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The Epic Poker League has crowned its first ever champion. Chino Rheem, most famous for finishing 7th in the 2008 Main Event, added to his burgeoning reputation by capturing the inaugural title. His victory is worth $1 million, bringing his lifetime earnings to over $5.7 million. He is also a member of Team PokerStars Pro, one of the best mac poker sites.
The opening $20k tournament of the Epic Poker League was heralded by a series of Pro-Am qualifiers and charity tournaments. Those with a successful record in high stakes events were automatically granted entry to the main event, but by playing in pre-game satellites, anyone with a decent bankroll had a shot at entering.
To sweeten the deal for their first tournament, Federated Sports + Gaming chose to wave the rake and add $400,000 to the prize pool. That was enough to tempt in 137 runners, although plenty of card-holding big guns stayed away. Notable by their absence were Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Tom Dwan, Chris Ferguson, Bertrand Grospellier, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Men Nguyen, and Scotty Nugyen. Many former big names from us poker… READ MORE
Read MoreFull Tilt and PokerStars are no longer offering their services to U.S. customers. In the wake of indictments by the U.S. Department of Justice, the two biggest online poker sites in the world have withdrawn from the country with immediate effect.
Along with UB and Absolute Poker, these online poker companies have been targeted by the DoJ for fraud, money laundering and violating the UIGEA. Both CEREUS network sites continue to operate as normal, with users reporting cash games with American players running on the Ultimate Bet for Mac client. In addition, Bodog, who were not named in the DoJ’s action, remain open to U.S. customers.
A document, released by the FBI, claims that all four sites were operating dummy accounts in order to trick U.S. banks into accepting their transactions. After the passage of the UIGEA in 2006 many banks stopped accepting funds tagged with the online gambling code. In order to circumvent these blocks, the DoJ alleges that the online poker sites set up “phoney” companies that posed as pet food stores and other innocuous businesses. Through these websites they could transfer money to and from the banks without arousing suspicion
U.S. players attempting to log onto… READ MORE
Read MoreLegal decisions concerning online poker rooms or live poker games are rarely indecisive. It’s usually a case of yes or no when it comes to the question of skill vs. luck, but apparently the Swedish like to do things a little differently.
A court in Sweden recently decreed that poker tournaments are skill-based, while cash games are luck-based. “We have found that the main tournament and its side tournaments were not random chance games, but that skill does come in to it,” said judge Göran Lamberth after the hearing.
To most poker players this will seem like a very confusing decision. Whether cash or tournament, the core of the game remains predominantly skill based. The scores of professional players making a living in ring games seem to indicate that.
The rationale behind this ruling is that cash games allow the players the freedom to bet however much they like and come and go as they please. Anyone who sits down at the poker table with a pile of his own money is not in an environment which forces skill to trump luck. “We find this form to be a game of pure random chance,” added Lamberth.
The ruling follows… READ MORE
Read MoreIn recent weeks, facebook app developers Zynga have begun to extend themselves into real-money online poker. Through their hyper-popular game, they technically have one of the top texas holdem sites in the world. Around 38 million players hitting the facebook felt every month. In March they also ran their first ever PokerCon, an event which also included Zynga’s first ever live cash poker tournament.
The company, which has become extremely wealthy in the past year, does not do things by halves. This week it was announced that Zynga were hiring the team from MarketZero, the company behind popular tracking site Poker Table Ratings. This is the 11th such acquisition by Zynga in the past 11 months.
PokerTableRatings.com allows registered members to access reams of data on individual players, tracking their performance and tendencies across multiple sites. This form of datamining has been controversial in the past, with the likes of Isildur1 speaking out against its use.
It is not yet clear how Zynga’s talented new staff will improve their flash texas holdem game, but did comment that, “the team’s experience and deep knowledge of the online poker industry will be invaluable as we work together to build out… READ MORE
Read MoreThe relationship between the big Las Vegas casinos and their online poker counterparts has often been rocky. Many of the Strip bosses believe that allowing the likes of the Full Tilt Poker Download and PokerStars free reign over the U.S. market will decrease the number of players arriving through their doors.
In the past year, two firms have bucked that trend. 888 and Caesars have organized an alliance to provide WSOP branded online poker to the entire world. As with anything connected to internet gambling, the legality of this arrangement was called into question, but the Nevada Gaming Commission recently approved the deal.
This has opened the door for other groups to combine forces and the first duo to jump on the bandwagon are Wynn Resorts and PokerStars. This is yet another step forward. An established Las Vegas casino willing to enter a ‘strategic alliance’ with one of the best US poker sites that has continued to offer poker to U.S. citizens.
Impressively, their press release states that, “the companies will first work to secure the passage of federal legislation that will finally and conclusively define illegal internet gambling, provide law enforcement with the tools necessary to stop… READ MORE
Read MoreYou might think you’ve heard of all the big U.S. poker tours. The WPT and the NAPT tend to dominate the airwaves all year round, but toiling away from the mainstream there are equally exciting events making their own headway. Chief amongst them is the Heartland Poker Tour, a series of TV tournaments designed to cater to the recreational player.
It has been announced that Season 7 of the HPT will feature UB as the Presenting Sponsor. The site, formerly known as UB, makes its home on the CEREUS network and is one of the limited number of us friendly poker sites that still provides custom to the American market.
UB.net branding will feature across all episodes of the HPT poker video TV shows, which are broadcast all across the States, Europe, and the Caribbean. There will be 52 weeks of HPT coverage in total, with festivals taking place in Oklahoma, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, and Nevada. Just like the WPT, the televised final table begins when 6 players remain in the main event.
“What HPT has been able to do is fantastic,” said UB pro Joe Sebok. “For us, to come in and back their product, we… READ MORE
Read MoreThe Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is quite used to being the center of attention. Every year, for two months (plus another week in November), the World Series of Poker calls the off-strip casino its home. And in just two short months, the Harrah’s property will play host to yet another round of poker’s premiere event. Thousands of people are currently frantically trying to qualify for the main event on money poker sites.
However, ahead of the festivities, the Rio has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. On Thursday morning at 4:30 am a man wearing a fedora and sunglasses walked onto the casino floor and began brazenly stuffing chips into a bag. When a dealer moved to intercept him, the thief pulled a gun.
No shots were fired and no injuries sustained, but the crook got away with an estimated $35,000 in casino chips. Eyewitnesses report that he got into a taxi outside the building which he took to nearby casino, at which point he disappeared.
He was reported to have been a 40-year-old white mail with a moustache, but there has been some speculation as to the legitimacy of the facial hair. His hat and… READ MORE
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