More Celebrities becoming Poker aficionados

The 38-year-old star Daniel Craig, who is the new James Bond actor, has added gambling to his range of 007-inspired skills. Daniel revealed that he not only had to learn how to drive a high-powered car and handle a gun convincingly for his Bond debut, but he had to become a card-sharp.

During the filming of the forthcoming 007 movie, Craig was taught to play a plausible hand of poker. He said I had not only had to learn the game but also had to look convincing playing it.

British card player John Duthie, who has made £1.5million from poker and was asked to advice on the gambling scenes, said that Craig enjoyed learning how to play poker so much that he has taken to the game in his spare time as well.

Definitely, the poker world has seen its fair share of celebrities like Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Norm Mac Donald take their shot at the tables. And it is interesting to see how other forces like the online poker industry draw more of the stars crowd into the Poker World.

Online poker players defending potential damage to their rights

The Poker Players Alliance, a political group that boasts 100,000 members, is facing a new threat. Executive director Michael Bolcerek and his poker-playing army are now fighting against the growing anti-gambling forces that argue the game is bad for American family values and want to remove it from the internet.

Bolcerek, a Cow Hollow resident and former Silicon Valley businessman, said that the war about on online poker is no bluff. "I wish they were just trying to regulate us or tax us, but they really want us wiped out, gone."

Michael, who took on the role a year and half ago, said he considers poker a game of skill, not chance -- an important distinction that elevates poker from the illicit activity of a street craps game to a legitimate sport. So when Bolcerek saw the state government clamp down on his favorite pastime over a measly charity event, the political novice said it roused the civil liberties-activist in him.

"At least we've got the resources to do something," Bolcerek said. "We've created a political voice and we've got a seat at the table.

Despite online poker's rabid popularity, a game that now draws an estimated 23 million Americans to their keyboards every day, the game has recently suffered some big-time legislative hits.

Poker to support Breast Cancer Foundation

The World Poker Tour, which is hosting its fourth annual WPT Ladies Night tournament, is joining forces with the Bicycle Casino to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The ladies invited to play this season are among the top-ranked women from WPT Season IV as they vie for a $25,000 entry fee into the WPT World Championship. Going All-In for the Cure and help raise funds and awareness for this important cause.

The tournament will take place on Thursday, August 31st. The winner will receive a $25,500 seat in the WPT World Championship to be held in April of 2007 at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Definitely, the face of poker has drastically changed for the better, with a promise of becoming even more spectacular in years to come. So, if you havent experienced the gratification of a game like the WPT Ladies Night tournament, then a poker game should be etched in stone on your calendar.

Poker lures students for money, fun

A late night tradition of playing poker with close friends is no foreign situation to many UA students. Alex Chandler, a sophomore majoring in secondary education, enjoys the college pastime where friends can get together, put down $5 and play all night.

Some play for money and some for fun, but most students agree the game is gaining popularity among students. Chandler said that he has not played in any large tournaments but plays tournament-style with friends."

The largest I have been in was a $10 buy-in," Chandler said. "The cash prize was about $200, and that was a lot of fun just hanging out at a friend's apartment." Many students at the University said they enjoy the excitement of gambling and the game itself.

It seems to have gathered steam throughout the campus, they say, as students in dorms, apartments and online sites are either throwing down money or playing with chips. Over the past few years, poker has become popular all over the world and continues to gain popularity as students and celebrities have begun playing in tournaments such as the ones offered online.

We basically started out making bets online, and it escalated from there, many UA students said.

Sky's the limit for Poker

There are many different tournaments around the world, but Poker tournaments have evolved into the biggest, richest and most high-profile of them all. Among them, the World Series of Poker is the oldest and most tradition-laden poker tournament in the world.

When the late Benny Binion, the legendary gambling pioneer, organized the first World Series of Poker in 1970 with seven poker pros at his landmark Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas, he predicted the tournament would grow in popularity and someday attract as many as 50 players or more.

Thanks to clever marketing strategy, Binion certainly was on target about the popularity of the World Series, but he was way off on the numbers. This year's WSOP, which ran for seven weeks from June 26 through Aug. 11 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Vegas, brought out a total of 48,364 entrants for the 45 events, a 50 percent increase over last year.

The legendary Doyle Texas Dolly Brunson, who has won the main event multiple times, and is widely regarded by many as the best poker player of all time said - there seems to be no slow down in the ratings for poker tournaments, so poker will be here for a long time to come.
This year's WSOP included poker players from 56 countries around the world and tournament officials are anticipating double-digit growth for the next several years, which means it's going to get better.

Is poker a game of chance or test of skill?

Poker is legal in at least 30 states, but in North Carolina, it's illegal to play a game of chance when betting is involved. Last year, a Durham judge ruled that poker falls in that category.

However, Howard Fierman a Durham businessman disagrees and now the question if poker is a game of chance or test of skill is in front of the state Court of Appeals as Howard continues his quest to open a poker parlor.

"If I'm going to play a game with a bunch of experts, I'm going to lose. It's not because they are luckier than I am, it's because they are better than I am," said Fierman's attorney, whit Powell.

Professional players tend to agree with Powell and disagree with the initial ruling. "While there is one element of chance with what cards are dealt, the way a player handles those cards, handles the bet, the amount of the bet and how they assess the other players and the table is entirely skill," said George Smart, an area poker player and editor of the Triangle Poker Journal.

Vegas poker champion always dreamed of getting rich

Michael Binger, who earned his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University in June 2006, said that since middle school, he had always had plans to get rich. A few weeks ago, his dream came true.

Michael placed third in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event after second place winner Paul Wasicka and World Champion Jamie Gold. He took him more than $4 million for his efforts in the no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament, a tournament that drew nearly 9,000 entrants, each of whom paid a $10,000 "buy-in" that supplied the $87 million later apportioned to the top 10 percent of players.

Michael said after his dream came true “after winning $1,000 on a good day at Lucky Chances in Colma, I tried a table with higher stakes, I stepped into that and got killed". "I realized there was more to the game than I'd known, so I studied books on poker and played online with the goal of winning back the $10,000 I had lost, and I did so within months.

Today, Binger still has career ambitions as a theoretical physicist while competing in the poker tournaments.

Poker players with plenty of options in the web

Gone are the days when poker was played in back rooms by a handful of regular players. Now it seems as if you can't turn on the television without seeing coverage of a poker tournament or instructional show.

With the explosive popularity of poker, it was just a matter of time before someone added this popular game to the web. Internet is now home of several tournaments that pays tribute to the pastime and recent researches show increase in available online poker rooms giving players an unprecedented choice for entertainment venues.

Few years ago there were less than a dozen rudimentary poker sites, but today the numbers have climbed by more than 5 000 percent offering high volume network action on hundreds of sites with a range of games and big-money tournaments.

The increase in the number of online casinos has skyrocketed in the last few years, with larger businesses such as DoylesRoom.com actually sponsoring players in the live televised tournaments. Doyles Room also offers a free version, where you can play poker without actually investing any money.

There seems to be no slow down in the ratings for shows, so poker will be here for a long time to come.

Winners at the World Series of Poker

Michael Binger, who has a Ph.D. in particle physics from Stanford University, and has lived in Atherton since 2000, finished third in the No-Limit Texas Hold'em Main Event at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas Aug. 11, taking home about $4.1 million.

Binger outlasted all but two of the 8,773 players who paid the $10,000 entry fee to play in the event, but was knocked out of the event by the eventual winner, Jamie Gold of Malibu, who won the $12 million grand prize after knocking out Paul Wasicka heads up on the 236th hand.

Gold wins a record $12 million and a gold bracelet, while Wasicka earns $6,102,499. Allen Cunningham was fourth and Rhett Butler was fifth.

Richard Lee finished sixth, Doug Kim seventh, Erik Friberg was eighth and Daniel Nassif rounded out the final table by finishing ninth.

The World Series of Poker's Main Event winner will use the $12 million prize to help his friends and his father.

Last week, Jamie Gold went from a mostly unknown poker player to the card game's ultimate champion in less than two weeks. The former Hollywood agent and 15-year Malibu resident Jamie Gold beat out nearly 9,000 competitors to win the World Series of Poker's No-Limit Texas Holdem Main Event at the Rio hotel in Las Vegas.

Jamie's $12 million prize was the most amount of money ever received in a single poker tournament. Gold , who heads a marketing company, said he would use the prize money to support his friends and his father, a New Jersey resident suffering from the final stages of Lou Gehrig's disease who requires round-the-clock care.

"They won't tell me when they need money," Gold said. "But now they finally have realized that it's OK for me to help them. I am happy to help them and do whatever it takes to make my father comfortable and give him what he needs". "I just wanted him to know I love him and I made him proud," Gold said.

Gold, who entered the tournament as part of the celebrity team sponsored by an Internet gambling site, said he was not prepared to win the competition, but had a feeling he could do well.

World Series of Poker, big in record numbers

When poker patriarch Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson played in the first World Series of Poker in 1970, five players joined him for the tournament. This year Brunson was one of 8,773 players in the WSOP's main event, the last of 46 tournaments played over seven weeks at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino.

Back then, a vote among the players decided the winner. No cash exchanged hands. "When the tournament was over, we gave the cup to the winner and then had a few drinks and started playing poker again" poker legend Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson said.

"Those were the days. Boy, have times changed." Brunson said. No longer shunned to the dark, back rooms of casinos, poker is sizzling in the mainstream, having ridden twin tidal waves of exposure to the masses -"the Internet and television.

"We haven't seen anything yet," Brunson says. "I don't know where it's going to stop. I think in the next 10 years, they might have 50,000 players for the main event." Brunson joked the WSOP might need a stadium instead of a massive ballroom such as the Amazon Room used this year. About the size of two football fields, it was barely large enough to contain this year's tournament.

This year, the WSOP is on track to smash every tournament record for entrants and prize money. For instance, the women's no-limit hold'em event attracted 1,128 players -"nearly double the number who played in last year's Ladies Event. Tournament No. 17 -"a no-limit Texas Hold'em event with a $1,000 buy-in -"had 2,891 players, the second-largest live poker tournament in history.

Ranking 656 out of almost 9,000 was impressive

The Oshawa resident Mark Gilbert walked away with $19,050 from the Las Vegas World Series of Poker last week.


It may not sound like much considering the top prize was $12 million, but it wasn't a bad showing for this first stab at a real-life competition.


"I play quite a bit online, but this was my first ever live tournament," said the 35-year-old, who returned from the WSOP, being held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, on Aug. 5.


Mark Gilbert qualified to attend the Poker Series by beating 80 other individuals at a number of online poker matches.


"It was unbelievable; a huge accomplishment," Mr. Gilbert said. "To play in the World Series of Poker is sort of every person's dream that likes poker. To test yourself against the pros and the people who do it for a living. It was more than I ever expected. It was such a thrill."

Alberta team studies artificial intelligence with poker

Computer scientists have not yet figured out how to write programs that can make informed decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information, said Jonathan Schaeffer, chair of the University of Alberta's computer science department and Canada Research Chair in artificial intelligence.

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"The skills that make human poker players really good are skills that don't seem to match well with what computers can do," said Schaeffer. Schaeffer was part of the team that designed Hyperborean, a poker-playing computer that recently went undefeated at two tournaments hosted by the American Association of Artificial Intelligence.

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Proud poker parents

Last week, Ira and Ellen found themselves in the middle of high-stakes heaven. They had jetted from the relative calm of The Villages and when they stepped off the plane, they were on the end of the famed Las Vegas Strip where the World Series of Poker was already rocking and rolling.

But this was more than just a pleasure trip for the Friedmans. They had traveled to Sin City to spend some quality time with their 38-year-old son Perry. Perry is his parents pride. He has a degree from Stanford University and is one of the most sought-after computer programmers in the world of bits and bytes. Hes also a professional poker player who has won more than $500,000 playing the game and owns a World Series of Poker gold bracelet.

UA Student Wins More Than $300,000 In Vegas Poker Tournament

A University of Alabama student earned more than 300-thousand dollars with a skill not taught in the classroom: Texas Hold 'Em. Rob Berryman parlayed a 16 dollar venture into a six-figure bonanza at the World Series of Poker's event in Las Vegas. His story began three weeks ago when he spent that 16 dollars to enter and win his first online tournament. That earned him a place in an online tournament, where he won a buy-in to the Las Vegas tournament.

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After five days of play, the 21-year-old finished 33rd out of 8-thousand 773 hopefuls. He earned 329-thousand 865 dollars. The grand prize was 12 (M) million. But don't think Berryman is going to turn his card-playing hobby into a career. His father, Steve Berryman, says his son, a senior finance major, plans to return to Alabama to get his degree.

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Jamie Gold wins World Series of Poker

The annual World Series of Poker main event has concluded for 2006, and former talent agent Jamie Gold has been crowned World Champion scooping the largest prize in poker history, $12,000,000. He also collected a coveted WSOP bracelet.

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Gold pulled off his best acting job ever early Friday, bluffing his way to victory. He somehow convinced Paul Wasicka he had a weaker hand, getting him to push all his chips in the pot. The 36-year-old Gold screamed for joy to see Wasicka's pocket 10s to his pair of queens.

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Third season for High Stakes Poker

Poker fans that enjoyed the last season of the televised cash game poker series "High Stakes Poker" can look forward to a third season this week following the announcement by Game Show Network that it intends to again take up its option for a further season.

The second season of the show, taped at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, is currently airing on GSN on Monday evenings. Several well-known professional poker players have appeared in the first two seasons of the show including Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, and Johnny Chan.

World Series of Poker Was Born in Reno

While the finals begin Thursday in the world series of poker, most would be surprised to know that the tournament actually didn't begin here in Las Vegas. The pop culture phenomenon actually started in Reno.

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In 1969, Holiday Hotel owner Tom Moore invited a small group of the world's best players for a poker competition. They decided to make it an annual event, which was originally called the Texas Gamblers Convention. In 1970, Moore sold his hotel and Benny Binion took over the rights to the tournament. That's when Binion moved the tournament to Las Vegas and changed the name to the World Series of Poker.

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Poker finalists trying to take out Hollywood vet who represented stars

In a game that gave its name to the expression "poker face", usually framed by sunglasses, a baseball cap or a cowboy hat, Jamie Gold is open-faced and gabby and, thus far at the World Series of Poker's Main Event, incredibly successful.

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Gold, 36, of Malibu, Calif., a former agent who counts future stars Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives and James Gandolfini of The Sopranos among his former clients, enters today's final, nine-player table at the World Series' No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker as the chip count leader. That makes him the mathematical favorite to win the $12 million first prize.

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Ulster poker ace walks away with $1,154,527

An Ulster poker star has scooped more than $1m by playing his cards right in the world's toughest poker competition. John Magill, from Co Antrim, has now bowed out of the World Series of Poker Tournament in Las Vegas, picking up a whopping $1,154,527 in prize money.

The Ballymena man finished in an impressive 12th place, just short of the final table and the chance of winning $12m, the richest prize in poker history. John battled through a field of 8,773 poker players to get to the high rank and was the sole remaining representative of the UK and Ireland in the tournament. At one stage, a recount of his stack revealed he had miscounted it and actually had $1m more than he thought.

Florida State student walks away a millionaire

Florida State University student Leif Force Jr. will be returning to Tallahassee as a rich man after placing 11th in the 37th annual World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. His $10,000 buy-in and tight game earned him $1.154 million in the largest live poker event that's ever been held anywhere.

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To make it past the first day is a big deal, he said. To make it to 11th place is almost beyond words. Force was up against 8,773 players, all vying for a portion of the $82 million pot. The winning hand today will get $12 million. Its an awesome job, Force said. I couldnt find one thats better.

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Nine to Compete at Rio for $12 Million and Title of World Champion

The quest for poker's crown jewel and the richest prize in live poker history is down to nine players at the 37th annual World Series of Poker presented by Milwaukee's Best Light. Nine players will gather at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to take their seats at poker's most prestigious table.

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The winner will walk away with $12 million, instant fame, and the most coveted prize in poker: the World Series of Poker champion's bracelet. "This is a chance for these players to win not only the largest single payout in live poker history but also the game's most coveted prize - the World Series of Poker champion's bracelet," said World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

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Poker player gives winnings to charity

David Einhorn, a 37 year old hedge fund manager from New York leaped into third Monday at the World Series of Poker, with 6.9 million after winning a massive three way all in pot.

Im playing for charity, Einhorn said, as players jaws dropped around him. Anything I win goes to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. My grandfather had Parkinsons. Im on the board of the charity, and Michael said if I make it to the final table, he will fly out.

World Series of Poker coming to a close

The 37th World Series of Poker is winding down after six exciting and dramatic weeks. The Final Table of the Main Event is being staged. The lucky nine will grind it out for the television cameras, and poker history. Each of them is guaranteed over a million dollars. Thats pretty good for a few days of play, but of course, these finalists have vanquished 8,764 of the worlds best.

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Speaking of the worlds best, Phil Hellmuth won his tenth WSOP bracelet in the $1000 No Limit Holdem Event, becoming only the third player (with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan) to hold that distinction. Doyle, by the way, celebrated his 30th WSOP appearance this year.

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Former Agent keeps lead at the WSOP

A 36-year-old Malibu, Calif., resident, continued to knock off opponents Monday at the World Series of Poker, wiping out two players in the space of an hour and amassing a chip stack almost twice the size of his nearest competitor's. Jaime Gold, who is a former Hollywood talent agent, doubled his stack to 14 million in chips after about four hours of play Monday.

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In second was Erik Friberg, a 23-year-old online poker pro from Sweden, with 7.7 million. David Einhorn, a 37-year-old hedge fund manager from New York leaped into third with 6.9 million after winning a massive three-way all-in pot.

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Three Atlantans play on in World Series of Poker

There were 45 players remaining in the World Series of Pokers Main Event after the weekend and three of those still alive have Atlanta connections. Former Georgia Tech student Siddharth Jain is high on the chip count among those with $3.4 million. Conyers native Dustin Holmes began the day with $1.1 million in chips. And Luke Chung, a senior finance manager in Atlanta, was holding on with $560,000.

Four other Georgians were eliminated Sunday, but not before cashing handsomely in the $10,000 buy-in event. No women remain in the field. Play concludes sometime Friday morning, with the last man standing taking $12 million.

Last 27 now in the serious WSOP money

Monday's short session at the World Series of Poker Main Event has brought the competitive field down to the last 27, with big money assured for everyone still battling toward the ultimate first prize of $12 million.

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Monday's players were well compensated. The first player out in the 45th position when play resumed, Jim Routos collected a farewell prize of $247 399, as did those down to position 37. Positions 36 through 28 earned even more at $329 865 each, and the 27 through 19 who go out after play starts again Tuesday will each approach the half million mark at $494 797. But it's the final table that really counts, and these are the take home dollars that these ultimate players, who have survived from a starting field of 8 773 will have their eyes on.

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WSOP Main Event Winner to receive $12 Million.

The winner of the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship at the 37th annual World Series of Poker will take home a record $12 million, the largest single-event prize in live poker history.

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The Final payout, schedule for the championship, commonly known at the World Series of Poker Main Event, awards each of the top 12 finishers at least $1 million. The total net prize pool for the Main Event swelled to more than $82.5 million, bringing the total net prize pool for all 2006 World Series of Poker events to more than $154 million.

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1,159 players remain in World Series of Poker

After six days of poker, 1,159 players remain in the hunt for the $12 million top prize in the World Series of Poker. Dmitri Nobles topped the leader-board at 549,200 chips after play Wednesday night. After a day off Thursday, play will resume Friday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Ken Jacobs, son of poker pro Tom Jacobs, was fourth with 375,300, while Canadian Kid Poker Daniel Negreanu was sixth with 331,000. On Friday, for the first time this tournament, all the survivors of the original pool of 8,773 entrants will be playing in the same room at the same time.

David Zeh still a player in World Series of Poker event

Hutchinson resident David Zeh is a step closer to cashing in at the World Series of Poker main event after making it through his second day Wednesday. But he'll have to work hard - and be lucky - to get there.

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With 1,159 players remaining, Zeh will sit down at noon Friday with 8,800 chips, in 1,148th place. Zeh will start Friday at table 24, seat 5, but his won't be the shortest stack of chips at the table. One player at table 24 will start the day with 3,800 chips. The chip leader at the table when play starts will have 80,800 chips.

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Poker aspirant uses new way to raise cash for WSOP tourney

It costs $10,000 US to enter the main event at the World Series of Poker, which is more than Mike Kurtyak or any of his poker buddies can afford on their own. So, they had an ingenious idea: Hold a year-long tournament, one event a month, with the winner earning a trip to the main event.

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Ten guys chipped in $100 every time they played. They accumulated points for finishing first, second, third and so on. The guy with the most points at the end got the entire pot of $11,000 -- $10,000 for the entry fee and $1,000 for travel. Mike won it, and now he finds himself in a much different game -- the world's biggest poker tournament.

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Oshkosh man a leader World Series of Poker

Jon Lane, 23 of Oshkosh, has $405,000 worth of chips and before play Wednesday, stood as the chip leader in the 2006 World Series of Poker main event. His mother, Diann Lane of Lake Tomahawk, is hoping for the best and likes her son's chances at big-time payout.

Lane makes a living playing poker on the Internet. And he's pretty well known by screen name "G6Dragon" among those who play on-line. He's shown competitors that he's no slouch on the real-life green felt tables, either. It's Lane's second impressive World Series of Poker performance in two years. Last year, Lane finished in 88th place and took home $91,950. The 2005 tournament field included 5,619 players.

World Series of Poker Breaks Prize Records

With 8,773 competitors this year, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has already broken the record for the greatest number of participants in one live poker event. Now, they are set to break the prize record to, with the eventual winner taking home a massive $12 million. Players who finish as low as 12th will win 1 million. The total prize pool for the event is a colossal $82.5 million.

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'This World Series of Poker stands out as the best in the tournament's illustrious 37-year history,' said World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. 'Never before have so many people from around the world competed for so much prize money and the honor of winning the most coveted prize in all of poker -- the World Series of Poker champion's bracelet.'

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Ferguson put his tournament on the line twice Tuesday at the WSOP

The main event winner from 2000, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson stayed in contention Tuesday after catching miracle cards twice to save him from elimination and doubling him up to around 84,000 in chips.

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Ferguson's pocket kings came from behind to beat two pair, queens and fives, when the board paired. Earlier, he also doubled up to about 40,000 as he paired his ace on a river card to beat a lower pair.

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Hutch resident survives first day of WSOP in Vegas

Hutchinson resident David Zeh survived his first day of the $10,000 main event at the World Series of Poker. At noon Wednesday, Zeh will start Day 2b of the main event, with $12,000 in chips.

He and 2,159 others began play just after noon Sunday with $10,000. At 2:58 a.m. Monday, the day ended with 861 remaining. If Zeh advances past Wednesday, he'll return with about 1,400 others at noon Friday to the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. A total of 8,773 people entered the main event this year, an increase of more than 3,000 over 2005.

Ex Boxing Champ doesn't make it past Day 1

Former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis was spotted at the tables of the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker. Reports are that the former champ had fun but he failed to make it past day one of the WSOP main event.

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This years WSOP has drawn almost 9,000 players and Lewis was considered a long shot to win it all. Lennox Lewis was sent to the rail by Cecilia Mortensen, wife of poker pro Carlos Mortensen, when his Ace-10 was out hooked by Mortensen's Ace-Queen. "In boxing you know what cards are going to be dealt. In this you don't " - Lennox Lewis, describing the difference between poker and pugilism.

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Is poker a sport?

The WSOP is a phenomenon. As on Monday, the final day of the first round of the main event, the estimates were reaching toward 8,600 players, which would push the first place payoff to around $11.8 million. The top 12 finishers stand to win more than $1 million. But is poker a sport? ESPN has spliced the genes of athletic competition and entertainment so much that the confusion is perfectly understandable.

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"The debate over whether poker is a sport is one that people absolutely like to have," said Jamie Horowitz, ESPN's senior producer for this World Series. "Well, there's no doubt it is a competition. And there's no doubt there is a high degree of skill involved." Yet at the WSOP, given the huge number of players of widely varying skill levels playing in such a compressed period of time, the element of luck is even more apparent. Poker is still a card game, and the cards sometimes have minds of their own.

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Defending champ plays aggressively

Defending champion Joseph Hachem of Australia turned the poker table into his bully pulpit Monday, aggressively raising players he considered out of line and increasing his own stack at the main event in the World Series of Poker. Hachem more than doubled his opening stake to 22,000 chips after six hours of play, knocking out an opponent along the way.

The World Series of Poker entered the fourth and final opening-round day Monday as a field of 2,284 sat down to play Texas Hold'em for a top purse that will exceed $11.5 million. The total number of entrants hit about 8,725 — so many that organizers had to create four starting days of about 2,200 players each. It was the last day for alternates to buy in for $10,000 per seat.

Report Suggests the Emergence of Casual Gaming by 2010

A new study by consulting firm MECN into ‘Casual Gaming and Gambling in the Internet’ has delved into some key topics in the industry skill gaming, online bingo, and fantasy sports. The study includes the results of a survey MECN conducted among more than 60 industry experts who offered their unique insights and assessments.

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The report arrives in the wake of the US prohibition bill, backed by Senator Bob Goodlatte. According to the study, experts estimate the current market size for casual gaming and gambling (skill gaming and online bingo) to be about US $500 million with 8 million registered players playing for cash.

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