Mark and Matt try to sift through the latest Full Tilt indictment news on this week's Rabbit Hunt. Between the Department of Justice, Tom Dwan, 2p2, and Twitter, there was more than enough to cover the subject in detail, and the two also look into the fallout from the new civil indictments.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

So much to say on this latest development … which has two former “heroes” of poker on the front page of CNN for their involvement with criminal activity. About to go on QuadJacks to discuss it live.

And here’s the actual crime novel of the DOJ-SDNY’s proposed amendment to the complaint.

And read below for a statement from the PPA, calling on the DOJ not to forget about the players as they continue to shut it all down.

More…

The American Gaming Association put out a new video in support of making online poker legal (now!). Though plenty corny, it’s possibly the slickest representation of all the talking points certain poker people have been refining and pushing for the past several years — and yet it’s kinda dumbed down enough for legislators to see the probablility of looking kinda stupid (and un-Tea Partyish if they’re Republican) should they ignore this 2011 opportunity to re-Americanize online poker.

(I think I recognize that woman’s voice from some political attack ad in 2010 … or maybe it was ’08?)

LOL on the “SEIZED” sites — ShadyPoker.com represented by cards with stars on them and ShadierPoker.com with a red triangle. Guess they didn’t want to overreach by indicting the Shady dot-nets? The AGA also opened up a new section on their website — their Online Poker Headquarters.

OK, OK, I get the message … it’s gonna be about poker only, not poker+ casino games … And should it not be clear enough to anyone entertaining the idea of holding a US license that certain old-school online poker ways ain’t gonna fly in a regulated US future, the AGA has also issued a new code of conduct to establish who should and should not become card-carrying licensees:

More…

Click to enlarge: Melanie Iglesias has her panties in a wad over something related to her break-up with the WPT.

Undercleavage: This stylish lingerie not available at K-mart offers a new way to look at Lacey Jones’ right boob.

Pot-committed: Survivorist Jim Rice found a more legal way to earn a living than online poker by selling weed.

Tenacious P: Jack Black is still kinda sorta into poker.

Baller beware: No TV show ever came of an idea about bar-bill wars between Kobe Bryant and Antonio Esfandiari.

A little poker gossip because sometimes in serious times we like the petty …

Melanie Iglesias vs. WPT (and QuadJacks?)
The guys at Quadjacks have called it “Flushgate” — and reportedly have received quite a bit of wrath from non-poker types over “the abrupt resignation of three Royal Flush girls” — 2010 Maxim Hometown Hottie winner and now MTV personality Melanie Iglesias, Michelle Banzer, and brand spankin’ new RF girl Mica Javier, who had only been on the job for a few weeks. The purging all went down last month right around the time of press announcements for the World Poker Tour’s new Season X … ooh, juicy! You could almost be certain somebody was gonna cry, if not more formally cry foul.

Catpacking in AC
We can only imagine how cut-throat that world can be — where looks absolutely are tied in with your success. Call us old-school here at Pokerati, Melanie is great and all, but she’s still no Lacey Jones, who recently did a lingerie photoshoot with power-model Katerina Van Derham. Meanwhile, here’s a new video featuring Lacey and Maria Ho helping Christina Lindley pick out a dress for her birthday party at the Borgata in Atlantic City this weekend … and New Jersey celeb-hunter Michael Berman interviews this threesome, being dubbed “the Cat Pack” here for the kickoff of WPT Borgata, where there may or may not be openings for three new Royal Flush Girls.

Auction Player?
Speaking of old school, Phil Hellmuth appeared last week on the A&E show Storage Wars — advising a group about strategy in their game of swag auctions, which apparently involves a combination of luck and skill. Not too familiar with that show … when do we get to hear someone say to Phil, “Going, going, gone!?”

Dealer’s Choice: From Poker to Pot
A relatively unknown poker player named Jim Rice is representing poker (whether he likes it or not) and pot on Survivor 23: South Pacific. Supposedly a pal (and business partner?) of Paul Wasicka’s, the 35-year-old from Chicago is now a medical marijuana dispenser in Colorado (woot!). His most recent cashes include a 3rd and a 23rd on the Heartland Poker Tour, this year and in 2008, respectively. And now with online poker more illegal than selling weed (in some US jurisdictions) … makes you wonder if certain poker pros would rather be Jim Rice or Jean-Robert Bellande.

Jack Black Rising or Falling Poker Celebrity?
There’s always new Hollywood celebrities getting in on poker — and hosting a charity tourney is often their first foray into niche hero-status and/or business opportunity around their personal poker addictions. Could Jack Black be the latest? The last-place finisher in the WPT’s 2009 Hollywood home game is hosting a charity tourney next month at the Commerce Casino in California, but otherwise still has much to prove before he becomes the next James Woods, whom you may recall back in 2004-05 kicked off his effort to become the Adam West of Poker.

Vegas Living: Closing Down Blush
The luxe but laid-back “boutique” nightclub Blush, at the Wynn, is closing after a four-year run. Ahhh … I remember this “ultra lounge” as the site of multiple VIP poker parties and the place where upon moving to Vegas I met a guy who explained to me the process of importing women to the US for a life of hooker-dom before having to excuse himself to go sell coke. But perhaps more famously, Blush is the place where Antonio Esfandiari “lost” a game of who’s got bigger ballers to Kobe Bryant — with the NBA star supposedly racking up a $21,000 champagne bill that had celebrity and sports media mocking some poker player being called “the magician” … even though he somehow got Kobe to pay for the last 15 bottles of Cristal.

Meanwhile, @KobeBryant’s Twitter account got suspended last week, and @MagicAntonio’s, who had a surprisingly similar number of followers, did not.

Drexel, the Schoenfeld, and Micon interview Dutch Boyd.  Musical guest White Noise.  The crew discusses Druff’s departure.  We talk to Crazier Mike again as Sonatine debates him.  The Iceman is putting on a 4,000 strong black female poker tournament, and we introduce female poker hottie Amanda Musumeci to the DonkDown community.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mark and Matt are back with a brand new episode of Rabbit Hunt this week. The two tackle the latest Black Friday news involving Full Tilt, Pokerstars, and potentially Merge as well. Also, did the Epic Poker League do the right thing with their scheduling and the DiVita case? Find out what they think on this week's show!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I wish to thank the entire poker community for the outstanding work in telling our elected officials that we demand action on the online poker issue. We as individuals have sent more than 100,000 letters and made countless phone calls to lawmakers this year alone. Let’s keep it up!

Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has ASKED for questions via Twitter for an upcoming town hall. You can send him pro-poker questions in under thirty seconds:

1. Send a prefilled, editable pro-poker Twitter question: CLICK HERE
2. Send a second Twitter question for good measure: CLICK HERE
3. You can track the pro-poker messages here.

I also wish to discuss the ongoing issue with player funds locked up at Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, and Full Tilt Poker. As someone with around five figures locked up on Full Tilt Poker, I certainly empathize with the situation.

PPA has issued statements demanding that Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and Absolute Poker refund player balances. Additionally, PPA representatives – including me – have made statements in several interviews with various poker media sources with demands for repayment. PPA does not accept the Department of Justice fund seizures as an excuse. We have also publicly praised PokerStars for doing the right thing in refunding its U.S. players.

More…

Have you seen this new reality show on CNN called “The Republican Tea Party Debate”? LOL, the new season is just getting underway, but already I’m looking forward to seeing who gets voted off the island. The first episode last night was full of groaners and OMGs and gawkable moments … the characters are about as good as any Real World/Survivor crew I’ve ever seen before. You can already tell Michelle Bachman is gonna be the Omarosa and Rick Santorum the Puck.

The poker-player’s candidate, Gary Johnson, apparently didn’t make the cut … but poker did enter into the debate when Mitt Romney challenged Texas Governor Rick Perry’s record on job creation … essentially calling him a luckbox.

Not quite the “licensed and regulated online poker” stuff we mighta hoped for … but hey.

Unfortunately, not only do these two look-a-likes reveal an inherent conservative opposition to “regulation” that the Barton Bill will have to overcome, but also they seem to be talking 5-card draw or maybe 7-stud with the four Aces analogy — as if they’re totally unaware that much of the country is playing Pot-Limit Omaha.

Hacked: The Pokerati Morlock’s lung troubles really take the fun out of smoking for the rest of us.

Scott Chaffin is dying. Now now, before you say WTF? know that I am, too. And so are you, and you, and you. In fact, I challenge you to find one living person on the planet who isn’t “dying” … you can’t do it. Fact of life.

But some of us have to fight a little harder to stave off the grim reaper. And Scott, at age 54, got called into life-battle recently upon learning his nagging smoker’s cough was actually full-blown lung cancer.

Scott is one of the original poker bloggers (c. 2002) — and one of the original bloggers for that matter — who has been a big part of Pokerati since the near-beginning. Horrified by an all-flash direction I was headed with version 2, he took over the controls for all things techy in Pokeratiland more than five years ago. Since then, The Fat Guy has overseen three redesigns, bailed me out on multiple occasions after I broke something big, and has written tens of thousands of lines of code for 146 half-baked Pokerati projects since abandoned. All for no pay, mind you … and added bummer as I learn now that our small-business health plan here at Pokerati may not cover actual sickness.

So if you like Scott and like this site and/or just hate cancer … help keep The Fat Guy around a while longer — he’s still got work to do, dammit! — by donating to his cause via PayPal. (Link takes you to TFG.com, w donate button on top right.) And if you have any complaints about how things run on this site, well dude, c’mon … you know, [hush] cancer.

Mike McDonald picked up an early birthday present early Saturday morning, defeating David Steicke heads-up to win the Epic Poker League Main Event at the Palms in Las Vegas. McDonald, who turns 22 on Sunday, moves over $3,600,000 in live tournament results with his result, along with locking up a sport in the $1,000,000 freeroll at the end of the EPL season.

Fabrice Soulier finished third, Erik Seidel earned his ninth six-figure cash of 2011 with a fourth place finish. Nam Le finished fifth, followed by Isaac Baron, Pro/Am qualifier Sean Getzwiller and Dutch Boyd. The final table recap by AlCantHang can be read here.

The next Epic Poker League event is scheduled for December 9-18th at the Palms. First is the $1,500 Pro/Am with nine $20,000 Main Event seats guaranteed. At this moment, the Main Event is scheduled to be a heads-up no-limit hold’em tournament, but there’s rumblings that this will be changed. Stay tuned for further developments.

Final table results:

1. Mike McDonald – $782,410
2. David Steicke – $506,260
3. Fabrice Soulier – $299,160
4. Erik Seidel – $184,100
5. Nam Le – $126,570
6. Isaac Baron – $92,050
7. Sean Getzwiller – $69,040
8. Dutch Boyd – $57,530

Elsewhere, the World Poker Tour stop in Paris has reached their final table with Byron Kaverman leading the final six players. A live stream is available here.

According to Team Pokerati local femme fave @LasVegasPokers, today is “girls day” in Las Vegas. Currently running is the Ladies event in the Caesars Palace Kickoff Classic (a $130 NL event) … and then at 7pm is a $105 Pink Ladies $1000 guarantee at the new Tropicana poker room. (Yay?)

Today is also the final table of the Epic Poker League’s 8-handed NL event. No woman has yet to cash in an Epic event, save for maybe in a satellite to a $1,500 pro-am. In fact, only one woman two women entered this week’s $20k Epic event (J.J. Liu and Vanessa Selbst) … and only one woman cracks the Global Poker Index’s ranking of the top 150 players in the world (Vanessa Selbst #20). Not sure what that says about the only poker league run by a woman save for maybe Pink Ladies … but listen to Epic Commish Annie Duke’s keynote address last week at the Women in Poker Hall of Fame ceremony, where she speaks to essentially the Vegas-to-LA power poker sister set — a potentially hostile audience considering Annie’s public opposition to Ladies Events in the past.

CORRECTION: Vanessa Selbst also entered Epic’s 8-handed event; she was one of the first players eliminated. ALSO: LIPS and HHPT are poker tours or leagues run by women.

MORE CORRECTIONS: Vanessa Selbst also cashed in the first Epic Pro-Am, making Epic a little less women-dry than suggested above.

(Sexist to say rrreow?)

1. Annie Duke: Women in Poker Hall of Fame ceremony, 2011 – 15:50
2. Jan Fisher, emcee follow-up – 1:50

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

More…

The final table of the Epic Poker League Main Event at the Palms is now set as the remarkable year of Erik Seidel continues with another final table. He’ll attempt to improve on his 2nd place finish to Chino Rheem in the first EPL event.

Day 3 started with 23 players with a dozen making the money. Day 2 chip leader Fabrice Soulier was the short stack on the money bubble, but when Allen Bari shoved over Soulier’s raise with pocket jacks, Isaac Baron woke up with pocket aces to eliminate Bari in 13th place.

Matt Glantz, Tim West and Amit Makhija were eliminated after the dinner break, earning $46,020. Adam “Roothlus” Levy bubbled the televised final table for the second straight EPL event, also pocketing $46,020.

David Steicke, who earned most of his tournament winnings in high buy-in tournaments in Asia and Australia, starts the final table as chip leader with Seidel a close second, the only two with over 1,000,000 in chips. The winner will collect over $780,000 with the top five earning a six-figure payday.

The rest of the final table consists of 2011 WSOP bracelet winners Sean Getzwiller and Fabrice Soulier, “young guns” Isaac Baron and Mike McDonald, Nam Le, and Dutch Boyd. For the second straight event, a Pro/Am qualifier (Getzwiller) makes the final table.

Boyd’s appearance at the final table will cause consternation among some in the poker community after seeing Rheem placed on probation after the first EPL event for failure to pay back players he owed money.

Here’s how the final table is seated when play resumes Friday at 3pm with 18:05 left with the blinds at 5,000/10,000 with an ante of 1,000:

Seat 1: Fabrice Soulier – 537,000
Seat 2: Mike McDonald – 357,000
Seat 3: David Steicke – 1,059,000
Seat 4: Dutch Boyd – 359,000
Seat 5: Isaac Baron – 876,000
Seat 6: Sean Getzwiller – 235,000
Seat 7: Erik Seidel – 1,031,000
Seat 8: Nam Le – 362,000

Hand-for-hand updates of the final table at www.epicpoker.com.

I almost didn’t realize that what heretofore had been the biggest online tournament series in the world — the World Championships of Online Poker — is underway throughout the non-American ether. Even with an American government-mandated “boycott” reminiscent of Moscow 1980, is WCOOP still the biggest? (My guess: probably so.) But without certain American players, do we still care?

That’s hard to say, but regardless, you can still look stylish in your nonchalance with this 2010 edition WCOOP T-shirt commemorating the events from back in the Poker Cold War days:

Generic WCOOP Shirt by Pokerati

Day 2 of the Epic Poker League at the Palms concludes with 23 players remaining as Fabrice Soulier’s decision to bypass playing the World Poker Tour stop in Paris is currently paying off as he starts Day 3 as the chip leader. Only 12 players make the money, so expect a long day starting at 12pm Thursday as the field will play down to the televised final table of eight.

Players sent to the rail on day 2 included EPL debuting players Tom Dwan and Mike Matusow. Michael Binger, Andrew Robl, Pro/Am winner Greg Mueller, Phil Hellmuth and November Niner Ben Lamb also had to leave the Key West room when they were left without chips.

Chasing Soulier among the top five in chips Soulier is David Steicke, Erik Seidel, Nam Le, and Matt Marafioti. Jaime Kaplan finishes the day 9th in chips as Matt Glantz, Christian Harder, Chino Rheem and Allen Bari also remain in contention make the money and take advantage of the season-ending $1,000,000 freeroll.

Here’s the top ten chip counts:

1. Fabrice Soulier – 453,500
2. David Steicke – 436,000
3. Erik Seidel – 353,500
4. Nam Le – 306,000
5. Matt Marafioti – 306,000
6. Dutch Boyd – 262,000
7. Adam Levy – 253,500
8. Chris Moore – 250,000
9. Jaime Kaplan – 245,000
10. Isaac Baron 217,500

Thursday also features a $2,000 turbo tournament open to all players, information available along with Day 3 updates at www.epicpoker.com.

Nevada Gaming continues their overhaul of state regulations in preparation for online poker plus casino games and maybe some day, eventually, sports betting. The Gaming Control Board (GCB) will hold a workshop in Las Vegas (livestreamed to Carson City) on September 26, where they’ll be taking the pulse of public sentiment about where to draw the lines on matters that could directly impact many who work in the poker industry.

What’s on the agenda shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise … licensing, affiliates, online operations, suitability, regulatory fees, technology standards yadda yadda … but does give a few clues about big decisions being considered for who may or may not get to make money off of all things online poker in the future:

More…