May

Eighty-one poker players took part in the first charity "Hold' em" tournament to be held under New Brunswick's new gaming laws - including the province's justice minister.

Justice Minister T.J. Burke, an avid poker fan, said New Brunswick's gaming laws have evolved to give charitable groups access to a new source of revenue.

"Today's craze is Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha Hi-Lo... and these are types of tournaments that players are coming out to participate in, so that we help and assist with charitable organizations that need to off-set some of their overhead by generating revenue," he told CTV Atlantic.

Amateur poker players come to the World Series of Poker every year trying to make a name for themselves. They are looking for that one tournament win, so they can prove they belong on the same table as the professionals.

This year, many pros entered the first event of the WSOP, a $10,000 buy in, Pot Limit Hold'em tournament. If the first two days of the tournament are an indication, the amateurs will have their hands full trying to win a bracelet.

Eli Elezra was the chip leader with only seventy players left in the tourney. 352 players entered the tournament. Other pros are also at the top of the leader board.

The 2008 World Series of Poker’s first day of play is in the books and it included a little bit of everything that poker fans have come to expect plus a few new wrinkles.

Before the first of 55 tournaments, the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event, got underway onlookers were treated to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ marching band banging out Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas. That was followed by WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack addressing the crowd with opening remarks and tournament director Jack Effel going over the rules before handing the microphone to Doyle Brunson for the most famous four words in poker.

Betfair Poker just announced the launch of two weeks of great World Series of Poker (WSOP) action, culminating in a $120,000 Super Sunday Qualifier on 15th June in which 6 x $16,000 WSOP packages must be won. The winner of the Super Sunday event will walk away with a unique $40,000 dream package consisting of a $16,000 WSOP Vegas package AND a $24,000 WSOP Europe package, found nowhere else!

Betfair's WSOP fortnight kicks off on Sunday 1st June and they are offering everyone the chance to take part in this Mega Qualifier.

1. Points Mean Seats: Earn 35,000 points* in two weeks for a free entry into the Super Sunday Qualifier

PokerStars, the worlds largest online poker site, have announced two different ways in which some of their thousands of members can do their bit to help the survivors of the devastating earthquake that recently ripped through China.

Members can register for one of six ‘tournaments’ with a buy-in ranging from $10 to $100 – this is not actually a tournament but an outright donation. Another way in which members of the site can donate is by sending funds to a donation account set up by PokerStars’ staff. In addition, PokerStars will match your donation dollar for dollar.

This means that every donation from $10 to $100 made by thousands of people will be doubled by the generous poker room before it is donated to the Red Cross to help people in China.

The state would tax the growing charitable poker industry under a tentative deal cut by Senate and House negotiators yesterday. The deal also doubled the size of the maximum bet at such games, from $2 to $4.

The so-called poker tax, of 10 percent per chip, is expected to bring the state $2 million a year, according to state estimates. The proposed bill also steps up enforcement, providing for three new auditors and one supervisor at the Pari-Mutuel Commission to oversee the growing poker rooms, where a cut of every pot goes to charity.

Gov. John Lynch has thrown his support behind the tax as one step toward closing the expected $200 million budget deficit.

You don't want to miss the first week of the 2008 World Series of Poker. Although some of the biggest stories of the 2008 won't materialize until later in the series, those epic stories often take root during the first couple of days at the Rio. Don't wait until the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event to roll around to start following the action in the most prestigious poker tournament in the world, because you're guaranteed to miss out on the little fires that have the potential to ignite into raging infernos.

With the start of the 2008 World Series of Poker now only hours away Harrah’s has announced another major sponsor from within the poker community. CardRunners.com, one of the top poker educational websites, has signed on to become the official sponsor of the satellite room, which this year will be just outside the Amazon Room at the Rio.

PurePlay, the largest U.S. compliant play-for-cash online poker site, announced today that it will be extending its 2008 World Series of Poker* seat giveaway through the month of June, with hundreds of World Series qualifiers running every day. PurePlay, the U.S. market leader, will be giving away the largest number of Main Event seats among all U.S. based poker sites.

More good news for poker players with a novel section dedicated to tips on the game courtesy of Duplicate Poker

Duplicate Poker (duplicatepoker.com) is the new picture of online poker gaming with a friendly face that is rapidly gaining the attention of people all over the world.

Duplicate Poker which was recently launched in the last quarter of 2007 was created with an intelligent edge with an innovative touch that makes this type of poker game the only legal one online. 

Since then, the creativity attached to this particular type of poker game has drawn a lot of people to Duplicate Poker in a way no-one ever thought; seeing that it brings out the best in the game. 

Poker is growing in popularity. The bigger it gets, combined with its growth within an area, dictate how much casinos will be able to charge for high end tournaments. In Florida, the casino gambling expansion has brought out some of the biggest gamblers.

This weekend, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, will be holding the biggest poker tournament ever in the state of Florida. The event is a $3,000 buy-in Texas Hold'em tourney.

First prize for the tournament could top the $125,000 mark. That will depend on the amount of interest the tournament sparks. The payouts will be based on the amount of entries.

The monsters of the World Series of Poker are again about to stalk the halls of the Rio and although that roster is now full of players who have repeatedly proved themselves by performing well over the last several years, there are a few players that have made the WSOP’s field their whipping boy since 2004 in such a vicious way.

With the excitement around the upcoming 2008 Euro Cup reaching its peak, RedKings Poker has decided to offer a poker version of the epic football tournament.

The EuroKings 2008 Football League of Poker (EFLOP) will give football fans, or if you prefer soccer fans, the chance to display their own skills at the poker table in a format akin to the Euro Cup in Austria-Switzerland.

Sky Poker have announced two new shows to appear alongside their already fantastic schedule. Tonight sees the debut of STACKED UP, a show specalising in the art of cash game play. This weekly show will see teams of three players complete in online cash games, the teams will be made up of expert poker players, Sky Poker presenters and novice players. The winning team is the one that sees their bankroll increase by a larger percentage than the other teams, so whether they are at micro stakes or nosebleed, anyone can win.

Bodog have announced a cheaper option for those not jetting off to Vegas next month for the World Series of Poker – a series of online tournaments replicating the 25 Hold‘em events of the festival for a fraction of the price.

At the culmination of the series’ 25 tournaments, a final tournament will be hosted on July 10 awarding three seats to the 2009 WSOP Main Event. This makes Bodog the first site to offer seats to next year’s tournament.

The event will run from May 30, starting off on the same day as the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold‘em event with a $100+$9 PLHE tournament.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) announced that it has teamed up with professional poker superstar Daniel Negreanu to offer a weekly poker instruction email to members who opt-in to the service, as the million plus member PPA organization continues to add value to its membership.

$1 million donated to child leukemia and environmental charities
 
Don Cheadle and Annie Duke are not the only stars to turn out for charity poker, judging by reports from InStyle and other celebrity publications recently. 
 
Cannes was the venue for a charity event arranged by the Partouche group's Palm Beach Casino which featured Hollywood luminaries such as Goldie Hawn, Salma Hayek, Tim Robbins, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Hopper, Edward Norton and Adrien Brody, along with French actress Alice Taglioni.
 

888.com's Pacific Poker releases a new and enhanced version of its poker software, offering many more features, options and 3D graphics.

The InterChurch Gambling Task Force called for the number of poker machines in Victoria to be halved.

The call is being made at the start of Responsible Gambling Awareness Week.

The Government has launched an education campaign, urging people to become informed gamblers and know the risks.

An increasing number of internet poker players are seeking debt counselling. Helsinki's Debt Counselling Office says the number of heavily indebted online poker players it's assisted has doubled this year.

By the end of the year, the organisation says it expects to help some 150 people. Throughout the country, hundreds of online poker players have sought professional help.

"In the past, we assisted online poker players a few times a year, or a few times a month. But now we help online poker players daily," says Marianne Rikama, the head of Helsinki's Debt Counselling Office.

The Mardi Gras is one of many poker rooms located at dog tracks in Florida. It has the distinction of being, in my opinion, the cleanest, neatest, and best illuminated of the rooms. Everything including the cards, the poker felt, the tables, chairs, floors and walls are spic and span. If that matters to you, then this is the place for you.

The 30-table room appeals primarily to that special brand of poker player who especially likes an orderly and well-run game. (I tend to prefer my games a bit wild and tumultuous.) No one gets out of line here. Some players actually seemed to have gotten dressed up to play.

We all know Ben Affleck , the attractive Hollywood Movie Star, as the dashing and handsome pilot in the “Pearl Harbor”, and also for his role in the “Armageddon”. Looks, fame and fortune - he has it all - not discounting all the female admiration. Bet on Poker like the pros at internet poker room at Ultimatebet.com.

To celebrate the biggest poker tournament in the world, Bodog is launching a new online poker tournament series this summer that will mirror all 25 Holdem events of the 2008 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas at just a fraction of the buy-in.

The Bodog Poker Mini-SOP will run from May 30-July 3 with each tournament held on the same date as its counterpart in Las Vegas but with buy-ins equal to just 1 percent of the actual buy-in of the WSOP Event. After the completion of the series' 25 events, Bodog will host a final tournament on July 10 that will award three seats to the 2009 WSOP Main Event, making Bodog the first online poker site to give away seats to next summer's Main Event.

More than 70 riders, most on motorcycles but half a dozen in four-wheeled vehicles, took a 100-mile cruise through rural Autauga County last Saturday. And while the journey helped raise awareness of the county's aesthetic charm, it also helped raise money to fund numerous American Legion charities.

The Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track will hold a special poker tournament beginning at noon today, Saturday, with the top four finalists earning a seat at the World Series of Poker on July 3 in Las Vegas.

The track's poker room held a similar tournament on May 10 and four Southwest Florida residents have already secured their seats at the World Series of Poker and a chance at winning millions.

"We're going to do it a little bit different this time," said Cindy Fra, the track's card room manager. "We're not going to limit it to 100 players this time."

The cost to compete in the tournament is $550 with $500 of it going toward the prize pool, Fra said.

Almost halfway through the year, the cheating accusations involving online poker site UltimateBet.com (see previous Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa reports) have still to be brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and this week simmering player anger was again evident on leading Internet message boards such as 2+2 and Casinomeister.
 
The incident has worrying similarities with a major cheating scandal at sister online poker room Absolute Poker last year, which culminated in the venue receiving a half million dollar fine from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, but little public indication that the perpetrators of the scam had been criminally pursued.
 

  Just ahead of this year's World Series of Poker, poker player and historian Des Wilson provides an entertaining, insightful look into many of poker's most enduring characters and tales in Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Roadside Hucksters, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today.

Annual Everest Poker/JupiterResearch survey identifies a substantial age demographic shift for online poker players, aged 18-24, in more than 15 European markets. More women are stacking poker chips too, the survey said.

London -- Everest Poker (everestpoker.net), together with marketing survey firm JupiterResearch, have discovered that for younger players, poker is more popular than ever before.

The results were especially true for Germany, Sweden, Poland and Hungary, which all saw the ranks of younger online poker players increase substantially over the past year.