Featured Articles Archive - Page 374

Jonathan Epstein gets just reward for making final table of WSOP ladies event

It turns out there is booing in poker. And that's a good thing.For the past two days, Jonathan Epstein has been the target of derision at the World Series of Poker for making a deep run in the $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em tournament. And he deserved every bit of it, from the "bust that dude" chants that rang out just before he finished ninth in the tournament Sunday to the being loudly booed during every hand he was involved in Saturday night.In fact, there were more people lining up to jeer Epstein in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino than there were watching Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Michael Mizrachi, Daniel Negreanu and Tom Dwan play in the marquee $50,000 Player's Championship.Epstein is hardly the first man to play in a ladies event...read more

WSOP Poker Player's Championship quieter, but bigger than last year

Maybe the players are worn out from more than a month of grinding through a grueling World Series of Poker schedule. Maybe, with the proliferation of high-roller events at nearly every stop on the poker circuit, the novelty of a $50,000 buy-in event has worn off...read more

Black Friday and the WSOP: An in-depth look at the poker economy

LAS VEGAS – Just 47 days before the 2011 World Series of Poker got underway, the owners of the three largest online poker rooms that allowed Americans to play real-money games were indicted on charges of money laundering and bank fraud, and PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker subsequently shut their doors to U.S...read more

Report: European investors agree to purchase Full Tilt

A group of European investors are poised to rescue Full Tilt Poker, just two days after Alderney suspended the gaming site's license, according to a Los Angeles Times report.The deal, reportedly signed yesterday, would allow American players to recover money they had in their accounts when the Department of Justice froze Full Tilt accounts and indicted Full Tilt founder Raymond Bitar on April 15 on charges of money laundering and bank fraud.The founders of PokerStars and Absolute Poker were also indicted on April 15...read more

Deal Me In: Some profitable pre-yank reading

Dear Mark: I constantly read anything you have to say about video porker strategies, which happens to be my favorite form of entertainment at a casino. You mention payoff schedules frequently and explain that the closer to 100 percent a machine pays the better...read more

Full House Resorts to run Lake Tahoe casino

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts has signed a deal to lease the Grand Lodge Casino at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Tahoe, giving the gaming operator its second Nevada property.Full House, which manages several Indian casinos in the Midwest, also owns the Stockman's Casino in Fallon.Under the agreement with Hyatt Equities announced Thursday, Full House will have a five-year lease and will pay a fixed monthly rent of $125,000 over the initial term of the lease...read more

Gambling and the Law: D.C. proposes rules for Internet non-gambling

[In the interest of full disclosure, I am working with the D.C. Lottery on a related plan, to bring in electronic Instant Ticket Vending Machines ("e-ITVMs"). These will look like the most advanced Class II machines, and will dispense instant lottery tickets.] The District of Columbia officials held a public hearing today, Wednesday, June 29, on their plans to start taking money bets on online gaming in September...read more

No drop in this year's WSOP

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- If the 2011 World Series of Poker ended today, it would close with the fourth-most participants in the tournament's 42-year history.With eight events left to go, however, including next week's start of the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship Main Event, the current World Series of Poker is on track to shatter several all-time records.The success has come despite concerns of a drop in participation following the federal government's crackdown on Internet poker in April, which left many American players with their bankroll stranded on overseas gambling websites.Apparently, the tournament's impending doom was vastly overrated."It's hard to discount how almost every event has grown in participation," World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart said.Through Thursday, with 50 of the 58 planned events on the books, the tournament inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino's Convention Pavilion has drawn 57,781 entries, 6.6 percent higher than at the same time a year ago.The prize pool in the World Series of Poker cracked the $100 million mark Thursday, which puts the tournament on a money pace that is 6.7 percent higher than the 2010 tournament."It is one thing to plan and prepare to accommodate such a large number of people on a daily basis," World Series of Poker tournament director Jack Effel said in a statement, "But it is truly an amazing feeling to see it all unfold in front of your eyes like we have witnessed at the World Series of Poker in 2011."Last year's World Series of Poker awarded $187.1 million and had a record 72,966 entries, including 7,319 players for the Main Event.With the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship and the Main Event still to be played, the tournament is on a record pace.Stewart said the timing of the Poker Players Championship, which begins Saturday and concludes Wednesday, could increase the number of entries from a year ago, when it was held early in the tournament.Last year's Poker Players Championship, which requires participants to rotate play in eight variations of poker, drew 116 players and was won by Michael Mizrachi, who earned almost $5.6 million."We've seen an increase in participation in mixed-game events, so we think this will help attract participants," Stewart said.The 2011 tournament has already shattered several event records, including the largest-ever $1,000 buy-in event, the largest-ever $1,500 buy-in event and the largest consecutive days of a starting field with a combined 6,332 entries."We are humbled once again by the incredible turnout from players all over the world," Stewart said.The Rio is also offering 150 satellite tournaments daily throughout the World Series of Poker, which allows players to enter a lower-buy-in event and win the entry fee for a larger event...read more

Full Tilt Poker traffic now routed through Kahnawake Mohawk Territory

One day after its license to operate an online poker room was suspended by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, rumors are swirling that Full Tilt Poker may be looking to obtain a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) to resume games.While the IP address for www.fulltiltpoker.com is still located in Ireland, a trace route for the IP address shows that traffic is routed through the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory...read more

Alderney suspends Full Tilt Poker's license

The future of Full Tilt Poker appears to be in doubt this morning, as the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) has issued an order for Full Tilt to suspend all operations immediately."The decision to suspend these licenses follows a special investigation prompted by the indictments unsealed by US Attorney General's Office in the Southern District of New York on 15 April 2011, during which grounds were found to indicate that these licensees and their business associates were operating contrary to Alderney legislation," reads a press release from the AGCC...read more