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Poker Pro Phil Gordon Honored

03/20/2010 12:02 PM

World Series of Poker 2010: Where to Stay If You Come to Play Part 2

Yesterday we told you about a few hotel options you have when deciding on accommodations for the 2010 World Series of Poker. Hotels not your thing? Maybe a condo or house is more your style. Read on to find out more. Rent a Condo If you're...

03/20/2010 10:00 AM

Cantu wins Wynn Poker Championship 2010

03/20/2010 08:18 AM

Belgium to use EU Presidency for Poker

03/20/2010 04:23 AM

The Nightly Turbo: Estonia Blocks Online Poker, Belgium Will Allow Online Poker, and a Devilfish Movie?

The Estonian government has placed a block on foreign online poker sites and the Estonians are less than happy, Belgium is opening the doors to online poker operators in 2011, and Devilfish is making a movie. Yes, we know one of these things is...

03/19/2010 04:15 PM

The Online Railbird Report: Hansen's Struggles Continue

The recent frantic high-stakes cash-game action on Full Tilt Poker has subsided -- for now. The seven-figure swings that were prominent over the past few days fell back to the usual six-figure gains and losses with "Isildur1" and Brian Hastings...

03/19/2010 10:30 AM

Possible Canadian Poker Tour Buyer

03/19/2010 08:48 AM

$2,000 PokerNews Cash Freerolls at PokerStars

The PokerStars $2,000 cash freerolls are running through April. Just sign up for a PokerStars account through PokerNews and earn at least 150 VPPs in March to receive a ticket which can be used to register for the $2,000 freeroll of their...

03/19/2010 06:00 AM

Leatherass Joins Online Poker Room

03/19/2010 05:12 AM

College Professor Bans Online Poker

03/19/2010 02:22 AM

Leatherass Joins Team PokerStars Online

Citing "irreconcilable differences" with the sites, Schmidt left his post in January joining training site DragTheBar.com as its lead instructor and has now been added to the PokerStars Team Online roster. The 26-player team also includes top online poker players like Randy "nanonoko" Lew, Andrew "Kid Nebraska" Goetsch and Thomas "Boku87" Boekhoff. "I feel like I've joined the Yankees," Schmidt said. "Getting the opportunity to represent the largest poker room in the world is definitely something that makes all of the hard work feel worthwhile. I couldn't be more honored." Five years into his career, Schmidt's has played more than 8 million hands over more than 10,000 hours and has won more than $3 million in cash games online. He's never had a losing month in his career and in 2007 achieved PokerStars' SuperNova Elite status in just eight months. Schmidt said that being named to PokerStars Team Online means he'll be going for SuperNova Elite status again in 2010. "The chase for SuperNova Elite is officially on," he said. Schmidt said his joining Team PokerStars Online means he'll be playing exclusively on the site. He'll also keep a blog on PokerStars and will play in tournaments on the site as well. Prior to his start in poker, Schmidt was a top-ranked golfer, but gave up the links in favor of the felt at age 23 when he suffered a heart attack. Visit PokerListings.com

03/19/2010 01:30 AM

The Nightly Turbo: Cantu Wins at Wynn, Poker Pro Endorsements, and More

Brandon Cantu let his chips do the talking at the Wynn Classic, there's a really funny thread on Two Plus Two you have to see, and you may hate Joe Sebok after you watch the latest episode of Poker2Nite. Why? You'll have to read the Nightly Turbo...

03/18/2010 05:00 PM

World Series of Poker 2010: Where to Stay If You Come to Play Part 1

Thinking about taking a shot at a World Series of Poker bracelet this year? Better get your game in top form, start picking out your sunglasses, and put some time into your iPod playlist. With the WSOP only two months away, it's also time to...

03/18/2010 12:00 PM

2010 Online High-Stakes at a Glance

While it's no shock seeing Tom "durrrr" Dwan on the top of the leader board with over $3.4 million as we near the end of the first quarter of 2010, it is that Phil Ivey has barely played. In total, Ivey has logged just 4,351 hands this year. And while he 's showing a $194,074 profit, every big name in the biggest games have played more hands. In the meantime, Alexander "PostflopAction" Kostritsyn, winner of the 2008 Aussie Millions, has had tremendous success on Full Tilt in 2010 so far, earning over $2.2 million to put him into second place. Kostritsyn has proved himself to be a master of mixed games, with more than $1.6 million of his profits coming from the high-stakes 7-Game tables. But perhaps the biggest story of the year has been Cole South. He held the profit lead with as much as $3.6 million to start the year, but a recent month-long downswing has left him with only $1.2 million of it. The most volatile players ever to hit the digital felt made his first splash late in 2009, making over $5 million in just three days from Dwan. Identity unknown, Isildur1 went on to play the biggest pots in online history, the largest worth over $1.3 million against Patrik Antonius, before losing that and another $2 million in just two weeks. The majority of the losses came at the hands of Brian Hastings, including more than $4.2 million in a single session, and with the unknown Swede returning to the tables again this year, we've already seen more than one epic rematch. Despite playing slightly more conservatively, Isildur1 has managed to go on a $3.6 million dollar swing. And even though Hastings still appears to still be getting the best of him, he's currently sitting with $422,400 in profit. Antonius has been another shocking story. He absolutely crushed the leader board last year, but has been unable to find his stride in 2010, down almost $3.8 million since the first of January. In addition to his massive losses, Antonius has also been getting dismantled in the durrrr Challenge, Dwan's lead extending to almost $2 million. Finally, since the 30-day suspension of his Full Tilt pro status, Brian Townsend has struggled to turn a profit in almost every session he has played, losing over $1.9 million so far this year. It's anybody's guess as to what will happen over the next nine months, but the two questions most online rail birds are still hoping to have answered appear to be: When will Ivey decide to put up some numbers and just who is Isildur1? Below are the three largest pots of the year so far. To see more hands from last night, head to MarketPulse.   's Isildur1 up against all four aces.     Back when Cole South was running white-hot.     Ziigs drawing nearly dead. Visit PokerListings.com

03/18/2010 08:30 AM

Berlin Poker Suspects Taken

03/18/2010 08:08 AM

More Security for Poker Tournament

03/18/2010 05:06 AM

Borgata Spring Poker Open Set

Beginning Saturday Apr. 10 through Friday Apr. 30, the 110-table Borgata poker room will play host to a 60-event 21-day schedule, including the $3,500 Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship event kicking off Apr. 25. The championship event will feature two starting days, 30,000 in tournament chips and a guaranteed $1 million prize pool. In addition to a series of No-Limit Hold'em tournaments, the schedule will also feature, Six-Max No-Limit, H.O.S.E., Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 and Stud events. Plus, a series of super satellite, survivor, seniors-only and ladies-only tournaments are planned. Borgata will offer online reservations for main events, beginning Mar. 22 through Apr. 7. On-site registration for all Borgata Spring Poker Open events begins Apr. 9. To view the full schedule or for more information, click here.Visit PokerListings.com

03/18/2010 12:30 AM

Online Poker Player Snags Award Winner

03/18/2010 12:08 AM

Mercier's High Stakes Poker Experience

"I would definitely do it again if the opportunity arose," he told PokerListings. "I feel like I play the cash games as well as any good high-stakes player. "Obviously $400/$800 is not my normal game, but I don't feel like I was playing like scared money. I was able to shove $210,000 in on a semi-bluff." After two episodes of the popular GSN show where he did not get involved in very many hands, Mercier's exit from the High Stakes stage came during an episode that aired this past Sunday in a hand with arguably poker's greatest player, Phil Ivey. Gus Hansen raised to $4,200 under the gun and Eli Elezra and Ivey both made the call before Mercier tried a three-bet squeeze to $22,100 with A♥ 4♥ from the small blind. "Normally I would probably just call in this situation," Mercier said. "We're over 250 big blinds deep and it's fine to call here. I don't really like folding, especially with how deep we are and the players in the hand. I felt like it was a really good spot to squeeze. I can put in like 10 % of my stack and there's like $16k out there that I can pick up if it works. "I was really expecting to get re-raised or everyone to fold. My image was really tight and I figured that they would put me on a big pair, maybe ace-king, and they really wouldn't want to mess with me at this point." Hansen and Elezra gave up, but not Ivey, who made the call before the dealer revealed a 7♥ 3♦ 2♠ flop. "He called without even thinking about it," Mercier said. "From watching the last couple of episodes I know that he was really active, but I wasn't really aware of how active at the time. I know he did have over $800k and when he called, I really felt like he had a middle pair, like fives through tens." Mercier continuation bet $28,700, Ivey raised it up $50k more and almost instantly, Mercier pushed in for another $110K. "I was not necessarily expecting him to fold to one bullet, but I didn't expect him to raise ever," he said. "There's almost no hand he should be raising with on that flop. I expected him to call and depending on what came on the turn, I may double barrel. "The thing is, I hadn't really been involved in any big pots, so I felt like he was going to give me credit for an overpair at this point. I was 100 % sure he didn't have a set and I really felt like he was just trying to see where he was at with a pair. "As soon as he raised, I knew I was going all in." Ivey made a reluctant looking call with pocket nines, the turn and river were no help to Mercier and with his $200k buy-in gone, he left the game. "I knew that if I shoved it was going to look like I had aces, kings or queens and if he can't beat that, how can he call? That was my rational," Mercier said. "Plus I had an over card, the gutshot and the back-door flush draw." Better luck next time kid.   But despite losing more than $200,000 in a single hand to the legendary Ivey, Mercier said there's not much he would do differently. "I feel like I played my best," he said. "Hopefully I didn't say anything in the interview afterwards that was too bad. I might have said Phil Ivey played his hand badly. "I mean, I don't think he's going to be saying, 'I owned that kid.' I don't think that's the optimal way to play nines against me, but what can I say? he's Phil Ivey. "He's one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world. But if I had to play the hand again, I don't think I could do anything else." In a game featuring the greatest players in the world, a 23-year-old Mercier may seem overmatched on paper. But the World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour title holder, with more than $4 million in career live tournament earnings in just the past two years and millions of hands in online cash-game experience, doesn't seem to think so. "I thought it was a good opportunity," he said. "I read the line-up and I felt like I could have an advantage. I feel like I would have an advantage in almost any line-up. Plus, it's also good exposure. "When I got there, unfortunately it was a pretty tough line-up. But some of them have their leaks. I still think I would have an edge in that line-up any day of the week." Unfortunately for Mercier, not that day of the week. "I went in there not just trying to survive and make like $20k," he said. "I was going to take advantage of whatever circumstances I could, whatever hands I was dealt, spots I was given and just try to make some cash." If he has one regret from his four hours in the game, it's from his first hand at the table, where he raised with deuces and folded to a Tom "durrrr" Dwan three bet. "I probably should have shoved it down durrrr's throat," he said. "I would have been considered a legend probably. But I really didn't want to go broke on the first hand. "I think you have to play tighter when durrrr's at the table. You definitely have to change the way you play, but I felt like I was doing a good job of that. I feel like durrrr's a little tougher to play against than Ivey because he's so crazy. You can't really put him on anything." But regardless of how things turned out, Mercier said the experience was definitely worth it. "I was kind of nervous at first," he said. "But it was definitely fun." Visit PokerListings.com

03/17/2010 04:00 AM

World Team Poker Hits Vegas

Set for May 19, the $50,000 one-day event will feature 40 of the world's top poker pros representing eight different countries on five man teams. Each of the teams will be captained by superstars of poker in their respective countries, including Phil Hellmuth, Jr. (Team USA), co-captains Johnny Chan and David Chiu (Team China), Men "The Master" Nguyen (Team Vietnam), Eli Elezra (Team Israel) and co-captains Jeff Lisandro and Tony Guoga (Australia). It will be a five-table shootout format consisting of rounds of Limit Hold'Em, Pot-Limit Hold'Em and No Limit Hold'Em. Viewers from around the world will be able to watch live streaming coverage of the event at www.worldteampoker.com and it will be filmed for TV. Visit PokerListings.com

03/16/2010 02:00 AM

Poker News in Brief: March 8-14, 2010

Phil Hellmuth made his fourth WPT final table at the 2010 Bay 101 Shooting Star with a chance to win his first WPT title. You can read more about the stunning conclusion of Bay 101 in our news section. It wasn't all Hellmuth during the week, however, and as usual, PokerListings compiled some of the lesser-known poker stories in our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature. This week we'll take a look at UB sponsoring a major Canadian tournament, PokerStars hosting the world's largest poker game and the upcoming Wynn Poker Classic main event. UB Poker to Sponsor Poker Pro Canada Classic UB Poker said no to the Caribbean and yes to Canada this week. The online poker site cancelled its signature tournament in Aruba, but announced it is becoming one of the key sponsors of the Four Aces Poker Pro Canada Classic in Montreal. Taking place April 15-18, the $1,650 buy-in tournament will now feature UB Poker pros Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. UB will be sending over 50 players from its site to the tournament in satellites that start at just $11. To learn more or qualify for the tournament check out the UB site here. Wynn Classic Main Event Kicks Off Tomorrow The Wynn Classic poker series, which began Feb. 25, is scheduled to culminate with the $5,000 main event this Monday at noon PT. The series has already seen a couple of notable pros take down side events including Justin Young winning the $500 H.O.R.S.E. event and Chris Bjorn taking down the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. Scott Clements and Bryan Devonshire also finished runner-up in two events. Now in its fourth year of existence the Wynn Classic has crowned Chris Moore, Zachary Hyman and Keith Ferrara as champions in previous years. This year's Main Event will run three days with the final table playing out on Wednesday. $1 million in Prizes as Gladiator Continues The Gladiator promotion on PartyPoker is off to a hot start and organizers are estimating players could potentially earn over $1 million by taking part. "The Gladiator is off to a mightily powerful start and we forecast over $1 million in prizes based on the first week's activity," said a PartyPoker spokesman. "It still isn't too late to get involved though - there is still plenty of time to win some great cash rewards. If a customer earns 2,000 points a day for the remaining 20 days of the promotion they will pick up a cool $5,000." The Gladiator runs from March 3 to April 1 on PartyPoker and any player that earns a minimum of 10 PartyPoints each day will gain entry into $10,000 freeroll. To learn more about the Gladiator promo visit the PartyPoker website. PokerStars Hosts World's Biggest Poker Game PokerStars held one of the more unusual events related to poker this week. The online poker room hosted what site representatives are calling, "The world's largest poker game." The title doesn't refer to number of players or the prizepool - it refers to the size of the chips and cards being played with. The event featured English rugby stars James Haskell, Ben Foden and Delon Armitage pushing massive shoulder-high chips around a field. PokerStars is the official gaming and casino partner of the English Rugby team and the entire event was filmed as a promo for the site. You can check out the clip here. International Poker Network Upgrades Software The International Poker Network, which includes poker room's bwin, BetClic and Paradise Poker, released an improved poker client this week. The software update allows players to pick their own seats and the ability to use the same wallet for poker and casino. "Being able to choose your own seat at the table may seem like a small thing to some," said Wendy Lawrence of GTECH G2, the software provider for IPN, "But we design everything from the player's perspective, so when players told us this is a feature they'd like to see, we built it in. IPN recently celebrated its three millionth member and its two billionth hand. The network also awarded a €601,370 bad beat jackpot last fall.Visit PokerListings.com

03/14/2010 04:00 AM

UB Cancels Aruba Poker Classic

A statement from Tokwiro CEO Paul Leggett says the online poker rooms also has plans to develop a monthly $500k Guaranteed Tournament with an eye on building it into a million-dollar event, create more pro-related competitions and run its UB Online Championship twice a year. "It is with great regret that we are announcing that the Aruba event will not run this year, but 2010 is going to be an exciting year for UB and its players," said Leggett. "Over the last year, we've been redefining the UB brand in every way. We love the Aruba Poker Classic event, but we think we can do a lot more for our players by investing in new events and rewards." UB will continue to offer players access to events like the World Series of Poker and major World Poker Tour events through ongoing online satellites. Players will also see benefits in the form of major WSOP incentives and additional loyalty benefits for top players. "I, for one, am excited about what this shift in focus means for UB and what this will add to the experience for our players," said Joe Sebok. The 2009 Aruba Poker Classic drew 475 players to the Caribbean island creating a $2,303,750 prize pool. Brandon Hall took the title after a heads up chop with then chip leader Robert Mizrachi, giving Mizrachi the lion's share of the cash. Visit PokerListings.com

03/10/2010 12:30 AM

Titan Poker Upgrades Software

Titan Poker launched the new 9.6 version of its online poker software this week featuring a host of new features and functionalities. Included are an updated Flash version compatible for Mac users, Razz games and five additional languages, including Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Portuguese and Romanian.  The site also unveiled a radically revamped website, sleek new brand logo and the Titan Poker Academy, a comprehensive poker strategy guide providing valuable insights for both beginner and veteran players on odds calculations, money management, positioning, bluffing and more. With nearly 30,000 online players at peak hours, Titan Poker has grown into the number one online poker room in Europe. The site guarantees $16,000,000 in monthly prizes, features special sit 'n' go tournaments with progressive jackpots as high as $100,000, and awards players with entries to major worldwide poker tournaments. Click the banner below for more information on the changes at Titan Poker. Visit PokerListings.com

03/10/2010 12:00 AM

Poker News in Brief: March 1-7, 2010

Between the LAPC and WPT Invitational winners, Isildur1 getting busy online and the start of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship there was nary a dull moment for poker fans. As usual, we’re going to list some of the poker stories you might have missed as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief feature. This week we’re going to take a look at online gambling in Iowa, a WSOP all-star game, Roland de Wolfe winning a London tournament and more. Legal Online Gambling in Iowa? Iowa is the latest U.S. state apparently looking at legalizing online gambling. Rep. Doug Struyk of Council Bluffs told the Quad City Times that 50,000 people in Iowa already participate in online gambling and the government could provide better protection for them if the industry was legalized and regulated. Struyk’s proposal would regulate the practice through the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. If the proposal goes through Iowa would become the first state in the country to allow online gambling. Tiger Woods Turns Down Paddy Poker Deal Many of Tiger Woods major sponsors have dropped him since his sex scandal broke but at least one online poker room seems to have no problem with the golfer. Ireland-based Paddy Power Poker reportedly offered the disgraced sports star a five-year deal worth $75 million to represent the site. Although Woods has already turned the offer down, Paddy Power Poker has claimed it is planning on coming back with an even better offer in the future. It’s not the first time a poker organization has offered a deal to a fallen sports star. Last summer the Asian Poker Tour invited Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps to its Macau event. A picture of Phelps holding a bong surfaced on the internet in early 2009, which led to several sponsors dropping the multiple gold-medalist. Check Paddy Power Poker for more. Roland de Wolfe Wins London Open Full Tilt pro Roland de Wolfe outlasted 110 players to win the 2010 Mansion Poker Les A London Open last week. De Wolfe overcame a final table of mostly unknown players to win the £77,000 first place prize. The Hendon Mob’s Ross Boatman came in eighth place for £6,600. The inaugural £2,000+£200 buy-in Mansion Poker Les A London Open ran February 23-24. WSOP to Introduce All-Star Tournament? It appears Harrah’s is interested in hosting some form of an all-star tournament at the 2010 WSOP. Harrah’s released a cryptic message via the WSOP Twitter account this week that read: “Which 20 WSOP Bracelet-Holders would you like to see compete in an All-Star game? Stay tuned…” Last summer the WSOP held the 40th Anniversary Champions Invitational, which was open to every player that had won the Main Event. The tournament was won by 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy. In previous years, Harrah’s held a Tournament of Champions that featured a large number of notable pros. Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and Mike Sexton were all winners of that event. More Gold for Cake Poker Players in March Cake Poker is giving its players two exclusive promotions during the month of March. The first is the Cake Poker Turbo Gold Cards March Madness event that features Gold Cards dropping four times more often. Gold Cards randomly appear in your account when you are playing ring games on Cake Poker. The cards are redeemable for cash or tournament entries depending on what card you receive. Cake Poker will also be offering more satellites to the 2010 Irish Open, starting March 14. "Dublin is a wonderful town and when you bring a major tournament there with the accompanying insane side action, it's hard to beat,” said Cake Poker room manager Lee Jones. To learn more visit the Cake Poker website.Visit PokerListings.com

03/06/2010 11:00 PM

Online Satellite Winner Takes WPT Invitational Title

LeRon "Dream187" Washington, a 34-year-old West Virginia boxer and part-time poker player walked away with $75,000 in cash and a seat in the $25,000 WPT World Championship coming up this April. "It's a dream come true," he said. "I've been waiting for this day a long time." Washington beat 1,683 players in a tournament on ClubWPT Jan. 3 to secure the last seat available in the invite-only Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles On February 20, he joined Hollywood A-listers including Teri Hatcher, Jenny McCarthy, Hank Azaria, Jerry Ferrara, and poker pros like Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Antonio Esfandiari, Mike Matusow and Phil Laak on the first day of the Invitational. After two days of tournament play, Washington was one of six finalists who outlasted a record-setting field of 567 players to secure his place at the televised final table. He returned to Commerce March 3 to book the win. "I've been trying to get out there to show what I can do, but you have to earn it," he said. "ClubWPT gave me the opportunity to make it happen, and here I am. The $20 a month subscription is definitely the best investment I've ever made." Washington was joined at the final table by Commerce Casino qualifier Steve Elliott, poker pro Thor Hansen, fellow amateur player Neev Baram, Reality TV star Trishelle Cannatella and Bellagio satellite winner Sean Urban. "One of the great highlights of the WPT Invitational for Commerce Casino is the opportunity to reward people who love poker, but may not be full time established professionals, whether they are Hollywood stars or people who earned their way through Commerce satellites or partners like ClubWPT.com," said John Griffo, Commerce Casino Director of Poker Operations. "We applaud LeRon for the 'fight' he showed in getting through the field of more than 500 and becoming our new WPT Invitational champion." This year's event was also an opportunity to raise money for charity and the Invitational pulled in $109,700 for Chrysalis, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.Visit PokerListings.com

03/04/2010 10:30 PM

Online Poker Rooms Gear Up for 2010 WSOP

PartyPoker is giving away a $14,000 WSOP Main Event package, including buy-in, accommodations and $2k in spending money, for absolutely nothing. The site just introduced a comprehensive range of WSOP qualifiers this week, starting with daily freerolls. Qualifiers are online now until June 13 with the main $700+$50 satellites taking place every Friday at 6 p.m. ET and Sunday at 3:35 p.m. ET giving away a $14k WSOP package to one in 20 players. "PartyPoker.com is offering more seriously cost effective ways to qualify for the WSOP than ever before," said a company spokesperson. "It doesn't get much better than winning a package for absolutely nothing!" Meanwhile, in an attempt to make all its qualifiers feel like winners, Absolute Poker and UB are running a bonus promotion that pays every player who qualifies for the Main Event on the sites at least $1,000 in cash and a chance at a final table sponsorship that's worth up to $750,000. Players who qualify for their Main Event seat at UB or Absolute Poker through Step tournaments or multi-table satellites and play in the Main Event wearing approved branded gear will qualify for the bonus. Starting at $1,000, the bonus is progressive, meaning the more players that qualify on Absolute and UB, the bigger the bonus will be. Absolute and UB will add $1,500 per player to the progressive prize pool and that amount will grow up to $5,000 per player based on how many players take advantage of the promotion. Of the total bonus prize pool, 75% will be split among all participating players and the remaining 25% will be shared among those who cash in the Main Event. There are several ways to get hold of one of UB or Absolute's $12k WSOP packages. In addition to Step tournaments for just 10 cents and Weekly Super Satellites, which are fed by daily qualifiers, UB and AbsolutePoker will also hold a 25-seat Guaranteed tournament on June 6 and a 50-seat Guaranteed tournament on June 20. Plus, a "Win the Most Satellites" leaderboard competition will award over $10,000 in Tournament Dollars to the top 5 players who win the most Main Event seats on either site. For more information on all these promotions, check Absolute Poker, PartyPoker and UB.Visit PokerListings.com

03/04/2010 02:00 AM

PartyGaming Poker Revenues Drop

"Whilst the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, we remain focused on executing our stated strategy and are confident about the Group's prospects," said PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan. The Gibraltar-based company, which runs PartyPoker, dropped from a $66.9 million profit in 2008 as total revenue declined 6% to $446.2 million. The loss is being blamed partly on the $105 million settlement the company signed with the U.S. Attorney's Office in April to avoid prosecution for providing Internet gambling services to U.S. customers prior to the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Under the terms of the agreement, PartyGaming agreed to stay out of the U.S. Internet gambling market under current legislation and is hoping, should the legislation change, it would be in a prime position to move back in. "We believe that at some point the U.S. will regulate online gaming and we want to be ready to take that opportunity," said Ryan. "We have a number of organizations who are willing to do business with us. It is our ticket back." While the weakness of the English Pound was a factor in the loss, a fall in poker revenues to $196.7 million from $274.0 million in 2008 also played a large role. However, Ryan is pointing to the fact revenues have already turned around in the first two months of 2010 as a reason for continued optimism. New player sign-ups on PartyPoker increased to an average of 1,700 per day with 55,900 active players on the site every day generating average gross daily poker revenues of $709,000 throughout January and February 2010. "We delivered a solid performance during 2009 which demonstrated the resilience of our business model that continues to generate strong cash flow, even in the most challenging of circumstances," Ryan added. "We plan to do more in 2010 and I believe we are on course to meet our objective of becoming the world's most valuable online gaming company."Visit PokerListings.com

03/04/2010 12:00 AM

PokerStars SCOOP Schedule Revamped

The series runs May 2-16, with events across a range of poker games and buy-ins as all 38 will feature three buy-in levels. "What I find most exciting about SCOOP is that players at all stake levels get an opportunity to play in a championship-level event," said PokerStars Tournaments Team Leader Bryan Slick. SCOOP will guarantee $45 million in prize money, edging out last year's total prize pool of $39,372,270 with the main event guaranteeing prize pools of at $1 Million, $3 Million and $5 Million in the low, medium and high buy-in levels respectively. The first event of the series is a No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event, with buy-ins of $22, $215 and $2,100. The series will offer several other events with buy-ins ranging from $109 to $10,300, plus a two-day Heads-Up Match Play tournament with a buy-in of $25,500. The SCOOP schedule includes most of the games PokerStars offers, including Badugi, Omaha, Draw, Stud and Hold'em. Highlights include Shootouts, 2X Chance Turbos, 8-game and HORSE. For more on the 2010 SCOOP schedule click through to PokerStars.Visit PokerListings.com

03/03/2010 02:00 AM

Stars Align for Paralyzed Vets Charity Poker Event

World Series of Poker bracelet winner Mike Sexton and First Lady of Poker Linda Johnson are helping host a charity tournament for the Paralyzed Veterans of America organization Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt in the U.S. Capital. The aim of the event is to raise awareness and funds for Paralyzed Veterans and its mission to help those who have served in the U.S. armed forces, although a $10,000 seat in the 2010 WSOP Main Event is also on the line. Tournament chairs include poker players Andy Bloch, Lee Childs, Kenna "Cowboy" James and film star Ben Affleck with a host of other pros, politicians and stars expected to attend. The Poker Players Alliance is sponsoring the event, along with Walmart, Reynolds America, Orchestrate Technology, Merkle, Data Management Inc. and Midwest Direct Mailers. All proceeds from the tournament and a silent auction at the event will benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America, founded 63 years ago by a band of spinal cord injured service members returning home from World War II. For more on the organization click through to it's website.Visit PokerListings.com

03/02/2010 12:00 AM

Poker News in Brief: Feb. 22-28, 2010

The NAPT held its first exclusive event at the Venetian and more than 800 players paid the $5,000 buy-in. Meanwhile the stars were indeed shining bright at the WPT Invitational with Tia Carrera, Trishelle Cannatella, and Marlon Wayans coming out to play. With all the excitement over the competing poker tours there were several poker stories that were almost forgotten. Fortunately as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief we’ve compiled a list of the lesser-known stories below. This week we’ll take a look at PartyPoker running an endurance promo, new schedules for two PokerStars tournaments, a training seminar by Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and more. Class in Session for Mike “The Mouth” Matusow When The Mouth talks you’d better listen. That’s what organizers are hoping participants will take out of the upcoming Mike “The Mouth” Matusow poker training session in California. Matusow, who is the dean of DeepStacks University, will teach a special five-hour session that covers winning strategies for tournament and cash game poker in addition to giving one-on-one poker analysis at the tables. The training session will cost $495 to attend and every contestant will receive a copy of the Team Full Tilt Pro's new book Check Raising the Devil. The event will take place March 12 at the Palo Casino Spa and Resort. Big Names Headline The Poker Show Live One of the poker's most popular radio shows is returning with Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Galfond, Tony G, David Benyamine and Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz all coming along for the ride. The Poker Show Live, sponsored by Boylepoker, will feature all the aforementioned poker players in new episodes for the show’s third season beginning March 2. Hosted by Jesse May, The Poker Show Live has interviewed almost every well-known poker player over the span of its first two seasons. Tom Dwan, Vicky Coren, Andrew Feldman, Huck Seed, Neil Channing, Erik Seidel have all taken their turn on The Poker Show Live microphone. The show is available on ThePokerShowLive.com, BoylePoker.com and iTunes. Ontario Considers Online Gaming The Canadian province of Ontario is taking a serious look at running its own official online gambling service that could potentially include poker. Ontario Lottery and Gambling chairman Paul Godfrey and Premier Dalton McGuinty want the province to provide Internet gambling instead of letting potential revenue go to offshore gambling sites. In Canada, British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations already officially allow online gambling. The BC Lottery Corporation offers a limited poker game called Pacific Hold’em Poker, which is played against the house. Loto-Quebec’s poker site is set to launch this fall and analysts are estimating it could potentially net $50 million in revenue for the government over the next three years. Gladiator Promo Returns to PartyPoker One of the most popular promotions on PartyPoker is returning this March. The Gladiator promo rewards players who generate at least 10 PartyPoints every day for a minimum of five days. There are potentially bigger rewards available for players who earn up to 2,000 PartyPoints. “The Gladiator is back and the rewards are greater than ever before,” said a PartyPoker spokesman. “This promotion is about spreading play over a period of time for maximus rewards! It is simple and offers great value and we encourage players to challenge themselves and take a closer look.” If a player manages to earn 2,000 PartyPoints a day from March 3 to April 1 they will instantly earn a $12,500 package to the 2010 WSOP Main Event. To learn more about The Gladiator check the PartyPoker website PokerStars Releases SCOOP, NAPT Mohegan Sun Schedules PokerStars announced the dates for one of its biggest online series and its burgeoning North American tour this week. The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker will take place over 14 days from May 3-16 with 33 events. Like last year, each event will have a low, medium and high buy-in variant. The series will culminate with the Main Event on May 16, with guarantees of $1 million, $3 million and $5 million for each buy-in level. Meanwhile the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour’s next stop, at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, will take place April 7-11. The main event carries a $5,000 buy-in and there will be a $10k High Roller Bounty Shootout. To see the complete schedules for the upcoming SCOOP or NAPT check the PokerStars website. Versus Picks Up Season 2 of Poker2Nite Poker news show Poker2Nite is returning for another season, but leaving Fox Sports Net behind for Versus. Poker2Nite follows an informal news format with UB Poker pro Joe Sebok and poker personality Scott Huff acting as hosts. Dana Workman also produces the satirical Weekly Misdeal for the program. All 13 episodes of the first season were shown on Fox Sports Net. The second season will kick off this Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET on Versus, which was formerly OLN.Visit PokerListings.com

02/28/2010 02:00 AM