The 411 on Play Poker Online

Source: PokerListings.com ()

Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007

Poker, poker, poker … WPA protects poker with Luske.

By Sarah Polson

As the months of April and May played out, thousands of poker players began to prepare for their trek to the Rio in Las Vegas for the start of the 2007 World Series of Poker. That said, however, there were many other news stories that dominated the two months prior to the largest poker tournament on the planet.

At the beginning of April, the World Poker Association broke the 1,000 player mark and, as stated by its founder Jesse Jones, introduced a board of trustees for the organization. The elections ran for approximately a month and, after the votes were tallied, brought in Annie Van Bebber, Chris Bigler, Wendeen Eolis, Jesse Jones, Mary Jones, Warren Karp, Lou Krieger, Marcel Luske and Harry Thomas as the first members of the board.   The World Poker Association, which has goals of standardizing many aspects of the tournament poker world, continues to be at the forefront of leadership in the poker world and was very visible at many of the larger poker tournaments throughout the year. 
No Hold’em in Texas.April and May also saw different legislative bodies debate the eternal questions of the legalization of poker. The state of Texas gave birth to the game of Texas Hold’em but has many laws that prohibit the play of the game.   Texas state representative Jose Menendez introduced legislation in April that would legalize cash game play in selected locations around the state. After passing out of committee by a nearly unanimous vote, the bill died on the floor of the Texas legislature when it was not brought to a vote.   Menendez has vowed to continue the fight in the future and has the backing of thousands of players in the state of Texas as well as such groups as the Poker Players Alliance. In the state North Carolina, however, the story was much different. In May, the North Carolina Court of Appeals …

Source: Casino City Times ()

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G2E 2007, Part 4: What’s New at IGT?

25 December 2007

By John Grochowski

Have you ever played video poker, drawn a hand like three 8s, a 5 and a 3, and thought, “Hey, that’s four 8s — 5 plus 3, right?”
I know I have, and apparently International Game Technology is thinking right along with players who harbor such wishful thinking.
The world’s largest slot machine manufacturer, the Reno, Nevada-based IGT dominates video poker like the Yankees have dominated baseball history or Harry Potter has dominated kids’ best seller lists. If you’re playing a video poker machine, it probably was made by IGT.
At the 2007 Global Gaming Expo in the Las Vegas Convention Center, nearly all new video poker product was concentrated in the IGT booth. One game that caught my eye was Quick Quads, a dream for players who like the idea of unmatched cards adding up to four of a kind.
Three of a kind plus two cards that add up to the winning number bring the same quads payoff you’d get with a natural four of a kind. Three 8s plus a 5 and a 3 that add up to the fourth 8? You’ve got your payoff.
The result will be a dramatic increase in quads, one funded by an extra wager. It takes a six-coin bet per hand to activate the Quick Quads feature, instead of the standard five-coin wager that’s the maximum in most video poker games. The result is an increase in volatility. When you lose, you lose six coins per hand instead of only five. When you win, you’re paid as if you had wagered only five coins. But you make up for all that with three-of-a-kind hands that are turned into four-of-a-kind bonanzas.
IGT pioneered the sixth-coin wager in its popular Super Times Pay multihand video poker games. At G2E, it several games with sixth-coin features, including Ultimate X Poker. When the Ultimate X feature is activated …

Source: PokerListings.com ()

Monday, Dec. 24, 2007

By Sarah Polson

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission issued a statement this month saying the Gaming Associates investigation of Absolute Poker had been completed. Now the Commission will look over the report before issuing a decision.

“The Commission hopes to complete its review and render a decision in this matter within the next two weeks,” said the organization in a release on its Web site.  Absolute Poker came under investigation in October after allegations of cheating started showing up in poker forums online. A player who won a tournament was accused of using some sort of god mode or super-user account to be able to see everyone’s hole cards during games.  The accusations gained some weight when sleuths on the 2+2 forum analyzed the hand histories from that particular tournament and were able to track the IP trail of the player and determine it was a high-level employee at the poker site.  When Absolute Poker conducted an internal investigation, it found that an employee had breached the security system to play unfairly on the site for a period of 40 days.  That employee has since been terminated. Players who were involved in hands with that employee during the 40-day period also had their money returned to them.  The poker site also emphasized that this was an internal security breach and not something someone outside the company would be able to do.  Absolute Poker has turned over all hand histories in question to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission as well for its investigation.Related Articles: Absolute Poker Nearing EndPoker Rooms Respond to Online Security Questions Absolute Poker Issues Update on Scandal Absolute Poker Fallout Far From Over

Source: El Paso Times ()

Welcome to the Best of Blogs column, a sampling of the variety of Web log entries you can enjoy every day on the El Paso Times Web site. You can find these blogs by going to elpasotimes.com/blogs.
New toys
Elpasotimes.com has a new toy to play with! You can now comment on any story on the Web site.
If the comments on the blogs are any indication, 99 percent of us will use this new toy responsibly. Let’s hope that nasty 1 percent doesn’t lead mommy and daddy to take this new toy away from us.
The sports front of elpaso
times.com now offers video highlights from pro sports.
And, probably more important to your time wasting,
elpasotimes.com now offers a variety of online games, including Sudoku, video poker and air hockey. Enjoy!
Jay Koester, Best of Times (elpasotimes.typepad.com/best), posted Dec. 20.
Top movies
Here are my picks for my “Top 10″ for 2007. It has been interesting year for celluloid and there are no two alike.
1. “No Country for Old Men.”
2. “Sweeney Todd.”
3. “American Gangster.”
4. “Into the Wild.”
5. “3:10 to Yuma.”
6. “Grindhouse.”
7. “Ratatouille.”
8. “Juno.”
9. “Zodiac.”
10. “Paris, Je T’aime.”
Felipa Solis, Felipa’s Flicks (elpasotimes.typepad.com/flicks), posted Dec. 18.
Radio rankings
The latest Arbitron Radio Trend Report released this month shows some interesting changes in the El Paso radio ratings.
Univision-owned KBNA-FM (97.5) is ranked No. 1 during the August, September and AdvertisementOctober rating period with an estimated 9.2 AQH (average quarter-hour) share. A share is basically the percentage of radio listeners during a quarter-hour period.
For the first time in a while, no radio station in El Paso has more than a 10 share.
According to the ARB Trend Report, KLAQ-FM dropped to a No. 2 ranking with an estimated 8.7 share. Another interesting note: KHRO-AM, on the strength of Paul Strelzin’s “El Paso on Move” morning show, nearly doubled its audience from the summer ratings.
Roy Ortega, Media Buzz (elpasotimes.typepad.com/mediabuzz), …

Source: Poker King ()

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Alwaysbluff.com - Online Poker &nbsp

Railbirds everywhere tonight rejoiced at the sight of David Benyamine making his return to Full Tilt Poker.

Benyamine announced that he was quitting Full Tilt Poker over a month ago after a particularly bad No Limit Hold’em session. Benyamine more or less stayed true to his word (he played a bit the following day) until tonight, when he made his triumphant return.

Benyamine sat at a No Limit Hold’em table and the game immediately filled at 4:40 am. Considering the high limit No Limit Hold’em games have been ghost-towns as of late, this is not small feat. He also sat at a 100/200 Hold’em game, a 100/200 PLO game and a $1000/$2000 H.O.R.S.E. game.

I’m guessing that the live action dried up in Vegas after the Five Diamond Classic ended, so Benyamine decided to play online again. The high limit games on the site have certainly been missing him, and I hope that he decides to stay this time. One thing that you can say in favor of Benyamine is that he has tremendous stamina, and can play for days at a time. He’s exactly what the high limit games on FTP need to get going again, as there are always people that want to play him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Full Tilt Poker gave him some sort of an extra incentive to play on the site again, as the high limit games on the site basically been dead without him.

Poker Blogs by Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Brandon Adams and Justin “Boosted J” Smith

Source: PR Web (press release) ()

GearPoker.com Launched: Online Poker in the Fast Lane

A new online poker room hit the Internet last week with the launch of GearPoker.com. As a part of the Action Poker Network, members will find the standard game variety, plus a few extras like Big 2 Poker, Guts Poker and Chinese Poker. 'Geared' for success, the team at GearPoker is very excited about the launch.

(PRWEB) December 21, 2007 — GearPoker.com proudly announces the launch of a new online poker room, 'geared' for success. Officially launched December 6th, 2007, GearPoker is an innovative online poker room, offering more than the standard variety of gaming. Members will find other online poker games not commonly found, along with special bonus offers for the duration of its inaugural month.

GearPoker is geared towards young, up and coming online poker players with most of its clientele coming from Europe and North America. Players compete against other players from around the world, for real money or just for fun, as the new online poker room provides a safe, fair and fun environment for all.

The game variety at GearPoker consists of the standard selections - Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, plus a few other additions not commonly found in online poker rooms. Guts Poker and Survivor Guts Poker, Chinese Poker, Big 2 Poker and Pan (short for Panguingue), makeup the extended variety of online poker games.

Guts Poker is an intriguing online poker game where players ante, then receive 3 cards. Each player decides whether to stay in the pot or fold. The highest 3-card hand wins, and those who folded must ante the amount of the last pot to play in the next hand. In the 'Survivor' version of Guts Poker, only the lowest losing hand must patch the pot to ante.

A full schedule of tournaments be found at GearPoker in heads-up, short handed and full table varieties. Freerolls are held several …

Source: 4Flush.com ()

An online gambling advertisement was recently shown on a local Australian television channel, TV3. A 9 year old girl who’s father apparently allowed her to view the Simpsons television show believes that a pokerstars commercial shown during one of the shows breaks was inappropriate.

The girls father, Problem Gambling Foundation’s Chief Exec. John Stansfield says that the gambling ad is in breach of a law banning online gambling. He further complained that the ad which utilizes advertising techniques said to be comparable to ads ran by Nike misleads the youth.

Despite Stansfields objections TV3 stands by their decision to air the gambling commercial, stating the gambling ad was “vetted [or approved] by the Television Commercials Approval Bureau which pre-screens all TV ads before they go to air, in line with the Advertising Standards Authority guidelines”.

Marketing Director for TV3 Roger Beaumont explained that the add was not aired during children’s programming time. “This ad was deemed acceptable outside of children’s programme time - the same classification awarded to TAB and Lotto commercials.” Beaumont said.

Melissa Gregan, Health Promotion Adviser for the Problem Gambling Foundation says differently however. She says that the commercial aired at 7:40pm on the 15th of November and again at 5:09pm on the 30th. Both of these occurrences claims Gregan, were during the Simpson’s television show.

Stansfield said the PokerStars advertisement which featured the online poker room PokerStars.net the play money version of PokerStars.com commercial encouraged ‘young people’ to think of poker as a skill game, he went on to say that children watching the commercial will be given the idea that can be stars themselves if they enough.

“My daughter spotted it. She’s 9. She was watching The Simpson’s,” said Stansfield to the press.

In …

Source: New Zealand Herald ()

This ad was spotted by a 9-year-old girl.

An advertisement for a poker website seen by a 9-year-old girl watching The Simpsons is being investigated by Government officials.

The girl’s father, Problem Gambling Foundation chief executive John Stansfield, says the advertisement on TV3 appears to breach a law banning online gambling.

But TV3 is standing by its decision to screen the commercial, saying it was “vetted by the Television Commercials Approval Bureau which pre-screens all TV ads before they go to air, in line with the Advertising Standards Authority guidelines”.

TV3 marketing director Roger Beaumont said: “This ad was deemed acceptable outside of children’s programme time - the same classification awarded to TAB and Lotto commercials.”

But Problem Gambling Foundation health promotion adviser Melissa Gregan said she saw the commercial at 5.09pm on November 30, as well as at 7.40pm on November 15 - at both times during The Simpsons.

An Internal Affairs Department spokesman said the department was investigating complaints from several sources about the commercial and would decide by the end of January what action to take.

Mr Stansfield said the commercial encouraged young people to think poker was a game of skill, and that they could become stars if they practised enough.

“My daughter spotted it. She’s 9. She was watching The Simpsons,” he said.

“There were people with great ball-playing skills, and suddenly it switched to poker playing.

“We have been trying to get the Department of Internal Affairs to do something about it, but TV3 should pull it themselves.”

The Gambling Act bans online or “remote interactive gambling” unless it is promoted by the Lotteries Commission, run under the Racing Act, conducted by someone outside New Zealand or is a promotion scheme in the form of a lottery.

It also bans advertising for “overseas gambling”.

In this case, …

Source: EOG.com ()

December 18, 2007

It was announced today that the International Gaming Conference & Expo (IGCE) has released its program for the Lisbon, Portugal conference slated for April 22-24.  IGCE is the conference division of The Sports Network, the premiere real-time sports wire service in the United States. 

“After intense research and studies conducted,” stated Amanda Manero, Conference Coordinator for IGCE, “it was determined that the most important area of discussion, awareness and direction was the legal one.  Technology, marketing, payment processing, money laundering, the course to be taken to address the burgeoning audience that is Asia are all of interest but, as one attendee noted, ‘They are to no avail if we are not acutely aware of every legal hurdle that we must overcome in our own country and internationally.’ 

We addressed that with a literal “super star” faculty of speakers from around the world and applied their expertise and knowledge to topics of critical interest.”
 
Among the many areas to be covered during the two-day conference will be such diverse topics as:

 * Whom do you fear more, the DOJ or MGM Mirage, Stations Casino Group and Harrah’s?  Where do you go from here?

 * Are there any real benefits to relocating to Antigua, Malta, Gibraltar, and Isle of Man? 

 * What is the real Internet future of poker, casino games, mah jong, backgammon and anything else categorized as games of skill?  Is there such a thing as a game of skill?

 * Is it time to sell, merge, acquire or just expand?  Are IPOs yesterday news? * How do you get around the concrete hurdles of advertising, marketing, promotion, sponsorship constraints without having to battle the U.S. legal hawks?

 * Will electing Hillary be the first step towards repealing HR4411?

 * Payment Processing.  As one source closes down under governmental pressures, what other alternatives have opened …

Source: Earthtimes ()

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