Scott Montgomery, 2008 November Niner … he has a bracelet now, but presumably wasn’t wearing it this weekend when he says he got accosted by a knife-wielding bandit inside a Bellagio bathroom. (While taking a leak? That could make a difference in this sitch.)

With all due respect to Montgomery’s 5th place WSOP main-event finish and his donkament bracelet this summer, he’s clearly no Greg Raymer. Montgomery declined his assailant’s implied invitation to brawl for money, and instead simply handed him $2,000 in cash (mo chips?) … yeow, what does it say about the economy when Bellagio doesn’t have armed shoe-shine guys on duty?

From the Cake Poker blog:

Montgomery was at Bellagio to play in a Festa al Lago preliminary event and went to the bathroom on a break from the tournament. As he described it on his Twitter account, “Got mugged today at Bellagio. Black guy pulled a knife on me in the restroom. I gave him the $2k in my wallet and he left.”

“I called security, but they took like 15 mins so they didn’t catch him. They are useless twits. Didn’t even ask me to look at camera footage,” Montgomery continued. “Security pretty much just said oh well, life sucks, have a nice day. I’m pretty annoyed.”

Bellagio Poker ≈ Binion’s Self Park?

Though two instances (that we heard about) over the span of nearly 6 years hardly constitute a trend, you just don’t expect certain kinds of violence in luxe resorts with multiple guards outside the parking garage looking for casually waving through possible Al Qaeda terrorists. I mean what is center-Strip, not dark-alley downtown Vegas or daytime Berlin!

But it was indeed at Bellagio — during the 5-diamond — where armed robbers discovered not all bracelet-winning poker players were easy marks. In that situation, December 2004, Greg Raymer, poker’s newest big world champ, fought off two attackers with guns. According to reports, they got away, too (as security let them pass) … however, were caught some five months later in California, and brought back to Las Vegas for trial. (I believe sentenced to something like 3 years, not sure though …)

Pokerati PSA: Remember, next time you’re being attacked in the Bellagio or anywhere in Vegas really, you can tweet for help @LVMPD, hashtag #911.

Today’s CardRunner’s instruction comes from utility coach PoorUser, who comes to high-level poker with an advanced degree in Starcraft, a military science fiction strategy video game. Clearly CR is assembling an ever-expansive crew of instructors comprised of the coolest party animals on campus.

Kinda interesting here to watch his heads-up thinking giving lessons while playing ZeeJustin:

Remember, you can geek out for profit by studying with CardRunners poker trainers for free via TrulyFreePokerTraining.com.

We’re gonna presume they mean double-suited, because if not paying homage to the best starting hand in Omaha Hi-Lo, then this is a different kinda player altogether …

Pokerati, of course, has eyes and ears in parking lots all across the planet … and agents spotted this one on a Toyota pickup at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, AZ (a pretty shmancy-new Indian joint, it seems … oh, wait, more clicking … pretty sure this is Casino Arizona … all duded up now with a new name, hotel and golf course).

They really do play a more sophisticated game down there, obv. Whereas in Virginia, some take a differently clever approach to their license-plate action:

Hello good people of Pokerati. Here’s what I hope to make a weekly digest of what I think are the most interesting and/or relevant stories (not necessarily the same thing) happening online and around the world:

1. PokerStars turns off Washington players - This is the first US state to be turned off by PokerStars. Major Stars competitors have not responded in-kind. This was not prompted by any change in state law in Washington (the ostensible reason was the result in the Rousso v. Washington judgment handed down on September 23^rd). This may signal that Stars is not going to be as aggressive as others in maintaining a presence in all jurisdictions in the US. [Casino City Times]

 

2. HR 2267 - People continue to try to read the tea leaves to determine what’s going to happen with the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act. Every utterance from Reps. Frank or McDermott or from Senator Reid sends the online forums and poker press into overdrive. The House is now adjourned until after the November elections. If HR 2267 is to pass, it must be done during the lame-duck session starting after the mid-terms and ending before the start of the 112^th Congress in early January. I continue to believe that it’s more likely than not that the current version (as amended) will not pass before the start of the next session, but remember that a lot can happen in a few days. [GovTrack.us]

 

3. Betfair IPO - This is one of the biggest public offerings in gaming in some time, so it’s no surprise that it’s getting quite a lot of attention. Betfair is apparently not raising new money on the float; shareholders are selling off approximately 10% of their holdings before over-allotment. Initial media reports had suggested a valuation of as high as £1.5B, but this appears to have been discounted. [Wall Street Journal]

 

4. Penn National coming to Vegas - Penn National Gaming purchased the outstanding debt of the M Resort in Las Vegas for $230.5M. This is seen as Penn’s way of eventually owning the asset, giving it its first Las Vegas property. The M was built at a cost of $1B, so most appear to be congratulating Penn for effectively purchasing a nice asset at a fraction of cost. [LVRJ]

 

5. PokerStars Licensure - Stars continues to build up gaming licences in various jurisdictions; it now has operating licences in France, Italy, and Estonia, as well as its ‘main’ international licence from the Isle of Man. This may be a sign of the kind of regulatory fragmentation that owners will face in future (especially in Europe) as different countries open up their markets to licensure and operations. [Gaming Zion]

Gaming attorney and expert Stu Hoegner follows the poker and casino industries from a tax- and law-minded perspective @GamingCounsel.

I swear I’m taking a vacation. But it may take me a while to get off the blogging sauce. Meanwhile, Full Tilt is addressing customers in Washington State — saying for now, carry on, but they’ll let you know if they change their mind in the future.

What’s interesting is that you can see Tilt, via message from Support, leaning on the game-of-skill defense (possibly their best option at this point) … and at the same time, if they do pull out, we may strangely see the benefit of Washington’s ignobly conceived law: showing other states how the “opt-out” model of regulation (the PPA proposes) could work.

First the good news: I’ve finally made my way into actually working in the “poker media” (not counting the two months I worked during the 2009 WSOP at PokerNews) by accepting a position working with Bluff magazine. The bad news is that one of the conditions is that I’m no longer able to write here at Pokerati. To be honest, I’m not thrilled by that particular condition, but those are the sacrifices one needs to make sometimes. You realize how fragile things can be in the poker media when someone as talented as Change100 was let go from PokerNews this week.

Dan is more than capable to handle things here at Pokerati, and there’s several possible things in the coming months that may make me regret this decision. I know the site will continue to grow and I hope for the best, and I’ll still make my appearance in the comments as needed. I appreciate Dan giving me my break in May of 2008 after enduring my hundreds of comments to his posts. Thanks again, and hopefully I can do with Bluff what I’ve done for Pokerati over the coming months.

Kevmath 2.0

Kevmath

Kevin Mathers, the venerable 2+2 moderator and longtime blogger-editor at Pokerati, will not be posting here for the foreseeable future.

No joke … he has been relieved indefinitely from Pokerati blogging duties. Technically, we had to “let him go”. Sucks, but we just couldn’t afford the increasingly valuable services of the hottest independent info-tweeter in poker. Here is a copy of his termination papers:

Kevin, I saw your interview on TWIP. Good job. I also just read Can you send me relevant threads from 2+2?

Hey, so, you are fired. Sorry. Hard times.

I really wanted to believe you were a bot.

See you on Twitter or something?

Rumor is Kevmath is headed to the minor leagues Bluff, where he and Jess Welman would form quite the menacingly mighty poker-reportage duo. Of course without Kevmath, Pokerati will change … we’ve got Gahagan to work double time and some other changes in store, but we might have to cut back on some previously standard coverage elements, such as “facts”.

But @Kevmath did leave behnd a Pokerati farewell … after 30 months, 579 posts, and 1,642 comments, all of which helped make this a better place … seriously, how lucky were we to have him as long as we did? Glad the “for hire” media finally came around.

Check back to read what hopefully won’t be the last time we see @Kevmath around these parts.

Drawing: Jane Flavell Collins

Patrice Tierney entered into a plea deal with the US Attorney’s Office in Boston wherein she admits to being “willfully blind” to the nature of her brother’s online gambling operations.

Oh boy … the election-driven hedlines in the mainstream press will likely be about tax fraud, but we’ll know it means something more to people involved with online gambling fights beyond Massachusetts’ 6th district …

The DOJ unsealed a 4-count indictment of Patrice Tierney yesterday, wife of US Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) — for aiding and abetting an allegedly illegal online gambling operation. Specifically, the Feds tagged her for tax fraud while managing a bank account for her brother Robert Eremian. Apparently she miscoded some bank transactions that help them avoid detection as online gambling funds from a business based in Antigua.

Tierney pled guilty yesterday and was released on her own recognizance. She faces up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine, though her attorney, a former US Attorney, says she will likely receive probation with some home incarceration.

Tierney says she believed her brother’s business was selling and licensing software to legal online gambling businesses. Eremian and his brother Daniel Eremian were indicted in August by the DOJ in Massachusetts for a laundry list of crimes that included UIGEA violations.

More…

The PPA reminds you to register to vote. I’m already registered … or at least I’m pretty sure I am … got that card around here somewhere. Because for all the political games in play, the Poker Players Alliance assures us that good-ole-fashioned voting is an important part of the process, too:

October 12, 2010 is the last day you can register to vote in the State of Nevada. This years election will be crucial to protecting your rights to play poker. Make sure you have a say by making sure you are registered to vote.

While voter registration by mail and Internet has closed in Nevada, you can still register in person until Tuesday, October 12th.

For a listing of county clerks and voter registrars, click here.

Remember, this election is vital to protecting your rights as a poker player. Don’t let your voice go unheard. Register to vote today. And don’t forget to head to the polls Tuesday, November 2nd to cast your ballot.

Yep, they’re right … and with that in mind, I’m giving a go on poli-bets, wagering with Kevmath that Harry Reid will, despite what polling suggests, beat Sharron Angle+9 (gulp?), and that her official Tea Party underminer Scott Ashjian will out-score NOTA, which is a real ballot option here in Nevada.

It’s all about jobs this year, supposedly …

Check it out … caught my eye the other night … Cashout tourneys. Though I’m not sure if they’ll be a regular thing, they made their debut this past weekend @AriaPoker. Interesting concept — essentially tournaments with pre-established guaranteed chops, allowing players to cash out at any point (and go home) … you know, should they not like their chip situation, have somewhere else to be, be on tilt from incessant angry wife texts … whatever … backer with a gun? Apparently they also can cash out and keep playing, too.

Full Tilt began offering these online a while back, but no clue how they worked out. According to the sign, these were the first ever in a land-based casino. I ventured over to see how it was playing, but they were down to three and it seemed at this point it was just straight poker. Mel Judah sat at the final table but wasn’t playing. I assumed he was sweating, or at least trying to woo, the lovely middle-age Asian lady still with chips. That may or may not have been true, but turns out primarily Judah was there because it was his game — supposedly his creation.

See for yourself what Mel is up to at CashoutPoker.com.

UPDATE: Oops, turns out the lovely lady was JJ Liu. One of these days I will learn actual players.

Hard Rock charity knocks

Upon his own early elimination, Gavin Smith took over as charity photog, no-flash rules be damned!

Also stopped by the Hard Rock this weekend … first time since Detox and the shuttering of their room (and operations) that made @hardrockpoker the Pokerati game’s home for most of 2010. No new-resto construct has begun — just a bunch of tables stuffed in the back of the old room, with their previously decorative orange-luxe highback leather chairs lined up in front of the TVs that used to entertain 1/2 players. With football on and one viewer lounging per screen, It was both awesome and sad.

Anyhow, the new smaller spot is still called the “Poker Lounge” … nice-ish, but looks unsettled in. And though it seemed clear from a matter of simple square footage that the Hard Rock’s days as a red-carpet poker venue are gone, none of that seemed to stop the good times at Gavin Smith’s Darius Goes West charity tourney (with Bryan Devonshire) … which was kinda a birthday party for the namesake beneficiary, Darius Weems, the kid with an extra-funky form of muscular dystrophy that Smith says inspired him to a WSOP bracelet this summer. Darius had just turned 21 (he wasn’t supposed to live past 16 I think?) … and really, can you think of a better host to welcome those coming of age into the glorious world of degenerate gambling?

Here’s video from the final table, with Layne Flack, David Plastik, and at least one semi-awkward kiss:

BTW, fwiw, the Hard Rock has changed their basic game to 1/3 NL, with a $500 max buy-in.

Elsewhere in Vegas …

Unvetted, unconfirmed word has it that Fiesta Henderson has closed their poker room. Supposedly they lost their players to the Club Fortune casino, which began holding a $40 bounty tourney ($10 for each knockout) and taking a better-for-locals high hand jackpot drop. (You’ll have to pardon Pokerati for not digging into this plausibly controversial game-shift.)

And here’s a globally funny poker picture … from power Vegas player Eric Baldwin at EPT-London:

Stuart Hoegner is quickly becoming something akin to the Joe Navarro of online-centric, international casino and gambling law. Though I’m sure @GamingCounsel on Twitter would never claim to be anything close to an @Kevmath for poker-related legal and legislative matters, this independent barrister and solicitor (they say things funny in Canadian) has in due process become a go-to voice of info about the latest legal and political shifts affecting 10s of millions of people in our multibillion-dollar industry.

While in town a few weeks ago, he sat for an episode of Jon Friedberg’s UTG, where they tackled some challenging questions for the Poker Industry as a whole in these undeniably tumultuous legal times — for anything connected to online gambling:

(Here’s a link if you’re having probs with the player as I am: http://tinyurl.com/2dkv9jj)

Ahh, remember how cute it was when Poker’s primary response to any insinuation of illegality was simply: “Whatever, game-a-skill.”

GamingCounsel has also become a regular guest on a podcast called CEM Audio Edge (Casino Enterprises Management), where he has broken down in great detail for CEMers matters of Canadian gaming code as well as effective use of Twitter:

Speaking of laws and Twitter, while we’re at it here are some quick story-worthy links — all ganked highlighted from @GamingCounsel’s feed:

Legal Briefs

State of Maine seems ready to expand gambling beyond parimutuel horse betting with a new “racino”.

Alderney (Full Tiltville) pushing propaganda to maintain its relevance as international online gaming regulator.

Isle of Man (PokerStarzistan) hosting frigid online gaming summit in November.

New Jersey Senate passes billto revitalize state gaming industry with boutique casinos.

Also …

The New York Times acknowledges that Big Casinos are finally on board with online gambling.

And a NYT piece about the continuing recession in Vegas.

Lastly, for now, (GC’s got plenty more) … The Economist on sports betting, athlete salaries, and match fixing.

PokerStars EPT London :: David Vamplew of Scotland defeated John Juanda after over 4 hours of heads-up play to win the £5,000 Main Event, earning £900,000 (over $1.4m US) making him the most successful tournament player in Scotland. Juanda earned £545,000 (over $860,000 US) for the runner-up finish, moving past Peter Eastgate, Joe Hachem (finishing 15th in this event) and Scotty Nguyen into 5th place on the all-time tournament poker earnings list with over $11.3m in live tournament earnings. A full report is available at the PokerStars blog.

The winner of the £20,000 High Roller event was Team PokerStars pro Jose “Nacho” Barbero of Argentina, defeating Finland’s Jani Sointula heads-up, earning £556,000. This is the fourth PokerStars-sponsored tournament Barbero has won this year, after back-to-back LAPT Main Event wins and a France Poker Series win in May. The report for this event is also available at the PokerStars blog.

Elsewhere …

WSOP Circuit Southern Indiana, – Elizabeth, IN :: Samuel Serdard bested a field of 570 players in the $350 NL Holdem event, winning $47,171. The final table report is available at WSOP.com, with the full list of players who cashed listed here.

World Poker Tour :: Professional poker player Tony Dunst named “Raw Deal” host – WPT Press release

For those of us that like to eke out every percentage point of value out of VIP programs/Rakeback/dumb fish, Full Tilt certainly made an effort to change the game with the Black Card system. But is this really good value for poker players? Lets find out.

Before we can even talk about black card, there were two other changes to Full Tilt’s system that are worth mentioning. One is the change to how points are gained within Full Tilt. Before, you’d get 7 FTPs per $1 of tournament rake and 1 FTP per $1 of cash rake. Now, the value has been increased from anywhere to 10-500% depending on how you play. You now get 10 FTPs (up 43%) per $1 of tourney rake, and anywhere from 1.1 in Full Ring, through 1.5 for 6-max, all the way up to 5 HU FTPs per $1. This increase makes it obviously easier to gain Black Card status or the Iron Man status of old, and there certainly isn’t a problem here.

Where things start getting murky is how FTP has changed rakeback. In the past, you basically could have played like an uber-nit and let the fish give you 27% for every dumb hand they played in the dealt system. Now, they have moved to the “weighted contribution” system, which essentially means you only get rakeback for the rake you put in the hand. Much anger has been spewed on 2p2 over this, but in reality this system is technically the most fair of them all.

Think about it: rakeback pros no longer get a percentage of your rake for all-in hands you take with fish, and conversely if you fold pre-flop with 72o you shouldn’t feel entitled to rakeback if things get crazy at the table. That said, the fact the rake percentage hasn’t changed is a little problematic, as people will in general be potentially getting less than usual, which is going to hit at the nerves of many players. They are still shelling out the same amount of money, just now its only for the people that deserve it, and for some that still isn’t fair.

So more FTPs but a rakeback system that may or may not give you more money, how does this fit into Black Card?
More…

Is that what they’re called now? Kindle, like stuff you burn? I’ve never read more than a chapter of a “virtual book” before. Maybe one of these days Pauly will figure out how to hawk an audiobook version of his tale of a wayward poker media making the annual desert pilgrimage for poker’s version of the Hajj.

Until then, coming very soon, like in less than a week, your second favorite Tao of Pokerati podcaster is going all iPad prior to going iPod:

If you still want an old-fashioned paper version of the most read and most talked about book of the 2010 WSOP, go here.

PokerStars EPT London final tables for their £5,000 Main Event and £20,000 High Roller are both set for Monday afternoon at 12pm London time (7am ET). Live streaming of the 5k final table will be available at www.eptlive.com and www.pokerstars.tv. First, here’s the lineup for the 5k final table with the winner earning £900,000 with updates available at PokerNews and PokerStarsblog.com:

Seat 1: David Vamplew – 3,670,000
Seat 2: Tom Marchese – 1,480,000
Seat 3: Fernando Brito – 1,100,000
Seat 4: Per Ummer – 1,245,000
Seat 5: Artur Wasek – 2,250,000
Seat 6: Kayvan Payman – 1,295,000
Seat 7: Kyle Bowker – 7,165,000
Seat 8: John Juanda – 7,075,000

Here’s the final table for the High Roller event with £556,000 going to the winner (updates available at PokerStarsblog.com)

Seat 1: Matt Marafioti – 96.000
Seat 2: Pierre Neuville – 110,000
Seat 3: William Molson – 126,000
Seat 4: Andrew Robl – 835,000
Seat 5: Fabian Quoss – 605,000
Seat 6: Jani Sointula – 320,000
Seat 7: Jose Ignacio “Nacho” Barbero – 464,000
Seat 8: Vanessa Selbst – 1,262,000

Elsewhere …

WSOP Circuit – Southern Indiana, Elizabeth, IN :: Action got away Saturday for a month of WSOP-C action in Indiana with 570 players taking part in the first ring event, $350 NL holdem. Check out WSOP.com for results on Monday.