Leonardo DiCaprio to Star in Online Poker Movie, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 16th June 2009
Move over, “Titanic,” there’s a new sheriff in town. Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio will star in an untitled film about internet gambling outfits in Costa Rica, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly.
The screenplay will be written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who both served in the same capacity in the 1998 film “Rounders,” which turned many of today’s poker prodigies onto the game. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), “Rounders” marked the first official writing credits for Koppelman and Levien. The duo has also teamed up with DiCaprio to bring “Beat the Reaper” to the big screen. The film, which will be released next year, has the following plot according to IMDB: “ER doctor Peter Brown’s life is turned upside down when he crosses paths with a mobster who appears to know him from his former life as a hitman.”
No release date has been given for DiCaprio’s online poker movie. An article on MTV.com noted that DiCaprio’s plate is quite full: “DiCaprio has an enormous list of films in pre-production. For the time being, at least, he’ll be working on Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception.’ Whenever he’s finished with that, he will probably have developed five more projects.” IMDB notes that DiCaprio has 21 films in development.
Whether the film will focus on online poker, casinos, or sports betting remains to be seen and various websites pitch the movie in several different ways. Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker are both based in San Jose, the Central American country’s capital city. A report by CBS News program “60 Minutes” identified the offices of the sites as being located in a “strip mall.” Both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker comprise the CEREUS Network, which was formed in November.
Action Poker, the flagship site of the network of the same name, has offices in Costa Rica. Joining the site in the tropical nation is Doyle’s Room, which opened the 2009 calendar year by jumping to the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network. Ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, whose “Texas Dolly” moniker has made him one of the industry’s foremost faces, is the site’s namesake. Also holding a presence in Costa Rica is PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. According to PokerScout.com, which ranks online poker site traffic, PokerStars has a seven day running average of 22,000 cash game players. It happily accepts customers from the United States.
“Rounders” starred Edward Norton and Matt Damon. The movie was released five years before Chris Moneymaker became a household after the Tennessee accountant defeated Sammy Farha in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Since then, Koppelman and Levien have kept their love for poker alive, teaming up for ESPN’s short-lived series “Tilt,” which starred Michael Madsen as Don “The Matador” Everest. “Tilt” premiered in 2005, ran for one season, and featured appearances by poker superstars including Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, and T.J. Cloutier. Negreanu is fresh off a cameo in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”
Finally, Koppelman and Levien wrote “Oceans Thirteen,” which came out in 2007. It was the third installment of the franchise, which stars Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts. “Oceans Thirteen” returned to its roots in Las Vegas as the team sought revenge on casino owner Willy Blank (played by Al Pacino). The movie also stars Don Cheadle, who founded Ante Up for Africa along with Norman Epstein and “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke.
We’ll have more information for you on DiCaprio’s online gambling movie as it becomes available right here on Poker News Daily. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Roman's ships are down, by Graeme Leech - The Australian - 7th May 2009
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has lost one of his yachts in a game of poker. Poor form for a whale; he did not, as Kerry Packer would have, call double or nothing. Abramovich's yacht collection is worth hundreds of millions and has been dubbed the Roman Navy by the British press, which follows his every move because he owns the Chelsea soccer club. So he can afford one $US500,000 yacht. Strewth's Packer reference comes from an anecdote that could be a casino myth. Packer was playing blackjack in Las Vegas when another gambler began boasting about his ranch. To silence the man, Packer is reputed to have said: "Toss you for it." (Credit: The Australian)
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Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has lost one of his yachts in a game of poker. Poor form for a whale; he did not, as Kerry Packer would have, call double or nothing. Abramovich's yacht collection is worth hundreds of millions and has been dubbed the Roman Navy by the British press, which follows his every move because he owns the Chelsea soccer club. So he can afford one $US500,000 yacht. Strewth's Packer reference comes from an anecdote that could be a casino myth. Packer was playing blackjack in Las Vegas when another gambler began boasting about his ranch. To silence the man, Packer is reputed to have said: "Toss you for it." (Credit: The Australian)
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Daniel Tzvetkoff hit with $52m lawsuit, by Daryl Passmore - The Sunday Mail - 14th June 2009
Queensland's baby-faced internet tycoon Daniel Tzvetkoff is being targeted in a $52 million legal action by an online gambling firm.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of blows in recent months for the 25-year-old who first hit the headlines last year when he bought the state's most expensive home, spending $27 million for an unfinished beachfront mansion on the Gold Coast.
Mr Tzvetkoff is the brains behind an online billing, payments and fraud-detection system which helped him and partner Sam Sciacca, 38, build a business empire worth an estimated $120 million in last year's The Sunday Mail Top 100 Rich List.
Their firm, Intabill Inc, is now being sued by Kolyma Corporation AVV for payments which Kolyma says were not passed on.
The corporation, based in the former Dutch colony of Aruba in the southern Caribbean, operates Full Tilt Poker, one of the most popular and lucrative online gambling sites.
It was one of the biggest clients of Intabill, which is based in the Brisbane suburb of Milton.
Kolyma is seeking payment of an alleged debt of $US43 million ($A52.75 million) plus interest, which it claims has been increasing at $US13,532 a day (about A$16,590) since May 25.
The action, lodged in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on May 25, names as defendants Intabill, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven, and the Australian-registered holding company BT Projects. It also targets Mr Tzvetkoff and Mr Sciacca individually, saying they gave a guarantee to pay Kolyma money claimed to be owed.
Mr Tzvetkoff told The Sunday Mail they would defend the lawsuit "but I can't comment further".
Mr Sciacca could not be reached for comment.
Intabill had more than 5000 customers in 70 countries. It is understood that about half its revenue came from business linked to online gambling operations, with fees from just one operator topping more than $150,000 per day.
In April, Intabill laid off 96 employees - keeping about 20. Mr Tzvetkoff blamed market conditions and increased loan funding costs.
In May, Intabill withdrew a multimillion-dollar sponsorship of the Team IntaRacing V8 Supercar team, announced only months earlier.
Asked on Friday about the current state of his businesses, Mr Tzvetkoff said: "We are continuing to work to rebuild during these tough times."
Mr Tzvetkoff was raised in Brisbane's southern suburbs by a school teacher mum and a father who runs weekend markets.
Benefiting from the boom times of his business, he drove a black Lamborghini Gallardo with the number plate BALLER and owned a Ferrari 599, an Audi S6, Range Rover and a Ford GT40. He had a luxurious boat and used chartered private jets.
He is a part-owner of the Zuri Lounge celebrity nightclub in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.
It is understood the boat and most of the cars have been sold.
A year ago, Mr Tzvetkoff emerged as the mystery buyer of the $27 million half-built mansion on "millionaire's row" at Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach, which was formerly owned by tourism tycoon Tony Smith.
The property, spread over four waterfront lots, was to be a family home for Mr Tzvetkoff, his fiancee Nicole Crisp and their son Hugo, now aged two. They planned to marry last October and move in late last year. But the wedding was postponed because Mr Tzvetkoff said he was too busy with business commitments.
The Hedges Ave property is still unfinished and they have not moved in yet.
"At the moment we are on hold," Mr Tzvetkoff said yesterday.
Salvatore "Sam" Sciacca is a lawyer with a background in commercial and corporate work, including e-commerce.
He is a cousin of former federal minister for veterans' affairs Con Sciacca, and has kept a much lower profile than Mr Tzvetkoff. (Credit: The Sunday Mail)
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Queensland's baby-faced internet tycoon Daniel Tzvetkoff is being targeted in a $52 million legal action by an online gambling firm.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of blows in recent months for the 25-year-old who first hit the headlines last year when he bought the state's most expensive home, spending $27 million for an unfinished beachfront mansion on the Gold Coast.
Mr Tzvetkoff is the brains behind an online billing, payments and fraud-detection system which helped him and partner Sam Sciacca, 38, build a business empire worth an estimated $120 million in last year's The Sunday Mail Top 100 Rich List.
Their firm, Intabill Inc, is now being sued by Kolyma Corporation AVV for payments which Kolyma says were not passed on.
The corporation, based in the former Dutch colony of Aruba in the southern Caribbean, operates Full Tilt Poker, one of the most popular and lucrative online gambling sites.
It was one of the biggest clients of Intabill, which is based in the Brisbane suburb of Milton.
Kolyma is seeking payment of an alleged debt of $US43 million ($A52.75 million) plus interest, which it claims has been increasing at $US13,532 a day (about A$16,590) since May 25.
The action, lodged in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on May 25, names as defendants Intabill, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven, and the Australian-registered holding company BT Projects. It also targets Mr Tzvetkoff and Mr Sciacca individually, saying they gave a guarantee to pay Kolyma money claimed to be owed.
Mr Tzvetkoff told The Sunday Mail they would defend the lawsuit "but I can't comment further".
Mr Sciacca could not be reached for comment.
Intabill had more than 5000 customers in 70 countries. It is understood that about half its revenue came from business linked to online gambling operations, with fees from just one operator topping more than $150,000 per day.
In April, Intabill laid off 96 employees - keeping about 20. Mr Tzvetkoff blamed market conditions and increased loan funding costs.
In May, Intabill withdrew a multimillion-dollar sponsorship of the Team IntaRacing V8 Supercar team, announced only months earlier.
Asked on Friday about the current state of his businesses, Mr Tzvetkoff said: "We are continuing to work to rebuild during these tough times."
Mr Tzvetkoff was raised in Brisbane's southern suburbs by a school teacher mum and a father who runs weekend markets.
Benefiting from the boom times of his business, he drove a black Lamborghini Gallardo with the number plate BALLER and owned a Ferrari 599, an Audi S6, Range Rover and a Ford GT40. He had a luxurious boat and used chartered private jets.
He is a part-owner of the Zuri Lounge celebrity nightclub in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.
It is understood the boat and most of the cars have been sold.
A year ago, Mr Tzvetkoff emerged as the mystery buyer of the $27 million half-built mansion on "millionaire's row" at Hedges Ave, Mermaid Beach, which was formerly owned by tourism tycoon Tony Smith.
The property, spread over four waterfront lots, was to be a family home for Mr Tzvetkoff, his fiancee Nicole Crisp and their son Hugo, now aged two. They planned to marry last October and move in late last year. But the wedding was postponed because Mr Tzvetkoff said he was too busy with business commitments.
The Hedges Ave property is still unfinished and they have not moved in yet.
"At the moment we are on hold," Mr Tzvetkoff said yesterday.
Salvatore "Sam" Sciacca is a lawyer with a background in commercial and corporate work, including e-commerce.
He is a cousin of former federal minister for veterans' affairs Con Sciacca, and has kept a much lower profile than Mr Tzvetkoff. (Credit: The Sunday Mail)
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Saturday, June 13, 2009
United States Federal Government Freezes $30 Million in Online Poker Funds, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 9th June 2009
Over $30 million belonging to at least 24,000 online poker players has been frozen by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, according to statements released by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and Associated Press.
The seizure of funds, according to the PPA statement, is a result of violations of the Wire Act of 1961 and the Illegal Gambling Business Act. The former has traditionally applied to online sports books. A Southern District judge issued a warrant for “an account at a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco and a federal prosecutor told a bank in Arizona to freeze an account,” according to the Associated Press. On June 4th, a total of $19 million was frozen in banks in Scottsdale and Los Angeles and, as the PPA explained, “It is important to underscore that in at least two cases, the prosecutor acted and the banks responded without a warrant being issued.”
None of the Southern District Court’s actions appear to come as a result of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed in the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). The PPA released a statement late Tuesday afternoon noting, “The PPA is disappointed that this unprecedented action has been commenced against law abiding poker players. The payment processor funds frozen by the Southern District of New York belong to individual poker players – not operators of poker websites – and do not represent the proceeds of any gambling activity, much less illegal gambling activity.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Arlo Devlin-Brown sent a letter on Friday to Alliance Bank of Arizona calling for the seizure of accounts held by the payment processor Allied Systems. In response, the PPA sent a letter yesterday to the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District Court requesting to be involved in the process going forward. The PPA has over one million members in total and is fresh off a victory in Minnesota, where the state’s Department of Public Safety rescinded an order to block access to 200 internet gambling domain names by its residents.
The PPA added that the organization has been in contact with the online poker sites whose checks have bounced and has been told that all players will be reimbursed. A member of the Poker News Daily staff received a check from PokerStars dated June 1st backed by a bank in California that cleared three days later without incident. PokerStars currently offers eChecks for depositing and withdrawing. Paper checks are the site’s only other method of cashing out for players from the United States. Paper checks are available for all denominations and sent by first class mail or courier service within 15 business days. Full Tilt Poker also offers eChecks.
According to the Associated Press, a federal prosecutor claimed that the funds in question were seized “because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses.” When prompted for comment by Poker News Daily, PokerStars Press Office Donna McLoughlin responded, “PokerStars has not made any comments on this matter thus far. I don’t have any more information for you, I’m afraid.”
Meanwhile, members of the online poker community are reacting to the news. On PocketFives.com, one poster expressed his outrage at the lack of a clear response from PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site: “The payment processor where I got my Stars check from is part of this. Stars won’t really give me a straight answer.” Rich “TheEngineer” Muny commented on the same forum, “PPA will stand strong here. We have a nice record to date of winning in courts and we’re not planning to start losing now.”
In 2007, a similar occurrence involved Neteller. In July of that year, the company reached an agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to return frozen money to players. Approximately $60 million was seized; Neteller quickly exited the U.S. market and agreed to pay a $136 million fine. In January of 2007, Neteller founders John LeFebvre and Steve Lawrence were arrested on U.S. soil, which set off the funds seizure.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this breaking news story.
Poker News Daily columnist Sean Gibson contributed to this report. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Over $30 million belonging to at least 24,000 online poker players has been frozen by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, according to statements released by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and Associated Press.
The seizure of funds, according to the PPA statement, is a result of violations of the Wire Act of 1961 and the Illegal Gambling Business Act. The former has traditionally applied to online sports books. A Southern District judge issued a warrant for “an account at a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco and a federal prosecutor told a bank in Arizona to freeze an account,” according to the Associated Press. On June 4th, a total of $19 million was frozen in banks in Scottsdale and Los Angeles and, as the PPA explained, “It is important to underscore that in at least two cases, the prosecutor acted and the banks responded without a warrant being issued.”
None of the Southern District Court’s actions appear to come as a result of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed in the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session at the urging of then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). The PPA released a statement late Tuesday afternoon noting, “The PPA is disappointed that this unprecedented action has been commenced against law abiding poker players. The payment processor funds frozen by the Southern District of New York belong to individual poker players – not operators of poker websites – and do not represent the proceeds of any gambling activity, much less illegal gambling activity.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Arlo Devlin-Brown sent a letter on Friday to Alliance Bank of Arizona calling for the seizure of accounts held by the payment processor Allied Systems. In response, the PPA sent a letter yesterday to the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District Court requesting to be involved in the process going forward. The PPA has over one million members in total and is fresh off a victory in Minnesota, where the state’s Department of Public Safety rescinded an order to block access to 200 internet gambling domain names by its residents.
The PPA added that the organization has been in contact with the online poker sites whose checks have bounced and has been told that all players will be reimbursed. A member of the Poker News Daily staff received a check from PokerStars dated June 1st backed by a bank in California that cleared three days later without incident. PokerStars currently offers eChecks for depositing and withdrawing. Paper checks are the site’s only other method of cashing out for players from the United States. Paper checks are available for all denominations and sent by first class mail or courier service within 15 business days. Full Tilt Poker also offers eChecks.
According to the Associated Press, a federal prosecutor claimed that the funds in question were seized “because they constitute property involved in money laundering transactions and illegal gambling offenses.” When prompted for comment by Poker News Daily, PokerStars Press Office Donna McLoughlin responded, “PokerStars has not made any comments on this matter thus far. I don’t have any more information for you, I’m afraid.”
Meanwhile, members of the online poker community are reacting to the news. On PocketFives.com, one poster expressed his outrage at the lack of a clear response from PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site: “The payment processor where I got my Stars check from is part of this. Stars won’t really give me a straight answer.” Rich “TheEngineer” Muny commented on the same forum, “PPA will stand strong here. We have a nice record to date of winning in courts and we’re not planning to start losing now.”
In 2007, a similar occurrence involved Neteller. In July of that year, the company reached an agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to return frozen money to players. Approximately $60 million was seized; Neteller quickly exited the U.S. market and agreed to pay a $136 million fine. In January of 2007, Neteller founders John LeFebvre and Steve Lawrence were arrested on U.S. soil, which set off the funds seizure.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on this breaking news story.
Poker News Daily columnist Sean Gibson contributed to this report. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
PARTYPOKER.COM AND PARTYCASINO.COM LAUNCH NEW GLOBAL CAMPAIGN
PARTYPOINTS STORE TO BE IMPROVED AT END OF JUNE
Gibraltar – 9th June 2009 – An exciting new global campaign has been launched for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com.
Extensive worldwide customer research helped PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com develop a new proposition and this is delivered through the new strapline ‘Feel it’. The research identified ‘it’ as the intense rush as the river card is turned or the wild anticipation as the roulette wheel begins to slow. In fact ‘it’ is something different to every player and with its range of new games, promotions and tournaments PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com are constantly innovating to deliver the best customer experience in online poker and casino.
The campaign will roll out on TV, online, billboards and in press in territories worldwide. At the heart are thrilling TV commercials for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com that show players caught up in a whirlwind of excitement. The whirlwind captures the journey of the game for poker and the fun and excitement of casino as players enjoy the games in a virtual world. The campaign also sees the introduction of a redesigned logo.
The television advertisements were filmed on the biggest stage at the famous Shepperton Studios in the UK where so many blockbusters including the Bond movies are shot. All the action was overseen by Hollywood film director Paul WS Anderson - his experience in directing Event Horizon, Resident Evil and Alien versus Predator was key to delivering the action packed footage. A look at the tv ads can be found at http://www.partypoker.com and http://www.partycasino.com
The campaign was created by Leeds based agency Home, in conjunction with PartyGaming’s in-house team.
A PartyGaming spokesman said: “The new campaign has gone global and you will already see the brand changes when you log on to PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com. PartyPoker.com has just launched the Million Dollar Hand promotion for June, while PartyCasino.com is the world’s largest online casino and is continuing to expand at a rapid pace. The Gold Mega Jackpot at PartyCasino.com currently stands at just over a record breaking $2,281,000 and is waiting to be hit!”
At the end of June, PartyPoker.com will be improving the PartyPoints store. Customers are advised to hold on to their PartyPoints until then to make the most of the changes that will be introduced. See http://www.partypoker.com for more details.
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PARTYPOINTS STORE TO BE IMPROVED AT END OF JUNE
Gibraltar – 9th June 2009 – An exciting new global campaign has been launched for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com.
Extensive worldwide customer research helped PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com develop a new proposition and this is delivered through the new strapline ‘Feel it’. The research identified ‘it’ as the intense rush as the river card is turned or the wild anticipation as the roulette wheel begins to slow. In fact ‘it’ is something different to every player and with its range of new games, promotions and tournaments PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com are constantly innovating to deliver the best customer experience in online poker and casino.
The campaign will roll out on TV, online, billboards and in press in territories worldwide. At the heart are thrilling TV commercials for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com that show players caught up in a whirlwind of excitement. The whirlwind captures the journey of the game for poker and the fun and excitement of casino as players enjoy the games in a virtual world. The campaign also sees the introduction of a redesigned logo.
The television advertisements were filmed on the biggest stage at the famous Shepperton Studios in the UK where so many blockbusters including the Bond movies are shot. All the action was overseen by Hollywood film director Paul WS Anderson - his experience in directing Event Horizon, Resident Evil and Alien versus Predator was key to delivering the action packed footage. A look at the tv ads can be found at http://www.partypoker.com and http://www.partycasino.com
The campaign was created by Leeds based agency Home, in conjunction with PartyGaming’s in-house team.
A PartyGaming spokesman said: “The new campaign has gone global and you will already see the brand changes when you log on to PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com. PartyPoker.com has just launched the Million Dollar Hand promotion for June, while PartyCasino.com is the world’s largest online casino and is continuing to expand at a rapid pace. The Gold Mega Jackpot at PartyCasino.com currently stands at just over a record breaking $2,281,000 and is waiting to be hit!”
At the end of June, PartyPoker.com will be improving the PartyPoints store. Customers are advised to hold on to their PartyPoints until then to make the most of the changes that will be introduced. See http://www.partypoker.com for more details.
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Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Poker warning for pubs - ABC News - 19th May 2009
The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) says pub owners need to be aware of the legalities of running poker games.
AHA general manager Ian Horne says the Adelaide Casino has raised the issue from a commercial perspective, questioning if the games are legal.
Mr Horne says he understands free games run in pubs are legal, but venues should be careful of offering games involving cash.
"We're simply saying don't take the advice of the promoters, because if there is a prosecution, the promoter doesn't get prosecuted, the venue gets prosecuted," he said.
"So hotels and clubs that are going to have this buy-in poker, which is where cash is involved, they really need to take their own independent legal advice to assure themselves that they're not breaching any laws."
Clubs SA says it is not aware of any of its members running the cash buy-in games.
Clubs SA deputy president Bill Cochrane says poker games are run purely as free entertainment, not as a money-making operation.
"We would be very disappointed if there was any club participating in this type of game," he said.
"As an association we've reminded all our membership of their responsibility in regards to compliance to their operations with this type of tournament, we've stressed that there shouldn't be any buy-in games operating in any club in this state." (Credit: ABC News)
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The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) says pub owners need to be aware of the legalities of running poker games.
AHA general manager Ian Horne says the Adelaide Casino has raised the issue from a commercial perspective, questioning if the games are legal.
Mr Horne says he understands free games run in pubs are legal, but venues should be careful of offering games involving cash.
"We're simply saying don't take the advice of the promoters, because if there is a prosecution, the promoter doesn't get prosecuted, the venue gets prosecuted," he said.
"So hotels and clubs that are going to have this buy-in poker, which is where cash is involved, they really need to take their own independent legal advice to assure themselves that they're not breaching any laws."
Clubs SA says it is not aware of any of its members running the cash buy-in games.
Clubs SA deputy president Bill Cochrane says poker games are run purely as free entertainment, not as a money-making operation.
"We would be very disappointed if there was any club participating in this type of game," he said.
"As an association we've reminded all our membership of their responsibility in regards to compliance to their operations with this type of tournament, we've stressed that there shouldn't be any buy-in games operating in any club in this state." (Credit: ABC News)
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
Watch the WSOP at PKR.com
PKR.com will be the only place to watch live coverage of many of this year’s WSOP events and the best thing is that it’s all available for free. The virtual reality poker site has signed a deal with Bluff Media giving them exclusive rights to 24 of the bracelet events at the 2009 World Series. Highlights of the package include the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E, $10,000 PLO and $10,000 Heads Up Championship. The events will be shown on a specific microsite at PKR.com.
PKR.com Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, "The World Series of Poker is without doubt the biggest event of the poker calendar and it fills me with delight that PKR has managed to scoop exclusive rights to be the official broadcaster for these 24 bracelet events."
If you’d rather be playing at the World Series than watching then there are still plenty of opportunities to qualify with PKR.com. At least 10 packages worth $12,000 apiece are on offer in the their WSOP Main Event Final with daily super satellites starting from just $1.20+6c.
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PKR.com will be the only place to watch live coverage of many of this year’s WSOP events and the best thing is that it’s all available for free. The virtual reality poker site has signed a deal with Bluff Media giving them exclusive rights to 24 of the bracelet events at the 2009 World Series. Highlights of the package include the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E, $10,000 PLO and $10,000 Heads Up Championship. The events will be shown on a specific microsite at PKR.com.
PKR.com Marketing Director Simon Prodger said, "The World Series of Poker is without doubt the biggest event of the poker calendar and it fills me with delight that PKR has managed to scoop exclusive rights to be the official broadcaster for these 24 bracelet events."
If you’d rather be playing at the World Series than watching then there are still plenty of opportunities to qualify with PKR.com. At least 10 packages worth $12,000 apiece are on offer in the their WSOP Main Event Final with daily super satellites starting from just $1.20+6c.
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WSOP Sells Out Three of First Nine Events, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 6th June 2009
The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has already been firmly cemented as one of our industry’s most epic events ever. Three of the first nine tournaments were sold out for the first time in WSOP history, including the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special event, which attracted 6,000 runners.
The seventh event of the 2009 WSOP was a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, the first of that genre to take place following the Stimulus Special. In fact, the tournaments began just three days apart, meaning another record field was likely on tap. As a result, 2,791 players showed up for the WSOP’s second sellout of 2009. Harrah’s officials determine whether an event has reached its capacity based on the number of players surviving the previous day’s tournaments combined with demand for the new schedule of events. Last year, 2,706 players took to the field in Event #7, which was won by Vitaly Lunkin.
In the end, Travis Johnson banked $666,000 and his first bracelet from Event #7, defeating Steve Karp heads-up. Others reaching the final table included Michael Ciotola (third place for $273,385), Mark Salinaro (fourth place for $193,343), Craig McConville (fifth place for $145,721), Brian McInnis (sixth place for $116,234), Walter Wright (seventh place for $97,985), Jim McClain (eighth place for $87,013), and Kam Low (ninth place for $81,185). The top 296 players finished in the money in the sold out affair, which emanated from the Amazon Room inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Sin City.
Similarly, Event #9, the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament, drew 1,459 players, also a sellout. An e-mail sent to WSOP media this week noted, “With this event being six-handed, all available tables not being utilized for restarts were taken up by Event #9. Last year, this same event was Event #9 on the schedule and had 1,236 entrants. The 1,459 entrants represents a 223 player – or 18% - increase year over year.” The 2009 version of the Six-Max event, which wrapped up Friday night, was ultimately won by Ken Aldridge, who defeated Carman Cavella heads-up. The final table also featured Peter Gould (third place for $170,953), Bryce Yockey (fourth place for $115,230), Charles Furey (fifth place for $80,896), and Manny Minaya (sixth place for $59,049).
This year marks the first time that three of the first nine WSOP events have been sold out. Whether the numbers are a function of the placement of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP remains to be seen. The event was the second on the docket of the 2009 WSOP and brought out poker’s biggest stars. Its 201 entrants generated the largest non-Main Event prize pool in WSOP history at $7.7 million. The aforementioned Lunkin was its winner and took home $1.8 million for his showing.
Immediately following the $40,000 buy-in tournament was a $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better event that drew 918 entrants, making it the largest Omaha High-Low event in WSOP history. The sizable field didn’t faze Thang Luu, who took down the event for $263,000. It marked a monumental feat for Luu, who became the first player since Johnny Chan to win an event twice and also finish as its runner-up in a three-year span. Chan accomplished the feat in the Main Event, winning the tournament in 1987 and 1988 before falling to Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth in 1989.
No discussion of tournament sellouts would be complete without mentioning the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special, which attracted the largest non-Main Event field in WSOP history at 6,000 players. The tournament required two starting days and players were sprawled throughout the halls of the Rio, including several who could be found in Buzio’s Seafood Restaurant.
The 2009 WSOP will begin airing on ESPN on Tuesday, July 28th with the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em event. On August 4th, the WSOP Champions Invitational will air, followed by the Ante Up for Africa festivities on August 11th. Starting on August 18th, action from the $10,000 buy-in Main Event will hit television airwaves, concluding with its final table on Tuesday, November 10th.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP news. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has already been firmly cemented as one of our industry’s most epic events ever. Three of the first nine tournaments were sold out for the first time in WSOP history, including the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special event, which attracted 6,000 runners.
The seventh event of the 2009 WSOP was a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, the first of that genre to take place following the Stimulus Special. In fact, the tournaments began just three days apart, meaning another record field was likely on tap. As a result, 2,791 players showed up for the WSOP’s second sellout of 2009. Harrah’s officials determine whether an event has reached its capacity based on the number of players surviving the previous day’s tournaments combined with demand for the new schedule of events. Last year, 2,706 players took to the field in Event #7, which was won by Vitaly Lunkin.
In the end, Travis Johnson banked $666,000 and his first bracelet from Event #7, defeating Steve Karp heads-up. Others reaching the final table included Michael Ciotola (third place for $273,385), Mark Salinaro (fourth place for $193,343), Craig McConville (fifth place for $145,721), Brian McInnis (sixth place for $116,234), Walter Wright (seventh place for $97,985), Jim McClain (eighth place for $87,013), and Kam Low (ninth place for $81,185). The top 296 players finished in the money in the sold out affair, which emanated from the Amazon Room inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Sin City.
Similarly, Event #9, the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Max tournament, drew 1,459 players, also a sellout. An e-mail sent to WSOP media this week noted, “With this event being six-handed, all available tables not being utilized for restarts were taken up by Event #9. Last year, this same event was Event #9 on the schedule and had 1,236 entrants. The 1,459 entrants represents a 223 player – or 18% - increase year over year.” The 2009 version of the Six-Max event, which wrapped up Friday night, was ultimately won by Ken Aldridge, who defeated Carman Cavella heads-up. The final table also featured Peter Gould (third place for $170,953), Bryce Yockey (fourth place for $115,230), Charles Furey (fifth place for $80,896), and Manny Minaya (sixth place for $59,049).
This year marks the first time that three of the first nine WSOP events have been sold out. Whether the numbers are a function of the placement of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP remains to be seen. The event was the second on the docket of the 2009 WSOP and brought out poker’s biggest stars. Its 201 entrants generated the largest non-Main Event prize pool in WSOP history at $7.7 million. The aforementioned Lunkin was its winner and took home $1.8 million for his showing.
Immediately following the $40,000 buy-in tournament was a $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better event that drew 918 entrants, making it the largest Omaha High-Low event in WSOP history. The sizable field didn’t faze Thang Luu, who took down the event for $263,000. It marked a monumental feat for Luu, who became the first player since Johnny Chan to win an event twice and also finish as its runner-up in a three-year span. Chan accomplished the feat in the Main Event, winning the tournament in 1987 and 1988 before falling to Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth in 1989.
No discussion of tournament sellouts would be complete without mentioning the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special, which attracted the largest non-Main Event field in WSOP history at 6,000 players. The tournament required two starting days and players were sprawled throughout the halls of the Rio, including several who could be found in Buzio’s Seafood Restaurant.
The 2009 WSOP will begin airing on ESPN on Tuesday, July 28th with the $40,000 No Limit Hold’em event. On August 4th, the WSOP Champions Invitational will air, followed by the Ante Up for Africa festivities on August 11th. Starting on August 18th, action from the $10,000 buy-in Main Event will hit television airwaves, concluding with its final table on Tuesday, November 10th.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP news. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Steve Sung Wins $1,000 WSOP Stimulus Special, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 4th June 2009
A record-setting 6,000 players turned out for Event #4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special. In the end, 24 year-old professional poker player Steve Sung banked $771,000 for the win.
The nine-handed final table in Event #4 was originally scheduled to play out on Tuesday night. However, a last-minute decision by WSOP officials to hold the final table on Wednesday set up a mid-afternoon showdown featuring Dan Heimiller and Sung holding dominating chip leads over the rest of the table. In fact, the duo held nearly half of the chips in play. First to hit the exits in the No Limit Hold’em tournament was Danny Fuhs, the short stack entering Wednesday’s play. After a board of 10-A-J-2, Phong Huynh pushed over the top of a raise by Fuhs, leaving Fuhs calling for his tournament life. He flipped over A-J for top two pair, but watched as Huynh revealed pocket tens for a set. Every member of the final table earned a six-figure payday, as Fuhs took home $114,168.
Huynh was the next to go, coming out on the short end of a set over set situation against James Matz. Heimiller then saw his lead take a dive after dropping a 2.5 million chip pot to Pete Vilandos. In the hand, Vilandos rivered a six-high straight, trumping Heimiller’s flopped set. Jeff Oakes was then ousted in seventh place by Sung. Oakes was all-in pre-flop holding pocket fives in a race against A-Q. However, the flop came ace-high, sending Sung into the lead in the hand for good. Sung then caught fire, as over the next hour, he’d grow his stack to well over six million.
During the heater, Sung sent Heimiller to the rails in sixth after Heimiller’s A-K of spades could not hold up against Sung’s A-Q. The flop came 3-Q-6, sending Sung into the lead for good. Heimiller banked $145,000 for his efforts and was gunning for his second WSOP bracelet. He won his first in 2002 in a $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em and Seven Card Stud event for $108,000. In that event, he bested Ram Vaswani heads-up in the finale of the 144 player field.
Sung was also the executioner of Nathan Mullen, who was eliminated in fifth place for $175,851. Mullen was all-in pre-flop with J-10 against Sung’s A-7. The flop came K-Q-J, giving Mullen the temporary lead in the hand, but also giving Sung a straight draw. Sure enough, one of the three remaining tens in the deck hit on the river, and Mullen was sent packing in shock. According to official WSOP coverage, the hand gave Sung 60% of the chips in play. Shortly thereafter, Larry Sidebotham was eliminated in fourth place for $227,254 by Matz, whose A-7 held against Q-J.
Sung sent Matz out in third place. Matz pushed over the top of a bet by Sung with 5-4 after a flop of Q-5-10. Sung flipped over K-J for an open-ended straight draw, which promptly hit when an ace fell on the river. Sung held a 5:2 chip margin heads-up and won his first bracelet within an hour. On the final hand, Sung’s hot run of cards continued. Vilandos called Sung’s all-in for his tournament life with pocket eights, only to see he was up against Sung’s pocket kings. The cowboys held and Sung banked $771,000; Matz earned $473,283 for his runner-up showing.
The $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #7) wrapped up Day 2 on Wednesday. When the final cards were dealt, Craig McConville was the only player with over one million chips. Hot on his heels are Steve Karp (957,000 chips) and Jacob Kalb (894,000 chips). Still in contention is Jeremy Joseph, who ESPN followed religiously throughout last year’s $10,000 buy-in Main Event. Joseph took 57th in the tournament for $115,000 and now sits with a stack of 493,000 entering the final day of play. Thirty-three players remain; falling during Wednesday’s action were Justin “looshle” Pechie (42nd place for $11,505) and Sandra Naujoks (61st place for $7,390). In March, Naujoks became only the second female to win a European Poker Tour (EPT) event.
Finally, David Fox leads the way in the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event after Day 1. A sold out field of 1,459 players entered and 105 survived to see Day 2. Among those still in the hunt for the bracelet are David Daneshgar (27th with 77,700 chips), Bill Chen (40th with 68,700), Todd Witteles (45th with 64,600), Rafe Furst (63rd with 47,400), Justin Young (72nd with 33,300), Joe Awada (74th with 32,900), Carlos Mortensen (89th with 25,600), and Isaac Haxton (95th with 21,700). Play resumes at 2:00pm PT. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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A record-setting 6,000 players turned out for Event #4 of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special. In the end, 24 year-old professional poker player Steve Sung banked $771,000 for the win.
The nine-handed final table in Event #4 was originally scheduled to play out on Tuesday night. However, a last-minute decision by WSOP officials to hold the final table on Wednesday set up a mid-afternoon showdown featuring Dan Heimiller and Sung holding dominating chip leads over the rest of the table. In fact, the duo held nearly half of the chips in play. First to hit the exits in the No Limit Hold’em tournament was Danny Fuhs, the short stack entering Wednesday’s play. After a board of 10-A-J-2, Phong Huynh pushed over the top of a raise by Fuhs, leaving Fuhs calling for his tournament life. He flipped over A-J for top two pair, but watched as Huynh revealed pocket tens for a set. Every member of the final table earned a six-figure payday, as Fuhs took home $114,168.
Huynh was the next to go, coming out on the short end of a set over set situation against James Matz. Heimiller then saw his lead take a dive after dropping a 2.5 million chip pot to Pete Vilandos. In the hand, Vilandos rivered a six-high straight, trumping Heimiller’s flopped set. Jeff Oakes was then ousted in seventh place by Sung. Oakes was all-in pre-flop holding pocket fives in a race against A-Q. However, the flop came ace-high, sending Sung into the lead in the hand for good. Sung then caught fire, as over the next hour, he’d grow his stack to well over six million.
During the heater, Sung sent Heimiller to the rails in sixth after Heimiller’s A-K of spades could not hold up against Sung’s A-Q. The flop came 3-Q-6, sending Sung into the lead for good. Heimiller banked $145,000 for his efforts and was gunning for his second WSOP bracelet. He won his first in 2002 in a $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em and Seven Card Stud event for $108,000. In that event, he bested Ram Vaswani heads-up in the finale of the 144 player field.
Sung was also the executioner of Nathan Mullen, who was eliminated in fifth place for $175,851. Mullen was all-in pre-flop with J-10 against Sung’s A-7. The flop came K-Q-J, giving Mullen the temporary lead in the hand, but also giving Sung a straight draw. Sure enough, one of the three remaining tens in the deck hit on the river, and Mullen was sent packing in shock. According to official WSOP coverage, the hand gave Sung 60% of the chips in play. Shortly thereafter, Larry Sidebotham was eliminated in fourth place for $227,254 by Matz, whose A-7 held against Q-J.
Sung sent Matz out in third place. Matz pushed over the top of a bet by Sung with 5-4 after a flop of Q-5-10. Sung flipped over K-J for an open-ended straight draw, which promptly hit when an ace fell on the river. Sung held a 5:2 chip margin heads-up and won his first bracelet within an hour. On the final hand, Sung’s hot run of cards continued. Vilandos called Sung’s all-in for his tournament life with pocket eights, only to see he was up against Sung’s pocket kings. The cowboys held and Sung banked $771,000; Matz earned $473,283 for his runner-up showing.
The $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament (Event #7) wrapped up Day 2 on Wednesday. When the final cards were dealt, Craig McConville was the only player with over one million chips. Hot on his heels are Steve Karp (957,000 chips) and Jacob Kalb (894,000 chips). Still in contention is Jeremy Joseph, who ESPN followed religiously throughout last year’s $10,000 buy-in Main Event. Joseph took 57th in the tournament for $115,000 and now sits with a stack of 493,000 entering the final day of play. Thirty-three players remain; falling during Wednesday’s action were Justin “looshle” Pechie (42nd place for $11,505) and Sandra Naujoks (61st place for $7,390). In March, Naujoks became only the second female to win a European Poker Tour (EPT) event.
Finally, David Fox leads the way in the $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event after Day 1. A sold out field of 1,459 players entered and 105 survived to see Day 2. Among those still in the hunt for the bracelet are David Daneshgar (27th with 77,700 chips), Bill Chen (40th with 68,700), Todd Witteles (45th with 64,600), Rafe Furst (63rd with 47,400), Justin Young (72nd with 33,300), Joe Awada (74th with 32,900), Carlos Mortensen (89th with 25,600), and Isaac Haxton (95th with 21,700). Play resumes at 2:00pm PT. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Seidel Endorsement Of Sexton - Final Table Set At PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge IV
Poker Legend Erik Seidel On Mike Sexton
Final Table Set At PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge IV
Poker legend Erik Seidel’s endorsement of Mike Sexton for induction into Poker’s Hall of Fame.
“Next up should be Mike Sexton. He has some impressive accomplishments as a player, he won the Tournament of Champions in 06', the European Heads Up, and is one of the leaders in WSOP cashes including one bracelet. If I'm not mistaken he also won the 1st 10k event at Foxwoods as well. I can't think of anyone though who has contributed more to the growth of the game then Mike and that's why he should be the next inductee. As the WPT's announcer he is the guy who introduced no limit poker to millions of people, and who explained it in a way that drew them in and got them interested. I meet people all the time who don't even play poker but watch the WPT because he manages to keep it exciting for everyone. People can tell his enthusiasm is real, Mike loves poker and fortunately is able to translate that for the viewer. He deserves huge credit too for the growth of the online game. As a consultant for PartyPoker he helped the online game get started and helped Party create the biggest poker site in the world. Party was just another poker site until Mike's commercials on the WPT started running, then overnight the numbers doubled, tripled and very quickly they became the largest site poker has ever seen. He is one of the best ambassadors poker has ever seen and I hope he is on deck for admission in 09’.”
You can vote for Mike now at: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/pokerhalloffame/halloffamevoting.asp
London – 1st June 2009 – The final table is set at the http://www.partypoker.com Sports Stars Challenge in London. Sports stars, both past and present, have taken their seats in the hope of being crowned the ultimate sporting poker champion in the strongest and most international line-up to date. For the first time in the Matchroom Sport organised event’s history there were heats for motorsport professionals, top golfers and an online qualifier element. Live reporting can be found at: http://www.matchroompokerforum.co.uk
The final table features three online qualifiers in the form Scott O’Reilly, Jason Brennan and Paresh Patel. They join England rugby union star Henry Paul, Germany’s European Championship football winner Thomas Helmer, Irish boxing legend Dave ‘Boy’ McAuley and popular French golfer Jean Van De Velde.
O’Reilly is a member of PartyPoker.com’s VIP club http://www.palladiumlounge.com and came through a high octane motorsport heat that featured F1 icons Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneueve. Previously he ran deep in the WSOP Main Event in 2006 winning over $165,000 as a PartyPoker.com qualifier. Jason Brennan, a 34-year old unemployed road builder from Holloway, London found his way to the final table after chinning darts legend Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor in his heat. Paresh Patel is 42 years-old from Blackpool and got to play with football heroes and took out French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf heads-up in his heat.
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “ 140,000 people overall took part in the special Sports Stars Challenge freerolls online and three players have made the final table. A number of the sports stars have shown they have real game when it comes to poker with Ronald De Boer and Giancarlo Fisichella, in particular, showing solid aggressive games. Both were unlucky not to make the final table.”
Amongst the other sports stars who were knocked out in the heat stages included 2008 European Ryder Cup team member Graeme McDowell and Sam Torrance. Footballers included Romania’s Florin Radiciou and Denmark and Liverpool legend Jan Molby. The boxing tear-up featured Germany’s former unbeaten World Champion Sven Ottke, while the rugby heat didn’t prove fruitful for union’s former France and Wasps captain Raphael Ibanez.
PartyPoker.com players had the chance to win a seat through a freeroll in the sports heat of their choice. The sports were football (two heats), rugby (union and league combined), motorsport, boxing, darts and golf.
The winner of Sports Stars Challenge I was former rugby union star Austin Healey, while the second instalment saw victory for Irish snooker champion Ken Doherty. Last year’s winner was television presenter Kara Scott, who used the tournament as the starting point for a breakthrough successful year on the circuit that also included big cashes at the WSOP Main Event and Irish Open. Scott won £20,000 after defeating Manchester United football legend Norman Whiteside heads-up. There is no presenter heat in the new format this year.
The winner of each of the seven heats will take their seat at the final table, where seven players will battle it out until one of them walks away with the title. Each player sits down with 2,000 chips with the heat winner getting £7,000. The overall winner receives £20,000 with second getting £10,000 and third receiving £5,000.
Coverage of the event will be aired in the UK later this year on Sky Sports and then distributed internationally. Jesse May leads the commentary.
PARTYPOKER.COM SPORTS STARS CHALLENGE IV FINAL TABLE – London – 29th May – 1st June
SEAT 1 – JEAN VAN DE VELDE (GOLF)
SEAT 2 – DAVE MCAULEY (BOXING)
SEAT 3 – JASON BRENNAN (ONLINE QUALIFIER DARTS)
SEAT 4 – HENRY PAUL (RUGBY)
SEAT 5 – THOMAS HELMER (FOOTBALL)
SEAT 6 – PARESH PATEL (ONLINE QUALIFIER FOOTBALL)
SEAT 7 – SCOTT O’REILLY (ONLINE QUALIFIER MOTORSPORT)
World Series of Poker”®, “WSOP®” and “WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.
For more information e-mail Warren Lush warrenl@partygaming.com +34656236600
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Poker Legend Erik Seidel On Mike Sexton
Final Table Set At PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge IV
Poker legend Erik Seidel’s endorsement of Mike Sexton for induction into Poker’s Hall of Fame.
“Next up should be Mike Sexton. He has some impressive accomplishments as a player, he won the Tournament of Champions in 06', the European Heads Up, and is one of the leaders in WSOP cashes including one bracelet. If I'm not mistaken he also won the 1st 10k event at Foxwoods as well. I can't think of anyone though who has contributed more to the growth of the game then Mike and that's why he should be the next inductee. As the WPT's announcer he is the guy who introduced no limit poker to millions of people, and who explained it in a way that drew them in and got them interested. I meet people all the time who don't even play poker but watch the WPT because he manages to keep it exciting for everyone. People can tell his enthusiasm is real, Mike loves poker and fortunately is able to translate that for the viewer. He deserves huge credit too for the growth of the online game. As a consultant for PartyPoker he helped the online game get started and helped Party create the biggest poker site in the world. Party was just another poker site until Mike's commercials on the WPT started running, then overnight the numbers doubled, tripled and very quickly they became the largest site poker has ever seen. He is one of the best ambassadors poker has ever seen and I hope he is on deck for admission in 09’.”
You can vote for Mike now at: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/pokerhalloffame/halloffamevoting.asp
London – 1st June 2009 – The final table is set at the http://www.partypoker.com Sports Stars Challenge in London. Sports stars, both past and present, have taken their seats in the hope of being crowned the ultimate sporting poker champion in the strongest and most international line-up to date. For the first time in the Matchroom Sport organised event’s history there were heats for motorsport professionals, top golfers and an online qualifier element. Live reporting can be found at: http://www.matchroompokerforum.co.uk
The final table features three online qualifiers in the form Scott O’Reilly, Jason Brennan and Paresh Patel. They join England rugby union star Henry Paul, Germany’s European Championship football winner Thomas Helmer, Irish boxing legend Dave ‘Boy’ McAuley and popular French golfer Jean Van De Velde.
O’Reilly is a member of PartyPoker.com’s VIP club http://www.palladiumlounge.com and came through a high octane motorsport heat that featured F1 icons Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneueve. Previously he ran deep in the WSOP Main Event in 2006 winning over $165,000 as a PartyPoker.com qualifier. Jason Brennan, a 34-year old unemployed road builder from Holloway, London found his way to the final table after chinning darts legend Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor in his heat. Paresh Patel is 42 years-old from Blackpool and got to play with football heroes and took out French World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf heads-up in his heat.
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “ 140,000 people overall took part in the special Sports Stars Challenge freerolls online and three players have made the final table. A number of the sports stars have shown they have real game when it comes to poker with Ronald De Boer and Giancarlo Fisichella, in particular, showing solid aggressive games. Both were unlucky not to make the final table.”
Amongst the other sports stars who were knocked out in the heat stages included 2008 European Ryder Cup team member Graeme McDowell and Sam Torrance. Footballers included Romania’s Florin Radiciou and Denmark and Liverpool legend Jan Molby. The boxing tear-up featured Germany’s former unbeaten World Champion Sven Ottke, while the rugby heat didn’t prove fruitful for union’s former France and Wasps captain Raphael Ibanez.
PartyPoker.com players had the chance to win a seat through a freeroll in the sports heat of their choice. The sports were football (two heats), rugby (union and league combined), motorsport, boxing, darts and golf.
The winner of Sports Stars Challenge I was former rugby union star Austin Healey, while the second instalment saw victory for Irish snooker champion Ken Doherty. Last year’s winner was television presenter Kara Scott, who used the tournament as the starting point for a breakthrough successful year on the circuit that also included big cashes at the WSOP Main Event and Irish Open. Scott won £20,000 after defeating Manchester United football legend Norman Whiteside heads-up. There is no presenter heat in the new format this year.
The winner of each of the seven heats will take their seat at the final table, where seven players will battle it out until one of them walks away with the title. Each player sits down with 2,000 chips with the heat winner getting £7,000. The overall winner receives £20,000 with second getting £10,000 and third receiving £5,000.
Coverage of the event will be aired in the UK later this year on Sky Sports and then distributed internationally. Jesse May leads the commentary.
PARTYPOKER.COM SPORTS STARS CHALLENGE IV FINAL TABLE – London – 29th May – 1st June
SEAT 1 – JEAN VAN DE VELDE (GOLF)
SEAT 2 – DAVE MCAULEY (BOXING)
SEAT 3 – JASON BRENNAN (ONLINE QUALIFIER DARTS)
SEAT 4 – HENRY PAUL (RUGBY)
SEAT 5 – THOMAS HELMER (FOOTBALL)
SEAT 6 – PARESH PATEL (ONLINE QUALIFIER FOOTBALL)
SEAT 7 – SCOTT O’REILLY (ONLINE QUALIFIER MOTORSPORT)
World Series of Poker”®, “WSOP®” and “WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.
For more information e-mail Warren Lush warrenl@partygaming.com +34656236600
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Virgin Games Delivers The Ultimate Gaming Experience
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - June 1, 2009)
Today Virgin Games, the online gaming service, announces that it has centralised its offerings and has become an operating company in its own right working from one common platform. This development will provide a streamlined customer experience by offering players the opportunity to play across multiple gaming products using a central sign on solution and a single Virgin Games wallet. The operation of Virgin Games gaming service was formerly outsourced to three different operators; Wagerworks for Casino; Boss Media for Poker and St.Minver for Bingo. The operation on the new Virgin Games platform has now been taken in-house and will be managed centrally from their head office in Guernsey.
With the Virgin customer experience being of core importance, players now only need to register once to become a Virgin Games player and browse seamlessly through all of the games at Virgin Poker, Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo. Additionally, under the new system, Virgin players will be able to play for bonus promotions and Virgin Games loyalty points, V-Points, across all games offered.
The strategic shift to become a fully fledged gaming operator has taken place at Virgin Games over the last 18 months. The company now operates using two gaming licenses held in Alderney and Malta and runs an in-house customer service call centre as well as owning and co-ordinating player databases and payment processing systems. The 24/7 customer experience solution will bring all consumer touch points together in-house including telephone, email and web-chat communication resulting in greater control, improved efficiency and an all round excellent customer experience.
Simon Burridge, CEO Virgin Games, comments: "In developing and taking ownership of the new customer experience program, we have focused on creating the best possible value and service for our customers. Here at Virgin Games, we live and breathe the Virgin brand values and feel taking the customer service department in-house and integrating all three gaming services allows us to continue to deliver the unique Virgin experience that our customers have come to expect."
"Our players have told us that they would like to see a wider range of games at Virgin Games and we intend to give them exactly what they're looking for. There have been some very exciting new games brought into the market recently and we look forward to introducing them into the Virgin Games product offering" said Burridge.
For more information on Virgin Games please visit www.virgingames.co.uk.
Notes to Editors:
About Virgin Games
Virgin Games launched in June 2004 and has quickly established itself as one of the leading gaming websites in the UK. Virgin Games comprises four distinct offerings:
- Virgin Casino, part of the Wagerworks network, brings consumers classic casino offerings like blackjack and roulette, as well as great feature slots like Monopoly, Cluedo, Dungeons and Dragons Fortress of Fortunes(TM) and the highly popular MegaJackpots progressive games, with a seeding value of Pounds Sterling 1,500,000
- Virgin Poker, part of the Boss Media network, offers a huge array of games and content for beginners through to experienced pros Texas Hold em, Five card Stud Poker and more - as well as the most generous loyalty scheme in the industry
- Virgin Bingo, part of the Virtue Fusion network, offers cash prizes worth thousands of pounds in the progressive jackpots, as well as Virgin prize bingo and a range of unique Virgin Games bingo games.
For more information, please contact
Nelson Bostock Communications
Melissa Robinson
020 7792 7436
melissa.robinson@nelsonbostock.com
or
Nelson Bostock Communications
Lucinda Pride
020 7792 7471
lucinda.pride@nelsonbostock.com
Profiles
Virgin Games
Virgin Casino
Virgin Bingo
Virgin Poker
Virgin Casino News
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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - June 1, 2009)
Today Virgin Games, the online gaming service, announces that it has centralised its offerings and has become an operating company in its own right working from one common platform. This development will provide a streamlined customer experience by offering players the opportunity to play across multiple gaming products using a central sign on solution and a single Virgin Games wallet. The operation of Virgin Games gaming service was formerly outsourced to three different operators; Wagerworks for Casino; Boss Media for Poker and St.Minver for Bingo. The operation on the new Virgin Games platform has now been taken in-house and will be managed centrally from their head office in Guernsey.
With the Virgin customer experience being of core importance, players now only need to register once to become a Virgin Games player and browse seamlessly through all of the games at Virgin Poker, Virgin Casino and Virgin Bingo. Additionally, under the new system, Virgin players will be able to play for bonus promotions and Virgin Games loyalty points, V-Points, across all games offered.
The strategic shift to become a fully fledged gaming operator has taken place at Virgin Games over the last 18 months. The company now operates using two gaming licenses held in Alderney and Malta and runs an in-house customer service call centre as well as owning and co-ordinating player databases and payment processing systems. The 24/7 customer experience solution will bring all consumer touch points together in-house including telephone, email and web-chat communication resulting in greater control, improved efficiency and an all round excellent customer experience.
Simon Burridge, CEO Virgin Games, comments: "In developing and taking ownership of the new customer experience program, we have focused on creating the best possible value and service for our customers. Here at Virgin Games, we live and breathe the Virgin brand values and feel taking the customer service department in-house and integrating all three gaming services allows us to continue to deliver the unique Virgin experience that our customers have come to expect."
"Our players have told us that they would like to see a wider range of games at Virgin Games and we intend to give them exactly what they're looking for. There have been some very exciting new games brought into the market recently and we look forward to introducing them into the Virgin Games product offering" said Burridge.
For more information on Virgin Games please visit www.virgingames.co.uk.
Notes to Editors:
About Virgin Games
Virgin Games launched in June 2004 and has quickly established itself as one of the leading gaming websites in the UK. Virgin Games comprises four distinct offerings:
- Virgin Casino, part of the Wagerworks network, brings consumers classic casino offerings like blackjack and roulette, as well as great feature slots like Monopoly, Cluedo, Dungeons and Dragons Fortress of Fortunes(TM) and the highly popular MegaJackpots progressive games, with a seeding value of Pounds Sterling 1,500,000
- Virgin Poker, part of the Boss Media network, offers a huge array of games and content for beginners through to experienced pros Texas Hold em, Five card Stud Poker and more - as well as the most generous loyalty scheme in the industry
- Virgin Bingo, part of the Virtue Fusion network, offers cash prizes worth thousands of pounds in the progressive jackpots, as well as Virgin prize bingo and a range of unique Virgin Games bingo games.
For more information, please contact
Nelson Bostock Communications
Melissa Robinson
020 7792 7436
melissa.robinson@nelsonbostock.com
or
Nelson Bostock Communications
Lucinda Pride
020 7792 7471
lucinda.pride@nelsonbostock.com
Profiles
Virgin Games
Virgin Casino
Virgin Bingo
Virgin Poker
Virgin Casino News
Online Casino News
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Sunday, May 31, 2009
Justin Bonomo Leads $40,000 WSOP Tournament Field, by Brett Collson - Poker News Daily - 30th May 2009
With a starting field rivaling the most talented ever assembled in a poker tournament, it was assumed that the final three tables of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event would consist of the game’s biggest names. That promise has now been fulfilled, as players cracked the money bubble late Friday evening and the final 23 will prepare to play down to the final table Saturday.
Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo quietly, but steadily climbed to the top of the leader board to end Day 2, holding a small chip lead over Ted Forrest, David Baker, Greg Raymer, and Lex Veldhuis. Bonomo began Day 2 third in chips with 738,000 and rarely got involved in any big pots, pulling in small pot after small pot to increase his stack gradually. His biggest win of the day came by way of Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson, who was eliminated in 33rd place after his A-Q was overcome by Bonomo’s K-T. Bonomo also watched as Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker were knocked off his table short of the money bubble. Other notables falling out of the money were Nam Le, Kirill Gerasimov, Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, and Team PokerStars Pro member Humberto Brenes.
Forrest, who was inexplicably missing for some time after the dinner break, returned to take out Galfond in 29th place and play then went hand-for-hand. Alec Torelli eliminated Neil Chriss in 28th place just after Midnight local time, sealing a payday for everyone at the final three tables. The bursting of the bubble came with less than ten minutes remaining in the final level of the night, so a card was drawn to determine that six more hands would be played before the end of Day 2. Vanessa Rousso (27th place), J.C. Tran (26th place), and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi (25th place), all exited just minutes later and David “The Dragon” Pham departed in 24th place on the final hand of the night when he ran into Matthew Marafioti’s pocket kings. Each earned $71,858 for their two days of work.
The remaining 23 runners will resume play at 2:00pm and the last nine standing will return Sunday for one of the most anticipated final tables in memory. The winner will receive $1.9 million. Here’s a look at the chips counts heading into Day 3:
1. Justin Bonomo - 2,678,000
2. Ted Forrest - 2,586,000
3. David Baker - 2,367,000
4. Greg Raymer - 2,287,000
5. Lex “RasZi” Veldhuis - 2,103,000
6. Alec Torelli - 1,725,000
7. Keith Lehr - 1,257,000
8. Vitaly Lunkin - 1,166,000
9. Matt Marafioti - 1,003,000
10. Brian Rast - 912,000
11. Doshi Suresh - 771,000
12. Dani Stern – 762,000
13. Clark Hamagami - 691,000
14. Matt Glantz – 671,000
15. Brian Townsend - 671,000
16. Noah Schwartz - 541,000
17. Isaac Haxton - 539,000
18. Antanas “Tony G” Guaga - 481,000
19. David Chiu - 318,000
20. Neil Channing - 270,000
21. Andrew Black - 210,000
22. Frank Kasella - 167,000
23. Andrew Robl - 112,000
The $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better kicked off Friday afternoon and broke the record for the largest Omaha High-Low event in WSOP history. The $1,500 event attracted 918 entrants and generated a prize pool of $1.25 million. Defending champion Thang Luu is currently the chip leader with 73,600 in chips, but with 197 players still alive, the gold bracelet is up for grabs. Eli Elezra won a big pot toward the of the night to increase his stack to 55,000. Others returning on Saturday include Celebrity Apprentice runner-up Annie Duke, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth, Todd Brunson, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. Play is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm local time.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP coverage. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Poker
World Series of Poker
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With a starting field rivaling the most talented ever assembled in a poker tournament, it was assumed that the final three tables of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event would consist of the game’s biggest names. That promise has now been fulfilled, as players cracked the money bubble late Friday evening and the final 23 will prepare to play down to the final table Saturday.
Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo quietly, but steadily climbed to the top of the leader board to end Day 2, holding a small chip lead over Ted Forrest, David Baker, Greg Raymer, and Lex Veldhuis. Bonomo began Day 2 third in chips with 738,000 and rarely got involved in any big pots, pulling in small pot after small pot to increase his stack gradually. His biggest win of the day came by way of Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson, who was eliminated in 33rd place after his A-Q was overcome by Bonomo’s K-T. Bonomo also watched as Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond and 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker were knocked off his table short of the money bubble. Other notables falling out of the money were Nam Le, Kirill Gerasimov, Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, and Team PokerStars Pro member Humberto Brenes.
Forrest, who was inexplicably missing for some time after the dinner break, returned to take out Galfond in 29th place and play then went hand-for-hand. Alec Torelli eliminated Neil Chriss in 28th place just after Midnight local time, sealing a payday for everyone at the final three tables. The bursting of the bubble came with less than ten minutes remaining in the final level of the night, so a card was drawn to determine that six more hands would be played before the end of Day 2. Vanessa Rousso (27th place), J.C. Tran (26th place), and Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi (25th place), all exited just minutes later and David “The Dragon” Pham departed in 24th place on the final hand of the night when he ran into Matthew Marafioti’s pocket kings. Each earned $71,858 for their two days of work.
The remaining 23 runners will resume play at 2:00pm and the last nine standing will return Sunday for one of the most anticipated final tables in memory. The winner will receive $1.9 million. Here’s a look at the chips counts heading into Day 3:
1. Justin Bonomo - 2,678,000
2. Ted Forrest - 2,586,000
3. David Baker - 2,367,000
4. Greg Raymer - 2,287,000
5. Lex “RasZi” Veldhuis - 2,103,000
6. Alec Torelli - 1,725,000
7. Keith Lehr - 1,257,000
8. Vitaly Lunkin - 1,166,000
9. Matt Marafioti - 1,003,000
10. Brian Rast - 912,000
11. Doshi Suresh - 771,000
12. Dani Stern – 762,000
13. Clark Hamagami - 691,000
14. Matt Glantz – 671,000
15. Brian Townsend - 671,000
16. Noah Schwartz - 541,000
17. Isaac Haxton - 539,000
18. Antanas “Tony G” Guaga - 481,000
19. David Chiu - 318,000
20. Neil Channing - 270,000
21. Andrew Black - 210,000
22. Frank Kasella - 167,000
23. Andrew Robl - 112,000
The $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Eight or Better kicked off Friday afternoon and broke the record for the largest Omaha High-Low event in WSOP history. The $1,500 event attracted 918 entrants and generated a prize pool of $1.25 million. Defending champion Thang Luu is currently the chip leader with 73,600 in chips, but with 197 players still alive, the gold bracelet is up for grabs. Eli Elezra won a big pot toward the of the night to increase his stack to 55,000. Others returning on Saturday include Celebrity Apprentice runner-up Annie Duke, Ultimate Bet pro Phil Hellmuth, Todd Brunson, and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. Play is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm local time.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP coverage. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Paris Hilton, Willem Dafoe Attend Jamie Gold Cannes Poker Fundraiser, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 30th May 2009
The 2009 Cannes Film Festival recently played out from the luxurious city on the French Riviera. During the event, the Maybach Foundation honored “Rounders” actor Edward Norton and hosted a charity poker tournament led by 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold.
The former ACED Poker pro served as the emcee for the event, which attracted 250 runners to the felts in Cannes. VIPs hosted by the Maybach Foundation included hotel heiress and television star Paris Hilton, “Lords of Dogtown” personality Emile Hirsch, Swedish model Malin Akerman, “Spiderman” actor Willem Dafoe, Hofit Golan, “Highlander” actor Adrian Paul, “The Hills” reality show star Doug Reinhardt, director Lars von Trier, “Reservoir Dogs” producer Lawrence Bender, and novelist Paulo Coelho. Celebrities from the world of fashion, sports, and business were in attendance, many already at the annual festival in Cannes.
The following day, Norton, whose role in the movie “Rounders” was one of the contributing factors to the modern poker boom, was honored by the Maybach Foundation for his work with charity. Norton joined the ranks of previous award winners like “Speed” actor Dennis Hopper and musician Quincy Jones. The organization’s President, Ulrich Schmid-Maybach, commented in a press release distributed last week, “The extraordinary engagement of Edward Norton is an excellent example of genuine celebrity support for charitable cause.” Norton was shooting a film in Detroit at the time of the Cannes events and was unable to attend. Instead, he appeared via satellite and thanked the gathered crowd.
“Rounders” was released in 1998 and also starred then-up and coming actor Matt Damon, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, and the legendary Martin Landau. It first turned many of today’s young guns of poker onto Texas Hold’em. The thirst for the game would boil over five years later when a Tennessee accountant with a unique last name dominated the world’s top competition in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. In that tournament, Team PokerStars Pro member Chris Moneymaker trumped Sammy Farha heads-up, leading to a streak of wins by aspiring amateurs in poker’s most prestigious tournament. Since then, Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Gold (2006), Jerry Yang (2007), and Peter Eastgate (2008) have all captured WSOP Main Event bracelets.
Gold sits atop the all-time WSOP money list with over $12 million in earnings. He won exactly $12 million for his 2006 title and is comfortably ahead of Eastgate, who owns $9.1 million in lifetime earnings, good for second on the all-time money list. Gold’s Team ACED took down the first open event held by Dream Team Poker, which played out in March from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The trio pocketed nearly $60,000 for their efforts in the team poker tournament, which saw Gold partner with Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. He will have a chance to defend his title when Dream Team Poker makes its WSOP debut in July at the Rio during the tail end of the 2009 Main Event. Like the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament and Sunday’s WSOP Champions Invitational, the Dream Team Poker event will not award a bracelet.
According to the same press release, the Maybach Foundation “helps particularly gifted young people reach their full potential by providing an innovative mentoring program and financial support.” The organization is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded back in 2006. It has since expanded to include an office in Germany.
Also benefiting from the Cannes event was Sunflower Children, an organization that “provides humanitarian aid to disadvantaged children around the world.” Sunflower Children is active in 16 countries, including Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Guinea, India, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Guatemala, and the Philippines. It was founded nine years ago by model Helena Houdova and is based in New York City. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Cannes Film Festival
World Series of Poker
Paris Hilton
Poker News
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The 2009 Cannes Film Festival recently played out from the luxurious city on the French Riviera. During the event, the Maybach Foundation honored “Rounders” actor Edward Norton and hosted a charity poker tournament led by 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold.
The former ACED Poker pro served as the emcee for the event, which attracted 250 runners to the felts in Cannes. VIPs hosted by the Maybach Foundation included hotel heiress and television star Paris Hilton, “Lords of Dogtown” personality Emile Hirsch, Swedish model Malin Akerman, “Spiderman” actor Willem Dafoe, Hofit Golan, “Highlander” actor Adrian Paul, “The Hills” reality show star Doug Reinhardt, director Lars von Trier, “Reservoir Dogs” producer Lawrence Bender, and novelist Paulo Coelho. Celebrities from the world of fashion, sports, and business were in attendance, many already at the annual festival in Cannes.
The following day, Norton, whose role in the movie “Rounders” was one of the contributing factors to the modern poker boom, was honored by the Maybach Foundation for his work with charity. Norton joined the ranks of previous award winners like “Speed” actor Dennis Hopper and musician Quincy Jones. The organization’s President, Ulrich Schmid-Maybach, commented in a press release distributed last week, “The extraordinary engagement of Edward Norton is an excellent example of genuine celebrity support for charitable cause.” Norton was shooting a film in Detroit at the time of the Cannes events and was unable to attend. Instead, he appeared via satellite and thanked the gathered crowd.
“Rounders” was released in 1998 and also starred then-up and coming actor Matt Damon, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, and the legendary Martin Landau. It first turned many of today’s young guns of poker onto Texas Hold’em. The thirst for the game would boil over five years later when a Tennessee accountant with a unique last name dominated the world’s top competition in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. In that tournament, Team PokerStars Pro member Chris Moneymaker trumped Sammy Farha heads-up, leading to a streak of wins by aspiring amateurs in poker’s most prestigious tournament. Since then, Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Gold (2006), Jerry Yang (2007), and Peter Eastgate (2008) have all captured WSOP Main Event bracelets.
Gold sits atop the all-time WSOP money list with over $12 million in earnings. He won exactly $12 million for his 2006 title and is comfortably ahead of Eastgate, who owns $9.1 million in lifetime earnings, good for second on the all-time money list. Gold’s Team ACED took down the first open event held by Dream Team Poker, which played out in March from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The trio pocketed nearly $60,000 for their efforts in the team poker tournament, which saw Gold partner with Ashley Nataupsky and Houston Waldie. He will have a chance to defend his title when Dream Team Poker makes its WSOP debut in July at the Rio during the tail end of the 2009 Main Event. Like the Ante Up for Africa charity tournament and Sunday’s WSOP Champions Invitational, the Dream Team Poker event will not award a bracelet.
According to the same press release, the Maybach Foundation “helps particularly gifted young people reach their full potential by providing an innovative mentoring program and financial support.” The organization is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded back in 2006. It has since expanded to include an office in Germany.
Also benefiting from the Cannes event was Sunflower Children, an organization that “provides humanitarian aid to disadvantaged children around the world.” Sunflower Children is active in 16 countries, including Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Guinea, India, Kenya, South Africa, Nepal, Niger, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Guatemala, and the Philippines. It was founded nine years ago by model Helena Houdova and is based in New York City. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Saturday, May 30, 2009
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Friday, May 29, 2009
PartyPoker Lobbies for Mike Sexton to Join Poker Hall of Fame, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 27th May 2009
With news that the voting for the Poker Hall of Fame is open until July 2nd, PartyPoker has begun lobbying for its ambassador, World Poker Tour Host Mike Sexton, to be among those considered.
Nominations are open to the general public. Interested poker fans can submit the name of their chosen nominee plus up to 250 words describing why they should be the newest Poker Hall of Fame member. During the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Harrah’s officials will announce the names of the top 10 nominees, which will in turn be voted on by the 16 living Hall of Fame members. In addition, select media members will receive voting rights. Each person will rank their top nominees, but “only those they deem worthy of admission in 2009,” according to a WSOP press release. In order to be enshrined, a player must accrue 75% of the vote.
Longtime players or those who have contributed to the game are eligible to be considered for the Poker Hall of Fame. Sexton, a Guest Columnist here on Poker News Daily, recently wrapped up the seventh season of the World Poker Tour (WPT). He has been the voice of the WPT ever since Season I. This year, he celebrates the 20th anniversary of his WSOP bracelet win in a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud High-Low tournament in which he defeated Sid “The Kid” Herald heads-up. WPT Founder, President, and CEO Steve Lipscomb told Poker News Daily, “Mike is the consummate face of poker. He was making poker mainstream before it had a prayer of being mainstream. He helped launch the WPT – which changed the poker world forever. Then, he convinced the WPT to include PartyPoker in Season I, which changed the poker world again forever. Let’s get the man into the Poker Hall of Fame!”
Sexton recently re-signed with PartyPoker and will serve as the ambassador for the world’s fourth largest online poker site in Las Vegas during the WSOP. At the Rio, a bevy of rising poker stars will take to the felts. Many were first turned onto the game by watching Sexton and WPT Co-Host Vince Van Patten bring poker to life every week. Party Gaming’s Warren Lush told Poker News Daily that Sexton has wide appeal in the industry: “I intend to approach the media and influential figures in the game and lobby for Mike because he really deserves it – he qualifies on so many levels. It is extremely encouraging that a figure such as Annette Obrestad has already expressed her intent to vote for him because she is a representative of the new generation of players. Mike appeals to players both old and new.” Also lobbying for Sexton is Irish poker pro Padraig Parkinson.
In 2008, poker pro Dewey Tomko and hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein joined the Poker Hall of Fame in a special ceremony during the WSOP Main Event final table. Orenstein is a producer of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and won a WSOP bracelet in 1996 in a $5,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament. Tomko first cashed in a WSOP tournament 30 years ago and holds three bracelets, two of which came in back to back events in 1984. Other Poker Hall of Fame members include Puggy Pearson, T.J. Cloutier, Johnny Chan, Stu Ungar, WPT Founder Lyle Berman, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin, Jack Binion, and Johnny Moss. Two industry members have been enshrined every year since 2002; Barbara Enright and Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth served as the Class of 2007.
Sexton has 44 cashes on the felts of the WSOP, tied with Chris Bjorin for the 11th most all-time. He won the Foxwoods World Poker Finals’ first $10,000 buy-in event in 1992. Eight years later, he became the first American to take down the Euro Finals of Poker. In 2006, the WPT Host battled through the field in the WSOP Tournament of Champions, winning $1 million and defeating Daniel Negreanu heads-up. Sexton has also appeared at poker trials around the United States serving as an expert witness. Most recently, he testified in a case in South Carolina that poker is a game of skill by using hands that played out on the WPT circuit.
Vote for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class.
(Credit: Poker News Daily)
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With news that the voting for the Poker Hall of Fame is open until July 2nd, PartyPoker has begun lobbying for its ambassador, World Poker Tour Host Mike Sexton, to be among those considered.
Nominations are open to the general public. Interested poker fans can submit the name of their chosen nominee plus up to 250 words describing why they should be the newest Poker Hall of Fame member. During the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Harrah’s officials will announce the names of the top 10 nominees, which will in turn be voted on by the 16 living Hall of Fame members. In addition, select media members will receive voting rights. Each person will rank their top nominees, but “only those they deem worthy of admission in 2009,” according to a WSOP press release. In order to be enshrined, a player must accrue 75% of the vote.
Longtime players or those who have contributed to the game are eligible to be considered for the Poker Hall of Fame. Sexton, a Guest Columnist here on Poker News Daily, recently wrapped up the seventh season of the World Poker Tour (WPT). He has been the voice of the WPT ever since Season I. This year, he celebrates the 20th anniversary of his WSOP bracelet win in a $1,500 buy-in Seven Card Stud High-Low tournament in which he defeated Sid “The Kid” Herald heads-up. WPT Founder, President, and CEO Steve Lipscomb told Poker News Daily, “Mike is the consummate face of poker. He was making poker mainstream before it had a prayer of being mainstream. He helped launch the WPT – which changed the poker world forever. Then, he convinced the WPT to include PartyPoker in Season I, which changed the poker world again forever. Let’s get the man into the Poker Hall of Fame!”
Sexton recently re-signed with PartyPoker and will serve as the ambassador for the world’s fourth largest online poker site in Las Vegas during the WSOP. At the Rio, a bevy of rising poker stars will take to the felts. Many were first turned onto the game by watching Sexton and WPT Co-Host Vince Van Patten bring poker to life every week. Party Gaming’s Warren Lush told Poker News Daily that Sexton has wide appeal in the industry: “I intend to approach the media and influential figures in the game and lobby for Mike because he really deserves it – he qualifies on so many levels. It is extremely encouraging that a figure such as Annette Obrestad has already expressed her intent to vote for him because she is a representative of the new generation of players. Mike appeals to players both old and new.” Also lobbying for Sexton is Irish poker pro Padraig Parkinson.
In 2008, poker pro Dewey Tomko and hole card camera inventor Henry Orenstein joined the Poker Hall of Fame in a special ceremony during the WSOP Main Event final table. Orenstein is a producer of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” and won a WSOP bracelet in 1996 in a $5,000 buy-in Seven Card Stud tournament. Tomko first cashed in a WSOP tournament 30 years ago and holds three bracelets, two of which came in back to back events in 1984. Other Poker Hall of Fame members include Puggy Pearson, T.J. Cloutier, Johnny Chan, Stu Ungar, WPT Founder Lyle Berman, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin, Jack Binion, and Johnny Moss. Two industry members have been enshrined every year since 2002; Barbara Enright and Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth served as the Class of 2007.
Sexton has 44 cashes on the felts of the WSOP, tied with Chris Bjorin for the 11th most all-time. He won the Foxwoods World Poker Finals’ first $10,000 buy-in event in 1992. Eight years later, he became the first American to take down the Euro Finals of Poker. In 2006, the WPT Host battled through the field in the WSOP Tournament of Champions, winning $1 million and defeating Daniel Negreanu heads-up. Sexton has also appeared at poker trials around the United States serving as an expert witness. Most recently, he testified in a case in South Carolina that poker is a game of skill by using hands that played out on the WPT circuit.
Vote for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class.
(Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Daniel Tzvetkoff falls back to earth with a thud, by James Mccullough - The Courier-Mail - 25th May 2009
Barely a year up-and-coming entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff was the Gen Y version of author Tom Wolfe's "Master of the Universe".
For, like Sherman McCoy, Wolfe's central character in his masterful 1987 book about financial high-flyers, Bonfire of the Vanities, Tzvetkoff had everything.
Today, however, the company he majority owns owes about $30 million to online US poker houses.
And if the recent disposal of some of his assets is a guide, he's had a harsh reality check.
Mr Tzvetkoff hit the headlines last year after the mysterious 24-year-old internet entrepreneur had shelled out an impressive $29 million to buy tourism entrepreneur Tony Smith's palatial mansion at Hedges Ave on the Gold Coast.
He drove a Lamborghini with the number plate "baller", owned a massive boat, chartered impressive jets, opened his own Fortitude Valley nightclub, Zuri, sponsored a V8 supercar racing team – and was busy amassing property and doing interesting side deals.
In between driving the Lambo he got around in a Ferrari 599, an Audi S6, a Range Rover and a Ford GT40. During regular trips to Las Vegas, where he is rumoured to have a house, he was again spotted in a Lambo.
Mr Tzvetkoff is young and good looking. He loves fine champagne and had a penchant for the very high life, although deep down he is a boy from Ipswich with Bulgarian parents.
In some IT sectors he was and still is described as a genius who created an enviable business through his main Australian company Intabill, based in Brisbane's inner-west suburb Milton, of which he owns a two-third's share and is managing director.
That company is owned by BT Projects Pty Ltd, whose three shareholders are listed as Tzvetkoff, local lawyer Sam Sciacca and an Alberta, Canada-based company called Rendel Investments.
In recent times Mr Tzvetkoff's business has come back to earth with a thud. A few weeks back Intabill sacked 96 staff from its Milton head office. At the time Mr Tzvetkoff blamed the global economic crisis and said he was refocusing his company. Barely a dozen staff remain at Milton.
His prized Lamborghini and other flash European cars have now gone. His Hedges Ave mansion is believed to be back on the market.
The Courier-Mail understands Tzvetkoff has been personally contacting potential buyers of the property.
Ray White's salesman Michael Kollosche, who handled the original sale, said he had not received any instructions to resell the property.
"As far as I understand it, he is hoping to finish the renovations and move into the property in the next few months," Mr Kollosche said.
Mr Tzvetkoff told The Courier-Mail on March 17 that the house would be completed in "about three or four weeks" but work on the property now seems to have slowed.
The house, bought for $29 million, had a $19 million mortgage over it through National Australia Bank but was remortgaged in recent months.
An apartment he also owns on Hedges Ave at Mermaid Beach – the Coast's "Millionaire's Row" – went to auction last week but did not sell.
The boat of about 27m is moored at the Gold Coast and up for sale. The latest leased jet has been left on the tarmac at Las Vegas.
"Basically everything is for sale," one Intabill insider revealed last week.
Mr Tzvetkoff and his business partner Mr Sciacca had signed a contract for more than $20 million to buy their office headquarters on the corner of Coronation Drive and Cribb St, Milton, from the Becton Group. But whether that contract will settle is now not certain.
So how could things have turned for the worse for a young man in a hurry with some great ideas, huge piles of cash and a solid group of talented followers?
In its early days Intabill claimed to be one of the world's top 10 online payment processors, enabling more than a million transactions a month between websites, customers and banks. It originally had more than 5000 clients, mostly in Europe and North America, from online gambling and travel websites to airlines and global banks.
About 50 per cent of Intabill's business relates to online gambling, with the balance a fair spread between online ticketing, travel and the like.
Funds were sent to online poker houses often via a processing company or an intermediary – a Salt Lake-based independent company called Impact. Today Intabill owes four of the largest online poker sites in the world about $30 million.
The figure was higher but asset sales and "arrangements" put in place by Intabill and the sites reduced some of the debt.
About $25 million is owed to the largest online poker site, the Isle of Mann domiciled Poker Stars – which operates out of North America, run by the powerful Isai Scheinberg – and Full Tilt Poker, based in Dublin but also run out of the US.
Mr Scheinberg is believed to be worth more than $US1 billion ($A1.28 billion) and his so called poker stars, include the likes of actor Jason Alexander (Seinfield), author and part time poker player Anthony Holden, Brazilian auto racer and team owner Gualter Salles and Darus Suharto, who made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Events.
Another $3 million is owed to Absolute Poker and a further $2 million to Golden Palace, a casino and online poker group.
It's understood Impact became increasingly anxious about funds owed and pulled the plug on Intabill's processing operation.
Other insiders blame the loss of customers on increased "charge backs" – or R10s as they are called in the trade – where consumers complain about their credit card or direct debit charges.
It's understood Intabill's charge backs were very low in some areas and reasonably high in others.
Last month when Intabill slashed its staff numbers, Mr Tzvetkoff blamed challenging market conditions and the increased cost of funding loan products.
Mr Tzvetkoff pointed out that – as experienced already by the likes of GE Money – the cost of funding in wholesale markets has dramatically increased in the present volatile market conditions.
He said this has meant a planned diversification into lending products had been terminated.
"In recent weeks we have come to the realisation that diversifying in these difficult market conditions presents too many risks and challenges," he said.
"Hence we have decided to scale back our operation to focus on our core e-commerce processing platform."
Despite several phone calls and email requests, Mr Tzvetkoff did not respond to The Courier-Mail's request for an interview. (Credit: The Courier-Mail)
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Barely a year up-and-coming entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff was the Gen Y version of author Tom Wolfe's "Master of the Universe".
For, like Sherman McCoy, Wolfe's central character in his masterful 1987 book about financial high-flyers, Bonfire of the Vanities, Tzvetkoff had everything.
Today, however, the company he majority owns owes about $30 million to online US poker houses.
And if the recent disposal of some of his assets is a guide, he's had a harsh reality check.
Mr Tzvetkoff hit the headlines last year after the mysterious 24-year-old internet entrepreneur had shelled out an impressive $29 million to buy tourism entrepreneur Tony Smith's palatial mansion at Hedges Ave on the Gold Coast.
He drove a Lamborghini with the number plate "baller", owned a massive boat, chartered impressive jets, opened his own Fortitude Valley nightclub, Zuri, sponsored a V8 supercar racing team – and was busy amassing property and doing interesting side deals.
In between driving the Lambo he got around in a Ferrari 599, an Audi S6, a Range Rover and a Ford GT40. During regular trips to Las Vegas, where he is rumoured to have a house, he was again spotted in a Lambo.
Mr Tzvetkoff is young and good looking. He loves fine champagne and had a penchant for the very high life, although deep down he is a boy from Ipswich with Bulgarian parents.
In some IT sectors he was and still is described as a genius who created an enviable business through his main Australian company Intabill, based in Brisbane's inner-west suburb Milton, of which he owns a two-third's share and is managing director.
That company is owned by BT Projects Pty Ltd, whose three shareholders are listed as Tzvetkoff, local lawyer Sam Sciacca and an Alberta, Canada-based company called Rendel Investments.
In recent times Mr Tzvetkoff's business has come back to earth with a thud. A few weeks back Intabill sacked 96 staff from its Milton head office. At the time Mr Tzvetkoff blamed the global economic crisis and said he was refocusing his company. Barely a dozen staff remain at Milton.
His prized Lamborghini and other flash European cars have now gone. His Hedges Ave mansion is believed to be back on the market.
The Courier-Mail understands Tzvetkoff has been personally contacting potential buyers of the property.
Ray White's salesman Michael Kollosche, who handled the original sale, said he had not received any instructions to resell the property.
"As far as I understand it, he is hoping to finish the renovations and move into the property in the next few months," Mr Kollosche said.
Mr Tzvetkoff told The Courier-Mail on March 17 that the house would be completed in "about three or four weeks" but work on the property now seems to have slowed.
The house, bought for $29 million, had a $19 million mortgage over it through National Australia Bank but was remortgaged in recent months.
An apartment he also owns on Hedges Ave at Mermaid Beach – the Coast's "Millionaire's Row" – went to auction last week but did not sell.
The boat of about 27m is moored at the Gold Coast and up for sale. The latest leased jet has been left on the tarmac at Las Vegas.
"Basically everything is for sale," one Intabill insider revealed last week.
Mr Tzvetkoff and his business partner Mr Sciacca had signed a contract for more than $20 million to buy their office headquarters on the corner of Coronation Drive and Cribb St, Milton, from the Becton Group. But whether that contract will settle is now not certain.
So how could things have turned for the worse for a young man in a hurry with some great ideas, huge piles of cash and a solid group of talented followers?
In its early days Intabill claimed to be one of the world's top 10 online payment processors, enabling more than a million transactions a month between websites, customers and banks. It originally had more than 5000 clients, mostly in Europe and North America, from online gambling and travel websites to airlines and global banks.
About 50 per cent of Intabill's business relates to online gambling, with the balance a fair spread between online ticketing, travel and the like.
Funds were sent to online poker houses often via a processing company or an intermediary – a Salt Lake-based independent company called Impact. Today Intabill owes four of the largest online poker sites in the world about $30 million.
The figure was higher but asset sales and "arrangements" put in place by Intabill and the sites reduced some of the debt.
About $25 million is owed to the largest online poker site, the Isle of Mann domiciled Poker Stars – which operates out of North America, run by the powerful Isai Scheinberg – and Full Tilt Poker, based in Dublin but also run out of the US.
Mr Scheinberg is believed to be worth more than $US1 billion ($A1.28 billion) and his so called poker stars, include the likes of actor Jason Alexander (Seinfield), author and part time poker player Anthony Holden, Brazilian auto racer and team owner Gualter Salles and Darus Suharto, who made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Events.
Another $3 million is owed to Absolute Poker and a further $2 million to Golden Palace, a casino and online poker group.
It's understood Impact became increasingly anxious about funds owed and pulled the plug on Intabill's processing operation.
Other insiders blame the loss of customers on increased "charge backs" – or R10s as they are called in the trade – where consumers complain about their credit card or direct debit charges.
It's understood Intabill's charge backs were very low in some areas and reasonably high in others.
Last month when Intabill slashed its staff numbers, Mr Tzvetkoff blamed challenging market conditions and the increased cost of funding loan products.
Mr Tzvetkoff pointed out that – as experienced already by the likes of GE Money – the cost of funding in wholesale markets has dramatically increased in the present volatile market conditions.
He said this has meant a planned diversification into lending products had been terminated.
"In recent weeks we have come to the realisation that diversifying in these difficult market conditions presents too many risks and challenges," he said.
"Hence we have decided to scale back our operation to focus on our core e-commerce processing platform."
Despite several phone calls and email requests, Mr Tzvetkoff did not respond to The Courier-Mail's request for an interview. (Credit: The Courier-Mail)
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Review of website blacklist in wind, by Dan Harrison - The Age - 27th May 2009
The Federal Government is considering having a secret blacklist of banned websites reviewed by a panel of eminent Australians or a parliamentary committee to try to get more transparency in the controversial internet censorship regime.
The blacklist, which has existed since 2000, is maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which considers sites for inclusion based on complaints from the public, groups and law enforcement agencies.
The list is supplied to the makers of internet filters, but publication of the list is a criminal offence. This has led to criticisms that websites could be listed without their knowing it and without any opportunity to challenge their inclusion.
The Government became the subject of ridicule in March when whistleblower website Wikileaks published a list of websites it claimed was the blacklist. As well as child porn, bestiality, rape and extreme violence sites, the list included seemingly innocuous pages including online poker sites and the website of a dentist.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told a Senate estimates hearing yesterday that the Government was "considering options for greater transparency and accountability in respect of the blacklist", including a regular review of the list by a panel of eminent persons or parliamentary committee or a review of complaints by the classification board. The ACMA blacklist is being used as the basis for trials to test the technical feasibility of government plans to block banned websites at the internet service provider level.
The proposal has attracted fierce criticism on free speech grounds and from others who suggest it will be ineffective and will slow internet speeds. Senator Conroy said the results of the trials would be considered along with possible transparency measures before the Government makes a final decision on implementation of the policy.
About 30,000 customers have been invited to participate in the trials by the nine internet service providers taking part. Senator Conroy has promised to release a report on the results of the trials, which are expected in July.
The blacklist contains 977 websites. Senator Conroy said the Government hoped to expand the list through co-operation with international agencies.
Communications and Media Authority officials told the hearing of a 90 per cent increase in complaints about websites in the past 18 months. They attributed this to greater public awareness of the list.
Senator Conroy has said the filtering efforts would focus on "refused classification" material, such as child sexual abuse and instruction in crime. (Credit: The Age)
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The Federal Government is considering having a secret blacklist of banned websites reviewed by a panel of eminent Australians or a parliamentary committee to try to get more transparency in the controversial internet censorship regime.
The blacklist, which has existed since 2000, is maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which considers sites for inclusion based on complaints from the public, groups and law enforcement agencies.
The list is supplied to the makers of internet filters, but publication of the list is a criminal offence. This has led to criticisms that websites could be listed without their knowing it and without any opportunity to challenge their inclusion.
The Government became the subject of ridicule in March when whistleblower website Wikileaks published a list of websites it claimed was the blacklist. As well as child porn, bestiality, rape and extreme violence sites, the list included seemingly innocuous pages including online poker sites and the website of a dentist.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told a Senate estimates hearing yesterday that the Government was "considering options for greater transparency and accountability in respect of the blacklist", including a regular review of the list by a panel of eminent persons or parliamentary committee or a review of complaints by the classification board. The ACMA blacklist is being used as the basis for trials to test the technical feasibility of government plans to block banned websites at the internet service provider level.
The proposal has attracted fierce criticism on free speech grounds and from others who suggest it will be ineffective and will slow internet speeds. Senator Conroy said the results of the trials would be considered along with possible transparency measures before the Government makes a final decision on implementation of the policy.
About 30,000 customers have been invited to participate in the trials by the nine internet service providers taking part. Senator Conroy has promised to release a report on the results of the trials, which are expected in July.
The blacklist contains 977 websites. Senator Conroy said the Government hoped to expand the list through co-operation with international agencies.
Communications and Media Authority officials told the hearing of a 90 per cent increase in complaints about websites in the past 18 months. They attributed this to greater public awareness of the list.
Senator Conroy has said the filtering efforts would focus on "refused classification" material, such as child sexual abuse and instruction in crime. (Credit: The Age)
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
PKR to Broadcast 24 WSOP Final Tables, by Dan Cypra - Poker News Daily - 25th May 2009
Independent online poker room PKR has announced that it will air the final tables of 24 World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments as the “exclusive sole live broadcaster.” The news comes on the heels of an announcement that ESPN360.com and BluffMagazine.com will also stream 24 events.
PKR has set up a free website dedicated to WSOP coverage from the Rio in Las Vegas. Of the 24 events that will make up PKR’s live coverage, the site is looking forward to the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship. Last year, it was infamously won by Expekt Poker pro Scotty Nguyen, who was allegedly inebriated during the festivities and visibly hostile to both his tablemates and Rio staff. Nevertheless, Nguyen became the third winner of the prestigious event, which awards the Chip Reese Trophy to the winner. The late Reese took down the inaugural 2006 version, besting Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch heads-up. In 2007, the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship was won by Freddy Deeb, who defeated Bruno Fitoussi to earn $2.3 million.
PKR will also carry several final tables of the $10,000 buy-in events. The World Championship of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em is Event #29 and was won last year by Kenny Tran, who outlasted Alec Torelli in the final match. World Poker Tour (WPT) Founder Lyle Berman took fifth in that contest, with a bevy of world-class pros finishing near the top. The World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha will also air on PKR. In 2008, Boyle Poker pro Marty Smyth captured his first bracelet in it and defeated Peter Jetten. Coming in third place was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who earned over $330,000 for his efforts.
PKR Marketing Director Simon Prodger commented in a press release distributed by the online poker site, “The World Series of Poker is without doubt the biggest event of the poker calendar and it fills me with delight that PKR has managed to scoop exclusive rights to be the official broadcaster for these 24 bracelet events.” PKR has also become the official non-U.S. sponsor of the WSOP’s official website. A large PKR ad now dons the top of the site. The gray menu bar, which in the United States is sponsored by Bluff Magazine, is sponsored by PKR outside of the North American nation. The WSOP Countdown is also presented by PKR and the site has information at the bottom of the page about its WSOP satellites and along with a host of ads.
Among those events that will be shown on PKR are:
Event #4: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special
Event #17: $1,000 Ladies Championship
Event #18: $10,000 World Championship Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better
Event #29: $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
Event #33: $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold’em
Event #35: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
Event #40: $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha
Event #41: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout
Event #45: $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em
Event #49: $50,000 World Championship HORSE event
PKR was one of the first online poker sites to popularize the concept of 3D poker. On the last Sunday of every month, the room offers the $100,000 Guaranteed PKR Masters, a $250 buy-in tournament that pays out at least $25,000 to its winner. $27 direct buy-in satellites are available, as are a multitude of options starting as low as $0.52 or 900 PKR Points. PKR regularly offers a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool tournament on other Sundays that comes with a price tag of $88. Every day except Wednesday, the site offers an $18 buy-in $10,000 guaranteed tournament along with a Daily $17K.
According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, PKR is the 14th largest network or site worldwide with a seven day running average of 790 cash game players. It does not accept U.S. customers. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Independent online poker room PKR has announced that it will air the final tables of 24 World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments as the “exclusive sole live broadcaster.” The news comes on the heels of an announcement that ESPN360.com and BluffMagazine.com will also stream 24 events.
PKR has set up a free website dedicated to WSOP coverage from the Rio in Las Vegas. Of the 24 events that will make up PKR’s live coverage, the site is looking forward to the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship. Last year, it was infamously won by Expekt Poker pro Scotty Nguyen, who was allegedly inebriated during the festivities and visibly hostile to both his tablemates and Rio staff. Nevertheless, Nguyen became the third winner of the prestigious event, which awards the Chip Reese Trophy to the winner. The late Reese took down the inaugural 2006 version, besting Full Tilt Poker pro Andy Bloch heads-up. In 2007, the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship was won by Freddy Deeb, who defeated Bruno Fitoussi to earn $2.3 million.
PKR will also carry several final tables of the $10,000 buy-in events. The World Championship of Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em is Event #29 and was won last year by Kenny Tran, who outlasted Alec Torelli in the final match. World Poker Tour (WPT) Founder Lyle Berman took fifth in that contest, with a bevy of world-class pros finishing near the top. The World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha will also air on PKR. In 2008, Boyle Poker pro Marty Smyth captured his first bracelet in it and defeated Peter Jetten. Coming in third place was Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, who earned over $330,000 for his efforts.
PKR Marketing Director Simon Prodger commented in a press release distributed by the online poker site, “The World Series of Poker is without doubt the biggest event of the poker calendar and it fills me with delight that PKR has managed to scoop exclusive rights to be the official broadcaster for these 24 bracelet events.” PKR has also become the official non-U.S. sponsor of the WSOP’s official website. A large PKR ad now dons the top of the site. The gray menu bar, which in the United States is sponsored by Bluff Magazine, is sponsored by PKR outside of the North American nation. The WSOP Countdown is also presented by PKR and the site has information at the bottom of the page about its WSOP satellites and along with a host of ads.
Among those events that will be shown on PKR are:
Event #4: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em Stimulus Special
Event #17: $1,000 Ladies Championship
Event #18: $10,000 World Championship Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better
Event #29: $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
Event #33: $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold’em
Event #35: $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
Event #40: $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha
Event #41: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout
Event #45: $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em
Event #49: $50,000 World Championship HORSE event
PKR was one of the first online poker sites to popularize the concept of 3D poker. On the last Sunday of every month, the room offers the $100,000 Guaranteed PKR Masters, a $250 buy-in tournament that pays out at least $25,000 to its winner. $27 direct buy-in satellites are available, as are a multitude of options starting as low as $0.52 or 900 PKR Points. PKR regularly offers a $30,000 guaranteed prize pool tournament on other Sundays that comes with a price tag of $88. Every day except Wednesday, the site offers an $18 buy-in $10,000 guaranteed tournament along with a Daily $17K.
According to PokerScout.com, which keeps tabs on online poker room traffic, PKR is the 14th largest network or site worldwide with a seven day running average of 790 cash game players. It does not accept U.S. customers. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Monday, May 25, 2009
Harrah’s launches interactive department for WSOP, by Amanda Finnegan - Las Vegas Sun - 22nd May 2009
Harrah’s Entertainment announced today that it has launched a new subsidiary, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, to oversee the global and online growth of its World Series of Poker brand.
Harrah’s has hired Mitch Garber, the former CEO of PartyGaming, the largest online gaming company in the world, as the Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment CEO.
"As the world's largest gaming company, Harrah's is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion," Harrah's CEO Gary Loveman said in a statement. "It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands."
Jeffery Pollack will stay as commissioner of WSOP and will add president of the subsidiary to his title.
The company said in addition to growing the WSOP, Harrah’s Interactive will explore the use of interactive gaming technologies globally, beginning with Europe.
The WSOP expanded to Europe in 2007 with the introduction of WSOP Europe held each fall in London.
The WSOP event starts Tuesday at the Rio. Last year’s tournament attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries. (Credit: Las Vegas Sun)
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Harrah’s Entertainment announced today that it has launched a new subsidiary, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, to oversee the global and online growth of its World Series of Poker brand.
Harrah’s has hired Mitch Garber, the former CEO of PartyGaming, the largest online gaming company in the world, as the Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment CEO.
"As the world's largest gaming company, Harrah's is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion," Harrah's CEO Gary Loveman said in a statement. "It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands."
Jeffery Pollack will stay as commissioner of WSOP and will add president of the subsidiary to his title.
The company said in addition to growing the WSOP, Harrah’s Interactive will explore the use of interactive gaming technologies globally, beginning with Europe.
The WSOP expanded to Europe in 2007 with the introduction of WSOP Europe held each fall in London.
The WSOP event starts Tuesday at the Rio. Last year’s tournament attracted 58,720 entrants from 124 different countries. (Credit: Las Vegas Sun)
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
PartyPoker Hosts Women’s World Open III, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 22nd May 2009
Several of the world’s top female poker pros will take to the felts this Sunday at Three Mills Studios in London, the site of the third PartyPoker Women’s World Open. Three days later, the $3,000 buy-in tournament will crown a champion, who will see her bank account grow by $50,000.
A total of 36 entrants are set to hit the felts, including Betfair pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the champion of the inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event in 2007. The youngster battled through a 362 player field two years ago and defeated fellow Betfair pro John “kunku wap” Tabatabai heads-up. Her first place finish was worth £1 million and a coveted gold bracelet. Online, she has multiple wins in the challenging PokerStars $100 rebuy and allegedly won a $4 buy-in 180-man sit and go on PokerStars while only looking at her cards once.
Obrestad will battle against another bracelet winner in the Women’s World Open field, actress Jennifer Tilly. She stormed through the field in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies Event held during the 2005 WSOP, winning $158,000 for her efforts. In the tournament, Tilly dueled against Anh Le heads-up, who has finished as the runner up in the WSOP Ladies tournament in two of the past four years. Sandra Naujoks, who took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Dortmund stop for $1.2 million, will also take a seat at the Women’s World Open. In the German EPT event, Naujoks bested Holger Kanisch heads-up.
The last running of the Women’s World Open was won by Soraya Homam, who is expected to be in the field this weekend trying to repeat. Stefanie Bergener, May Maceiras, and Eliza Burnett, all of whom reached the final table when the second Women’s World Open played out in October, will return to vie for the title once again. The tournament is played as a six-handed shootout, with each of the winners moving onto the final table. The second place finishers in each heat will then battle for the seventh and final spot at the feature table. Jessie May and Obrestad will provide play-by-play and the tournament can be seen on Five in the United Kingdom later this year. Then, it will be rolled out to a worldwide audience.
The inaugural Women’s World Open took place in August of 2007 in London. In the end, Beverly Pace took home the $50,000 first place prize, defeating Jen Mason heads-up. Also at the final table was Kara Scott, whom ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad ogled over during the broadcast of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Scott took 104th in that tournament, cashing for $41,000. She finished as the runner up in the Irish Open in Dublin last month, pocketing $413,000 in an event won by 2003 World Poker Tour (WPT) Euro Finals of Poker victor Christer Johansson.
PartyPoker’s VIP club, dubbed the Palladium Lounge, sent four qualifiers to the Women’s World Open this weekend. On some of the highlights from the six preliminary heats, a statement from PartyPoker read, “There are certainly some interesting heats lined-up. The opening heat features Annette and Germany’s Christine Klecz, while the second in the afternoon features both Jennifer Tilly and Jen Mason. Heat Five on Wednesday looks to be one of the toughest on paper, however, as it features May Maceiras, who seriously impressed last year with her hyper-aggressive game, as well as Maria Demetriou and Sandra Naujoks.”
Other top female gamers who will head to London include Lynne Beaumont, Maria Demetriou, Jen Mason, Veronique Gordon, Liv Boeree, Cecilia Nordenstram, Kim Wooka, Lise Vigezzi, Colette Murphy, and Agnieska Rylik. Here is a look at how the $108,000 prize pool is divided, with the top six players finishing in the money:
1st Place: $50,000
2nd Place: $22,000
3rd Place: $14,000
4th Place: $10,000
5th Place: $7,000
6th Place: $5,000
(Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Several of the world’s top female poker pros will take to the felts this Sunday at Three Mills Studios in London, the site of the third PartyPoker Women’s World Open. Three days later, the $3,000 buy-in tournament will crown a champion, who will see her bank account grow by $50,000.
A total of 36 entrants are set to hit the felts, including Betfair pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the champion of the inaugural World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event in 2007. The youngster battled through a 362 player field two years ago and defeated fellow Betfair pro John “kunku wap” Tabatabai heads-up. Her first place finish was worth £1 million and a coveted gold bracelet. Online, she has multiple wins in the challenging PokerStars $100 rebuy and allegedly won a $4 buy-in 180-man sit and go on PokerStars while only looking at her cards once.
Obrestad will battle against another bracelet winner in the Women’s World Open field, actress Jennifer Tilly. She stormed through the field in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies Event held during the 2005 WSOP, winning $158,000 for her efforts. In the tournament, Tilly dueled against Anh Le heads-up, who has finished as the runner up in the WSOP Ladies tournament in two of the past four years. Sandra Naujoks, who took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Dortmund stop for $1.2 million, will also take a seat at the Women’s World Open. In the German EPT event, Naujoks bested Holger Kanisch heads-up.
The last running of the Women’s World Open was won by Soraya Homam, who is expected to be in the field this weekend trying to repeat. Stefanie Bergener, May Maceiras, and Eliza Burnett, all of whom reached the final table when the second Women’s World Open played out in October, will return to vie for the title once again. The tournament is played as a six-handed shootout, with each of the winners moving onto the final table. The second place finishers in each heat will then battle for the seventh and final spot at the feature table. Jessie May and Obrestad will provide play-by-play and the tournament can be seen on Five in the United Kingdom later this year. Then, it will be rolled out to a worldwide audience.
The inaugural Women’s World Open took place in August of 2007 in London. In the end, Beverly Pace took home the $50,000 first place prize, defeating Jen Mason heads-up. Also at the final table was Kara Scott, whom ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad ogled over during the broadcast of the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Scott took 104th in that tournament, cashing for $41,000. She finished as the runner up in the Irish Open in Dublin last month, pocketing $413,000 in an event won by 2003 World Poker Tour (WPT) Euro Finals of Poker victor Christer Johansson.
PartyPoker’s VIP club, dubbed the Palladium Lounge, sent four qualifiers to the Women’s World Open this weekend. On some of the highlights from the six preliminary heats, a statement from PartyPoker read, “There are certainly some interesting heats lined-up. The opening heat features Annette and Germany’s Christine Klecz, while the second in the afternoon features both Jennifer Tilly and Jen Mason. Heat Five on Wednesday looks to be one of the toughest on paper, however, as it features May Maceiras, who seriously impressed last year with her hyper-aggressive game, as well as Maria Demetriou and Sandra Naujoks.”
Other top female gamers who will head to London include Lynne Beaumont, Maria Demetriou, Jen Mason, Veronique Gordon, Liv Boeree, Cecilia Nordenstram, Kim Wooka, Lise Vigezzi, Colette Murphy, and Agnieska Rylik. Here is a look at how the $108,000 prize pool is divided, with the top six players finishing in the money:
1st Place: $50,000
2nd Place: $22,000
3rd Place: $14,000
4th Place: $10,000
5th Place: $7,000
6th Place: $5,000
(Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Friday, May 22, 2009
WSOP To Offer Players Ability To Help Charities, by Earl Burton - Poker News Daily - 21st May 2009
Over the past five years, poker players have stepped to the forefront for a variety of charitable causes. Online tournaments have raised funds to assist the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other deserving organizations. The Heartland Poker Tour makes contributions to the Disabled American Veterans. There is even an organization – founded by Poker News Daily guest columnist Mike Sexton, tournament directors Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher and philanthropist Lisa Tenner – called Poker Gives, that focuses on using poker to assist in fundraising for charities. Now the World Series of Poker will step up and take poker philanthropy to the next level.
For the first time in its forty year history, the WSOP will offer players who cash during each event on this summer’s schedule the opportunity to donate part of their winnings to an organization that the WSOP has aligned itself with. All that a winning player has to do is to ask the payout clerk to leave one percent of their winnings to the Nevada Cancer Institute and the WSOP will arrange to transfer the funds to the Institute. As with many charitable donations, they are tax-deductible and contributors will receive a letter from NVCI for accounting purposes.
During the run of the tournament schedule, a special VIP lounge will be set up for players who pay a membership fee to be able to use the room. The “Aces Club” will be donating a large portion of each membership taken for access to the room to the Nevada Cancer Institute. As of press time, there are still memberships available and anyone who wishes to access the “Aces Club” should visit the area during the first few days of the WSOP.
One of the most popular fundraisers during the last few years at the World Series has been the “Queens of Heart” that play during the Ladies’ Championship Event. Featuring such players as former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly, poker professional Kristy Gazes and actresses Mimi Rogers and Cheryl Hines, the team has raised large amounts of money for women’s causes over the past few years. This year, the WSOP has created a special line of poker clothing for women, available at the Rio and on their website, WSOP Shop. The proceeds from sales of the “Queens of Heart” merchandise will go to the Nevada Cancer Institute, continuing the tradition the team has driven while playing on the felt.
There will be two special charitable tournaments during the run of the WSOP. “Ante Up For Africa” – the cause promoted by actor Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke – will be back for their third annual event. The $5,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament is open to anyone 21 years or older and this year, for the first time, will be a part of the ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP. For the Media Charity Event this year, the players who reach the final table will have donations made in their name to the Nevada Cancer Institute.
Finally, the Championship Event of the World Series will also have a way for players to make their mark in a charitable way. Poker pro Phil Gordon’s charitable cause “Bad Beat On Cancer” and the Nevada Cancer Institute will both benefit from players who donate, much like earlier in the tournament schedule, one percent of their winnings to charity. All contributions are tax deductible and will benefit research into the cure for one of mankind’s worst diseases.
With the WSOP adding in this charitable aspect to their poker schedule, the poker world is once again proving that, while there may be no charity at the poker table, there is a charitable heart inside all who play the game. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Over the past five years, poker players have stepped to the forefront for a variety of charitable causes. Online tournaments have raised funds to assist the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other deserving organizations. The Heartland Poker Tour makes contributions to the Disabled American Veterans. There is even an organization – founded by Poker News Daily guest columnist Mike Sexton, tournament directors Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher and philanthropist Lisa Tenner – called Poker Gives, that focuses on using poker to assist in fundraising for charities. Now the World Series of Poker will step up and take poker philanthropy to the next level.
For the first time in its forty year history, the WSOP will offer players who cash during each event on this summer’s schedule the opportunity to donate part of their winnings to an organization that the WSOP has aligned itself with. All that a winning player has to do is to ask the payout clerk to leave one percent of their winnings to the Nevada Cancer Institute and the WSOP will arrange to transfer the funds to the Institute. As with many charitable donations, they are tax-deductible and contributors will receive a letter from NVCI for accounting purposes.
During the run of the tournament schedule, a special VIP lounge will be set up for players who pay a membership fee to be able to use the room. The “Aces Club” will be donating a large portion of each membership taken for access to the room to the Nevada Cancer Institute. As of press time, there are still memberships available and anyone who wishes to access the “Aces Club” should visit the area during the first few days of the WSOP.
One of the most popular fundraisers during the last few years at the World Series has been the “Queens of Heart” that play during the Ladies’ Championship Event. Featuring such players as former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly, poker professional Kristy Gazes and actresses Mimi Rogers and Cheryl Hines, the team has raised large amounts of money for women’s causes over the past few years. This year, the WSOP has created a special line of poker clothing for women, available at the Rio and on their website, WSOP Shop. The proceeds from sales of the “Queens of Heart” merchandise will go to the Nevada Cancer Institute, continuing the tradition the team has driven while playing on the felt.
There will be two special charitable tournaments during the run of the WSOP. “Ante Up For Africa” – the cause promoted by actor Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke – will be back for their third annual event. The $5,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament is open to anyone 21 years or older and this year, for the first time, will be a part of the ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP. For the Media Charity Event this year, the players who reach the final table will have donations made in their name to the Nevada Cancer Institute.
Finally, the Championship Event of the World Series will also have a way for players to make their mark in a charitable way. Poker pro Phil Gordon’s charitable cause “Bad Beat On Cancer” and the Nevada Cancer Institute will both benefit from players who donate, much like earlier in the tournament schedule, one percent of their winnings to charity. All contributions are tax deductible and will benefit research into the cure for one of mankind’s worst diseases.
With the WSOP adding in this charitable aspect to their poker schedule, the poker world is once again proving that, while there may be no charity at the poker table, there is a charitable heart inside all who play the game. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
PartyPoker.com Start Asian Poker Tour Macau Qualifiers
18th May 2009 – www.partypoker.com is pleased to announce that online qualifiers are underway for the popular Asian Poker Tour Macau event in August.
The package is worth $7,000 and includes the $4,300 Main Event buy in, seven night’s accommodation from August 17th and $1,600 spending money. The main $700+$50 takes place every Sunday at 15.55 ET (20.55 BST, 21.55 CEST) where one in ten players will secure a package. There are daily $70 + $5 satellites at 15.55 ET (20.55 BST, 21.55 CEST) except Sundays where there is a Turbo at 13.55 ET (18.55 BST, 19.55 CEST). In all cases one in ten will win seats into the main qualifier, but, as ever, PartyPoker.com provides a diverse qualifying structure, with players able to start the quest for qualifcation from as little as $3. More information can be found at: PartyPoker.com
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “The Asian Poker Tour Macau is one of the most popular events we run satellites for. Those trying to qualify for this year’s event may have their work cut out as every single PartyPoker.com qualifier who has been to an Asian Poker Tour event has their eyes on a repeat visit! Macau is a completely different poker experience and with The Asian Poker Tour’s legendary award winning parties and soft action in the cash games it is now established as a very popular stop on the international circuit.”
Last year’s six day event is being transformed into a record breaking 12 day extravaganza, creating Asia’s first festival of poker. The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will run from August 12–23, 2009 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau. Last year, the event attracted some of the most famous names in the game including Doyle Brunson, Jack Binion, Johnny Chan, John Juanda, Huck Seed, Liz Lieu, Todd Brunson, Kenny Tran and Poker Pack members Nam Le, Quinn Do, JC Tran, Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee. The 2008 Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event was won by 20-year-old US hotshot Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who scooped US$500,000 after emerging triumphant from the star-studded field that featured players from over 40 countries. Since then Timoshenko has gone on to win the WPT Championship, making him one of the most in-form players in the world.
Organizers and leading tournament director Matt Savage, fresh from a successful revamp of the LA Poker Classic, promise a lengthy and varied side event schedule that will appeal to all tastes with high-limit games and sit-n-go tables running throughout the duration of the festival.
The last Asian Poker Tour event was held in the Philippines in January 2009 and was won by Manila rounder Neil Arce, who scooped US$185,000 for first prize. The runner-up was the Republic of Korea’s Steve Yea, who repeated his second place in the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2008.
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18th May 2009 – www.partypoker.com is pleased to announce that online qualifiers are underway for the popular Asian Poker Tour Macau event in August.
The package is worth $7,000 and includes the $4,300 Main Event buy in, seven night’s accommodation from August 17th and $1,600 spending money. The main $700+$50 takes place every Sunday at 15.55 ET (20.55 BST, 21.55 CEST) where one in ten players will secure a package. There are daily $70 + $5 satellites at 15.55 ET (20.55 BST, 21.55 CEST) except Sundays where there is a Turbo at 13.55 ET (18.55 BST, 19.55 CEST). In all cases one in ten will win seats into the main qualifier, but, as ever, PartyPoker.com provides a diverse qualifying structure, with players able to start the quest for qualifcation from as little as $3. More information can be found at: PartyPoker.com
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “The Asian Poker Tour Macau is one of the most popular events we run satellites for. Those trying to qualify for this year’s event may have their work cut out as every single PartyPoker.com qualifier who has been to an Asian Poker Tour event has their eyes on a repeat visit! Macau is a completely different poker experience and with The Asian Poker Tour’s legendary award winning parties and soft action in the cash games it is now established as a very popular stop on the international circuit.”
Last year’s six day event is being transformed into a record breaking 12 day extravaganza, creating Asia’s first festival of poker. The Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival will run from August 12–23, 2009 at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau. Last year, the event attracted some of the most famous names in the game including Doyle Brunson, Jack Binion, Johnny Chan, John Juanda, Huck Seed, Liz Lieu, Todd Brunson, Kenny Tran and Poker Pack members Nam Le, Quinn Do, JC Tran, Steve Sung, David “Chino” Rheem, and Kwang Soo Lee. The 2008 Asian Poker Tour Macau Main Event was won by 20-year-old US hotshot Yevgeniy Timoshenko, who scooped US$500,000 after emerging triumphant from the star-studded field that featured players from over 40 countries. Since then Timoshenko has gone on to win the WPT Championship, making him one of the most in-form players in the world.
Organizers and leading tournament director Matt Savage, fresh from a successful revamp of the LA Poker Classic, promise a lengthy and varied side event schedule that will appeal to all tastes with high-limit games and sit-n-go tables running throughout the duration of the festival.
The last Asian Poker Tour event was held in the Philippines in January 2009 and was won by Manila rounder Neil Arce, who scooped US$185,000 for first prize. The runner-up was the Republic of Korea’s Steve Yea, who repeated his second place in the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2008.
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Everest Poker European Cup sees a 1-2 for Switzerland - CAP
190 poker players from all corners of Europe flew into Chia Laguna Resort, Sardinia, to contest the third €100,000 Everest Poker European Cup (EPEC) but the weekend belonged to Switzerland.
This was the first major poker tournament where every single knock-out was update live on Twitter.
The winner, Pablo Finini, won with A9 against 88 with a 9 on the river!
With two Swedes on the final table it looked liked being a third consecutive EPEC win for Sweden but the Swiss resistance was too strong.
The final three were; 1st Pablo ‘finini’ Finini (CH), €21,000. 2nd Gael ‘Indian_Air’ Seydoux (CH), €16,000 & 3rd Johan ‘nupassarde’ Carlvik (SV), €12,000.
The main event was directed brilliantly by the ever-cool Thomas Kremser and the Sardinian sunshine was enjoyed by all at the Chia Laguna. Pictures and videos available at: www.everestpoker.com/blog
(Credit: CAP)
Greg Tingle comment...
The European igaming market appears to be just about as hot as Australia.
It would be interesting to know more about the proposed buy out of Everest Poker by PartyGaming and their PartyPoker.
PokerScout have had PartyPoker on the upward trend of a number of months.
As far as I know on an Australian, European and American basis PartyGaming and their PartyPoker brand is significantly stronger than Everest Poker.
One may speculate if next year, or even in the coming months, the Everest Cup will be transformed into the PartyPoker cup. Who might be the faces of a PartyPoker Cup? How about Mike Sexton and Paris Hilton, and how about someone signing up Mickey Rourke and Australia's Bra Boys!
Everest have the right approach with the multi language - multi currency casino, however their brand just hasn't cut through into some markets that matter. If the deal and price was right PartyPoker would swallow up Everest right?
I would like to see a league VS league poker tourney between World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. In the pro wrestling industry this would have been like a World Wrestling Entertainment (Wrestlemania) Vs World Championship Wrestling (Starrcade). Any takers? Give me a Hell Yeah!
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
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190 poker players from all corners of Europe flew into Chia Laguna Resort, Sardinia, to contest the third €100,000 Everest Poker European Cup (EPEC) but the weekend belonged to Switzerland.
This was the first major poker tournament where every single knock-out was update live on Twitter.
The winner, Pablo Finini, won with A9 against 88 with a 9 on the river!
With two Swedes on the final table it looked liked being a third consecutive EPEC win for Sweden but the Swiss resistance was too strong.
The final three were; 1st Pablo ‘finini’ Finini (CH), €21,000. 2nd Gael ‘Indian_Air’ Seydoux (CH), €16,000 & 3rd Johan ‘nupassarde’ Carlvik (SV), €12,000.
The main event was directed brilliantly by the ever-cool Thomas Kremser and the Sardinian sunshine was enjoyed by all at the Chia Laguna. Pictures and videos available at: www.everestpoker.com/blog
(Credit: CAP)
Greg Tingle comment...
The European igaming market appears to be just about as hot as Australia.
It would be interesting to know more about the proposed buy out of Everest Poker by PartyGaming and their PartyPoker.
PokerScout have had PartyPoker on the upward trend of a number of months.
As far as I know on an Australian, European and American basis PartyGaming and their PartyPoker brand is significantly stronger than Everest Poker.
One may speculate if next year, or even in the coming months, the Everest Cup will be transformed into the PartyPoker cup. Who might be the faces of a PartyPoker Cup? How about Mike Sexton and Paris Hilton, and how about someone signing up Mickey Rourke and Australia's Bra Boys!
Everest have the right approach with the multi language - multi currency casino, however their brand just hasn't cut through into some markets that matter. If the deal and price was right PartyPoker would swallow up Everest right?
I would like to see a league VS league poker tourney between World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. In the pro wrestling industry this would have been like a World Wrestling Entertainment (Wrestlemania) Vs World Championship Wrestling (Starrcade). Any takers? Give me a Hell Yeah!
Greg Tingle
Director
Media Man Australia
Casino News Media
Australian Casino News
Classic Slots Online
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Australian Sports Entertainment
Sunday, May 17, 2009
PartyPoker.com Reissues Paris Hilton Challenge!
One Night In Paris? Here's One Night To Win A Bentley!
14th May 2009 -- http://www.partypoker.com has seen the recent news that Paris Hilton has had her beloved blue Bentley vandalized, with reports suggesting eggs were also thrown. It is not the only reported problem the heiress has had with her luxury four wheels as in April 2006 it was suggested that the multimillionaire had lost a Bentley Continental GT in a poker game. That month, PartyPoker.com offered her the chance to win her car back and now, more than three years later, the online poker room is repeating its offer! The rules are simple - she takes on poker legend Mike Sexton in a heads-up poker tournament for the chance to win a Bentley!
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “Forget one night in Paris, we’re offering her one night to win a replacement for her vandalized Bentley! Fortune may be on her side in many ways but when it comes to Bentleys it certainly doesn’t seem to be the case so we’re confident Mike Sexton would win.”
“We challenge her to take us up on the offer. Three years is a long time in showbusiness and we’re sure she’d jump at it now - it is a simple offer for the former Simple Life star. Following the original offer in 2006 the likes of Clonie Gowen also made public challenges to the heiress but so far Paris has resisted.”
“It is reported that in January this year Paris met Lady Gaga but she didn’t show the pop sensation her poker face. We encourage her to not walk on eggshells and show it to Mike Sexton instead!
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One Night In Paris? Here's One Night To Win A Bentley!
14th May 2009 -- http://www.partypoker.com has seen the recent news that Paris Hilton has had her beloved blue Bentley vandalized, with reports suggesting eggs were also thrown. It is not the only reported problem the heiress has had with her luxury four wheels as in April 2006 it was suggested that the multimillionaire had lost a Bentley Continental GT in a poker game. That month, PartyPoker.com offered her the chance to win her car back and now, more than three years later, the online poker room is repeating its offer! The rules are simple - she takes on poker legend Mike Sexton in a heads-up poker tournament for the chance to win a Bentley!
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: “Forget one night in Paris, we’re offering her one night to win a replacement for her vandalized Bentley! Fortune may be on her side in many ways but when it comes to Bentleys it certainly doesn’t seem to be the case so we’re confident Mike Sexton would win.”
“We challenge her to take us up on the offer. Three years is a long time in showbusiness and we’re sure she’d jump at it now - it is a simple offer for the former Simple Life star. Following the original offer in 2006 the likes of Clonie Gowen also made public challenges to the heiress but so far Paris has resisted.”
“It is reported that in January this year Paris met Lady Gaga but she didn’t show the pop sensation her poker face. We encourage her to not walk on eggshells and show it to Mike Sexton instead!
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Saturday, May 16, 2009
Paris Hilton Versus Mike Sexton on Party Poker, by Tom Jenkins - Poker News Daily - 15th May 2009
PartyPoker, the world’s second largest online poker site or network that does not accept U.S. players, may host a heads-up match between heiress Paris Hilton and World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton. The winner will take home a brand new Bentley.
In 2006, PartyPoker, which is owned and operated by the publicly traded firm Party Gaming, offered Hilton a chance to recoup a Bentley that she allegedly lost in a game of poker. The luxury car in question was a Continental GT, but Hilton failed to take the then-world’s largest online poker room up on its offer. Hilton quickly became the centerpiece of the poker world, albeit for a brief time period. A statement released by PartyPoker this week recalled, “We challenge her to take us up on the offer. Three years is a long time in show business and we’re sure she’d jump at it now - it is a simple offer for the former ‘Simple Life’ star. Following the original offer in 2006, the likes of Clonie Gowen also made public challenges to the heiress, but so far Paris has resisted.”
Apparently, it’s déjà vu all over again for the hotel heiress. She reportedly had her new Bentley vandalized; PartyPoker stated that egg throwing was to blame. Now, the online poker site has quickly jumped back into the spotlight, with the longtime WPT Host challenging the reality star to a heads-up game with a Bentley on the line. We’d like to think that Hilton’s reaction was, “That’s hot.” PartyPoker’s Warren Lush told Poker News Daily what format the heads-up match may take: “The Paris Hilton challenge nearly happened last time and with what happened to her recently, we thought it was right to reiterate our offer. If she decides to accept, the format will be a heads-up tournament, but we are open to discussion about a definitive structure.” The name of the game would be No Limit Texas Hold’em and no deadline has been given for Hilton to respond.
Hilton played in the 2009 WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which played out in February, raised money for The Vine Group. The beneficiary organization’s ambassador at the event was none other than actor Mekhi Phifer, who welcomed Hollywood’s elite including Vince Vaughn, Jason Alexander, Ben Affleck, Mena Suvari, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Ricki Lake, Ray Romano, and Brad Garrett. The tournament was ultimately won by poker pro Freddy Deeb and raised $77,000 for The Vine Group.
Hilton may be best remembered for her leading role on “The Simple Life,” a reality series that also starred Nicole Richie, daughter of music legend Lionel Richie. The show aired on Fox and E! before vanishing from television airwaves two years ago. Season 1 of the show sent the duo to rural Arkansas, far away from their regular celebrity lifestyles. During Season 2, Hilton and Richie hit the road across the United States and found themselves as interns for Season 3. The fourth season of “The Simple Life” featured the subtitle “Til Death Do Us Part.” The fifth and final season sent the pair to summer camp.
Sexton, the voice of the WPT alongside Vince Van Patten, re-signed with PartyPoker as its ambassador at the end of April. A World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Sexton also took down the first $10,000 buy-in poker tournament ever held at Foxwoods (which occurred in 1992) and was the first American to win the Euro Finals of Poker. Sexton will represent the popular online poker site at live tournaments around the world and serve as the host of PartyPoker’s suite at the Rio for the 2009 WSOP, which starts in two weeks. He’ll also be regularly contributing to PartyPoker’s blog. Sexton is a monthly Guest Columnist right here on Poker News Daily. His most recent entry reviews the Season VII WPT Championship. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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PartyPoker, the world’s second largest online poker site or network that does not accept U.S. players, may host a heads-up match between heiress Paris Hilton and World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton. The winner will take home a brand new Bentley.
In 2006, PartyPoker, which is owned and operated by the publicly traded firm Party Gaming, offered Hilton a chance to recoup a Bentley that she allegedly lost in a game of poker. The luxury car in question was a Continental GT, but Hilton failed to take the then-world’s largest online poker room up on its offer. Hilton quickly became the centerpiece of the poker world, albeit for a brief time period. A statement released by PartyPoker this week recalled, “We challenge her to take us up on the offer. Three years is a long time in show business and we’re sure she’d jump at it now - it is a simple offer for the former ‘Simple Life’ star. Following the original offer in 2006, the likes of Clonie Gowen also made public challenges to the heiress, but so far Paris has resisted.”
Apparently, it’s déjà vu all over again for the hotel heiress. She reportedly had her new Bentley vandalized; PartyPoker stated that egg throwing was to blame. Now, the online poker site has quickly jumped back into the spotlight, with the longtime WPT Host challenging the reality star to a heads-up game with a Bentley on the line. We’d like to think that Hilton’s reaction was, “That’s hot.” PartyPoker’s Warren Lush told Poker News Daily what format the heads-up match may take: “The Paris Hilton challenge nearly happened last time and with what happened to her recently, we thought it was right to reiterate our offer. If she decides to accept, the format will be a heads-up tournament, but we are open to discussion about a definitive structure.” The name of the game would be No Limit Texas Hold’em and no deadline has been given for Hilton to respond.
Hilton played in the 2009 WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which played out in February, raised money for The Vine Group. The beneficiary organization’s ambassador at the event was none other than actor Mekhi Phifer, who welcomed Hollywood’s elite including Vince Vaughn, Jason Alexander, Ben Affleck, Mena Suvari, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Ricki Lake, Ray Romano, and Brad Garrett. The tournament was ultimately won by poker pro Freddy Deeb and raised $77,000 for The Vine Group.
Hilton may be best remembered for her leading role on “The Simple Life,” a reality series that also starred Nicole Richie, daughter of music legend Lionel Richie. The show aired on Fox and E! before vanishing from television airwaves two years ago. Season 1 of the show sent the duo to rural Arkansas, far away from their regular celebrity lifestyles. During Season 2, Hilton and Richie hit the road across the United States and found themselves as interns for Season 3. The fourth season of “The Simple Life” featured the subtitle “Til Death Do Us Part.” The fifth and final season sent the pair to summer camp.
Sexton, the voice of the WPT alongside Vince Van Patten, re-signed with PartyPoker as its ambassador at the end of April. A World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Sexton also took down the first $10,000 buy-in poker tournament ever held at Foxwoods (which occurred in 1992) and was the first American to win the Euro Finals of Poker. Sexton will represent the popular online poker site at live tournaments around the world and serve as the host of PartyPoker’s suite at the Rio for the 2009 WSOP, which starts in two weeks. He’ll also be regularly contributing to PartyPoker’s blog. Sexton is a monthly Guest Columnist right here on Poker News Daily. His most recent entry reviews the Season VII WPT Championship. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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