With the World Series lumbering off into the distance, it’s back to the grind for the world of poker; wider parts included. The twin-tailed dragon of news has been belching forth stories about big government and big tournaments this week, so follow me as I slay the beast with my sword of journalism and craft lustrous armour made from unblemished facts*.

Premier League Poker is a Mixed Bag

If you were to pop into the Playboy Club in London tonight, you would have the ironclad excuse of being on the look out for some high class poker. The PartyPoker.com Premiere League Poker Mixed Game Championship is both verbose and underway. Tony G, Mike Sexton, Jennifer Tilly, and a handful of other semi-famous pros are battling through a series of televised heats for a shot at $100k. [WPT Mag]

Euro Honchos Discuss Online Gambling

Elected representatives of the various EU states gathered in Brussels this week to debate the issue of online gambling. During a session of the European Parliament, politicians discussed the mish mash of different online gambling laws that exist across the continent. MEPs are keen to allow member countries to maintain their own rules, but issued support for a legislative framework that would require new gambling regulations to adhere to agreed standards. [European Parliament]

Bingo Players Lose Their Identity

With evil nerds lurking around every corner waiting to leap out and hack you, the importance of data protection is at an all time high. There’s not much a business can do, however, if the person stealing the information already works for them. That’s exactly what happened at Foxy Bingo, where employee Marc Ben-Ezra was caught selling the details of 65,000. To the outrage of the UK’s Information Commissioner, Ben-Ezra has so far been hit with no more than a £2,000 fine. [E Week Europe]

The Nations Cup is London Bound

Provided they aren’t in middle of a massive downswing, any pro will tell you that poker is a game of skill. That’s also the opinion of the London Mind Sports Festivals, who have allied with the International Federation of Poker to present the Nations Cup. Twelve different countries have entered teams (as have facebook game company Zynga, for some reason). To enhance the skill factor, teams will be play duplicate poker while sat inside the London Eye – a giant sightseeing Ferris wheel on the bank of the Thames. [CardPlayer]

I have to get back to forging shields and bothering giants now, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the “real world” while I’m at it. If there’s no column next week, assume that I’ve fallen inside my computer. Send Jeff Bridges.

*Your humble correspondent might have been playing a little too much Skyrim this week.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on in one of the hungriest industries out there, and, game of skill or not, the parent biz of our beloved little poker world:

ALABAMA — A small little gambling fight is going down in the land Spencer Bachus represents, over a matter of semantics, technology, and the millions of dollars bingo machines represent. Bingo is legal in ‘bama … but should video bingo be? The fight is a dirty — complete with one agency repeatedly trying to raid a well-monied operation that believes it’s on the right side of the law.

CHINA — After a slow start, gambling revenues in Macau are reaching record levels.

IOWA — The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission’s computer system got hacked, and they’re blaming China:

Chinese foreign ministry officials strongly disputed the report, issuing a statement calling it “full of bias and ulterior motives.”

Personal information in the breach included names, Social Security numbers, home addresses and dates of birth. Most of the people in the licensing database are Iowa residents, but it also includes residents of Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and other states, Ketterer said.

The list includes workers such as card dealers, slot machine technicians, jockeys, trainers and owners of horses and greyhounds.

LOUISIANA — The New Orleans-to-Shreveport casino-biz is in a definite recession, one not planned for when the state planned on becoming the central-coast alternative to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. They blame Texans for not gambling enough Oklahoma and Mississippi for cutting in on their action.

NEW JERSEY — Big fight going on over laws related to the building of Revel — the east coast’s $2.5 billion version of CityCenter. Should be an interesting development to watch go up (or down) as New Jersey fights to stay competitive with the smaller casino operations set to open shop in Delaware and Pennsylvania, but not Maryland.

MARYLAND — Gov. Martin O’Malley is saying Maryland’s not gonna jump into the gambling expansion fray, despite assertions that his state is gonna lose out as neighboring locales up their casino offerings to include table games + poker.

OHIO — As we know, Lyle Berman has effectively bought himself a piece of all the newly legalized action to come in Cincinatti, Cleveland, and Toledo. But he’s run into some blowback over the location of a new casino in Columbus. The constitutional amendment voters approved in November called for a full-blown casino-resort downtown, but now a referendum on a May ballot will decide if the Penn Gaming development should be moved to a blighted part of the city.

Related: “It’s Lyle’s Ohio Now”

UNITED KINGDOM — Once upon a time, Great Britain was leading the world in all things online gambling. But regulations and tax issues are messing that up — and it’s turning into a battle of Labour vs. the Tories for the UK’s gambling future. Good rundown on some British gambling-law history and where the different parties stand on gambling in the UK … as the rest of Europe catches up.