There are a few people who stand out in poker because they do things differently than most everyone else — in ways we all know we’d stand to benefit by emulating. Unfortunately, too often we don’t recognize that until these people are gone. Chad Brown will forever be attached to the Summer of 2014 for a bracelet he probably wished he didn’t have to win, and on Sunday is the farewell event open to players who want to remember poker is all about real life and real lives … and that’s what can make it so fun.

More at downtownchadbrown.org.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to poker Mr. Dwight Hiward — someone with the clever foresight to have been named after what would become a plausibly convenient typo for a popular basketball player’s name. A couple clicks reveal @pokerati’s new follower is way into poker. And hey, if his actual tweets turn out to be some new style of poker metaphor, gotta say … a little rough, but I think I like where you’re going with that, kid!

Nightly pic from the trenches. Good to see Pokerati still in some way part of the WSOP.

As seen in the Rio casino poker room. Co-branding with Bravo, the player tracking system in just about every poker room and makers of the Bravo Poker Live App.

Here’s a glimpse of who’s been driving around the Rio this summer. Some are obvious poker players (or poker workers) while other vanity plates might leave you guessing about any such connection … but regardless, you have no idea how much info you can glean from peering into private vehicles this small sampling of what was on display this summer tells you a little something about who’s in town ready to play. Overall, not too many corny poker phrases, but we do see a lotta 8s, a little bit of religion, some sports, and boy, those handicapped people sure do drive nice cars …

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CHP LDR (Nevada)

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WELLTHY (Nevada)

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CHECKEM (Nevada)

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Poker tournament coverage is often on the cutting edge with regular use of new media technologies — falling somewhere behind porn and still ahead of the mainstream — and today the Vine app seems to be all the rage … or at least will have been for about 6 seconds.

I’m not sure yet if these video snippets are the next Instagram, the next Draw Something, or video Pinterest … but whatever it is, there’s more and more #WSOP on Vine by the day (despite WSOP/ESPN no-video policies that are like sooo 2011-12). It seems early adopters are still trying to figure out what exactly makes for a good, um, vine, but view these moving squares all together (and turn on the volume for some) and you’ll get a sense of the WSOPatchwork — as seen in quick video loops of chip porn, hallway meet-n-greets, WSOP worker vids, tableside commentary from a world-class DJ, and even a marriage proposal that, well, er … see for yourself … over and over and over and over again, until you’re done forever …

1. WSOP wonderland

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2. Wow factor?

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More…

Weekly bulletin from OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of July 1st …

STORIES WORTH WATCHING

#1. Bet Raise Fold – Sunday was the worldwide release of the much-anticipated online poker documentary that has – so far – garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from advance viewers. Buy your copy here. If you supported the KickStarter campaign, you should have already received your link to view the movie via email.

#2. Kentucky – After successfully extracting a cool $15mm from bwin.party, Kentucky looks set to continue their litigious ways against other operators that took online bets from the state (and have some resources to target). I’ve been told to expect a significant legal filing related to Kentucky’s actions this week.

#3. PokerStars vs ACC – The ACC filed their response last week to Stars’ application for interlocutory appeal. While we don’t have a firm deadline for a ruling, I can’t imagine the courts are interested in letting this battle drag on much longer, especially given that it clouds the ability of the ACC to pursue an alternative sale. The holiday may result in a delay, but a decision could still be forthcoming in the next few days.

… + THE WEEK THAT WAS

• PokerStars clarified their policy for cheating and reimbursements.
• Griffin Finan explained why the DiCristina case is so important to poker players.
• The SLT revealed that Zions Bank took part in – and may be facing investigation for – online poker processing.
• CalvinAyre.com asked if Playtech has given up on the U.S. regulated market.
• The UK Gambling Commission released overview stats for 2009-2012.
• Joe Barton sounded an optimistic note regarding his yet-to-be-introduced online poker bill.
• Lock pros tried to sell Lock funds – cheap.
• CardPlayer stopped promoting unregulated sites to Nevada visitors.

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OPR OUTPUT

On this week’s Rabbit Hunt, Mark and I cover the One Drop action at the WSOP, debate the best way of responding to Adelson and try our best to read the tea leaves of PokerStars’s battle with the ACC.

QuadJacks ran an article of mine imploring people to Stop Writing Responses to Sheldon Adelson. Finally, I offered up some thoughts on the Online Poker Compact Conundrum in the regulated U.S. market.

PICKS

#GoodRead – Brad Polizzano penned an informative and concise rundown of the 2013 NCLGS at QuadJacks.

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Get in touch

Chris Grove / chris@onlinepokerreport.com / @OPReport / Google + / Skype: chrisgrove404

We know we’re entering into that final phase of the Series … with One Drop, the $50k Players Championship, and holiday barbecue plans taking shape … Cue the fireworks: the Main Event is right around the corner, marking the next new year for poker!

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1. Nolan Dalla calling for Venetian boycott

Marco riles up an impassioned plea from the WSOP media director for poker players to unite in meaningful opposition to Sheldon Adelson. [source: YouTube/QuadJacks]

More…

Weekly bulletin from OnlinePokerReport.com for June 24th …

STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

#1. PokerStars filed a request for interlocutory appeal late last week in connection with their attempt to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino. This week could bring a response from either the ACC or the NJ courts, moving us closer to a final resolution. Read an in-depth analysis of PokerStars’ filing on OPR here.

#2. New Jersey regulators recently set a deadline of June 30th for casinos to ink online gambling partnerships . With more than half of the state’s potential operators still unaffiliated, the new deadline could spark a series of deals in the brief window that remains. A deal involving Trump and an as-yet-unnamed partner could come this week.

#3. Illinois lawmakers will convene for a special session this week to address the state’s pension crisis. Gambling expansion and pension reform have been joined at the hip politically in Illinois, meaning that if pension reform is on the table, gambling expansion probably is too. Movement on online gambling is a long, long shot, but not completely implausible in a session that could potentially produce unexpected results.

… + THE WEEK THAT WAS

• PokerStars CEO Mark Scheinberg reached a $50mm settlement with the U.S. government.
• Former Absolute Poker principal Brent Beckley was reportedly released from prison.
• A key Pennsylvania legislator said online gambling was a dead issue until 2015.
• PokerStars began investigation of an alleged case of forced disconnection attacks.
• An interesting attempt to “short” the market for staking poker players failed.

OPR OUTPUT

On this week’s Rabbit Hunt, Mark and I talk PokerStars’ appeal, Scheinberg’s settlement and controversy over the the growth of hold’em at the WSOP. And I offered what I see as 5 Reasons Rep. Peter King’s Online Gambling Bill is DOA.

Finally, I have a new article in the June issue of CEM – “Player Segregation in Online Poker: Fad or Future?”

PICKS

#GoodRead – Missed this one while I was on vacation, but Grange95 has the most in-depth writeup of thePokerStars Purchase Agreement with the Atlantic Club Casino that I’ve seen anywhere.

The OPR Weekly Bulletin is delivered directly to subscribers and appears first at OnlinePokerReport.com. To connect with Chris Grove: 
chris@onlinepokerreport.com / @OPReport / Google + / Skype: chrisgrove404.

Maybe you’re kinda like me (or not) and just getting into the 2013 Stanley Cup World Series of Poker? It’s a long haul, sure, but know the basics of these stories and you can feel confident about having a pretty good grasp on how the deal has gone down at the WSOP this summer, and at least won’t sound like a total poker dunce while hosting your next weekly homegame and/or podcast.

1. Chad Holloway Wins

Whoop-whoop all PokerNews-er-ati! Suck it dealers and floor staff! With Chad’s $85k win in Event #1 comes a) proof that just a few years in poker media can make a clean-cut golden boy look disheveled and scruffy … and b) inspiration for many wearing a badge to think that maybe we shouldn’t give up our on-the-felt dreams just quite yet. [ESPN]

More…

From OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of May 27th

STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

#1. WSOP.com did not launch real-money poker last week as rumors suggested they would. But it’s a safe bet they will be launching the actual WSOP this week – on May 29th, to be exact. WSOP officials have indicated a desire to run online satellites to the 2013 Main Event (which starts July 6th). If that remains their goal, then there’s a pretty small window remaining for launch.

#2. Massachusetts is returning to the issue of online poker only weeks after a House attempt to insert regulated online poker into the budget was killed at the last minute. Now GOP members of the State Senate are trying the same trick . We should learn the fate of their attempt sooner than later as the clock winds down on MA’s budget process.

#3. Illinois closes their current legislative session at week’s end. It seems unlikely that an online gambling measure will reappear and progress to law before the close. But stranger things have definitely happened. And the larger issue of gambling expansion remains in play during the last days of the session, which could potentially produce prodigious bursts of activity in Springfield.

+ THE WEEK THAT WAS

• IL-based fantasy sports site DraftDay was targeted with a lawsuit that challenges the legality of daily fantasy sports.
• PokerStars made the front page of the WSJ with a detailed company profile.
• NJ lawmakers questioned the accuracy of official projections for online gambling revenue.
• Travis Makar answered a few questions about UB and his recently released recordings of Hamilton & co discussing a UB cheating coverup.
• And speaking of UB, Annie Duke took a second shot at clearing her name.

OPR OUTPUT

The latest edition of poker news podcast Rabbit Hunt, hosted by myself and Mark Gahagan (and sponsored by CardRunners) is now available on iTunes.

Also on OPR last week: Does the UIGEA apply to bitcoin gambling , Sounding the Iovation alarm, andInternational Gaming Awards accuses critic of tax evasion.

PICKS

#GoodRead – Brad Polizzano surveys the tax models being considered by regulated U.S. markets. And@Grange95  dives into why the ACC was so quick to sling mud at Stars.

More from Chris Grove: @OPReport / Google +

From OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of May 20th

STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

#1. PokerStars came out on the losing end of last week’s legal battle with the Atlantic Club Casino. But given the latest statement from PokerStars, and the fact that they’ve sunk $10mm+ into the deal to date, I expect PokerStars to file new litigation in the days ahead.

#2. iPoker has given skins until May 20th to verify the identity of all players referred by certain affiliates. Sources report the action is linked to suspected VPN play from banned countries – including the United States.

Watch iPoker’s traffic – and the traffic of major US-facing sites – this week for clues to the scope of the issue. Based on back-channel chatter, it’s potentially huge.

#3. Iovation will continue to be a story to follow. Nevada regulators are reportedly planning to take a closer look at the company, which has been linked directly to the cheating scandal at Ultimate Bet, most recently in secret recordings released by Travis Makar.

+ THE WEEK THAT WAS

• Lock Poker’s CEO gave an “interview” that failed to resolve player questions. And the room’s cash out rating continued to trail far behind industry standards.
• NV Gov Sandoval suggested Texas as a potential poker partner.
• A draft of Illinois’ standalone online gambling bill was released.
• Merge Network further segregated player pools.
• The DHS took action against the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange.
• A consortium of CA tribal gambling interests released an online poker bill proposal.
• WSOP.com announced plans to launch by summer 2013.

OPR OUTPUT

The latest edition of poker news podcast Rabbit Hunt (sponsored by CardRunners) is now available on iTunes.

PICKS

#GoodRead – Interesting commentary on the relative wisdom of buy in spreads from Kim Lund at QuadJacks. And PokerFuse has a fascinating take on The Rising Concern of Forced Disconnection Attacks.

More from Chris Grove: @OPReport / Google +

Steve O’Dwyer
Photo: PokerStarsBlog.com

Today’s Boxscore

Steve O’Dwyer €1,224,000 – 2013 EPT Grand Final
Steven Silverman €775,000 – 2013 EPT Monaco High Roller
Paul Volpe €130,000 – 2013 EPT Monaco 6-Max

Steve O’Dwyer has been making a lot of noise in Europe for a longtime but it wasn’t until Sunday night that he was able to capture his first EPT title. He won on their biggest stage against arguably one of the toughest final table is major poker tournament history. O’Dwyer defeated Andrew Pantling for the title but that was just one hurdle at a table which included Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Noah Schwartz, Jake Cody, Grant Levy, and Johnny Lodden. It was a well earned victory for one of the favorites on tour.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, and that is certainly a possibility with Mother’s Day weekend, you would have noticed Travis Makar released some secret Ultimate Bet recordings which have set the world all a-twitter and might be the situation to cause 2+2 to implode upon itself. There is a ton of information to be derived from the recordings and you can find some of the best in the link dump below.

The winner of the week? Jen Larson who now finds Lock Poker to be the second biggest story in poker at the moment. Have no fear, the Eye of Sauron will be back on them soon enough.

Link Dump

Travis Makar Releases Damaging Ultimate Bet Recordings – The best writeup I saw with a breakdown of the recordings and all they contain. Pretty damning information for a lot of people involved and this is a good to start understanding it all.

Poker’s Watergate Moment – Another great recap by poker blogger “Grange95” with his take on the UB tapes including links to the actual recordings.

Phil Hellmuth statement on UB – Phil Hellmuth (or more accurately, his agent Brian Balsbaugh) released a statement about the recent revelations in the UB recordings via Kevmath and the 2+2 forums. He gives the entire thing a bit of the soft touch and not much in the way of an explanation. He might get a little more attention with the WSOP about to kick off.

Ultimate Poker Severs Ties with Iovation – The news this weekend also had an impact on newly launched Ultimate Poker when it came to light they were using former UB-tainted Greg Pierson’s company Iovation for player verification.

Gambler won £7.8m by ‘reading’ the back of cards – In different news, the story of Phil Ivey and the UK casino holding back his winnings has spewed forth more (and actually interesting) material. So who is this mystery woman who can read cards like this?

From OnlinePokerReport.com for the week of May 6th

STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

#1. PokerStars’ apparently failed deal for the Atlantic Club Casino dominated discussion last week. But based on statements from Stars, this story is far from told. Hopefully this week we’ll get some more information about the nature of the contract between PokerStars and the ACC. And if the deal is dead, perhaps we’ll learn more about who is swooping in to buy the ACC out from under Stars. Could it be Station?

#2. Lock Poker. I said last week that the Lock Poker scandal-saga was going to gain momentum, and boy did it ever. Watch Dave Behr, Todd Witteles and Jonathan Aquiar (and me) on Twitter for the latest as it comes, along with the Lock Poker forum on TwoPlusTwo.

#3. Ultimate Poker rode a crush of publicity to a launch that saw reasonable traffic but was riddled with technical trouble. And not everyone thought it was such a big deal. Key thing to watch this week – the performance of next Sunday’s major tournament. It hit the cap of 200 players yesterday, so that’s the bar.

Correction: Last week I wrote that the MA House passed their budget bill with an online poker amendment intact. The amendment was removed prior to passage.

+ THE WEEK THAT WAS

• Rep Peter King announced plans to introduce a new federal online poker bill.
• California may have gotten closer to a passable online poker bill.
• Player pools were apparently further segregated at remaining Merge skins.
• An IL lobbyist suggested a longer timeline for online gambling legislation.
• Motley Fool dissuaded investors from jumping into online poker.

OPR OUTPUT

The latest edition of poker news podcast Rabbit Hunt (sponsored by CardRunners) is now available on iTunes.

PICKS

#GoodRead – Take a look back at the design evolution of PokerFuse over the last two years.

@Follow – Poker pro @MattGlantz runs an informative, balanced and – most importantly – generally entertaining Twitter.

More from Chris Grove: @OPReport / Google +