James Bord Wins World Series of Poker Europe Main Event

What started as a field of 346 entrants in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event played down to a winner on Tuesday night. When the smoke cleared, Britain’s James Bord took down the title on his home turf at the Casino at the Empire in London. The £10,000 buy-in event marked just the second WSOP Europe tournament he had ever entered.



Bord started the final table in fifth place on the leaderboard and, after the field was whittled down to six players, Daniel Steinberg hit the rail. In his final hand, Steinberg called the 4bet of Ronald Lee with A-J of clubs for his tournament life. Lee flipped over pocket fours, setting up a race situation. The board ran out Q-9-6-3-8 and Steinberg was relegated to the rails, albeit with his bank account growing by £156,000.



Nicolas Levi was the next to depart. Seven hands after Steinberg was eliminated, Levi followed suit after calling all-in before the flop with a wired pair of nines. Lee was once again the executioner and showed K-Q, including the queen of hearts, for another coin flip. The flop came 8-5-4, all hearts, giving Lee additional outs if a fourth heart were to hit. Instead, the turn was a king and, down to his last out, Levi watched as the 10 of spades hit on the river. Levi collected £208,000.




Live poker Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe was ousted in fourth place from the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event. The WSOP bracelet winner, European Poker Tour event champ, and World Poker Tour victor hit the skids in a blind-versus-blind situation. In the small blind, de Wolfe moved all-in and tabled K-Q; he was up against Fabrizio Baldassari’s A-8. Baldassari flopped two pair and de Wolfe was eliminated with £278,000 to show for his efforts.



Bord moved all-in with A-3 and received a call from Lee, who showed K-Q. Lee bricked out and Bord doubled up as a result. The Brit’s rail, which included fellow poker pros Andrew Feldman and Sam Trickett, erupted in celebration. Baldassari then drew out on Lee’s A-K with A-4 to lodge a double up of his own.



After the pair of courtesy double ups, Lee found the exit after 3betting all-in with pocket fives. Bord insta-called with A-K and hit a king on the flop. Another cowboy came on the river and coverage found on WSOP.com detailed the scene: “Bord was jumping up and down with them while they crowded the rail, going nuts for their mate.”



Heads-up, Bord doubled with A-K against Q-8 and, in the tournament’s final hand, pocket fives once again went down in flames. This time, Baldassari 4bet all-in with “presto” and Bord called with a wired pair of tens. The better pre-flop hand held and the 29 year-old Bord took down the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event title.



Bord made the final table of a $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball tournament in Las Vegas during this year’s WSOP for $13,000 to come within inches of his first bracelet. On finally breaking through, he told WSOP officials on Tuesday night, “I never thought I would win a bracelet. Being so close, you just never know when it’s going to come again. And it’s even more special to win it in my hometown. It’s just something very special.”



Here’s how the final nine players cashed out in the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event in London:




1. James Bord – £830,401

2. Fabrizio Baldassari – £513,049

3. Ronald Lee – £376,829

4. Roland De Wolfe – £278,945

5. Nicolas Levi – £208,119

6. Daniel Steinberg – £156,530

7. Dan Fleyshman – £118,643

8. Brian Powell – £90,617


9. Marc Inizan – £69,754



Bord joined Phil Laak, Jeffrey Lisandro, Scott Shelley, and Gus Hansen as bracelet winners in London this year. Visit WSOP.com for more information.



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Ronald Lee Leads WSOP Europe Main Event with Six Left

The Main Event of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe schedule is in progress from the Casino at the Empire in London. With six players remaining, Ronald Lee leads the way with a stack of 3.4 million.



The pace has been fast and furious so far. In fact, it took just 25 hands for a rare double elimination to occur. Marc Inizan shoved all-in for his last 313,000 and Brian Powell re-shoved over the top. Lee made the call, having both of his opponents covered, and the cards were turned up. Lee held A-K, while both Inizan and Powell tabled pocket eights.



The flop came J-6-10, potentially leading to double ups for both all-in players, but Lee spiked a king on the turn to put the hand away. With no eights left in the deck, Inizan and Powell were drawing dead to the river, which was a meaningless four. Lee catapulted to over three million in chips following the double execution, while Inizan banked £54,000 for his ninth place finish and Powell collected £69,000 for eighth. Lee owned the second largest stack coming into the day.




Nicolas Levi then put a dent in Lee’s chip stack after doubling up with K-Q of spades against pocket fives. The action flop came 6-3-4 with two spades, giving Levi a flush draw in addition to his two overcards. Lee held an open-ended straight draw and the best hand with a pair of fives and the turn paired the board. However, Levi struck lightning in a bottle on the river when a red king hit to give him the critical double up. Levi shot up to one million in chips following the hand.



Danny Steinberg also doubled up on Tuesday after getting it all-in with pocket kings pre-flop. Victory Poker CEO Dan Fleyshman made the call with A-Q and the flop came 10-10-10, giving Steinberg a boat. A running 8-6 sealed Steinberg’s double up and crippled Fleyshman.



The Victory Poker front man found the exit in seventh place after getting it in with J-10 of diamonds before the flop on the 76th hand of final table play. Lee called, turned over K-5 offsuit, and promptly hit a king on the flop to claim a stranglehold in the hand. The turn was an eight, giving Fleyshman a straight draw to a nine, but an ace on the river sent him packing with a £118,000 payday in tow.



Steinberg now sits in second in chips with 2.2 million. However, he still falls short of Lee’s stack by over one million. Here’s how the leaderboard looks with six players remaining:



1. Ronald Lee – 3,465,000

2. Danny Steinberg – 2,171,000

3. Nicolas Levi – 1,660,000


4. Roland de Wolfe – 1,500,000

5. Fabrizio Baldassari – 895,000

6. James Bord – 800,000



Lee has just one WSOP cash to his name, a $3,600 haul for finishing 108th in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event in Las Vegas this year. The student and poker player from New York is in prime position to make a run at the £830,000 first place payday.



Roland de Wolfe has completed the live poker Triple Crown, winning a WSOP bracelet to go along with World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour titles. He became the just second person ever to accomplish the feat (Gavin Griffin is the other) after taking down a bracelet in 2009 in a $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better event. De Wolfe also finished fifth in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em contest last year for $113,000.



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Phil Ivey, Viktor Blom Ousted from WSOP Europe Main Event

At the time of writing, 15 players remain in the £10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event. Arguably the two biggest names in the field, Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey and Viktor Blom, the person many believe to be behind the “Isildur1” moniker, both found the rail on Monday.



Blom 3bet all-in before the flop with pocket eights and received a call from Brian Powell, who held K-Q to set up a race situation. The flop came 7-7-Q, giving Powell queens-up and the lead in the hand, and no help came for Blom on the turn or river.



Blom refused to chat with the media following his elimination. Coverage found on WSOP.com detailed, “Blom was whisked away to the interview booth where, true to form, he declined to speak. The production crew insisted, but Blom fought back, basically telling them he ‘didn’t want to talk about it.’ The crew told him to simply say that, as any tidbit of an interview would be viral gold. Blom simply walked off, though, relegated to the rail with 15 players left.”




Before he was eliminated, Blom busted Thomas Bichon from the WSOP Europe Main Event. Bichon departed in 20th place after Blom’s K-Q drew out on his A-Q. Blom hit a king on the flop to leave Bichon drawing to three outs and moved to 900,000 in chips.



Ivey, who is also reluctant to speak with the media, found the exit in 19th place to pick up £26,000. Ivey ran A-10 into Ronald Lee’s A-K in his final hand and, when a king hit on the turn, Ivey was drawing dead to the river. Ivey came within 18 players of his ninth WSOP bracelet and second of 2010. His latest piece of hardware came in June in a $3,000 HORSE event in Las Vegas. That tournament saw Ivey best Bill Chen heads-up in a final table that also included former WSOP Europe Main Event champ John Juanda, Jeffrey Lisandro, and PokerStars pro Chad Brown.



Two-time bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller busted in 22nd place to pick up the same £26,000. He ran A-Q into Powell’s A-K on his final hand. The dealer put four cards to a straight on the board to give Mueller some hope for a chop, but the river paired the board to send the accomplished Canadian packing. Both of Mueller’s bracelets came last year, one in a $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout and one in the World Championship of Limit Hold’em.



Here is the field that remains in the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event midway through Day 4:



1. Ronald Lee – 1,727,000

2. Dan Fleyshman – 1,460,000

3. James Bord – 1,359,000


4. David Peters – 835,000

5. Nicolas Levi – 729,000

6. Daniel Steinberg – 702,000

7. Brian Powell – 675,000

8. Fabrizio Baldassari – 602,000

9. Andrew Pantling – 397,000

10. Hoyt Corkins – 384,000

11. Roland de Wolfe – 345,000

12. Clint Coffee – 330,000


13. Barny Boatman – 310,000

14. Marc Inizan – 244,000

15. Arnaud Mattern – 225,000



David Peters final tabled Event #1 of WSOP Europe, a £2,650 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed tournament. Also gunning for his second final table in London this year is Andrew Pantling, who finished second to Phil Laak in the same Six-Handed event for £105,000. Dan Fleyshman is the CEO of the Cake Poker Network site Victory Poker.



Each of the 15 players left standing is assured £42,000 and the winner will walk away with £830,000.



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Gus Hansen Wins First Bracelet in WSOP Europe Heads-Up Event

On Thursday, action in Event #4 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe schedule, a £10,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller Heads-Up tournament, ground to a screeching halt after Gus Hansen and Jim “Mr_BigQueso” Collopy were deadlocked at one match apiece. With both combatants taking to the felt in the WSOP Europe Main Event on Friday for Day 1B, the question of when the duo would resume their best-of-three final loomed large. Yesterday, it was revealed that the two would take to the felts on Sunday at 6:00pm local time.



Three hours later, Hansen walked away with his first WSOP bracelet after edging out Collopy in the event’s rubber match to earn a bounty of ₤288,000. The Main Stage at the Casino at the Empire played host to the final match. On the tournament’s last hand, Collopy 3bet all-in with K-4 of spades and Hansen called with a wired pair of fours. Collopy picked up a flush draw on the turn, but no king or spade fell, giving Hansen his first WSOP victory and, more importantly, a sleek gold bracelet.



In one of the key hands of the final battle between Hansen and Collopy, the former shoved all-in on a board reading 8-J-J-5-2. Collopy made the call in a heartbeat and showed Q-J for trip jacks, while Hansen tabled ducks for a rivered full house. Hansen pulled out to a 2:1 lead in chips following the two-outer, forcing Collopy to battle back for his tournament life.




Hansen ultimately let Collopy draw back to even, but the veteran pulled out the win in fashionable style. En route to his dramatic showdown with Collopy, Hansen bested a minefield of poker talent by winning heads-up matches against Max Steinburg, Mark Everett, 2009 WSOP November Niner and fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey, Neil Channing, and Andrew Feldman.



Collopy jumped out to an early lead against Hansen in match #3 after leading out for 450,000 on a board of 6-5-3-9-J. Hansen tanked before making the call and Collopy turned over pocket aces. Hansen mucked and Collopy shot up to 2.8 million in chips for a 2:1 lead. However, he could not fend off the three-time World Poker Tour champion.



Hansen now owns nearly $1 million in WSOP cashes. His two claims to fame on the WSOP felts prior to Sunday’s bracelet win were a $123,000 haul for final tabling the $50,000 HORSE Championship at last year’s WSOP and a 61st place showing in the 2007 Main Event in Las Vegas for $154,000. Collopy had never made a final table in a WSOP tournament prior to Event #4 in London.



The tournament received love from ESPN cameras in attendance covering the Main Event. The network is in the midst of airing the Las Vegas Main Event every Tuesday night. This week, Day 6 of the $10,000 buy-in tournament will play out, with a feature table headlined by Matt “mcmatto” Affleck. The online poker pro took 80th in last year’s WSOP Main Event and made a strong run once again in 2010. You can catch all of the action beginning at 9:00pm ET.



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PokerStars Announces Schedule for APPT Cebu

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room and sponsor of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), has announced the return of a stop in Cebu, Philippines for its fourth season. The series will take place at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa for a five-day Main Event from November 12 to 16, along with a string of side events.



“We’re delighted to be taking the APPT back to the Philippines, and Cebu in particular,” said Jeffrey Haas, President of the APPT. “The Tour has gone from strength to strength in its relatively short life and fields are growing all the time. Last year’s event in Cebu was a definite highlight and offered further evidence of the continued passion for poker in the Asia Pacific region.”



The tour had a hugely successful debut in Cebu last year, drawing 319 players for the 100,000 Pesos (approximately $2,165 USD) Main Event to create a prize pool of more than $630,000. The tournament was won by Korea’s Dong-bin Han, who collected $156,722 and became only the second Asia-based player to win an APPT Main Event. The 37-year-old bested a tough field that included PokerStars Team Pros Bryan Huang, Tae Jun Noh, Raymond Wu, Tony Hachem, and Celina Lin.



Lin, who won the Red Dragon event at the Macau Poker Cup in July 2009, is excited to return to Cebu for another year: “The five-star resort, with wonderful beaches, spas, and restaurants, is one of the most idyllic places I’ve ever played poker. Cebu is a beautiful destination and the poker tournament itself was also fierce and fun. It will be even better this time!”




The APPT has already held the first three legs of Season 4. APPT Manila took place in the Philippines in March and was followed by APPT Macau at Casino Grand Lisboa in May. APPT Auckland in New Zealand panned out earlier this month. The APPT Grand Final in Sydney, Australia will take place at the Star City Casino from December 7 to 12.



APPT Cebu kicks off Wednesday, November 11 with a PHP 5,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Here’s a look at the full 2010 PokerStars APPT Cebu Cup Schedule (buy-ins in Philippine Pesos):



Wednesday, November 11: PHP 5,000 Cebu Cup Day 1A (PHP 1,000,000 Guarantee)

Thursday, November 12: PHP 5,000 Cebu Cup Day 1B

Friday, November 12: PHP 100,000 APPT Main Event Day 1A

Friday, November 12: PHP 20,000 No Limit Hold’em

Saturday, November 13: PHP 100,000 APPT Main Event Day 1B


Saturday, November 13: PHP 20,000 No Limit Hold’em KO Bounty

Saturday, November 13: PHP 5,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em

Sunday, November 14: PHP 10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed

Sunday, November 14: PHP 30,000 Pot Limit Omaha

Monday, November 15: PHP 40,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed

Monday, November 15: PHP 200,000 High Roller Event (Two-Day)

Tuesday, November 16: PHP 20,000 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack



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Dwyte Pilgrim Wins WPT Borgata Poker Open

We have a winner! Late Thursday night, Dwyte Pilgrim cemented his legacy by taking down the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City. The man who was widely considered to be one of the top players in poker never to have won a major pulled one out of his hat in monumental fashion. Pilgrim banked $733,000, but we’re certain that the money played second fiddle to validation from his peers.



We can’t even put into our own words the moments following Pilgrim’s win. So, rather than try, we’ll fill you in on what the coverage found on WorldPokerTour.com had to say: “Pilgrim runs off the stage, drops to his knees near Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, and then falls to the floor face down – we think he is crying with joy. After about two minutes, Pilgrim slowly stands up and wipes tears from his eyes as the audience gives him a standing ovation.” Wow.



In a special moment, Pilgrim’s heads-up opponent, Kia Mohajeri, joined in on the applause even though he had fallen just inches short of the title. In the pairing’s final hand, Mohajeri moved all-in on a board showing K-10-9-7 with K-9 for top pair. Pilgrim insta-called with Q-J for the nuts and Mohajeri failed to hit his full house on the river.




Pilgrim owns not one, not two, but three World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit gold rings, yet many have contended that he’s only been able to win in smaller tournaments. In his three WSOP Circuit titles, Pilgrim bested fields of 169, 106, and 579. The WPT Borgata Poker Open marked the largest WPT event in history, clocking in at 1,042 players, so we’re confident that Pilgrim’s victory will finally silence the critics.



Not everyone was sold on Pilgrim, however. Lee Childs, who was knocked out on the tournament’s play down day, Tweeted during heads-up play, “Watching the WPT final table. The crowd is increasingly getting on Kia’s side as Dwight continues to be rude and insult him.” Childs later added, “Congratulations Dwight! So proud of u bro! Don’t really love the talk, but soooo much respect! Awesome job Kia as well!”



According to coverage found on the WPT’s website, Pilgrim’s shots at his opponents included “Yo, if I can’t beat them standing up, I’m gonna take them to the floor” and “Gracie Jujitsu! Think I don’t know where I’m at? Think I don’t understand every facet of this game?” The latter comment came after Pilgrim took the chip lead from Mohajeri after spiking a king on the river against a failed flush draw. As the final hand was being dealt, Pilgrim boasted, “I don’t care what happens. I showed these guys how to play from beginning to end.”



Despite the choice of words for his opponents, Pilgrim will likely be strongly considered for ESPN.com’s October edition of “The Nuts” poker rankings, which have seen him fluctuate in and out of consideration for the top 10. The newest WPT champion is third on CardPlayer’s Player of the Year leaderboard behind Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Tom Marchese. On the Bluff Player of the Year leaderboard, Pilgrim can be found at #24.



Here’s how the final table cashed out at the 2010 WPT Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City:



1. Dwyte Pilgrim – $733,802


2. Kia Mohajeri – $440,945

3. Ofir Mor – $266,835

4. Brandon Novena – $223,475

5. Daniel Makowsky – $183,449

6. Ben Klier – $148,427



Next up for the WPT is the Festa al Lago, which kicks off on October 15th from the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The televised event comes with a $10,300 price tag.



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WSOP Main Event on ESPN Features Phil Galfond

Whereas past installments of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on ESPN have featured the “old guard of poker,” this week’s two-hour block highlighted one of the game’s young stars, Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond. The Bluefire Poker instructor took his seat at the feature table on Day 5 of the Main Event, which featured 574 players remaining and two former champs, Scotty Nguyen and Johnny Chan.



Galfond won a pot of 618,000 to become the chip leader in the first hand shown after flopping a set of fives. Then, the action panned out to the field, where Tony “Bond18” Dunst and Matt “mcmatto” Affleck, two of the chip leaders, were seated side-by-side. At Table 2, PokerStars pro Vanessa Selbst doubled up an opponent after her pocket kings could not hold up against pocket tens. Selbst lost 60% of her stack in the process.



Back at the feature table, Galfond hit a gutshot straight draw on the turn, leaving ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad to remark, “Galfond is running better than Forrest Gump.” Then, the young gun knocked out an opponent with A-K of diamonds against J-10. This time, Chad quipped, “A four-leaf clover would run bad against Phil Galfond today.”




Robert Mizrachi doubled up through recent PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) event winner Jason Mercier with pocket kings against pocket fives. Selbst then bit the dust after her A-2 could not hold up against an opponent’s K-J and Mercier followed her out the door by running A-10 into pocket aces. Mercier and Selbst each picked up $27,000.



Galfond held 1.9 million in chips, while the rest of his table held 2.1 million combined. Out in the field, November Niner Soi Nguyen doubled up with sixes-full to move to fourth in chips. Then, Scotty Nguyen dropped 40% of his stack after his pocket queens could not hold against an all-in player’s A-K. Poker pro Alex Jacob was ousted at the hands of Robert Mizrachi and Adam Schoenfeld also found the rail. Chad added, “They’ll have to point Adam Schoenfeld to the cashier. He’s only seen it in pictures.” Ouch. The cash marked Schoenfeld’s third in the money finish in a WSOP event.



To close out the first one-hour episode, Scotty Nguyen doubled up after flopping a set of sevens. Then, Donny Mizrachi became the second Mizrachi brother to fall by the wayside in the Main Event after Theo Jorgensen hit a straight on the river. Donny’s elimination meant that Michael Mizrachi and Robert Mizrachi were the last two family members standing.



Jonathan Duhamel doubled up an opponent to drop to less than 15 big blinds and was seemingly destined for the rail. However, he committed his chips with A-5 against A-10 all-in pre-flop and hit a five to move to 352,000. Then, Affleck became the first player in the Amazon Room to eclipse three million in chips after busting a player by making top pair, top kicker. Affleck was also the chip leader on Day 5 of the Main Event last year.



Juha Helppi sent Steve Sanders away, while former “Survivor: China” castaway Jean-Robert Bellande doubled up an opponent who hit two pair. Jorgensen sent two players packing in the same hand after flopping a pair of sixes with A-6 against J-6 and A-10. Jorgensen did a little jig in celebration, much to the delight of ESPN cameras. Remember, this is the same Jorgensen that knocked out Gus Hansen in a boxing match last year.



Scotty Nguyen lost half of his stack to James “croll103” Carroll after the latter called all-in on a board of 10-3-9-3 holding pocket tens for a boat. Nguyen tabled pocket jacks for two pair and a seven hit on the river. The Poker Hall of Fame nominee committed the rest of his chips pre-flop with A-J of spades, but ran into pocket kings to bust in 209th. Galfond, meanwhile, fell to less than one million in chips, but nevertheless survived the day thanks to his strong start.




In other late action during the second hour of WSOP on ESPN coverage, Robert Mizrachi doubled up with pocket kings and Peter Jetten continued his ascent up the leaderboard by knocking out a player with pocket queens. You can catch the 2010 WSOP Main Event unfold on ESPN every Tuesday at 9:00pm ET.



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Goldwater Bank Forfeits Funds Tied to Online Gambling

Goldwater Bank in Scottsdale, Arizona has agreed to forfeit $734,000 in assets tied to money laundering and illegal online gambling operations, the FBI said on Friday. The one-branch bank was accused of transferring funds for several online gambling sites, including PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room. At least $13 million was transferred in the first half of 2009 according to federal reports.



Ahmad Khawaja, together with his two firms, Allied Systems and Allied Wallet, had reportedly been actively involved in the transfer of funds to players from sites such as PokerStars and deposited funds into an account at Goldwater. The companies reportedly transferred money from outside of the U.S. through wire transfers from people who understood that the money was being exchanged as part of the gambling operation.



Following a civil forfeiture complaint by the U.S. Government, Goldwater Bank agreed to hand over the funds to resolve claims that the money was traceable to assets involved in money laundering and proceeds of an illegal online gambling business. Under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), financial institutions aren’t permitted to process transactions associated with illegal online gambling. Goldwater Bank, however, denied any knowledge that the transactions had ties to offshore gambling sites.




“Although Goldwater Bank denies guilty knowledge of its role in facilitating an illegal online gambling business, it was paid to execute transactions that were essential to the operation of this criminal enterprise,” said Janice Fedarcyk, the FBI’s Assistant Director in charge, in a statement. “The forfeiture settlement means the bank won’t profit by providing this service.”



Goldwater was among a handful of Arizona-based banks that received Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding. The program, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in October 2008, invested federal money into banks in order to ultimately strengthen the financial sector. Should an investigation reveal that the bank was conscious of the gambling-related transactions, it could be in danger of losing funding in the future.



“Today’s charges and settlement should send a powerful message to TARP recipients that they will be held strictly accountable for any misdeeds while they stand as custodians of taxpayer dollars,” said TARP Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky. “SIGTARP commends the leadership of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for his continued use of both civil and criminal remedies to protect taxpayer interests.”



In August, Khawaja and his two companies reached a civil settlement with the U.S. Government, agreeing to forfeit $13.3 million that was deposited between January 2009 and May 2009 at Goldwater Bank. The FBI confiscated all $13.3 million at the bank in June 2009 and Khawaja settled to keep himself and his companies out of further legal trouble.



Payment processors like Khawaja’s are being watched even more closely since the UIGEA’s regulations went into effect in June. The law, passed in 2006, aims to stop online gambling by preventing credit card companies and banks from processing funds transfers for unlawful internet gambling. The fight to regulate online poker in the U.S. took a big step in July with the passage of Barney Frank’s HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. However, there’s still a long climb ahead in order to turn the bill into a law, leaving sites like PokerStars alarmed in the interim.



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PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge Returns To Fox Television This Sunday

One of the most popular made for television poker shows, the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge, will return with new episodes this Sunday, according to an announcement from the number one site in the online poker industry.



Fox Television will once again air the Million Dollar Challenge as companion programming to its coverage of the National Football League (NFL). On weeks that Fox does not have the doubleheader coverage of the NFL for its viewers (the weekly doubleheader is shared between Fox and CBS on alternating weekends), the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge will either be seen prior to or at the conclusion of the Fox NFL football game in a viewer’s area. Several amateur players – who have qualified for the program through special tournaments at PokerStars.net – will attempt to take down the $1 million top prize.



Seven weeks of broadcasting are planned. The show will premiere this Sunday and will have its second broadcast the next Sunday (September 26th). The show will then fall into its two week plan in October (10th and 24th) and November (7th and 21st). The grand finale, where one contestant will face poker pro Daniel Negreanu heads-up for the chance at the $1 million grand prize, will air on Sunday, December 12th.




For this year’s version of the program, PokerStars has lined up several celebrities to take part in the Round One action against the amateurs. These “celebrity defenders” include “Dancing With The Stars” hostess Brooke Burke, former two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway, legendary Detroit Lions running back and member of the Hall of Fame Barry Sanders, Playboy Magazine 2007 Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood, and future National Basketball Association Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton.



The format for the Million Dollar Challenge is the same as in its first season. The amateur faces one of the “celebrity defenders” in an attempt to move onto Round Two. For the first round of competition, Negreanu sits at the table with the player offering advice and reading their opponent.



In Round Two, Negreanu is sent to an “isolation booth,” where only the amateur can hear his advice. The competence of the opponents picks up as well, with members of Team PokerStars stepping to the felt. Such Team PokerStars pros as World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker, Barry Greenstein, Jason Mercier, and Vanessa Rousso are the potential combatants for Round Two.



If the amateur is able to defeat one of the Team PokerStars pros in Round Two, they then face a difficult choice: walk away from the game with $25,000 or take on Negreanu – who has been helping them to this point – with $100,000 and a seat at the Tournament of Champions on the line. By defeating “Kid Poker,” the amateur player moves on to the Tournament of Champions and, if they win that, will once again face Negreanu for a shot at $1 million.



The show has proven to be quite successful for Fox and PokerStars. Hosted by Fox’s Chris Rose and reporter Michelle Nunes, the first season of the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge was the highest rated network broadcast poker program in U.S. history, averaging nearly four million viewers per episode. For those that may not remember last year’s conclusion, retired NYPD officer and 9/11 first responder Mike Kosowski shockingly beat Negreanu to take home the $1 million grand prize.



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Former Full Tilt Poker Employee Jason Newitt Subpoenaed by Feds

According to Wicked Chops Poker, former Full Tilt Poker employee Jason “JDN” Newitt has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and is scheduled to appear today. The reason for his subpoena was not disclosed. Read the article here.



In September 2009, word came to pass that Newitt was filing suit against Full Tilt Poker, Pocket Kings, and Tiltware alleging that “he was unfairly fired and that his distribution payments were unfairly ceased. Defendants then took control of his ownership.” He parted ways with Full Tilt Poker following a well-publicized e-mail leak involving Full Tilt front man Howard Lederer and Newitt discussing Jimmy “gobboboy” Fricke, who finished second in the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event.



Whether Newitt’s rumored appearance at the Southern District of New York involves his Full Tilt Poker lawsuit or the online poker room in any way remains to be seen. The involvement of the Southern District with the internet gambling industry has primarily been on the payment processing front. In April, Intrabill head Daniel Tzvetkoff was arrested and charged with money laundering, gambling conspiracy, and bank fraud in Las Vegas. A Dow Jones Newswire report indicated that the Southern District brought on the arrest of the Aussie and was focusing on “hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions with U.S. gamblers between February 2008 and March 2009.”




Last September, word broke that government officials had seized six bank accounts in Maryland related to the internet gambling payment processor Forshay Enterprises. The legal action followed similar seizures of funds belonging to Electracash and HMD, two other intermediaries.



Perhaps the most famous case involving the Southern District involves its investigation of Account Services, which was linked to providing payment processing for Full Tilt and PokerStars, the two largest online poker sites in the industry. Account Services front man Douglas Rennick, a Canadian, was hit with a potpourri of charges including bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling.



The Account Services sting was part of a larger assault on the internet gambling industry by the Southern District in which $30 million was seized. The money in question was destined for over 20,000 online poker players and, as a result of the disruption, sites like PokerStars gave cash bonuses to players who were affected when their checks bounced. The Poker Players Alliance, one of the main lobbying voices of the poker industry, filed an amicus brief on behalf of Account Services.



Wicked Chops’ namesake Steve “Chops” Preiss told Poker News Daily on Tuesday, “In general, subpoenas are not overly specific in nature. It’s no secret the DoJ has been investigating the online poker industry, and when J.D. Newitt sued Full Tilt Poker, he certainly opened himself up for some follow-up from the government. We simply won’t know if the subpoena is specifically targeting Full Tilt Poker or part of a larger and broader investigation of online poker until after the fact.” Newitt’s appearance could also be wholly unrelated to the industry.



Preiss speculated as to what the subpoena could mean for the online poker community: “This certainly isn’t ‘good for poker.’ But it might not necessarily be bad either. The DoJ has been consistent in their efforts in going after payment processors instead of site operators, and this is potentially just an exploratory measure on their part.”



A rumored grand jury investigation of Full Tilt Poker may be in the works as well. The Financial Times reported the investigation in April, although no further action has occurred.




Other recent lawsuits involving Full Tilt Poker include Brandon McSmith suing for the rights to the poker television series “Face the Ace” and Clonie Gowen suing for her own monetary distributions. The latter suit was dismissed in February, while McSmith’s legal squabble is ongoing. McSmith told Poker News Daily that officials from the FBI have contacted him.



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Sam Trickett Wins PartyPoker World Open VI

Chalk up one for the young guns of poker. Twenty-four year-old Sam Trickett of the United Kingdom took down the sixth PartyPoker World Open, banking $200,000. The tournament played out last week from the Palm Beach Casino in London.



Trickett has been on a tear in 2010. In June, he was the runner-up to Jason DeWitt in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event held during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for $505,000. That tournament saw Jeff “yellowsub” Williams finish in third and DoylesRoom Brunson 10 member Amit “amak316” Makhija take fifth for $328,000 and $179,000, respectively.



Then, Trickett bubbled the final table of the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event at the WSOP for $141,000. In August, Trickett was up to his winning ways once again, this time finishing fourth in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Vilamoura, Portugal. That showing was worth $177,000 and, when combined with Friday’s PartyPoker World Open VI win, gives him four six-figure cashes in the last three months.




On the final hand of the tournament, Trickett moved all-in on a board of A-5-10-2-9 with 10-9 for two pair and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko called all-in with A-4. Trickett told PartyPoker officials following the tournament’s conclusion, “To finally win a big tournament is brilliant. It is great to hear people saying congratulations rather than commiserations. After doubling up very early, I felt I was always in control, but had a feeling that if I got heads-up it would be against Yevgeniy Timoshenko.”



Trickett doubled up with pocket kings against Dale Hoy’s pocket eights early on and Hoy was sent packing shortly thereafter at the hands of Victory Poker’s Andrew “good2cu” Robl. Hoy’s seventh place showing was worth $15,000. Then, Robl was eliminated in particularly stunning fashion. He pushed all-in with pocket nines on a board of Q-9-Q-5-9 for quads and Toby Lewis made the call with pocket queens to have him crushed. In any cash game, this would have triggered a bad beat jackpot.



EPT founder John Duthie was bounced in fifth place after an untimely shove with 9-5, as Trickett woke up with pocket queens to send the veteran packing. Then, it was Juha Helppi’s witching hour after his Q-6 could not draw out on Lewis’ A-7. Helppi flopped a queen to take a temporary lead in the hand, but Lewis turned an ace to move ahead for good.



In his final hand, Lewis 5bet all-in pre-flop with A-7 of spades and Timoshenko made the call with A-J. The flop came 2-4-3, potentially setting up a split pot, and a second spade on the turn gave Lewis additional outs to a flush. However, a red ace hit on the river to give Timoshenko the win in the hand and set up heads-up play. Lewis received $75,000 for third place; Trickett had a 3:2 edge in chips to start heads-up action and never looked back.



Here were the results from the seven-handed final table of the PartyPoker World Open VI:



1. Sam Trickett – $200,000


2. Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko – $110,000

3. Toby Lewis – $75,000

4. Juha Helppi – $35,000

5. John Duthie – $25,000

6. Andrew “good2cu” Robl – $20,000

7. Dale Hoy – $15,000



For Timoshenko, the runner-up showing in the PartyPoker World Open VI marked the latest feather in his cap in what has already been a tremendously successful career. Timoshenko won the Asian Poker Tour’s Macau Main Event in 2008 for $500,000. Last year, he took down the World Poker Tour Championship for $2.1 million and followed that up with a win in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event for another $1.7 million.



Visit PartyPoker to relive all of the action from the latest cycle of the World Open.




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Poker Hall of Fame Voting Committee Receives 2010 Ballots

On Friday, members of the Poker Hall of Fame voting committee received their ballots in an e-mail from Harrah’s officials. Noticeably different this year is a “10-point must system” that asks each member of the 33-person panel to allocate 10 points apiece among the candidates of their choosing. Then, when the final points are tabulated, the top two players who have received the majority of the votes will be enshrined as part of the Class of 2010. This author has the privilege of being on the panel for the second straight year.



Each of the 33 voters can select no more than three of the 10 finalists on the ballot, meaning that we can opt for zero, one, two, or three players. Text found on the ballot explains this year’s election procedures: “This year, we are using a 10-point must system in the voting. You must cast your vote(s) and ensure the total of those votes equals 10, and exactly 10.” If the points don’t add to 10, the ballot is voided.



Two examples of how to vote are given in the ballot. In the first, if we believe two players are equally qualified to become part of the Poker Hall of Fame in 2010, then we’d allocate five points to each. If we felt that Dan Harrington, for example, was especially worthy of enshrinement, then we could toss seven points his way. However, in each case, the total number of points allotted must equal 10 and no more than three finalists can be selected.




Last year, World Poker Tour (WPT) host and World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Mike Sexton was the lone entrant into the Poker Hall of Fame after 75% of the vote was needed. This year, it’s possible that two players could get in considering only 50% is required. The votes from the 16 living Poker Hall of Fame members and 17 members of the media will not be publicly disclosed.



This year, the Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 7th from Las Vegas. Further details other than a date were not available at press time. Among the members of the media who have publicly acknowledged that they are part of the voting committee are ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman and the International Federation of Poker’s Anthony Holden.



The 10 finalists from the public vote received the green light from the Poker Hall of Fame Nominating Committee to be considered for the Hall. The group consists of Full Tilt Poker software developer Chris Ferguson, charity worker extraordinaire Barry Greenstein, top female pro Jennifer Harman, and the man who quite literally wrote the book on poker, “Action” Dan Harrington.



Other nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 include eight-time bracelet winners Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel, Tournament Directors Association co-founder Linda Johnson, 1983 WSOP Main Event champ Tom McEvoy, PokerStars front man Daniel Negreanu, and Scotty Nguyen, the only player ever to win the WSOP Main Event and $50,000 HORSE Championship.



Last year, Harrington, Greenstein, Ivey, McEvoy, Nguyen, Negreanu, and Seidel all made the ballot along with Men “The Master” Nguyen, who is not among the top 10 finalists in 2010. The induction ceremony took place on the first day of November Nine play at the Rio and featured comments from Sexton’s brother Tom Sexton, 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, gaming legend Jack Binion, Poker Hall of Famer T.J. Cloutier, and McEvoy. Sexton received a hearty 30-second standing ovation upon being introduced to the crowd in a touching moment.



Thirty-seven players have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame since 1979 and the ballots from the voting panel are due back on October 1st.






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knecht_poker, Kro-kodill Win PokerStars WCOOP Events

The 2010 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) has rolled on in recent days. Fifteen events are now in the books out of the 62 on the docket, with the Main Event set to play out on September 26th. The feature tournament boasts a $5,200 buy-in and will shell out at least $10 million in prize money. As announced by PokerStars this week, the winner of the Main Event is assured at least $2 million.



PokerStars player “knecht_poker” came out on top of the field in Event #14, a $265 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Knockout. The victory was worth $104,000, the lone six-figure payday awarded on Thursday, and he defeated “a365551” heads-up. “knecht_poker” hails from Ohio and is a former winner of the PokerStars $100 rebuy for $33,000. In April, “knecht_poker” trumped the field of a $109 tournament on PokerStars for another $20,000. One month ago, he made the final table of the high-stakes PokerStars Sunday Million, bowing out in ninth place for $12,000.



Others who made the final table of the $265 No Limit Hold’em Six-Max Knockout included “SCAINS2” (third place for $55,860), “Mrazeg” (fourth place for $36,243), “LazersNUTS” (fifth place for $23,155), and “VM47” (sixth place for $11,804). A field of 3,325 players turned out to create a prize pool of $665,000, about 50% larger than the guarantee.




“Kroko-dill” emerged on top of the field in Event #13 on Thursday, a $215 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Six-Max tournament. “Kroko-dill” collected $63,000 for his first place finish and defeated “SiiliSuhonen” heads-up. “SiiliSuhonen” pulled down $46,000 for second place and the top 108 players finished in the money.



Longtime industry staple Nick Niergarth, better known in the online poker world as “gbmantis,” took fifth in Event #13 for $17,000. The Wisconsin native has been highly successful both online and live and owns $126,000 in career World Series of Poker (WSOP) earnings. Two years ago, Niergarth made waves in the WCOOP by final tabling a $10,300 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for $179,000.



Here’s how the final table of Event #13 cashed out on Thursday:



1. Kroko-dill – $63,080

2. SiiliSuhonen – $46,514

3. DynamiteDraw – $35,780 (DynamiteDraw)

4. Fabahaba – $25,046


5. gbmantis – $17,890 (gbmantis)

6. chico134 – $10,734 (chico134)



Also playing out on Thursday was Event #15, a $215 Limit Razz tournament. The tournament boasted an overlay of nearly $43,000 and “TDT07” walked away with the WCOOP bracelet and $41,000 following a two-way deal. Receiving $36,000 following the chop was “MadisonAce29” and the top five players each took home five-figure paydays.



Joining “TDT07” and “MadisonAce29” at the final table of the Razz event yesterday were “STUDMANRONN” (third place for $25,000), “cpfactor” (fourth place for $18,750), “mddgfc” (fifth place for $12,500), “Unibasjoe” (sixth place for $8,750), “solody” (seventh place for $5,625), and “cal42688” (eighth place for $3,750).



Three more WCOOP events are on tap for Friday, traditionally one of the slower days in the online poker community. A $215 Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max event gets underway at 2:00pm ET and will offer up a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000. Three hours later, look for a $215 No Limit Single Draw 2-7 tournament with a $50,000 guarantee. The nightcap is a $109 Eight-Game contest that will distribute at least $100,000 and starts at 8:00pm ET. All told, $650,000 in guaranteed prize money will be up for grabs today on PokerStars.



Visit PokerStars to sign up for any of the upcoming 2010 WCOOP tournaments. The site, the largest in the industry, happily takes action from the United States and features a fleet of sponsored pros that includes Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, and reigning WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada.




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2010 WSOP Main Event Day 3 Airs on ESPN

“The Prince of Poker” Scotty Nguyen received airtime-a-plenty, baby, as part of ESPN’s continued coverage of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. On Tuesday night, Day 3 of the $10,000 buy-in tournament aired with a feature table that included Nguyen, Adam Schoenfeld, David Sklansky, and Deuces Cracked founder Chuck Danielsson.



Seated at Table 2 were PokerStars pro Jason Mercier, Allied Network Solutions CEO Ted Bort, and November Niner Filippo Candio. After scooping a major pot, Bort once again began barking like a dog, leading Nguyen, who was seated nearby, to ponder, “Who let the dogs out, baby?” WSOP floor officials ultimately told Bort to stop being disruptive: “You can’t be yelling at the top of your lungs in the middle of a poker tournament.” Bort received a warning; his next infraction would result in a penalty.



Sklansky quickly departed after running 10-9 into A-9, while elsewhere in the room, back-to-back WSOP Main Event champ Johnny Chan claimed the chip lead. 2003 WSOP Main Event winner Chris Moneymaker was not as fortunate, as the Tennessee native was all-in pre-flop with 10-5 of spades and received a call from a player with K-8 of clubs. Neither player improved and “The Man Who Started it All” headed for the exit.



Following his run-in with Bort on Day 2B, Prahlad Friedman found the rail after running top two pair into a flush. Also busting was Full Tilt’s Erik Seidel, whose J-3 of spades could not draw out on A-8 of clubs. Godsmack’s Sully Erna, a staple of the Main Event, called all-in pre-flop with pocket queens, but ran smack dab into pocket kings and could not improve.




Former European Poker Tour (EPT) champ Sandra Naujoks doubled up through Michael Mizrachi. Despite the setback, all four Mizrachi brothers remained in the field as Day 3 drew to a close. To round out the first of two one-hour episodes, defending Main Event victor Joe Cada was all-in with A-Q, including the queen of spades, and up against pocket tens. Cada added a flush draw when the flop came all spades, but the turn and river blanked out and Cada, consoled by his agent Dan Frank, fled the Amazon Room.



The second episode got underway at 10:00pm ET and began with Michael Mizrachi once again doubling up an opponent. Then, Robert Mizrachi folded to an all-in from Lauren Kling, who may be ESPN poker commentator Norman Chad’s newest crush. At Table 2, Candio made waves by 5betting all-in with pocket sixes and getting Bill Melvin and Mercier to lay down A-K. The Italian showed his cards and earned props from the rest of the table.



Daniel Negreanu departed after flopping two pair and watching an opponent turn a straight. He’s made just two cashes in the Main Event in the new millennium (2001 and 2006). Negreanu, however, has dominated across “The Pond” in London, where he reached the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2008 and 2009.



Heather Sue Mercer was eliminated after running pocket fives into pocket kings, while Danielsson followed suit in similar fashion after running pocket jacks into pocket kings. Jean-Robert Bellande doubled up an opponent who drew out on his pocket queens by making a royal flush.



Candio’s road to the November Nine continued after a raising war pre-flop with Jordan Cristos, who held pocket aces. Candio held pocket kings and by the time the money went into the middle, a pile of 685,000 chips was up for grabs. The board blanked out until a king hit on the river, giving Candio a set and the largest pot of the night. Candio celebrated by rattling off a string of Italian words.



Others who received face time on Tuesday night included Robert Varkonyi, Vanessa Selbst, WSOP Player of the Year leader Frank Kassela, defending WSOP Europe Main Event winner Barry Shulman, “The Simpsons” voice Hank Azaria, 2009 WSOP November Niner Eric Buchman, and James Carroll.




Catch the WSOP Main Event on ESPN every Tuesday at 9:00pm ET.



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Barney Frank Out as Financial Services Committee Chair in 2011?

01/09/2010 // tags: Barney Frank Out as Financial Services Committee Chair in 2011?

In November, voters in the United States will head to the polls for general elections. On Capitol Hill, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate will be determined. If Republicans were to gain control of the House, then Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) tenure as Financial Services Committee Chairman may come to an end.



A recent Financial Times article discussed the future of the lower Congressional body: “Polls show control of the House of Representatives is too close to call while the Democrats are expected to retain control of the Senate, albeit with a reduced majority.” Frank has been in the House since 1980 and served as the Financial Services Committee Chairman since 2007. Democrats currently control nearly 60% of the seats in the House and Senate.



Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) serves as the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, although he apparently seems far from a lock to take over the Chair should the opportunity arise. However, the Financial Times revealed, “Mr. Bachus said, ‘I will be the chairman if we’re in the majority.’ [Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)] said, ‘My expectation is that Spencer Bachus will be the next Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and I support him.’”



What’s the significance of this story for online poker players, you ask? Frank is internet gambling’s number one supporter on Capitol Hill, having offered up a handful of bills to legalize the industry in the United States. His latest effort, HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, was marked up in the Financial Services Committee in late July and has received the support of 70 co-sponsors.




HR 2267 received about a dozen amendments during mark-up, ranging from ensuring that online sports betting would not be legalized to prohibiting existing sites that serve the U.S. market “illegally” from applying for a license. Now, the measure awaits its time on the House floor, although HR 2267 being attached to a must-pass bill later this year is a possibility. Ironically, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was attached to an unrelated port security measure to become law in 2006.



Bachus remains one of the strongest opponents of legalized internet gambling. During HR 2267’s markup hearing on July 28th, Bachus opened the proceedings by arguing, “After all of the talk of the past year of shutting the casinos down on Wall Street, why would we take steps today to open casinos in every bedroom and every dorm room on iPods, Blackberrys, iPhones, and computers?”



In the meantime, HR 2267 has caused a rift of sorts in the poker community. The Commerce Casino’s Tom Malkasian was among those witnesses who spoke against the bill in a July 21st House Financial Services Committee hearing. In response, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s main lobbying voice, issued an online petition to force the Commerce to change its position. The petition, found at PlayersBeforeProfits.com, has received over 7,000 signatures.



The Commerce Casino then fired back, arguing in a press release distributed in Friday, “Nevada casinos, offshore companies, and Washington insiders don’t want California to benefit from its own market. Our economic future is not their concern. We support free enterprise, fair competition, and the principle that what plays in California, stays in California.” The Los Angeles casino also claimed support from the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, and Hollywood Park Casino.



Several poker pros have suggested a boycott of the Commerce Casino, although one has not yet occurred. The Bicycle Casino is fresh off hosting the World Poker Tour’s Legends of Poker, which saw Andy Frankenberger walk away with the title and $750,000 top prize.






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