Poker in the News

PartyGaming (formerly named iGlobalMedia) has asked two investment banks to advise it on the possibility of going public on the London Stock Exchange, which would most likely value the company somewhere between £3bn and £5bn.

PartyGaming is the world's biggest online poker firm, with it's flagship company PartyPoker.com having five million registered users.

BBC NEWS | Business | Bets on for poker site to float

In a film directed by Milos Forman, Nicolas Cage will play Amarillo Slim Preston, the legendary professional poker player.

Amarillo Slim not only won the World Series of Poker in 1972 and many other high-stakes tournaments, but he is also purported to have beat Hustler magazine's Larry Flynt in a game for $2 million USD (a claim, by the way, to which Larry Flynt responds "he’s a fucking liar… his whole reputation has been built on lies.”)

Amarillo Slim is also famous for some of the most well-known poker quotes-- "Look around the table. If you don’t see a sucker, get up, because you’re the sucker” and "You can shear a sheep a hundred times, but you can skin it only once"-- and his book Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People.

Empire - film reviews, movie news

If you play poker, you've heard of Daniel Negreanu. He's the hottest tournament poker player in the world right now. In this article, Thane Burnett follows Negreanu around in Atlantic City as he plays a World Series of Poker tour event at Harrah's.

It's an excellent and well-written profile of Negreanu, and I recommend that you read the full thing-- but here are a few of the better excerpts:

You know how you spot a real poker player in a crowded casino? The way they walk. Tourists and others wearing cheap watches search for luck as they move in zig-zags, from contraption to craps to their next losing proposition.

The poker player cuts a sharp line to where he wants to go.

This is really a true statement, though I had never thought of it before.

"Keith Richards is getting old," Negreanu reasons. "Poker players are the new celebrities."

"I try to explain, that what I do is no more of a gamble than the man who opens a restaurant or the businessman who deals in the stock market," he told them, adding: "I'm just better at it."

"The best poker players have a total disregard for money," says Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, "Money is just the way we keep playing."

"I'm not intimidated by (Negreanu)," Barry Greenstein says. "During a game, I'm not looking at him and he's not looking at me, thinking 'I got to pick this guy off.' Instead, we're looking at the other (lesser) players at the table, trying to take as much money as possible from them."

Toronto Sun Columnist: Thane Burnett - Poker stud

Over 11,900 PokerStars players contributed nearly $200,000 towards the Tsunami Relief effort. PokerStars matched that $200,000, making a total contribution of $400,000.

PokerStars' donation was presented to the American Red Cross during the NBC Tsunami Aid television special which aired on January 15, 2005.

Poker Stars-- Tsunami Reliev Donation

Approximately 600 people across China have been arrested in a series of online gambling cases involving a Taiwan company, the Baoying Company.

Computer data indicates that nearly 1.1 billion yuan ($133 million USD) had been wagered in the last six months.

"Gambling overseas, online gambling and illegal lotteries are the major targets of the campaign."

Online gambling sees 600 arrested

Dan Morris, and junior at the University of Nebraska, found a way to hold legal, university-sanctioned real-money Texas Hold'em tournaments.

He set up the UNL Poker Club-- an official student organization which collects monthly dues from its members, donates 25% of those dues to various charities, and holds poker tournaments where the remaining 75% of the dues end up as prizes.

“Because the winnings have a set price it’s considered a prize, not winnings,” Morris said. “It’s no different than signing up for a raffle ticket at a basketball tournament.”

Ben Keele, chairman of the ASUN Special Topics Committee, said the poker club was a legitimate student organization as long as it followed requirements, including a minimum number of five members, abiding by the non-discriminatory clause, adopting a constitution and having a faculty adviser.

It's a pretty ingenius way of working around the system! Good work Dan.

Daily Nebraskan - Poker club offers safe haven for legal winnings

Airbus unveiled a new "superjumbo" A380 aircraft on Tuesday--- which will be the biggest aircraft ever built.

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic has already ordered six of the jets. Rather than squeezing more passengers into the jets, Branson plans on installing gambling tables, full-size double beds, a gym, bar, and beauty parlor in each of them.

Branson told reporters in France, “Since you have gaming and you have private double beds, maybe there are two ways of getting lucky on a Virgin plane.”


USATODAY.com - Branson boasts of mile-high pleasures on Airbus superjumbos

This is another update to an earlier blog entry--- "Senator sponsors Texax Hold'em Bill"

Sen. Dave Kleis, R-St. Cloud, thinks a tweak of state law is necessary to clear up the confusion. Kleis is proposing a bill to add Texas Hold'em tournaments to the list of games of chance allowed under state law -- games like cribbage, bridge, gin and whist.

These games may be played as long as the sponsor derives no direct financial benefit and the sum of all prizes awarded does not top $200.

"This should be very simple," said Kleis. "This simple, common sense bill will bring some much needed clarity to current Minnesota law," he said.

His legislation, Kleis explained, does not fall under state law dealing with gambling, so he doesn't expect the bill to become a pawn in the gambling debate.

Texas Hold'em tournaments are popular among young people, but Kleis defended the card game as having value beyond potential pots. "You use a lot of math, and there's a lot of skill involved," said Kleis.

Sen. Kleis sponsors bill attempting to clarify state law on card games including Texas Hold'em

This is an update to an earlier story that I commented on (Dec. 21- Poker Fans Betting on Loophole)-- below are the notable quotes:

The Chez Paree, a business in this western Iowa town, hosted three days of gambling last weekend, and said the 10-week Texas Hold 'Em tournament would continue this weekend. Up to 200 players are expected.

That's because Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber, who would prosecute any case, has told organizers he thinks what they are doing is legal.

Wilber interprets Iowa code to read that such a poker tournament is legal under Iowa law -- not as gambling but as a winner-take-all-contest. Wilber said he does not condone such an event, but believes it would be a waste of taxpayer money to fight it.

The state argues that the law does not authorize any form of casino gambling. Iowa code, it says, permits only "cribbage, bridge, chess, checkers, dominoes, pinochle and similar contests, leagues or tournaments.

How is a pinocle tournament different from a poker tournament, if there is a cash entry fee? What about a gin tournament (which is very often a high-stakes money game)? Or backgammon?

DIA spokesman David Werning said his office is treating the organizers as all the others who have inquired about holding tournaments.

"We give them the information it is illegal and that is usually the end of it," he said.

Werning said the agency isn't bluffing, saying the case has been referred to the Department of Criminal Investigations and the Attorney General's Office.

DCI Agent Julie Hamilton said her office continues to monitor the situation but said any action would come from the Pottawattamie County Attorney's Office.

Chief Deputy County Attorney John Jacobmeier said his office has no plans to intervene.

"We are sticking to our position that it is not illegal," he said.

In my opinion, this is perhaps the most interesting tournament poker story in the news right now. I'll continue to post any updates to it.

WCFCourier.com | The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier Online!

More than 100 people were at the Avon Lake Post 211 when agents from the Ohio Department of Saftey broke up a poker tournament there. Over $22,000 in cash was seized, along with playing cards, poker tables, chips, and gambling records.

No one was arrested, though officials are working with prosecutors to determine if any criminal charges will be filed.

Tim Swartwood Sr., the commander of American Legion Post 211, said his organization was not the target of the bust. He said the Post's hall was being rented to an organization that was putting on the gambling nights. Swartwood said his organization was paid $500 a night by the gambling night operators for use of the hall. Swartwood said he did not know the name of the organization that was putting the gambling nights on.

''It was in a person's name,'' Swartwood said of how the hall was rented.

Swartwood said an individual approached him in November of last year and inquired about renting the VFW Hall for gambling nights. Swartwood said he told the individual he'd agree to renting the hall but said first he'd have Avon Lake police check out the group. Swartwood said the organization presented ''paperwork'' with the Avon Lake police which tipped off police that all may not be right with the group.

Police told Swartwood the group ''looked a little shady,'' he said.

The Morning Journal - News - 01/16/2005 - Poker raid hits American Legion post in Avon Lake

This is actually a GREAT article written by Jonathan Katz that I would highly recommend for anyone to read.

The article does a good job of explaining the different ways that someone COULD cheat at online poker--- but also explains how unrealistic it is that people are successfully using those methods.

Topics that he discusses are: collusion, software helpers, "bots", and intentional disconnects.

He also explains why it is much more difficult to cheat in online poker than it is in a live game.

Hold 'Em, Fold 'Em, Cheat 'Em - Tricks, scams, and crimes for winning at online poker. By Jonathan�M.�Katz

The New England Sports Network and the YES network in New York plan on bringing the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry to the poker table.

PartyPoker.net is sponsoring the Boston vs. New York Poker Challenge, a nine-episode series which will be shot this February and broadcast later this spring. Six players from Boston and six players from New York will be picked to participate.

Casting agents will be holding casting calls next week, and are looking for the "three P's"--- poker playing ability, a passion for sports, and personality.

BostonHerald.com - Business: Is Hub flush with aces? Rivalry spawns poker series

City councilors in Salem, Oregon, are considering changing city law to allow social poker games at private businesses and clubs. Businesses would not be allowed to profit directly from the poker games (collecting a "rake" or timecharge), but would be allowed to indirectly profit from the increase of business to their establishments.

The city council has put the Salem Police Department in charge of researching the proposal.

News - StatesmanJournal.com

Actor James Woods is a poker player. He is currently a spokesperson for the online poker site "Hollywood Poker", a relatively new poker site which has decided to help raise cash for the tsunami relief effort.

Woods explains, "Anybody who signs up on Hollywood Poker, we're gonna match every penny that's in that tournament.

"So if there's 10,000 people playing and there's $200,000 or $400,000 - whatever the money is - every penny of it, we're gonna put up. We're gonna give it to the tsunami-relief (efforts).

"And if you win anything, you're welcome to give some of that as well, or if not, you can keep it."

I had never even heard of Hollywood Poker before this announcement. It sounds like an excellent way to have fun while helping out a good cause.

JAMES WOODS - WOODS ANNOUNCES ONLINE POKER TOURNAMENT

Senator Dave Klein of St. Cloud, Minnesota, will announce details of a bill today that will allow poker players to play in poker tournaments in places other than Minnesota casinos.

Sen. Dave Kleis of St. Cloud is an aficionado of the poker game known as "Texas Hold 'Em." Last summer, he heard the owner of the Granite Bowling Alley in his district was busted for running a poker tournament. He decided Minnesota law should be changed.

WCCO: Senator Drafts 'Texas Hold 'Em' Bill

A new series based on poker premieres on ESPN Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

The show is called Tilt, and was written, produced and directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien (who wrote the 1998 poker movie Rounders). The show stars Eddie Cibiran, Michael Madsen, Kristin Lehman, Todd Williams, and Don McManus.

I have heard mixed opinions about the show. Many poker players that I know have seen a preview, The Making of Tilt (or something along those lines), and thought that it looked horrible-- but that may just be because they are poker players.

Buoyed by the current TV poker craze, ESPN figures to have a winning hand in Tilt, though the number of poker-playing scenes might not satisfy card diehards.

"Too much poker will alienate the non-poker-playing viewer," Shapiro said. "It's a delicate balance."

USATODAY.com - ESPN likes odds of capitalizing on poker craze

GSN, the Game Show Network, has annouced a new television series, "Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes", which will premiere on January 21.

It will be a 7-episode series which will pit "the world's finest poker players" (read: the world's most famous poker players) against each other in a no-limit texas hold'em tournament. Each episode will feature two teams of three men and three women-- at the end of the series, it will be determined which sex played better overall.

The show will be hosted by Tom Leykis (of the syndicated radio program "Tom Leykis Show") and MTV VJ Kennedy.

POKER ROYALE: BATTLE OF THE SEXES includes the world’s top players including Chris Moneymaker (2003 World Series of Poker 1st place), Paul Wolfe (2003 World Championship Online Poker final runner up), Greg “Fossilman” Raymer (2004 World Series of Poker 1st place), Amir Vahedi (2001 No Limit Texas Hold’em Player of the Year), Layne Flack (5 Time World Series of Poker Champion) and Antonio Esfandiari (World Poker Tour first place champion). In the women’s corner are Kathy Liebert (2002 Party Poker Million champion), Jennifer Harman (World Poker Tour Bellagio 4th place), Evelyn Ng (World Poker Tour Ladies Night 2nd place), Karina Jett, Kristy Gazes (2001 World Series of Poker Shoe 5th place) and Clonie Gowen (World Poker Tour Ladies Night champion).

GSN - The Network For Games

Researchers from Hamburg, Germany have published results in the journal Nature Neuroscience which they say show that parts of the brain which are generally active when people feel rewarded are less active in those people who take drugs or gamble to excess.

Functional Magnetic Resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to monitor brain activity in 12 compulsive gamblers and 12 non-gamblers while they played a simple card-betting game. The ventral striatum, a part of the brain which signals reward, was less active in the "gamblers" than in the non-gamblers. Drug addicts also exhibit reduced activity in the ventral striatum.

The researchers suggest the explanation could be that people with such addictions cannot maintain the amount of the brain chemical dopamine - which produces feelings of satisfaction and pleasure - which they need in the ventral striatum, through everyday life.

Instead, they need stronger triggers - such as drugs or excessive gambling - to compensate.

I think that this is an interesting study. I think though, that there are some obvious weaknesses in the argument. First of all, their sample size is pretty small--- 24 people total. Secondly, and more serious, is the fact when a "gambler" wins 1 euro, they will naturally not feel as rewarded as when a "non-gambler" wins a euro. Right?

That said, I suspect that gambling is indeed a real addiction-- it's just that this research is questionable.

BBC NEWS | Health | Gamblers' brains addiction clue

A charity poker tournament held in Ventura county raised about $10,000 for a foundation created in the memory of an Army flight medic. Michael DiRaimondo was 22 when he was killed in Fallujah, Iraq on Jan 8th of 2004.

The foundation created in his memory has raised more than $130,000 over the past year, and "will offer scholarships so that other aspiring paramedics can get the training to achieve their dreams".

More than 100 players attended the tournament, with prizes of hotel packages for trips to places like Vegas and Hawaii.

L.A. Daily News - News

Harrah's has hired the sports television consulting firm Pilson Communications to negotiate with ESPN regarding the World Series of Poker broadcasts, as well as to develop new poker programming.

Pilson Communications has previously negotiated a $2.4 billion agreement with Fox, NBC and Turner to air NASCAR events, and handled a $2 billion agreement for NBC to air the Olympics.

So what sort of "new poker programming" should we expect? This is a start:

Harrah's recently created a separate World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit, a series of five poker tournaments that will run prior to the final championship event, to transform the month-long event into a year-round sport. ESPN will also be taping the main events in the circuit, which kicked off Friday in Atlantic City.

Las Vegas SUN: Poker broadcast being negotiated

Next week the Crown casino is hosting the Australian Poker Championships. Several celebrities may be in attendance--- Toby Maguire, Ben Affleck, and tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Here's the funny bit from the blurb:

Affleck, the star of poker movie Rounders, is one of several Hollywood stars making their name in card gambling, in a craze that is sweeping America.

I seem to have forgotten which part Ben Affleck played in the movie Rounders?

NEWS.com.au | Entertainment | Maguire may ante-up (January 10, 2005)

The state of North Carolina doesn't want Harrah's Cherokee Casino to offer live poker games. It appears that hosting live poker games would be "legally impossible under state law".

North Carolina's rules permit video maching gambling in Cherokee Casino, but not live table games.

However, those rules wouldn't apply if the casino doesn't collect a "rake" or time charge for the games. Will Harrah's decide to offer poker, even if they don't make money off of the games? We'll have to wait and see--- but the decision really comes down to whether Harrah's estimates that a poker room will bring in enough ancillary business to make running a poker room at a loss profitable.

Winston-Salem Journal | Poker Play

This is a story from Annapolis, Maryland. The title is pretty self-explanatory.

The Rev. Byron Brought, senior pastor at Calvary United Methodist Church in Annapolis, compared Internet gambling sites to pornography Web sites - both of which are hard to regulate or monitor.

I think that this quote is humorous:

Anti-gambling activists fear that the estimated 1,800 Internet gambling Web sites target a younger generation comfortable with computers and people who don't want to leave their homes for a trip to a casino.

"Young people would be the victims of online addiction," said Barbara Knickelbein of Glen Burnie-based NOcasiNO-Maryland. "Many senior citizens may find it user-friendly. On rainy days you don't have to go to Dover."

It's funny because they are arguing AGAINST convenience. It's almost like a sales pitch-- "Why get wet? Play online!"

If these activists have their way, it's going to be because of children gambling online. Internet casinos need to start regulating themselves much more closely, or they will be giving these anti-gambling activists ammunition.

HometownAnnapolis.com, Top Stories - Activists fear social, economic costs of online gambling

Maybe I'm not one to judge-- I don't live in Montana. But the new governor, Brian Schweitzer, certainly sounds super-cool.

Schweitzer said he won't be a deskbound governor. He intends to hit the road often and will have the state airplane at the ready.

Montanans will be surprised because they'll see the governor in their hometown more often, he said. Former governors have had Capital for a Day programs in which the chief executive and some of his Cabinet members and aides would travel by bus or plane and visit a town once a month.

"I'm going to every courthouse in Montana and all tribal councils the first year" he said. "And you'll see me sitting at a table maybe as grandiose as this one and maybe not a rotunda as large as this, but similar, and meeting with folks."

Schweitzer said he will travel alone, perhaps accompanied by a junior staff member.

"So if you've got a beef with the government, talk to the governor," he said.

Schweitzer looks forward to working with legislators from both political parties. His family gave him a set of fancy poker chips for Christmas, and he intends to invite lawmakers over to the governor's mansion to play cards.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea for the governor to invite legislators over to play poker and then lose," Schweitzer said with a laugh. "I'll let them win the poker games."

I disagree though about Gov. Schweitzer needing to lose at poker to the Montana legislators. I think that a strong hand is important in a governor. Though I would bet he was just kidding about losing anyway--- he's probably a hustler... "Come on in fat cats, the water's fine...."

Congrats Montana on having a kick-ass governor.

Schweitzer's goals: New governor wants to make Montanans feel good about their state - billingsgazette.com

PokerStars is collecting donations to help provide relief to the millions of people affected by the tsunami and earthquake in south asia and east africa. They will match all donations by 100% and submit the money to the International Federation of Red Cross.

Register for Our "Donation Tournament"

You can give by registering for our special "Donation Tournament." Simply click "Tourney" then "Special" in your game lobby. You may then choose to register for $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100, the amount your register for constitutes your donation amount and will then be matched by PokerStars.

Another opportunity to make a donation is to participate in the Grannymae tournament by clicking "Tourney" then "Private" and looking for "Zoo Tsunami Relief." Half of the overall prize pool from this event will be donated directly to the Red Cross.


Make a Direct Donation Transfer

You may also choose to donate by selecting the "Requests" link at the top left corner of your game lobby. Choose "Transfer funds…" and enter the amount your wish to donate along with the Player ID "ReliefEffort." Your donation amount will then be matched by PokerStars before being given to the International Foundation of Red Cross.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and donations during this tragic time. With your help, PokerStars and the International Foundation of Red Cross can make a difference.


Tsunami Fund Raising Efforts at the Atlantis

PokerStars will also be hanging a large banner during this year's PCA encouraging players to pledge a percentage of their winnings to the relief efforts. Once the PCA tournament is over PokerStars will match the amount pledged by the players dollar for dollar and donate the funds to the International Federation of Red Cross.

The official death toll passed 123,000 today, and over 5 million are homeless.
PokerStars.com - Tsunami Relief Effort