Friday, June 30, 2006

America's new national pastime News

Poker Movie Trend Continues

The proliferation of poker productions continues -- with at least three big-screen movies, in addition to such TV fare as celebrity-poker tourneys and reality TV. With Curtis Hanson's "Lucky You" drama with Robert Duvall, Drew Barrymore, Eric Bana and Jean Smart, due Sept. 15, Joe Carnahan's "Smokin' Aces" is in hold 'em mode -- now due in January. That's the action-comedy with a cast including Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Alicia Keys and Jason Bateman.

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And now, add to the lineup "Positively Fifth Street." If all goes as planned, writer/producer/director John Ridley ("Undercover Brother," "Three Kings," "Barbershop: The Series") reports he'll be helming the big-screen adaptation of the James McManus novel in the fall.

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New Online Casino Affiliate Magazine

Almost all online casino sites use affiliates to promote their online gambling business. Casino affiliate programs have joined forces with iGaming Business Magazine to establish a new affiliate related magazine.

The new magazine will deal with online casino affiliate issues, and will help affiliates looking to improve their businesses. Online casino affiliates have driven the industry forward, and today it is the gaming affiliates that lead the world of Internet commerce.

The new affiliate related magazine about online casinos will cover issues such as online marketing, new technologies and their implementation, business strategies, and more. The new magazine will also analyze new trends in the online casino affiliate world. It targets all affiliate related business.

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Online Casino Fans Want Affiliate Info

A new survey conducted by Prime Table Games in the United Kingdom has found that online casino fans are more than happy for the newly formed Gambling Commission to play a stronger role in the industry but are seeking more info about affiliates that service online casinos.

Derek Webb from Prime Table Games said the online casino survey proves that UK gambling fans have clear ideas on how online gaming should operate. He also stressed the important role the Gambling Commission must play in the online casino industry in order to make sure fans receive the support and security they deserve.

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Thursday, June 29, 2006

Poker game tip leads to 30 arrests over fraud

A poker game in which the players bet €3 million allegedly brought together the brains behind a massive civic corruption scandal on the Costa del Sol. The five players at the table in a secluded Spanish hunting lodge in 2004 included the former head of urban planning at Marbella council and three leading businessmen who were allegedly implicated in a €2.4 billion fraud.

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The revelations emerged yesterday after police arrested 30 people, including 13 former councillors and property developers, in raids in Andalusia. It was the second phase of an anti-corruption crackdown that started in March. Raids were carried out in several Spanish cities, targeting people linked to Marbella council. A multimillion-euro property scandal is being investigated. Police say that they are investigating a number of crimes, including bribery, cronyism and embezzlement.

Courtesy by Graham Keeley

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WSOP fever Continues

Last year's WSOP recorded the most successful run in its history with almost 30,000 players participating in 45 events for a record total prize pool of more than $103 million. But you haven’t seen anything yet - the 2006 series will be better and bigger, say official sources.

Executives are projecting that some 41 000 participants will enter this year's 45-event competition. The world championship event is likely to draw a small army of more than 8 000 players who will pay, or be sponsored at $10 000 an entry. Due to the sheer size of the field, the opening round will be staggered over four days while the second round will take place over two days, paring down to 1 400 players.

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The 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions $1M prize goes to Mike Sexton

This week, on 28 of June 2006, poker tournament legend Mike Sexton won the first prize of 1 million dollars for the Tournament of Champions which opened this year's World Series of Poker tournament. The 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions included Twenty-seven players that were invited to this poker affair.

The TOC included a $2 million freeroll, with $1 million first prize money to the top player. The 2006 WSOP was launched with the TOC as the starting tournament. The heads up game between Sexton and Negreanu was by far the most interesting part of the poker tournament. Sexton had 1.4M in chips, against Negreanu's 1.2M.

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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Internet Gaming Prohibition

Will playing online poker be illegal? On May 25, 2006, the House Judiciary Committee passed HR 4777 (Internet Gambling Prohibition Act) and HR 4411 (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act). Both bills are headed to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for debate; then possibly voted upon. The bills would make it illegal for credit card companies to allow their customers to fund their accounts at online gaming sites which cover poker, sports books, horse racing, and casino sites. The bills would take legislation a step further and force credit card companies and other financial institutions to report any of these transactions to the government. The more disturbing part of the bills is that they would also force your internet service provider to deny their customers access to off-shore gaming sites.

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WSOP Updates

Shuffle Up and Deal! With those four words Robert Daly, 2006 World Series of Poker Tournament Director, officially opened the 2006 WSOP at the precise hour of Noon. The Rio Resort in Las Vegas welcomed the thousands of fans and players to this year's big poker show located in the Amazon room of the Pavilion Convention Center. If today's turnout for event #1, a casino employee tournament, is any indication of the interest and support for this Mother of All Poker Tournaments then expect records to fall faster than the dead money. Last year's event #1 attracted 662 players for the $500 buy-in No-limit Hold'em event while this year's turnout was capped at 1100 players. Rumors circulating on the floor said tomorrow's first open event, a $1,500 buy-in No-limit Hold'em tournament was already at capacity. In 2005 the event hosted 2,305 players and paid the defending champion, Allen Cunningham $725,405.

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Tournament of Champions

The third-annual Tournament of Champions concluded at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. TOC competitors included the top World Series of Poker and WSOP Circuit players of the past year. The high-level of competition and intense play makes the TOC one of the most prestigious titles in poker. The special by-invitation-only tournament offered up a total prize pool of $2 million - including a one-million dollar first-prize. For all 27 players -- the special event cost nothing to enter.

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The invited list of players this year included each of the WSOP Circuit event winners from August 2005 through June 2006 (12 seats). Players who made it to the final table of the 2005 WSOP main event were also included (nine seats). Those players ranged from poker legend and two-time WSOP champion Doyle Brunson, to Sarah Strong, who beat out 100,000 competitors to win sandwich-king Quizno's special promotional qualifying tournament.

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Tuesday, June 27, 2006

New venues for World Poker Tour

Changes have been made to the schedule for next season's World Poker Tour (WPT), it has been announced. A total of three new events have been added to the WPT's season V calendar and other dates have changed. Players putting their money on the tour are being urged to check the new schedule on the official website. The Bellagio, the Borgata and Foxwoods are the new additions to the venue line-up and will take place in October 2006, January 2007 and April 2007 respectively.

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Steve Lipscomb, chief executive officer and founder of WPT Enterprises, said: "We are delighted to confirm these three great new additions to the WPT calendar. It's an action-packed line-up with plenty of opportunity for all those who aspire to become WPT champions. The World Poker Tour continues to make history with our casino partners and our great contingent of regular and incoming new players.

2006 Event Should Top Last Year's Poker Series

The 2005 World Series of Poker was the event's most successful run in its history -- almost 30,000 players participated in 45 events, competing for a record prize pool of more than $103 million. In the $10,000 buy-in World Championship No-limit Texas Hold'em event, a record 5,619 players entered with all nine players at the final table winning at least $1 million. The 2006 series stands to be even bigger.

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Doyle Brunson and Pamela Anderson Team Up for commercial

The biggest name in poker, Doyle Brunson, is teaming up with one of the biggest names in Hollywood for his new commercial to debut during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The godfather of poker and Pamela Anderson heat up the television set to collaborate on a commercial together to endorse the free educational poker site, DoylesRoom.net. The commercial, featuring the buxom blonde and her “nice pair,” will air during Game 4 and continue to play through Game 7 if necessary.

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“I have to say, that there is nothing more enjoyable in this world than getting to work with Pamela Anderson,” said Doyle Brunson, spokesperson for DoylesRoom.net. “She is such a genuine and beautiful person. Having her on board is obviously a tremendous opportunity for the DoylesRoom brand.

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Monday, June 26, 2006

Pamela Anderson now playing poker

The glamorous Pamela Anderson, former Playboy Playmate, Baywatch beauty, and star of the current FOX hit Stacked" starred in her debut television commercial for DoylesRoom, the poker room of the Godfather of Poker. During the NBA Finals, online poker fans were treated to a new commercial involving Pamela Anderson. She appeared in a commercial for DoylesRoom online poker, which aired before Game 4 of the NBA finals.

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Pamela was also a guest at the poker room during May, and took part in the very popular Bounty Tournaments at Doylesroom.com. Needless to say, the tournament saw record numbers of participants. She was quoted during the tournament as saying: "I haven't played a lot in the past, but poker is definitely now my thing".

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Professional Poker Tips

Before you start to play Poker set your financial limits, profit or loss. Decide how much you are prepared to win or lose at poker and stick to that limit. Don't gamble money that you can't afford to lose. Read the terms of the Poker casino prior to starting to play at one of their online tables. Check the maximum bets and maximum payouts.

Check that the casino is well respected and "real". When you sit down practice playing Poker at your chosen Casino before play for money, this will get you used to how the Casino system runs when you play Poker prior to you losing out. Be The Dealer has a great system where you can play for fun. Don't drink alcohol or take drugs while you are betting on Poker, these things can seriously impair your judgment.

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ESPN Releases Summer and Fall WSOP TV Schedule

The World Series of Poker starts today, and ESPN cameras will be there to capture much of the poker action. Starting only a dozen days after the WSOP main event ends on Aug. 10, ESPN will begin to air the main event championship in 12 one-hour shows every Tuesday at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

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Friday, June 23, 2006

World Poker Congress to examine online and real-life issues in Stockholm

Casino poker room managers will describe the huge growth of their business - The poker industry will be examined in an entirely different way at the World Poker Congress (WPC) to be held in Stockholm on June 26 and 27. With experts from the Internet poker world and real-life poker rooms, the WPC will, for the first time, look into issues that affect them jointly.

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Casino poker room managers will describe the huge growth of their business due to players who learned the game online. And the Internet poker rooms are aware that their non-intimidating style allows players to learn the game away from the pressures of the live game, but with an eye to competing at the highest levels.

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At the WPC, attendees will get the chance to learn from the other side, how to take advantage of the opportunities and how to develop relationships with their counterparts that will yield benefits for each.

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The program at WPC contains two tracks: "Live" and "Online." Each track will focus on issues of importance to their specific segment. At critical times during the conference, the two sides will convene at plenary sessions, with addresses by poker notables, including World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and World Poker Tour President Steve Lipscomb.
Courtesy by von Richard Honegger

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Thursday, June 22, 2006

On the Road to Legalizing Poker in Texas

With the popularity of poker growing every year, poker players in Texas now have someone lobbying for them in Austin. Founder of the Texas Association of Poker Players, Wayne Long is serious about legalizing the sport of poker in the state of Texas and is doing something about it.

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Long has met with and intends to retain legal representation with a top Austin law firm and is enlisting support for the January 2007 legislative session. The main goal of TAPP is to legalize the sport of poker. This would allow Texans to compete in special event tournaments, charity tournaments, play in poker rooms or clubs in public and play online internet poker, legally.

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If poker players in Texas get on board and join the Association, poker will have the support needed to show Austin that this is a serious sport played by millions around the country and thousands of Texans -- who want to play legally. This effort will be difficult and will likely face strong opposition.

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However, the TAPP and thousands of other players are very determined; they we will be a very strong voice. We believe that our position will be approved if Texas voters are given the opportunity to vote. They have already demonstrated the likely outcome by approving betting at horse and dog races in 1987 and Texas Lottery in 1992. The state of Texas has approved gambling and actually encourages and promotes gambling. We are in the majority, so let's act like it, and demand our right to play poker legally.

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Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Countdown to the World Series of Poker

The 2006 World Series of Poker will take place starting on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events and regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions scheduled for June 28 and 29. Forty more events in various events like Omaha, seven-card stud and razz plus ladies and senior tournaments will lead up to the 10,000 USD no-limit Texas hold 'em main event starting July 28 and running through the final table on August 10.

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Biggest prizes, most contestants, highest televised coverage are all elements in the annual World Series of Poker tourneys in the United States, and the 2006 event looks likely to smash previous records in providing wealth and respect to the top winning players and plenty of entertainment and excitement for literally millions who will view the action around the world.

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The side game action is at its most lucrative as at any point during the year and, as a result, the games are filled with excellent players. Definitely bring your "A" game if you plan on participating in any of those events in July and August. All events will be held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will mark the first time that a casino other than Binion's Horseshoe (now "Binion's") will host the final table of the main event.

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The estimated first prize in the main event will be $10 million, making it the richest prize for the winner of any sports or television event in history. On the way, scores of players will receive significant cash prizes for winning at various levels. The stage will soon be set to winnow the thousands of hopefuls entering this grand poker tourney down to just nine Final Table players competing for the final huge rewards.

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Monday, June 19, 2006

Fletcher loses poker face as World Cup ambition takes another battering

The Poker face of Duncan Fletcher has always done its best to convince outsiders that England's one-day team has a trick somewhere up its sleeve, but after Saturday's 20-run defeat by Sri Lanka even the coach is wondering whether next year's World Cup will fizzle out into a busted flush reminiscent of 1996, 1999 and 2003.

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Just over two years ago Fletcher outlined his one-day ethos when he said: "It takes about 30 games to become comfortable at this level." There are just two problems: injuries have made continuity next to impossible, and England have a maximum of only 25 one-day internationals between now and their first World Cup match against New Zealand in St Lucia on March 16. Fletcher, the antithesis of Captain Mainwaring in every way, can be forgiven for eyeing the panic button.

"We're getting in a situation where there are not a lot of games left and we're going to have to make up our minds pretty soon," he said. "At this stage we're looking at it as if some of the injured guys will come back. But if they don't we just hope that some of the other players will be good enough to perform in the World Cup. We just hope that 20 games is enough to give them the necessary experience."

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For a man whose renowned rigour once helped him design the car number-plate system in Zimbabwe, this must be agony. Fletcher hates leaving anything to chance - last year's Ashes success was a masterpiece of preparation - but hope has replaced certainty, and even the chairman of selectors David Graveney has publicly expressed his concerns: "If we continue to play the way we have been doing this summer, we will not retain the Ashes and we will not win the World Cup."

During England's 5-1 defeat in India earlier this year, Fletcher said he knew all but one of his A-list World Cup XI. But in the absence of Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles and Simon Jones, England were forced on Saturday to field five relative newcomers. With time running out, his assertion that he knows his best side sounds more a plea for sympathy than a statement of intent.

Between them, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Jamie Dalrymple, Sajid Mahmood and Liam Plunkett have won 35 one-day caps. "We just have to look at a couple of players now and establish the roles we want them to play in and whether they're capable of playing those roles," said Fletcher. But does he really think they are good enough? "I'm not going to pass judgment on a couple of games," he said.

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If the medium term looks hazy, the short term is not much better. England's indiscipline with the ball on Saturday, when they conceded 42 extras - beating their previous high of 41 - reflected a worrying naivety, and the ragged ground fielding prompted Fletcher to admit he was going to have to sit down with some of the team and have a "chat".

Further embarrassment came in the form of career-best performances from the 21-year-old Upul Tharanga, who hit 120, and the 22-year-old Lasith Malinga, with three for 26. Since Tharanga was winning only his 22nd one-day cap and Malinga his ninth, the notion peddled by Fletcher - that experience is the key - was left hanging awkwardly in the air.

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England must now wait and see if Michael Vaughan has developed sufficient confidence in his right knee to return later in the series. Fletcher is in constant contact with the man he still thinks of as his captain, and the decision not to replace the injured Ed Joyce in the 15-man squad suggests that all might not be lost there.

Friday, June 16, 2006

The National Poker League Vegas Open Winds Up

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The National Poker League (NPL) kicked off its inaugural season of The Vegas Open last Saturday. Even though its schedule conflicted with the World Poker Tour’s Mandalay Bay event, it picked up steam over the weekend.

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Attendance has doubled since day one with hundreds of players entering the $1,000 events. The NPL Vegas Open is still running in the tournament area of the poker room at Caesars Palace, but there are only two qualifying events remaining.

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Event #9 starts on Tuesday, June 13, and Event #10 will follow on Wednesday, June 14. These will be the last chance events for players to make it to the semi-finals. The winners from Events 1-10 will return for five heads-up matches on Friday, June 16, for the $25,000 freeroll. The final event will cap-off the tournament on Saturday, June 17, with a $100,000 freeroll, winner-takes-all competition.

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The NPL Vegas Open will be broadcast this summer in high definition on the INHD Network, one of the most widely distributed HD networks on cable. Unlike other televised poker events, NPL plans a fast turn around in program editing time, so that it may be aired as soon as July.

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With smaller buy-ins, tournament executives expect a whole new generation of poker players to ante up for a chance to be on national television. "Televised tournaments generally require huge bankrolls," said Nene Gonzalez," president of the National Poker League, "what we're striving for is to be the poker tournament for players with smaller bankrolls and lots of game. They may even become TV stars in the process."

The NPL is aiming at the younger generation of Poker players and fans. Ali Nejad has come aboard the Vegas Open to deliver fresh commentary and offer a new generation of solid poker advice. Additionally, World Series of Poker winner Scott Fischman, will deliver his "Into The Tank" poker tip and analysis segment on each episode.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Canadian poker pioneers

Thanks to a pair of ambitious Calgarians, poker in Canada is on the cusp of going all-in internationally.

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The sporting phenomenom that is poker resembles a rocketship with a never-ending pipeline of jet fuel. One wonders if it will ever run out? Poker in the United States and around the world attracts endless attention, buoyed by unbelievable ratings on television.

While Canada has produced some outstanding players, our country has been waiting for its big poker breakthrough.

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The wait may be over.

Thanks to a pair of Calgarians who share a vision for the game that is unequaled across our nation, poker is quickly becoming a household game in our nation. Kelly Kellner and Dan Forigo, the powerbrokers of Heads Up Entertainment Inc., have been working overtime to take the Canadian version of poker to the highest level.

Kellner, the president and CEO of Heads Up pledges to "revolutionize tournament poker and create the ultimate experience in Canada." One of their television endeavors, The Canadian Open Poker Championship, begins airing this evening on Rogers Sportsnet.

Yet television is really just the tip of the iceberg. From poker excursions for high stakes on cruise ships to online and in-person tutorials, the multi-media monster wants to challenge the U.S. juggernaut that has put poker on a seemingly unstoppable pace.

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Forigo, vice-president of corporate affairs, has indicated the intention to put on display some of the world's best players for Canadians to watch and bring the game to those who are dying to try. Heads Up is looking to go public, and don't be surprised in the next little while if the corporate world will be gobbling up its act; a sports business perspective that has not even been considered in our ountry.

The key is to be innovative and interesting while delivering a product that can make the Canadian-ization of poker something special.

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Many may suggest that Kellner and Forigo are not playing with a full deck with their monster plans. However, the lucrative poker trade is on an astonishing roll and these Calgarians have no intention of folding an amazingly aggressive gameplan. The duo remain focused on a growing enterprise that translates into good business.

Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast the Canadian Open Poker championship starting Thursday night. Check your local TV sked for times in your region.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Intercontinental Poker Championship To Debut This Weekend On CBS

This weekend marks the debut of a new poker program on major network television. Starting on Saturday, June 17th at 5PM (Eastern Time) and continuing over the next six weekends, CBS's prominent sports programming "Sports Spectacular" will bring poker fans to the tube for the Intercontinental Poker Championship. The eight and a half hour event will bring together twenty one of the greatest players in poker today, pitting them against each other in a unique format that will bring together poker prowess and national pride at the tables.

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To call it the "Olympics of poker", as creator Henry Orenstein said during a conference call on Wednesday, wouldn't be far from the truth. Each player in the event is not only putting his pride on the line but is representing his home nation as well. This made for a different type of tournament than many have seen on television before. "It was really interesting to see this event as it unfolded," said veteran poker announcer Gabe Kaplan, who will team with sportscaster Jeff Medders to bring the audience the action. "In other situations, the players are strictly playing for their buy-ins. In the Intercontinental, it was the first time I have seen national pride come into play during an event. It was exciting to watch and definitely brings a new element to poker today."

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"That was something we definitely wanted to get into the show," echoed Orenstein, who is known as the "Father of the Hole Card Cam" and is responsible for the creation of this and many other poker programs. "We wanted to strengthen the popularity of poker for now and into the future. With this format, I think we have struck on something that will interest the world." Two of the players in the tournament, poker professionals Daniel Negreanu (who will represent Canada) and the legendary Doyle Brunson (who represents the United States), stated that the emphasis on the worldwide aspect of the tournament did add some stress to playing. "When you play for yourself its one thing, but there are definitely added pressures when you are playing for your country," Negreanu said. Brunson was additionally excited and surprised that poker had come this far. "I didn't, and no one else did either, think poker would become this big. It's gratifying to have been a part of helping the game reach this point," Brunson humbly added.

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The tournament itself will present a different format than has been seen in other television productions. Twenty one players, including Doyle Brunson, Negreanu, Johnny Chan (China), Humberto Brenes (Costa Rica), David "DevilFish" Ulliot (England), Carlos Mortensen (Spain), Tony G (Australia), Sam Farha (Lebanon) and many others, were broken into three seven player groups. These three groups then played a single table tournament, with the winner moving on to the semi finals. The remaining three groups of six then play another set of single table tournaments with each winner moving on, presenting a "double elimination" tournament. "This allows for the quality of play to shine through," emphasized Orenstein, "and allows for a player to come back for a second shot after a bad beat." These six players then play down to two finalists, who then square off in a best of three heads up match to determine the winner. Up for grabs in the event is $350,000 to the champion and $150,000 to the runner up, but perhaps more important is the "playing for country" side to the story that is presented. "The format is exciting," Negreanu simply stated. "The tournament should take poker to the next level."

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When asked about the future of the Intercontinental, all those in the conference were eager to look forward to next year. "It took about five weeks to negotiate with CBS to do the program," stated Orenstein, "and, as such, we wanted to make sure this first event had some great players in it. There were many who wanted to be a part of it, but there just wasn't the time to arrange it." Orenstein also spoke of the potential that next year's Intercontinental (talks are ongoing to bring the series back in 2007) could be more of nationalistic event with teams instead of individual players. "That would be a good idea," Brunson remarked. "Not only would there be personal motivation to do well, but then you would also have the added aspects of doing well for your team as well as your country. The camaraderie of poker would also be shown with a team format."

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With the Intercontinental Poker Championship, it is only further demonstrated that poker is the world's game. "Everyone wants to be a part of poker," Kaplan firmly stated. Negreanu and Brunson also remarked on how poker has become a truly international event. "It's amazing how other countries look at poker. It's viewed more as a sport," Negreanu remarked. "Asia should be the next frontier in this game," Brunson commented. "I was in the Philippines and I had people coming up to me on the street there, believe it or not…it was amazing." Now poker can truly demonstrate its worldwide nature when the Intercontinental Poker Championship debuts on Saturday during CBS's "Sports Spectacular" and will continue until a champion is crowned on July 22nd. For more details on the Intercontinental Poker Championship, visit cbssportsline.com.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Video Poker Industry Headed Toward Slow Fold

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They looked as harmless as a Pac-Man video game when they popped up years ago in mom-and-pop convenience stores, bars and bowling alleys across North Carolina. But video poker machines proved to be a far greater adversary to the police and lawmakers who saw them as a scourge on society. By law, the machines could offer only $10 in merchandise as prizes. But the machines were often rigged to tempt players with big cash payouts so that operators could rake in bigger profits.

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An industry flush with money spent some of it in campaign contributions to politicians who had the clout to keep video poker legal. It won't be legal much longer. The state Senate voted 44-1 Monday night to phase out video poker in North Carolina by July 1, 2007. The House passed the bill last week, so all that's left to shut down the industry is Gov. Mike Easley's signature. A spokeswoman said he supports the bill. Sen. Charlie Albertson, a Duplin County Democrat who was the most ardent supporter of a ban, thanked senators for not giving up on efforts to outlaw the industry.

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"I do believe our state will be a better place because of this," he said. The phaseout is a relief to state, local and federal officials who have been breaking up illegal video poker operations for years. "The prospect of a state government stepping up and essentially writing out an industry that is facilitating any type of criminal activity is wonderful news to the FBI," said Special Agent Greg Baker, who supervises criminal investigations in the Raleigh FBI office. "We have a lot to do and few people to do it." Since 1999, the FBI and the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement have arrested about 30 people, seized 700 video poker machines and recovered $10 million in cash and assets related to illegal gambling activity.

Sheriffs have shut down operators, too. Mike Robertson, the ALE's director, said his agents have chased illegal operators who have set up machines in private homes, nail salons, even delivery trucks that hop the South Carolina border. "They are a pain," he said. Despite such high-profile arrests as former state Transportation Secretary Garland Garrett Jr., the industry resisted efforts to shut it down. Bans passed the Senate nearly every year, only to die in the House when Speaker Jim Black refused to go along.

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Black said the industry and the 3,500 jobs it created shouldn't be shut down over a few bad apples. Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, has been a leading recipient of campaign money from the video poker industry. He changed his position on a ban last month, after hearings by the state elections board prompted a state criminal investigation into those contributions. Though board members did not accuse Black of wrongdoing, they saw evidence that some contributions to his campaign were by someone in the industry other than the named donor, and of thousands of dollars in illegal cash contributions going to the industry's state political action committee.

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State law limits cash donations to no more than $100 because they are hard to trace. Board members expressed disbelief when a woman on disability, making $1,105 a month, testified that she gave Black a $1,000 contribution. She regularly played video poker in a Richmond County convenience store. Black steered some of the video poker-related contributions to Rep. Michael Decker, whose switch to the Democratic Party in 2003 helped Black hold on to the speaker's post. Black said the hearings, and the related investigations into the industry, did not influence his support for a phaseout.

He said the new state lottery gives some of those in the video poker business a new source of opportunity. The phaseout is a compromise for video poker operators and law enforcement. Legal operators say the phaseout is an overreaction to the illegal doings of a few, but at least it gives them time to cut their losses. Robertson and other law enforcement officials say they would like the ban to start immediately. Robertson predicts the next year will prove to be a bustling time for his agents, as illegal operators try to milk money from their machines before removing them.

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They will have to remove a third of them by Oct. 1, another third by March 1, 2007, and the rest by July 1, 2007. Richard Frye, who operates a video poker business in Moore County, says the machines will be back when the public gets bored with the lottery. "It reaches its maximum income, and then they have to introduce something new to help the lottery along," said Frye, who sits on the industry's state association. "And it's going to be video poker."

Monday, June 12, 2006

National Poker League Day 8

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The National Poker League continued yesterday with the eigth tournament of the first round.

Number of players for event: 73
Prize pool: $70,810
Places paid: 9
Payouts: 1st $24,784
2nd $14,870
3rd $7,789
4th $5,665
5th $4,957
6TH $4,249
7TH $3,541
8TH $2,832
9TH $2,123



PLAYERS & CHIP COUNTS

Seat 1: Joe McGowan $81,300
Seat 2: Eutgene Todd $30,200
Seat 3: Ryan Gentry $90,900
Seat 4: Steve Gaufman $41,800
Seat 5: Roy Winston $33,000
Seat 6: John Stzemp $15,400

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STARTING BLINDS 1000/2000 200 ANTE

Ryan Gentry started the day as the chip leader and he certainly displayed his enthusiasm to try and bust players when on the fifth hand of the day he raised to 4K with the Jd 7d. All players folded to John Stzemp who held As Ks. John was more than happy to send his remaining $12,400 into the pot. Ryan with his mountain of chips called and we were going to the flop. 9h 5c 7s was enough to give Ryan the lead and a chance to bust our first player of the day. When the turn and river came 3c 6d we had our first elimination.

John Stzemp finishes in 6th place and collects 4,249.

Steve Gaufman started the day with a short stack and on hand 12 his initial 41K starting stack had whittled away to 24,400. Under the gun he decided to send all the troops in with 9s 9d. Action was folded around to the chip leader Ryan Gentry who woke up with a real hand for a change, Ac Ks and decided to call. When the flop came down 7s 5s Jh, it was looking good for Steve to double up. The turn card was the brutal Kd and with no help on the river, we had our 5th place finisher. Ryan now had his second scalp at the final table.

Steve Gaufman finishes in 5th place and collects $4,957.

Our next casualty of the day was Eugene Todd. Eugene was the first player to make a second final table in our series and played solid poker all day. Unfortunately for him on hand 28 he moved all in with Ks Jc and when Ryan”Bust’em out” Gentry called with As 8h he was in trouble. When the flop came 8d Qc 6c, Ryan had his next victim in his sights. The turn and river were no help for Eugene (6h 6d) and Ryan had now busted three players at today’s final table.

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Eugene Todd finishes in 4th place and takes home $5,665.

Three handed the players were moving chips back and forth for almost an hour. On hand number 59 Roy Winston picked up 8h 8s and decided to put the rest of his chips in the pot and moved all in. Unfortunately for him Joe McGowan was holding two lovely ladies (Qd Qs). Joe called and when the final board read Jd 6d Ad Ah 3h we had our third place finisher.

Roy Winston finishes in 3rd place and collects $7,789.

Heads up play began with Joe holding a slight chip lead over table captain for the day Ryan. On the sixth hand heads up Joe picked up As Jd in the small blind and decided to raises the pot to 8K. As if the cold deck fairy had flown in and waved her magic wand over Joe, Ryan peeked down to see two lovely aces (Ah Ac). Ryan re-raised the pot 15K more and Ryan went into the tank. Prior to getting heads up, Joe had made several great reads on Ryan and in fact was the only player at the final table that was taking chips away from him all day. On this hand however, his read was not correct and he moved all in. Ryan called and when the final board of 8d 9h Kc 7s 6s hit, the chip lead had been reversed. It wasn’t long before Joe found two connecting cards and sent his remaining stack into the middle. Joe was all in with the 7d 6c but Ryan found the Qd Qs . When the flop came 4d 8d Ah, there was suddenly a hope for Joe. He now needed a 5 or running sixes or sevens to double up and stay alive. The turn card was certainly one that he didn’t need, the Qc. This now left only a five to save him, and when the river came 3h, Ryan collected his fourth scalp and the victory for the day.

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Joe McGowan finishes in 2nd place and collects $14,870 for his efforts.

Ryan Gentry wins today’s event and collects $24,784 and advances to the semi finals.

To recap:
Ryan Gentry 1st $24,784

2nd $14,870 Joe McGowan
3rd $7,789 Roy Winston
4th $5,665 Eugene Todd
5th $4,957 Steve Gaufman
6TH $4,249 John Stzemp
7TH $3,541 Tyler McKinnon
8TH $2,832 Ryan Larson
9TH $2,123 Theobald Tran

Friday, June 09, 2006

Harrah's in World Series of Poker Deals

Harrah's in World Series of Poker Deals

LAS VEGAS — Casino and hotel operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. said Friday it signed a deal to extend ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker through 2010.

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ESPN will offer a live pay-per-view telecast of the final-table play at the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em World Championship, which is considered the main event at the World Series of Poker. The pay-per-view telecast will be available in addition to ESPN's regular television showing of the series and the circuit championships.

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ESPN has televised the World Series of Poker eight times, with its coverage starting in 1993.

Harrah's, which acquired the World Series of Poker in 2004, also said that it reached a deal for Miller Brewing Co.'s Milwaukee's Best Light to become the presenting sponsor and official beer of the poker tournament through 2008. The agreement starts with this year's event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from June 25 to Aug. 10.

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The deal is the largest of its kind between a gaming entity and a corporate sponsor, Harrah's stated. Under terms of the agreement, Milwaukee's Best Light will be integrated into several components of the tournament and will promote the event nationally on a year-round basis.

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Shares of Harrah's added 44 cents to $73.96 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

2006 World Series of Poker Bracelet Unveiled

Bling!It is the epitome of excellence in the poker world. For almost four decades now, the World Series of Poker has crowned champions and, along with the cash for winning the event, awarded the victors further awards in the form of a gold bracelet. These bracelets not only recognize the achievement of winning a WSOP tournament but also have become the benchmark of success in the poker community. On June 6th, Harrah's displayed for the first time the awards that will be available once the events start on June 25th.

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"It's impossible to overstate the value of a World Series of Poker gold bracelet to anyone who takes the game seriously," stated World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack during the unveiling. "It is the equivalent of winning the Stanley Cup in hockey or the Lombardi Trophy in football. As such, the champion's bracelet at the 37th Annual World Series of Poker will be the best ever, something the winner will take pride in for a lifetime."

The schedule of events at this year's World Series has forty five events and, for forty four of them, the bracelet will be special. Each winner of an official event during these events will receive a bracelet constructed by Triton Jewelry, a division of Frederick Goldman, Inc. These bracelets will be made from 14-karat yellow gold and accentuated by full cut white diamonds. The center plaque of the bracelet will have one-third a carat of diamonds and be held together by thirty five grams of solid diamond cut rope chain. While these bracelets are exquisite, the World Champion's bracelet will most definitely outshine it.

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The winner of the $10,000 Championship Event, in addition to the estimated $10 million first place bounty, will also have a specially created bracelet to add to his (or her) jewelry collection. The Champion's bracelet will be created from 14-karat white and yellow gold with full cut diamonds. The plaque that is the centerpiece of the bracelet will have 170 hand picked diamonds weighing in at six carats. Each suit that is displayed under the World Series logo will also have special attention, as they will be created from jewels (a heart shaped ruby, a princess cut ruby for diamonds, a black sapphire for the spades and three round black diamonds for clubs) that will separate the World Champion's bracelet from the others. Holding this together will be a solid diamond cut rope chain that weighs in at almost sixty grams.

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The bracelets that have been created for this year's tournament are quite special, befitting the achievement of beating the best players in the world to win one. We'll see who gets these pieces of jewelry in just a few weeks as the World Series gets ready to start.

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Tuesday, June 06, 2006

POKER NEWS ONLINE

Some of Phil Hellmuth's more vehement detractors might call him poker’s version of the anti-Christ—and it’s a label that seemed especially appropriate when he opposed poker’s “Jesus,” Chris Ferguson, for the National Heads-Up Poker Championship title in 2005. Hellmuth, of course, went on to beat Jesus in the best-two-out-of-three finale to win the championship.

In 2006, Ferguson again reached the finals of the NHUPC, and again he lost the best-two-out-of-three showdown. But this time, his defeat didn’t come at the hands of the anti-Christ. If anything, it came at the hands of the anti-Hellmuth.

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Ted Forrest, this year’s Heads-Up champion, is everything that Hellmuth isn’t. Hellmuth talks a big game; Forrest plays a big game. There is no hype and self-promotion with Forrest, no trademark garb with logos galore, no quotable one-liners, no berating of foes and congratulating of self. It’s not about the look with Forrest (if it was, he would have gotten rid of that stubble moustache he’d been growing for about three days before reaching the TV table at the ’05 Mirage Poker Showdown). It’s not about the trash talk. It’s all about the poker. Ted Forrest plays cards, he does so with ruthless efficiency, and despite an ultra-competitive streak, he’ll never let losing knock him out of his chair and onto the floor the way some NHUPC champions might.

“Phil Hellmuth is Phil Hellmuth, and Ted Forrest is Ted Forrest. I’m not trying to be anyone else,” Forrest told ALL IN after outlasting 63 other competitors to win the NBC-televised tournament and the $500,000 first prize. That’s Ted Forrest at his understated best. You want more? We asked him to describe the feeling when the final card fell and he’d defeated Ferguson for the title. “I was just real happy.” And how about what was going through his mind after losing the first game of the Ferguson match? “You know, I was pretty glad it was best-two-out-of-three format.”

It may sound like Forrest is an ungracious interview subject rattling off quick and careless responses, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. On questions about poker, about the hands and the opponents and the style matchups, his reflections are thorough and profound. But on questions pertaining to stardom, his thoughts just don’t run as deep. “I don’t really think too much about stardom,” he said. “I mean, whatever it is, it is.”
So what is it? Or, more precisely, what could it be on the heels of this victory? In the opinion of Jon Miller, the senior vice president of NBC Sports, the NHUPC has already become the second most important event in poker, behind only the World Series. And many people would agree with Miller on that point. It’s hard to reach a wider audience than a free broadcast network like NBC does. Combine that with the fact that this is a tournament that picks and chooses its 64 participants with marketability very much in mind, and you have a series that drew an average of four million viewers per episode in ’05, with six million tuning in for the Hellmuth vs. Ferguson finals.

“In terms of this tournament turning Ted Forrest into a superstar, I certainly don’t think it hurts,” said Miller. “Being a superstar is dependent upon the player. Does he want to continue, does he want to be recognized, does he want all the trappings that come with being a star? I think it’s a little bit overwhelming to a guy who hasn’t gone through a lot of that before, and how he deals with it, for a large part, is his call. There’s a lot of opportunities for him. During April and May, millions and millions and millions of people will have seen him. More people will have seen him in one or two shows than have ever seen him on the World Poker Tour or any of these other shows combined.”

And what they’ll have seen him do is win six consecutive heads-up matches against premium competition. But before he started winning, Forrest first had to lose something: his cell phone. He lost it at the airport shortly before the tournament began, and that turned out to be a serious piece of serendipity.

“That was pretty much the best preparation that I could have possibly done for this tournament,” Forrest cracked. “There were certainly a lot fewer distractions.”
But losing his mobile phone wasn’t the only inadvertent prep Forrest did that helped get him in the zone for the NHUPC.

“A couple of weeks before the tournament, I had played Andy Beal heads-up a number of times in Limit poker,” he said, referring to the Texas billionaire who’s been taking on top pros for the last several years in the highest-stakes cash games on record. “That was not necessarily something I was doing to prepare for this tournament, but it was probably, accidentally, a good training grounds.”

In the first round of the tournament, while extroverts Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Tilly, and James Woods got the majority of the attention, Forrest sat quietly at a side table, paired against another quiet veteran, Erik Seidel. With 12 World Series bracelets between them, this was, to hardcore fans, one of the most fascinating matchups of the first round. And it turned out to be every bit as challenging as expected for Forrest.

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“I like to refer to the way Erik played initially as the play of a stone-cold killer,” Forrest remarked. “He grabbed the chip lead by making these big, oversized stabs at the pot. Erik was very difficult to handle during the time that he had the chip lead.”
But Forrest, known for having perhaps the most acute radar in poker, swung the pendulum with one hand in which he read Seidel correctly and picked off a bluff. Seidel, erring on the side of aggression, fired three bullets with nothing, and Forrest, holding a modest hand, kept calling, ultimately taking down a huge pot and seizing the chip lead. And after that, it was Forrest who was able to get aggressive and decimate Seidel’s stack, advancing to the second round in a little under an hour.

By all reasonable estimations, it was assumed that Forrest would be playing 2005 ALL IN Player of the Year Phil Ivey in the second round, but in a stunning upset, respected but relatively little-known Chad Brown bumped off Ivey on the tournament’s first day. One of the most memorable hands of the tournament saw Brown all in with trip aces after the turn, way behind against Ivey’s aces full of eights. Brown’s only hope for survival was to chop if an eight hit on the river, and sure enough, a snowman fell from the sky. Brown eventually battled back to win, setting up a second-round meeting with Forrest.

But the card gods offered no such help to Brown in Round Two, as Forrest built an early lead and quickly put his foe away when the sometimes actor followed Forrest’s ideal script, attempting to take a stand with Q-J offsuit against Forrest’s pocket aces.

The third round was as far as Forrest got in the 2005 tournament, but whereas he drew eventual semifinalist Antonio Esfandiari at that stage last year, his ’06 draw looked like a relative walkover. NBC and host Caesars Palace elected to reserve three spots in this year’s tournament for qualifiers—one from an online competition that attracted 30,000 hopefuls, one from a $200 buy-in tournament open to the public, and one from a private tournament arranged by Caesars for some of its high-rolling casino regulars. Ernie Durack, a blackjack player from Canada, won the latter of the three tournaments, then confounded the experts by defeating Scotty Nguyen and Paul Phillips in succession to set up a Round-of-16 showdown with Forrest. Having seen Durack pull off the two biggest upsets of the tourney already, Forrest was not taking the upstart lightly.

“I actually watched part of his match with Paul Phillips, and Paul was going all in like every time with hands he shouldn’t have been going all in with. And I’m wondering, Why is he playing like this? Why does he think he needs to play like this?” Forrest said. “It actually seemed like Ernie was outplaying Paul.

“Then when I played Ernie, it became clear he was a guy who knew how to play. But still, he really should have been one of my easier matches. I found a way to make it one of my most difficult.”

How difficult? About an hour into the match, Forrest was all in and one card away from elimination when he hit a four-outer on the river to chop the pot. But before we get into the details of that miraculous hand, first there’s the hand where Forrest went against his best judgment and made the match difficult for himself.

“A key hand comes up where it’s 1,000/2,000 blinds (the players started their third round matches with 80,000 in chips), and I’ve got K-5 of clubs on the button, I limped in, and he raised it the minimum, 2,000, so I called. And it looked like he almost string raised it, or tried to raise more, and so I felt he had a pretty big hand. Now the flop comes a king, and the Q-10 of clubs. So he bet 5,000, and I raised him 10,000, and he moved all in for another 36,000, and I just felt like he had aces or A-K. I’m about even money against either one of those hands, and I’m getting 2-to-1 on the money. But it actually took a long time to make this decision. He was probably the only player in the tournament that I could possibly think of folding this hand to and declining to take 2-to-1 on an even-money shot, simply because if I fold, we’d be about even in chips, and I thought I might be a 2-to-1 favorite to beat him from that point. But if I call and lose, he’s going to have a big chip lead on me. As it turned out, I took a chance to knock him out right there, and he in fact did have two aces, so I had 14 outs twice. And two blanks came, so he had me severely outchipped.”

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That risky and regrettable decision from Forrest set up the hand that very nearly sent him packing. Forrest got it all in with A-10, a reasonable hand to push with in heads-up play, but Durack held pocket rockets for the second time in about five minutes to have the 41-year-old Las Vegas resident dominated. The board came 3-Q-4-2, and Forrest’s tournament appeared over—until a five on the river made both players a straight.

“That’s poker,” Forrest reflected. “Anyone that wins a tournament like this probably had several opportunities where he could have lost or got knocked out. But whenever I reached that position, I just told myself, Don’t ever give up.”

Forrest dug in his heels, played small-pot poker after that, and battled back to win the two-hour-plus duel. But he had no idea how much he’d need to bust out that “Don’t ever give up” attitude in his quarterfinal match the next day.

Forrest’s match against Sam Farha was, in a word, ridiculous. There were 13 all-ins and calls before the player who was all in finally lost. The showdown lasted a full 31/2 hours, breaking the previous record for NHUPC match length by about 30 minutes. You have Ali-Frazier in Manila, McEnroe-Borg at Wimbledon, and now Forrest-Farha at Caesars. This was a one-on-one duel for the ages.

Early on, Forrest was down as low as 40,000 in chips, facing a 7-to-1 disadvantage. But he just kept surviving, and so did Sammy, neither one ever conceding defeat no matter how small their stacks got.

“We were down to eight players when I got matched up with Sammy, and out of the eight players, he would have been my last choice as far as who I would’ve wanted to play,” Forrest said. “The thing about Sammy is, he’s a much better heads-up player than he is a ring-game player, because he plays so many hands. Playing in a ring game, he runs into someone with a better hand a lot of the time. But heads-up, he’s going to have the best hand half the time.”
Back and forth the two wily veterans went, and even when it seemed it was over and Forrest had advanced, the chips were carefully counted and it turned out Farha still had a few left. The players had both almost exited the poker room when they were summoned back to finish the neverending match.

“We went back,” Forrest said, “and he had like 18,000 or 20,000 in chips left, and the very next hand I got two nines, and he got A-3, and I survived the flop. And then I just kept thinking, Oh God, what if an ace comes? I just kept preparing myself for an ace to come and having to play on.”

But an ace did not come, and Forrest moved on to represent the “diamonds” bracket in the semifinals, joining Ferguson (who’d beaten Jim McManus to win the “clubs” bracket), Huck Seed (who’d topped Barry Greenstein to take the “spades” bracket), and Shawn Sheikhan (who’d stunned Daniel Negreanu to win the “hearts” bracket). Sheikhan’s unlikely run to the Final Four began when he crippled Gus Hansen by making quads to Hansen’s full house, and he proceeded to bump off Doyle Brunson, David Grey, and Negreanu. But Forrest found a way to end another Cinderella story, as he defeated “Sheiky” and moved on to a meeting with Ferguson in the finals.

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“Before the final match started,” Forrest recalled, “I asked him, ‘So, Chris, how does this game theory stuff work anyway?’ And he said, ‘Well, I can’t tell you, but I’ll show you.’”
Forrest’s attempts to get a peek inside the mind of Jesus were unsuccessful, and to make matters worse, Ferguson had luck on his side in the opening game of the best-of-three. With a flop of Q-10-2, Ferguson moved all in with bottom pair, and Forrest called with top pair. But the turn brought another deuce, allowing Ferguson to double up. Not long after, Forrest got it all in with the better hand again—pocket tens against A-9—but Jesus willed an ace on the river, meaning Forrest needed to win two straight games to make the championship his.

“I felt like I played that first match extremely well,” Forrest said. “He made a couple of mistakes that happened to work out. But I still think he played real good. He’s certainly a lot tougher to read than most players. He wears those sunglasses, and he’s like a statue, and he takes time on his decisions—he’s pretty tough to get a read on. And, at the same time, he has an excellent ability to read other players.”

In other words, Forrest was in an unenviable position: down a game against the kind of player you don’t want to be down a game against. But if there’s one thing Forrest proved throughout the tournament, it’s that he doesn’t mind uphill battles, and it took him less than an hour to draw even, winning nearly every big pot in Game Two and finishing Ferguson off when his A-4 held up against Jesus’ J-7.

The key hand of the rubber match came a little more than an hour in. Holding a lowly 6-3, Forrest was behind the whole way against Ferguson’s K-9, as the board came K-9-6-Q. Forrest had made a loose call to get to the river, but he was rewarded when another six fell, giving him a set and allowing him to make a large bet that Ferguson reluctantly called. Jesus was in bad shape after that, and it wasn’t long before he put the rest of his chips at stake with Q-J against Forrest’s K-7. Forrest hit a king on the flop and another on the river, and the trips became quads when Forrest himself became the king of the 2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

NBC and Caesars have already renewed the deal for the NHUPC through 2008, with an option for ’09. So this tournament isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And when it comes back on the first weekend of March next year, all eyes will be on Forrest, just as they were on Hellmuth this year. Forrest won’t beg for the spotlight, he won’t make a spectacle of himself, he won’t tell everyone he’s the best player in the tournament. But the spotlight will shine on him just the same.

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Phil Hellmuth may be Phil Hellmuth, and Ted Forrest may be Ted Forrest, but Ted Forrest isn’t quite the same Ted Forrest anymore. He’s now the champion of the second-highest-profile event on the poker calendar. And for the guy who always seems to know what his opponents are holding, it’s now all about what he’s holding and what moves he chooses to make.

The Longest Matches
1. Ted Forrest def. Sam Farha, Quarterfinals, 3 hours, 30 minutes
Two of poker’s finest engaged in the match that refused to end
2. Sam Farha def. Rene Angelil, First round, 2 hours, 30 minutes
Mr. Celine Dion put up a titanic effort, but fell short
3. Ted Forrest def. Ernie Durack, Third round, 2 hours, 15 minutes
Wasn’t Durack supposed to be an easy out? Nobody told him that
4. Shawn Sheikhan def. Daniel Negreanu, Quarterfinals, 2 hours, 10 minutes
A heartbreaker for “Kid Poker,” and a monumental win for “The Sheik”
5. Sam Farha def. Michael Mizrachi, Third round, 2 hours, 5 minutes
Apparently, quick and easy matches aren’t Sammy’s thing

The Shortest Matches
1. Barry Greenstein def. Tuan Le, Second round, 8 minutes
Teacher and student both wanted it over with quickly, going all in on flush draws
2. Josh Arieh def. Eli Elezra, Second round, 13 minutes
Overpairs are nice, Eli, but not when the other guy has made the nut straight
3. Michael Mizrachi def. Howard Lederer, Second round, 15 minutes
“The Grinder” doesn’t always have to grind ’em out
4. Josh Arieh def. David Williams, First round, 24 minutes
Suffice to say Arieh was in the zone his first two matches
5. Ted Forrest def. Chad Brown, Second round, 26 minutes
Brown made a move at the wrong time, going all in against pocket aces

The Biggest Upsets
1. Ernie Durack def. Scotty Nguyen, First round
It’s not every day an anonymous qualifier topples a former WSOP champion
2. Ernie Durack def. Paul Phillips, Second round
We figured Durack-Nguyen was a fluke … and then this happened
3. Shawn Sheikhan def. Daniel Negreanu, Quarterfinals
“Sheiky” wasn’t supposed to make it out of the first round
4. Shawn Sheikhan def. Doyle Brunson, Second round
We’d make Sheikhan the favorite in arm wrestling, but not poker
5. Chad Brown def. Phil Ivey, First round
The only way to beat Ivey: Hit a two-outer on the river to chop

The Matches With Plotlines
Barry Greenstein vs. Tuan Le, Second round
Who’s your daddy? Le took a licking from his father figure
Josh Arieh vs. David Williams, First round
They have WSOP history, plus they’re both Bodog boys
Daniel Negreanu vs. Evelyn Ng, First round
Not only did they used to date, but it even ended badly!
Johnny Chan vs. Carlos Mortensen, First round
World Series Main Event winners draw each other in Round One
Chris Ferguson vs. Huck Seed, Semifinals
Two more WSOP Main Event champs, fighting to reach the finals

Monday, June 05, 2006

Two Poker Studies Shed Interesting Light

Two new reports from both the United States and England have shown that there is a sizeable interest in online poker, gaming overall and, surprisingly enough, the governmental regulation of the ever-growing industry.

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The American Gaming Association, in their State of the States report for 2006, not only looked at the casino and racetrack gaming world but also took an in-depth look at the online gaming and poker scene as well. In the report, the AGA reports in a special section of the "State of the States" yearly review that the typical online player is a much younger participant in gaming activities than those that typically frequent casinos in the United States. The typical U.S. Internet gambler is under 40, is college-educated or has post-high school education of some sort, is male and is generally more affluent than his fellow citizens, according to the results of the AGA survey. There are other interesting discoveries as the rest of the forty-three page report is digested.

The poll was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the AGA and found that 70 percent of respondents started gambling online within the past two years, indicating the growing popularity of Internet poker and gaming. Surprisingly, while Americans seem to be taking part in the online gaming industry, there is a tremendous amount of distrust of the industry as a whole. More than half of the respondents in the survey said that the offshore companies find ways to cheat their customers and nearly half of those surveyed felt that their fellow players were scheming to cheat.

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In what was a very disingenuous part of the report, the AGA also questioned people's knowledge of the legal status of Internet gaming. When the participants in the survey were asked whether online poker was legal or not, about one in five said that it wasn't legal and the AGA added to this confusion by stating that it is currently illegal to wager online in the United States. To this date, no one has been prosecuted for playing on the Internet and the further legal status of doing so is murky at best. Even with this faux pas, the overall report of the AGA is a decent look at the world of the casinos, both online and in their physical forms.

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"Even though our member companies currently aren't involved in the online gaming market and the overall percentage of Americans who gamble online is relatively small, there's no doubt this issue has captured the attention of the media, members of Congress and the American public," said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the AGA. "We strive to make each year's State of the States report the most comprehensive information resource not only on the current state of our industry, but the most significant emerging trends in gaming, so it was important that we take a look at this growing phenomenon."

In another interesting study in England, Britons indicated in a survey that they want their government to be more involved in the regulation of the online industry than they currently are. In England, a governmental organization known as the Gambling Commission has been set up to enforce the newly modified statutes of the Gambling Act. The respondents in the British survey also indicated that they were firmly behind a nationalization of gaming products and rooms as well.

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The survey, commissioned by casino games inventor Prime Table Games, stated that three quarters of the respondents in the survey felt that online gaming sites should make it clear that they are being operated outside of the Commonwealth. Three out of ten players were firmly against the outsourcing of the operations of an online gaming company. In another interesting angle from the British survey, the question of affiliate programs came up. 81% of respondents felt that online sites should be forthright regarding commissions that are paid to affiliate program members and that, surprisingly, 44% would be less inclined to play at sites that have such programs. Commenting on the results of the survey, Derek Webb, the head of Prime Table Games, stated, "Gamblers have clear expectations of how online gaming should operate. It's vital that as the industry redefines itself in the light of the Gambling Act that the Gambling Commission aims to meet those expectations."

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Through reading both studies you can obviously see the impact that the online gaming industry has in today's world. Both the AGA and Prime Table Games studies should be required reading for anyone who is involved in the gaming industry, has a voice in legislation, or participates either online or in the B&M establishments.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Online Poker Trifecta: Doyle's Room adds Three WSOP Seats to Team PokerNews

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Here at PokerNews.com, we pride ourselves on giving you the best value out there. For the last couple months, we have given our readers 13 seats to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, simply for signing up through PokerNews.com. We have at least 11 more seats to giveaway, and that number may even get higher.

It was the Godfather of Poker who came to us with an offer we couldn't refuse this time, as Doyle's Room is the latest sponsor to Team PokerNews. Usually, these tournaments reward one seat, but Doyle's Room decided to up the bounty – one tournament – three seats. And, here is the best part – you don't even have to win the tournament to get one of the seats.

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