“Poker Guru” Pushes for Real-Money Poker Games in Alaska

Perry Green, known by some as “Alaska's Poker Guru," is pushing once again to legalize for-profit poker games in the state. Earlier this week, Green sung poker's praises to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, calling the game a world-wide phenomenon and a potential moneymaker for Alaska's oil-dependent economy. He is currently gathering signatures in the hopes of proposing a bill to legalize poker games, saying that he was close to reaching the necessary quota.

Wednesday, 31 August 2005

World Poker Tour's Legends of Poker Boasts Record Breaking Participation and Prize Pool

The World Poker Tour's (WPT) Legends of Poker event is currently under way at the Bicycle Casino,boasting a record turnout and prize pool. The 839 players entered in the Legends of Poker, and the resulting $4,195,000 up for grabs, has made this event the biggest in the World Poker Tour history. Legends of Poker kicked off on August 28th and runs through the 1st of September.

Tuesday, 30 August 2005

Online Poker and Casino Proprietor Cassava Readies for Float

Compared to June's overwhelmingly lucrative Party Gaming IPO, the upcoming stock market debut of online poker and casino operator Cassava Enterprises is a considerably more modest offering. Cassava, which owns online casinos 888.com and Casino on Net, as well as online poker room Pacific Poker, is expected to issue its prospectus early next month.

Monday, 29 August 2005

Revolver: Guy Ritchie Poker Movie Slated for September UK Release

This fall, a new poker flick will grace the big screens of the world. Revolver, the latest from Director/screenwriter Guy Ritchie, is slated to make its debut next month in the UK followed by later releases worldwide.

Sunday, 28 August 2005

New Online Poker Platform to Open from 777 Sports Entertainment Corp.

Newly-launched online casino and sportsbook company 777 Sports Entertainment Corp. announced that it will open its online poker room September 1st.

Saturday, 27 August 2005

WSOP Circuit Events to Get ESPN Broadcast, Harrah's Announces

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. announced that ESPN will broadcast footage from the 2005-2006 World Series of Poker Circuit events. The WSOP has dramatically increased the number of circuit tournaments for the WSOP Circuit's second season. In the Circuit's debut season, the WSOP hosted just five circuit events, but this year, the company has upped that number to 12 events, culminating in the final Tournament of Champions. The first WSOP Circuit event in the current season has just come to a close at the Grand Casino Tunica, with its next event coming to Harrah's Las Vegas in early September.

Friday, 26 August 2005

Sponsor Logos in the Cards for World Poker Tour Players

World Poker Tour (WPT) recently announced that it had come to an agreement with the Travel Channel, the network that broadcasts the WPT television program, permitting players to wear apparel bearing sponsor logos during all stages of play, including final tables. Nonetheless, WPT continued to say that these logos must fulfill the company's particular standards and that sponsors must be pre-approved. The WPT website lists the specific criteria for logos, and parties wishing to sponsor a WPT poker player will have to contact the company first.

Thursday, 25 August 2005

Payout Poker and Casino Arcade Video Game Released

Video game publisher Namco Hometek Inc. has announced the release of role-playing gambling arcade game Payout Poker and Casino™ for PlayStation®2, Xbox®, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable), and the the good ol' PC. An interesting feature of Payout Poker and Casino, developed by Bits Gaming Ltd, is that players are able to customize their casino playboy/playgirl characters.

Wednesday, 24 August 2005

Online Poker League Brings Firefighters and EMS Workers Together for Charity

New online poker league Fifthalarmpoker.com has created a niche poker site with a purpose. Fifthalarmpoker, an online poker site devoted to firefighters and emergency service (EMS) workers, devotes a percentage of its earnings to charity.

Tuesday, 23 August 2005

Australian Report on Poker Machine Addiction Criticizes Government Action

Measures adopted by the Australian government in an effort to combat addiction to poker machines came under fire in a report compiled by gambling experts and social organizations. A report recently issued by the West Heidelberg Community Legal Service claims that these measures do nothing but pacify the epidemic, coining them “band-aid solutions." According to the report, the government is leading citizens to believe that they are combating problem gambling, when they are in fact still making sure that their more than billion-dollar cut of gaming revenues goes untouched.

Monday, 22 August 2005

Online Poker Horror Film Comes to DVD

Offbeat poker horror film The Card Player (Il Cartio), from Italian director Dario Argento, comes to DVD on August 23rd amid, at best, mixed reviews. Theatrical release in the U.S. was limited, but the movie will be widely available for purchase online. If the very notion of a poker thriller seems a bit odd, then the plot itself is downright weird, if not a bit silly. The film follows the story of a serial killer in Rome who challenges city police to games of online video poker, games that will ultimately decide the fate of each of the killer's female abductees. For each game police lose, the killer severs a part of the victim's body. Going according to a sort of “three strikes, you're out" rule, after police have lost three times, the girl dies.

Sunday, 21 August 2005

PokerRoom.com Takes Third Place in Poker Pulse Ranking

Online poker site PokerRoom.com recently announced that according to PokerPulse.com, the site is officially the third largest poker room on the net, boasting a player base of over four million. PokerPulse is a site that researches the online poker industry.

Saturday, 20 August 2005

The World Championship of Online Poker Returns to Poker Stars

The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), the largest poker tournament to grace the internet, and the ninth richest tournament over all, is coming back to PokerStars.com next month for its fourth consecutive year. This year's online tournament will feature a prize pool starting at $8 million in total, with the main event alone boasting at least $2.5 million in prizes. Over two weeks starting September 4, Poker Stars will host 15 individual competitions, culminating with the final event on September 18.

Friday, 19 August 2005

New Online Poker Site Lets Players Invest in the Online Poker Boom

With online poker constituting one of the hottest investor markets today, a new concept has emerged- investment-oriented online poker rooms. PokerShare.com, an online poker site that launched this week, gives players the opportunity to earn stakes in the company, in return for their game play. Other than that, it works like any old online poker room, bonuses and all.

Thursday, 18 August 2005

Mike Sexton Drops into Indiana Bookstore for WPT Book Signing

Mike Sexton, co-host of the World Poker Tour, as aired on the Travel Channel, came to a local bookstore in Shelbyville, Indiana, in honor of his newly co-authored book, "The World Poker Tour: Shuffle Up and Deal." Three Sisters Books & Gifts hosted Sexton for a book signing commemorating the recent publication, co-authored with fellow WPT host Vince Van Patten.

Wednesday, 17 August 2005

New Online Poker Network Announced by Chartwell Technology

Online and mobile gaming software provider Chartwell Technology Inc. announced that it had licensed its online poker software to power a new network of poker sites. PokerNexus (www.pokernexus.com) is a fledgling network of independent online poker rooms that already includes two European sites. Chartwell said that it hopes to add another several sites to the network by the close of the company's fiscal year. The network is managed by Eliteclub Management N.V., and powered by Chartwell's software, complete with its back-end solutions.

Tuesday, 16 August 2005

Anti-Gambling MP Expects Poker Machine Influx in South Australia

Independent member of South Australia's parliament Nick Xenophon, who heads the anti-gambling organization No Pokies, has predicted that the number of poker machines ('pokies') in South Australia is about to rise. His prophecy comes as a result of an alleged loophole in gaming law, which he expects will be exploited to benefit the gambling industry. Accordingly, establishments licensed as community-based clubs seem to be able to operate poker machines, without being subject to many of the restrictions in place for poker machine venues.

Monday, 15 August 2005

Expekt Denies Plans to Move Online Poker Site

Expekt, an online sportsbook, casino and poker operator with a Scandinavian tilt, is casting off rumors that it is considering leaving the Prima Network and its Microgaming software. Reports have surfaced, claiming that Expekt is considering a move to Tain, a Swedish software company, in efforts to set up its own online poker site.

Sunday, 14 August 2005

Chris Moneymaker Online Poker Retail Site Gets Makeover from bep Consulting

WSOP champ and entrepreneur Chris Moneymaker has recruited interactive marketing firm bep Consulting to give the poker pro's online poker retail website, www.moneymakergaming.com, something of a makeover. The new look and feel of the site is designed to cater towards poker's shifting demographic. The new poker player is young, middle class and hip to a trend, and thus the site needed to better fit this target audience.

Saturday, 13 August 2005

LIPS Tour Launches Ladies' Poker Night League

In its efforts to boost poker playership among women, The Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) Tour has launched a new initiative, aiming to involve women outside of the classic casino environment. Whereas the LIPS Tour has sponsored manly casino poker games until now, the new branch, coined "Ladies' Poker Night," will aim at encouraging poker play among women from all locales, with or without a casino.

Friday, 12 August 2005

Mac Compatible Online Poker Room Launched by 888.com

Online casino company 888.com announced that its online poker room, Pacific Poker, has launched a new room specifically for Mac users, found at http://pacificpoker.com/mac. The online poker boom has largely neglected Mac users, who comprise a minority of the total computer users. Pacific Poker's new poker room is one of the first Mac compatible real-money online poker options available on the web.

Thursday, 11 August 2005

Betfair's CryptoLogic Online Poker License in Limbo

Before the stock markets opened yesterday, online gaming software developer CryptoLogic announced that it will likely lose one of its main poker licensees. Immediately thereafter, CryptoLogic's stock prices dropped approximately 25 percent.

Wednesday, 10 August 2005

2005 European Poker Championship Goes to Tony G

The 2005 European Poker Championships came to a close earlier this week, making a champion out of a poker player known as Tony G. The tournament took place at London's Victoria Casino between the 1st and the 7th of August. Tony G took home the first place prize of £ 240,000 (nearly $428,300). Second place and the accompanying £ 121,178 ($216,811) went to Sverre Sundbo of Norway, while Edward Moncada nabbed third, and the £69,090 ($123,514) that went along with it.

Tuesday, 09 August 2005

Australian Players Group Loses Poker Machine Legal Battle

Players Pty Ltd., a company led by some of South Australia's most prominent sports and legal personalities, recently lost an AUS$1 million (~ US$766,419) Supreme Court case launched over a poker machine licensing dispute. The dispute concerns licenses for poker machines located in a former entertainment hotspot. Players had been leasing entertainment venue "The Planet" from Economic Development Board member Fiona Roche's family company since 1995.

Monday, 08 August 2005

Charity Poker Tournament Brings Hockey Greats to the Table

Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls will host a charity poker tournament today, bringing together some of hockey's biggest names. The charity tournament is open to anyone prepared to lay down the $300 buy-in. Up for grabs is more than $40k in cash, and proceeds will benefit the Louis J. Billittier Foundation, which allocates funds for a number of children's charities.

Sunday, 07 August 2005

Police Seize Video Poker Machines from Pennsylvania Convenient Store

A convenience store in Bath, Pennsylvania, recently lost its five poker machines and $1,000. Police confiscated the devices, after entering the premises with a search warrant, as part of an extended investigation into poker machine payouts. Wunderler's Market, managed by Donald Wunderler, has reportedly been drawing video poker players to its back room for about four years.

Saturday, 06 August 2005

Online Poker Room Operator PokerStars Plans Move to Isle of Man

Online poker room operator PokerStars is reportedly planning a move to the Isle of Man, possibly foreshadowing a rumored future float on the London Stock Exchange. Presently based in Costa Rica, PokerStars has already achieved licensing from the Isle of Man, and a move to the island is in the cards for next year. The planned PokerStars move comes on the heels of recent efforts by the Isle of Man to market itself as an attractive operating base for online gaming companies.

Friday, 05 August 2005

Online Poker Room Full Tilt Poker Announces “10K A Day” Promotion

Online poker room Full Tilt Poker, known for its host of resident professional poker players, announced that for every day during the month of August, the site will be dishing out $10,000 in additional cash prizes. That means that throughout the month, Full Tilt Poker will award players with a total of $310,000 extra cash. Each day, 127 individual prizes, totaling $10,000 will be distributed.

Thursday, 04 August 2005

New Poker DVD Shows the Dark Side of Professional Poker

Willis Entertainment recently released a documentary DVD about the pitfalls of professional poker. The creators of the documentary, entitled "Poker Bustouts," claim that the DVD "exposes the truth" about pro poker to poker aficionados blindly seduced by the glitz and glamour of televised poker.

Wednesday, 03 August 2005

Empire Online Acquires Noble Poker Brand and Intellectual Property

Online poker and gaming company Empire online announced yesterday that it had agreed to acquire certain properties related to online poker room Noble Poker, as well as online casino group Club Dice. Under the agreements, Empire plans to buy the Noble Poker brand and its intellectual property, in addition to Club Dice's business, assets and player base. Both transactions will cost Empire Online a total of about $40 million.

Tuesday, 02 August 2005

WSOP Champ Joseph Hachem Flies the Friendly Skies in Coach

Despite recently becoming $7.5 million richer, thanks to his WSOP championship win, Joseph Hachem seems to be opting for the simple life, at least for now. On his way home to Australia from the U.S., poker's newest star stuck with his entourage in coach, instead of the comfort and luxury of first class. Hachem was quoted as saying that he preferred passing the flight with friends and family, rather than living it up in first class. When Hachem arrived at Melbourne airport, friends were there, waiting to welcome him.

Monday, 01 August 2005