Poker in the News

The World Poker Tour, the hugely popular US TV series which airs on the Travel Channel, will be the first poker show broadcast in prime time on television in the UK.

ITV4 will be airing Seasons 1 and 2 of the World Poker Tour starting Friday November 4 at 10pm.

World Poker Tour - The First Poker Show to Air on Prime Time TV in UK

Representative Jim Kasper, author of an internet poker bill that passed North Dakota's state house but was defeated in the state Senate this past March, is not giving up on the idea.

"I am not putting away the idea of getting into Internet gaming licenses in North Dakota," Kasper said. "The revenue we missed is too great to pass up."

Kasper and four other North Dakota legislators went to Antigua for four days this month on an unofficial trade mission, paid for by the Antiguan government. In September, Kasper was a featured speaker at the Casino Affiliate Convention in Las Vegas. He also attended the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo in Montreal this past June.

Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands have approved bills allowing for state licensing and regulation of Internet poker sites, but have been wary of following through because of U.S. Justice Department statements that Internet gambling is illegal in the United States.

Grand Forks Herald | 10/24/2005 | GAMBLING: Fargo legislator continues Internet poker push

The "Broadway Club" in Manhattan was raided by police on Friday night. Thirteen employees were arrested and $56,000 was seized.

The poker parlor consisted of a large room with six tables and a glassed-in private room for high-stakes or private games, the patrons said. Players could order takeout food, and some days, the owner provided free foods. Several plasma television screens lined the walls, and players who wanted to smoke cigarettes had to do so in a separate room, they said. Alcohol was prohibited. A cashier sat in a small office with a window, selling poker chips.

Prosecutors have said that it is not illegal to play poker for money in New York State, only to profit from promoting it. The Broadway Club charged players for every half hour of poker, between $3 and $8, the patrons said. Some poker club owners have argued that they simply rent space to players and do not profit from money bet. In this way, they say, the clubs resemble billiard halls. The police said that even the rental fees that clubs charge were illegal and seen as promoting gambling.

Broadway Club raided by NYC police

Phil Gordon will be in St. Cloud Minnesota on Monday October 14th to support Mayoral candidate Dave Kleis in a campain rally at the Granite Bowl.

The Granite Bowl is the site of a raid in July 2004 which ultimately lead to the legalization of Texas Hold'em Poker tournaments in Minnesota. Gordon read about the raid and contacted Kleis and even made a visit to Minnesota to testify in front of a Senate Committee to voice his support of the legislation.

AP Wire | 10/10/2005 | Mayoral candidate gets help from top poker player

PartyPoker is the online site we love to hate. It has the worst customer service and the tackiest software and graphics (eh.. maybe... Pacific Poker and Noble Poker are pretty bad too).

So why don't we leave and play somewhere else. It's called "player liquidity". The easiest way to describe it is to make an analogy to eBay--- there is never going to be a competitor in online auctions to eBay, because they've reached a "critical mass" and sellers and buyers will always get more and find more there.

Party Poker wasn't the only site we had to play at though. They had agreements with "skins"-- other companies that used the same platform and shared the same players. At a skin like Empire Poker, you could play against PartyPoker players AND get better support through their VIP and Royal Flush clubs.

On Saturday, that all changed. PartyPoker separated themselves from the skins. PartyGaming still provides the software to Empire Poker, Intertops Poker, Eurobet, and MultiPoker, but no longer shares the players.

This is resulting in a mass exodus from the skins back to PartyPoker (where the "player liquidity" is)---- a great business move for Party, but the death of the skins. When the London Stock Market opened on Monday, Empire Poker stock was a sure bet to short. It closed down over 30% for the day.