JKPrevo over at PokerWorks adds his two cents to the multi-accounting debate, which I find particularly valuable because he …

1) admits that he, too, is a multi-accounter (and unlike Townsend in ‘08, a winning player!)

2) gives a great real-world example of how the letter of this online poker law doesn’t exactly add up with the spirit of it:

At the WSOP this year, Joe Sebok showed up with a full prosthetic makeup by a Hollywood professional. He looked older than me by a bunch and certainly didn’t appear as himself. There was some confusion at the time he took his seat and a private conversation with one of the TD’s people got him the seat. No multi-accounting there but it does demonstrate the deception available with such a setup.

Not to discredit Prevo, but he does have one factual inaccuracy (unless there’s something Jen’s not telling us?):

OK, I have insulted Jen – a good looking girl – married to an attractive but folliclely challenged fellow. Let’s get back to trashing Brian.

Umm … though California Jen and DanM do love to bicker, she’s already let me know that she’s not really into dudes who insist on multi-accounting, no matter how bald they get.

CORRECTION: Oops, it was Phil Laak, not Joe Sebok, who did the make up thing. (Thanks, Jen, for pointing that out.) I still think Prevo’s point about brick-and-mortar anonymity applies. Not so sure about my marriage and multi-accounting metaphor.

Click, and enjoy.™

From the always clickworthy good folks at RawVegas.TV

UltimateBet has been dancing around this superuser/cheating scandal for more than six months. Everything was delayed - acknowledgment of the allegations, investigation updates and results, and developments like the alleged ties of Russ Hamilton to the scandal.

Annie Duke has become the spokesperson for UB, and she has had to conduct interviews and give politically correct answers to questions for months as UB has come under fire from every direction. While she is attempting to be the face of UB, as Phil Hellmuth clearly dodges the issue and avoids speaking publicly about it, the company itself is allowing Duke to do what its Public Relations Department - or ownership, for that matter - should be doing. Enough is enough.

Listening to a PokerRoad Radio episode from last week (dated 7/16/08), it became clear that Russ Hamilton will not be defending himself or issuing statements on the UB scandal or his alleged involvement in it. (The discussion of the issue begins approximately 30 minutes into the show.) Hamilton declined the opportunity to speak on the show and clear his name upon the advice of his attorney, though he invited Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok to visit his home and discuss the issue privately. However, Hamilton’s attorney was there, too, and would not allow Hamilton to address the UB accounts supposedly connected to Hamilton. Greenstein and Sebok insisted that they were not taking sides but felt that Hamilton was genuine in his claims of innocence. Hamilton wanted people to know that when the investigation is complete, names will come out but his will not be one of them. And his attorney wanted to tell people, “Can’t you just wait a couple months?”

No. The poker community has been forced to wait long enough. It is time for answers. Not only does Hamilton need to come clean with any information he is privy to, but Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth need to do the same. A source tells me that Duke and Hellmuth were aware that Hamilton was implicated in this scandal well before Nat Arem posted his personal investigatory findings. Russ Hamilton cannot seem to defend himself, so UB seems content to let his reputation be scarred forever - while claiming innocence from behind closed doors - while the investigation goes on…and on…and on. And UB seems to operate under the notion that no news is good news, and the less information that comes out officially, the better. Transparency seems to be a pipe dream as the story gets murkier by the day.

C’mon, UltimateBet. If there is actually a team of investigators on this issue, it shouldn’t take months to find answers. Your reputation in this industry is crumbling before your eyes, and as part of the poker community, you must step up to the plate and put your not-so-secret hole cards on the table. Show us some respect if you ever hope to get any in return.

(The opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily represent those of Pokerati. They are the sole ravings of a frustrated journalist.)

Big Poker Sundays is one of the PokerRoad radio shows that hits the interweb regularly and courtesy of the Joe Sebok/Barry Greenstein start-up. BPS, as it’s called, features the comedic duo of Scott Huff and Haralabos Voulgaris. While they’re both hilarious, it is Voulgaris’ deadpan sense of humor that leaves me in tears almost every time. His kind of wit is unique - a little David Niven-ish.

Since PokerRoad is doing quite a few things live from the 2008 World Series of Poker, BPS did their first live show of the summer this morning from 11am to noon in the hallway just outside the Amazon Room. I thought it might be fun to watch, which it was, but work called halfway through and I had to leave. In the meantime, the show had drawn quite the crowd of fans who were happy to stand around and listen to the two radio superstars live.

Not sure how comfortable the two were with everyone watching them do nothing but talk, but they were up for it. Congrats on your live BPS, Bob & Huff. Laughs are always appreciated!

RawVegasTV is celebrating its 1-year anniversary … a not-so-shocking milestone for an operation built on the concept of Joe Sebok eating four taquitos to Gavin Smith’s 2.5 and Google searches for “denise pernula naked”.

With a staff of 12, they’ve put up more than 1,100 videos, generating more than 35 million views. [via Robin Leach]

Congrats, dudes! Pretty impressive for a web-something that “has nothing to do with Wicked Chops,” according to RVTV president Steven “Chops” Preiss … it’s amazing how many eyeballs you can capture by putting up high-quality vids (I mean resolution-wise, mixed quality content-wise) in players that always work and are easily link/embeddable. Having a sassy lass who isn’t afraid to grab her own boobs while doing the news probably also helps, as does Barrett Applegate:

Day 2b has begun and the room is quiet with the exception of thousands of chips being shuffled. Players have on the game face to get some serious work done and the excitement of playing in the Main Event has worn off. Today marked yet another twist in poker with Vinnie Vinh showing up to a stack of chips (3200), the irony was that he left the tournament due to elimination. Lance Bradley at The Poker Biz caught up with Vinnie for some great quotes and summary of the summer.

Thor Hansen, who rocked this series, is playing today as well as Amnon Filippi (4th in H.O.R.S.E.), Allen Cunningham, Chad Brown, Carlos Mortenson, Chris Ferguson, Chip Jett, Humberto Brenes, JC Tran, looks mean but really a sweetie pie Eric Buchman has about 80k and George Costanza AKA Jason Alexander will get some main event action.

Recent eliminations include David Plastik, Phil Gordon, Joe Sebok, Evenlyn Ng, Tom Schneider, James Van Alstyne and Vicki Coren. No one seems to know if Jennicide played wearing lingerie, in fact, we’re not sure if she played the Main Event at all.

LAS VEGAS - Nope, you’re wrong. A six-handed final table is a…six-handed final table and Hoyt Corkins took it down. I’ve discussed my fantasy poker point system with LB at The Poker Biz, aka Wicked Chops Junior. None for me. Then he scolded me in front of everyone in the media room today for not reading your post. But hey, I’ve got money to lose.

And thanks for the kudos but I have been eliminated from the limit $3k NLH event. My high pocket pairs were up against a higher pocket pair every time. Just down right cold decked. My table was less than exciting but all around me sat Joe Sebok, Amir Vahedi, Annie Duke, JC Tran, Phil Hellmuth, Eric Seidel and David Sklansky.

FYI - This would typically be a comment; however, the comment feature is still unavailable.

Hello? Is anyone out there?

For the past few months, Pauly (TaoPoker) and I have been discussing the possibility of a sweet WSOP prop bet. We haven’t ironed out the details yet but it would involve Dan dressing in drag to register for the Ladies Event at the WSOP. Known in the Amazon Room for his pink shirt and girly glasses, he should have no problem getting a seat, no?

Joe Sebok is fond of WSOP costumes maybe he will join in the action…

Has anyone seen this? For those of you who don’t have the INHD channel (which, sadly, doesn’t feature any Robert Wilsonky programming), Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak have a new show oh-so-cleverly called I Bet You.

The premise is exactly what you’d expect: They walk around betting thousands of dollars on completely inane bullshit. They bet on how much a shirt costs. They bet on whether a girl they meet on the street is wearing a thong or “regular panties.” They bet on who can be the best bartender and, later, who can get drunk and blow closest to .08 on a breathalyzer. All of which should provide for fun, rollicking scenes complete with plenty of spontaneous comedy. Instead, sitting through the half-hour show is like listening to Jamie Gold—it’s painful, and you don’t really want to do it, but you’re sure it’ll get better eventually so you stick it out. But it doesn’t get better. Trust me.

More…

A lot of things have been going on despite this being “the breath before the plunge” (Gandalf 2003). Meaning, this is the last month before the 2007 WSOP.

Caesar’s Circuit Day 1 – David Pham, Steve Wong & Justin Bonomo led the Caesar’s Palace Poker Room filled with big name players such as Shannon Shorr, Layne Flack, Joe Bartholdi, Greg Raymer, David Plastik and Bull Riding Master Joe Sebok. See Photos here.

CardPlayer has posted a video with Howard Lederer and Alfonse D’Amato discussing Barney Frank’s new bill to help legalize and regulate (nice word) online poker in the U.S.

And since we’ve been on the topic of charities…check out this bit on Liz Lieu.

Looks like it was a busy weekend for some. I had to pass on my invitation to the Playboy Mansion (yes, seriously, I was invited) as it conflicted with The Cattle Baron’s Ball (which I have worked on all year). Of course, all of my Cattle Baron friends thought I was crazy to pass up on an exciting evening with bunnies but I think I might make it next year.

My husband actually didn’t want to miss the Gala because he had plans to work on some of his new skills. And when I say new, I mean this was his second attempt at what you will see below. Joe Sebok and Gavin Smith, I think you may have a challenge here.

Please don’t try this at home:

About a million major poker developments have taken place over the past couple weeks … but before we get to those, there are some important links out there that I have been neglectful in sharing:

First off, check out RawVegas.tv … a great new “I-TV” channel put together by CHOPS (from Wicked Chops) and BRIAN BALSBAUGH of Poker Royalty.

Poker is just a small part of it all, really … but on this week’s episode of “Prop Bets,” JOE SEBOK takes GAVIN SMITH for $3,000 by eating an extra half of a fajita, and DANIEL NEGREANU now keeps his videoblog there, too, where you can see him do things like shave his head.

MICHAEL CRAIG has amicably parted ways with the festive gang at PokerWorks — he can probably feel pretty good knowing that it essentially took nine top-quality bloggers to replace him. He’s now blogging for Full Tilt.

Poker author JAY GREENSPAN has gone indie with his new blog, Annals of a Fish Hunter. Read his first post on how it’s a bad time to launch a new poker blog and you’ll be hooked.

Speaking of new blogs, the venerable POKER SHRINK is back to blogging. I always enjoy Dr. Tim Lavalli’s neurological analyses of poker, but have missed the unfiltered rants and insights that made him the most prolific poster over at our beloved-but-dormant PokerBlog.

Over at Up for Poker, CJ has blog-ficially changed his name to LUCKBOX, and apparently has begun thinking about life beyond The Hammer … with some fresh and familiar faces bringing us a new sports blog and Hollywood blog. Doesn’t he know sports is just a fad?

And speaking of Up for Poker … if you haven’t read it already, check out “The Last Poker Game” by OTIS … as he turns his adventures in the Carolina underground into some of the best, most colorful poker writing we’ve seen in long time. Think secret lovechild of ERNEST HEMINGWAY and ANDY GLAZER. Can only wonder what these two mighta produced had either one of them stuck around long enough to start a blog.

UPDATE: PokerBlog alum Jen Leo got herself a presumably sweet new net-geeky gig — writing the Daily Deals travel blog for the L.A. TIMES.

Perhaps her crossover into mainstream media has inspired others? I got no fewer than six LINKEDIN invitations today from bloggers. Never thought I would have so many friends contemplating the concept of a “job.”

Joe Sebok and Barry Greenstein won the WPT “Fathers and Sons” tourney. That’s kinda sweet, no?

Too bad (and a little discriminatory?) that David and Shirley Williams couldn’t play. And what about Clonie and Edna? I wonder what would’ve been more important to the WPT … keeping the “Fathers and Sons” name (because that’s who they’re clearly marketing to) or the TV goodness of letting it be a Parents & Children affair. Doesn’t have quite the ring to it, I know … And while the concept of a WPT Family Game might make a nice little political statement, too, it doesn’t really go with Budweiser as the sponsor.

Here’s the full field:

More…