Another funny(ish) make-your-own poker movie:

One of the groups opposing all things legal-pokery in Texas is the Texas Eagle Forum, which recently spoke out against a bill for full-on casinos in Texas:

From Texas Weekly:

Texas Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams, telling the Houston Chronicle what she thinks about the job growth projected if casinos are legalized: “Why in the world would we want our children to grow up to be card dealers and waitresses?”

So there you have it. OK, now we know where we stand. As much as I like to soapbox about the issues not being moral contentions so much as money and tax-chip-shifting and legally acceptable pocket-lining, Cathie lets us know it really is a cultural issue — one where our opponents see professional casino employees and service industry workers as lesser people who have chosen a life-path their parents couldn’t be proud of. The good side is that she makes our competition seem weak. The bad side is she represents the types of landmines that poker interests will have to maneuver through no matter how well we’re playing.

Because really, have we seen one since Maverick in 1994? All the professional poker TV producers out there should take note of what it really takes to weave a good poker tale:

(Thanks, Goldfarb, for the pointer!)

On this week’s episode, our little consortium of poker media geeks report from the LAPC, phlegm it up about the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, give you a poker law and politics update, and looks a little closer at what it means when Perez Hilton gets into poker and whom David Williams is banging.

on PokerRoad

The Poker Beat
Huff, Nemeth, Michalski, Wise, Chops, Stapleton
2/26/09

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The fallout from our Cardspike investigation continues, as the partners who have run Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP) for years have now turned on one another in a power struggle battle royal. Whether you’re a webmaster or a player in this industry, you should be very concerned about the negative attention being generated for our industry.

Sure, this is a cheap hedline we really could run daily — at least until it’s no longer true — but there were some very specific rumors circulating around the internet and the Wynn that Paul ‘Eskimo’ Clark had been robbed and killed. While death is never seldom a laughing matter, at least one cold, heartless journo may or may not have gotten juiced up about the conspiracy theory possibilities It had to be Vinnie Vinh! Or Russ Hamilton! Where’s Layne Flack!?! and abandoned a night at the tables before it really even started to investigate.

We found little … other than that he is still alive and kickin’ hustlin’ for backers in Reno.

Everyone’s hustlin’ gigs these days … and beyond status updates to my Facebook page, I’ve found two welcome homes for some non-Pokerati writing — at Bluff, and most recently What’s On … where I let the not-so-poker-geeky Vegas tourists know about happenings of interest from the LV poker scene, such as:

The Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza (which I think ended yesterday or today!) and, coming up, Dream Team Poker.

Generally found money is great money, right? I just got an email from UB telling me I have $219 in my VIP account. I haven’t played there since I went bust for all but $8 one day a couple years ago … took that $8 over to the blackjack table and turned it in to $1,000 in 20 minutes and got away with still $800 … then proceeded back to a couple 2/4 NL tables and lost it all in a couple hours.

Anyhow, a little curious to figure out where that money came from — I don’t remember playing Russ Hamilton, but ya never know — but will feel dirty installing the software on a new machine.

UPDATE: Installing UB for Mac apparently isn’t one-click easy. For now I’ll take it as a sign not to mingle with the site.

Currently recording over at:

http://www.pokerroad.com/radio/the-poker-beat/

Wicked Chops reports that Michael Phelps was supposed to play, but his anti-bong-smoking handlers won’t let him get anywhere near Vegas or poker-playing, 420-friendly degens.

Ahh, spring is in the air, and WSOP deals are starting to take shape. One of them that wasn’t a guarantee but has been re-solidified is Milwaukee’s Best Light, which signed a two-year deal to be the official beer that’s brewed for a man’s taste of the World Series of Poker presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light. The fear back in the summer was that Miller would scrap the MBL brand altogether (as it’s the lowest performer in the Miller family) … but poker has arguably kept the beer alive, and to some extent a little vice-versa. Either that or Miller just wanted to get the most value out of all those inflatable beer cans they purchased.

From the WSOP:

Milwaukee’s Best Light Dealt a Winning Hand as Official Beer Sponsor of the World Series of Poker®

2009 Marks Fourth Year as Official WSOP Sponsor for the “Beer That’s Brewed for a Man’s Taste”

MILWAUKEE (Feb. 25, 2009) – Milwaukee’s Best Light is betting that continuing its relationship with the popular World Series of Poker® will turn into a winning hand for the “beer that’s brewed for a man’s taste.” In 2009, Milwaukee’s Best Light will be the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which featured increases in spectators and participants in 2008, as well as a highly rated, primetime broadcast of the final table on ESPN.

“Poker continues to enjoy growth both as a leisure activity and as a televised sporting event, so we want to make sure Milwaukee’s Best Light is the beer of choice whether fans are playing or watching at home,” said Chad Dern, Milwaukee’s Best Light marketing director. “When we look at opportunities for developing alliances that make the most sense for this brand and help us connect with the right audience, the World Series of Poker is simply the best.”

More…

As a follow up to the story from nearly a year ago, there has been an arrest in the murders of Ernest Scherer Jr. and wife Charlene Abendroth. Ernest Scherer III – their son – was arrested on a murder warrant in Las Vegas last night.

Father and son were reported to be professional poker players.

Damn. My thoughts go out to a family who has had more than its share of bad beats in the past year.

The Contra Costa Times of the Bay Area reported:

Ernie Scherer III is in custody at a Las Vegas jail on a murder warrant. A representative with the Clark County Detention Center said he is being held without bail on a fugitive charge out of Alameda County.

Acquaintances of Scherer said the professional poker player was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of killing his parents, Ernie Scherer Jr., 60, and Charlene Abendroth, 57, who were found dead in their Castlewood Country Club home March 14.

With banking matters all over the place these days, the IRS reportedly investigating Russ Hamilton, and Barney Frank putting together a bill that would simply strike down the UIGEA as if it never happened, I gotta think, well … I really don’t know what to think. Though it seems major shifts are happening, global-economic finance is admittedly a little beyond my ken. But I’m trying to figure it out, and so far I’ve concluded that banks are clearly important, and anyone who handles the transfer of billions of imaginary dollars has major issues to attend to.

Brilliant, I know.

And actually, not even billions … just $10,000 or more. Apparently a new IRS rule has gone into effect that requires online poker players to treat their online accounts — PokerStars, Full Tilt, et al. — as offshore foreign bank accounts.

Yeow, that’s different. Sources who were winning players online tell me nothing more than a WG-2 was necessary before. Again, I’m not really sure what that means (or what enforcement mechanisms are in place) but do I know this change theoretically affects lots and lots of people and probably at least a few billion dollars. If I’m reading this tax expert right, basically, if all your money in all your accounts added up to $10,000 or more at any point in 2008, you have to file a special form (TD F 90-22.1, which goes to the Dept. of the Treasury, not the IRS) for these accounts, and the fine for not doing so is either $100,000 or half your bankroll, whichever is greater.

That sounds pretty tough. But maybe this is just what comes with the territory as G-men set up a framework for how these online piggy banks, er, poker sites have to work in the future? No word yet on whether or not you’ll ever be able to pay your taxes in PokerStars W$/T$ or Lindens.

Dennis in Las Vegas sends along some more details about the 5th running of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship:

Field in prestigious annual event just keeps getting tougher and tougher
By Dennis Oehring
LAS VEGAS – February 24, 2009 – Get your tournament brackets ready! NBC’s 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the granddaddy of all heads-up poker tournaments, will take place once again at Caesars Palace Las Vegas on March 5-8. Now in its fifth year, this year’s event will feature an array of many of the greatest poker players in the world along with some celebrities known for their poker-playing prowess and a few amateur qualifiers. Each will battle for their share of not only the $1.5 million prize pool, but for the recognition and fame that comes with capturing the coveted title.

More…

Making this short, this was first made available on Itunes, where someone would eventually upload to Youtube. This clip features 2008 WSOP World Champion Peter Eastgate and Tom Dwan.