Eric Bana, Robert Duvall, and Drew Barrymore. The movie contained a wealth of poker players, although IMDB users graded it just 5.9 out of a possible score of 10. In addition to Negreanu, other members of the industry appearing in Lucky You included Sam Farha, Chau Giang, Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Minh Ly, and Erick Lindgren. Poker icons Jack Binion, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan also had cameos and are all officially credited in the movie.
Negreanu and the poker playing community also appeared in ESPN's short-lived series “Tilt,” which aired in 2005. ESPN World Series of Poker announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad were featured during the show, which starred Michael Madsen as Don “The Matador” Everest. Negreanu also took to the silver screen in the 2007 movie “The Grand,” which was released exactly two years ago on April 4th. The movie was described as an “improv comedy” and featured Woody Harrelson, Shannon Elizabeth, Mike Epps, Chris Parnell, and Ray Romano, among others. Three poker “Phils” – Laak, Gordon, and Hellmuth – also appeared in the movie.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the 2009 calendar year and the newest installment of the comic book franchise. The movie is directed by Gavin Hood, who was behind such films as Rendition and Tsotsi. It's written by the man who brought The Kite Runner, Troy, and 25th Hour to life. An article released by Reuters on Thursday noted that the pirated copy had been released online one month prior to its official release. However, “it included temporary sound and music and was missing effects and some scenes, with other scenes unedited.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are seeking to uncover the source of the unauthorized copy.
TorrentFreak noted that X-Men Origins: Wolverine had been downloaded 75,000 times on BitTorrent, which the website equated to the release of The Dark Knight, which won an Academy Award for the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. The pirated version references Rising Sun Pictures, an Australian company. TorrentFreak speculated that the reason for the high number of downloads may be because “X-Men’s target audience are tech-savvy people who are likely to have heard about BitTorrent.” (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Marvel Entertainment
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In the upcoming release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, poker players may be able to catch a glimpse of one of the game's top stars. According to various sources that have viewed a pirated copy of the movie, there is a scene involving a game of Texas Hold'em featuring Wolverine, Gambit, and Daniel Negreanu.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine officially premieres on May 1st in the United States and Canada. In the meantime, editors in Hollywood will be busy paring down the film from its length of two and a half hours. The scene lasts for less than one minute and Negreanu is featured twice. While he offers no dialogue, the member of Team PokerStars Pro is seated a table playing a game of poker with the film's namesake and Gambit. The scene has been described to Poker News Daily as “nothing more than a quick cameo” and whether it will make the final cut upon its opening in the United States is unknown.
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), X-Men Origins: Wolverine is described as follows: “Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.” The film stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth. Negreanu appears uncredited.
This isn't Negreanu's first trip to the big screen. In 2007, he appeared in the movie Lucky You, which featured Eric Bana, Robert Duvall, and Drew Barrymore. The movie contained a wealth of poker players, although IMDB users graded it just 5.9 out of a possible score of 10. In addition to Negreanu, other members of the industry appearing in Lucky You included Sam Farha, Chau Giang, Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Minh Ly, and Erick Lindgren. Poker icons Jack Binion, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan also had cameos and are all officially credited in the movie.
Negreanu and the poker playing community also appeared in ESPN's short-lived series “Tilt,” which aired in 2005. ESPN World Series of Poker announcers Lon McEachern and Norman Chad were featured during the show, which starred Michael Madsen as Don “The Matador” Everest. Negreanu also took to the silver screen in the 2007 movie “The Grand,” which was released exactly two years ago on April 4th. The movie was described as an “improv comedy” and featured Woody Harrelson, Shannon Elizabeth, Mike Epps, Chris Parnell, and Ray Romano, among others. Three poker “Phils” – Laak, Gordon, and Hellmuth – also appeared in the movie.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the 2009 calendar year and the newest installment of the comic book franchise. The movie is directed by Gavin Hood, who was behind such films as Rendition and Tsotsi. It's written by the man who brought The Kite Runner, Troy, and 25th Hour to life. An article released by Reuters on Thursday noted that the pirated copy had been released online one month prior to its official release. However, “it included temporary sound and music and was missing effects and some scenes, with other scenes unedited.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are seeking to uncover the source of the unauthorized copy.
TorrentFreak noted that X-Men Origins: Wolverine had been downloaded 75,000 times on BitTorrent, which the website equated to the release of The Dark Knight, which won an Academy Award for the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. The pirated version references Rising Sun Pictures, an Australian company. TorrentFreak speculated that the reason for the high number of downloads may be because “X-Men’s target audience are tech-savvy people who are likely to have heard about BitTorrent.” (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Media Man Australia Profiles
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Marvel Entertainment
Poker News
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