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02 28th, 2010
The NAPT held its first exclusive event at the Venetian and more than 800 players paid the $5,000 buy-in.
Meanwhile the stars were indeed shining bright at the WPT Invitational with Tia Carrera, Trishelle Cannatella, and Marlon Wayans coming out to play.
With all the excitement over the competing poker tours there were several poker stories that were almost forgotten.
Fortunately as part of our ongoing Poker News in Brief we’ve compiled a list of the lesser-known stories below.
This week we’ll take a look at PartyPoker running an endurance promo, new schedules for two PokerStars tournaments, a training seminar by Mike “The Mouth” Matusow and more.
Class in Session for Mike “The Mouth” Matusow
When The Mouth talks you’d better listen.
That’s what organizers are hoping participants will take out of the upcoming Mike “The Mouth” Matusow poker training session in California.
Matusow, who is the dean of DeepStacks University, will teach a special five-hour session that covers winning strategies for tournament and cash game poker in addition to giving one-on-one poker analysis at the tables.
The training session will cost $495 to attend and every contestant will receive a copy of the Team Full Tilt Pro’s new book Check Raising the Devil.
The event will take place March 12 at the Palo Casino Spa and Resort.
Big Names Headline The Poker Show Live
One of the poker’s most popular radio shows is returning with Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Galfond, Tony G, David Benyamine and Luke “FullFlush” Schwartz all coming along for the ride.
The Poker Show Live, sponsored by Boylepoker, will feature all the aforementioned poker players in new episodes for the show’s third season beginning March 2.
Hosted by Jesse May, The Poker Show Live has interviewed almost every well-known poker player over the span of its first two seasons.
Tom Dwan, Vicky Coren, Andrew Feldman, Huck Seed, Neil Channing, Erik Seidel have all taken their turn on The Poker Show Live microphone.
The show is available on ThePokerShowLive.com, BoylePoker.com and iTunes.
Ontario Considers Online Gaming
The Canadian province of Ontario is taking a serious look at running its own official online gambling service that could potentially include poker.
Ontario Lottery and Gambling chairman Paul Godfrey and Premier Dalton McGuinty want the province to provide Internet gambling instead of letting potential revenue go to offshore gambling sites.
In Canada, British Columbia and Atlantic Lottery Corporations already officially allow online gambling. The BC Lottery Corporation offers a limited poker game called Pacific Hold’em Poker, which is played against the house.
Loto-Quebec’s poker site is set to launch this fall and analysts are estimating it could potentially net $50 million in revenue for the government over the next three years.
Gladiator Promo Returns to PartyPoker
One of the most popular promotions on PartyPoker is returning this March.
The Gladiator promo rewards players who generate at least 10 PartyPoints every day for a minimum of five days. There are potentially bigger rewards available for players who earn up to 2,000 PartyPoints.
“The Gladiator is back and the rewards are greater than ever before,” said a PartyPoker spokesman.
“This promotion is about spreading play over a period of time for maximus rewards! It is simple and offers great value and we encourage players to challenge themselves and take a closer look.”
If a player manages to earn 2,000 PartyPoints a day from March 3 to April 1 they will instantly earn a $12,500 package to the 2010 WSOP Main Event.
To learn more about The Gladiator check the PartyPoker
PokerStars Releases SCOOP, NAPT Mohegan Sun Schedules
PokerStars announced the dates for one of its biggest online series and its burgeoning North American tour this week.
The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker will take place over 14 days from May 3-16 with 33 events. Like last year, each event will have a low, medium and high buy-in variant.
The series will culminate with the Main Event on May 16, with guarantees of $1 million, $3 million and $5 million for each buy-in level.
Meanwhile the PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour’s next stop, at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, will take place April 7-11. The main event carries a $5,000 buy-in and there will be a $10k High Roller Bounty Shootout.
To see the complete schedules for the upcoming SCOOP or NAPT check the PokerStars .
Versus Picks Up Season 2 of Poker2Nite
Poker news show Poker2Nite is returning for another season, but leaving Fox Sports Net behind for Versus.
Poker2Nite follows an informal news format with UB Poker pro Joe Sebok and poker personality Scott Huff acting as hosts. Dana Workman also produces the satirical Weekly Misdeal for the program.
All 13 episodes of the first season were shown on Fox Sports Net. The second season will kick off this Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET on Versus, which was formerly OLN.
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Should it become law, the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010, introduced to Congress by Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Senator Judd Gregg Tuesday, will regulate Internet gambling and charge Internet gaming operators a licensing fee of 2% on all deposits monthly.
“Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict Federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the States and Indian tribes,” the proposed legislation reads.
Many of the provisions in the act regarding Internet gambling are similar to those included in legislation introduced last year by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.
Senator Wyden also introduced an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee to use Internet gambling revenue to offset the costs of health care reform last year.
However, he later pulled the amendment to focus on the health care aspect of the bill.
Internet gaming lobbyists from the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative are applauding Wyden and Gregg’s latest bill.
“With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on Internet gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers and generate billions in new revenue,” said spokesperson Michael Waxman.
A Joint Committee on Taxation analysis found that regulating Internet gambling would generate nearly $42 billion over 10 years.
The next step for this latest bill is to be debated in a Senate committee.
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On Tuesday, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced S 3018, the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act. Among other topics, the bill establishes a framework to tax and regulate internet gambling in the United States.
One of the first entities to report that major legislation had emerged in the Senate was the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. The organization’s spokesman, Michael Waxman, commented in a press release, “With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on internet gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers, and generate billions in new revenue. We applaud Senators Wyden and Gregg for taking the initiative to address and drive this issue.”
The bill is focused primarily on mainstream tax breaks, including eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax and reducing the number of individual income tax brackets from six to three: 15%, 25%, and 35%. Under the bill, the standard tax deduction would triple. Text found on Gregg’s Senate website notes, “These simplifications alone will make it possible for most taxpayers to file a simple one-page 1040 form and in an effort to make paying taxes even simpler, individuals and families can request that the IRS prepare a tax return for them to review and sign.”
Other provisions of the bill include allowing a large percentage of small businesses to allocate capital and inventory expenses to a single accounting year. In addition, a tax rate of 24% would be imposed on all businesses as opposed to the current tiered system. According to the Senator’s website, corporate tax rates would tumble by about 30% as a result, putting American companies at a competitive advantage over their overseas counterparts.
Subtitle C of S 3018 focuses on internet gambling and borrows language from Congressman Barney Frank’s HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. The measure, which boasts 65 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle, was discussed in the House Financial Services Committee in December. Additionally, S 3018 incorporates Congressman Jim McDermott’s HR 2268, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act. HR 2268 boasts five co-sponsors and taxes licensed internet gambling outfits at a rate of 2% of deposits. S 3018 adopts the same rate.
In August, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S 1597, which up until today had been the central rallying point for the online poker industry in the Senate. The bill, dubbed the Internet Poker and Game of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, specifically calls out online poker as a legal activity. Menendez’s bill had yet to procure any co-sponsors in the Senate and was not discussed in committee.
In October, the Joint Committee on Taxation revealed that over $40 billion could be raised from taxing and regulating the internet gambling industry over a 10-year period. Previous estimates from third-party companies like PriceWaterhouseCoopers had pinned the number above $50 billion. The move to license internet gambling in S 3018 may be meant to offset the downturn in government revenue associated with the other provisions of the bill.
Wyden had previously introduced an amendment calling for revenue derived from internet gambling to be used to fund a sweeping health care reform. Ultimately, the Senator withdrew his proposal and the health care initiative failed to materialize. At the time, the reform had a price tag of nearly $1 trillion. Wyden and Gregg’s S 3018 mirrors the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which was passed during the Reagan Administration. The duo expects to reach “most families” with under $200,000 in annual household income.
John Pappas, Executive Director of the (PPA), told Poker News Daily that while the organization was still digesting the tax implications of S 3018, seeing internet gambling addressed was refreshing: “We’re pleased with it. The prospects of this legislation are unclear. This is a sign of things to come, perhaps seeing internet gambling being added as pay-for in other bills.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from Capitol Hill.
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02 13th, 2010
Recently, casino megalith Harrah’s received the green light from the Nevada Gaming Control Board to acquire the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The move would boost the number of Harrah’s Las Vegas Strip area properties to nine.
In addition to its flagship property, Harrah’s already owns Caesars Palace, Paris, Flamingo, Imperial Palace, Bally’s, Bill’s Gambling Hall, and the Rio, home of the annual (). Planet Hollywood towers high above the Las Vegas Strip and was formerly dubbed the Aladdin. For poker players, Planet Hollywood offers a 15-table room with cash games that include $2/$4, $4/$8, and $5/$10 Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Pineapple. The poker mill also offers four daily tournaments with buy-ins ranging between $50 and $70. The poker room is located on the main level next to the Miracle Mile mall entrance.
Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander commented in the , “The existing Planet Hollywood was headed for some type of restructuring, perhaps a bankruptcy. We have some 40 properties that are in our bankruptcy group right now. This will offer a smooth transition for employees that are there and operating the business.” Next Thursday, February 18th, the Nevada Gaming Commission will formally approve or deny the Planet Hollywood sale to Harrah’s. If the Commission returns a positive result, ownership could change hands the next day.
According to the Review-Journal, Harrah’s acquired $306 million of Planet Hollywood’s debt for $70 million. In exchange, Planet Hollywood forked over 100% ownership of the Las Vegas Strip casino. The new ownership group will pump $30 million in working capital into the property and the news outlet expects that a $554 million mortgage loan “will remain leveraged against Planet Hollywood Resort after the deal is completed.” Planet Hollywood employs about 2,300 people, a staff that will allegedly be shaved by less than 5% as a result of the acquisition.
On January 16th, Harrah’s assumed the food and beverage operations of Planet Hollywood. Now, Harrah’s will be able to take the Planet Hollywood name and license it to other casinos around the world. Planet Hollywood - the restaurant - was formerly located in a multitude of cities across the United States including Atlanta, Nashville, and Reno. However, a series of bankruptcies and stiff competition led to only a handful of locations remaining in operation, including Honolulu, Myrtle Beach, New York City, and Las Vegas. Planet Hollywood also operates dining establishments in Cancun, Dubai, Jakarta, and Riyadh.
Harrah’s Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Halkyard told the Review-Journal, “We began to [buy the debt] because we felt Planet Hollywood would be a very complementary addition to our portfolio in Las Vegas.” In 2004, Harrah’s purchased the rights to the WSOP, ultimately moving the annual tournament series from the Horseshoe in Downtown Las Vegas to the Rio, just off the Strip. In 2005, the final days of the Main Event were held at the Horseshoe before the annual spectacle played out entirely at the Rio in 2006.
The WSOP Circuit brings the action of a major series to Harrah’s properties around the United States, including Harrah’s Tunica, Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, and Caesars Atlantic City.
Opening across the street from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas in recent months was CityCenter, which consists of the Aria Casino, Mandalay Oriental, Veer Towers, and Crystals. The latter features upscale restaurants such as Eva Longoria Parker’s Beso, Mastro’s Ocean Club, and Brasserie Puck. Its posh retailers include Tiffany and Company, Prada, and Porsche. A walkway connecting this bustling area to Planet Hollywood may be extended, according to the Review-Journal, which would allow the fledgling casino to capitalize on foot traffic across the street.
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02 13th, 2010
defeated defending champion in heads-up play to win the opening heat of the .com Premier League IV Friday evening. Laak earned 16 league points as he trounced a strong field that included Tran, , Ian Frazer, Roland De Wolfe, Luke “Full_Flush” Schwartz, , and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko.
Laak, who won the PartyPoker.com World Open in October, continued his torrid run Friday, admittedly getting a lot of help from the deck during the first heat. He first got the best of Negreanu, who held 6-5 on a 10-6-5 board, but was drawing virtually dead against Laak’s set of sixes. Negreanu was eliminated in eighth place, failing to collect a point in the first heat.
Laak made Frazer his next victim shortly after Negreanu’s exit. Laak raised pre-flop with pocket eights and Frazer re-raised to 51,000 with pocket kings. Laak pushed all-in and Frazer put his remaining 295,000 into the middle, only to watch Laak flop a set of eights to send Frazer out in the seventh spot, picking up two league points.
After Timoshenko eliminated De Wolfe in sixth place with pocket aces, Laak took a hefty portion of chips from Schwartz. The two saw a flop of K-K-7, Schwartz holding pocket queens and Laak with K-7 for a flopped full house. Schwartz bet 40,000 on the flop and Laak called. Both players checked the eight on the turn and Schwartz led out for 130,000 when the deuce of hearts came on the river. Laak moved all-in and a disgusted Schwartz tossed his hand into the muck. Schwartz was later eliminated in fifth place when his K-10 couldn’t improve against Tran’s pocket queens. He earned four league points.
Vanessa Rousso was the next victim of the scorching Phil Laak. With the blinds at 15/30K, Laak raised the button with K-6 and Rousso moved all-in for 220k with pocket fives. Laak called and made a pair of Kings on the flop to send Vanessa out in fourth place with six points.
With three players left and sitting on most of the chips in play, Laak again handled the dirty work. At the 20,000/40,000 level, Timoshenko moved all-in for 375,000 from the small blind with Q-3 and Laak called instantly with K-10. Laak flopped a pair of Kings and made trips on the turn to take a big chip lead into the heads-up encounter with Tran (1.8 million to 520,000).
On the final hand, Tran raised with A-5, Laak re-raised all-in with K-7, and Tran called. Laak spiked a seven on the flop and avoided an ace on the turn and river to clinch the first heat.
“That was so surreal. I felt like I was floating out there, it’s an awesome start to the tournament,” said Laak, who collected $32,000 for the victory. “J.C. is a genius at the poker table and was one of the players I was most wary of, along with Daniel Negreanu, who will love this points system with his math brain.”
The second heat takes place on Saturday at 12:00pm PT at the M Resort in Las Vegas. Laak, along with Tran, Timoshenko, and De Wolfe, will return, while , , Tony G, and online qualifier Giovanni Safina will make their first PartyPoker Premier League IV appearance.
Heat 1 Results:
1. Phil Laak — 16 points
2. J.C. Tran — 11 points
3. — 8 points
4. Vanessa Rousso — 6 points
5. Luke Schwartz — 4 points
6. Roland De Wolfe — 3 points
7. Ian Frazer — 2 points
8. Daniel Negreanu — 0 points
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02 10th, 2010
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act officially comes into play on June 1. This means that, in addition to Mastercard recently blocking online gaming transactions from US players, banking giants Visa have joined them.
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For those of us not lucky enough to wear a sponsorship patch (and let’s face it that’s pretty much all of us) finding the buy-in for the WSOP Main Event can be a tricky business. Jason Mershon has come up with an intriguing way to avoid the satellite circus and get the $10,000.
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02 9th, 2010
The Super Bowl is the largest gambling event in the US calendar. In 2006, $94,500,000 was wagered. Think about that, then look at the headline of this article. Phil Ivey is a significant percentage of the gambling of the United States of America. How insane is that?
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02 9th, 2010
You know those guys who win a major tournament then disappear out of the poker world? Cough, Jerry Yang, cough. Alexander Kostritsyn is not one of them.
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01 26th, 2010
I made a pretty big laydown recently and was probably as proud of it as I was of any big pot I’ve won recently. Long ago, David Sklansky reminded us that a bet you don’t lose spends just as well as a bet you win.
This happened in a regular home game of mine; my knowledge of the players certainly helped my decision and emphasized the importance of paying attention to your opponents and learning their habits.
We were playing $1-$1 No Limit Hold’em, but that doesn’t really tell the story. As will happen in games without a buy-in cap, we had all ended up with stacks much bigger than the $100-ish that’s typical in online games with those blinds. I had over $400 and the stacks around me were of similar size or bigger.
Rory limped in for $1. Rory likes to play pots and could have just about anything. In middle position, Ben raised to $6, a fairly standard raise in this game. I looked down at J-T suited. Ben doesn’t usually open very light and big pairs made up a meaningful percentage of his pre-flop raising range. Those were exactly the hands that I was hoping to beat if I could hit a flop; I didn’t want a 4bet from Ben shutting me out of the pot early. I flat called.
Now, Steve called behind me. That made me upset. I should have looked left and thought about him. Steve likes to gamble, but he’s nobody’s fish and tends to do his gambling with position. I was stuck between Ben’s raise and Steve’s call behind me. I wished I had 3bet Ben and gotten the button; Steve would have folded anything but a premium hand to my re-raise. Now I’d made my bed and would have to lie in it.
My bed started to look like a feather mattress with silk sheets when the flop came down T-T-2 with two spades. My cards were red, but what did I care? I had just out-flopped all three of them (Rory had called the raise, saying something about pot odds). In particular, I thought I could stack Ben and his pocket queens or whatever big hand he had. Rory checked (as expected), but then Ben checked. Ruh-roh. If he had something like A-K, he wasn’t going to plow forward on a flop like that against three opponents. On the other hand, it would be very much in Steve’s idiom to pick up the $25 in the pot with a button bet and at least I could trap Steve for the probe bet he tossed out. I checked.
As he was supposed to, Steve bet $20. Then things really looked up. Rory called the $20. Rory probably suspected Steve of the same thing I did and was hoping he could get Steve to slow down. Rory would make that play with as little as A-2 for bottom pair. I mentally locked and loaded a check-raise to about $75. That would blow them off whatever they had and I’d… “I’m all in.”
What?
Ben had paused briefly and then announced he was all-in for about $250. Suddenly, my world made far less sense. Ben is a thinking, competent player. He knows that Steve, Rory, and I are thinking competent players.
“Sorry, guys. This is going to take me a minute.” For years, when you needed an extra thought to make my playing decision, you simply said, “Time.” That would freeze the action for the extra handful of seconds and then you could act. However, in this world of televised poker tournaments, people confuse that announcement with somebody “calling the clock” on another player. “Are you calling the clock on yourself?” I’ve been asked. So, I’ve become more specific in my requests.
Ben would not play a big pair that way. If he had queens, he’d fire right into that pot and plan (hope) to take it down on the flop. Check-raising like that would only play right into the hands of somebody holding a ten. Either Steve or I could hold a ten and all of us knew it.
As I was pondering the situation, I experienced one of those exquisite moments of synchronicity that make you wonder about life. The Talking Heads were on the stereo and I found myself singing out loud along with David Byrne, “And you may say to yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’” Everybody chuckled and I relaxed. I couldn’t put Ben on a big pair no matter how hard I tried. He wasn’t making some Nth level sophisticated play against the entire field. He had the case ten and it was bigger than mine; he didn’t raise with T-9.
“I fold.”
Now it was Steve’s turn to tank. He didn’t take as long as I did, but he was obviously struggling. Odd – I thought that he was on a stone-cold steal. He folded relatively soon and it was on Rory. Even Rory had to have a think. Finally, he showed Ben a flush draw, threw it in, and said, “I don’t want to gamble.” “You’ve got a big ten,” I told Ben. “Close,” he replied, turning up pocket deuces; he’d flopped the full house. “Wow, I had jack-ten. I had four outs.” “No,” said Steve, “One out – just like me. I had pocket jacks.” Ben stared at us. “You folded jacks and you folded jack-ten?” We nodded.
You could see the wheels turning in Ben’s head. “What if I’d flatted Steve’s bet?” I laughed – “Oh, I check-raise to $75. Steve calls because he thinks I think he’s stealing. Rory calls for pot odds. You shove and who knows what happens at that point, but if we call, you have to fade two whole outs. You probably win a $500 or $600 pot.” Ben shook his head saying, “I guess I pulled the trigger too soon.”
I honestly don’t know if I could have made that laydown in the heat of a 15-second online decision. Fortunately for me, it happened where I had the time and the graciousness of my fellow players to let me work through the possibilities and make the right decision… instead of burning down the house.
Lee Jones is the Card Room Manager of and has been in the online poker business for over six years. He is also the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which is in its 15th year of publication.
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