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Archive for July, 2011
Friday, July 29th, 2011
Following a day that saw the Aldernay Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) take as many lumps as Full Tilt Poker in the social media, the AGCC released a short statement on their website in an attempt to explain their decision to grant Full Tilt Poker until September 15 to get their house in order.
Here is the entire statement that can be found on the AGCC website:
At a hearing yesterday the Commissioners of Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC), acting as a tribunal, decided that the application for an adjournment of the hearing into the future of the licences issued to Full Tilt Poker (FTP) be conducted in camera. Following the hearing of this application, the Commissioners decided to adjourn the substantive hearing of the allegations against FTP. As part of their ruling the Commissioners emphasised that the substantive hearing into the future of these licences still needs to take place.
As a result of the arguments on behalf of FTP during the pre-hearing application the Commissioners decided to adjourn the hearing as they felt it was in the best interests of FTP’s customers. A key consideration in their decision was to allow FTP licensees ‘to further pursue advanced commercial negotiations which could lead to a more beneficial outcome for player interests’.
The Commissioners adjourned the substantive hearing to commence as soon as possible and in any event not later than 15th September. Further details regarding the exact date and venue of the substantive hearing will be announced as soon as practical.
Basically, the AGCC is saying that Full Tilt Poker did provide enough evidence to persuade the AGCC that there were in fact legitimate investors lined up that could infuse enough money into the beleaguered site to repay their debts –which as we learned yesterday includes a £250,000 licensing fee owed to the AGCC.
While the outcome of the hearing was not what the poker community wanted to hear, the fact that the AGCC granted Full Tilt the postponement is a good sign, considering there is no logical reason for Full Tilt Poker to stall –since they have ZERO revenue coming in—or for the AGCC to allow Full Tilt to continue a charade.
Tags: Acting, Adjournment, Agcc, Allegations, Attempt, Commercial Negotiations, Debts, Enough Money, Full Tilt Poker, Gambling Control, Investors, Lead, Licensees, Licensing Fee, Lumps, Tribunal, Venue
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011
On the bright side, yesterday’s decision by the Aldernay Gambling Control Commission to adjourn the hearing regarding Full Tilt Poker’s gaming license likely means there is a serious investor looking to purchase a portion, or all of, the Full Tilt Poker company and its assets. The bad news is that once again it’s the players who are left out in the cold, and unlikely to see any of their funds returned before a sale is finalized, if at all.
The entire meeting –slated as a public hearing—was held behind closed doors after Full Tilt Poker attorney Martin Heslop requesting a motion to speak in private about a motion to adjourn the hearing! The mood of the assembled crowd was summed up best by poker player Harry Demetriou who yelled out, “What about the interests of the players? Why you are protecting this corrupt company?” when the AGCC panel announced the meeting would take place in private.
When the sides returned later in the day it was announced that the hearing would be adjourned until September 15th, 2011 –at the latest.
However, before the meeting went behind closed doors, we did discover that the AGCC suspended Full Tilt Poker’s license in part because they had failed to pay a £250,000 licensing fee, and not simply because of the site’s failure to repay US players after Black Friday.
It would seem that we are once again pinning our hopes on an anonymous group of investors to bail the struggling poker site out, but many poker players are wondering if time has already run out?
Tags: Agcc, Anonymous Group, Assets, Bad News, Black Friday, Closed Doors, Corrupt Company, Crowd, Failure, Full Tilt Poker, Gambling Control, Gaming License, Harry Demetriou, Investor, Investors, Licensing Fee, Poker Player, Poker Players, Public Hearing, Suspended License
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Monday, July 25th, 2011
With the 2011 World Series of Poker on hiatus until early November, the eyes and ears of the poker world will be firmly affixed on the public hearing slated for Tuesday July 26, 2011 where Full Tilt Poker and the Aldernay Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) will state their cases during a public hearing at the Plaza Victoria Hotel in London, England.
The former #2 online poker site in the world, Full Tilt Poker has been taking on water since Black Friday, and after a number of “stalling” tactics the fact that they had failed to repay their US customers months after Black Friday led to the AGCC determining that they needed to step in and pull Full Tilt Poker’s operating license –effectively shutting the site down across the globe.
With Full Tilt Poker going dark on June 29th, 2011, the site has had zero revenue coming in over the past month, and even with a potential sale in the offing, the hearing will likely determine the fate of the site. Representatives from Full Tilt Poker, as well as the potential European investors are expected to be on hand, and explain their side of the story.
Even if Full Tilt Poker’s license is restored, many industry insiders feel the damage done to the brand may be too much to overcome, and the survivability of the site may lay in how well they can rename and rebrand themselves.
Stay tuned on Tuesday as news breaks from the hearing.
Tags: Agcc, Black Friday, Early November, European Investors, Eyes And Ears, Full Tilt Poker, Gambling Control, Hiatus, Hinges, Hotel In London, Hotel In London England, Industry Insiders, online poker, Poker World, Public Hearing, Survivability, Taking On Water, Victoria Hotel, World Series, World Series Of Poker
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Friday, July 22nd, 2011
With the addition of the Global Poker Index tournament rankings we now have three separate groups tracking live tournament results and ranking the top players in poker. Amazingly, the leader in each list is different, which just goes to show you that in poker… everything is open for discussion!
So here is a look at the current poker rankings and POY races according to the three major outlets.
Card Player magazine Player of the Year race:
- Sam Stein — 4,334 points
- Galen Hall — 4,284 points
- Maxim Lykov — 3,876 points
- Chris Moorman — 3,875 points
- Ben Lamb — 3,636 points
- Taylor von Kriegenbergh — 3,560 points
- Anton Ionel — 3,500 points
- Vivek Rajkumar — 3,416 points
- Allen Bari — 3,352 points
- Max Heinzelmann — 3,200 points
BLUFF Magazine Player of the Year race:
- Eugene Katchalov — 924.38 points
- Bertrand Grospellier — 876.25 points
- Maxim Lykov — 820.56 points
- Marvin Rettenmaier — 777.22 points
- Samuel Stein — 775.25 points
- Galen Hall — 762.45 points
- Erik Seidel — 761.51 points
- Ali (Shahryar) Eslami — 758.39 points
- Jason Mercier — 757.43 points
- Phil Hellmuth — 681.25 points
Global Poker Index current rankings:
- Bertrand Grospellier — 2446.83 points
- Jason Mercier — 2434.30 points
- Eugene Katchalov — 2248.83 points
- Erik Seidel — 2197.38 points
- Samuel Stein — 2168.85 points
- Sorel Mizzi — 2135.88 points
- Fabrice Soulier — 2133.87 points
- David Baker — 2027.32 points
- John Juanda — 2013.63 points
- Vanessa Selbst — 2011.05 points
Tags: Bertrand Grospellier, Bluff Magazine, Card Player Magazine, Chris Moorman, Current Rankings, David Baker, Erik Seidel, Eslami, Galen Hall, Ionel, John Juanda, Maxim, Mercier, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Rankings, Race Updates, Rajkumar, Rettenmaier, Shahryar, Vanessa Selbst
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Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
In a very bold statement/prediction during one of his stints in the commentator’s booth for the World Series of Poker Main Event live stream on ESPN 3, 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth stated that he thinks online poker will be legalized in the United States this year, and went on to claim that once it is you can expect to see upwards of 15,000 entrants in the WSOP Main Event!
I’m not sure what Hellmuth is basing this on –especially the “this year” part considering how slow Congress moves on crucial issues, let alone something as innocuous as online poker—but I rarely see or hear Hellmuth making outlandish predictions: Name dropping yes, predictions no!
Hellmuth did bring up a good point in saying that once online poker was legalized in Italy, PokerStars.it immediately became the fourth largest online poker site in the world, and was bumped to #5 when France legalized online poker and PokerStars.fr claimed the #4 spot. So, Hellmuth’s claims of a second, even larger, Poker Boom are probably not that far off considering the US market is vastly larger than either France or Italy, and the US has a much deeper tradition when it comes to poker.
We’ll have to wait and see when it comes to the legislation, but if that day ever does come to light… Watch out! Can you even imagine 15,000 players in the WSOP Main Event? The total prize-pool would be $150,000,000, putting the top-prize in the $15 million – $20 million range!
Tags: Bold Statement, Boom, Commentator, Congress Moves, Espn, Fr, legislation, Live Stream, online poker, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Live, Poker Main Event, Prize Pool, Series Of Poker, Stints, United States, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, Wsop Main Event
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Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
Reminiscent of Greg Raymer’s improbable run where after winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event he finished in 25th place in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, or even Dan Harrington’s back-to-back final tables in 2003 and 2004, Joseph Cheong has followed up his 3rd place finish in 2010 with a 114th place finish in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.
While on the surface Cheong’s 114th place finish seems far less impressive, when you take into account the size of the fields Cheong navigated through in 2010 and 2011, compared to Raymer’s 2004 and 2005 runs, and Harrington’s 2003 and 2004 runs, it becomes clear that a case could be made for Cheong having the best two-year run in the Main Event of the three!
- Raymer bested a field of 2,576 in 2004, and followed that up with a 25th out of 5,619. Total prize-money won $5,304,680.
- Harrington finished 3rd in 2003 out of 839 total participants, followed by a 4th place finish out of 2,576 players in 2004. Total prize-money won $2,150,000.
- Cheong finished 3rd out of a total of 7,319 entrants –the second most all-time—in 2010, and then 114th out of 6,856 entrants –the third most all-time—in 2011. Total prize-money won $4,184,900.
Precisely whose performance is more impressive can be debated ad nauseam, but all three players have to be considered in the conversation when it comes to the best back-to-back performances in the WSOP Main Event in the Internet era.
Two other players also followed up on deep runs in the 2010 Main Event as Jean-Robert Bellande and Christian Harder both posted back-to back Top 100 finishes in 2010 and 2011 as well.
Tags: Ad Nauseam, Dan Harrington, Era, Greg Raymer, Jean Robert Bellande, Participants, Poker Main Event, Prize Money, Rd Place, Series Of Poker, Th Place, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, Wsop Main Event
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Sunday, July 17th, 2011
A look at the remaining players on the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event leader-board will turn up a number of well-known poker pros like Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Lisandro, Phil Hellmuth, and Vanessa Rousso, but you’ll also find even more online poker stars still in the mix at the 2011 Main Event.
Among the young players that may not be as well known to the masses but are still alive and kicking in the 2011 WSOP Main Event are Peter Jetten, Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro, JP Kelly, Taylor “amiguosity” Paur, Marvin Rettenmaier, David “Doc” Sands, Matt “allinat420” Stout, Sorel Mizzi, Adam Junglen, Richard “nutsinho” Lyndacker, Mike Sowers, Kevin MacPhee, Jake Cody, Ben Lamb, Mark Newhouse, Alex “AJKHoosiers1” Kamberis, Steve “Gboro” Gross, Andrew “Focault” Brokos, Josh “litlebstrd” Tieman, Scott Clements, Jeff Madsen, Darryll Fish, Randall Flowers, and Christian Harder.
Day 4 should make for a very interesting day, as the money bubble is expected to burst sometime around the dinner break, at which point the action will definitely pick up once again as players try to position themselves for the run to the 2011 WSOP Final Table.
Here is a look at the 10 largest stacks heading into Day 4:
- Patrick Poirier — 1,328,000
- Daryl Jace — 1,282,500
- Chris Kwon — 944,500
- David Barter — 917,000
- Scott Smith — 896,500
- Sebastian Ruthenberg — 889,000
- Christopher Bonita — 859,000
- Daniel Retallick — 850,000
- Brian Park — 820,000
- Aleksandr Mozhnyakov — 813,000
Results courtesy of www.wsop.com
Tags: Adam Junglen, Daniel Negreanu, Focault, Jeff Lisandro, Jeff Madsen, Jp Kelly, Kelly Taylor, Mark Newhouse, Patrick Poirier, Paur, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Main Event, Poker Pros, Poker Stars, Rettenmaier, Scott Clements, Sorel Mizzi, Vanessa Rousso, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event
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Thursday, July 14th, 2011
At the end of Day 2b of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event a familiar name has maneuvered his way to the top of the leader-board, and will head into Day 3 on Thursday as the overall chip-leader, Ben Lamb.
Lamb, who is one of the handful of players who has a legitimate shot of running down Phil Hellmuth for the 2011 WSOP POY award, already has a WSOP win and runner-up finish on his 2011 WSOP resume, not to mention an 8th place finish in the $50k Players Championship and a 12th place showing in the $10k NLHE 6-Max Championship.
Lamb will head into Day 3 with 551,600 chips, and along with fellow poker pro Kevin Saul was the only player to crack the 500,000 chip-mark; Saul ended the day with 542,200. Another well-known poker pro who had a fantastic Day 2b was Patrik Antonius who finished the day with 361,000 chips, good enough for 7th place on the day, and just outside the top 10 overall.
Here is a look at the chip-leaders from Day 2a and Day 2b combined:
1. Ben Lamb – 551,600
2. Kevin Saul – 542,200
3. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 478,600
4. Ryan D’Angelo – 462,300
5. Tuan Vo – 434,500
6. Guillaume Darcourt – 410,500
7. Narendra Banwari – 404,800
8. Nicolas Fierro – 403,000
9. Stephanie Albertini – 400,100
10. Martin Torheim – 385,000
All of the players will now have Wednesday off before returning to the Rio on Thursday, which will be the last time that both the Amazon and Pavilion rooms are full of players.
Results courtesy of wsop.com
Tags: 2b, Albertini, Amazon, Antonius, Contender, D Angelo, Fantastic Day, Guillaume, Kevin Saul, Lamb, Leader Board, Mark Saul, Phil Hellmuth, Players Championship, Poker Main Event, Poker Pro, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, WSOP
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Monday, July 11th, 2011
The old adage of “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” probably should have been ignored by Brad Daugherty as he attempted to sell his 1991 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship bracelet for the second time in less than a year. After receiving bids of over $30,000 the first time around the auction still failed to meet its reserve, and it seems that Daugherty is still overvaluing his piece of poker history, since the second auction reached a high-bid of $28,100, but once again failed to meet the reserve price set by Daugherty.
The good news is that Daugherty is not so desperate for money that he’ll take any bid for his WSOP Main Event bracelet, the bad news is that it’s unlikely we have seen the last of Daugherty’s bracelet on EBay; perhaps the WSOP Main Event final table will pique collectors’ interests enough to get the bidding over Daugherty’s reserve price –my guess is Daugherty is looking for about $50k for his prize.
So for now, only one person will be sporting a gold face-plate style bracelet emblazoned with the name BRAD across the front –and a much subtler ‘1991 World Champion of Poker’ on the reverse– and that’s the man he won the bracelet back in 1991, Brad Daugherty.
If you’re curious as to why Daugherty is selling his bracelet, this is from the Q&A on EBay:
Q: why are you selling it?
A: I have had many people ask. Why are you selling your bracelet? Last year when I saw that Peter Eastgate’s bracelet sold on Ebay for about $147,000 for charity. It got me to thinking, my bracelet has just been sitting in a safety deposit box for about 20 years, occasionally taking it out to wear to a tournament. I have been in the Philippines a lot over the last few years, and as anyone that has been here knows, there are lot’s of homeless kids, many sleeping on the sidewalks, and lots of other people living in poverty. I am always helping kids and families that I see in need. I thought why not just auction the bracelet off and use it where it could do some good, rather than just sit in a safe deposit box. I have heard a lot of stories where very small amounts of any money donated to charities actually reach those in need. Since I am spending most of my time in the Philippines, I will be able to direct where all the money goes from the sale of my bracelet, and to be able to personally help. Brad
Tags: Bad News, Brad Daugherty, Desperate For Money, Eastgate, Ebay, Face Plate, Gold Face, Helping Kids, Homeless Kids, Old Adage, Plate Style, Poker Main Event, Safety Deposit Box, Second Time, Sidewalks, World Champion, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, Wsop Main Event
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Friday, July 8th, 2011
Rumors and gossip surrounding the “illegal” Hollywood poker games that involved some of the biggest stars of the silver screen are still coming in as this turns into the story that refuses to die in the tabloids. With the likes of Tobey “Spiderman” Maguire, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Leonardo DiCaprio already ensnared in the legal entanglements surrounding the game, now a Major League Baseball star has been thrown into the mix, Alex Rodriguez.
Rodriguez’s handlers have vehemently denied that he has taken part in the game, and A-Rod has refused to comment on the matter himself, instead changing the subject to baseball. Unfortunately for Rodriguez it seems MLB is taking the matter a little more seriously than he would like, and according to ESPN.com, MLB is investigating the matter.
This should come as no surprise as A-Rod has found himself in hot water with the league over illegal poker games in the past: In 2005 rumors of Rodriguez’s participation in the underground poker scene around New York City saw him called into the commissioner’s office, whereupon Rodriguez swore off playing in any underground poker games.
The whole fiasco has come to light after a Daniel Rudenberg’s victims in a Ponzi scheme decided to file suit against the winners in the Hollywood poker game in an effort to recoup some of their losses at the hands of the now convicted hedge fund manager.
Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball Star, Ben Affleck, Changing The Subject, Espn, Fiasco, Hedge Fund Manager, Hot Water, Legal Entanglements, Leonardo Dicaprio, Major League Baseball, Matt Damon, Mlb, Poker Game, Poker Games, Ponzi Scheme, Rodriguez Rodriguez, Silver Screen, Spiderman, Tabloids
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Phil Hellmuth says online poker will be legalized THIS YEAR
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011In a very bold statement/prediction during one of his stints in the commentator’s booth for the World Series of Poker Main Event live stream on ESPN 3, 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth stated that he thinks online poker will be legalized in the United States this year, and went on to claim that once it is you can expect to see upwards of 15,000 entrants in the WSOP Main Event!
I’m not sure what Hellmuth is basing this on –especially the “this year” part considering how slow Congress moves on crucial issues, let alone something as innocuous as online poker—but I rarely see or hear Hellmuth making outlandish predictions: Name dropping yes, predictions no!
Hellmuth did bring up a good point in saying that once online poker was legalized in Italy, PokerStars.it immediately became the fourth largest online poker site in the world, and was bumped to #5 when France legalized online poker and PokerStars.fr claimed the #4 spot. So, Hellmuth’s claims of a second, even larger, Poker Boom are probably not that far off considering the US market is vastly larger than either France or Italy, and the US has a much deeper tradition when it comes to poker.
We’ll have to wait and see when it comes to the legislation, but if that day ever does come to light… Watch out! Can you even imagine 15,000 players in the WSOP Main Event? The total prize-pool would be $150,000,000, putting the top-prize in the $15 million – $20 million range!
Tags: Bold Statement, Boom, Commentator, Congress Moves, Espn, Fr, legislation, Live Stream, online poker, Phil Hellmuth, Poker Live, Poker Main Event, Prize Pool, Series Of Poker, Stints, United States, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, Wsop Main Event
Posted in Online Poker, Poker Industry News | No Comments »