Anti-Gaming Legislation Passes House Committee in Port Security Bill

The House has passed the Port Security Bill that includes, as we have learned, the Rep. Leach language (not the Goodlatte, which is slightly more prohibitive) to ban online gaming. The bill is not an expansion of the Wire Act, but MAY contain provisions that could be applied against online poker players--and get rid of your ability to use firepay and neteller. 

So how does Port Security relate to Internet gambling?

It doesn't. In fact, while the bill helps bolster Port Security, it ignores increasing funding security for rail or transit. So essentially Internet gambling is a larger threat to national security than potential acts of terror against rail and transit.

R-Loretta Sanchez, a Democrat from California, said:

"If you had time to stick Internet gambling in our Port Bill...then you had time to make our country safer...but the bill doesn't fund rail or transit, just Port. Who's responsible for not having done the right thing?"

Not Bill Frist or the Republican leadership in Congress, that's for sure.

The bill is generally supported by Democrats, so Republicans are using it as an opportunity to advance less popular agenda items. According to Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid, “[Republicans are] using it as a dumping ground” for bills that couldn't pass on their own.

Urgent: Anti-Gaming Language Inserted Into Port Security Bill: Act Now to Stop This From Happening

Listen, the entities that comprise Wicked Chops Enterprises LLC are not omnipresent. We're not God. So if we miss a thing or two, it's because we're being snarky, playing poker, being vigilante crusaders trying to save the world from terrorists who are deadset to destroy us all, or banging our hot wives senseless.

Apparently, there is a story some of you may consider "big" today.

Senator Bill Frist has attached anti-gaming legislation to a bill about port defense. Fucking ridiculous.

According to Card Player, "if the rules committee doesn’t think it’s too controversial, [anti-gaming language] will be added and the Port Security Bill [and voted on] sometime around midnight. It will be the last vote of the evening."

Visit the PPA RIGHT NOW, get your Senator's phone number, and call them RIGHT NOW to express your opposition to this act of 21st century prohibition.

Adriana Lima Because Nothing Interesting Is Happening Today

There isn't much happening today in the world of poker that we care about, or care to make up, so here is a photo of a skivvy-wearin', card-wieldin' and allegedly virginal Adriana Lima (click photo-you likey), who we think answers the question "What is Sexy?" better than Giselle Bundchen does and perhaps a tad bit better than Doutzen Kroes and about the same as Olga Kurylenko, and besides, we also think the name "Adriana Lima" is a helluva lot sexier (and easier to say) than "Giselle Bundchen," "Doutzen Kroes" and "Olga Kurylenko," not that were that into "names" when it comes to bangin' chicks answering the question "What is sexy?" because when it comes down to it they could be named Liverwurst, Steamed Vegetables and Potted Meat Food Product and we'd still bang them senselessly while calling out the names of food we'd prefer not to eat, let alone be in the same room with, our wives and Allah willing.

After the jump are more photos of Adriana Lima, and if that isn't enough for you, check out Adriana looking hot while making weird faces over at GorillaMask.net. Oh and this might as well be today's Friday Night Parting Shot because it's Friday and Adriana fits the bill like a champ.

BREAKING NEWS: Professional Poker Tour "Postpones" Season II

The World Poker Tour has announced that it will "postpone" its Season II schedule of the Professional Poker Tour (PPT).

Says the press bulletin:

While we continue to negotiate the broadcast of the second season, we have decided to delay these tournaments for the benefit of players who need to make long-term travel arrangements as well as the league itself. We expect to resume filming in 2007. As the poker industry expands, and the television marketplace evolves, we must adapt our business and brand strategies to reflect current market conditions.

Read the full release here.

With the negative press the WPT has been receiving in light of Shana Hiatt's lawsuit against the organization, this news couldn't come at a worse time. The PPT, which had difficulties getting on air from the outset, is one instance where the WPT can truly point to a positive thing it does for the players.

The PPT began airing in July of 2006,  providing the kind of in-depth poker action and coverage that true fans of the game enjoy. Fields were limited to the game's elite players and to other sponsor exemptions. Two of the games top and most respected names, John Juanda and Erick Lindgren, won the first two aired tournaments.

We will keep you posted on any future PPT developments.

TIME Magazine Wants Children to Play Poker

TIME Magazine, a print publication that up until this week we thought just covered clock-making and political issues surrounding hot button topics like daylight savings, this week examines a growing trend in America: parents who encourage their kids to play poker.

And here's the kicker: while the article does briefly mention "supposed" cons of youths playing poker, like addictions that lead to bank robberies, or specifically, the Greg Hogan, Jr. story, for the most part, teens playing poker is presented in a positive light. As TIME notes, with the start of another school year, "poker is resuming its place as one of the most popular and socially accepted activities in teenagers' lives."

And parents? They're aiding and abetting the teen poker trend. Says TIME:

Many parents are saying that their kids get real-life lessons from playing poker with one another. Keeping track of the odds and the cards can help sharpen math skills without the kids even knowing it. And perhaps more important for teenage boys, who studies show lag in the development of their emotional intelligence, poker provides personal interaction.

Not discussed is how the development of teenage boys' emotional intelligence may actually end up helping them figure out more effective ways to get into teenage girls' pants. Huge benefit. Just huge. It's like poker is a gift that just keeps on giving or something.

Read the full article here.

* Illustration from TIME by C.F. Payne

Card Player: Bastion of Journalistic Integrity

We here at Wicked Chops Poker are not so much into "journalistic integrity" as we're not into "journalistic integrity."

Don't get us wrong. It's not like we don't occassionally try to provide hard-hitting, opinionated and thought-provoking articles. Cause we do. But we also like to throw in some bombast, which means pompous speech or writing, and a few untruths here and there to spice things up a bit. Essentially, we're like that rico suave guy at the bar saying whatever we can to bang that chick, and you, the reader, are that chick we're trying to bang. Hopefully we're entertaining enough to score on occassion.

So because of this, we don’t prop ourselves up as the ultimate "poker authority" and we have absolutely no qualms with playing favorites or giving preferential treatment to a kind advertiser. However, if we do, we also make it clear to you that we are sacrificing some "journalistic integrity" because it's the right thing to do.

Which apparently is a value that Card Player doesn't see eye-to-eye with us on.

Card Player, coincidentally, claims to be "The Poker Authority." And they are…if "The Poker Authority" now means packing a magazine and website with an almost endless supply of poorly constructed, often boring, stale, and predictable articles WHILE ALSO churning out fluff pieces that are clearly advertising buys for online sites and not telling you, their readers. 

Lawsuit Reveals Why Hiatt Left WPT and Other Things Steve Lipscomb Doesn't Want You to Know

When we got the inside word three weeks ago that Steve Lipscomb was Peacock-blocking Shana Hiatt from taking a gig with NBC, we were unable to get a comment from Hiatt herself, let alone from anyone at WPT or NBC.

But with the lawsuit she dropped yesterday, Hiatt is no longer silent, and she's ready to take the WPT to task.

Indeed, Hiatt makes several damning allegations in her complaint including that she left the World Poker Tour because of harassment by WPT representatives and that Lipscomb himself called NBC to say they can't have Hiatt and has been telling people he "owns Hiatt in poker."

First, on reasons for her leaving, which up until now she merely stated were personal, Hiatt claims that the World Poker Tour became a hostile work environment after she formally complained to them that a brother of a WPT exec was making defamatory statements about her. In the complaint she alleges:

"During the production of World Poker Tour in early 2005, [Hiatt] became aware that defamatory statements were being made about her and her husband by the brother of a senior executive of WPT. Plaintiff's counsel drafted and sent on February 10, 2005 a letter demanding that the brother of the WPT Executive cease and desist from communicating further false and defamatory statements. After this letter was delivered, Plaintiff began experiencing harassment and a deliberate attempt by WPT representatives to make her extremely uncomfortable during production of World Poker Tour episodes. The conduct of WPT and its representatives created a hostile work environment."

So in the Spring of 2005, Hiatt couldn't take this "hostile work environment" any longer and notified Lipscomb that she wanted out (word we have is this took place at the Bay 101 with Hiatt walking out of the meeting crying).

Shana Hiatt Fights Back, Sues The World Poker Tour

In a Wicked Chops Poker exclusive three weeks ago, we broke the news that former World Poker Tour hostess Shana Hiatt was being Peacock-blocked™ by the WPT from accepting a reporting job with NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship. As our source revealed to us at the time, Hiatt was NBC's top choice to replace Kathryn Tappen, and when NBC sought permission from the WPT, Steve Lipscomb and gang refused to release Hiatt from her contract.

Today, Hiatt and her attorney Paul Sorrell fought back, filing a lawsuit in the LA County Superior Court in Santa Monica against WPT Enterprises and Steve Lipscomb for "Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage." Hiatt is seeking monetary damages for the WPT's conduct as well as declaratory and injunctive relief that will prohibit the WPT from "engaging in any conduct seeking to prevent or prohibit [Hiatt] from seeking employment with a third party other than WPT." Click here to download pdf of Hiatt's Complaint.

According to Hiatt's complaint, the WPT and Lipscomb are "[c]iting an illegal and unenforceable non-complete clause in a draft of an agreement that [Hiatt] never signed" and "have threatened [Hiatt] and her future employers with legal action in the event that [she] appears on poker-themed television program produced by someone other than WPT."

In connection with the suit, Hiatt obtained today a temporary restraining order "enjoining and restraining [WPT and its representatives] from seeking to prevent or prohibit [Shana] from seeking employment with NBC in connection with appearances in two poker-themed television shows by claiming or asserting the existence of a non-competitive or other exclusivity agreement."

Next up will be a preliminary injunction hearing on October 17, 2006 in which the WPT will have to show cause for lifting the restraining order while the lawsuit is pending.

In a statement to Wicked Chops Poker, Hiatt's attorney stated:

The Price Tag on Jamie Gold's Word

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Patrick Byrne, the new attorney for the embattled Jamie Gold, said, "We don’t believe Mr. Leyser is entitled to any money as a matter of law."

The operative words here, of course, are "as a matter of law."

Because if it was "as a matter of Jamie's word," or "as a matter of principle," or "as a matter of not fucking with poker's longstanding tradition of handshake deals," then Crispin Leyser would likely already have his half, and we'd be able to watch the Main Event on ESPN with at least some sense of enjoyment and a modicum of respect for Jamie Gold's confident table talk and spectacular big stack play (and yes, his fortunate flops).

Instead, we watch the ESPN broadcast hoping somehow, someway it was all just a bad dream, that the past has miraculously changed and someone else like Allen Cunningham or Paul Wasicka (and definitely not Richard Lee) goes on to become the face of poker for the coming year. Someone who would rather talk poker than pitch crap reality TV shows. Someone who would rather stand behind his word than stand behind his lawyers. And someone who didn't let money get the best of him before it was even his to claim.

Regardless of our opinion of Gold's actions and the ugly lawsuit that has ensued, this isn't a one-sided, black-and-white argument. Jamie Gold, himself, isn't totally to blame...

The Daily Dump™

Keeley Hazell, the official Wicked Chops Poker Girl of 2006, is already making a play at the title in 2007 with her new calendar. - DailyNiner.com (unapologetically NSFW, as always)

If we were a news blog, we'd probably do a post on the whole Pope offending Muslims uproar that read something like this. - JayPinkerton.com

Jessica Alba getting a Costa Rican enema. - YouTube.com

The complete opposite of the Jessica Alba video above. - AdRants.com

The first two rows of pics here are mostly of Christina Aguilera's face. In other words, click the link and scroll down. - SaveManny

In case you were wondering whatwho "actor" Billy Zane has been doing since Titanic. - IDontLikeYouInThatWay.com

This office is exactly like the Wicked Chops Poker office minus everything you see except for maybe the copy machine and a few chairs. - Designverb.com

Melita Toniolo is the hottest Latin chick we've seen in the last cinco minutos. - 2DamnHot.com

This video of Scott Stapp has very little to do with poker and everything to do with why he's a total douchebag. - Gorillamask.net

Are People in the Deep South Out to Get Dicks?

Catching up on some news, the unfortunately named Peter Dicks resigned his post as Chair of Sportingbet PLC last week.

Like any high-profile executive job, Dicks' stay at Sportingbet was long and hard, but Dicks (at right) had the staying power to guide Sportingbet to record growth. Unfortunately, it seem as if Dicks' recent arrest at JFK airport on illegal online gambling charges from Louisiana has petered out his interest and ability to go any longer. Yes, the arrest has made Dicks go limp, and now he's shriveling up like a turtle retreating into its shell.

However, it's not all bad news for Dicks. As reported by ABC News, Dicks' attorney last week put in a formal request to New York Governor George Pataki "to withdraw a warrant the governor had signed that would allow Dicks' extradition to Louisiana."

Dicks' attorney argued that Dicks "has not committed any crimes [in Louisiana] or anywhere. He hasn't been in Louisiana for 20 years."

Turns out that maybe Governor Pataki likes Dicks. Maybe he likes Dicks a lot. Because last Thursday he withdrew the warrant and the restrictions on Dicks' bail that barred him from traveling outside of New York, leaving Dicks free to go back to London.

And with Dicks unleashed from containment in the U.S., more details on why Dicks was locked up in the first place are coming out. It appears that, similar to the motivation of some members in Congress who are pushing through anti-poker legislation, the apprehension of Dicks may be rooted in some good old fashioned Southern good ol' boy hypocrisy.

David Sklansky Loses to Some 21 Year-Old Kid Named Mark Newhouse at WPT Borgata Poker Open

Sometimes, results are secondary to the real story.

Now we here at Wicked Chops Poker don't want to fling false accusations, but we feel we have been plagiarized. Or at least the spirit of one of our posts has been plagiarized.

More on this in a second.

First, for those who results are not secondary: Mark Newhouse, a 21 year-old from Chapel Hill, NC, won the WPT Borgata Poker Open, banking $1,519,020. He beat Chris McCormack for the title.

Everyone's "favorite" author and poker "legend" David Sklansky, who kind of looks like Robert Varkonyi if Varkonyi donned a disguise while on lam from the law for a series of bank heists across the Midwest (see right), came in third, more than doubling his previous career tournament winnings and giving him his best tournament finish since the first George Bush's presidency when Madonna's "Like a Prayer" topped the pop charts.

Now the real story.

Last week we posted a faux-serious tournament write-up onthe WPT Borgata Poker Open based on the wonderful job the PR team for the event was doing.

Little did we know that they'd find our site and copy our style, essentially turning their WPT Borgata Poker Open report into: 1) a Pat Benatar song, and 2) a poorly written Borgata commercial. Consider the following examples...

David Sklansky Has Chance to Prove He Deserves to Be Considered a Legend of the Game

David Sklansky, considered by many as one of the great thinkers and players of the game, has his best chance in about 20-odd years to actually earn that distinction, as he finds himself (short-stacked) at the WPT Borgata Poker Open.

Winner of three WSOP bracelets, Sklansky achieved acclaim as author of the mind-numbingly boring Theory of Poker (and other books, please stop). He looks to earn his first major tournament victory since capturing the, um, $1,000 buy-in PLO event at the 1983 World Series of Poker. Sklansky won his two other bracelets in 1982, one in Draw poker, and the other in Mixed Doubles 7CS, which really shouldn't even count anymore.

And while sort of speaking of women, Jennifer Tilly's impressive run came to an unfortunate end, as she was eliminated in 15th place by big stack Mark Newhouse. Newhouse is from Chapel Hill, NC, final tabled earlier this year at Event #23 at the WSOP, and takes a huge chip lead to his first WPT final table.

Final table chip counts are: 1) Mark Newhouse - 7,025,000, 2) Chris McCormack - 3,000,000, 3) Chris Bell - 1,200,000, 4) Blaise Ingoglia - 840,000, 5) Anthony Argila - 700,000, and 6) David Sklansky - 665,000.

* Sklansky image from Poker Pages.

Stupid Poker Criminals Hall of Fame Welcomes Jeffrey Cabrera to Its Fabled Halls

Maybe we were too hard on the students at Northern Marianas College last year.

As we detailed, Northern Marianas students petitioned for passage of an anti-poker bill to impose stricter regulations on the poker industry and "prohibit poker establishments from the villages, and increase the distance of poker rooms from schools and churches."

We found this a totally not cool kind of way for college kids to spend their time. Not Greg Hogan Jr. rob-a-bank-watch-Chronicles-of-Narnia-then-go-to-orchestra-practice uncool, but pretty fucking uncool.

But maybe now, at least, we understand where they were coming from.

According to Poker Listings, Jeffrey Cabrera, 25, was arrested last week for stealing a woman's purse (and giving her a swollen upper lip, really not cool) so he could build his poker bankroll back up. The purse had around $300 in it. However, before Jeffrey could blow his bankroll again, he was caught by police and confessed to the crime.

So congratulations Jeffrey on being our latest Stupid Poker Criminal Hall of Fame inductee! Not only are you a shitty poker player, but you're an even worse criminal! With traits like these, you could very well be on your way to becoming our first multiple inductee to the Hall. Keep up the great work!

Scary Things Happening at the Borgata Poker Open

Last week, Vanessa Rousso--a woman--did the unthinkable...she won a non-women's only poker tournament.

Can lightning strike twice?

With just 27 rounders remaining, Jennifer Tilly--a woman--is fourth overall in chips at the WPT Borgata Poker Open.

This is scary. Not Robert Varkonyi apocalypse scary, but more like, "Crap, does this mean that my female peer will start earning as much money as me for doing the exact same job" kind of scary. Next thing you know, us males will be making beds upon our girlfriend's/wive's request and helping out with the dishes.

This could get ugly. Especially since Tilly has demonstrated some wicked poker chops over the past year plus. She won a WSOP bracelet in 2005 in the women's only tournament, and won the WPT Ladies night last year as well. The lady can play.

Tilly is stacked at 874,000. Leading everyone going into Day 4 play is Athanasio Diakos, who is stacked at 1,555,000.

Other big names remaining include David Sklansky (462,000), John Phan (306,000), Barry Greenstein (299,000), and Lee Markholt (218,000).

Visit Card Player for full chip counts.

Poker Players Go to Battle at WPT Borgata Poker Open Championship at the Fabulous Borgata Hotal and Casino While Enjoying Relaxing Spa and Fine Dining at Bobby Flay's Steaks and Specchio

Over 540 of the world's top poker players converged on the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa this week to compete for the prestigious WPT World Poker Open title. After two days of intense battle that rivals anything going on in Iraq and incredibly fierce competition, only 69 remain to vie for the $1,519,020 top prize and a place among poker's all-time greatest players ever. 

The excitement over this wondrous event was palpable to everyone across the Eastern seaboard, and the buzz was electric. Surprisingly and to the amazement of event spectators, an amateur named Ariel Schneller leads the field of players with a stack of 615,000. Ariel said of his experience thus far, "I've been playing well, which I always seem to do at the Borgata, as their card room is the best in the world. And after competing against some of the world's top players, there's nothing I enjoy more than grabbing a great meal at one of my favorite Borgata restaurants, like Bobby Flay's Steak or Specchio."

Vanessa Rousso, a Woman, Wins Major Non-Woman Event

Catching up on some poker tournament news, Vanessa Rousso, a woman, has won a major buy-in non-woman's only event, making her the first woman ever in the history of the world to beat a field of men at anything*.

Rousso, a woman, captured the Borgata Poker Open $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event, besting a field of 317 that included men such as Cliff Josephy (who finished third), Hasan Habib (4th), Joe Sebok (5th), and perhaps the most masterful of all men, Men the Master.

For the win, Rousso banks $285,450. But even more importantly, women across the world will now look to her to lead them out of kitchens and laundry rooms and into places such as the "workforce," the "political arena," and maybe eventually one day into the "boardroom" and other places once only previously reserved for men.

What? This has already happened? Like more than 50 years ago? Crap, we knew living in Afghanistan put us behind the times a little , but this is ridiculous. We're going to take our pet goat for a walk now and let all of this soak in.

* Only slightly untrue.

Finally, A Poker Site for Gay People and Trannies

The more time we spend in card rooms across the country, the more we notice flamboyant gay men and hot long-limbed lesbians trolling the tables eager to pick up a willing conquest for the evening.

Seriously, Caesar's card room might as well be a Roman bath house.

And while we're totally making up everything in the above two paragraphs except "maybe" the first link, we are not making up this: ComeOutPoker.com has officially launched as the "First Ever Online Poker Room for GLBT - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Community."

Unfortunately, there is nothing humorous we can really say about this. There is just no material for us to work with...sorry. Just a dry well over here.

However, if you're not too busy taking "mancations" with your "friends," and are maybe a bit "curious" and longing for more details, then continue reading this post about ComeOutPoker.com--a site dedicated exclusively to gay people and trannies--which again, as previously stated, provides us with nothing funny to say, as ComeOutPoker, which again is a site just for gay people and trannies, might interest you, because it may cater exclusively to people like you (i.e. gays and trannies).

The Daily Dump™

Lennox Miller wasn't (un)dressed like this when she played our WCP homegame last night. Damn. - LennoxMiller.com

Rachel Bilson is the cutest girl in Christendom, even especially in a prison dress. - EgoStatic.com

Kelly Monaco is the Tiger Woods of girls in tank tops and jeans. - Bastardly.com

Past WCP Parting Shot Girl Cassie gives us a shot of her new tattoo. - CassieWeb.com

Something's not quite right with Jessica Simpson's face here...not that we're looking at her face here. - WWTDD.com

Our new favorite blog. - The Professional Cheerleader Blog

Petra Nemcova returns to the Daily Dump, despite her penchant for pop singing dwarfs. - IDontLikeYouInThatWay.com

Longtime WCP fave April Scott will be donning the Daisy Dukes soon but we like her better without them. - GorillaMask.net

8,773 X $10,000 = $90+ Million?

So apparently there's some controversy about the number of chips in front of Jamie Gold at the end of the Main Event, and surprisingly the controversy has absolutely nothing to do with Jamie Gold (although conspiracy-minded folks may imply otherwise). No, this one--which involves an extra $2 million worth of tournament chips in play that weren't there when the Main Event started---rests squarely on the shoulders of the suits at Harrahs, who run the Main Event like a daily tourney at the Gold Strike rather than the multimillion dollar property it has become.

It's understandable though, or at the least, expected. In most businesses, the operations side generally lags behind everything else, and the WSOP is no exception. How much longer they can ignore their gross incompetence remains to be seen. Based on the conversations we're hearing, probably not much longer.

To break down the numbers for you, there were 8,773 players who started this year's WSOP Main Event, each ponying up $10,000 and receiving $10,000 in tournament chips in return. Thus the total dollar value of chips in play would be...hold on, ok, wait, that's four zeros and 1 x 8,773 is...fuck we hate math. Math is dumb. Let us get one of them calculator thingamajigs.

[several minutes later]

Fast and Furious Journalism Heating Up Poker Tournament Coverage

Let's get this out of the way now, so nothing in this post is lost in translation:

The majority of poker tournament reporting is fucking terrible.

There. We said it.

We here at Wicked Chops Poker love beating dead horses. If you can't kick someone while they're down, then what's the fun of bringing them down in the first place, right?

It's been well documented here and at other fine writing establishments that Card Player set poker journalism back to the steam engine era and journalism in general back to the days of Johanes Gutenburg with its 2006 WSOP coverage.

So it would be unjust of us not to point out when another group does an equally entertaining job of poker reporting. And the WPT Borgata Open has provided us with ample ammo.

From the looks of it, the PR team working on these Borgata updates don't really "know so much" about poker as they really "don't know so much" about poker. It looks like they got this Borgata Poker Open account, realized they knew nothing about poker, then checked out Card Player to figure out how to write updates, and not knowing how bad the Card Player updates are, followed the template of Card Player's legendary bad updates. We can't blame them, because really, they didn't stand a chance.

For example...

Keep Online Poker Legal: Participate in the Phone March on Capitol Hill Today

Today the Poker Players Alliance is leading a Phone March on Washington to keep online poker legal and fight the hypocritical and prohibitionist anti-gaming legislation from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and others. Below are details on how you can participate. And after you call 800-289-1136 to defend our right to play online poker, take the time to join the over 100,000 members of the Poker Players Alliance, if you haven't already. The PPA is the strongest voice for you in politics and is focused on representing your interests on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

The U.S. Senate is Seeking to Ban Online Poker
PPA Phone March on Capitol Hill Scheduled for Sept. 12

Your urgent action is needed! On September 12th the Poker Players Alliance with the support of Wicked Chops Poker, leading poker blogs and forums and others are organizing a “Phone March” on Capitol Hill. From 9:00 AM Eastern Time, until 5:30 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 12th, we are asking all PPA members and anyone interested in defending poker to call this toll free number, 800-289-1136 and be patched through to one of your two U.S. Senators in Washington D.C. When you call the 800 number you will hear a recording from fellow PPA member Greg “Fossilman” Raymer and then you will be prompted to enter your five digit zip code so you can be directed, free of charge, to your Senator’s office.

Note: The 800 number will only be active between 9:00 AM EST and 5:30 PM EST on Tuesday September 12.

After the jump are key points you should make:

Waaaaiiit a minute...so how are state lotteries less like gambling than online poker again?

So this makes a lot of sense.

As you are aware, Congress is trying to pass legislation banning Americans from being able to play online poker. Yet, state lotteries--like the one in Rep. Bob Goodlatte's home turf of Virginia, where your chances of winning are less likely than flopping a straight flush (about 14 million to 1 vs. 20,000 to 1, respectively)--are legal.

If legislators like Bob Goodlatte (at right) have their way, then your best chance at winning poker riches may unfortunately be through the lottery, like Ronald Clyde from Georgia recently did. Clyde, a 53 year-old grocery store stocker from the Atlanta area, just won $500,000 off of a $5 WPT Hold'em Poker game. Clyde is the second Georgian to win the poker jackpot over the past month.

While we say, "Good for Clyde." We also say, "This is bullshit."

The double-standard that red-state politicians (and companies like eBay) have concerning horse betting, lotteries, and online poker is blatantly hypocritical and an absolute insult to the intelligence of their constituencies. It sets a scary precedent on the Government's domain over our personal liberties and how they can dictate what we can and can't spend our money on.

If you agree with us, which unless you believe in communist dictatorships or are perhaps someone in Bob Goodlatte's immediate family, then the Poker Player's Alliance is holding a Phone March on Capital Hill tomorrow so your voice can be heard. Check back with Wicked Chops Poker tomorrow morning, or visit the PPA and PocketFives for more information on how you can participate in keeping online poker legal.

New Bond Trailer Shows Poker and Eva Green

A new trailer was released for the upcoming James Bond film, Casino Royale, and unlike the last one we wrote about, this one does show Bond playing poker and more importantly it shows much more of Eva Green, the French actress who we'll go out on a limb and say is the hottest Bond girl with 10 toes since Halle Berry, who was the last Bond girl and actually has 11 toes but who's counting?

For those who need a refresher, the new Bond film stars Daniel Craig, an actor who attracts gay men and didn't know how to play poker a few months ago but is now a poker expert which is good because in the movie 007 is saving the world by playing Texas Hold'em instead of Baccarat. You see, evil terrorist financier Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes poker game at Le Casino Royale to help raise some dough for the world's terrorists, and rumor has it to also produce cheesy reality TV shows for American audiences. So if Bond busts Le Chiffre at the table, his terrorist peeps won't have any money and he will no longer be able to spam Jack Johnson fan forums looking for hot moms. If Bond loses though, he's helping to fund those damn jihadis. Either way though he gets to shag Eva Green, drive a cool car and blow shit up, so at least he has that going for him.

It's worth noting that the movie's target demo must be poker-playin, action-lovin' Bond fans who are gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) because where the last Bond film's trailer showed Halle Berry walking out of the ocean in a bikini, this one has Daniel Craig doing the same in nut-huggers with no Eva Green in sight. Therefore we recommend washing your eyes with this NSFW video of Eva Green after viewing the Casino Royale trailer.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE NEW CASINO ROYALE TRAILER (sorry wrong link yesterday), and after the jump are screen captures of Eva Green, Caterina Murino and poker scenes from the film.

Friday Night Parting Shot: Doutzen Kroes

That supermodel Doutzen Kroes isn't a household name yet probably has something to do with the fact that her name is Doutzen Kroes. Not that we see anything wrong with the name Doutzen Kroes, it's just that it doesn't quite roll off the tongue like say Giselle, Alessandra, Joanna or Peter Dicks. But Dicks aside, we don't expect a name like Doutzen to hold her back much longer considering how flawlessly stunning the 5'10" blue-eyed beauty from the Netherlands is. Voted Model of the Year in 2005 by Vogue.com readers and joining past Parting Shot Girl Arielle Kebbel in our "Born in '85" club, Doutzen has the divine body of a Brazillian, the face of Denise Richards circa "Wild Things" and the smile of Claudia Schiffer, which to us pretty much sums up the perfect girl, sans perhaps a pair of Keeley Hazell's best (NSFW link).

If you think you've seen Doutzen before, it was probably in your girlfriend's/wife's/mistress' Vicky Secrets catalogue or perhaps the 2005 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. In case you need a refresher though, try some of the photos and video of Doutzen Kroes after the jump . . .

Mike Sexton to Take Stand in Support of Leyser

Mr. Poker himself, Mike Sexton, is scheduled to testify on behalf of "Don't Call Me Bruce" Crispin Leyser, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Asked to comment after Tuesday's hearing in the Leyser v. Gold case, Sexton said 95% of poker players who enter high-stakes tournaments agree to split the pot with others and it's rarely in writing.

"It's very common. It happens in every tournament. People have agreements and no one signs."

According to the article, Sexton said he was concerned about the effect the case might have on poker tournaments.

"This is the premier event in the poker world, so it bothers me. It bothers me because poker has come so far in these past few years."

Sexton and Leyser know each other from the WPT Boot Camp, where both are trainers and are set to appear together this Sept. 19 at the camp's next stop in AC at the Borgata.

Other news discussed in the article include:

:: Gold has withdrawn his $6 million from the Rio,

:: Gold has picked up a new attorney, Patrick Byrne,

:: Gold's flacks are still staying tight-lipped on all matters, and

:: Matthew "Shaggy" Lillard and Dax "Punk'd" Shepard were mentioned in this article, as they have been mentioned in almost every major story on the Leyser-Gold dispute, which has to be the most press these two have had in their careers, for whatever that's worth.

More On Dicks

The unfortunately named Peter Dicks appeared at a hearing today in New York where he was served with an arrest warrant for alleged violations of Louisiana State laws in connection with "gambling by computer," a felony punishable by up to five years year in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Authorities grabbed Dicks at JFK airport in NYC earlier this week after it was discovered that Dicks, the 64-year-old Chairman of popular wagering site SportingBet, which owns Paradise Poker, had an outstanding warrant issued for him by Louisiana authorities.

Dicks spent last night in jail, and Dicks was released late today on $50,000 bail. Dicks also had to surrender his British passport and must slum it out in New York City at some of the world's best restaurants, nightclubs and hotels while he awaits his Sept. 14 extradition hearing.

According to Gambling911.com, Peter Nieman, the lawyer for Dicks, said his client, Dicks, will "contest extradition to Louisiana."

Nuts! Feds Grab Dicks Snatched at JFK - U.S. War on Online Gaming Shows No Sign of Petering Out

Peter Dicks, Chairman of online wagering site SportingBet PLC, was arrested last night at JFK airport on illegal online gaming charges.

The grabbing of Dicks, a Brit who we've just awarded a fictitious bronzed plaque that he can place next to Anurag Dikshit in our newly created Gaming Executive Awkward Name Hall of Fame, comes on the heels of the Feds arresting another Brit, David Carruthers, the former CEO of BetOnSports nabbed at DFW on his way from England to Costa Rica. Both SportingBet and BetOnSports are sites where you can apparently bet on sports and also happen to be publicly traded companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Dicks' arrest is troubling on many levels, and you'd think that the Feds would have better things to do with their time than arresting jolly old Brits who chair online gaming sites. Seems like that could be taking away resources from more important things like, we don't know, catching Islamic terrorists who've sworn it their duty to kill American civilians wherever we may be, which we're no socio-political experts here but that seems to be a greater threat to the fabric of American society than betting on the Steelers.

Fucking al Qaeda. Hate those guys.

For more information on the Dicks arrest, visit Poker News.

The Daily Dump™

We must confess. We've lost sight of what's important lately. We've been so focused on "hard-hitting" news, like Shana Hiatt getting Peacock-blocked by the WPT, Richard Lee getting raided by the SAPD, and Jamie Gold spamming cyberspace for hot moms as Crispin Leyser lays claim to half of his $12 mil, that we've lost touch with our softer side that selflessly likes to share with you pics/videos of Keeley Hazell and Joanna Krupa and present (ir)regular features like the Friday Night Parting Shot Girl and The Daily Dump™. And for this, we're sorry, and we hope today's Daily Dump is just the beginning of making amends, whatever that word means.

Don't just think of Joanna Krupa as another pretty girl playing poker. No this girl also knows how to pose wearing next-to-nothing like a frickin' champ. - HollywoodTuna.com

Our favorite new photos of the Official Wicked Chops Poker Girl of 2006 - Keeley Hazell. - DailyNiner.com (NSFW - meaning: open at work, lose your job)

No wait, these are our favorite new photos of the Official Wicked Chops Poker Girl of 2006 - Keeley Hazell. - SexyPixCollection.blogspot.com (NSFW, which is what you should always ass-ume when it comes to Keeley Hazell photos)

Sorry, totally inappropriate here, but Tom and Kate's little girl has to be the cutest Asian baby with a toupee we've seen in a long time. - WWTDD.com

If Petra Nemcova wasn't dating that whiny, Frodo-tall, Brit singer, James Blunt, she'd have a shot at being our official Wicked Chops Poker Girl of something. Her loss. These 4 pages of pics though are our win. - UseMyComputer.com

This BetUs.com model we photographed at the WSOP is all over this video, as are a bunch of other BetUs.com models and some tool named Charlie. - YouTube.com

Bodog Girls always make us feel at home, and if this was our home, we'd never leave. - WickedChopsPoker.com

Pamela Camassa is the hottest Latin girl we've seen in the last cinco minutos. - GorillaMask.net

WPT to Air in Asia

While the World Poker Tour is reportedly Peacock-blocking Shana Hiatt from taking the NBC Heads-Up gig, it inked deals today with two Asian networks that will likely give Hiatt more face time than Godzilla in the land of the Rising Sun, which from here is over there in the direction of where the Sun sets, which is west of us but apparently so far west it's the Far East.

The two networks, one in Macau and the other in Singapore, will air past WPT seasons, with Macau Cable showing WPT Season I and Singapore's MediaCorp broadcasting WPT Season II. Both seasons of course feature the beautiful Hiatt as the hostess, which means billions of 5 foot high men with the bizarre ability to squat for extended periods of time will be "turning Japanese" over the sexy Shana as she lounges in her bikini on a sailboat during the Ultimate Poker Classic broadcast.

Macau by the way is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, which in laymen's terms is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, which in laymen's terms is like Hong Kong. It is also known as the Vegas of Asia and one of the highest volume gambling destinations in the world with nearly half of the world's population (3 billion) within a 5-hour flight from Macau compared to Vegas, which sits within a 5-hour flight of about 450 million people.

For more on the WPT's Asia deals, check out the press release here.

For more on the sexy Shana as she lounges in her bikini on a sailboat during the Ultimate Poker Classic broadcast, check out the video after the jump . . .

Wicked Chops Poker Exclusive: WPT Screws Shana Hiatt From Going to NBC's Heads-Up Poker Championship

The World Poker Tour has blocked Shana Hiatt from accepting a reporting gig with NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship, refusing to release the popular ex-hostess from her contract, claims a well-placed source within the poker industry in an email sent to Wicked Chops Poker.

The 31-year-old Hiatt, who served as hostess for the World Poker Tour during its first three seasons, was reportedly NBC’s top choice to replace Head's Up post-match reporter Kathryn Tappen. Tappen departed NBC last month to assume weekend anchor duties at New England sports network, NESN.

Around that time, NBC contacted Hiatt about the job. She told NBC to first get permission from her old bosses, as the WPT apparently still has her under contract and maintains some control over her rights. And even though Hiatt has not worked for the popular Travel Channel show since the WPT World Championship III in 2005, and the WPT is on to its second hostess since Hiatt left, the WPT still said "no."

Formerly married to James Van Patten, brother of WPT co-host Vince, Hiatt had a successful modeling career, including an appearance in Playboy's "The Girls of Hawaiian Tropic: Naked in Paradise" video, as well as some small movie roles, prior to joining the WPT as hostess in 2003. Hiatt eventually left the WPT for personal reasons in 2005 and had no interest in returning to the show.

Gold-Leyser Lawyers Agree to Freeze $6 Million

While Jamie Gold was busy spamming online forums looking for America's hottest mom and sounding even more like a Hollywood blow-hard from his poolside perch at the Mondrian, his lawyers were busy today in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, where the deal splitting case between Gold and "Don't Call Me Bruce" Crispin Leyser had been moved. Before the court was a preliminary injunction that would freeze half of Gold's $12 million WSOP winnings, and according to Richard Schonfeld, the lawyer for Crispin Leyser, "Everybody agreed the preliminary injunction would be issued."

The injunction means that the disputed $6 million would not leave the Rio until the case concluded.

With this bit of news we think now is a good time to post a bit of a transcript from the oft-cited Jamie Gold "Rounders" radio interview, in particular the part in which Gold talks out of his ass about Crispin Leyser, who he describes as a "good friend," which apparently is Hollywood talk for "a person he has only known since July of this year." Gold was asked by Mike and Adam about the possibility of him not playing this year's WSOP because the seat could have gone to Leyser instead, to which Gold's ass said:

"It turned out that Crispin was very helpful - this is true. He is a good friend of mine and he was very helpful in securing some celebrities for the Bodog celebrity team and for that they offered me - and I felt bad and I said you know what, maybe you should be offering it to Crispin and I'm gonna put up the money anyway and they said no....

....They didnt know Crispin but they knew I was a great poker player .... and they said ... 'Everyone is telling us you are like Kobe Bryant coming out of high school - that you actually have a shot to make it so we want to see what you can do' . . . 'You're not allowed to transfer this to Crispin' - cause I had talked to him and that is true. I had said maybe you should just play and I'll give it to you and they said absolutely not, and with no offense to him, they didn't know him. They just had no idea who he was."

And as you digest that, just for the fun of it, or better yet, to make you feel better about the fact that you don't make millions pawning crap reality TV shows to American audiences, after the jump is an example of what Jamie and his peeps are spamming online forums with for their "Hottest Mom in America" show. There's also a shorter one out there that hypes: "Felicity Huffman's former manager and a producer from Survivor are coming to Dallas to audition hot moms like you." It's all just a parody of itself really, which kind of sucks because we can't really add anything here to make it funnier.

It's Not Looking Good for Richard Lee

Richard Lee better be friends with politicians and judges and DAs in San Antonio that love him as much as he claims to love San Antonio.

Otherwise he's fucked.

According to San Antonio's Express News, Richard Lee, known in San Antonio gambling circles as "The Chinaman" and also the "biggest bookie in town," has been running an Internet gambling site called www.betbsbnow.com (which stands for BoxSeatBetting and claimed to be "an advanced sports wagering club offering VIP customer service, excellent odds, live lines, downloadable desktop scoreboards..." but which in the past 12 hour or so has apparently been shut down) more or less out of his home.

While Lee has yet to be charged, it's not looking good, as the article lists what appears to be a mountain of evidence against him.

Looking back over the past month, and particularly at his rambling "I love San Antonio and my t-shirt" press conference last week, what's interesting is how Lee said over and over again that he didn't want to endorse an online gaming site. He didn't want the obligations of being affiliated with a site and he didn't want to travel much away from San Antonio, which in itself proves there's gotta be something fishy going on, given how badly that city sucks. But now, it all makes sense--why endorse another site when you're secretly running your own?

While this is all bad for Lee, the city of San Antonio could look a lot worse too, if that's even possible, because also allegedly seized from Lee's estate is a "list" containing the names of prominent San Antonio figures.

Which might be the only explanation as to why Lee HASN'T been formally charged yet.

Jamie Gold Is Looking for America's Hottest Mom

If Jamie Gold needed an image makeover so he'd appear more like an arrogant Hollywood blow-hard not worthy of our siding and sympathy in light of a $6M lawsuit, then mission accomplished.

In his latest interview, this time with Norma Meyer of Copley News Service, Gold does little to dispel the notion that he's just another sleaze-ball Hollywood agent. His latest project? Producing a show called "Hottest Mom in America."

While this is an admirable goal, as there are a lot of MILFs who aren't getting their just due (like LeeAnn Tweeden, at left, who while she actually isn't a MILF yet, she one day will be, and at which stage we'd like to F her), Jamie Gold pimping his cheap, lowbrow Babette Pepaj-side that spams Internet forums looking for contestants for a null-of-creativity reality show while directing people to a website that is dead won't win him any fans. But neither will going to great lengths to tell us how precociously smart and great he is at poker, as Gold does in this article and did a few weeks ago on the Rounders radio show.

But that's not to say we don't understand where he's coming from. One thing that the entities that compromise Wicked Chops Enterprises LLC are not known for is "modesty." In fact, "modesty" is a word we just learned a few minutes ago. Our journey started by going to thesaurus.com and typing in "narcissism" to see if there were any antonyms listed. We then went to dictionary.com and entered all of the antonym options we found, and "modesty" was the best choice available.

JJ Liu--A Woman--Wins WPT Ladies Night IV

Somehow, between news on the Richard Lee raid, the Leyser affidavit, Calvin Ayre's assistant's arrest for trumped up "espionage" charges, Jamie Gold's request to move his case to federal court, we let possibly the biggest story of the week slip past us: JJ Liu--a woman--won the WPT Ladies Night IV.

Sorry about that.

Liu defeated five other women, including defending champ Jennifer Tilly and the always smokin' hot Erica Schoenberg (at right), to win the title, not that we expect you to still be reading this article at this stage.

For the win, Liu earns a seat into the $25,000 WPT championship event, a tournament she will undoubtedly not win. You can choose not to watch the Travel Channel's broadcast of Ladies Night IV later this year.

The Leyser Affidavit

Earlier today while (not so) busy breaking news that Jamie Gold filed a motion to move the Leyser suit to federal court, the entities that comprise Wicked Chops Enterprises LLC engaged in a heated discussion concerning the tax implications surrounding Crispin Leyser's claims, except replace "heated" with "frequently off-track and mildly interested." While we were on-track though the conversation focused primarily on Leyser's statement in paragraph 6 of the affidavit he filed in support of his complaint. It says:

"I am concerned that if Defendant transfers my 50% of the winnings from the Rio Hotel and Casino to an unknown account and does not fill out a form 5754 and direct the casino to provide two separate W-2G forms, that there will be adverse tax consuquences and that I will be unable to collect the $6,000,000 that I am entitled to received."

Read the entire Leyser Affidavit here.

Form 5754 and W-2G, by the way, are the tax forms U.S. residents must fill out to report gambling winnings and money withheld on those winnings, and Leyser's statement refers to what Gold allegedly told him in his now-famous $6 million voicemail message:

Making the Rounds on the Richard Lee Raid

We're no social scientists here but the empirical data, if we knew what that meant, we've seen so far is that there's much less interest in the Richard Lee raid than the Crispin Leyser v. Jamie Gold suit, which probably has something everything to do with the fact that Lee isn't an ex-Hollywood agent but instead donked off all his chips to an ex-Hollywood agent who would go on to become the world champ while Lee would go on to finish sixth, become a sore loser and head home to dump heap San Antonio.

Making the poker blogs rounds this afternoon though, it seems that the Richard Lee raid has taken the spotlight off Gold . . . if at least for now, and just a little bit, but not much longer, because no one really cares about sixth place, at least we don't because any other place but first place is last place and if you don't think that then you're a loser and we hate losers.

Anyway, worth checking out on the Lee raid are CardSquad.com and PokerBlog.com, both of which have done considerable reporting on the story. Of note, CardSquad.com's Wil Wheaton points to a poignant commentary on the Lee raid by Michael Craig, the author of The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King. PokerBlog.com on the other hand has learned that Lee was playing an MTT on PartyPoker.com at the time of the raid, which the Bexar County district attorney has apparently come out and said "that that act in and of itself is illegal." So if the bookie charges don't fly, they always have that to hang on him . . . because it's not like the SAPD has other illegal acts going on around town to worry about.

Other CardSquad.com posts on the Lee raid here, here and here.

Other PokerBlog.com posts on the Lee raid here, here and here.

Calvin Ayre's Assistant Arrested in Saigon on Trumped-Up Espionage Charges

The folks over at Gambling911.com are reporting that Calvin Ayre's personal assistant, Fawn Seeton (seen here with model Michelle Merkin), along with others working for Bodog.com, were arrested in Saigon Thursday for violating "Vietnam espionage laws."

Ayre himself, Gambling911.com reports, was not present during the arrests.

As we reported back on July 19, Ayre is in Asia filming a documentary on bear bile farming, which is believed to be critical of the Vietnamese government -- so the Vietnamese are basically being commie, freedom-suppressing bastards as they stomp on human rights by trumping up charges of espionage, a practice they've been known to do.

For more on the story, go to Gambling911.com.

For more on the disgusting practice of farming bear bile, go to www.calvinayrefoundation.com.

For more on model Michelle Merkin, after the jump...

Jamie Gold Seeks to Move Case to Federal Court

While waiting to find out the result of today's hearing in the Leyser v. Gold lawsuit, we got word from an inside source that Gold's lawyers filed a petition yesterday to have the case moved to federal court and that a hearing for such will take place Tuesday, September 5.

Developing...

Richard Lee Loves San Antonio, His T-Shirt, and His Freedom

Maybe Richard Lee took our praise of his adept message control in response to the illegal gambling allegations against him a little too much to heart.

With legal evidence against Richard Lee reportedly mounting, the 2006 WSOP sixth place finisher, wearing his favorite San Antonio t-shirt, went on the offensive yet again, holding a press conference to begin swaying the public's opinion his way by saying:

1. He loves San Antonio.
2. He loves his San Antonio t-shirt.
3. He turned down lots of money from online sites to wear his San Antonio t-shirt during the WSOP final table.
4. Which if you read between the lines, then how can someone who loves San Antonio THIS MUCH and even turned down money from ONLINE GAME SITES because of his love of San Antonio, EVER be guilty of running illegal gambling operations.
5. And if you read even more between the lines, he loves his freedom. So please don't let them send him to jail. Because he is San Antonio's favorite son, and it would be very un-San Antonian of you to let them send him to jail.

We haven't seen this kind of blatantly obvious yet slightly amusing spinmiestering since the Clinton administration.

This spinmiestering is an interesting tactic by Lee. As you know, District Attorney's are elected officials. So in high-profile cases, it's important for them not to just build a strong case to win the legal battle, but also to win the case in the court of public opinion. Just look at how DA Mike Nifong tried to use the Duke lacrosse rape case as a means to win re-election.

In the linked clip, Lee goes on, and on, and just when you think he can go on no longer, he goes on and on and on some more to express his love for San Antonio. In our experience, when you feel the need to so desperately get the public on your side by going after their hearts, yet neglecting to really go after their minds, it's usually because you know the hammer is about to drop on you. Hard. The reality is, Lee knows the charges against him are serious and probably knows the evidence is solid, despite his claims that he is "unaware" that anything he did was wrong. Lee is likely starting to realize he may be spending some time behind bars, and perhaps feels that getting the public on his side may be his one-outer on the river.

Watch Lee's latest press conference here, and if you don't have the patience to view the entire clip, we've captured some of his comments after the jump.