Bloomberg TV: Legalize Internet Poker?

The timing of Barney Frank's bill to oust the UIGEA was well timed. The WSOP is just two weeks away (more on that in a bit), and over 10 million people watched Annie Duke finish second on the Celebrity Apprentice (more on that later today too), so there is way more mainstream attention paid to poker in general now than normal.

On the heels of having Jeffrey Pollack on discussing the general economic enormity of the WSOP, Bloomberg TV ran a feature on why online poker should be legalized.

Gavin Smith Wins FTOPS Event #7; FTOPS Missing Many Guarantees

 

As you know, we typically don't report on online tournaments or live prelims unless something noteworthy happens.

So when FTP pro Gavin Smith, who is notably and admittedly not much of an online tourney player, wins a FTOPS event, it warrants mention.

Smith took down FTOPS Event #7 ($100 no-limit hold'em with rebuys), beating a field of 1,806 to bank $123,600.

Also warranting a mention is that this edition of the FTOPS is seriously missing its guaranteed marks. Whether it's The Economy^TM, poor marketing, over-saturation, or some other factor, it seems like the FTOPS has lost some of its luster.

Read a good breakdown of the FTOPS missing its mark at the Poker-King here.

Barney Frank Talks About Online Gambling Ban With Lou Dobbs

Barney Frank's UIGEA-repealing bill that is being supported by Harrah's and will bring in more than $50 billion in revenue to the US government and most importantly stimulate our own economy by bringing the donk-laden PartyPoker back to US soil is garnering decent media attention, including a mention on CNN's Lou Dobbs Wednesday. Watch what Franks had to say above or here.

Greg Raymer Tells FOX Business: UIGEA Doesn't Apply To Online Poker

2004 WSOP Main Event champ Greg Raymer appeared on FOX Business News the other day to talk about legislative efforts to regulate and tax the online poker industry. During the interview the former attorney made it clear that he thinks the UIGEA doesn't apply in any way to online poker, hence the headline above, hence why are we writing this post? Warning: if the site of Raymer wearing his Fossilman glasses makes you cringe like it makes us, we suggest forwarding through the first 30 seconds or so. Better yet just skip the video and watch Chloe instead. The girl makes a valid point.

Bluff Online Poker Challenge To Begin March 1; Sharks To Lay Waste to Lock Poker Fish

So we're not too into gimmicky shit but this is pretty cool.

BLUFF Magazine is ready to kick off the Bluff Online Poker Challenge (BOPC). The gist is they've assembled 20+ of the best online poker players in the world, give them a $200 starting bankroll on Lock Poker, and see who can it up the most playing MTT's and SnG's during the month. If you go bust, no reloading, you're out.

The winner gets a Bluff cover (and of course, their winnings).

Participants include 2008 BLUFF Magazine Online Poker Player of the Year David "The Maven" Chicotsky, Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb, Kevin "BeLOWaBOVe" Saul, Gank, Brandon Cantu, Maria Hooooooo!!!!!!!! and more.

Get the full details here. Check back on WCP (or Bluff) over the month of March to see who is doing how.

In unrelated news, below is a video of a hot asian chick getting ready for work on a subway.

Durrrr Million Dollar Challenge Begins: Round 1 Goes to Durrrr

The much hyped Tom "durrrr" Dwan Million Dollar Challenge kicked off against Patrik Antonius on Full Tilt Poker today.

The two played 1,541 of the required 50,000 hands, with durrrr ending the session up $134,911.50.

In completed unrelated news involving the word penis being said repeatedly, this.

Hey, Sign Up for a FTP Account and Watch the Million Dollar Challenge  

Russ Hamilton Exclusive Video - The Fallout

Some interesting feedback and fallout from various forums and blogs on the exclusive Russ Hamilton video footage posted yesterday:

:: Layne Flack is taking his lumps, getting about as much venom as Russ is. Great post on Pocket 5's detailing some of Russ and Layne's ties (remember, Layne was once a UB sponsored player). [link]

:: Whoever signed up a "Russ Hamilton" account on 2+2 and posted on this thread, way to bring the funny.  [link]

:: You know the Neverwin Poker Forum will do a good job capturing the general ID and rage most in the online poker community feel towards Russ. [link]

:: Just really like the "GoHabsGo" pic on Full Contact Poker. Oh yeah, for those asking, Daniel didn't provide the "tip" that Russ was golfing that day. Info came the old-fashioned way: some good sleuthing. [link]

:: Some awesome commentary over at Pokerati. Wish we had 10% as much interest in continuing commentary on stories as they do. Nice work. [link]

:: And for the 1% of people out there that don't view getting the one and only individual specifically implicated in the biggest online poker cheating scandal in history on camera for the first time since he was singularly named in the KGC report as newsworthy, there's always the Poker Road forum. [link]

We're working on a pretty amazing follow-up to this video that we hope to have completed by the first of next week. Stay tuned...

Super-User Russ Hamilton Not So Super at Answering Questions (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Below is exclusive footage of "alleged" UltimateBet super-user Russ Hamilton after completing a round of golf at a course he frequents (second to last paragraph) yesterday in Las Vegas.

One thing from this video is very clear: Russ Hamilton absolutely does not want to discuss his alleged involvement in the UltimateBet super-user cheating scandal.

Like, not even a word. And if you're innocent, even if your lawyers tell you not to talk, really, don't you just have to talk? How do you not?

Hamilton (wearing his clubUBT.com visor) teed off yesterday around 12:30pm with his playing partner Layne Flack and two other men. After completing his round right before 5pm, the foursome decided to drive their carts back out to the first hole for a little more golf action. They went inside after that to presumably have a drink and settle their bets, and walked out of the clubhouse with our camera crew waiting.

Special side note, notice how quickly Layne Flack bails out of the camera's view.

Watch RUSS HAMILTON UltimateBet Super-User Cheating Scandal (Exclusive Video) on RawVegas.tv

Barney Frank to Continue Push for Online Gambling Legalization

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) will continue to keep online gambling legalization on the front-burner of his economic agenda.

On Tuesday morning Frank, who chairs the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, outlined said agenda for the first few months of the year. Re: the online gambling aspect of his agenda, Frank told G911's Jenny Woo:

"I think if we do this right we should make online gaming legal and subject it to a reasonable taxation like anything else," he said.  "This does not conflict to our effort to stimulate the economy.  This isn't bad for the economy."

If this actually gets pushed through, expect the floodgates to open. Sure, we'll see the likes of donk-laden sites like Party Poker re-enter the market, but expect the brick-and-mortar casinos, as well as some web entry points (AOL? Yahoo!) step in too. Good times for all.

Read more here.

Doyles Room Moves To Cake, Now Open To (Most) US American Players

DoylesRoom.com, the online poker room of famed poker blogger and pro beer ponger Doyle Brunson, is now accepting players from U.S. America (except those commie states that have laws against it) after moving to the Cake Poker Network. The site took U.S. American players when it first launched in 2004 but had restricted them after its previous networks banned them because of fear of operating in U.S. America after the passing of the UIGEA.

Said the not-dead-yet Doyle about the move to Cake:

“We wanted to offer our players a rewarding place to play. The liquidity and integrity associated with the Cake Poker Network made this an easy choice for our new partnership.”

Okay not sure what he just said there but hey look, Danielle Lloyd is naked again.

UIGEA Enactment On Hold

Looks like the actual enforcement of the UIGEA will be put on hold for a little while longer.

While President Bush's last minute executive order pushing the UIGEA was met with a general shrug by the online poker operators still accepting U.S. American players, President Obama has put a halt to all pending W regulations.

Says Reuters:

President Barack Obama's new administration ordered all federal agencies and departments on Tuesday to stop any pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff, halting last-minute Bush orders in their tracks.

"This afternoon, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel signed a memorandum sent to all agencies and departments to stop all pending regulations until a legal and policy review can be conducted by the Obama administration," the White House said in a statement issued just hours after Obama took office.

The review is a tool commonly used by a new administration to delay so-called "midnight regulations" put in place by a former president between the election and Inauguration Day.

Read in full here.

BREAKING: Poker Stars Pulling Its Sponsored Players From Poker After Dark

Poker Stars is no longer allowing its players to participate on Poker After Dark.

We received an email to the site today detailing how earlier this week Stars told its sponsored players that they will not be able to play on the popular late night show. The reason: the way Full Tilt Poker, who underwrites the production of Po ker After Dark, markets the show internationally.

While U.S. American broadcasts aren't overtly distinguishable as a Full Tilt production, foreign markets receive a more branded version of the program.

An initial request for a quote from Poker Stars was not returned in time for this post, however we will keep you posted if they do.

Hopefully this doesn't begin a Biggie/Tupac, East Coast/West Coast style fued between the two online poker giants, who have more or less co-existed comfortably for years. Last thing we want is Stars getting capped on the Vegas strip followed by Tilt pumped with a lead salad in LA. Nobody wins in that scenario, guys.

Nobody.

We Hope Mats Sundin Sits at Our Table

All right, Poker Stars. If you're gonna do these athlete celeb sponsors, let's lay down a couple rules: 1) no gingers (ah-hem), and 2) at least kind of sort of educate them on some poker basics.

Now we all know Canadians basic passions in life go something in order like ice fishing-->curling-->socialism-->Bare Naked Ladies-->hockey. So the entire nation of Canada then probably saw Mats Sundin on Hockey Night in Canada After Hours not able to answer a basic poker question from special call-in guest, Daniel Negreanu.

Go to about 2:30 in the vid. Guess Mats needs to spend more time on PokerVT.

Phil Ivey Killed It on Full Tilt Poker in 2008

Phil Ivey's wallet got a lot fatter on Full Tilt last year...

Despite supposedly busting his bankroll back in February, Phil Ivey ended the year as the biggest cash game winner on Full Tilt in 2008, banking over $7.4M.

He's followed by Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond(seems like he should get a NBC Heads-Up invite this year) with $6.97M. Also clocking in the top 10 were Tom "durrrr" Dwan($5.36M), David Benyamine($2.93M), and another rumored busto player, Patrik Antonius($1.90M).

Padding everyone's bankroll was the biggest loser, lady marmelade, bleeding $6.6M. Others in the top 10 cash game losers were Steve Sung(-$1.01M) and John Juanda (-$988,000).

View the full list here.

A. Dikshit To Plead Guilty, Pay $300 Million Settlement To US Government

Anurag Dikshit, the billionaire Indian born co-founder and 27% owner of PartyGaming, the company behind Party Poker, has buckled under pressure from the US Department of Justice and agreed to plead guilty today in a New York court to online betting under the Wire Act. He'll pay a $300 million settlement to the U.S. government, and because no plea deal was cut, A. Dikshit could still face a jail sentence, although that is unlikely as A. Dikshit has agreed to cooperate with US authorities in their ongoing investigation against owners of Internet gambling sites.

Many see A. Dikshit's settlement as throwing online poker under the bus as he hands the DoJ its first victory against the owner of an online poker site when, in our expert legal analysis of the matter, they'd likely fail if the case went to trial under the Wire Act.

The squeaky clean Dikshit, at least compared to his PartyGaming porn biz partner Ruth Parasol, who is not settling with the US, is seen as caving in to the pressure from the DoJ the past two years because of constant fear of prosecution and to put his US woes behind him. And because he can afford it. The 300 mil is just a drop in the bucket to A. Dikshit, whose net worth is estimated in the $3 billion range.

Following in his footsteps is PartyGaming itself, which is in discussions right now with the DoJ. According to a PartyGaming spokesman today:

"The company's discussions with the Department of Justice have made good progress and it is currently negotiating the final terms of a possible settlement. On the basis of the discussions to-date, PartyGaming expects any settlement with the Department of Justice to involve a payment by the company of an amount that is significantly lower than that reported to be paid by Mr Dikshit. In addition, the company believes that any such settlement is unlikely to include a criminal plea on the part of the company or any director."

Both settlements are seen as good news for shareholders in PartyGaming as the company looks to put the threat of prosecution from its once lucrative US business behind it. Shares in PartyGaming jumped 13.9% in London today in response to the news.

Read more about A. Dikshit's settlement on the so-called Internet here and here.

CEREUS Blocks Kentucky IP Addresses

Charlotte McKenna is a model from UK. Because we're arrogant U.S. Americans, we immediately thought that meant she went to the University of Kentucky. But no, apparently there is some "United Kingdom" across the Atlantic Ocean from us. Whatever.

The CEREUS network (comprised of online poker cheating sites Absolute Poker and UltimateBet) won't allow Kentucky IP addresses from accessing their sites. This is in accordance with Franklin County's  Circuit Court’s recent orders (from the domain seizure case).

From a press release:

"In complying with the Court’s orders, Tokwiro has agreed to implement an IP Block across its Absolute Poker and UltimateBet websites (both .net and .com), plus utlimatebet.tv. The Block will prevent players with IP addresses originating inside the Commonwealth of Kentucky from playing using AP and UB software, logging in or registering a new account, making deposits to the cashier, and transferring or receiving funds from other players. The IP Block will allow players with IP addresses originating in Kentucky to make withdrawals of existing account funds, but these players will not be able to make any new deposits or transfers.

Paul Leggett, Tokwiro’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We have taken this action in order to ensure that the vast number of our customers, who do not reside in Kentucky, continue to have access to our sites and to enjoy playing online poker without disruption or inconvenience.”

Love how CEREUS sites have suddenly developed a conscience. Hopefully everyone in the 49 other states will do a self-imposed banning of the CEREUS network now.

Dan Druff to Address 60 Minutes Fall Out, Mason Malmouth Bashing

The 60 Minutes feature on the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet online poker cheating scandals earned a collective "meh" from the Entities.

Yeah it wasn't great for online poker but it could've been way, way worse. The final piece was far from the outright "hatchet job" we were told it would be.

Not everyone shares this opinion though. Taking a lot of heat right now is Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles for his closing comments:

"The people who did this were very greedy and very blatant. But the scary thing is there may be other accounts out there like this, maybe even on other sites that are not being done with the same sort of recklessness. And maybe this has been going on on more than Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, maybe it's going on in several other places, and maybe it's still going on on these sites."

Pretty legitimate concern (although we don't believe it is happening), especially if you were actually one of the people who was scammed, as Druff was.

But Druff is getting slammed on 2+2 (start reading here). Even Mason Malmouth went on a 2+2 podcast to use Druff's comments as an opp to smack down NWP and call for some weird "regulations" of sites within the poker industry.

The funny thing about this is Druff was one of the guy's who helped unearth the Absolute mess, doing the poker community a big service. Dude is getting no slip-up equity for that. And in the 2+2 podcast, it was also revealed that Druff even clarified his "controversial" statement that he did feel safe on other sites, but 60 Minutes didn't air it.

Anyway, more high school drama is sure to ensue. Listen to Mason's chat here.

Read more on NWP here. Druff to go on NWP Radio as well.

Watch the full 60 Minutes piece below for more perspective in case you did miss it.

Watch CBS Videos Online

60 Minutes Online Poker Cheating Expose - What Did You Think?

 
Absolute Douchebags: Potripper and other online poker cheaters were finally featured on 60 Minutes last night.

60 Minutes aired its online poker cheating story last night. Some initial thoughts:

• Could've been worse.
• Especially when Steve Kroft started it off by saying that you can simply access an on site by logging on to the "world wide web..." At least he didn't go with "Information Superhighway^TM."
• Come on, Todd. You could've at least told them to refer to you as Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles. Nice NWP representing nonetheless.
• The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is absolutely useless.
• The fact that no criminal action has been brought against Russ Hamilton is disgusting.

We're currently working on a major Russ Hamilton story, and like 60 Minutes, tried contacting him about a month ago and had similar results. We know of a few big name pros who Hamilton personally stole money from through a super-user account. The dude is a slimeball.

More to come...but read more on the scandals here, here, and here.

60 Minutes to Air Online Poker Hatchet Job This Weekend

 

Well it's finally going to air.

After filming the piece at the WSOP this summer and supposedly set to air on November 9th (which they ended up delaying), CBS is ready to broadcast it's online poker hatchet job (as we first reported) this Sunday.

The story is called "The Cheaters" and will obviously detail the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet scandals. Here's the descript from the website:

60 Minutes and The Washington Post reveal how online poker players suspecting cheating were forced to successfully ferret out the cheaters themselves. That’s because managers of the mostly-unregulated $18 billion Internet gambling industry failed to respond to their complaints. Steve Kroft and The Washington Post's Gilbert Gaul report.

Check out Dan Druff from NWP in the below clip.

(ironically, Michael Phelps will be on this show as well in a separate story)

Watch CBS Videos Online

They Done Did It: Feds Finalize UIGEA Rules, Banks Have One Year to Clamp Down on Gambling Sites

Because now is a stellar time to burden our financial institutions even more by requiring them to follow some crappy, poorly worded law designed to make nanny state, far-right fascist politicians and the NFL happy, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve finalized the UIGEA rules today. You can read the entire 66 pages of legislative bull crap here.

We can't really make heads or tails of what it says however Reuters dumbs it down for us explaining that the rules require "U.S. financial firms that participate in designated payment systems to establish and implement policies that are reasonably designed to prevent payments to businesses in connection with unlawful Internet gambling."

Banks have until December 1, 2009 to comply.

As for what constitutes unlawful Internet gambling, the Treasury said: "For purposes of the rule, unlawful Internet gambling generally would cover the making of a bet or wager that involves use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any applicable federal or state law in the jurisdiction where the bet or wager is initiated, received or otherwise made."

PPA Chairman and Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato fired back at the Treasury saying, "Today's action finalizes a truly bad public policy—one that even the banks and Federal regulators called unworkable in Congressional testimony.

"However, the PPA remains optimistic that the new Administration and the new Congress will recognize the failures of UIGEA and will act swiftly in the New Year to overturn this flawed policy."

Read Haley Hintze's breakdown on the regulations over at PokerNews.com here.

Annie Duke to Leave Ultimate Bet? Annie Duke Wins Celebrity Apprentice?

So we're hearing that Annie Duke may be leaving Ultimate Bet. If it happens, what the f' took so long? And will Phil Hellmuth follow?

The speculation is Duke will join Team Full Tilt, which wouldn't be a shocker given her brother's affiliation with the site. This would make Duke Team FTP's most prominent female personality, which probably won't sit too well with Jen Harmon.

In related Duke news (and this is more speculative than the above), word is she at a minimum finished in the top two in this season's Celebrity Apprentice and may have in fact won it.

These two stories would make sense when tied together. While 60 Minutes may have put a brief hold on its hatchet job on online poker and Ultimate Bet, it will still run, and Duke's association with the site would surely be brought up. And with an appearance (and possible deep run) on Celebrity Apprentice, Duke's profile would never be higher.

Developing...

60 Minutes Hatchet Job on Online Poker NOT Airing November 9th

So our sources are telling us that 60 Minutes will not air it's "hatchet job" (as first described to us here) on online poker sites Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet on November 9th.

They may want to get more interviews, like one with Russ Hamilton (good luck with that). Or more likely, this Sunday is going to be all about Barack "BAM!" Obama.

Hopefully, it just doesn't air. Bury that thing. 

Developing...

Not Necessarily Just Poker News Brought to You By Chelina Manuhutu

We're big fans of the Dutch. They gave us Gouda cheese, Santa Claus, and the Dutch Oven. They also gave us super-hot model Chelina Manuhutu. In a way, these photos are kind of like Santa Claus in that they're the gift that keeps on giving. That really didn't make sense. Get more pics here.

:: The first ever online poker bill introduced by the Senate. Glad there's no economic crisis going on they should be more worried about and working on. Good for us. (link)

:: Poker Players Alliance likes what the Senate is doing. (link)

:: Farren from Daytona State College looks like a hotter, more fun, less lesbian brunette version of Lindsay Lohan. (link)

:: Reason #11,497 why U.S. America is still the greatest country in the world. VP nominees in a beauty pageant! (link)

:: It always sucks being the new guy. (link)

:: This would be your typical uppity celeb PSA except Jonah Hill just kills it. (link)

:: If they had only invented cell phones earlier we wouldn't have had to sit through Forrest Gump. (here)

:: We didn't realize there was such a thing as SFW porn (SFW). (link)

:: The Ultimate Bet scandal is getting some mainstream media mentions in Australia, as one of the sleuths, Michael Josem, hails from down under. (link)

:: Jessica Burciaga really must not want you to see her nipples. Of note, we're big fans of the smoosh-your-boobs-into-another-girl's-boobs hide-your-nipples technique. (link)

:: We knew it! MSNBC left-winger Rachel Maddow is a dude. (link)

:: And finally, this chick could rear-naked-choke us any day. (link)

UIGEA Update: Poker Carve-Out A Possibility?

We're a week late getting to this but definitely worth writing noting that some traction is being made for an online poker carve-out from the UIGEA.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a change to Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass) bill by a 30-19 vote that would clarify for banks what types of payments they can accept from processors. While sports wagering would still be illegal, online poker may get that carve-out the PPA has been fighting for over the past two years since we got Frist'd.

Said Rep. Frank:

"I would like to not tell adults that they can't put a bet down...But under this bill ... at least the banks will know what is and what isn't illegal. We're asking Treasury to give them a list."

More surprisingly is some hard-core one-time detractors seem to be coming around. One of those is Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), who said:

"A lot of people out there that play poker on the Internet - they may lose their money but they're adults - and they went to their members of Congress."

Read the full article here and get a good editorial take here.

Ultimate Bet Software Firm Slapped with $75M Lawsuit; Nobody Knows Who Really "Owns" UB

Ultimate Bet is going to need an army of lawyers to get itself out of this mess.

MSNBC just published an exclusive story on the $85 million dollar lawsuit just smacked down on UltimateBet.

The $75M claim was filed by Blast-Off Ltd. of Malta, "a private company that currently has an ownership interest" in UB, against Excapsa Software Inc. of Toronto, "which formerly owned and licensed the poker software to UltimateBet."

The total sum of the suit doesn't actually represent the money that UB stole from its players, so its likely for the ambigious "damages." Not joining the suit are all of the legit online poker sites who UB put at risk because they are greedy assholes that could bascially sink the industry as a hole for an extra few mil even though they were already making money hand-over-fist.

The article goes on to detail how UB's players, not Tokwiro Enterprises (current owner) or the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (regulatory arm), started to note highly suspicious play by the NioNio account. You know the rest of that story.

It continues on how Tokwiro passed the buck to the previous ownership group, which MSNBC blasts by saying that "blaming employees of a prior owner, Tokwiro might have resolved the mystery had UltimateBet not been the rubber ball in an international shell game."

"But it is unclear to whom —and even whether — the software business was sold." - continue reading after the jump

WCP Interview with FTOPS Main Event Champ dubbeemin

dubbeemin with his grandpop--who won enough money playing poker while serving in WWII to put a down payment on a house. All while kicking German ass. America f'ing rules!

This past weekend, online poker player 'dubbeemin' took down Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS Main Event for a monster cash of $432,400. Or as we like to call it, "some serious Internet money^TM." Here's what dub has to say on the win, what he was listening to while playing, and what's up with that pot-sounding handle.

WCP: What's up with the handle? Where'd you get the name?
dub: Most people think it's a pot reference but it's not. A friend of mine abbreviated my given name and called me B-Min for short. There is a character in Any Given Sunday named Willy Beemin. He started calling me that and eventually shortened it to Dub (short for W) Beemin. It wasnt a nickname that stuck but when it came time for a handle, I liked it.

WCP: How long you been playing online?
dub: I'm a product of Moneymaker. I started right around that time.

WCP: What was your biggest cash before this?
dub: Around 13k. I believe it was an FTOP PLH final table that imperium ended up winning.

WCP: How ape shit were you going as you got down to final table play?
dub: Surprisingly not that ape shit. I am an emotional person but truthfully I was just so focused at that point. I had been having some end game issues and botched same deep runs due to what amounted to a lack of concentration. I was just really focused on what was happening in front of me. My brother and his friends were literally behind me at that point so there were a couple of coin flips that had me out of my seat.

WCP: What'd you have on the TV/music playing in the background during the tournament?

Chan Poker Closing, Didn't Realize It Was Even Still Running

Johnny Chan, a converted ginger, is shutting down Chan Poker.

We got an email from reader dcMirage this morning that Chan Poker is closing its virtual doors.

This news was shocking to us, as we thought Chan Poker was out of business a long time ago.

According to an email sent to the couple of players who used the site:

We are sad to inform you that Chan Poker will be ceasing operation effective this Thursday, August 21, 2008. Effective immediately we will no longer be accepting deposits. On August 21 our poker clients will be disabled.

Chan Poker was a little late in the game and was relying a little too heavily on Johnny Chan's diminishing stature in the poker world to draw in new users. Or in other words, Chan Poker would've killed it after Rounders came out in '98. Not so much in '06 though.

Read the full email Chan Poker sent to its couple of users here.

UltimateBet to Hold Charity Event But Not For People They Robbed Blind

 
The only time UltimateBet has recently looked good was when patched on Tiffany Michelle.

UltimateBet (one half of the super-cheating CEREUS poker network) is holding a charity event this weekend for Ante Up for Africa. On UltimateBet. So the proceeds are definitely all going to charity. If by "charity" you mean "Russ Hamilton."

The online poker site, which for some reason people still play on despite the fact they cheated their players out of millions of dollars and could potentially sink the industry because of it, will still likely get a decent turn-out because, again, for some unfathomable reason people still play on it.

Expected to be in the tournament are Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Shawn Rice, Tiffany Michelle, and "Cliff" JohnnyBax "Josephy." Also expected [to play] is Don Cheadle, who once was one of our favorite actors but after a couple of red carpet experiences he actually seems like a humorless prick. Lighten up dude.

So basically UB is now 10,000 charity events away from making up for the fact that they're cheating shady douchebags who haven't gotten anywhere near the level of shit they deserve.

Read more about the event here.

Yuval "yuvee04" Bronshtein Had a Good Night

Our friend Yuval "yuvee04" Bronshtein might be good at this poker stuff.

The Atlanta-based poker pro, who made two WSOP final tables last year, one in Las Vegas and one in London, just made online poker history  last night by taking down two consecutive FTOPS events: the $535 buy-in HORSE event and the $216 buy-in NLHE Turbo.

The back-to-back wins earned the 24-year-old Bronshtein more than $170,000  and the right to bang senselessly any of the number of hot girls on his Facebook page. He now sits high atop the FTOPS IX leaderboard with 407 points.

Congrats Yuvee. We hate you.

New Full Tilt Poker Avatars Targeting... Um...Younger Demographic; Still No T.J. Cookier

Editor's Note: So it's come to this. There is such a void of good poker news right now that we're talking about fucking avatars. Can any of you pros reading this stab someone in a poker room please?

Apparently Full Tilt Poker ignored our recent advice suggesting that they add a T.J. Cookier avatar to their roster. It's not like they don't already have Jerry Buss, Sammy Sosa, and stupid sexy Helen Mirren. Not asking for too much there.

Instead, we get the above. These avatars would've been awesome when we were 10 and dreaming of owning a Lamborghini one day while watching Cannonball Run. Not so cool when north of 30 though. Or north of 10.

Regardless, we've seen some penguins popping up, which maybe is acceptable if you're from Canada since you've got penguins in your backyard like we have squirrels, but that's about it. Haven't seen any cops. Very few leprechauns and Merlins...probably cause that demo is too busy playing Dungeons & Dragons.

To FTP's credit, that panda one will definitely appeal to the Chinese market if and when they open to their doors to online poker. Steve Lipscomb probably just commissioned his graphic design department to come up with a rickshaw for ClubWPT.com.

In related news, 2+2'ers everywhere creamed their pants with the release of Patrik Antonius' new avatar (below). However, and we never thought we'd say this, but looking at that juxtaposition, see how it lacks the sheer sexual magnetism of Cookier. That Cookier pulls more ass than a toilet seat.

Read more about the avatars if you truly hate yourself here.

Another Online Poker Is Doomed Story, This One About Poker Bots

From online poker rooms to the bedroom, bots are taking over.

In what may be the most ridiculously overstated story we've seen yet in the "sky is falling on online poker" category, or since the Flight of the Conchords predicted the death of humans by the year 2000, Dallas Observer tech blogger Andrew Smith argues that "online poker sites seem doomed" because of poker bots that he claims "can beat any human player."

Smith says:

"Why? Because there's no real way to tell a program from a person. Crooks will enter programs -- or poker bots --as people. Human players will consistently lose. Eventually, all but the stupidest humans will just stop playing."

To support his claim that bots "can beat any human player" Smith points to the recent Man-Machine Poker Competition in which Polaris, a poker bot created by the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group, beat a few of the guys from Stoxpoker.com in a series of heads-up matches at the WSOP.

Yep, win one tournament and that's proof you can beat 'em all (eg. Jerry Yang, Jamie Gold, Chris Moneymaker, Robert Varkonyi)

Interestingly enough, one of the guys who helped develop Polaris, Dr. Darse Billings, responded to Smith's article calling his conclusion "ridiculous." Says Billings:

"[T]his is not a catastrophe for online poker . . . Modern programs are not strong at No Limit or multi-player games. Secondly, it is not difficult to identify a known program. If you use the Fritz chess program to play chess on an online server, it will be obvious to everyone. The same applies for poker. Since using programs is against the poker site's terms of use, if you do it you will have your account closed permanently. I started the research into poker AI in 1992, and we have had a very large team of excellent researchers working on the problem for many years. We have made a lot of progress over the past 16 years, but i can assure you, the sky is not falling."

Okay, that wasn't really as interesting as much as it was long and didn't include any pictures to keep our attention but Billings seems really smart--he juggles rubiks cubes for crying out loud--so we'll take his word for it that bots aren't going to bring down online poker anytime soon.

Relatedly, the Keeley Hazell of sex bots (NSFW?).

Rep. Pete Sessions Still Good for PokerTM, His UIGEA Bill Not So Much

This one is complicated so we'll do our best to break it down.

Representative Pete Sessions (R-Tex) recently introduced a bill intending to clarify the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. In the bill, Sessions attempts to single out sports gambling as the sole focus of the UIGEA, creating a potential carve-out scenario for online poker. However, in doing so, Sessions suggests in his bill that online poker is considered an illegal activity under existing law, stating:

"Federal Internet gambling prosecutions have involved sports betting, creating a lack of authoritative court decisions on the applicability of other federal criminal statutes to Internet poker and casino-style gambling."

Full text of bill here

This despite the fact that neither the UIGEA nor any other legislation has made reference to online poker before. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is obviously disappointed with the bill and has come out with a strong statement against it saying:

"We are...puzzled by the introduction of H.R. 6663 and by the purpose of this legislation...Previous federal case law (re: Mastercard 2002) made it clear that existing federal criminal law (WIRE Act of 1961) applies only to sports wagering, and not to internet poker. Further, the UIGEA itself states, 'No provision of this law shall be construed as altering, limiting or extending any Federal or State law.' Thus, H.R. 6663 only confuses a clear judicial standing on this matter."

Full statement here.

While ripping his proposed legislation, the PPA does stress that "Congressman Pete Sessions has been and continues to be a good friend to poker players who want the freedom to play America’s greatest card game." Sessions has been a long time critic of the UIGEA and supporter of poker, and according to PPA board member Rich Muny, he still maintains an A+ grade as a friend of online poker.

Also considering Sessions a friend of online poker are a host of notable poker players who have donated thousands to his Political Action Committee "PETE." They include Andy Beal, Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Linda Johnson, Barry Shulman, Andy Bloch and the PPA's John Pappas. See for yourself/read more about his donors here andhere.

Even more interesting, Sessions is currently getting flack for holding a fundraiser at the Forty-Duece burlesque club in Las Vegas. So the dude knows how to party, probably likes to gamble, and definitely likes him some boobs. Read more about that here.

We'll see how this shakes out. Most seem to think that not much will amount from this bill, and we tend to agree. Seems like we won't see much action until after the Presidential election/The November 9^TM/60 Minutes hatchet job. Hopefully those Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet/CEREUS scumbags can keep from fucking up and giving Congress another reason to specifically lump online poker in with sports wagering.   

Got something to say about the above? Start a thread and discuss over at the Wicked Chops Poker forum. All the cool kids are there, or at least the ones looking for a free Wicked Chops t-shirt.

Lawmakers Call for UIGEA Clarification on What Constitutes 'Unlawful Internet Gambling' - UPDATE

Four Republican lawmakers are calling for the Federal Reserve Board and the US Department of Treasury to clarify their proposed regulations concerning the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, the horribly written law that the fascist Frist and his cronies Pearl Harbor'd into the Port Security Bill almost two years ago.

The four Representatives, who include Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Kevin McCarthy and Judy Biggert (R-IL), a woman, are asking for the agencies to clarify what constitutes "unlawful internet gambling" before finalizing their UIGEA regulations.

In what looks like a veiled reference to a distinction between online poker and other forms of online gaming*, the four argue that the "regulations do not provide clear guidance to the public, in particular those that engage in online skill games, or regulated industries regarding what constitutes 'unlawful internet gambling.'" (emphasis added)

They go on to say that if implemented, the regs would amount to "an abdication of the federal government's responsibility to both the public and unregulated industries" and  "could be unnecessarily burdensome and costly to the public and particularly small businesses."

Read the full letter they sent to the Board and Treasury Dept after the jump. Discuss it here.

Watch Rep. Benjamin Sinclair's eloquently forceful argument before Congress in support of the Ocular Penetration Act of 2007 here.

Photo of Dutch model Chelina Manuhutu in lieu of one of the four lawmakers and to pretty up this website after posting a topless photo of Barry Paskin yesterday. More photos here.

*UPDATE: We were half-asleep and wearing our rose-colored glasses when writing this post and Kid Dynamite is right in his comment (here). These four lawmakers  are known to be against online poker, so it's safe to assume that they'd want the Board and the Treasury to include online poker under unlawful internet gambling. It's worth noting that one of the letter's authors is Christopher Shay, who cosponsored the infamous H.R. 4411, aka the Goodlatte-Leach Bill and who PPA board member Rich Muny gave an F- on support of poker rights.

Gaming Expert Frank Catania to Lead Independent Probe into UltimateBet and Absolute Poker

The probing continues.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission announced today that it has formed an "Independent Monitoring Team" tasked with completing "a full forensic audit/investigation of the online gaming business" of both UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. The two scandal-ridden sites are operated by Tokwiro Enterprises, which is owned by former Kahnawake chief Joe Tokwiro Norton. Norton also founded Mohawk Internet Technologies, the so-called "utility" company that makes online poker possible in North America.

The IMT will be headed by Frank Catania (pictured), a former Assistant Attorney General and Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Catania has been a longtime advocate for the regulation of online gaming and has spoken before Congress on the issue. Catania currently serves on the board of a number of gaming related businesses and has his own consulting business.

According to the release, which was signed by the KGC's senior adviser Murray Marshall, the IMT will be empowered "to have full access to interview all employees, past or present, review all records, contact and interview all sub contractors and individuals whom the monitoring team believes necessary."

Of course the KGC has no power to compel any past employee to make themselves avail for such interview so good luck with that.

The KGC goes on further to say that "[i]n the event that any criminal activity is found to have occurred, such activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities for possible prosecution."

We had the chance to ask Marshall this afternoon when he thinks this could take place and he offered the below video response.

Marshall's complete statement on behalf of the KGE after the jump . . .

Surely You Can't Be CEREUS

CEREUS is the name of the new Absolute Poker + UB super poker platform, which not ironically at all is also the name of the genus name for a cactus plant, as CEREUS will likely leave your account as dry as a desert.

In what has to be the best news ever for people who enjoy buying timeshares, taking part in pyramid schemes, flushing their money down the toilet, or simply getting robbed, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have decided to "integrate customers and features" and create one big super user account scamming online poker platform called CEREUS.

According to the press release:

Today, the management of both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet announced the upcoming launch of CEREUS: a new poker platform that will integrate the customers and features from both poker rooms, instantly making CEREUS the third largest online poker network.

Also according to the press release:

CEREUS is the result of more than 12 months innovation and development.

We'd love to sit in on those R&D meetings. "Ok guys, we've developed some ground-breaking super-user technology that will more randomize results so the guy manning the account doesn't actually win EVERY SINGLE hand, minimizing short-term profits but enabling us to present more logical long-term winnings." "Brilliant!"*

There is so much wrong and ridiculous about this it's, um, ridiculous. Doesn't matter though as it seems most people don't care and keep playing these sites. Regardless, read the full press release on the WCP forum here and pick out your favorite lines. For a reminder on why you should never, EVER play on these sites, go here, here, here, and here.

Related, Joanna Krupa doing Ed Hardy is cereusly super.

* Sadly, this conversation might've actually happened.

Online Poker Cheating Scandals Support Case for Government Regulation, Says PPA

UltimateBet's Annie Duke spoke before Congress last November on behalf of the PPA in support of government regulation.

Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance Senator Alfonse D’Amato has just issued a statement on behalf of the PPA addressing the online poker cheating scandals that haven't so much rocked the poker world as they've just provided good forum fodder for a small group of poker players at a website run by creepy old dudes while having absolutely no negative effect on the bottom line for the folks at Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.

In the statement, which will likely have all the efficacy of a Hans Blix letter to Kim Jong-Il, D’Amato calls for officials at AP, UB and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission to "provide a full and transparent accounting of these breaches of the public trust to help lift the black cloud that has been placed over the industry."

D'Amato then argues that the abuses by insiders at both AP and UB show the need for government regulation as it is the government's "basic responsibility" to "provide assurances" to consumers.

Says D'Amato:

"The recent cheating scandals underscore the need for U.S. licensing and regulation of online poker to help protect consumers" . . .

“The federal government cannot continue to abdicate this basic responsibility to millions of its citizens who choose to play poker on the Internet. The attempt to enforce an outright prohibition of online poker is deeply flawed and unworkable, not to mention it invades upon the personal freedoms of law-abiding adults who wish to engage in a game of skill."

For what Ultimate Bet spokesperson Annie Duke said before Congress on behalf of the PPA last November go here.

Related stories:

:: Russ Hamilton Has Some Explaining To Do About UltimateBet Super User Accounts

:: BREAKING: 60 Minutes Interviews Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer on Online Poker Cheating Scandal

:: Mark Seif on Absolute Poker Scandal: "I Had Nothing To Do With This"

:: Absolute Poker Says 'Geek' Employee Hacked System, Unicorns are Real

Full statement by D'Amato after the jump . . .

Online Poker Sites Still the Stickiest

The "World's Largest Poker Site" is also the stickiest with the average user logging 10 hours and 37 minutes a month.

A new Nielsen Online study found that online poker sites are the stickiest, more so than Google, Facebook (unless you're that Allen Kessler guy), and even those tasty gooey cinnamon rolls David Benyamine probably had this morning. Read the story here.

What's sticky on WCP right now: comments to Tiffany Michelle's statement, Jeff Madsen human bowling prop bet video, our exclusive video interview with WPT's Steve Lipscomb, WSOP girls on the rail still and Loredana Damato.

Russ Hamilton Has Some Explaining To Do About UltimateBet Super User Accounts

Sweet, we finally found a reason to use a photo of Canseco's girlfriend's cleavage.

Super sleuth Nat Arem discovered something super interesting about super-round Russ Hamilton, a former UltimateBet boss, when he was looking up the address for some of the super user accounts involved in the UB scandal.

Find out what on Nat's blog here.

Read what UB last said about the scandal here.

Forrest Griffin Proves Online Poker Isn't Rigged

Gotta admit, sometimes it's hard to remain objective about online poker. You know the situation. Some donk takes a hit, gets a little short-stacked, and starts push monkeying because he doesn't know how to play himself back any other way. You just kind of want to punch the guy, who is probably some crazy ass Scandinavian or  punk from LA, but you can't since this is online, so you end up punching your screen and have to buy a new laptop instead. Without fail when somebody calls the donk, he has some B.S. hand like J-9 and runner-runners a straight.

So at least it's good to know that this kind of shit happens in live tourney play too.

UFC light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin came to play the WSOP Main Event straight from the hospital after his title fight. After the first break though, he was ready to go, so he went into push monkey mode with a series of blind bets, all-ins and calls.

On his first attempt, again without looking at his cards once during the hand, Forrest ends up hitting a boat with K-6. Perfect.

Only on Stars...oh...wait.

VIDEO: Forrest Griffin at 2008 WSOP Main Event

DoylesRoom.com Renews Doyle Brunson Sponsorship

There's been some speculation as to why Doyle Brunson (and Todd Brunson) were without DoylesRoom.com logos the first two days of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2008 WSOP (speculate on the WCP forum here). Even stranger, why were Hoyt Corkins, Dancing with the Stars' Shannon Elizabeth, Sam Grizzle, and others still wearing the logo around? Even stranger, DoylesRoom.com's marketing strategy.

Anyway, Doyle donned the DoylesRoom.net logo again today. Although he doesn't look thrilled about it from the above photo. He could be Glum Girl's grandpa.

All of this speculation though doesn't seem to be impacting Doyle's game, as he's still above averaged stacked. Huck Seed, who happens to be our pick to win it, is currently the chip leader. Follow the action here.

Patrik Antonius Wants to Play Really High Stakes Online Poker

Patrik Antonius, who just signed with Full Tilt Poker (view press conference here), was given a sick number of tables on the site. As expected, the tables are big limits and he's said he'll play anyone in the world at these levels.

The tables include:

• $200/400 PLO ($40k minimum and $200k max)
• $500/1000 NL (6 max 50k min and 200k max)
• $2000/4000 H.O.R.S.E.
• $2000/4000 Omaha H/L (this is now the highest table at this level)

View Patrik Antonius' 2008 WSOP video blog

BREAKING: 60 Minutes Interviews Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer on Online Poker Cheating Scandal; Feature Rumored to Be a "Hatchet Job" on the Industry

The long awaited 60 Minutes feature on the Absolute Poker online poker cheating scandal took a big step to hitting the small screen today. And Wicked Chops Poker is the only site with photos of the news event.

Anchor Steve Kroft, 62, interviewed Mark Seif (wearing an Absolute Poker jersey), Mike Sexton (not wearing a Party Poker one), Linda Johnson (why? was Shari Flanzer unavailable?), and Greg Raymer (wearing a Poker Stars shirt). The interviews took place in an empty Rio Amazon Room around 11am.

We overheard Raymer discussing the need for the U.S. American government to regulate online poker, and we can surmise because we're smart-like-that that the rest of the messaging from the group was on point with the PPA's platform. Raymer, a Libertarian, said he doesn't see why the government should regulate his actions if they cause no harm to others. Johnson (why her again?) and Sexton both agreed with the need for regulation and taxation.

The wild card in this mix is that 2+2 poster and founder of the AbsolutePokerCheats.com website (here), Michael Josem, was also interviewed. How the stories weaved by Seif and Josem regarding the Absolute scandal will surely be a focal point of the piece and may eventually influence (ever so slightly) how legislators decide to handle the legality of online poker moving forward.

Unfortunately, word from our sources indicate that this 60 Minutes feature will be an outright "hatchet job" on the online poker industry. Although that's really not much of a shocker. But it's certainly not good news either.

More photos from the interviews below. The one of Josem with Seif in the background (second from left) is particularly great.

View the full 60 Minutes online poker scandal photo gallery here. If you swipe photos we appreciate the link back to WCP. And definitely re-watch Mark Seif's interview on the Absolute scandal from last October here or view it in its entirety after the jump.

2008 WSOP Update: OMGClayAiken Grabs First Bracelet; J.C. Tran Goes for His Again

The spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (above) goes for his first WSOP bracelet today at 2pm PST.

It was an interesting day of 2008 World Series of Poker action, as Event #31 ($2,500 No Limit Hold'em Six-Handed) left many happy to be there and this unfortunate photo was taken which just isn't funny at all. On with the updates.

:: Event #27 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em) - Vitaly Lunkin won this "friends and family" final table, banking $628,417. If you just really love poker that much and gotta know the rest of what happened, get full results here.

:: Event #28 ($5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys) - In yet another star-studded final table, online poker superstar Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond took down the title, earning his first of what is sure to be a few WSOP bracelets and banking, as Dr. Pauly would say, a "redunkulous" $817,781. Galfond defeated another online specialist, Adam "the_houdini" Hourani, for the title, going 100 hands deep heads-up. David Benyamine took third earning three million five hundred thousand glazed doughnuts $316,307. Poker legend Johnny Chan, who has gone from oranges to bananas, missed out on his record-tying 11th bracelet, finishing fourth and earning $246,874. John Juanda came in sixth ($154,296), Daniel Negreanu, who has mad respect for OMGClayAiken's game, was seventh ($123,437), and the always impressive Phil Hellmuth was eighth ($100,292).

:: Event #29 ($3,000 No Limit Hold'em) - Matthew Vengrin, who you may not remember from the final table of last year's Event #3 final table, is chip leader stacked at 1,007,500. Also in the mix is unheralded Alex Bolotin, who has nearly $1M in WSOP earnings, with 534,000 in chips; David Singer, who is going for his second bracelet at this year's WSOP, with 515,000; and John "The Razor" Phan, who while he doesn't have a bracelet yet, his mom is still probably very proud of him, with 396,500.

:: Event #30 ($10,000 Limit Hold'em) - 218 entered this one, playing down to the final table last night. Aaron Katz, who won a bracelet in 2004 and was never heard from again, is heard from again as chip leader, stacked at 1,232,000. The real story here are two guys looking to shed the "Best Without a Bracelet" moniker, as both Andy Bloch (370,000), and the spectacularly-breasted J.C. Tran (247,000), are in the mix. The short-stack is a guy named Brock Parker, who must either be a super-hero or a porn star. Get full chip counts here. Follow final table action at 2pm PST here.

2008 WSOP Band of Bloggers: Get full recaps and payouts from WorldSeriesofPoker.com here. Get Dr. Pauly's take on WSOP happenings here. Gary Wise has some thoughts here. Please please don't forget Pokerati here. And get Poker Prof's recap and more photos here.

* The photo above is of J.C. Tran masquerading by the name Tanya Robinson, super-sexy British model. Get the full sized pic after the jump and the full lingerie shoot here.

Dad Who Bankrolled Absolute Poker Wins Event #11

Phil Tom (above) is not your typical WSOP bracelet winner.

And that's not just because he's a newly elected Davidson Matthew Club member.

Or that he denied Greg "FBT" Mueller his second bracelet in two years.

No, Phil Tom is one of the dad's who bankrolled the launch of Absolute Poker back in 2003.

According to Absolute Detectives:

"AP was started by Scott Tom and a few Ivy league friends back in 2003. Phil Tom and the other fathers of these kids bankrolled the venture, and Absolute Poker was born. Phil Tom is Scott Tom's FATHER, not his brother. The IP address that this 'other' account was logged in from was traced to the home cable modem of Scott Tom, CEO of Absolute poker. [email protected] is apparently the CEO, and is also the owner of account POTRIPPER. Scott Tom is also apparently the owner of the STEAMROLLER account."

Read the full Absolute Detectives "who's who" report on Scott Tom here.

While none of this at all implicates Phil Tom in any of the Absolute Poker scandal from last year, it's an interesting wrinkle that's not widely being reported by the so-called poker "media."

For the win, Tom banks $477,990, or just a few mil shy of what Potripper stole from people in high-stakes games.

Get full payout and results here.

Poker News Made Better with Vikki Blows and Other Hot British Glam Models

With Keeley Hazell not being so prolific these days, and somewhat prudish, punk rock Brit glamour girl Vikki Blows is in prime position to step up to Official Wicked Chops Poker Girl status. As are Sam Cooke, Nikkala Stott, Amii Grove, Peta Todd and the always growing list of hot British chicks who drop the top for one photo spread after another. Above and below today's poker news are the aforementioned five doing what they do best in the recent issue of Front Magazine.

Some poker news . . .

• Another news story reminding us how much politicians who play poker but are against online poker suck. (link)

• More on PartyPoker's purported billion dollar pay off with the US DoJ. (link)

• Someone in Canada reports that those dot net poker commercials are really just a way to pimp the pay sites. Wow, we never saw the correlation. (link)

• A guy with the last name of a car wins poker tournament in third world country. (link)

• Third-world quality news video of Mike Savage in third world country being asked third rate questions about poker in Asia. (link)

• Florida red necks get themselves a new $30 million dog track and poker room. (link)

• And we thought we had anger issues. (link)

• Our French friend Benjo just told us that the poker playing French actress from our "This Girl is Playing the . . . " posts is here at the WSOP. Wait there she is, just walking by with a media badge on. Very cute girl. And yeh, we have a French friend. One. (link)

• Wearable feedbags would be big sellers with the poker playing crowd at the Rio. (link)

• Canadians want some of that Internet poker money and are getting it, boasts PL.com's Martin Derbyshire. (link)

Click photos below to enlarge . . .

See more of the girls wearing much less here (NSFW).

LifeLock Will Protect Your Identity and Stuff

If you're like the Entities, you've probably gone through your neighbor's trash trying to find SSNs and other checking and credit card info so you could steal their indentity and buy new entertainment systems and fine dinners and super high-end call girls been the victim (or an attempted victim) of identity theft. Or you've at least been concerned about it. Or saw a story on the news about it once. Or possibly got a fake ID when you were 19. And then bought beer for all your friends. Who then had a party. Where you then had a threesome with two hottie little sorority girls.

Wait where were we?

Oh yeah, threesomes. No, wait, identity theft. That's right.

Enter LifeLock.

You've likely seen/heard the commercial by now with the kind of douchy guy who gives out his SSN on air because he's so confident in the identity theft prevention company he's started that you won't be able to swipe his crucial personal info. Well that's LifeLock.

If you're playing online poker and have your info floating out through various online accounts, you're probably a high risk of identity theft target.* LifeLock takes a number of steps to ensure your crucial credit/debit information doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Pretty inexpensive all things considered too.

Click the graphic below to enroll or just join this LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention Plan.

* The Entities who comprise Wicked Chops Poker are not doctors and cannot medically verify these claims.

Congressman Jim Moran's Son is a Cool Guy

The video below is of US Congressman Jim Moran's son playing in an online poker tournament and acting like the world's biggest douchebag after he wins a few hands, yelling shit at his computer screen like "I had the nuts the whole time! That's what time it is! You got a watch? Cuz that's what time it is."

For those who know us and our anger issues, you probably won't be surprised to hear that we felt a serious urge to punch Jim Jr. in the face when we first watched the video but then we find out that he is 39-years-old and is a manager at Domino's so we're pretty sure that means he's retarded. And it isn't cool to punch retarded people. Unless they really ask for it.

Btw, according to this article, the video is somehow connected to a poker documentary Jim Jr.'s friend Bruce Ryan is doing. Good luck with that Bruce.

Watch Jim Moran Jr. acting like a total tool on video here.

Patrik Antonius Signs Online Poker Deal with Full Tilt; Kathy Liebert Joins Poker Stars

Two big names in tournament poker have officially signed on with the two largest online poker rooms.

Today it was announced that Patrik Antonius inked a deal with Full Tilt Poker and Kathy Liebert joined team Poker Stars.

Both Antonius and Liebert will be playing at the final table of 2008 WSOP Event #1 ($10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em). Final table play begins shortly. Read our recap of Event #1 here and get live blogging of the final table here.

Read more on Patrik Antonius at Poker News here. Read Kathy Liebert's kind of sort of press release after the jump.

Catch back for RawVegas.tv's Patrik Antonius vlog in an hour or so.

UPDATE: Patrik's vlog below.

Patrik Antonius Full Tilt Poker video blog

* Photo credit PokerNews.com.

Easing Back Into Poker News with Joanna Krupa

After a nice long Memorial Day weekend, we're going to ease back into this whole "poker news" reporting thing. And with the 2008 World Series of Poker just a few days away, what better way to do so than with the hottest girl to ever play in a WSOP, Joanna Krupa. In fact, we're pretty sure we've used the above pic in a post before. So what. Like you care. 

• Sam Grizzle apparently gives "Deadbeat" Dayne Baverman a run for his money as the world's greatest dad. (link)
• Poker pro David Singer wins FTP's $25,000 Heads-Up Online Poker Championship. (link)
• With apologies to the Sports Guy, the "homeless man's version" of the WSOP, the Second Annual Binion's Poker Classic, has been announced. (link).
• Those 2006 WSOP Joanna Krupa pics leave you wanting more? Get your Joanna Krupa fix with this compiliation gallery. (link)
• Players at an underground poker club are robbed thousands of dollars. Looks like the perps got away, avoiding induction (for now) into our Stupid Poker Criminals Hall of Fame. (link)
• And finally, Dr. Pauly on the UB online poker cheating scandal. (link)

Poker News Brought To You By Christina Lindley

In what will be our second to last post before the Memorial Day weekend, here's some poker news brought to you by Christina Lindley (at right). Christina is an actress and Maxim model who has taken up poker and wanted us to promote a celeb charity event she's playing in at the Hawaiian Gardens Casino on May 31st (casino located here). Red carpet starts at 10 a.m., tourney starts at noon. $100 buy-in, $100 add-on. Celebrities include Kevin Dillon, Daniel Baldwin, Kato Kaelin, and possibly one of the greatest actors of our time, Martin "Sweep the Leg" Kove. Money benefits Mentors for Youth and Last Chance for Africa. Visit Christina's website here.

• It was five years ago today that Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event (link and link)
• Thanks to Kid Dynamite for this website showing rap music as represented by charts and graphs. (link)
• What a Dr. Pauly poker movie script might look like. (link)
• Online poker more popular than ever among both scarf-wearing and non-scarf wearing Euros. (link)
• Tweens absolutely crushed as they announce that David Archuleta does not win American Idol. (link)
• An update on the Ultimate Bet online poker cheating scandal. (link)
• A mini Iggy uber post that feels like an uber uber uber post. (link)
• And finally, in tribute to Martin Kove, "You're the Best (Around)" montage from the Karate Kid. (link)