Spanish Money Grab

I imagine that many of you have spent hours telling various friends why it would be a good idea for the U.S. government to legalize online poker. So fish out that tattered sheet of arguments and remind yourself of example 3.5: tax revenue.

The equation simply goes, if you allow online poker companies to operate in your country, you can generate piles of money and make a lot people happy. A manoeuvre hitherto considered impossible.

Cash-strapped Spain have taken this a step further. In anticipation of granting their first official licenses, Iberian authorities have suddenly decided to demand back taxes from all companies who were operating in the country from January 2009 to May 2011. The legal bedrock for these demands come from repurposing two old laws, created in the 60s and 70s. [Tax News]

Aussies Get Legal

With a glacial pace that befits government, country after country are laying the groundwork for their own regulated online gambling industry. Latest to fall into line are our friendly cousins from downstairs, the Australians. It’s all still rumour at the moment, but important people with fancy job titles are suggesting that regulations for online poker and in-play sports betting could become a reality in 6-12 months. [Daily Telegraph (AU)]

Grippo Grabs SCOOP Title 

The Spring Championship of Online Poker is over, a tradition used to mark the beginning of Summer since the ancient Egyptians invented multitabling. The victor of victors was Nick “GripsDsNutz” Grippo. He took down the $10,000 Main Event – the most expensive selection from three different buy-in tiers. His prize was around $800,000, earned not only by great play, but also a savvy piece of negotiation. Rich Ryan over at PokerNews has a great breakdown of how Grippo managed to walk away from a three-way deal with $100,000 in bonus equity. [Poker News]

40K Sit & Go Challenge

When sites like PokerStars announce that they’ve passed their seventy twentieth billionthty hand, it’s difficult to process just how vast that volume really is. With data collected over such a large spread of time that’s to be expected, but I never thought I’d have trouble comprehending the amount of poker one man plans plays in a single month.

Nevertheless that’s how I felt while hearing about Martin “phasE89” Balaz’s decision to play 40,000 Sit & Go tournaments in 30 days. The Czech pro has form in this seemingly insane arena, have previously completed a 24,000 SnG prop bet. I’m definitely pulling for him, if only thanks to the brilliantly grandiose trailer that he and a friend put together to advertise the challenge. That, and when PokerNews asked why he was doing it, he said, “I like popularity.” I can get behind that kind of honesty. [Poker News]

PokerStars a Fine Place to Work

It’s easy to be (often justifiably) cynical about the behemoths of online poker and their occasionally dubious activities, but hats off to PokerStars. Even amid the tumult of Black Friday, a survey of their employees by Great Place to Work have named them one of the UK’s finest workplaces. [Gaming Intelligence]

After that uncharacteristic burst of positivity, I need a rest. The sun has launched a surprise assault on my beloved London, so I’m going to do my part for the nation and lie down on the grass in an attempt to deflect the fiery orb’s attack rays back into space. If this glorious struggle doesn’t cost me my life, I’ll see you again next week for another Wider World of Poker.

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Nowhere better to start than what happened over the last few days in the poker world. It’s been pretty slow on the live poker scene as players get ready for the move to Vegas for the WPT World Championship and the 2012 WSOP. That didn’t stop us from seeing big things online, especially during the PokerStars SCOOP series.

Shaun Deeb is a sicko. First he crushes the major online games back in the olden days when we could still play in the States then “retires” at the ripe age of 24 then comes back like nothing changed. Now he’s just making a mockery of the latest PokerStars SCOOP Player of the Year race by winning three tournaments for over $120,000. All three titles were in some variant of Stud but I will leave the jokes for the comments below.

This Week’s Boxscore

Shaun Deeb $41,600 PokerStars SCOOP $2,100 STUD
Shaun Deeb $44,200 PokerStars SCOOP $2,100 Triple Stud
Shaun Deeb $40,330 PokerStars SCOOP $2,100 Stud Hi/Lo

Link Dump

Dear Shaun Deeb – Deebs exploits prompted this great post from our friend Brad over on the PokerStarsBlog. Instead of spending time with his family on Mother’s Day, he was “forced” to watch Deeb go for glory. And this was written before he won his third SCOOP title of the year.

World Poker Tour Season XI Schedule Announced – The first part of the new WPT schedule was released including all dates through the end of the year with plenty of National and Regional action. For the first time since the start of the World Poker Tour, Foxwoods World Poker Finals does not appear on the schedule.

Poker World Record Attempt 2012 – I only found out this news thanks to my twitter account catching a random follower. It looks like Barry Denson will be the next player to attempt to break the streak of 155 hours set by Phil Laak in 2010. Denson will be using his powers for good as he will use the event for charitable means, benefiting Hope for Heroes. To date they have raised £30.

Women in Poker Hall of Fame Nominations – Nominations are now open for the 2012 Women in Poker Hall of Fame class to join past inductees who include Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Jennifer Harman, and Kathy Liebert. The Induction Ceremony will take place on August 31st at the Golden Nugget.

That’s it for a pretty slow week but things will pick up during the weekend with WSOP-C and Cal State Poker Championship Main Events along with plenty of online action to finish up the SCOOP action. We’re also just a few weeks away from hearing stories about degenerate poker players dropping water balloons from Panorama Towers, so we’ll keep an eye on the police reports and emergency home owners association meetings.

Check out her latest in Poker Player Newspaper — Full Tilt Creates Drama at PokerStars. Wendeen doesn’t seem as willing as I am to flat-out scoff and pshaw at any suggestion that PokerStars could swoop in and “save” Full Tilt (while saving itself for less than a billion) … but she does provide more facts to put any emerging hubbub in context — including some rather interesting narrative about PokerStars’ designs on going public and American banking giant Morgan Stanley’s interest in online poker sites prior to Black Friday.

A good companion piece of reading is DiamondFlush’s GBT post-mortem, which includes the email Laurent Tapie sent to his extended inside circle, giving not only his presumably honest perception of the deal as it went afoul, but also insights into some of the hard, painful numbers in play.

Party Poker Premier League Crowns Seiver

An elite gaggle of poker’s most elite players gathered to play in the elite Party Poker Premier League V. An elite tournament featuring an elite $1.6 million prize pool and a $500,000 elite first place prize. The winner was avuncular American Scott Seiver, who bested a final table including Tom Dwan, Sam Trickett, and Patrik Antonius.

After busting out in 7th, record breaking endurance crazy-man Phil Laak hot-footed it over to the Big Game – a 48 hour cash table also organized by those rascals at Party Poker. The Unabomber maintained his reputation for extreme stamina by emerging as the game’s biggest winner with a profit of €160,000. [Poker News]

Sam Holden Existentialism

Just like the rest of you, I’ve spent many sleepless nights wondering what it must be like to be Irish November Niner Sam Holden. Well you need wonder no more. A documentary entitled ‘Being Sam Holden’ is due to air May 2nd in the UK and Ireland, with screenings in the rest of the world scheduled for later in the year. It follows Sam’s trials and tribulations at last year’s World Series where he finished 9th for over $700k. [IFTN]

Manila Millions

Right now in the Philippines, a group of players are battling for the Manila Millions title. A HKD$1,000,000 ($129,000) tournament organized by the Asian Poker Tour. Supposedly among the locals are the likes of Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Johnny Chan, and Sam Trickett.

If you’re lucky, you could catch a glimpse of these pros on the “live stream” airing right now. The feed currently features a group of asian men sitting around a table, with an asian lady commentating in a language I don’t understand. People who’ve been watching it longer than me insist that it’s repeated itself at least once, calling the whole ‘live’ thing into question. I can tell you that they are definitely playing poker, but that’s about as far as I’m willing to go. [WPT Mag]

Stars Beat Table Ratings in Poker Battle

The war against datamining took a big swing in favour of PokerStars this week as they successfully forced tracking site Poker Table Ratings to remove all information scraped from their poker client. For years, players had used PTR to gain information on potential opponents by accessing graphs formed from thousands upon thousands of hands. However, after receiving a cease and desist letter from Stars, PTR have been forced to eradicate a huge chunk of their service. [Part Time Poker]

EGBA Publish EU Manifesto

The European Union is a confusing beast at the best of times. Sometimes a united whole, but more often a loose alliance of countries with wildly conflicting agendas. The approach taken by various EU states to online gambling is an excellent example of the varying philosophies present across the continent. After months of consultation and debate, the European Commission will release an online gaming ‘communication and action plan’ this summer. A trade group for European operators – the European Gaming and Betting Association – have weighed in with their own manifesto, which they no doubt hope will influence the EC’s final decision. [InterGame Online]

AGCC Full Tilt Hearing Scheduled

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission have announced their plans to hold a public hearing into Full Tilt’s application for a new license. Excuse me if I don’t get overly excited about this one, but the last time I turned up for a public AGCC hearing on an FTP license, I spent a day sitting in a hotel lobby while teams of lawyers debated behind closed doors. Odds are pretty low on Full Tilt’s council once again attempting to argue for a session that takes place ‘in camera’. [Poker News Report]

I give up. Trying to be cool is hard work. I really did attend the London Fashion Week, but didn’t emerge any better dressed. My main concern was what face you are supposed to pull while watching models strut. I was very much the interloper, so you’ll appreciate that I’m very happy to be back in the warm embrace of poker news. Here, I’ll lay out my news-blanket.

Some People Win Some Tournaments

The UKIPT completed the first event of its third season in Gallway, Ireland. A local lad by the name of Emmett Mullin picked up the €100,000 first place prize. Meanwhile across the sea in Sao Paulo, the LAPT was reaching a conclusion. All eyes were on Daniel Negreanu, as the Canadian rant-monger made his assault on the final table. The bat and ball enthusiast eventually fell in sixth place, allowing German person, Daniele Nestola, to pick up the title. [Poker News Report]

Six Times More Stars

Can you really believe it’s been six years since the first Sunday Million? The weekly mega-tournament seems as ancient as bad beats. Or something even older, like Doyle Brunson. Pokerstars plan to pony up a $6 million guarantee as a birthday present to us all. [Poker News]

Danes Play Fair

One of PokerStars’ old flames, Peter Eastgate, has signed up as a sponsored pro with Betfair. Eastgate famously “retired” from poker in 2010, only to return to the game a year later. He now becomes one of the few WSOP champs with a sponsorship deal that wasn’t penned by PokerStars. Betfair have also bagged fellow Dane, Stefan Raffay, who is most famous for having joined Betfair alongside Peter Eastgate. [Card Player]

Ladies Love to Gamble

Research by clever people in the U.K. has revealed that half the nation’s gamblers are female. On reflection, it doesn’t seem like a very surprising figure. In the pre-digital era, dingy casinos, pub fruit machines, and bookies were the main sources of gambling entertainment in Britain. In such a world, a male bias seems natural, but nowadays ladies can log on from home without having to worry about that creepy guy dribbling onto his betting slip. [Online Casinos]

It would be interesting to see if the number of female poker players has increased in line with overall gambling figures. I’m inclined to think that the game remains predominantly a man’s world, but perhaps that preconception is a little outdated? I’ll cogitate on that and get back to you with some more news next week.

That’s the kind of introduction I’d love to have written, but in reality it’s been a humble week for poker news. To jazz things up, pretend that Daniel Negreanu is preparing a vblog tirade in response to each story.

PokerStars Launch UK App

First up we have PokerStars revealing their evil scheme to greatly increase neck damage among their customers by forcing them to stare down at their newly released mobile app. The software, which supports real money multi-tabling, allows the hordes of pasty-faced grinders to get some sunshine without having to abandon the felt. They could market it as a Vitamin D supplement. [Poker News Report]

Spanish Bullfight

It’s Spain vs. Spain vs. Everyone on the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish government are so excited about getting their regulated online gambling market up and running they have moved the deadline for license applications forward to March 31st. Not everyone is totally thrilled about the idea, however. Most of the big names have been operating offshore in Spain for years and local operators Codere are very grumpy about it. They’ve started firing out injunctions towards all the sites that were trading in Spain before the new legislation passed. So far they’ve forced Sportingbet to pay €2 million and have been rebuffed in their attempts to stifle PokerStars. [CardPlayer] & [Casino Advisor]

Serbia Plays Hardball

Meanwhile, in Serbia, similar legislative tussles are taking place, but the government have decided to handle all the tussling themselves. The Balkan state passed new online gambling legislation in November requiring licenses, taxes, regulations, and all that good stuff. With a number of big gaming companies yet to sign up to the new system, the government have issued an ultimatum to those who remain off-shore. Names on the list include 888, bwin.party, and Ladbrokes. The choice is simple: sign up for a license in the next six months or get your ISP banned. [Balkans.com]

PokerStars Love EU

Start as you mean to finish. That’s terrible advice, but whatever, it’s back to PokerStars to conclude this week’s roundup. The poker giants did a good job buttering up the Europeans this week with the release of PokerStars.eu. This new front-end for what is essentially the same old service does have a few implications for tax laws in certain countries. Right now, poker players in Sweden and Finland have to pay 50% tax on their winnings from offshore operators. PokerStars.eu is licensed in Malta – a member of the EU which does not charge any taxes on gambling – saving Nordic degenerates a whole heap of cash. Hyvää onnea! [Poker News]

If that snapshot of worldwide poker news wasn’t enough for you, why don’t you stop complaining and do something about it? Go and win a tournament or moon Gus Hansen or something. Off with you.

Daniel Negreanu is keepin’ it real for his fans with a new V-log that talks about Jason Somerville’s coming out of the closet to him — yay, go gay poker pros! — and then sympathizes with poker players who might inflict testicle-centric violence on Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar, and Chris Ferguson.

Negreanu’s disdain for the Full Tilt empresarios is from the gut, you can tell, but gotta say … his calling for essentially the equivalent of a lifetime ban — hoping/encouraging-by-proxy all poker players to shun them forever — sounds ironically similar to KidPoker’s childlike rants against Clonie Gowen back in ’08, when he beckoned for a poker-worldwide ostracization of Clonie after she filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against … um … Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar, and Chris Ferguson (among others) … claiming they ripped her off and that Full Tilt Poker was a shadier operation than many might believe. LOL-oops? (Tune in next week!)

Just last week Wendeen laid out why the supposed “Tapie Deal” isn’t taking shape the way many purport (didn’t someone say FTP-Europe would be up and running by now?) … and she follows that up with a little shameless expose on PokerStars and the cloak of secrecy covering many of their operations — modus operandi she contends became the norm for a company that couldn’t at once be biggest in the world while still trying to fly beneath various legal radars.

From PPN:

Reports from current and former employees, consultants, business partners, Team Pro players, and media brought many verified vignettes that highlight the secretiveness of the company. The various accounts share a common theme; they all indicate a core value of camouflage that permeates so many of the company’s significant initiatives.

Yeesh, happy Valentine’s Day to someone!

Also extra-fascinating is a part of her story suggesting that PokerStars’ efforts to get poker declared a game of skill could be what does them in, financially, because of European tax laws.

PokerStars may be without a CEO for the time being, as Gabi Campos, who assumed the chief executive position in 2010, reportedly is no longer big boss of the largest real-money online poker site in the world. While it’s not quite clear who told whom to eff off (and Stars has yet to put out a press release insisting all is hunky-dory) … if confirmed, Campos’ ouster/skeedaddling marks the fourth major executive departure at PokerStars since Black Friday.

First to be disappeared (amid some controversy) was veteran EPT Tournament Director Thomas Kremser in May; then last month, EPT founder John Duthie left. And now supposedly Jeffrey Haas, top dog at Global Poker Tours Limited (parent company for PokerStars live events) has been, er … moved on. (Haas’s LinkedIn page lists GPTL as “Past” … and “Director of New Platforms, Mobile & Social Gaming for Pokerstars.com” as current — sounds like “big-money suit demoted to glorified blogger” to me, but hey!)

UPDATE: Interestingly, Campos’ LinkedIn-from-Israel doesn’t list PokerStars as a past or present employer … says he his now working for 888-subsidiary Dragonfish, which we know, of course, in 2010 became an online partner to the WSOP.

What if anything might be behind this extended shakeup on the international live tournament poker scene is hard to say. Read Wendeen Eolis’ report in Poker Player Newspaper here.

Despite Black Friday, PokerStars has maintained its position as the world’s biggest, arguably most important, and possibly most highly regulated and therefore internationally legitimate online poker site. (And they set a Guinness World Record to boot!)

The US Department of Justice, meanwhile, maintains that PokerStars’ success was built on the ill-gotten gains of an illegal enterprise with ties to organized crime … and their founder is still, according to the DOJ, the #1 most wanted online poker criminal.

Peter Eastgate Jumps in a River

We begin in Denmark, with a former WSOP champion once again demonstrating the sort of unhinged character required to succeed at poker’s most toppest level. Despite already earning enough money to cover Phil Ivey’s divorce settlement, Eastgate couldn’t resist putting his health on the line for an extra $6k. His fellow Danish degenerates bet he couldn’t jump into a freezing river, leap out, and then run to the home of fellow pro Kasper Cordes. Once again, however, Eastgate bested all comers (and hypothermia) to complete the challenge in a mere 20 minutes. [Poker Nyhederne]

Joe Hachem Bids Stars Adieu

Just like every WSOP champion since the poker boom erupted, Eastgate is a member of the PokerStars stable of sponsored players. An illustrious club that included Joe Hachem, until he announced his resignation this week. The second post-Moneymaker World Series winner, Hachem is still Australia’s most recognisable player, even if he hasn’t made any major waves since winning a WPT title in 2005. Hachem claims he is leaving in order to, “pursue other career opportunities,” but the spectre of Black Friday is likely to have factored into his decision. [Card Player]

PokerStars Turbo Explosion

If you find long sessions of poker excessively dull, you’re probably already an ardent proponent of turbo tables. With levels that last less time than it’s taken me to type this sentence, players can be in and out of a tournament in minutes. This week, PokerStars announced plans to string a whole bunch of them together into what will undoubtedly be the fastest online poker series in history. The TCOOP is scheduled to run from Jan. 19th – 29th and will feature tournaments with buy-ins and prizes and things. [Poker News]

Legal Danish Gambling in Effect

Having given Peter Eastgate some time to dry off, we’re back to Denmark for our final story of the week. Following in the footsteps of France and Italy, the Danish have activated their new online gaming legislation, which seeks to operate the kind of regulated market that will have U.S. grinders staring lustily across the ocean. After jiggling all their knobs into place, the government have just handed out their first batch of gambling licenses to companies including PokerStars, PKR, and bwin.party. [Gambling Kingz]

Time for me to curl up into a Christmas coma and absorb rich food, presents, and relentless good cheer. I hope you all have a similarly indulgent Christmas and a New Year’s Eve so excellent you are unable to remember all but the barest details. If not, at least have some good luck. Ho, ho, ho!

Megabucks in Macau

All eyes turned to the East last week, as the global poker media witnessed the long awaited return of Phil Ivey. Turns out, he’d been there all along, sat in a $1,300/$2,300 cash game chocked full of rich Chinese businessmen. Apparently ‘The Big Game’ has permanently moved continents and if the high rollers are still in town come 2013, they’ll be first in line for a 500 player tournament organized by Macau big wigs. The event, which has the support of local businesses, is mooted to feature an incredible $100 million prize pool. [Poker News]

PokerStars Join Soccer Brawl in Germany

PokerStars has recently joined soccer on the list of things the rest of the world enjoys more than Americans. To commemorate this fact, the world’s largest online poker site have recently announced a sponsorship deal with the German football team, VfB Lübeck. However, this not only a straightforward business arrangement. PokerStars have been vocal supporters of planned gambling legislation introduced by the state of Schleswig-Holstein, in which Lübeck is located. Rules which would fly in the face of those proposed by the German government. [CardPlayer]

Gambling on Facebook coming to the UK

Our final news nugget for today is undoubtedly the shiniest. Social networking megaliths Facebook have made detailed plans to provide real money online gambling in the UK. Soon, the denizens of this sceptred isle will be able to ‘like’ an inane photo of their gurning acquaintances and then stack off their entire bankroll all on the same platform. The likes of 888 are reportedly in talks to acquire a Facebook license, with FB credits being used in place of the pretend dollars we’ve been playing with up until now. [Tech Crunch]

At the end of this column I often say something like, ‘if I’m still here next week’ preceded by a flippant comment about one thing or another, but this time, I’m genuinely concerned for my well being. My fiancée has passed into another hemisphere for two months and there’s a very real chance that in seven days time I will be buried under my own ineptitude. So, if I’m still here next week…

PokerStars Outplayed on Landmark Hand #

PokerStars are still top dogs in the world of online poker and, just to rub it in, they decided to celebrate their 70 billionth hand by giving whoever won it lots and lots of cash. Two enterprising players decided to game the system by continuously folding to each other across multiple heads up tables. Their sneaky plan worked to perfection and they joyously scooped up the prize money. Whether you think they were geniuses or cheats depends on your outlook. Youtube polemicist EVhero definitely falls on the angry side of the argument. [Youtube]

Playtech and William Hill Lock Horns #

I reported a few weeks ago on the mass walkouts at William Hill Online’s Israeli offices. At the time it appeared to be a simple labour dispute, but the Financial Times suggests deeper concerns. The online gambling company is co-owned by Playtech and British bookmakers William Hill. Relations between the two firms are frosty at best, with concerns about split loyalties among staff in worldwide offices. [Financial Times]

Bwin.party Profit From Italian Renaissance #

Meanwhile, Bwin and PartyGaming are still enjoying a blissful honeymoon period. Recently released financial reports indicate an increase in revenue of 3% to 201.1 million euros. The company credits increasingly relaxed Italian gaming laws for the rise in profit. Not to mention picking up their fair share of poker refugees in the wake of Full Tilt’s Black Friday debacle. [Reuters]

British Poker Pros Enjoy the Spotlight #

Finally, a quick word from the BBC. Earlier this week, the unimpeachable British bastion dedicated a quiet corner of its news website to UK poker players. Written just before the start of the November Nine, the reporter’s hopes for Sam Holden were sadly premature, but it still represents a rare chance to see poker pros in the media without any appended bleating on the dangers of online gambling. Plus, you can watch Sam and Liv Boeree play heads up for a delicious Wispa bar. [BBC]

I’m off to search London for a Wispa Gold, the confectionery equivalent of a WSOP bracelet. I’ll keep my beady eye peeled for any stray bits of news that are blowing across the pavement, while you keep your gaze fixed firmly on Pokerati. I’ll know if you move.

At the time, many wondered if this marked the end of online poker, which had been booming at a rate that woulda had virtually the entire planet + Jupiter playing by now. Ironically, what was supposed to be a death knell for online poker would actually be what made several of my friends and colleagues (temporarily) rich … and the principals of Full Tilt and PokerStars and Ultimate Bet (momentarily, in the scheme of things) extremely powerful.

Let’s have a little flashback, shall we … to slightly more innocent-til-proven-guilty times … commemorating this uber-significant day in poker history:

Poker Faces in the Crowd
October 16, 2006

Online poker is kinda-sorta illegal now. Pokerati wanted to know America’s thoughts … so we asked the question, How has the new law affected you?

Jennifer Cortez
Account executive

“I think it’s just wonderful. My boyfriend played that PartyPoker like all the time. But now we will be able to see the latest Jennifer Aniston movie, and we can take more walks while holding hands. Do you know how many baby showers we’ve missed because Christopher was ‘near the bubble’?”

Ghassan Abdulhamid Bibi
Starbuck’s barista

“This is total bullshit! I have been playing AQpoker.com step tournaments for two years in an effort to qualify for the WSOP and help Al Qaeda make enough money to purchase nuclear weapons from North Korea. The plan to sneak them through America’s weak ports was almost ready to go, but now we have been foiled again. Damn you George Bush! Allah Akbar al-Poker!”

Maurice Nelson
Quadriplegic

“The new law is clearly discriminatory and violates my rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It’s hard to play in a casino when you can’t use your arms.”

Mrs. Michalski
Occasional Pokerati reader

“Dan, I know you’re upset, hon, but try to see the bright side. I think this will be really good for you, because from what I’ve read on the internet, you almost always lose at poker. Will you be coming over for Thanksgiving?”

“Choad”
Official ferret of Kappa Alpha, University of Arkansas

“Uh, poker what? I have no idea. Why are you asking me? I am frickin’ ferret. Look, over there, socks!

Jeffrey Schmollack
Fake WSOP Commissioner

“Off the record? We’re talking off the record? OK, dude, let me tell you, this is so awesome. I mean AWEsome! We didn’t have a fucking clue how we were ever going to handle 12,000 [players at the next WSOP]. And let me tell you something else … those online sites … they made a lot of money. Like billions, man. Give us two years and you’ll see, with soft money greasing the right pockets and the Brits out of the equation, it can all belong to Harrah’s. Why do you think we want that WSOP.com website so bad?”

I was working for Party Gaming in 2006, as chief editor of PokerBlog.com … There, albeit briefly, sadly, I had the freedom to hire and deploy a team to write about whatever we wanted, wherever we wanted, and however we wanted … so long as the content was rich with searchable keywords about poker. Or at least that was the plan pre-UIGEA.

In my time with Party, only one post would get pulled from Pokerblog — my semi-satirical response to this brand new industry-altering US law (above). There would be no argument or debate — the order to remove supposedly came from the very top, Mitch Garber, Party’s relatively new CEO.

“Just put it on Pokerati if you think it’s that important,” my boss in London relented.

Which I did, eventually no longer scratching my head as to why that post may have been such a big deal.

That’s hard to say, but regardless, you can still look stylish in your nonchalance with this 2010 edition WCOOP T-shirt commemorating the events from back in the Poker Cold War days:

Generic WCOOP Shirt by Pokerati

But a few recent stories of particular significance that might otherwise get buried amid PokerStars/WSOP/WPT press releases, 2+2 NVG threads, and the mashup of Jungleman cheating buzz:

Ring-fenced funds: Full Tilt debaucle explained
ALDERNEY
Check out this story in Poker Player Newspaper about a regulatory matter of new relevance called “ring-fenced funds”. It helps one understand a little better why Full Tilt found themselves in tighter straits than PokerStars post-Black Friday (even though PokerStars is the big boy the DOJ most wants) … and leaves one to wonder why senior executives and on-duty attorneys representing both Party Gaming and PokerStars flew in from Gibraltar, Israel, and the United States to observe the proceedings firsthand. Perhaps they thought they were coming in to witness an execution?

Online gambling goes national
WASHINGTON DC
Big talk all over the internet about a piece in the New York Post that points out how stars seem to be aligning for online gambling legalzation in the US — from the Kyl/Reid letter requesting DOJ assistance in squelching offshore operatives and state initiatives alike, to a Boehner aide taking on a VP role with the American Gaming Association, to a warming friendship between House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Venetian pooh-bah Shelly Adelson.

It all supports my belief that online gambling will indeed be a national issue in coming months (assuming people behind a rumored Senate bill want it to be). There’s no mention, however, of the player-friendly Barton Bill, nor much anything about poker specifically — the writer talks of “gambling” — which suggests this story could be a plant by media operatives for the AGA, who we know, of course, represent Big Casinos and likely have Harry Reid’s office on speed dial. It also supports contentions that the effort to bring back online poker (thanks PPA and Joe Barton!) will likely become a push for full-on legal online casinos as bills move forward.

Nevada regulators prepping for Poker+ …
LAS VEGAS/CARSON CITY
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to many, Nevada Gaming authorities are in the midst of sweeping changes to state regulations — with very specific language updates on matters of foreign partners, “suitability”, server location, mobile gaming platforms, slot machine networks, money transfers, tax collection, you name it … The new rules currently taking shape in Nevada touch on just about every issue brought up in the online gaming political sphere over the past five years. Whether revolutionary or standard as far as procedure goes, if you really wanna know what the future of online gambling (and therefore poker) will look like — and/or place your bets on who the corporate winners will be* — follow the public work of the Nevada Gaming Commission and State Gaming Control Board here in coming weeks.

* for entertainment purposes only: smart bet is Caesars, William Hill, and Cantor-Fitzgerald.

Play Late!

ACTION ALERT: Pokerati Game — 1/2 NLH/PLO — gets underway tonight at 7pm! Goes until whenever …

However, one thing catching my attention — not because of the results, but simply because they’re playing the game — Isildur1′s high-stakes No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Mix. (Hey, I know that game … we play it at the Palms! “High-stakes action for low-stakes players” is the buzzphrase I like to throw around.) Pretty sure because it’s heads up they don’t have an “ultimate button straddle” the way we do at the Palms … and I’m not sure if they can run-it-twice … as the nature of the match suggests they’re not necessarily interested in reducing variance.

But still, sounds like Isildur1 is playing it pretty close to the right way.

SuperStar Showdown

Team PokerStars Pro Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom enjoyed another SuperStar Showdown win on Sunday, when he defeated Norwegian player Terje ‘Terken89’ Augdal.

The match, which was a mix of No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha, was over in slightly more than 1,500 of the scheduled 2,500 hands, as Blom blew his opponent away to rake in Augdal’s entire $150,000 Showdown bankroll.

Despite losing $10,000 in the opening hand, Blom quickly got on top and showed his dominance throughout, his win taking his total SuperStar Showdown profit to $651,941. It also means he now has an impressive 9-2 winning record (7-2 versus high stakes opponents) in the SuperStar Showdown matches.

For a full report, including replays of some of the key hands, check out the [report of the match at PokerStars Blog].

US Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) will be in Las Vegas for Friday’s shuffle-up-and-deal … and possibly to unveil his new online poker (only) bill.

The Texas Republican has taken the baton from Barney Frank (D-MA), by way of John Campbell (R-CA), to lead the charge for licensed and regulated online poker in the House, with a new bill his office says he plans to “drop” either Friday or closer to the July 4th weekend.

It’s still probably too early to make decent predictions, prognostication, and prop bets — haven’t even seen a draft yet — but the forces lining up this go-round are indeed different than before.

This time we’re talking about an online poker-only bill, with a different committee path, and a conservative Republican — perhaps looking to put a bipartisan feather in his cap before the ’12 elections — charged with rallying support on his side of the aisle.

The Frank bill was initially about all online gambling, which brought necessary concessions to the NFL and others — forcing Frank to dilute his argument that his bill was a matter of 21st century consumer protections and civil liberties. The Reid bill was poker-only but something different altogether — arguably a strategic bone or carrot or pawn in bigger political games. But it did provide valuable data on who still needed checks from Caesars and MGM to properly play ball where various members stood.

When Barton symbolically took over the cause last month at the PPA’s Washington DC fly-in, he wasn’t exactly addressing a groundswell of revolt … at least not one ready to amass on the Washington mall screaming “give me PokerStars or give me death!” But to that extent, the real story, imho, wasn’t so much who was there, but who wasn’t …

No Full Tilt, no PokerStars, and certainly no UB, lol.

For all the good these banished poker sites may or may not have done since the UIGEA, it had become apparent that they also complicated the political effort they championed. So now, with a bill conceived before April 15th but written afterwards, Barton may be addressing the same poker players Barney Frank spoke to before him, but he will be navigating a different mix of motivated interests in the effort to make online poker special.

Glitz. Glamor. Excitement. So far, the 2011 WSOP has had none of these things, and honestly, I’m finding the whole thing kind of sad. It’s not the World Series of Poker we all know and love… it’s more like the World Series of Meh.

The thing is that after spending a number of hours wandering around the Rio during the first week, it’s hard to put a finger on what’s different about this year’s event. Maybe it’s fallout from Black Friday and the fact that sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker don’t have their usual suites. Maybe it’s the fact that the first week’s events were tailored more toward professional players and featured more mixed games and higher buy ins than the casual player is comfortable playing.

Or maybe I’m just jaded.

The halls feel emptier, the rails aren’t as jammed, and people just seem more serious than usual. Event numbers have been good, but no one appears to be having any fun.

Still, jaded or not, the fact remains that the Rio just doesn’t have the same excited vibe that I’m used to feeling during the first week of the Series. The halls feel emptier, the rails aren’t as jammed, and people just seem more serious than usual. What makes the feel of this year’s Series even stranger is that the event numbers have been good. People are playing cards, but no one appears to be having any fun.

So, is there anything that the Rio and WSOP staff can do to loosen things up and pump some more excitement into the proceedings?

Unfortunately, I don’t really think so. Throughout the first week, the staff has seemed as attentive and responsive to players as I’ve ever seen, and I feel like they’re really working to make this year’s series something special. Sure, the much-hyped grudge matches fell a little flat in real life, but those can be fixed in post. And they took place on that massive, mothership feature table set, which should look awesome in high def. (I fully expect someone will figure out how to replicate the last five minutes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind on that thing before the Series is done.)

Bright lights and forced drama aside, it just feels like Caesar’s is fighting an uphill battle against forces that are out of their control. I mean, when the biggest story of the week is about the player who’s boycotting the WSOP as a big FU to his sponsor, you’ve got some problems on your hands.

It’s way too early to label this year’s WSOP a disappointment, but my hunch is that the suits behind the scenes are getting a little worried about how this year’s Series is going to play on TV and in the press. Without some big names making some deep runs in the next few days, it’s going to be hard for them to convince the general public to pay attention to what’s happening on the felt rather than looking behind the curtain to focus on what’s happening in the courts.

So come on people, lighten up. Sure, you’re playing for a shot at fame, glory and life-changing money, but really, do you have to take things so seriously?

Mark Cuban may have been willing to take heat from the NBA, but not so much the DOJ.

(I seem to recall that deal lasted only a few months, if not less; not confirmed though.)

Anyhow, a little flashback to a more innocent era … reminding us where we (as in poker) were just five years ago. Nolan Dalla, then a representative for PokerStars, sat down to explain the difference between dot-com and dot-net, long before poker sites would learn the true power of a dot-gov. You’ll have to excuse the added music … I was still learning how podcasts worked at the time. And poker for that matter:

Jason Terry began dreaming of Championship rings and WSOP bracelets thanks to PokerStars.com.

From Pokerati, May 2006 (Maverick Poker, Take 2)

download

OK, so the Mavericks are in the playoffs. And not only do the Mavs kick ass … but also they love poker. You’ll notice plenty of advertising and sponsorial relationships between the team and online poker sites. But what you may or may not notice is that while ESPN, Fox Sports, GSN, Travel Channel, et al. run ads for nameyourpokersite.NET … the Mavs advertise the previously declared illegal (by the U.S. Justice Dept.) dot-COM varieties.

WSOP 2011 Bonus: the Tupac Edition