After very literally emerging from a Soviet bunker over the past week, I’m finding it difficult to integrate myself back into sublime British capitalism. Having a Russian man dispassionately tell you that, “now vee are in nuclear war,” as an alarming red light flashes in an underground corridor will do things to a man. Luckily there’s a whole warhead’s worth of worldwide poker news to help me readjust to society. Read on, you snivelling imperialist dogs. Oh, sorry.

Bodog Shifts Priorities

Making good on last week’s threats, Bodog have undertaken a daring raid into Asia. After abandoning their poker products throughout Europe, the copmany have welcomed TLC88.com onto their network, in an attempt to shift the focus of their business from West to East. [CardPlayer]

Possibly, but probably not, coincidentally, on the same day as Bodog confirmed their new parternship Sunderland A.F.C. – a mid-table team in the highest echelon of English football – announced TCL88.com as their official betting and gaming partner. [SAFC.com]

France Masters Tournaments

There’s a distinctly Gallic feel to the big tournament results this week. Firstly the France Poker Series event in Mazagan, Morocco reached a dénouement. The victor was Karim El Rharbaoui, who picked up around €44,000 for his efforts. [Poker777]

Meanwhile, down in the boot of Europe, the EPT San Remo was grinding its way to a finale, with the French-sounding Canadian Jason Lavallee and actual French person Ludovic Lacay engaging in a swift heads up battle. Real France beat out psuedo-France to take the title. [Poker News Daily]

PokerStars Macau Announcement

I don’t often include tournament announcements in this roundup, but I think that news of anything new coming out of Macau is particularly interesting, given how under exploited it is. In fact, only PokerStars seem to have really grasped the bull by the horns (dragon by the ears?) so far as tournaments are concerned. To stand alongside the likes of the Macau Poker Cup, Stars have announced the Asian Championship of Poker – a $13k NLHE event that kicks off in just over a week. [Tight Poker]

Full Tilt Reward System Teased

If you were fond of building up Ironman streaks and cashing in 27% rakeback deals on your Full Tilt account then you’ll have to carry on pining. Full Tilt’s new reward system, details of which have been dribbled out onto 2+2, is a totally different animal. There does appear to be the possibility of earning a decent internal rakeback, but a move to the Weighted Contribution method will reward the aggressive player more than the tight. [Poker News Daily]

Dwan and Isildur on Tilt Again

Speaking of aggressive poker, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Tom “durrrr” Dwan will be reuniting on the virtual felt of Full Tilt as paid up members of the site’s new roster. Respectively the most exciting names in high stakes cash games for the last few years, Blom and Dwan join Gus Hansen in Full Tilt’s reformed team of sponsored pros. [PokerNews]

France and Spain Cosy Up

No doubt hastened by the news of massive contractions in the Italian gaming market, Spain and France have agreed a deal to share regulatory data. A deal which many see as a precursor to a shared player pool. The French have been running their own insular market for a while now, but newly regulated Spain will likely have some legitimate concerns about their ability to support their own isolationist economy. [PokerFuse]

It’s fine guys, really, it’s fine. You can all come out and admit it. In between pots, poker players can’t resist chewing on some weeds and rolling up a whiskey joint. I’m very knowledgeable on the subject and I know that substance abuse is an inevitable result of playing online poker. Don’t believe me? Check out the first item in this week’s Wider World of Poker.

Dragging the Pot

Psychologists at Concordia University, Quebec claim to have discovered a correlation between online poker, alcohol, and marijuana. I can hear your eyebrows raising from here, but maybe it makes sense? I mean, it’s fair to say that online gambling is a common outlet for dangerously addictive personalities, who may also incline towards an excess of drink and drugs. Although it should be noted that this study does not establish any kind of link between an excess of narcotics and online gambling. Plus, of the 8,456 people surveyed, it turns out that only 111 gambled online in any capacity. I’d keep that eyebrow elevated, if I were you [Psych Central]

Macau Misery for Hansen

Things have been quiet on the Macau front lately, but the new Big Game has been rolling steadily on. Gus Hansen continues to be the most vocal regular, even when he lands on the wrong end of the action. The Great Dane was on hand recently to tell told press about a HK $1.7 million river bluff being picked off by that pesky Tom Dwan. British-born Sam Trickett has also established himself as a fixture in Macau, taking to Twitter to report the capture of his “biggest pot ever.” [Poker Nyhederne]

Premiere League Primed

Every week, while sifting through the internet for stories, I see a report about some pro or other joining the PartyPoker Premiere League. And every week, without fail, I discard it in favour of something more interesting, with the promise that I’ll cover it when the line-up is fully confirmed. Well cometh the hour, cometh the journalist.

The roster is complete, all $125,000 buy-ins have been collected, and the competitors are split into two groups. This weekend, players will duke it out to post the best overall results in a series of single table Sit-and-Gos, aiming to reach a lucrative grand final. Among those taking to the felt are Phil Laak, Erik Seidel, Tom Dwan, Sam Trickett, ElkY, Patrick Antonius, and Vanessa Selbst. [Party Poker]

Teenager Takes France

Over here in Europe, we’re a little more liberal with our youth. At the age of 16 children are released into the wild, free to impregnate each other and make bad reality TV shows. One Czech whippersnapper decided to dedicate herself to poker instead and at the tender age of 18 has won €70,000 ($93,387) as the champion of the France Poker Series. Veronika Pavlikova may yet prove to be a flash in the pan, but blowing past ElkY and Eugene Katchalov at the final table will do her reputation no harm at all. [OnlinePoker.net]

The Brick Report

There’s nothing more exciting than a report, which is why there are two of them in this week’s column. This first of which has been unveiled as part of a joint project between the Universities of Nevada and Hamburg. It challenges the oft observed principle that online gaming robs custom from bricks-and-mortar casinos. Instead, the existence of online sites increases the overall volume of gamblers in the world and pumps more customers towards the land-based market. [Poker Strategy]

The Alderney Report

Finally, a British report, the best kind of report there is. No there’s no time to qualify that statement, I have news to deal with. Peter Dean, former Chairman of the British Gambling Control Commission, was asked to complete a report on Alderney’s handling of the Full Tilt debacle. His verdict was pretty positive, agreeing with the Commission that subterfuge on the part of FTP left them unable to act efficiently. [Card Player]

I’m off to wander the streets in a drug-addled stupor, cradling a bottle of gin beneath my ragged coat. Assuming I haven’t collapsed into a pool of my own decadence, I’ll see you next week.

This is the bleakest time of year. When festivities have faded, but the bitter cold maintains its grip. A time when you are forced to chain yourself to the grindstone for another 12 months, as fresh-faced resolutions are crushed under the weight of your own inescapable weakness. Sorry about that. Maybe I can cheer you up with some news from poker’s farthest shores. This week we’ve got tales of resignation, government crackdowns, robbery, and assault. Feeling better yet?

France Announces Online Poker Crackdown

It’s a good time to be in European online poker, so long as you’re on the list. France have been running a strictly regulated market since May 2010, but have this month enacted laws which require ISPs to proactively prevent French players from accessing unlicensed sites. This follows similar action taken by the Belgian government. Meanwhile, Spain – one of the big EU countries without a regulated market – has elected to delay its online gambling plans until June 30th. [Poker News]

Duthie Says Cheerio

John Duthie has left PokerStars. You might be thinking, “Who cares about John Duthie! So long as they still have Liv Boeree, it’s all good. She’s so hot, ship it holla check-raise.” Oh you and your staggering ignorance. The wiser heads in the audience will know that Duthie is lauded among the poker community thanks to his founding of the European Poker Tour. John spearheaded the tour to great success, but as part of his resignation, has also decided to step down as EPT CEO. Although he may not be as high profile as some of his former team mates, John is a highly respected member of the industry and you can be sure that the game’s movers and shakers have taken note of his departure. [Poker News Report]

Regal Reward for Betting Queen

The founder of Bet365, Denise Coates, has been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the UK’s New Year’s Honours list. Now that our empire has shrunk to size of a tiny thimble, this title has become a purely symbolic ‘well done’ from the monarchy. For your reference, a CBE is one rank below Knight and Dame-hood in Britain’s chivalric hierarchy. As part of the ceremony, Denise gets to meet the Queen and listen to her say things like, “What do you do?” “Oh that’s nice,” and “I have this special badge for you.” [BBC]

WSOP Bracelet Theives are All In Jail

In Canada, which is mostly empty, four men and one woman will have to locate the Longueuil courthouse. They are summoned to hear charges that include aggravated assault and armed robbery, all accrued while breaking into the home of former World Champion, Jonathan Duhamel. Although their cases are yet to be heard, it seems that the nexus of the robbery may have been Duhamel’s former girlfriend, Bianca Rojas-Latraverse. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. [CTV]

Cheer up mate! Things are looking good for poker after all. I mean, barring some sort of Even Blacker Friday, 2012 has got to be an improvement over last year. If that much-analysed DoJ opinion bears the fruit we’re all desperately hoping it does, perhaps this will prove to be one of the industry’s finest hours. Hope springs eternal.

I’d like to start this week’s column by congratulating my fellow countryman James Dempsey on his victory at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. To celebrate, here is a patriotic picture.

British people are required to carry similar images on their person at all times. It’s why we’re such a cynical and self-deprecative nation. That concludes today’s sociology lecture, now it’s time for a barrel-full of news you might have missed.

Irish Up The Rake

Our friends on the Emerald Isle have been having a spot of bother with their economy recently. Something to do with a global recession. Regardless, the trickle down effect is increased taxes levied against online gambling. Inbound legislation will raise the money owed on each bet placed. Woe betide any external operators looking to take Irish currency. The duty on each offshore bets is increasing from 0 to 15% in a move that will earn the government €20 million a year. [Gambling Kingz]

Jacko’s Ball

There’s a new leader in the race for Most Ludicrous Idea Ever, thanks to gaming portal OnlineGamblingPal, who recently unveiled plans to turn some of the late Michael Jackson’s hair into a tasteful roulette ball. It’s what the king of pop would have wanted. Honestly, that’s what they think. A public statement claimed that creating a piece of casino paraphernalia, “seems like a fitting use for [the hair].” Right then. [Rolling Stone]

Randy’s Record

Online grinder nanonoko is already a legend among his peers, but the youthful poker whiz has announced plans to take his stardom to new heights by earning an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Randy hasn’t decided exactly which feat of endurance he’d like to attempt and is currently taking suggestions from the denizens of 2+2. The best idea will be carried out at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January. [Poker News Daily]

A French Suit

One big downside to a tightly regulated gambling market is that when things go wrong, it’s the government that takes the hit. And there’s nothing people like more than blaming their government for stuff. Take one unnamed French gambling, addict for example. He contacted the Interior Ministry to have himself added to a list of people excluded from online gambling sites, but thanks to a bureaucratic mix-up, the degenerate in question found himself mysteriously unblocked. He is now suing his government for €100,000 ($133,000). [AFP]

What does a gambling addict buy with that kind of money? Maybe a roulette ball made from the fibres of a dead megastar? Perhaps he could build a whole museum of morbid casino equipment. Hey, that gives me an idea. I must dash, I’ve got a plan to make my millions crafting dealer buttons from Charlie Sheen’s discarded toenail clippings. Au revoir!

This week, J Todd reviews the continuing troubles for Full Tilt Poker since “Black Friday”, including the loss of their licenses in Alderney and France, and a new class action lawsuit filed this week. We also get a status update on the launch of legal online gambling in Washington, DC

With the biggest gambling holiday of the year just days away, it seems appropriate that the world has gone poker crazy. We have reached a crescendo to the post-PCA madness, as big events wrapped up in Australia, France, and down in Mississippi. We also have a report from India, as well as some action in Los Angeles, Atlantic City and Hollywood (Florida, that is).

Aussie Millions (Melbourne, Australia)

What was originally planned as an 8-man, winner-take-all $250,000 sit-n-go ballooned into a 20-player turbo with a $5 million prize pool. The top three players would get paid, with $AUD 2.5 million for the biggest degenerate winner. Tom Dwan, Roland de Wolfe, John Juanda, Annette “annette_15” Obrestad, Chris Ferguson and some guy named Phil Ivey were amongst those to lose a quarter of a million dollars in one day. While Dwan and Ivey are probably used to that on any given Tuesday, it was probably enough to ruin a few peoples’ weeks.

It seems like a wealth of riches was reserved to quite an exclusive group. David Benyamine cashed for $AUD 1 million for his third place finish, leaving a heads-up battle between two players who had very good January’s. Erik Seidel finished fourth in the $10K High Roller at PCA, while Sam Trickett won the “regular” $AUD 100K Super High Roller event less than a week before this tournament. Trickett entered the heads-up match with the chip lead, but failed to finish the impressive back-to-back performance, as Erik Seidel was victorious, taking home $AUD 2.5 million for his efforts.[PokerNews]

Then there’s the matter of the Aussie Millions Main Event, which somehow managed to take a back seat to this event, despite the $AUD 7 million prize pool. Among the final eight, the biggest name by far was Patrik Antonius. His stay at the final table was not a long one, as he had his pocket kings cracked early on in the day to go out in eighth. The last man standing was local tournament pro David Gorr, who took home $AUD 2 million for the win. This was Gorr’s biggest score, having toured the greater-Australia tournament scene since 1998. [Poker News]

WPT Southern Poker Championship (Biloxi, Mississippi)

An interesting collection of six made up this WPT final table at the Beau Rivage. Former champion Allen Carter was trying to become the first person in the history of the World Poker Tour to win the same event twice. Also among the six was Alabama native Shannon Shorr, with over $3.4 million in lifetime cashes, and Leif Force, whose deep run in the 2006 WSOP Main Event was one of the more memorable stories of that year.

Shorr would end up in fourth, while Carter’s run at history would fall short in third place. Alexander Kuzmin, who made a final table at this past WSOP, went head-to-head with Force, and it was the pesky Russian Kuzmin taking the crown, along with the $601,469 prize and a seat in the WPT Championship later on this year. [WPT]

EPT Deauville (Deauville, France)

The EPT got back underway with its first post-PCA event in Deauville. 891 players ponied up €5,000, with the winner taking home €880,000. The final table saw players from six different countries, but the biggest story was about a local Frenchman by the name of Lucien Cohen. The Paris native runs a pest control company and used a small rubber rat as a card protector. Lucien Cohen was “The Exterminator” on this evening, taking home the EPT Deauville Main Event and nearly €900K. [PokerStars Blog]

Making some noise for the first time since his WSOP win in November, Jonathan Duhamel won the €10,000 High Roller event in Deauville. [PokerStars Blog]

India Poker Series (Goa, India

A few weeks ago, the fourth in a series of poker tournaments was held at Casino Royale Goa in India. Three events were held; a 5,000 rupee rebuy event, a 10,000 rupee freezeout and a 5,000 rupee freeeout. Players from around the world, including the USA, UK and Sweden, participated in the tournaments, which each got at least 90 players. Congratulations to Anand Patil, Lawrence Sanjay and Pulkit Kalia for their victories at IPS Chapter 4. [India Poker Series]

LA Poker Classic (Commerce, California)

Action continued this week with more than a dozen tournaments. The biggest news of the week, however, might have been an appearance from a wild and crazy guy. No, not Matt Savage, but the OG wild and crazy guy, Steve Martin! For updates on everything going on at LAPC, head elsewhere on that blog and check out the amazing work that veeRob is doing over there. That guy never sleeps.

Borgata Winter Poker Open (Atlantic City, New Jersey)

At last check, there were just over 100 players left in the $3k main event. First place in this tournament is over $500,000, and you can check out updates as they happen here.

Photos courtesy of PokerStarsBlog.com & WPT.com

The bad news: People in France were recently blocked — just last week — from playing on PokerStars.com.

The good news: They’ll be able to play on PokerStars.fr, in a fully legal and regulated way.

They just won’t be able to play against anyone not in France … which sets up a new dynamic of what licensed and regulated online poker could look like worldwide in the not-too-distant future.

France’s regulatory body ARJEL released a list on Friday of nine more approved licensees, adding to 17 previous approvals. French parliament passed a law in October 2009 that ended its state-run online gambling monopoly, allowing up to 30 licenses for privately owned websites. PokerStars got one in this second wave of approvals, and PartyGaming got five.

The newly licensed companies and their completely legalized domains are:

LIL Managers Ltd (FriendBet.fr): sports betting
Reel Malta Ltd (PokerStars.fr): poker
Electraworks SAS (PartyBets.fr , GameBookers.fr, PartyPoker.fr, ActPoker.fr, LuckyJeux.fr): poker, sportsbetting
Gaming Iliad SAS (Chilipoker.fr): poker
Partouche Gaming France SAS (Partouche.fr): poker

[Source: eGaming Review]

More…

A multitude of random click-worthy links and watchable videos, with or without context, that may or may not play into your evolving, overall world poker view … brought to you by 1/2 NL/PLO at the Hard Rock, now playing Tuesdays, Thursdays, late Fridays and by request:

The new This Week in Poker is here. Probably not quite ready for an Emmy nomination yet, or even a Webby if there is such a thing. But smart people behind it all … and possibly eventually a show that comes in to its own somewhere around the convergence of the internet and TV. [Wicked Chops]

I love caption contests — have won many of them. But gonna let someone else take down the wordsmither’s glory (and Full Tilt prize points) on this one, featuring funny and plausibly awkward image moments from the WSOP. [Full Tilt From the Rail blog]

Dissension and Disagreement: APCW Perspectives Weekly for June 18, 2010. Internal fights with Indians mucking up intrastate online poker efforts in California; Big Casinos blocking progress in New Jersey; Malta fighting with France over Euro suckage. [YouTube/APCWperspectives]

Also, last week I missed his take on the GCB’s take on dot-net poker sites taking part in any Nevada casino take. (6:20 in)

Meanwhile, PokerStars’s Big Game is the show poker fans are currently most buzzing about. [PokerStars.net]

PartyPoker’s Big Game IV also looks pretty cool, with a very similar concept. [YouTube/PartyPoker]

One blog I enjoy reading regularly throughout the WSOP (personally check in on it about twice a week) is Adam Goulding‘s, aka Snoopy, who always provides a unique and worldly perspective on Poker America. [BlackBelt Poker]

Likewise, don’t forget to keep up with Dr. Shamus, who knows how to always keep the intellectual poker stimuli percolating. [Hard Boiled Poker]

I’m also checking in regularly on the people set to do the 360-streaming of final tables. Technology is supposed to be much improved from their WPT Championship debut, and word is they just got the green light from Nevada Gaming for the 2010 WSOP … but still not sure exactly when and where I’ll find the live action I’m looking for — hope to know soon! [All360Poker]

Also keeping up with the PokerNews Nightly Turbo for a basic rundown of news going on outside the WSOP. [PokerNews]

And probably the best video quick-taste of the flavor of a WSOP day, like yesterday, seems to be coming from WSOP Live! [YouTube/PokerListings]

The specific WSOP event I’ve been following, and will be tomorrow, is the Seniors Event, where rookie senior and Team Pokerati captain Tom Schneider is pounding around at the top of the leaderboard, and I’m still looking for Toothless Bob. [WSOP.com]

UPDATE: Going into Day 2, with 450 players remaining from a record field size of 3,142, Tom is the chip leader. A little concerned that I couldn’t find Bob amongst the list of entrants.

Oklahoma Johnny Hale, apparently the driving force behind the Seniors Event, got a special trophy for his pioneering work on behalf of the Social Security-minded set. [Bluff Magazine]

Did you know David Plastik used to be a rock’n’roll photographer in the 80s before becoming a professional poker player? His photojournalism seems to wash through the bright lights and make-up for a grittier view of a glam music in a newspaper era. [DavidPlastik.com]

Hey, that mighta been my best link-dump ever! Actually led to fewer open windows on my desktop, not more, and took only about an two hours to provide you with 6+ minutes of targeted, purposeful pokery web browsing.

Oh oh oh … and one last thing (for the moment) … We’re kicking so much Tao of Pokerati arse ever since the Benjo partnership and giving Pauly a key to the server farm, I can’t even keep up with it all. But fortunately the Best Little Short-Podcast in Poker gives you so much for so little, it doesn’t take much to get caught up. Meanwhile for a little closer-to-real WSOP experience in condensed space and time, be sure to check for the latest in the Tao of Pokerati archives. There’s a Matt Savage and PPA buzz, while Benjo’s on a lesbian kick in the Rio again. [Tao of Poker]

This Week’s Tourists at the Table:

(L to R) Team Pokerati WSOP-Ladies Event Final Tablist La Sengphet, Stuey, her boyfriend DC, and Good Chuck showing the Vegas grinders that Dallas players know a thing or two about PLO.

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…

In recent years, the World Poker Tour’s tournaments not held in North America were not televised. This will change for next season’s tournaments, starting with the Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation Club de France in May, as Matchroom Sport will be producing European WPT events for worldwide television distribution. Matchroom will be looking to add to their success television poker events such as “The Big Game”, “Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge”, “Party Poker World Poker Open”, among other made-for-TV events.

The Season 9 schedule has not been released, but two tournaments in Europe have already been announced, the Spanish Championship in Barcelona May 13th and D’Amneville in France in November.

Of course … France opens itself up, and then gets way in on the televised poker thing … and sure enough the WPT is there to follow with a new stop. No time to vet any of this (we’re minutes from broadcast-time for The Poker Beat) so read the press release below and think for yourself what it might mean to have a WPT tournament that sounds like an Eminem song.

Oh, also, a wildly speculative, unsubstantiated prediction … the next France-like poker mini-hotspot you’ll see … it’s gonna be Florida.

WORLD POKER TOUR® EUROPEAN EXPANSION CONTINUES WITH NEW STOP AT FRANCE’S CASINO D’AMNEVILLE

3200 + 300€ Tournament Marks Second French Event for 2010

(LOS ANGELES) April 12, 2010 – Further expanding its tour offering in Europe, World Poker Tour® and Casino Municipal D’Amneville announced today a partnership to create the next WPT stop in France. The WPT Amneville 2010 tournament series kicks off October 30 – November 1 with land-based qualifiers and side events, followed by the 3200 + 300€ WPT Main Event November 2 – 6.

More…

The hedline pretty much says it all … Poker Channel France is coming soon, in June.

See how international politics works? You change the laws to make things conducive for business, and before you know it, all sorts of new dollars Euros come flowing into your country from all over the world.

New little mini-boom getting underway over there, it seems. Probably a good time to be Benjo.

Everest Poker, the biggest on-the-felt sponsor for the World Series of Poker, reportedly told Harrah’s officials yesterday not only that they are pulling out of a three-year sponsorship deal with the WSOP, but also that their parent company, Ultra Internet Media, is suing the WSOP’s parent company, Harrah’s, alleging breach of contract.

Fun! Now we get to see the types of numbers that Harrah’s, as a private company, would probably prefer to keep private … and we get to watch our friends at WSOP headquarters scramble for a new sponsor while, two months before the 2010 Series, they learn that an $8.4 million check they were expecting is not going to arrive.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

UIM says that in 2008 it agreed to sponsor the World Series of Poker for payments of $6.2 million for the 2008 tournament, $7.9 million for the 2009 tournament and $8.4 million for the 2010 tournament that begins May 27 at Harrah’s Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

[…]

UIM says in the lawsuit it paid the amounts due to Harrah’s for the 2008 and 2009 events, but that on Thursday it notified Harrah’s it is pulling out of the 2010 tournament.

UIM said that’s because in previous years Harrah’s breached the sponsorship deal when ESPN broadcasts of the tournament by an affiliate in France, television channel RTL9, failed to display Everest’s name and logo and instead featured the name and logo of Everest competitor Full Tilt Poker.

More…

Apparently our good friends across the pond are a bit more optimistic about the notion of the US opening its online gambling market in 2010 than we are … and in preparation, the buzz around England is that Betfair — the British online poker-and-more company and title sponsor of WSOP-Europe — is getting serious about making an estimated £1.5 billion ($2.5 billion) initial public offering.

The intent would be to raise capital in preparation for all sorts of crazy consolidation and forthcoming acquisitions in the online gambling sector.

At least one Betfair exec dismisses the talk as little more than speculation, despite meetings with Credit Suisse and other banking advisors that have the European financial press getting their knickers in a bunch as “companies seek to position themselves to enter the world’s biggest gambling market.” Should the rumored floatation happen, it would be the first major listing on the London Stock Exchange since the global economic collapse.

$400k HORSE

At the same time, Betfair last week made another move toward American soil by pledging $400,000 to the New York (Horse) Racing Association as an overlay should two specific horses face off against each other in October at Belmont Park:

Rachel Alexandra, the first filly to win the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown since 1924, has won her last eight races. Zenyatta is undefeated in 12 career starts, including the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic.

LOL, I didn’t even realize they had ladies events in horse racing!

Across the Chunnel: Refashioning French Poker

Arnault.

Betfair also just got themselves approved to enter France’s online gambling market, which is set to open next year … apparently with some nice poker-friendly alterations to the rake. (The new French law originally had players paying tax on every bet and raise, on every street … which can totally screw with your pot-odds calculations!) Helping get Betfair to the front of the French licensing line, with a better rake structure no less? Heavy lobbying efforts from billionaire bling merchant Bernard Arnault, CEO of Louis Vuitton, 10 percent owner of Betfair, and the 15th richest person in the world.

New-and-improved Yahoo! Poker Coming Soon

We’re talking Yahoo! Uk & Ireland, of course, not Yahoo! USA. The British arm of the web behemoth just re-upped its partnership with GTech G2, for two years, to provide real-money gaming options — and part of that deal includes plans to unveil a fully downloadable real-money Yahoo! poker room, not just the (lame) in-browser version currently available.

Magazine Moguls Jump into Mobile Gambling

PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan recently said that the biggest threat to established online gaming brands comes from major media outlets, not current competitors. And sure enough … Dennis Publishing — the mega-magazine company behind Maxim, MacUser, Computer Shopper, Bizarre, Men’s Fitness, and more than a dozen other publications (including PokerPlayer, Inside Poker Business, and Stacked) — just launched its Monkey Mobile Casino, offering real-money online gambling on handheld devices. (The current issue of Monkey, fwiw, features a picture of Lady Gaga’s recent nipple slip.

The Swedish Taxman Cometh

Meanwhile, the Swedish Tax Authority (Skatteverket) has been studying all forms of internet commerce tax evasion since 2007, and has concluded that online poker companies with offshore servers are one of their biggest sources of uncollected e-commerce taxes.

We cover industry news from France to the United States, as professional sports leagues & governments have a dramatic affect on gambling. The NFL joining with others to sue the state of Delaware? Plus, an announcement about Bodog.