On this day nine years ago — September 11, 2001 — cards got in the air for a new online poker site called PokerStars.

The best multitable tournaments, player loyalty rewards, stats, and seeing your own picture at the table were the vision unleashed on the world on September 11th. Click to look back at the site as it was then.

It was just for play money at first, but the timing would prove fortuitous. People seemed to enjoy the software and were telling their friends … as online poker seemed to provide a much-needed escape from the ever-more-difficult to swallow news of the day.

More…

One of the biggest non-major tournament series of the year is underway in Thackerville, Oklahoma, promising $3 million in guarantees. “The River” — hosted by Greg Raymer and the historically storied WinStar tribe — is 9 events spread across two weeks, Aug 23-Sep 6. They’ve got some sort of overall points leader prize for a Porsche Cayenne overlay, too, worth $70k.

2009 twitpic: @EweE420 (now @EricMizrachi)

Today’s event, Event #3, happens to be $440 NLH/PLO with $40k Guaranteed. Wonder if they’re aware that Lev Serzhenko was recently crowned the World Champion of $230 NLH/PLO with a Single $200 Rebuy.

Since the main here will be more or less the regional championship in my old stomping grounds — in fact, thinking we might-should call it the North-North Texas Championship in future posts — I find myself wanting to follow these events uniquely as a fan. I’ve got tons of friends playing and would expect to see plenty of past opponents from the Dallas underground, presumably some Batfaces, lots of ole Lodge amateurs, and, I hope, a few Team Pokerati players. Also curious to see what type of pros show up.

But semi-live coverage of the River is hard to come by. Lots of future thoughts on why that is … but in the meantime, here’s where I’ll be checking for River buzz, for starters …

@WinStarWorld
@Fossilman
2+2 Tournament Circuit thread

And because Pokerati can’t be there this year (but kinda-sorta would like to be) here are some possible news stories I see shaking out, or at least stuff worth looking into for anyone who might wanna ask some questions or snap pics with their iPhone and send an email or an @reply on Twitter:

More…

Part of the buzz underlying this week’s Detox Poker activity has been the fate of the Hard Rock Poker Lounge. To be sure, the luxed-out $12 million 18+table poker room that opened in 2008 — nearly two years ago to the day and possibly two-and-a-half years too late — will be closing in about a week.

According to casino personnel, almost immediately upon the conclusion of Detox, Hard Rock cash games will be moving to a more efficient 6-8 table spot connected to the main casino area — something with a smaller electric bill, more in line with plans for expanded sports-book offerings, and in view of the round casino’s famously raucous “center bar”.

The decision to downsize was final before Detox even started — and gotta say … kudos to HR Poker Director Troy Evans for presumably putting his job on the line to keep Detox. New suits above him were supposedly less enthusiastic about keeping the Matt “Savage Rocks!” late-summer mini-series on the calendar. Don’t have any hard dates for transition, but all potentially affected say it will be quick. Here’s a glimpse of what the new space next to Wasted Space will look like:

(Wasted Space is also closing, to make room for the new-and-improved sportsbook.)

The new poker room — about a third the square footage and in an arguably better location — will replace the former “Hell’s Belles” blackjack pit (hot dealers, go-go dancers, $100 minimum bets), which prior to that had been the “Peacock Lounge” (a pimped-out tribute to Jimi Hendrix). It will supposedly still have its own bar (with video poker, of course), a semi-private nook for high-stakes or VIP games, and a separate poker-player’s bathroom. Management says they’ll be bringing over the same tables and chairs, but are unsure whether or not they will keep the name “poker lounge”.

Decisions were also still pending (as of last week) about whether or not the Detox Series would be back and held in a Hard Rock ballroom. The current poker space will apparently become a restaurant.

The Detox Poker Series is right around the corner, starting Friday Aug. 13 with a $100k Guarantee for a $350 buy-in with two day ones, re-entry allowed. The spankin’-new small-stakes/big-action festival comes at a whispery time around the home room to the Pokerati NLH/PLO game … with a new crew of top-level casino brass combing through the Hard Rock’s books while walking through various gaming areas with tape measures … raising uncomfortable questions about the fate of the $12 million, two-year-old poker lounge that has seen its ups and downs without yet fully realizing its potential.

Of course that’s kinda the point of bringing in an internationally renowned tourney director. Or at least it was initially. Kinda still works, but for different reasons …

First things first … Savage has guaranteed the guarantees — $350k worth. This is despite a misleading tweet just two weeks ago from @hardrockpoker saying there’d be $1 million in guaranteed prize pools. [/shaking head] It coulda just been a hyperbolic typo, but an amusingly ironic one then considering the Hard Rock’s image problems after a few overpromises that these tourneys were to help put to rest. But according to Matt himself on 2+2, he’s got the $350k locked up by contract no matter how few players show.

Beyond that … expect an extra-partytime atmosphere around typical Savage series stuff (deep structures, quality dealers, friendly intelligent floor, good internet coverage, etc.) to liven up the joint: He’s in charge of providing ultra-improved tournament action while the Hard Rock promises to provide good music and a guaranteed flow of nipple-friendly eye-candy stumbling past the poker room.

More…

Internet super-behemoth Google seems to be wasting little time positioning themselves to profit from licensed internet gambling in the United States by investing in “social gaming”.  Both the New York Times and Techcrunch are reporting that Google has agreed to purchase “Slide”, a software development company specializing in Facebook apps involving the exchange of virtual money.

Sale price estimates range from $182 million to $228 million (in real money). Supposedly, Google will officially announce the acquisition tomorrow.

This follows last week’s quiet confirmation from Google CEO Eric Schmidt about their partnership with Zynga – clarifying speculative reports in July that Google had “secretly” invested $150 million or so in the enormous play-money poker site.

With a current user base of 28 million budding poker degens at the ready, Zynga is primed for real-money poker with their popular Facebook app Texas HoldEm Poker. You can read more about Zynga’s interest in HR 2267 from Business Insider: JACKPOT FOR ZYNGA: Congress Wants To Legalize Online Gambling.

Conveniently, Zynga uses PayPal for a method of payment (and happens to be PayPal’s biggest client).  This method of payment — turned off years ago for anything related to gambling — could be ideal for a would-be internet gambling licensee under HR 2267 with Barney Frank’s Manager’s Amendment, which prohibits credit card transactions for gambling should his bill become law.

None of this should come as a shock … after all, we saw this summer that Team WSOP employees were all wearing name tags that clearly identified them as worker-bees for HIE, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, the year-old parent company formed around online poker capo Mitch Garber. Also, we noticed that the wristbands identifying live tournament players clearly were pushing WSOP.COM … it wasn’t just because that’s where they wanted players to go for chip counts!

Anyhow, latest development on that progression … with their 888 partners Dragonfish, Harrah’s is set to launch a new suite of products that includes more real-money offerings for their (fully legal) UK customers and expanded play money options for (someday soon to be legal) Americans and others worldwide.

Read more about it all here.

A few quicklinks, as I clean off my desktop while getting ready for the pseudo-final stage of the 2010 WSOP, which got started pretty much earlier today …

USA Today declares: WSOP is recession-proof.

Also from USA Today: Emmit Smith has an increasing love for poker, sparked by charity efforts backed by Full Tilt.

Timtern’s got a new Top Tweets column in Bluff. The follow-up editorial is what makes it better than most.

@Pokerati got props in Vegas Seven’s own top-tweets column, called Tweets of the Week.

Lacey Jones profiled in Vegas Seven magazine.

Lon McEachern wearing Tom’s Loudmouth jacket, via the WithLeather sports blog.

Do we have to fear the WSOP-Media event becoming the next ladies event? Technically it’s discriminatory and demeaning to media. But for some reason far fewer protested when Michael Craig’s assistant Shauna took his seat to play her first ever poker event.

Meanwhile, while there are plenty of signs of (Lost) Vegas refinding its economic way, the once luxurious Riviera has filed for bankruptcy.

Jon Katkin

---

The Poker Economy

---

OP-ED

Brand names serve an important purpose in our society. For consumers, they offer a simple shorthand that let’s you know about a product’s quality – or lack thereof – while at the same time providing a quick way to flaunt your status or hipness to the unwashed masses in our burgeoning consumer culture.

For businesses, brand names are just as important. Let your quality slip or make your product too ubiquitous and your value – both real and perceived – begins to slip. Make your product trendy or limit its availability and you’ll have customers clamoring at your door to get their hands on it.

With 57 events on the calendar, the WSOP is hardly as elitist as it was in the past, but that’s OK with the folks at Harrah’s because when it comes to poker, there is no substitute for a gold bracelet. Win an event and you join a still exclusive club that includes some of the greatest players in the world. Play your cards right, and the WSOP is a golden ticket to the top of the poker food chain. Bust out before the final table and you’ll still leave town with a great story for your friends.

For $1,500 you can play one WSOP tournament and take your chances against a single field of 3,000, or for the same money you can play five Venetian Deep Stack events against a combined field of about 2,400.

And that’s what makes the WSOP the brand when it comes to tournament poker. Win or lose, playing a WSOP event carries with it an inherent coolness that other poker players innately understand and respect. But if you’re a serious low-stakes player looking for a big summertime score in Vegas, there are actually much better options to consider outside the Rio.

More…

Is this news only to me?
UPDATE: Question mark removed. Williams and Selbst signage confirmed by Williams’ agent and PokerStars marketing exec.

David Williams, 2010 WPT World Champion, apparently will be donning the Spade-and-Star of PokerStars during the WSOP main event. I’m pretty sure you can bet on it …

Maybe I just missed the announcement, or any telltale patchwork in the Amazon room … but I hadn’t yet heard whom he’d be allying with, and this morning got an email invite for a little media meet-and-greet with:

Joe Cada: 2009 Winner – World Series of Poker
Vanessa Selbst: 2010 Winner – North American Poker Tour at Mohegan Sun
David Williams: As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,893,000

A formal invite is below, please let me know if you would like to RSVP for this event!

Figured it had to be them or Full Tilt … maybe Victory, but probably not, as Williams, upon becoming a free agent this spring just after winning the $25k WPT Championship, seemed to be one of the very few pros with the right combination of image and cred to make him extra-marketable.

All makes perfect sense really. As powerful a duo Williams could make with Antonio Esfandiari, it seems much cooler to match him up with two other current and defending big-event champs.

Some more links to catch me up on keep you clued in about what else has been going on that may or may not be of interest to folks at the WSOP. Some of these stories vaguely connected to poker could actually turn out to be important:

First of all, for a succinct recap of what Week 3 really was all about, chock full of well-organized important details, be sure to check out BJ’s WSOP Report. [Tao of Poker]

The Shaun Deeb+Annie Duke vs. Daniel Negreanu+Linda Johnson WSOP-Ladies tourney brouhaha made national news in Philadelphia. [Philadelphia Inquirerer]

Attack of the Math Brats – a non-poker magazine’s take on “the aggressive new players whose pushy online style of play has put the old guard on the defensive”. [Time]

Speaking of defensive, the player-turned-shooter at the deadly poker robbery near Dallas has turned out to be a journalist — a cameraman for Channel 11. [Uncle Barky]

The EPT-Berlin robbers went on trial in Germany last week … and they’ve apparently admitted to everything about the heist. Only €4k unaccounted for. [BBC]

At 4 pm PT today, the second episode of Wicked Chops’ This Week in Poker will be streaming live, in a way where you can call in, or at least email and tweet. Guests to include Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, and Sara Underwood. [This Week in]

Despite what looks like increased entertainment traffic on the Vegas strip, Nevada’s jobless rate hit 14 percent — making it highest in the nation. [Las Vegas Sun]

The Silver State now officially kicks Michigan’s ass when it comes to macroeconomic destitution. [Christian Science Monitor]

But Paris Hilton is back in Vegas to party it up for the first time in a long while. [Twitpic]

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has declared September 2010 “Poker Month”, to honor and support the charitable efforts of Mike Sexton, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Lisa Tenner. [PokerGives.org]

With poker and other table games opening up in Pennsylvania and Delaware, New Jersey casinos are getting hammered. [Wall Street Journal]

In an effort to turn things around (and bring higher rollers to town) the Atlantic City Hilton is turning to performances by political rock stars — including Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, and a duet show with Ann Coulter and James Carville. Tickets range from $100-$350. [Press of Atlantic City]

Trump Taj Mahal is targeting a slightly different clientele, with Gay Bingo Night on Fridays. [Press of Atlantic City]

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers there are calling for a sports-betting and online gambling “summit” — an effort to bring together competing interests currently fighting over whose online gambling bill gets to move forward, and discuss how they can all get on the same page(s). [Press of Atlantic City]

In Massachusetts, they want more gambling+poker, but the fight is also over which bill gets to move forward, Senate or House … and where the new casinos get to be located. [Boston Globe]

In Rhode Island, a casino measure that would include poker, breezed through the House and Senate, and now awaits to governor’s signature before being sent to the voters for a referendum. [Boston Globe]

In Connecticut — Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun specifically — the Indian tribes are making a concerted effort to court Asians. [Hartford Business Journal]

Is that Bernard Lee?

Harrah’s is apparently struggling to find a good buyer for the Rio — despite entertaining multiple offers; reportedy, negotiations have included deals that would allow the WSOP to stay at 3700 W. Flamingo, and contingency plans that would move the series to Caesar’s. [Las Vegas Sun]

The WSOP parent is looking to go public again, but maybe sooner than initially anticipated? [Las Vegas Review Journal]

The Wynn just cut 261 jobs — a move that allows the casino to restore wages and salaries for 3,700 employees that had to take pay cuts earlier this year. [Las Vegas Sun]

Sands (Venetian) CEO Sheldon Adelson is in Singapore, opening his $5.5 billion casino project — the Marina Bay Sands Resort –and is looking to India next. Despite being rebuffed by the Indian government in 2008, the man who once took a risk on The Real Deal, is making a second attempt at convincing the billion-bodies nation that they need tourism — and he’s the one who can bring it to them with a Vegas-style Strip. [The Economic Times]

MGM Resorts (no longer MGM/Mirage) is apparently salivating over India, too, with a letter of intent between them and Indian developers to begin plans for a Bellagio-Mumbai. [DNA India]

The Wappo indians in California are fighting over land in Wine Country, and seeking to restore their tribal status with eyes toward opening casinos in Napa and Sonoma. [Napa Valley Register]

A new bill — by U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy (D-NY) — intends to clarify the UIGEA … making it easier to use your credit cards to bet on horses online. [Times Union]

Funny, was just typing up a “Rumorati” post about word spreading that Matt Savage would be taking on a new role with the WPT, as some sort of overseeing honcho — maybe like a hybrid of Jeffrey Haas’s and Thomas Kremser’s roles at the EPT? — when a press release came over the transom.

Check it out … a big move in poker, it would seem, for both Matt Savage and the WPT.

No word yet on how WHAT ARE OFTEN PERCEIVED TO BE some of the notoriously worst blind structures in poker, as seen on the WPT, might change under the aegis of a TD known for his much-heralded “deep structures” system of tourney progression. THE WPT, OF COURSE, CHANGED THEIR BLIND STRUCTURES (FOR THE BETTER, ARGUABLY) AFTER SEASON VI IN 2008, SHORTLY BEFORE SAVAGE MADE CHANGES TO HIS BLIND STRUCTURES IN A WAY THAT COUNTERED THE TREND OF DEEPER AND DEEPER STACKS.

WORLD POKER TOUR® ANNOUNCES MATT SAVAGE AS
WPT EXECUTIVE TOUR DIRECTOR

LOS ANGELES (June 16, 2010) – World Poker Tour® (WPT) announced today renowned tournament director Matt Savage will join their team as Executive Tour Director. In his new role, Savage lends his years of experience and vast knowledge base to WPT committing himself to improving player communication, tournament offerings, tour cohesiveness, and event growth.

More…

Jon Katkin

---

The Poker Economy

---

OP-ED

We’re just two weeks into the 2010 WSOP and the Amazon Room is already filled with people walking around like zombies. Don’t believe me? Just take a good look at the players, the floor staff and the media the next time you head to the Rio. Everyone’s got a 1,000-yard stare and there are still five weeks worth of tournaments left to play.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love poker as much as the next guy, but I have to wonder if we’ve finally gone too far.

This year’s WSOP features 57 different events with price points ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. If you were rich enough — and crazy enough — to play every open event, that would mean plunking down more than $500,000 on tournament entries over a seven-week period. While this is unlikely to happen, there will certainly be some pros who drop close to this amount in search of the ever-elusive gold bracelet.

The WSOP is one more manifestation of our culture’s desire to “Super Size” everything from soft drinks to shopping malls. If it’s bigger, it must be better, right? That’s the Vegas way.

And while the majority of players will spend considerably less over the course of their WSOP visits, they still won’t be getting off cheap. With transportation, hotel, tournament fees and other miscellaneous “entertainment” expenses, most out-of-towners who come to Vegas for a week or two will find themselves going home with some great stories and at least 10 thousand fewer dollars in their wallets. Call it a vacation or the world’s most expensive lottery ticket. Harrah’s calls it a prize pool. And we know to them that also represents ever-important revenue.

More…

Former and/or current WSOP table sponsor Everest Poker has filed another lawsuit against Harrah’s … claiming the American gaming giant is infringing on trademark rights by playing the 2010 WSOP (and filming some of it) with Everest logos on and around all the tables.

This suit, filed in Las Vegas federal court, is the latest strike in a legal tit-for-tat between that adds to a list of matters on the table and off making 2010 arguably the most challenging WSOP year since Harrah’s took over.

Everest first sued Harrah’s on April 1, claiming breach of contract after the French ESPN affiliate electronically replaced Everest logos during 2008-09 WSOP broadcasts with “virtual signage” from Full Tilt, an Everest competitor. On those grounds, Everest refused to pay the final $8.4 million on a three-year contract, money the WSOP was expecting before this spring. That suit came, of course, shortly after the WSOP announced its $1 million “TOC” freeroll.

Buffering: So far the only live-streaming WSOP action has been from the WSOP-Academy sponsor’s exemption TOC sit-n-go, which took place on a single table with their own felt, not one bearing the marks of Everest Poker.

Harrah’s denied those claims, and followed with a suit of its own against Everest, alleging breach of contract and other infractions while seeking the promised Everest funds. And now, as mentioned, Everest has added further litigation to the Everest vs. Harrah’s docket, all of which is pending.

More…

No details, and no confirmation … but who wants action!?!

CalvinAyre.com is saying that the Cereus Network — the beleaguered yet thriving online poker+blackjack collective — is shutting down their office in the Kahnawake territory. The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, of course, roughly 18 square miles located just outside of Montreal, has long been a refuge for online gambling sites operating literally outside the reach of US law. It has been the home of Ulitmate Bet (now UB) since 2001 and Absolute Poker since 2003.

No clue at present what this would mean if true, nor what might be the implications for representative players such as Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and Trishelle Cannatella. Maybe it’s simply a matter of Cereus COO Paul Leggett just responding to Daniel Negreanu’s call for him and his business to take a hike?

It’s also possible, of course, that maybe their lease was just up, and they found a sweet new pad with a view of the St. Lawrence River?

We’ll surely see in coming days and weeks. But I’m at least 90 45 72 percent sure that such a move isbig deal in some capacity, and it coincides with more lawuits Pokerati hasn’t even told you about. I literally can’t keep up with all the shizznit heading toward various fans at this moment. I’m trying though … Stay tuned today, tomorrow, and in coming weeks to learn about more business and legal matters that may well affect operations at the 2010 WSOP and beyond.

UPDATE: Plausibly connected … @KevMath (of course) tips me off (and the folks at 2+2) to a letter from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, dated May 10, 2010, acknowledging a “memo of understanding” between them and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. Alderney is the small British dependency in the Channel Islands that currently licenses and regulates Full Tilt.

More…