We cover industry news from France to the United States, as professional sports leagues & governments have a dramatic affect on gambling. The NFL joining with others to sue the state of Delaware? Plus, an announcement about Bodog.
Our good friends at Betfair have released the betting lines — already moving — for the final table of the WSOP main event. Current market numbers:
Darvin Moon – 4.2
Eric Buchman – 5.8
Steven Begleiter – 7.2
Phil Ivey – 8
Jeff Shulman – 8
Joseph Cada – 16.5
Kevin Schaffel – 17.5
James Akenhead – 19
Antoine Saout – 21
Bodog’s lines are a tiny bit different, at least at the top:
Darvin Moon – 17/10
Eric Buchman – 3/1
Phil Ivey – 4/1
Jeff Shulman – 4/1
Steven Begleiter – 4/1
Joe Cada – 10/1
Kevin Schaffel – 12/1
Antoine Saout – 12/1
James Akenhead – 22/1
Am I the only one who thinks being chip leader is virtually a kiss of death?
A little less douchey different than the UB Party … the Bodog Party took place at the Palms Kingpin Suite, and Jean-Robert Bellande was there to bring-it so you could share in the joys of a sponsored online pokery Las Vegas drink-fest. In the process, he makes an interesting prediction that with the deeper-stacks structure in play, we should be seeing a lot more pros go deep in the 2009 WSOP main event — and if ever there’s a year for it, this could be the one where the field of bona fide pros stand a statistically real chance of loading up the final table and seeing one of their own potentially win it all:
Watch Jean-Robert Bellande and the Amazing Bowling Bodog Girls on RawVegas.tv
As of today … you can forget about BodogLife.com … after some courtroom wrangles, the Costa Rican bad boys of online poker are back at the original Bodog.com.
Their news arm — Bodog Beat — still hasn’t repopulated yet at the new old domain. But hey, as Calvin Ayre and friends now know … the internet is hard.
The 200 companies that are to supposed to be blocked by 11 ISPs to Minnesota residents has now been published by IMEGA, which can be found here on their site . The list of 200 companies is an eclectic list of sites, because it was chosen randomly. While sites like Bodog and Full Tilt Poker are on the list, there are a few notable omissions: Absolute Poker, PokerStars, and Ultimate Bet. The list also contains sites that don’t take US customers (BetFred, Everest Poker, Interops, William Hill, among others).
Why was the Washington State Gambling Commission ordering PR Web to cease and desist? And what’s the good news from the Bodog camp? We cover these stories, plus interesting online gambling news from Europe.
For the first time in six years, Amarillo Slim’s speaking out on charges that he inappropriately buggered his granddaughter. In Part 1 of 2 of Nolan Dalla’s interview, Slim addresses specific allegations and tells us that charges have been dropped, and family relationships repaired. In Part 2, we learn more details behind what were apparently incriminating plea deals. We hear nothing, however, about his loss of sponsorship at WinStar. I’m having a hard time finding any info about that — but wasn’t he accused of inappropriate sexual advances toward a teenage employee when the casino first opened? I could be confusing that situation, of course, with the parking lot proclivities of any number of my friends.
A few things jump out at me from the pieces … 1) be sure to read Johnny Hughes’ comment about the old days with slim; 2) his declarations of octogenarian impotence — “Back when I could have sex, I don’t have it anymore – I can’t help that – I would have had it when I could. How come I waited until I was impotent to do something like this?”; and 3)
There was a site [WickedChopsPoker] which called me a pedophile. I’m considering suing them if they don’t publish a retraction because none of it is true.
Libel cases are, thankfully of course, difficult for plaintiffs to win. He’d have to show:
With all this said, am I the only one who thinks there might be more to AS’s coming clean/defending himself? The WSOP is coming up, and World Championship buy-ins can be pretty darn expensive. Being able to wear a patch promoting an online poker room would certainly help the cause, and that simply wouldn’t be/hasn’t been possible with a sexual predator stigma hanging over him.
But now with the likes of Russ Hamilton and Ernie Scherer III out there, and dudes like ZeeJustin being welcomed back at PokerStars, the timing seems right for him to remind the world that, hey, I’m endorsable, too! I’m predicting a Doyle’s Room patch … but wouldn’t it be kinda funny if he ended up as Bodog’s partyin’ grandpappy?
Speaking of bikinis … there’s another poker-skin photo shoot fixin’ to go down in Vegas … reportedly Tiffany Michelle, Erica Schoenberg, and Evelyn Ng will be waxing up for a big poker-themed spread slated for a summer issue of KnockOut magazine, which is basically like Maxim Wicked Chops, only with more chicks and less poker.
Kinda unique here is the coming together of three poker patches — Ultimate Bet, Full Tilt, and Bodog — all in the same shoot.
And though I don’t know this for sure, my guess is that it’s all somehow connected to the forthcoming Knockout Poker Tour. Their inaugural event runs June 5-8 (during the WSOP) at the Hard Rock. This is not a four-day tourney, mind you, it’s a four-day “experience” … where the tournament is a $5,000 + 4,000 or 5,000, your choice depending on what level of VIP perks you want … private jets, limos, penthouse suites, VIP club seating, three parties, Rehab cabanas, etc. … and apparently surrounded the whole time by KnockOut hotties, who will happily let you take pictures with your hand on their butts. Oh, and the champion gets a bracelet, too.
Should be an interesting event, to say the least. And should you decide to forgo the $5k NLH WSOP tournament going on the same day (which pays out about 91 94 percent) in favor of the KOP event (paying out just 50 percent, but guaranteeing a higher booze-and-tail return) and actually win:
Private security will be on-call to fend off any over-zealous club girls who want a piece of the Knockout Poker Tournament Champ. Remember players, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. That includes the bevy of girls throwing themselves at your feet and the collection of email addresses and phone numbers you accumulated over the weekend.
From APCW.org:
As many of you have probably noticed by now, Microgaming casinos are dropping US Players quickly in a mass exodus from the US Market! Plus, a few weeks ago we warned you about “big trouble” coming for Bodog. Guess what? It arrived this week!
Not only that, but we finally make the biggest announcement in APCW history! This is one episode you must see!
Well, to be truthful, it coulda been a lot worse! On first glance, it may look like Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has won this court case… but not so fast. While it’s true that the court upheld the state’s right to seize the domain names, the did give online gambling company’s an out! Tune in to see!
We also release the results of our Bodog cash out audits to see how long it really takes for players to get their money… plus ask why so many online gamblers seem to be in favor of electing John McCain!
From APCW.org:
Wow friggin’ wow … sorry, trying to reign in the visceral reaction, but that’s all I can say the more I learn about what’s going on in Kentucky, and Gov. Steve Beshear’s intent on taking unprecedented legal action against online poker (and other online gambling) companies. Don’t think he’s serious — that this is an effort on which he’s willing to stake his political career? The state is already claiming to have seized legal control over FullTiltPoker.com and 140 other sites … and we all remember what happened to Bodog.com the last time American courts got into it with ICANN over issues of not-so-eminent domain.
Have a listen to Beshear’s declaration of war against an industry near and dear to so many of our hearts, and decide for yourself if you think he’s bluffing:
Steve Beshear vs. Online Poker (right-click to save/download)
Kentucky governor on the need for hostile domain takeover
Sep 22, 2008Audio 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.
(5 min 29 sec)
Prediction: If this case makes it into court in any non-frivolous way, it will end up in the Supreme Court. With or without online poker as a defendant, Kentucky is challenging what government can and can’t do in terms of policing/taxing the internet, issues of states rights vs. federal law, and matters of international treaty and internet jurisdiction to boot.
The 100th episode of Perspectives Weekly looks at the passage of the Barney Frank Bill this week, and what that means to online gambling. Plus helping hurricane victims, Bodog rumors, and other industry news …
Ahh, remember the good-ole-days when there were only like three stories at a time coming in on the Google News Alerts for “poker”, and only like three bloggers who had signed up for them? Me neither … it was never quite like that (but close) … and though I make no promises to keep this up on a daily basis, in an effort to inform the poker-news-hungry to the best of my abilities keep my open browser tabs to a minimum and my email backlog < 500, I will try to provide you some basic links to the plausibly worthwhile shizznit shaking down:
CardRunners and StoxPoker have joined forces to create a poker-training supersite. [PokerOnAMac.com]
Original PartyGaming honcho Anurag Dikshit — creator of some of the earliest online poker software — is one of three Indians to make Forbes’ list of 34 web-innovator billionaires … as well he should be. [MSNBC]
More on the Fed’s aggressive pursuit of Bodog — including criminal investigations on the company and Calvin Ayre. [Forbes.com]
Barney Frank has re-introduced the Payments System Protection Act, a revised version of HR 5767, which was shot down in his own committee earlier this year. [PokerNewsDaily]
Las Vegas visitation is down — to its lowest point since the start of the Iraq war. [Las Vegas Advisor]
And thus it only makes sense that LV gaming revenue is down — 14 percent this time — for the 7th consecutive month. [Forbes.com]
You know those new poker rooms popping up in Arizona? Well the Pascua Yaqui tribe doesn’t like them and is trying to get them shut down. (Funny: the mayor of Phoenix is named Phil Gordon.) [Zonie Report]
Poker parties and poker school are all the rage in Croatia. [CroatianVillas.com]
FUN RUMORS: Apparently Johnny Depp is quite the poker player, but he’s having a hard time getting alt/indie band We Were Scientists to pay up the $28k he beat them out of. (But all debts have been settled with Orlando Bloom, whom he supposedly beat out of $800k during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean.) [Online Casino Advisory]
And in hardly related non-poker news … Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter’s pregnancy … do we want to start this century off in a world where teens (sometimes) use birth control and occasionally have an abortion or one where we preach abstinence and then glorify/celebrate the shotgun wedding? The MySpace page of the potential VPson-in-law Levi Johnston: [NYPost via HuffingtonPost via Kevin Allen/Sun Times]
“I’m a fuckin’ redneck” who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.
“But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some shit and just fuckin’ chillin’ I guess.”
“Ya fuck with me I’ll kick [your] ass,” he added.
He also claims to be “in a relationship,” but states, “I don’t want kids.”
Perhaps we all have something to learn from a billion (Non-American) Indians. Not only did “these people” give us one of the founders of PartyPoker and hundreds if not thousands of terrible customer service reps, but also they made what is arguably the best condom commercial ever:
What is the United States Department of Justice doing with an investigation of Google and Yahoo? Speculation is there may be some trouble for their years of accepting online gambling advertising. Subpoenas and depositions have been given! We have that story, plus updates on the Bodog situation, Party Gaming troubles, the Gambling Wages Challenge, and other industry news.
More at APCW.org
Why was Party Gaming named in a US Lawsuit this week? What’s the deal with Bodog? Where are we with Gambling Wages? All the answers and online gambling news from APCW.org.
Though it apparently took a while to get their payout system back in acceptably working action, Full Tilt has paid Boston Pedro his $4.5k:
Yes- i have received checks from them the last two weeks on about a ten day turn around from when requested. That is good.
Indeed, that is excellent to hear. Nice to know there are at least a few sites out there (other than Ultimate Bet/Absolute) that are able to take care of the players.
Bodog, however, seems to be another story altogether … Hard to distinguish what are flame wars between jilted parties and what are real issues that may or may not have driven at least one affiliate to madness. I do know that at least one pending biz deal with some bloggers has been pulled off the table, but that doesn’t mean much … could’ve happened just as well for unrelated reasons when biz was all good. But clearly something unusual is up with Bodog — and what it is I am sure at least a few players will eventually find out, whether they want to or not.
Bodog shenanigans discourse here.
It certainly seems that way … either that or they’re just going through some rocky times that the tough-do-it-my-way billionaire who built the company didn’t want to be part of. [Gambling911]
Reading this story makes a couple things “obvious” to me:
1. The US.gov is serious about the illegality of sports wagering online, as it really is the only thing clear in previous legislation.
2. Online poker sites that accept US players are having a hard time getting new players, because the American market is tapped out, and if you were a newly addicted European, why would you choose any site that runs into potential trouble from US.gov when you can play on super-legit home-continenters such as PartyPoker, Ladbrokes, 888, etc.? The exception to this, of course, are PokerStars (because they’re so damn big and have all the champions) and Full Tilt (because they have all the pros).
3. Pete Sessions’ HR 6663 really is a sensible piece of legislation in that it makes everything clear (even though it may not cow-tow to a few special-special interests): it spells out more clearly than anything else — sports betting on the internet is bad, online poker is fine, and other games need to be decided.
In this week’s episode of Perspectives Weekly, J. Todd tries to get to the brass tacks of what’s going down with Bodog — and he confirms that as of right now, American players can’t get their money out (and the APCW is temporarily withholding any support of the site). But this is not a matter of greedy-corp malfeasance, Todd explains … but rather a situation created by the US Government’s seizure of $24 million from Bodog bank accounts and pressure put on American payment processors.
BJ’s had a hearty welcome to the Pokerati team, and I haven’t done any posts in a while, so here’s a few recent stories making news, while I’m wondering what Darus Suharto’s doing right now…
The last woman standing at this year’s WSOP Main Event, Tiffany Michelle, officially becomes part of Team UB.
For those of you waiting for checks from Bodog, you may be waiting even longer for that money now that the Fed has taken $24 million of the site’s money.
Speaking of the government, four pro-UIGEA Representatives ask the Federal Reserve and US Treasury for clarification as to what is”illegal Internet gambling”
The FSN/WPT alliance gets a bit stronger in September, with a TV series tied into the WPT’s subscription based site ClubWPT.com
Ah, it reminds me of the good-ole-days of the Dallas underground … when a bunch of rooms got ruffled every so often you’d see the merger of a few “bad guys’” games and would be kinda surprised but not really.
With an investigatory explanation due out in a few days, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet are merging to form a new site — now the third largest in the world — called “Cereus” — the name for a desert cactus that stands strong and stays prickly in even the harshest environments. A related species is the Cereus uruguayanus, which may or may not lend credence to Oliver’s prediction that very soon the WSOP will move to Montevideo we could see the WSOP in Punta del Este.
The name could also have been inspired by the night-blooming variety:
One of the strangest plants of the desert, the Night-bloomiing Cereus is a member of the Cactus Family that resembles nothing more than a dead bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because of its inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer’s night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.
Aww, so sad, and yet so precious and sweet …
Another operation with a claim to the Cereus name is Bacillus Cereus:
an endemic, soil-dwelling, Gram-positive, rod-shaped, beta hemolytic bacteria that … is known to create heavy nausea, vomiting, and abdominal periods.
Supposedly, according to the first link in this post, this site is gonna be great — it’s the result of all sorts of innovative technology and customer service. The announcement says nothing about it being all cleaned up with the best security out there — and from a PR perspective can you blame them? — even though theoretically this company should have more knowledge than anyone else about how a site’s integrity can be compromised.
Don’t you hate it when you come up with a great idea, and as you’re making it a reality, you realize that someone else is doing it at the same time? Doh.
Enter Bodog and Full Tilt. Though Bodog seems to have officially announced first, Full Tilt was probably writing its press release as it happened. Both sites are hosting Mini-SOP’s with tournaments that mimic the World Series of Poker at the Rio in Las Vegas, only with buy-ins at 1% of the cost. Both sets of tournaments begin on May 30, the day that the actual WSOP kicks off.
The Bodog Poker Mini-SOP will feature all 25 hold’em events at 1% of the buy-in with three seats awarded to the 2009 WSOP main event at the end of the 2008 Mini-SOP. The series will run from May 30 to July 3.
The Full Tilt Poker Mini Series of Poker will actually feature 54 events, with all corresponding to actual WSOP events except the ladies and seniors events which are converted to open events, and the casino employees event which is nixed. The tournaments will run from May 30 to July 5 and give away one seat to the 2009 WSOP main event.
As you can see, the differences between the two tournament series are huge!
Regardless, both are great opportunities to play online WSOP-light events and take advantage of the many satellite opportunities to get in cheap. Check out Bodog and Full Tilt for all of the details.
It has been brought to my attention – *ahem* – that Josh Arieh and Bodog parted ways amicably and by way of a mutual decision. At least that’s what Arieh said in a PokerNews interview.
“Luckily I have been smart with the money I’ve earned in the last five years in poker and not being sponsored won’t keep me away from the tables. It was a great three-year run with Bodog. Angela (Josh’s wife) and I have met a few of our closest friends through Bodog and it probably wouldn’t have been possible if I weren’t with them. I won the Calvin Ayre Wildcard Poker event because of my affiliation with them. I’ve got nothing but kind words to say about them… they were a stepping stone in my life and now I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things that I know will present themselves to me.”
Okay, okay. So Bodog didn’t boot Arieh. I still have my doubts about what went on behind closed doors, but that is solely my opinion.
Bodog Poker announced this week that Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo has been signed to its roster of pros that comprise Team Bodog. He joins David Williams, Evelyn Ng, and Jean-Robert Bellande.
Where is Josh Arieh? According to his stats, he’s doing well. His Hendon Mob stats show that he has over $4.5 million in lifetime tournament earnings thus far, including two WSOP bracelets. In 2007, he made close to $200k, and he stands at $71,682 for 2008 so far. But he has been dropped from the Bodog roster because the company wants to move in a “different direction.” Quite possibly, that direction is away from married guys with kids, which probably doesn’t fit the definition of living the so-called Bodog lifestyle.
In the meantime, Evelyn Ng stays on the team. Her lifetime tournament earnings are… wait for it… $301,957. And in 2008 alone, she has made nothing. Nada. Zip. In 2007, she made $17,457.
Bonomo is a good choice for Bodog. He’s taken his online poker successes to the live circuit and done well with over $1.1 million so far. Yes, he was embroiled in a bit of a scandal during his younger online days, but he has made a sincere effort to overcome that stigma and become a respected member of the poker community.
What leaves me shaking my head is the decision to drop Arieh and keep Ng. If anyone has an answer other than, “She’s pretty,” I’d love to hear it.
The Final Four is set … and PokerStars, Ultimate Bet, and Bodog have all been fully eliminated. The upcoming matches:
Phil Ivey vs. Chris Ferguson
Huck Seed vs. Andy Bloch
Holy crap, it looks like it will be some actual hardcore competition amongst four notably accomplished players. Who woulda thunk it?
Also totally shocking commendable is that CardPlayer’s coverage is kicking butt …
As the players on Day 3 of the L.A. Poker Classic approach the money bubble, there are still some very well-known players atop the leader board – Phil Ivey and David Singer. Jennifer Tilly doubled up through Humberto Brenes and is doing well. Alan Goehring, former LAPC champion, is hanging on to make a run at another title.
Sadly, however, Antonio Esfandiari seemed to be on a bad run this evening, then took a hit from Kyle Burnside, and just got eliminated. He’s had a great week with the announcement of his partnership with WPT, but a shot at a second WPT LAPC title would have been icing on the cake. It wasn’t meant to be, but there’s the NBC Heads-Up in a few days, along with the WPT Invitational next weekend. Momentum could take him far if he lets it.
Click below for some semi-gossip-y notes:
LAS VEGAS–Just like old times … I’ve got so many super-fascinating browser tabs open I can’t keep up with them all. So please, allow me to unload:
The major tournament action underway is the LEGENDS of POKER at the BIKE in CALIFORNIA. Perhaps we’ll swing by …
MIKE MATUSOW, with his second-place finish in the main event of the BELLAGIO CUP III, is no longer broke. Apparently his $670k payday left him with 50 grand all to himself. In the real world this means he now qualifies for a loan. In the poker world it means he no longer does, unless he goes broke again.
DANIEL NEGREANU’s got a pretty good skill column this week, talking about manipulating table image to better reap the rewards of shifting gears. Hmm, something to think about?
From the Dept. of: Awesome … PHIL HELLMUTH will appear on The Surreal Life. Might an ass-kicking be inevitable, as he moves into a house with RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE, MISS CLEO, NANCY MCKIBBEN (who?), DABNEY COLEMAN, and the uber-pumped CARROT TOP.
BILL RINI, whom I consider an expert in matters of online cheating, has up a video that I thought was informational warning about a new form of MARKED CARDS circulating. But upon closer look, turns out to be just an ad hawking the illicit poker gear (compliments of GOOGLE).
Interesting (biased?) article here on what Google supposedly does to keep online poker seekers away from the bad poker sites.
Speaking of cheating … has anyone heard word of who might have been the high-stakes players allegedly swindled in major cheating scam at the BORGATA? Famed cheating consultant STEVE FORTE, of course, was one of the guys busted, even though he uses the journalist’s beloved excuse of “I was just working on a story!” Suddenly scary: the notion of tapping into hole-card cams.
Suddenly needed: a big-time poker security accreditation system?
Check it out … DUGGLEBOGEY is back to his old tricks sticks:
Glad to see the return of some more friendly faces.
Here’s a great article on the rise and fall of an ONLINE PRO — how you can go from $10k to $1.5 million and back down again. It coincides with a semi-related story about KaiBuxxe / RealAndyBeal — a 22-year-old Austrian and former MAGIC player who is tearing up the world of POT-LIMIT OMAHA.
And BRIAN TOWNSEND (aka “sbrugby”) — an online superstar turning to live games — is in the midst of a $3 million downswing. This according to his own blog. [via PokerKingBlog]
Dude, tell me about it … I’ve been running similarly bad:
POKER IS HARD!
Looks kinda like a PARTYGAMING stock chart, no?
SHANNON ELIZABETH was unable to play in the Victoria Poker Championships in AUSTRALIA … because she got carded at the door and didn’t have her ID. The male contingent of Pokerati has always wondered why ladies go anywhere without their license/passport/prescription.
Speaking of Australia, it may have slipped under your radar that the AUSSIES, along with CANADA and MACAU, have joined the WTO dispute against the UNITED STATES over the UIGEA. The beef started by ANTIGUA and BARBUDA seems to be growing some teeth, as others fighting against the chief enemy of AL QAEDA include COSTA RICA, INDIA, and … the EUROPEAN UNION. Think this fight isn’t about the future of international online economies as much as it is about poker?
A group called IMEGA continues to challenge the controversial internet law in court, and have their fingers crossed that a federal judge in New Jersey will issue a TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER in September.
Speaking of lawsuits and court actions in September, attorney and PPA representative LEE ROUSSO has a hearing set for his suit, which challenges the Constitutionality of WASHINGTON STATE’s law that makes playing online poker a felony on par with CHILD MOLESTATION.
A CARIBBEAN BUSINESS CONGLOMERATE will be entertaining a bunch of AMERICAN CONGRESSPEOPLE in November to explain Antigua’s WTO stance, among other things. In attendance will be CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY-Taxes) and BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS-Homeland Security),
AMERICA ONLINE wants in on online poker. Or at least online SPORTS BETTING, as AOL has entered into an internet bookmaking contract with a GERMAN company, FLUXX, which will target punters in the UK.
A good article from the BRITISH PRESS here — describing the UIGEA as a “TROJAN HORSE” given to the European gambling industry.
Meanwhile, British online gaming company WILLIAM HILL says they are having a hard time keeping poker players, because the EUROS really want to take on the AMERICANS (at Bodog, for example).
Over in the PHILLIPINES, they have (finally) opened up a bar-and-grille with amateur Texas Hold’em tourneys (scroll down near the bottom).
The nightly non-wager Hold ‘Em tournaments at the Player’s Den hope to further sharpen the skills of the Pinoys in this ultimate mind game where we can eventually excel worldwide.Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.
You may notice a lot of linkage today from this PokerKing guy. He has a lot of good stuff to read, including this article on why JERRY YANG is bad for ONLINE poker. Maybe maybe not, but I tend to agree with the wisdom of LOU KRIEGER, who recognizes that poker is a long-term game, and Yang couldn’t have come at a better time.
Here’s one of the more balanced takes on the JERRY YANG FOR PRESIDENT campaign.
The Bodog Lounge is on wheels this year for the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Bodog’s big busty bus came to town yesterday and whisked players from hotels to the felt while enjoying television, sofas, pretty girls and frosty beverages. Who knows, you may get picked up off the street to hang with David Williams, Josh Arieh or Evelyn Ng.
Anyone sporting Bodog’s black & red gear just might have an awaiting carriage ride. The bus driver, John Doe*, drove the bus from Atlanta to Las Vegas and will be parking the monster at the back entrance of the convention center. Yo check it.
*Name changed because I don’t know his name.
You’re in luck as Bodog has announced an open casting call for the sexy reality show “Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker II.†Twelve lucky individuals will be selected to compete on and off the felt for a cash prize of $1 million and a $1 million Bodog contract.
Hmmmm, this sounds like a pretty good deal if you like money, fame, poker sponsorships and want to live in a mansion for a month.
The open casting call will be held during the WSOP at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino running from July 5 – 8 on the fabulous Las Vegas Strip.
Hurry and act fast as Pokerati Dan has serious designs on this competition.
For one…sleep. My children were jumping on me at 7:30 this morning after I went to bed at 3am. Literally, they were jumping. I was having a wonderful dream…I was playing strip poker running through a field of flowers wearing a pretty dress when suddenly I felt a sharp blow to my thigh. Not good (insert Debbie Downer sound effect), possibly quite detrimental when heading into the second day of a tournament; However, it’s nothing a little Red Bull or Amazon Room Menergy can’t fix.
Another thing lacking this year are crappy dealers. Yes, you can always find a few bad apples in the bunch but overall they are running the games quite nicely.
Reportedly, alive and kicking but still lacking is…Vinnie Vinh. While it’s hearsay he’s alive…what good is hearsay? After all, technically he’s still MIA and I don’t mean the Miami Airport. Not to mention it was probably heard from a poker player and poker players shouldn’t be trusted.
Not lacking are some funny blogs bodogbeatpoker, drunken stories and as usual the mispelling of my name.
The World Bank is looking for a new leader to replace Paul Wolfowitz … and on the short list are Tony Blair (online-gambling friendly) and Bill Frist (not-so-friendly). Remember him? In case you don’t — and in case The New York Times is starting to figure out this blogging thing and knows about checking their linkbacks — here’s a video to remind you how Frist approaches economics.
If you want to bet online on who gets the job, Bodog is laying odds. They haven’t updated yet to include Frist, but Bono is currently a 50:1 longshot.
And if politics ain’t your thing, Bodog’s also got odds on Michele’s winning her fantasy WSOP poker league at 8:1.
