Is There More to the Online Bot Scandal Than Meets the Eye?

July 23, 2010

On July 20 I wrote about an article at PokerTableRatings.com reporting that PokerStars froze ten player accounts following an internal investigation proving they were bots, not real people.  Over the past few days, I’ve thought about this incident, and it seems to raise more questions in my mind than it answers.  You can read [...]

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Hearing Set for Tomorrow on Frank’s Bill to Repeal UIGEA

July 20, 2010

Congressman Barney Frank’s bill, HR 2267, entitled the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, seeks to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, (UIGEA) and legalize and regulate Internet gambling in the United States.
The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill was heard in the House Financial Services Committee, which Frank chairs, but has been in [...]

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PokerStars Freezes Ten Bots

July 20, 2010

An article on PokerTableRankings.com reports that PokerStars froze ten player accounts following an internal investigation. That showed they were not real players at all, but rather programmed bots.  PokerStars was alerted to this situation by postings on the Two Plus Two forum claiming that the accounts [...]

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World Series of Poker Season Preview Show Tuesday, July 20 on ESPN

July 14, 2010

ESPN will present a one-hour season preview show with a look back at last season and a look ahead to this year’s WSOP, Tuesday, July 20, at 8 p.m. ET.
Like them or not, Lon McEachern and Norm Chad return as co-hosts and McEachern will moderate four different roundtable discussions with the game’s best players, featuring [...]

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Huck Sews the Seeds of Victory at the WSOP’s Tournament of Champions

July 12, 2010

Somewhat lost in the hoopla surrounding the WSOP’s main event is the fact that Huck Seed took home $500,000 when he won this year’s Tournament of Champions last week.  Seed, a four-time bracelet winner, beat Howard Lederer and survived a star-studded field to win the event.
The Tournament of Champions player list was established in part [...]

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2008 WSOP Winner Peter Eastgate Retires From Poker at 24

July 12, 2010

Twenty-four-year-old Peter Eastgate, the Danish poker player who won more than $9 million at the 2008 World Series of Poker’s main event has gone on hiatus more or less permanently from high-stakes poker and says he is unlikely to return unless he needs money.
“I was bored of [...]

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Bill Legalizing Online Poker in California Dead for Now

July 4, 2010

California state senator Rod Wright’s (D-Los Angeles) bill that would have made the state the first to legalize online gambling was pulled by its author in the face of strong opposition.
Wright promised to go back to the drawing board and reintroduce the bill once it is rewritten, but made no promise [...]

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New Law Promises Big Growth for Florida Poker

July 1, 2010

Florida recently expanded its gaming laws to incorporate a revenue-generating deal with the Seminole tribe. While the tribe obtains exclusive rights to run poker, blackjack and other games at seven Florida casinos, the Seminoles are not the only ones who figure to benefit from the new law. Other poker rooms are anticipating a poker boom [...]

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Matt Savage Joins WPT as Tour Director

June 27, 2010

The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced that tournament director Matt Savage will join their team as Executive Tour Director.  “Matt is one of the world’s foremost experts on poker tournaments,” said Steve Heller, World Poker Tour CEO.  “Matt’s expertise and relationships in the poker community will greatly [...]

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Steve Jelinek Denies Hellmuth Bracelet No. 12

June 26, 2010

Phil Hellmuth was a contender in Event 41, the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha/8 event, when he began the final day’s play in fourth place with 15 players remaining.  But he couldn’t gain any traction, found himself short-stacked, and finished in seventh place.
A win would have been his twelfth gold bracelet and his first in an event [...]

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