Wicked Chops Podcast:

Chops welcome UB Pro Joe Sebok to this unplanned podcast to discuss the recent departures of Annie Duke and Phil Helmuth. Sebok talks about about how UB is moving more towards a team approach rather than having just one or two players being in the spotlight. Listen to the show on the Wicked Chops site or download it on iTunes.

Final Table Poker Radio Show:

Dennis Phillips and Paul Harris come together for their 100th show to discuss the big stories of 2010. Prop bets, NAPT, and the live tournament poker boom were a part of their 2010 highlights. To close out the show predictions for possible 2011 story lines becomes the topic. If you want to listen to the entire show or catch up on previous show you can either visit The Final Table site or check it out on iTunes.

Two Plus Two Pokercast:

The show that boast itself as being “Poker Radio for Advance Listeners” welcomes Vanessa Selbst to this weeks show. Mike and Adam also review their favorite stories from 2010 along with their favorite threads and thread makers of the year. Listen to the show at the Two Plus Two Pokercast site or download it on iTunes.

CardRunners, as you know, recently celebrated their 5th birthday … quite a milestone when you consider that means Jungleman couldn’t even drive yet when they first came into being.

As a reminder of where you can go for the best ROI on your gifted holiday monies, here’s a peek at poker in the old days, with CR honcho Taylor Caby showing how the poker skills they teach you at CardRunners played out in a different era:

And if you’re still too cheap/broke to pony up real bucks for education, they still have financial aid available allowing you to earn CardRunners credits through Truly Free Poker Training … TFPT is for current CardRunners members as well as those newbies who have yet to take seriously their resolution to be a winning poker player.

This is likely the slowest week on the poker tournament scene that you’ll see all year. After the conclusion of the World Series of Poker Eastern Regional Championship, there were no other tournament circuits with even preliminary events on the docket. Once we get beyond a week into the new year, we’ll find one of the biggest stops of the year, the PCA, as well as another stop on the WSOPC.

World Series of Poker Eastern Regional Championship –
Harrah’s Atlantic City (Atlantic City, New Jersey)

The final table for this $10,000 was an interesting mix of circuit grinders and young guns, including WSOP bracelet winner Chris Bell, 2009 WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Champion Chris Klodnicki, and 5 players who had made the final table of a WSOP event in Las Vegas. Also in the field was red hot Andy Frankenberger, who has over $1 million in tournament cashes this year.

Day 1 chip leader Vanessa Selbst failed to make the money after losing a monster pot to Klodnicki on Day 2. Beth Shak finished in 11th, while Matthew Waxman, who previously won the $1,650 “Main Event” earlier in the series, qualifying for the National Championship in the process, finished tenth to the delight of the final nine, who will now join him in the $1 million freeroll in 2011.

Heads-up play got down to Klodnicki and Bell, and when the dust had settled, it was Bell capturing the title and over $350,000. He bookends a year that started off with some admitted financial troubles, followed by the surreal moment during the World Series of Poker in which he and good friend Gavin Smith each captured their first bracelet within days of each other.

I would like to take the time to thank each and every one of you who has taken the time to read this column this year, and I hope you will continue to in the new year, as things should only continue to get better.

Wicked Chops Podcast:

With no TWIP this week the entities over at Wicked Chops come together to discuss all things that are not the Reid Bill. Possible Rounders 2 story-lines were discussed followed by Chops admitting to trying to pick up the ladies years ago by impersonating Ben Folds (judge on The Sing-Off). After a lengthy discussion on their love of American Idol they move onto The Walking Dead. Listen to the show on the Wicked Chops site or download it on iTunes.

The Poker Edge:

Phil Gordon and Andrew Feldman break down the top stories of 2010 and take a look into 2011 after they discuss the possibility of Phil Helmuth on Dancing with the Stars. 2010 was the year of the Mizrachi’s will 2011 be the year of Durrr? You can listen to the entire podcast on ESPN.com, or download it directly via iTunes.

The Hardcore Poker Show:

The guys come together for their last show of the year and start off discussing the battle between Full Tilt and PokerStars on High Stakes Poker. After a brief discussion on Rounders 2 Pokerati’s own Scarlet_LV comes on to discuss the Reid bill and where thing with poker legislation go from here. Fresh off his final table at APPT Sydney Daniel Negreanu joins the show discussing the High Stakes Poker feud. You can listen weekly on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 98 every Wednesday from 8-9pm ET or you can download it via iTunes.

The Micros – Holiday Special:

Following up on the Pilot episode The Micros come with their Holiday Special with a special cameo from Erik Seidel.

The Las Vegas Sun has been following the antics actions of their favorite senator quite closely this December, particularly with respect to online poker legislation (see timeline below.)

But today, just a little more than a day after the second lameduck session of 111th Congress ended, the Sun chose to say nothing at all about #reidbill in this story published at 2am entitled “For Harry Reid, it’s been the best of times, worst of times.”

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LV Sun Articles: Timeline

NOTE: Dec 2nd -> #reidbill announced to public via Wall Street Journal article

Dec 3rd -> “Harry Reid pushes bill to allow for online gambling”
Dec 7th -> “Harry Reid rushes effort to legalize Internet poker”
Dec 9th a.k.a. zombie-bill-day -> Is it dead? -or- Is it alive?
Dec 10th -> “Casino trade group supports Internet poker bill”
Dec 15th -> “Letter: Legalizing online poker of no help to average Nevadans”
Dec 15th -> “Reid, Republicans in spat over Christmas session”
Dec 17th -> “All bets off: Online poker bill dealt possible death blow”
Dec 19th -> “Senate passes food safety bill, again – Sunday, Dec. 19″
Dec 22nd -> “9/11 health care bill still on Reid’s agenda”

NOTE: Dec 22 -> 2nd session of lame duck adjourned “sine die” (adjourned for an indefinite period)

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More…

Now that you’ve spent most of your bankroll on presents, it’s time to start saving up again, because before you know it the World Series of Poker will be underway. And now we know when, as the dates for the 2011 WSOP have just been released.

For 50 straight days starting May 31st, World Series of Poker action will return to the Rio for the seventh consecutive year, despite heavy speculation that there would be a change in venue. The Main Event will once again feature four consecutive starting days, with Day 1a on July 7th. The November Nine tradition will continue this year, as play will conclude July 19th when the final table is reached. . A full schedule of events will be released next month.

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 22, 2010) – The 42nd annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) — a set of poker tournaments open to anyone 21 years of age or older – will begin its 2011 campaign on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 – just a day after Memorial Day – and run every day for 50 straight days until Tuesday, July 19, 2011.

The event, as has been its norm since 2005, will continue to be held in the Convention Center of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The WSOP Main Event will begin on Thursday, July 7, 2011, and once again feature four starting days (July 7, July 8, July 9 and July 10).

As is now customary, the WSOP Main Event will be the final tournament of the annual WSOP, with its conclusion slated for Tuesday, July 19, after reaching the final table of nine players.

Hard stop times will become a definitive change in 2011 for all bracelet events. Players will play a maximum of 10 levels per day. Once 10 levels have been completed, remaining players will have their chips bagged and tagged and return the next day to continue on in the tournament. Regardless of how many players remain in a tournament, hard stop times will be enforced after 10 levels of play.

The entire 42nd Annual World Series of Poker schedule, with individual tournaments, dates, times and buy-ins will be released in January.

ABOUT THE WSOP
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2010, the event attracted 72,966 entrants from 117 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $187 million in prize money. The WSOP in December, 2008 was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker EuropeSM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.WSOP.com.

The latest order in Kentucky v 141 Internet Domain Names has just come down from the Franklin Circuit Court. Remember that this case goes back to 2008 when the Commonwealth of Kentucky tried to seize certain domain names (including www.fulltiltpoker.com and www.pokerstars.com) on an ex parte basis because the domain names were said to be operating in breach of Kentucky law.

In an attempt to kick-start this litigation – which has been bogged down in procedural wranglings and appeals – Kentucky had proposed to divide the in rem defendants into smaller, more manageable groups. Each group would then be addressed by the court using a case management system. The idea was that the owner of the domain name in each group would be given notice and a chance to appear, prove his/her/its ownership of the domain name, and contest the seizure. The first group of domain names was limited to www.playersonly.com, www.sportsbook.com, www.sportsinteraction.com, www.mysportsbook.com, and www.linesmaker.com. The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) had opposed Kentucky’s motion and also sought to intervene in the case.

iMEGA has made a case for what’s called associational standing. Associational standing, very generally, allows an organization or group to intervene in a judicial proceeding on behalf of its members. There are a number of tests that need to be met in order to obtain associational standing. While iMEGA would normally have associational standing, the Franklin Circuit Court has now held that it is unclear whether associational representation can extend to an in rem proceeding in Kentucky; this issue is novel and the court needs to consider it further. Accordingly, the next move is that the Court will keep the case management order sought by Kentucky on hold until the associational standing issue can be determined. This is a clear victory for the defendants in this matter, as Kentucky wanted to simply plough ahead with a case management structure and without vetting the associational standing issue.

The parties have 30 days to submit briefs on this issue, after which Kentucky or iMEGA can bring the matter on for an oral hearing.

Stay tuned for more developments in this fascinating state-level case.

I’ll be talking a little #reidbillthatshallnolongerbenamed *iGambling* tonight on Sirius 98 – Hardcore Poker Show tonight at 6:25p EDT/3:25p PT for a ten-minute segment.

Listen to it here -> The Hardcore Poker Show

Download podcast later this week -> iTunes

With Christmas less than a week away, you might expect poker players to take some time off to spend with their families, but of course you’d be wrong because there is no stopping poker. Just check out your local poker room on Christmas, and I’m sure you’ll find people who aren’t Jewish, Muslim, or atheist. To be fair, what would be a better Christmas present than a bad beat jackpot?

Anyway, the poker scene around the US is currently focused in Atlantic City, where one of four Regional Championships on the World Series of Poker Circuit is now well underway. There were surprisingly few other stops, as even poker players have a tough time creating the right excuse to get away from their families during the holidays.

WSOP Circuit Regional Championship – Harrah’s Atlantic City (Atlantic City, NJ)

136 players came out to play this $10,000 event, which will be nationally televised. The number is quite a bit smaller than the 226 players who showed up for the previous Regional Championship, which, in addition to the prize money included, has nine seats that will be awarded to the $1 million freeroll that will take place at the end of the season, which will have a field even smaller than this tournament and a bracelet to be awarded to its champion. 6.6% of this field will find their way in to the 2010 Circuit National Championship, which will take place May 27th at Caesers Las Vegas.

As of this post, 55 of the 136 are still in on Day 2. Among those with some serious chips are Eugene Katchalov, Bryn Kenney, Vanessa Selbst, Sorel Mizzi and Dan Kelly. Matthew Waxman is currently in the top 10, as he attempts to top his $1,600 Main Event victory from less than a week ago in this series with a high profile $10K victory. Waxman won $117,797, which will certainly help cushion the blow if he fails to make the money in this tournament. [WSOP]

EPT Prague (Prague, Czech Republic)

The other big stop this past week was in Prague, as the Europeans and under-aged Americans ponied up €5,300 each to take their last shot at making 2010 a good year for themselves. An impressive 563 players turned out for this tournament to create a prize pool worth over $3 million.

It was an all European final table, with 3 Italians, a Russian, a Slovak, a Frenchman (no this, isn’t the start of a joke) a Polish player and one from Wales. Roberto Romanello got very close to an EPT title in February of this year, finishing 6th in Copenhagen. He received his closure this week, running over the final table on his way to the title and €640,000. The UK native broke down in tears after the final hand, in a display that could be described as the “anti-Affleck” on the emotional scale. [PokerStars Blog]

Borgata December Mini Series (Atlantic City, NJ)

David Inselberg won $61,000 in the $1,500 Main Event, which had an impressive turnout of 141 players without much hype or advertisement. Josh Brikis took 9th in this tournament.

Minnesota State Poker Tour (Canterbury, MN)

Apparently not ok with sitting on his laurels following his 2010 WSOP Main Event final table appearance, Jason Senti wanted to win something a little closer to home, taking down an event on the Minnesota State Poker Tour in Canterbury, an $1,100 tournament that drew 137 runners. Senti took home $38,540 for his win.

Not super-pokery, but this “captcha” gone awry did come via a link from Katkin in the course of talking poker-blogging bidness (shortly before crushing me in a Pokerati game at Aria Thursday night.) And it does raise questions of linguistic variance with a surprisingly non-controversial common phrase in poker parlance:

Funny to me … but probably not so much to any recent victim of sexual assault.

Also could be rather offensive to a poker player suffering egregious abuse at the hands of a dominating opponent … insensitivity to the latter being enough to discourage me from handing over all my identifying info to Boxbe.

Since it seems the Feds aren’t gonna allow the world to come to the WSOP (via the internet) … the WSOP is now taking steps elsewhere across the world. Caesars Interactive Entertainment, formerly HIE but still parent company to the WSOP, announced Italian partnerships that will allow the Montreal-based company (with operational headquarters in Las Vegas) to establish its presence live and online in the regulated Italian market — and ultimately make it easier for these poker paisanos to get to Vegas in the summer.

Read below for official details:

More…

If we believe that 50 years from now, poker and online poker will be part of our world, then what went down in December 2010 will be little more than a footnote in an effort that took maybe 5, maybe 10 years to get to the beginning stages of however the 2060 WSOP is run.

In fact, makes me wanna give an assignment to Las Vegas 1st graders and/or 2+2 — crayon drawings of how they see the 2060 WSOP.

Anyhow, though I still think we (as in “poker”) technically may have one out left, all interested parties seem to be resigned to the notion that 2010 — for all the heartfelt ups and downs we experienced — is not the year for change poker players can believe in. Right now I think our best bet, with all the major-world issues being fought over in DC, would be for a staffer to trip while bringing a bill to Obama and letting a few sheets of paper slip in unnoticed for an accidental signing.

We’ll have to leave it to the mainstream pundits to determine why on earth this shoulda even been a problem when we ultimately brought $60 billion via decent policy to the table — and the people theoretically supporting it controlled all branches of government … one of them being one of the most powerful people in Washington DC. Something doesn’t seem to add up, and I suspect Harry Reid will have a lot of questions to answer but not really as a guy who secured his gig for 6 years. But in the meantime, the PPA, in just its fourth year of existence, has put out the statement below surrendering this round while assessing how to build off a year where they made more progress for poker than ever before seen on a federal level … bringing us closer to those kindergarten dreams of what 2060 could look like:

More…

DonkDown Radio:

This is the first time that I have actually listened to this show, due to me not being a fan of Podcast that extend past the 2 hour mark. After just listening to this episode it easily moves into the must listen weekly list. This week Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke comes in and the discussion goes from poker to Magic the Gathering. Kristy Arnett comes on next to discuss her recent mini-FTOPs win and is put on the spot with this weeks Dirty Half Dozen where things go from R rated to XXX rated. Check out the latest episode at the DonkDown site or subscribe and download it via iTunes.

Final Table Poker Radio:

The guys from St. Louis come back this week to further discuss the Reid bill with John Pappas of the PPA. John sounded a lot less hopeful that the bill will be passed before years end and gives some thoughts on where things go from here. The discussion does move off the Reid bill this week and goes into antes in cash games and the Bellagio heist. If you want to listen to the entire show or catch up on previous show you can either visit The Final Table site or check it out on iTunes.

3 Gentlemen:

Brian Hastings joins the 3 Gentlemen crew this week to discuss the love between him and Isildur. The guys also discuss their sports betting losses over the past week. These guys really like to talk their sports so if that is something that you really would like to listen to then check them out on Cardrunners or subscribe on iTunes.

This broadcast is rescheduled from yesterday, when it was bumped for a big story on insider trading.

PPA’s Executive Director John Pappas will be on Bloomberg TV today to “discuss licensing and regulating online poker” @ approximately 11:45am EDT/8:45am PST -> http://www.bloomberg.com/tv/

Will he give details on iPoker’s status on the Hill?

The panel breaks down PokerStars most recent signing and handicaps the Bluff Magazine Readers Choice Award Nominations

The Poker Beat: December 15, 2010

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• Antonio Esfandiari wins WTP Five Diamond.
• Reid Bill AGAIN…
• Pokerstars signs isildur1.
• Bluff Magazine Reader Choice Awards Votes?

Vote vigorously and/or repeatedly for The Poker Beat
for Favorite Web-based Show in Bluff magazine’s 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards.