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Is Full Tilt Poker Coming to New Jersey?

Sunday, August 24th, 2014

Full Tilt PokerThe latest news to hit the poker industry in a major way is the fact that Full Tilt and PokerStars may soon be reentering the US online gambling market. The two top gambling sites are part of the Rational Group which was recently acquired by Amaya Gaming. Amaya has worked to try and see the two sites reenter the US with online gaming options for players to enjoy and recent developments have stated that the two sites will be launching in New Jersey, possibly as soon as October.

It has been years since PokerStars and Full Tilt have been allowed to operate in the US after the disaster that was Black Friday. Full Tilt Poker for US players as well as PokerStars would be a well-received option as both offer the best in poker gaming. Full Tilt also offers casino games and it has been stated by Amaya that PokerStars will be offering additional gaming as well.

Currently, Amaya Gaming is already licensed in the state of New Jersey, so it was easy to start there for a reentry into the US online gambling landscape. A recent conference call with Amaya Gaming and investors released details of the upcoming launch of both online gaming sites in the state of New Jersey. According to the call, Full Tilt casino games have been successful and the games were only offered to a small portion of FTP members. The casino games will be pushed further this year for the entire Full Tilt and PokerStars player base and expansion will be seen in several countries, not just the US.

Up for discussion were sports betting options, alongside casino gaming, as Amaya would like to further enhance the gaming options of both sites. With an addition such as sports betting, players will be able to take part in poker, sports wagering and casino gaming all in one place. This will create a larger player base along both poker sites.

Amaya has already decided to set aside a set amount of money to develop the sportsbook so we may see an option created by the gaming giant or they may consider trying an existing product for sports wagering. Amaya sees PokerStars and Full Tilt players as gamers who already take part in wagering on other gaming options so to add the same with the PokerStars and Full Tilt touch should be successful. With additional gaming options, the sites will also offer more promotional opportunities. Players will be able to take part in loyalty programs, bonuses and special promotions with one solid platform.

Amaya continues to expand both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker so players have the option of enjoying the best in casino gaming. The coming months are sure to be exciting for US gamers as we see how the Amaya acquisition of the Rational Group plays out. Hopefully it will not be too much longer before poker players are able to visit the online poker sites once again.

 

 

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Gym Busted for Running Illegal Poker Club

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

file4741238088930Going to gym usually means hitting the treadmill or working out with the free weights. We all go to the gym to look and feel better but what about going to the gym for a little poker gaming? That is exactly what was happening at a Curves gym in Philadelphia and a man has now been charged with offering gambling services at the club.

Thomas Rand was found guilty of promoting gambling after officials discovered he was running poker gaming out of a Curves health facility. While others were using the gym to work out, Rand was using the gym to host the Runnemede Social Club which offer illegal poker gaming. Rand was charged and decided to agree to probation after he spends almost 1 year in jail. Ryan Dion was also found guilty in this cash and will be serving one day short of a year in prison for his involvement.

Three additional individuals pled guilty in this case for their involvement as dealers and cashiers at the club. A sixth person has yet to be indicted for their involvement. John J. Hoffman is the Attorney General in this case and commented on the subject by stating:

“These defendants operated an old-school gambling club, complete with cash cage, poker tables, and a wide-screen TV for patrons to watch the sports on which they gambled. The state will make every effort to remove gambling from the shadows of the black market underworld.”

Both Dion and Rand would collect a rake during poker game play and had been doing so for around 8 years. This is a lengthy amount of time to be running a poker scam without being detected by police. When the facility was raided, police found the items used during poker game play and ended up seizing around $26,000 in cash.

 

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Ultimate Poker Drops Several Team Members

Wednesday, August 13th, 2014

Online poker pros are a common occurrence at top online poker rooms. Poker operators sponsor top players to compete online at the site and represent the brand during live events. In most cases, a pro can stay at an online poker room for years, earning nice compensation and playing the game they love. This week, several pros received bad news and lost their spot on an online poker team. It was recently reported that several pros sponsored at Ultimate Poker will no longer be working with the site.

Team U is the sponsored pro team at Ultimate Poker and now the site has removed several pros from the Team U player page. William Reynolds, Jeremy Ausmus, Brent Hanks and Phil Collins have all been removed from the website as members of Team U. When a player profile is removed from an online poker team web page, it usually means the player is no longer a part of the website.

The site still seems to be working with Antonio Esfandiari, Jason Somerville, Dan O’Brien and Danielle Anderson. According to F5Poker, Randy Dorfman, a former pro of Ultimate Poker, Tweeted about the news stating:

“Ultimate Poker drops Pros Will Reynolds, Jeremy Ausmus, Phil Collins & Brent Hanks. Maybe time 4 Stations to drop people running UP? #toolate”

Ultimate Poker has yet to officially announce if the pros are no longer members of the site but most likely the pros are no longer working with UP. With the news of Ultimate Poker, there was also a case of a pro leaving PokerStars. Humbero Brenes is no longer associated with PokerStars and will not be working with the site even after the poker room is now part of Amaya Gaming. This week has not bee the best for poker pros. It will be interesting to see in the coming days if Ultimate Poker announces the reasoning behind the change at the poker pro page of the website.

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PokerStars Offering Buy-ins for Seminole Hard Rock Florida Event

Wednesday, August 6th, 2014

PokerstarsPokerStars is known as a top online poker operator and continues to team up with casinos and poker rooms to offer players the best opportunities for poker gaming. It was recently announced that PokerStars has partnered with the Seminole Hard Rock Casino to offer players an additional way to buy-in to the Main Event of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship. The casino is located in Florida and offers premium poker gaming and events.

The SHRPOC was recently moved from its previous set dates to not interfere with the EPT Barcelona which is sponsored by PokerStars. The series will now take place beginning August 14th and offer 24 events which include the $5,300 Main Event. The main event will have a prize pool of $10 million so many pros are expected to participate.

The main event will take place on the 28th and will be followed by the $100,000 Super High Roller Event just a few days later. The Main event will begin the following day after the Barcelona events conclude so players will be able to fly to Florida to compete in this event. According to PokerStars, the site will now be offering players the opportunity to buy into the live Seminole event for the first time ever via the PokerStars account. Players will be able to buy in to Day 1 and will have the option up until the 24th of August. To buy-in, players will need to open the lobby of PokerStars, click the More and Special tabs and then find the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship tournament. From there you can choose from three opening day options.

This is a great way for poker pros to be able to buy-in to the event without being on the property. Players simple log in online to their PokerStars account to get started purchasing the buy-in.

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$10 Million Event Kicks Off This August at Seminole Hard Rock

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

$10 million is a lot of money to compete for and players who head to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino this August will be able to compete in the Poker Open, which offers this amazing amount of cash. The championship will offer $10 million guaranteed and is sure to see a great number of poker pros competing.

The series will begin on the 14th of August with a Deep Stack No Limit Hold’em event with a $350 buy-in. the tournament will have a $500,000 prize pool and will be one of many events taking place over several days. The tournament will also feature bounty no limit hold’em events, deep stack and six-max tournaments. Omaha is also in the mix with pot-limit and mixed game.

During the championship event, players will see the $10 million up for grabs with 30,000 given in tournament chips after buy-in. the tournament will have three starting flights taking place on the 28th, 29th and the 30th. You can choose to play any of the flights or in all. Nine levels will be the number of re-entries and first and second place are guaranteed million dollar wins.

Registration for the $10 million Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open has already begun. Players who are interested in competing must open a free Wild Card from the Players Club or visit the poker room to register. The Seminole properties are also hosting satellite events where players can earn seats to the Poker Open Events. Take part in satellites by visiting the following properties:

  • Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
  • Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
  • Seminole Casino Brighton
  • Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
  • Seminole Casino Immokalee

Players have about two weeks to qualify for a seat to the major events of the 2014 Poker Open.

 

 

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Poker Hall of Fame Nominations Begin

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014

file4741238088930The Poker Hall of Fame is a group of individuals who have been nominated to be in the exclusive group as a result of their contribution to the game. Once the World Series of Poker concludes, the nominations begin for the Poker Hall of Fame. The nomination process takes place over several weeks and the eventual inductees usually attend the induction ceremony at the same time as the final table of the WSOP main event.

The Poker Hall of Fame currently has 46 members, of which 21 are still living. Included in the members are: Scotty Nguyen, Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel, Mike Sexton, Phil Hellmuth, Jack Binion, Benny Binion, David Reese, Doyle Brunson and many more. To join this elite group of individuals, nominees will have to meet a certain criteria.

To be considered, players need to have played against top competition that are knowledgeable in the game. Players need to be at least 40 during the time of nominations and have played for high stakes, and consistently well. Individuals must have the respect of their peers and stood the test of time with the game. If nominated and not a player of poker, the individual must have contributed to the overall growth of the game with positive and long-lasting results.

Nominations can be made by the public via online submissions until the 15th of August. After this time, the nominations will be sent to a nominating committee. The submissions will then be reviewed and the final list of candidates will be selected. Others can be added by the committee if decided. The final list is made public in September and the voting can then take place. The official voters of the Poker Hall of fame are current members as well as selected members of the media. Once selected, the inductees will attend a ceremony in November.

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Americas Cardroom Announces Huge Tournament Available to US Residents

Wednesday, July 16th, 2014

AmericasCardroom-TableThe Winning Poker Network offers online poker gaming for players around the world, including in the United States. The flagship site for the network is Americas Cardroom and this is where US players get in on the online poker action. The site recently announced they will be offering a mega guaranteed tournament for players to take part in this December.

The event is being called Winning Millions and will have a buy-in of $540. This event will have a $1 million guaranteed prize pool and the first place winner is set to earn at least $200,000. Americas Cardroom will not offer the event until December 14th but will be providing daily feeder tournaments so players can earn this spots early.

The special event is being promoted by Americas Cardroom as the first 7-figure guaranteed event to take place at a site in the US in many years and is hoping that players will turn out for the event. As part of the promotion of the event, the online poker site will also be offering 1 free bank wire to any player who makes it to the final table of the tournament.

For 2014, the Winning Poker Network is trying to grow significantly and this new announcement is certainly part of the plans. In June, the site held the 2nd round of High Five Tournament series game play and saw an exceptional turnout. However, this December tournament is one of massive proportions and makes one wonder if Americas Cardroom will be able to reach the $1 million guarantee.

If the network and cardroom succeeds in hosting the event, with a large turnout, it could help to bring Americas Cardroom into the forefront of poker gaming for residents in the US as well as around the world. Only time will tell and we still have months before the new tournament is set to begin!

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WSOP Releases Figures for 2014 Series

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014

file4741238088930Every year, poker players look forward to the World Series of Poker. Each year, the series seems to get better and better with larger guarantees, more events and players competing. This year, the series enjoyed a record-breaking year with 65 bracelet events which saw 82,360 players competing. This was better than last year by almost 4%.

The series saw an increase in competitors but also in prize money. The total amount of prize money given away in 2014 was just over $225 million which is an amazing amount and a new record for the series. To put things into perspective, the series had just 33 bracelet events ten years ago, so the sires only continues to add more events each and every year.

Ty Stewart, the Executive Director of the WSOP, stated that there is only one World Series of Poker and the group is humbled to have seen the response for the 10th series at the Rio Casino. Stewart stated that this years series had some of the biggest events every organized and it is clear that poker remains strong and the best days of the series are ahead. The WSOP officials cannot wait to begin planning for 2015.

Two events of the series helped to pull this year’s events above the rest. The Monster Stack and the Millionaire Maker both drew amazing fields, with over 7,000 players competing in each event. These numbers helped to push the 2014 series above the rest.

According to the figures by the WSOP, the average first place prize was just under $800,000 with the average age of competitor at 38.93. Just over 94% were male participants average and just over 5% were female. The Main Event is still ongoing so it will be interesting to see who makes the final table of the final event of the series.

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23 Year Old Poker Pro Wins Big One for One Drop

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

file4741238088930The 2014 World Series of Poker featured several events but one of the most anticipated was the Big One for One Drop. The event was open to 56 entrants and 42 players paid the $1 million buy-in to compete in the monster event. The field featured a few amateurs but mostly top pros and would see twenty three year old Daniel Colman earn the first place win.

Colman has been playing poker for a short time and amassed just over a quarter of a million dollars for his efforts in live game play. Thanks to the big win at the WSOP, the pro now has over $17 million on record. Colman was able to outlast the field of competitors to earn the massive payday and defeated Daniel Negreanu in heads up play to win the crown.

When the final day of play began, Colman was third in chips and was surrounded by top players including Tobias Reinkemeier and Scott Seiver. When heads up play began, Colman was in the lead, but only slightly. The heads up match up would last for 46 hands until Colman would claim the first place prize.

Once final play began, Colman had a 5 to 1 chip advantage. On this hand, Negreanu limped in and Colman pushed in 4 million. Negreanu then pushed all-in with a little under 21 million. Colman quick-called and showed K-Q off-suit. Negreanu showed A-4 and the flop of A-J-4 gave him the lead. However, a 10 on the turn gave Colman the straight and the 7 on the river secured the win for Colman.

Final Results:

Daniel Colman                   $15,306,668

Daniel Negreanu              $8,288,001

Christoph Vogelsang      $4,489,001

Rick Salomon                     $2,800,000

Tobias Reinkemeier        $2,053,334

Scott Seiver                        $1,680,000

Paul Newey                        $1,418,667

Cary Katz                             $1,306,607

The event was a great success and was able to bring in a great deal of money for the One Drop foundation which helps to bring clean drinking water to struggling nations.

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Peppermill Resorts Now Offering Online Poker in Nevada

Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

As of yesterday, a new operator is now available in the state of Nevada when it comes to online poker. Peppermill Resorts is the owner and operator of five casinos in the northern area of the state and will now be offering residents and visitors the opportunity to take part in online poker gaming. Just yesterday, the company launched online poker play in the state with Ultimate Poker, their gaming partner.

Peppermill submitted a press release which stated the particulars of the launch. Players located physically in the state can deposit cash for online game play at the five locations owned by Peppermill, which includes:

  • Peppermill Resort Casino Spa Reno
  • Western Village Inn & Casino
  • Montego Bay Hotel Casino Resort
  • Rainbow Hotel & Casino
  • Peppermill Hotel Casino Wendover

    • To take part, players will need to go to the PeppermillReno.com/Ultimate site to be able to open an online poker gaming account. The account must be created first before any gaming can take place online. Players can then visit the brick and mortar casinos to make a deposit to begin real money game play. When players visit the link, the option to download the Ultimate Poker software is available as well as information on the events and gaming opportunities at the Peppermill Casino.

    Tobin Prior is the CEO of Ultimate Gaming, who owns Ultimate Poker, and stated previously that partnering with Peppermill gives the company an opportunity to bring their online poker product to the northern area of Nevada with the ‘extensive customer database’ of Peppermill. This will be the first time a northern Nevada casino has allowed such gaming opportunities.

    It was back in March that Peppermill announced the partnership with Ultimate Gaming and what the new partnership would entail. Ultimate Poker will be providing the online poker room services for the Peppermill Casino in Nevada as well as the four other properties of the company.

     

     

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