On this episode of the Jess and BJ Show, Jessica Welman and BJ Nemeth try to wrap things up in time to catch Game 7 of the World Series, bet the Bookie’s Over/Under on how many former Foxwoods winners will remain at the end of the day, recap Day 2 of the World Poker Finals, and answer the question, “What is your favorite game-winning performance?”
Sometime during this year I decided I wanted to add more tournaments to my poker diet. I’ve been a cash game grinder for my entire poker-playing career and don’t really have anything to speak of in regards to big tourney scores. My “official” tourney resume is pretty weak. That being said, I think every high-volume tournament pro wishes they crushed at cash games, and I think that every cash game grinder wants that feeling that only a tournament victory can bring: the combination of the big pay day combined with being the last man or woman standing at the end of the day (or day 2, 3, 4, what have you). It very well could be my ego projecting my perceived thoughts onto the rest of the poker-playing community, but why would you not want to be well rounded in your profession and have multiple skill sets?
I’ve torched a lot of money being irresponsible … Vegas definitely has a way of seeping into any crack in your guard wall and blowing it wide open.
If you think that low stakes live poker games tend to be pretty soft, you should check out some of the tournament series that are running this month and next around Vegas. You’ll see things that will make your head shake and leave you feeling good about the future of poker and its draw to the casual players. However, these are tournaments we’re talking about, which means you’re a bit handcuffed in regards to how much manipulation of tourists you’ll be able to partake in compared to the cash games. The structures for a lot of the events are pretty good, but variance is still a bitch. I won’t go into detail about some of the ridiculous beats I’ve taken over the past week to send me on a walk of shame toward valet. I’m gonna keep plugging away though with a healthy mix of the series, and cash games when there isn’t an event to my liking.
Congrats are in order for Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein, as WSOP officials announced earlier today that they won the ballot race this year — and will be inducted into the Caesars-owned Poker Hall of Fame during the November Nine.
I still haven’t been able to find the actual “hall” anywhere on Google maps, but hey, at least there’s a list … which is included in the announcement below. Fwiw, whether right or wrong or historically consistent or not, a 2011 nomination (and subsequent induction) does seem to come with an extra stamp of approval for poker careers run on a clean path.
Barry seems incredibly deserving for his accomplishments mostly on the felt, with a little bit of important poker work off of it. He got 3 of my 10 votes.
Linda got 5 from me. Only the second women bestowed with the PHOF honor, she put up admirable numbers back in the day and still plays winning poker in medium-big mixed games during the WSOP … but really helped shape the direction of poker off the table as publisher of CardPlayer Magazine through the ’90s, a founding member of the TDA and PokerGives.org, and an instrumental force in the World Poker Tour, the PartyPoker Million, the general concept of “poker cruises”, and the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (which doesn’t have a hall either, but does have a fancy dinner with speeches, food, and booze; I do miss the grander fete for PHOF induction way-back in 2009 when Mike Sexton got in). Extra-charming to know the job she quit to pursue a career in poker was at the post office.
Scotty Nguyen got my remaining 2 votes, but did not get in.
Mark and Matt have a lot to discuss on this week's show, so much so that they couldn't do it alone. After discussing the latest Full Tilt and AGCC news, Scarlet Robinson joins the program to talk about the US Congressional Subcommittee meeting, and then things are rounded out with tournament results from various WSOP events.
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On This episode of DonkDown Radio we try (and fail) to call Michael Clemente, known scammer – but we tell the story of his scamming a local Orleans dealer for $1k. WORLD PREMIER OF BRETT “GET CRUNK” RICHEY’S BEN LAMB RAP. We talk with Eric Crain, recent 4th place finisher at some tourney in Hammond. Menachum drops us a parlay that pays $1 for every $2 wagered, and we talk about black men eating pussy with the Iceman. Goldfarb, Karina Jett, HORSE wars, Pokerati Dan + MOAR!
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The Duke of Fremont, that colorful, uniquely Vegassy character who likes to buy in to 1/2 games with no max and sit behind stacks of $100k in bills (which he carries around downtown in a violin case) returns to the felt for a tourney at the Golden Nugget this Friday — raising money for the Clark County Museum Guild, a non-profit philanthropic group dedicated to preserving Las Vegas culture.
The event comes with the Duke fully recovered from multiple broken bones and flesh wounds suffered in a violent robbery in August 2010. The trial against his accused assailants was supposed to start this week — just down the street from the Nugget — but was delayed on Monday.
Who: The Duke of Fremont presents “Pinstripes & Polka Dots”
What: $100 NLH (w $20 rebuys)
When: Friday, Oct 28, 6pm (red carpet cocktails begin at 5pm)
Where: Golden Nugget, Downtown Las Vegas
Why: Fundraiser for Clark County Museum Guild
As you know, the House Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing [yesterday] examining the potential regulation of Internet gambling. The hearing entitled, “Internet Gambling: Is There a Safe Bet?” called upon a variety of witnesses to discuss how best Internet gambling can be regulated in the U.S. Among the witnesses was Poker Player Alliance Chairman and former Senator, Alfonse D’Amato. A complete list of witnesses and their full testimonies is available here. You can also watch the full 2 ½ hour Committee hearing on CSPAN.com here.
Meeting with members before and after the hearing, I was immensely proud to hear every lawmaker tell us that they are being contacted by poker players. The question on the lawmakers’ minds was not “if” internet poker should be regulated, but rather “how” regulation should look.
Senator D’Amato did an exceptional job and delivered impassioned remarks defending your right to play. He urged Congress to adopt rules and regulations to ensure American consumers have a safe marketplace in which to play poker on the Internet. In fact, when it came to consumer protections the conclusion of every witness before the Committee was that regulation was far better than the status quo. And, more importantly, that sentiment was also expressed almost unanimously by the lawmakers who attended the hearing. The question on the lawmakers’ minds was not “if” internet poker should be regulated, but rather “how” should regulation look.
Readit
Watchit
Witness List:
Oh yeah, and now Donald Trump wants in on online poker … should the Feds re-legalize it anytime soon. He’s apparently partnered with New York hedge fund manager Marc Lasry with the intent of entering into the online gambling space as soon as the US opens the hatch.
Not a surprise. Trump got in, then out, of poker early in the boom (remember the US Poker Championships in Atlantic City?). That was a few years before Joan Rivers beat Annie Duke heads-up on Celebrity Apprentice. Trump’s 29-year-old daughter, Ivanka, explains the partnership as Trump Entertainment contributing the gambling licenses, Lasry putting up the capital, and The Donald offering his name and likeness to recruit future players.
“In terms of the Internet, brand is essential toward attracting players,” Ivanka told Business Week. “The Trump brand would be the most powerful one in this space.”
(h/t @TheWookieWay. NOTE: DonaldPoker.com is available should anyone wanna gamble $8 that such a URL might become the most powerful domain in poker.)
Full Tilt laid off some 200 people on the Pocket Kings staff in Dublin last week — leaving pretty much just the head honchos, who apparently believe that ole Chris Ferguson bit about “a chip and a chair” too much and somehow still think they can salvage the company something.
Sucks for the Dubliners, but for the rest of us, that means 200 or more employees with insight into FTP operations over in Ireland, no real reason to necessarily protect certain information anymore, and access to 2+2.
Sure enough, at least two former employees from two different departments are posting away and answering questions. Check it out … worth the skim.
Nothing earth-shattering (yet … gotta figure anyone with the uber-goody dirt probably would go to the DOJ requesting immunity before turning informant) but the virtual deposition one former employee goes through provides plenty of color to paint a decent picture of what life was like in the middle of a corporate collapse … not to mention how the nouvea-poker-riche behave without the cash (and TV shows) that previously formed the foundation of their power.
For example, I learned:
Slip off your coat and make your way into my small corner of Pokerati — a newly built alcove in Dan’s diamond-encrusted virtual mansion where I’ll bring you a weekly caché of poker and gambling news that the American-centric poker media may have overlooked. So put down your rodeos and pretend football as we give the poker globe a spin to discover piquant revelations and heart-warming tales of human endeavour from elsewhere around the world.
Dodgy Maths at the AGCC #
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission fell under the terrifying gaze of Subject Poker this week. The Commission’s report on their Full Tilt Poker hearing claimed that US Department of Justice had seized $331 million worth of FT cash. The real figure is closer to $159 million, argues the Subject reporter, with the larger number including money lost over and above Black Friday seizures. Either way, more numbers for Full Tilt and Alderney that don’t add up as they’ve been presented. [Subject Poker]
Mass Walkout at William Hill’s Israeli Office #
British bookmakers William Hill are at panic stations after a large chunk of their customer support staff enacted an impromptu strike last Sunday. The staff were upset at rumoured plans to move the office outside Israel. Will Hill Online deny they have any plans to relocate, but for a while it seemed like the civil unrest might spread, with offices in Bulgaria and the Philippines laying down their telephones in solidarity? [Telegraph.co.uk]
Turkey and Sportingbet Go to War #
Sportingbet have been fluttering their eyelashes at Ladbrokes for the past few weeks in vain hope of encouraging an acquisition. Any deal would’ve been conditional, however, on Sportingbet’s withdrawal from the volatile Turkish market; and although negotiations with Ladbrokes have broken down, Sportingbet were hours away from selling ‘Superbahis.com’ to GVC Holdings PLC. That was until the local government suddenly blocked the website. [The Guardian]
Denmark Unveils Plans to Regulate Online Gambling #
The European Commission are so happy with new Danish gaming regulations that they are recommending them as a model for all other EU nations to follow. But the new rules controversially require lower taxes from online gambling companies than those paid by existing land-based casinos. [Financial Times]
Apparently at Pokerati we’re supposed to take pride in any appearance of not working, so I’m off to the rainswept British coast for a week of holiday, but will be back to let my distinguished American cohorts know what they missed while I was gone and they were sleeping.
Today on the show Dan Bilzerian and Joe Tehan check in with our hosts Adam Schoenfeld, Brandon “Drexel” Gerson and Micon. We catch Goldfarb on a losing streak, Menachum has yet another Jewish holiday and couldn’t make it, Micon fucked up Drexel’s computer so the first few segments were fucked in true DD style. Second half is pretty solid, Dan Bilzerian owns a Barrett .50 Cal. We’re coming back strong next week!
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Mark and Matt are talking WSOPE results on this week's Rabbit Hunt, as both the players and the structures make headlines. Then we catch up on the latest legal news around poker as well as take a look at how things are going for the poker industry six months after Black Friday.
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The PPA has learned that the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing on Internet gaming on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. The subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will bring forward a variety of witnesses to discuss regulation of Internet gaming and gather information for a future hearing to examine the merits of Rep. Joe Barton’s Online Poker Act of 2011 (H.R. 2366).
At the time of this email the witnesses for the hearing are still unknown. The PPA and its lobbying team will continue to meet with members of the subcommittee and their staffs leading up to next week’s hearing. We will be asking PPA members whose U.S. Representative is a member of this committee to contact their member directly before the hearing. Please check the PPA website and your inbox for future announcements about this very important hearing.
We have a nice opportunity to make ourselves heard today, so I encourage everyone to participate. CNN is airing this evening’s GOP presidential debate live from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET from the Venetian in Las Vegas. CNN is seeking questions for candidates via the CNN Politics fan page on Facebook, Twitter (using the #CNNDebate hashtag), and their website. So, let’s all submit some pro-poker questions. As this debate is being held in Las Vegas, our issue will be seen as topical.
Hey, at least the Lions are winning.
We had high hopes coming into the 2011 football season but to see them run out to a beautiful 4-0 start is outstanding. And the Tigers are up too! As I write this they currently hold a 2-1 series advantage over the Yankees after stealing home field advantage in NYC. One more win and they advance to the next playoff round. Life is good these days for my hometown teams.
Little did I know that the hole would only grow bigger and deeper as the day went on, culminating with me somehow losing with KQ vs 55 after c-betting a K-6-4 flop. I booked a 4-figure loss and called it a day.
Backroom Hold’em - Poker has long fought association with cross words http://t.co/1ApiZY97
RT @compncards: Iowa Online Poker Bill Passes Committee - Moves On to House http://t.co/9j87SAZF #poker
RT @MeanPokerDealer: I think it's SO cool how you guys loop the earbuds around your ears so they're hanging there all not in your ears and stuff. I hate you.
@KhanNoaman I only tweeted links to PokerNews & @CalvinAyre articles re: #Montreal lawsuit & the YouTube video of the 2011 Mtl Open kickoff.
