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WORLD POKER TOUR ON A ROLL
2011-04-05
$100 000 buy-in Super High Roller event for the Bellagio
Party Poker has been extensively overhauling the World Poker Tour since taking it over late 2009 (see previous InfoPowa reports), introducing bigger and better events and slick organisation, but the latest announcement sets a new benchmark in the company’s tournament history - a $100 000 buy-in event.
Crowning the striking enhancements and whirlwind changes of the past eighteen months, the World Poker Tour will now deliver a finale worthy of a successful live tourney season with its debut Super High Roller Event during the upcoming WPT World Championship series at Bellagio.
This exclusive tournament runs from May 18-19, features a $100 000 buy-in, and will be televised within the WPT World Championship episodes on FSN.
World Poker Tour champion and eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Erik Seidel, Daniel Shak and Justin “BoostedJ” Smith have already confirmed they will play.
“Hosting a hundred thousand dollar buy-in event within the WPT World Championship series means the world’s elite players have a chance to show their mettle as they battle for one of the year’s most coveted titles and one of the highest buy-in titles, all within a single week,” said Steve Heller, CEO of the World Poker Tour, this week.
With the game’s top professionals already competing at Bellagio for the WPT World Championship May 14-20, this new addition is sure to attract premier players and generate a robust prize pool.
POKER LEGALISATION: CALIFORNIA GAMING ASSOCIATION GETS BEHIND CORREA BILL (Update)
2011-01-07
Three legislative proposals on internet poker now before the state legislature
Reports earlier this week that there are now three internet poker legalisation proposals before Californian lawmakers (see previous InfoPowa reports) have been followed by the news that the California Gaming Association has committed its support to one of them - state senator Lou Correa's SB40.
The CGA represents 69 of the licensed card clubs - some 75 percent - across the Golden State, and its support will be welcomed by tribal groups like the Morongo, which has allied with land card rooms in trying to exclusively corner the online poker market in California once the pastime is legalised.
“Senate Bill 40 will help revitalize the state’s economy while protecting players,” said Rob Ross, CGA’s Executive Director. “This bill is an opportunity for licensed card clubs to participate in a new and rapidly evolving technology, should they elect to do so.”
He added that the Correa bill will create a needed source of new revenues and jobs as California struggles with a record $28 billion deficit and a soaring unemployment rate of 12 percent.
In a statement Wednesday, the CGA argued that SB 40 keeps revenues generated by online poker in California and does not export much needed state revenue out of state or, worse, out of the country to illegal, foreign-based online gaming sites.
Ross said SB 40 contains provisions that CGA believes are key elements in establishing a safe and secure option for online poker in California. The strict regulation of operators called for by SB 40 will ensure that the more than 2 million Californians who play poker online each week will be protected from various forms of fraud and theft that currently occur, he claimed.
State Senator Correa was quick to note his gratitude for the CGA's support, saying in a statement: “I’m honored to have the support of the California Gaming Association behind SB 40. The growing support for this legislation shows that now is the time for California to engage by creating a legal and safe environment for our residents who play online poker while also generating new revenues and jobs for our state.”
Correa emphasised that his bill protects the underaged from gambling online through strict registration and login requirements. The regulations will ensure that any online poker Web site licensed in California meets the strict standards established by CGA’s members, he concluded.
CEREUS ONLINE POKER NETWORK SOLD
2010-08-27
Little known e-gaming company buys Tokwiro's internet poker network
Taking many industry observers off-guard late Thursday was a press release from the largely unknown e-gaming firm Blanca Games revealing that it has acquired the interests of the Cereus poker network formerly owned by Tokwiro Enterprises and including well established if at times controversial sites Absolute Poker.com and UltimateBet.com.
The release did not provide details of the consideration paid or conditions for the sale, although industry sources have since confirmed that a supporting press release from Tokwiro can be expected soon. The network is unlikely to have been a cheap buy, as the deal is understood to cover all network operations, intellectual property, software, and branding rights for the constituent sites.
The Khanawake Gaming Commission, which licensed and regulated the sites, has apparently given its blessing to the deal.
The press material includes quotes from Blanca Games CEO Stuart Gordon, whom it describes as an experienced e-gaming executive, who said: “The acquisition of Cereus is a significant opportunity for us. Cereus is a major platform of well-managed assets. Over the past few years, it has created new brands, like UB.com, that are extremely well-positioned in the most desirable demographic in our market: players in the 20s and 30s age brackets.
“From our perspective, we have acquired a large, sophisticated online gaming operation with state-of-the art capabilities, ranging from compliance to business intelligence to online marketing to customer service. We see a tremendous growth opportunity in this deal and beyond, as Blanca seeks additional acquisitions in the market.
“We are confident that the Cereus Network has found an excellent home in Blanca Games. Over the past several years, Cereus has developed into an outstanding platform, which is poised for significant growth. This transaction will benefit Cereus players and employees alike. We expect no changes in the playing experience on the Cereus sites, except for the improvements that will likely be the long-term result of this transaction.”
According to internet sources, Gordon founded BingoMania.com and Helix Gaming International, and has licensing from both the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and Antigua.
Gordon has intimated that no major changes are presently contemplated in either staffing, policies or technology at Cereus. Clearly with an eye on the historical furores at Absolute Poker and UltimateBet (see previous InfoPowa reports), Gordon said: “We intend to leverage the existing strengths of the Cereus Poker Network, particularly in the areas of security and customer service. Although we are impressed with many of the new security features on the Network today, security is and will remain our top priority.”
MORE FINAL TABLES REACHED AT WSOP (Update)
2010-06-09
Jennifer Harman doing well in $10 000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event
It's all happening at the 41st World Series of Poker with a number of key events running concurrently and keeping the railbirds running from venue to venue Tuesday night.
Event 13 – the $1 000 buy-in NLHE – had played down to a final table of nine when InfoPowa went to press at 11pm Tuesday Vegas time, after a slew of late night eliminations brought the remains of an original 3 042 field down to just 9 survivors.
The day began with 56 players returning for Day 3, which plenty of eliminations that included names like Ylon Schwartz and Andy Black.
When Daniel Duong was sent packing in the number 10 spot, picking up $27 323 for his trouble, the final table was set and looked like this:
1 David Baker 2,553,000
2 Matthew Vance 1,731,000
3 Steven Gee 1,540,000
4 Nicholas Heather 993,000
5 Kyung Han 613,000
6 Daniel Thomas 602,000
7 Jared Hamby 423,000
8 Mats Gavatin 393,000
9 Jeffrey Gross 281,000
The winner will collect a $472 000 reward and the kudos of a WSOP bracelet when play resumes.
Yan Chen won his first WSOP bracelet in event 14 - $1 500 buy-in 2-7 Draw Lowball No-Limit competition after a tough heads up against Mike Wattel just before midnight.
The event attracted a starting field 250 players, and Chen received a first prize worth $92,817.
Jennifer Harman on 1.3 million chips leads the final table of event 15 – a $10 000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo Championship which attracted many of the game’s biggest stars, initially including Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Eli Elezra and Erik Seidel.
Of the 170 players who registered for the competition only 18 survived to see Day 3 with Frank Kasella in the lead. Notable casualties included Richard Ashby, Mike Sexton, Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Erick Seidel and Eli Elezra.
On what could prove to be the final day, by 10.30pm Vegas time the final table of six had been decided when Allen Kessler eliminated the two low-stack players, sending Dario Minieri and Vladimir Schmelev to the cashier for $52 366 and $63 457 paychecks respectively.
This is the final table:
Kirill Rabtsov
Jennifer Harman (chip leader on 1.3 million as InfoPowa went to press)
Frank Kassela
John Juanda
Steve Zolotow
Allen Kessler
Event 16 - the $1 500 buy-in Six-Handed NLHE contest showcased a very high attrition rate on Day 1 which saw the cash bubble burst as a field of 1 663 was reduced to only 146 survivors in hectic action.
And this was despite a rather late start at some of the tables!
One of the highlights of the event is the participation of the modest former WSOP Main Event 2007 champ Jerry Yang, playing with characteristic discipline and courtesy. Other big names seen at the tables were Eric Buchman and Mark Seif.
POKER NOW A SPORT IN LITHUANIA
2010-03-22
Official decree passed by government's sports ministry.
It's official....poker in now a sport in the Baltic state of Lithuania, which is also making progressive moves toward the regulation of Internet gambling.
On March 20, the government's Department of Physical Education and Sports issued an official decree recognising the Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation as an official sports federation.
“This is extremely important step in our work,” Andrius Tapinas, president of the Lithuanian Sport Poker Federation, said. “We are receiving congratulations from many of our colleagues abroad and I know that we are breaking thick ice with our progress for similar international initiatives.”
Tapinas revealed that the LSPF will soon present its official tournament schedule to the Lithuanian sports media. Along with his presidency of the LSPF, Tapinas, is the presenter of the of the most popular Lithuanian business TV show. His cashes in WSOP and Unibet Open tournaments were also covered on the front pages of biggest Lithuanian daily.
The Inaugural LSPF tournament will take place from April 24 through 26 in Vilnius. Tapinas expects this might be the biggest poker tournament in any Baltic country yet.
POKER FOR CAMBODIA
2010-01-04
Canadian player donates portion of winnings to charity
Not long ago InfoPowa highlighted the good works of American professional online poker pro Dusty 'Leatherass' Schmidt, who has riased subtantial funds playing poker for the Transition Project - a charity in Portland. Schmidt is one of a growing number of pokerheads with big hearts who raise money for the less fortunate; Don Cheadle and Annie Duke with their Ante Up for Africa campaign is another great example of what the game can achieve in helping others.
This week we focus on a talented woman player from Toronto who donates a portion of her winnings in major tournaments to charity.
Elizabeth Bennett-Martin's latest project is to play in the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure, winning enough to donate a significant amount to the Cambodian Legal Education for Women project started by the Toronto law firm Bennett Gastle P.C in which she is a partner.
The focus of the charity is to provide educational assistance and living expenses to help young women in Cambodia attend law school, and escape a life of poverty. The charity helps women who live in extremely deprived, cramped conditions, sleeping on mats on a bare floor, and will assist in improving dormitory conditions - the accommodation has no furniture or cooking facilities, other than hot plates.
The project aims to improve the possibilities for these woman by helping them to become lawyers in a country where legal help is extremely rare (in 2009 there were only 538 lawyers for a population of over 14 million people).
Last year Bennett-Martin was one of only 14 women in the entire PCA tournament and one of a mere seven female online qualifiers. She won a $24 satellite to compete against a field of 1 347 players.... and picked up $40 000 for a 25th place finish. This year she plans to improve on her performance and raise more cash, and has again secured a place through an online satellite.
In addition to earmarking a portion of any winnings in the PCA main event for charity, Bennett-Martin intends to compete in the inaugural PCA Ladies Event, and will donate all winnings to the charity if she is successful.
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