Friday, July 17, 2009

Hitwise's Top 10 "Gambling -- Poker" sites for the week ending 23rd May 2009

Australia: Pacific Poker

United Kingdom: PKR

United States: Pokerstars.net

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2009 WSOP Main Event November Nine Features Phil Ivey, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 16th July 2009

After 56 events and 13 days of play in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was determined.

A total of 27 players came back to the Amazon Room at Noon on Wednesday with dreams of being at the final table of the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. Everyone remaining would receive $352,832, but the true focus was on making the final table, which once again will be delayed until November. Leading the pack was newcomer Darvin Moon, a logger from Maryland, who held slightly over 20 million chips as play began.

Leo Margets, who came to the start of play on Wednesday as one of the shorter stacks in the room, was the first to depart in 27th place. She was followed by notable players including Antonio Esfandiari (24th place for his largest WSOP cash ever) and Day Six leader Warren Zackey, who dropped from the tournament in 22nd place after his pocket deuces were out-raced by Ian Tavelli’s Qs-Js.

Tavelli’s aggressive play eventually caught up with him after he ran pocket nines into Steven Begleiter’s pocket kings. After the board didn’t bring him either of his two outs, the 21-year old Tavelli was eliminated in 17th place ($500,557). Almost immediately after Tavelli’s departure, one of France’s top professional players, Ludovic Lacay, was defeated by Jeff Shulman in 16th place. After Lacay’s elimination, everyone at the tables was guaranteed $633,022.

As the field continued to dwindle down, both Moon and Begleiter used their chips to climb to astronomical levels at the tables. Moon never seemed to be in jeopardy during play on Wednesday and Begleiter, using the chips he had earned from Tavelli, continued his march up the leaderboard. For all of their work, however, most of the eyes in the Amazon Room followed poker professional Phil Ivey.

The perennial pick by ESPN commentator Norm Chad to win the Main Event, Ivey had come to the 2009 WSOP with his skills at their highest point ever. He captured two bracelets during the six weeks of preliminary tournaments and had been at or around the top of the Main Event leaderboard since it began. Starting the day with over 11 million in chips, Ivey seemed content to sit back and maintain his stack, scouting potential opponents should they reach the November Nine final table.

After over 11 hours of battle, the final table of the Main Event was determined. The unlucky Bubble Boy was pro player Jordan Smith, who fell in tenth place ($896,730) at the hands of Moon. Facing a raise to 650,000 from Eric Buchman and a call from Moon, Smith popped a 2.6 million bet into the pot, which was called by Moon after Buchman folded. The seemingly innocent flop of

8 Clubs, 4 Diamonds, 2 Diamonds

hit the table, at which time the fireworks went off. Smith checked his option to Moon, who put four million chips out, and Smith moved all-in over the top. Moon called and tabled pocket eights for top set; Smith dejectedly turned up

Ace Hearts, Ace Diamonds.

After the turn and river failed to come an ace, the November Nine was determined.

These are the nine players who will gather at the Rio in November to determine the next WSOP Main Event Champion:

Darvin Moon (Oakland, Maryland) – 58,930,000
Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, New York) – 34,800,000
Steve Begleiter (Chappaqua, New York) – 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 19,580,000
Joe Cada (Shelby Township, Michigan) – 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel (Coral Springs, Florida) – 12,390,000
Phil Ivey (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 9,765,000
Antione Saout (Paris, France) – 9,500,000
James Ankenhead (London, England) – 6,800,000

With such professional players as Ivey, Shulman (Editor of CardPlayer Magazine), and Ankenhead in the mix, some are concluding that this will be one of the strongest Main Event final tables of the past few years.

Play will pause on the Las Vegas leg of this year’s WSOP, but there are still four events to go. The 2009 WSOP Europe, which will be held in London beginning in September, will offer a chance for the survivors of the Main Event to tune up their games. The November Nine then will emerge from their respite. All are now millionaires, but the eventual winner takes the $8.5 million first place prize. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

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Full Tilt Poker Set to Host World's Largest Tournament

DUBLIN, 15th July 2009

Full Tilt Poker announced today that it will attempt to break the official Guinness World Record(TM) for Largest Online Poker Tournament by attracting more than 35,000 players to the table on July 19th at 15:05ET.

The Record Breaker tournament was unveiled as the finale to FIVE, http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/five - a week of events and promotions honoring the fifth birthday of Full Tilt Poker.

Team Full Tilt members and WSOP bracelet winners Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Phil Ivey are expected to participate, offering players the chance to sit down at this historic event with some of the best high stakes and tournament players in the world.

"By extending the limits of what is possible in online poker tournaments, Full Tilt Poker will allow players to compete for a big payout without the big buy-in," said Team Full Tilt member Howard Lederer.

Staging a poker tournament of this size would be nearly impossible in the brick and mortar world. The current record for the largest "live" poker tournament was set at the 2006 WSOP Main Event with 8,772 players.

Full Tilt Poker will need to attract nearly four times that number if the Record Breaker is to live up to its name and secure the official Guinness World Record. If successful, this tournament will establish Full Tilt Poker as both a World Record holder and a world leader in online gaming technology.

The Record Breaker will begin on July 19, 2009 at 15:05 ET. Players can be a part of the world record attempt for US$5 or 1000 Full Tilt Points and compete for a share of a US$250K guaranteed with US$250K added prize pool.

Find out more at http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/the-record-breaker.

About Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker is the host of a worldwide virtual poker cardroom service. It is not in the business of betting or wagering and does not participate in the games as a player. It merely provides a service to those who wish to test their skills against others for fun, prizes or money. It is duly regulated and licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and in the United Kingdom by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. With innovative graphics, superior customer service and a safe, secure interface, the software is geared to enhance and personalize the online poker experience. Although virtual poker is legal where the games are hosted and played, it may not be legal where individual players are located. Players at all skill levels may download the software at http://www.fulltiltpoker.com but it is their responsibility to determine if participating in the games is permitted under the laws of the jurisdiction where they are located.

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Monday, July 13, 2009

PartyGaming.com CEO Jim Ryan speaks on igaming industry at Gaming Executive Summit, Spain

"The world is changing as regulation takes different shape in different markets. But upcoming regulation means new entrants and competition in the market, and I worry less about direct competitors such as those sitting on this panel than I do about government-licensed operators and major media firms targeting their own markets in the future."

"While not ideal, it has been a humbling experience and has forced us to improve our products and offers and to really up our game."

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Does Poker Stand a Chance in Asia? - TIME - 10th July 2009

From the towering, pineapple-shaped Grand Lisboa to the vast campus of the Venetian, there's no shortage of casinos to choose from in Macau. The only place in China where casinos are legal, Macau opened up its gambling industry in 2004, spurring the number of casinos to jump from 11 to 32. While there may be a question of where this city's gamblers like to play, there's no debating which game is king. Baccarat, a 15th century Italian table game, contributed 86% of Macau's $14.1 billion in gambling revenue last year.

Despite baccarat's dominance, a 2006 ban on Internet gambling in the U.S. is prompting poker promoters to take their card game across the Pacific in hopes of setting down roots in Asia's Las Vegas. Since the Macau government approved Texas Hold'em cash games and tournaments in January 2008, three casinos have opened designated poker rooms. In its first year in Macau, Texas Hold'em brought in less than $7 million, but that number is set to rise: in the first quarter of 2009 alone, the game took in more than $4 million. "Poker has exploded in Macau," says Celina Lin, 26, an Australian poker player who competes in Macau. "The skill level of the players here has increased dramatically just in the last year."

From July 9 through July 12, the Macau Poker Cup, a bimonthly tournament sponsored by PokerStars Macau, will see more than 100 players competing for a minimum of $129,000 in the main event. The event pales in comparison with the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, which draws in 7,000 players for a grand prize of $8.5 million at its main event, but the Macau tournament's organizers have high hopes for the game's potential in Asia. "The gold standard is the World Series of Poker," says Fred Leung, marketing manager for poker company PokerStars Macau. "In my mind, there's no better place that could beat the World Series of Poker than Macau."

Still, there are challenges to cultivating a poker following in this part of the world. The WSOP is taking place right now, but most Asians won't have a chance to watch it. Unlike in the U.S., where the WSOP and celebrity poker tournaments have developed a sports following enabled by ESPN and Bravo coverage, poker is frowned upon — along with other forms of gambling — in some parts of Asia, and many markets ban televised tournaments and any mention of gambling in traditional advertising. In 2007, mainland Chinese censors banned a television commercial for the Altira Macau hotel and casino (formerly known as the Crown Macau) that featured Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat flipping hotel key cards and ice cubes in an allusion to gambling.

To get around these marketing challenges, promoters across Asia are sponsoring rising talents and relying on word of mouth to popularize the game. In South Korea, gaming company AsianLogic is hoping poker will take off among the legions of video gamers in that country. "We're converting Korean [World of ] WarCraft players into poker players," says Tom Hall, AsianLogic's CEO. "If we dangle $5,000 in front of them, they'll blog about it."

Asia might be new to the game, but some of the most famous American poker players are of Asian descent. That includes five of the top 20 World Series of Poker players: Men (The Master) Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, John Juanda, David Chiu and Johnny (Orient Express) Chan, who holds two WSOP main event titles. Still, without media exposure, these names remain unknown in Macau, leaving organizers to develop local heroes who can inspire the masses to take up the game.

Singaporean Bryan Huang, 24, is one such rising star and a favorite in this week's tournament. Last year, he moved to Macau to develop his career as a professional poker player. He spends his days betting on as many as 12 simultaneous tables online, and then plays into the night in cash games at the Grand Lisboa. "Once people understand that poker's a game of skill, they'll grow into it and definitely prefer it over baccarat," says Huang, referring to the fact that baccarat players bet against the house while poker players bet against each other. "Give it another three or five years. Poker here is going to be as huge as anywhere else in the world." It's a tempting bet, but can you ever really trust a poker player? (Credit: Time)

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Illawarra poker king's wedding was in the cards, by Laurel-Lee Roderick - Illawarra Mercury - 13th July 2009

Illawarra's poker king has won plenty of prizes at the table, including his fiancee's heart.

Gary Parker of Oak Flats went into Saturday's Australian Poker League State Finals at Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club as the region's top poker player.

And, while the cards didn't go his way on the weekend, the 48-year-old still has plenty to celebrate.

Mr Parker has already scored himself an entry into a $500,000 national poker tournament next month at Melbourne's Crown Casino.

And he has his wedding to plan, to his queen of hearts, fiancee Deb Green who, ironically, he met while playing poker.

"We have been going out since February last year, but we knew each other for about 12 months before that," Mr Parker said.

The couple has yet to plan the big day, but Mr Parker joked that the ultimate dream would be to get married in the world's casino capital, Las Vegas.

The pair plays poker seven nights a week, at clubs from Shellharbour to Corrimal. On Sundays, they play in two poker tournaments.

"I always try to make it to the state finals and this was my fifth time," Mr Parker said.

"It is a good game and you always hope to get through the last table, but it didn't happen this time."

About 500 poker players from across NSW competed on Saturday, including 45 Illawarra players.

The highest placed Illawarra player was Mick Samways, who finished in seventh place.

The day was won by Kearns man Antony Vidal, who took home $3500 prize money and will now head to Melbourne for next month's tournament.

(Credit: Illawarra Mercury)

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World Series of Poker fraternity agree Doyle Brunson the best

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Media Man Australia attracting investor interest

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