Poker Player Blog

Federal Online Gaming Hearing Success—This week saw a discussion and hearing on American online gambling and the possibility of federal regulation held by a subcommittee of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee. Overall the hearing is being viewed as a positive step forward.

After opening statements by the Subcommittee’s chairwoman, the subcommittee on Commerce Manufacturing has six people with different gambling related backgrounds speak about the state of American gambling and what steps should be taken to move the country forward. The speakers were:

Parry Atfab, Chairwoman of the Board of Advisors of FairPlayUSA

Ernest Stevens, Jr., Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA)

Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling

Alfonse D’Amato current Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance

Kurt Eggert, Professor of Law at the Chapman University School of Law

Dan Romer, Associate Director of The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the Director of its Adolescent Communication Institute.

The hearing had no legal outcome but it does provide a foundation to build upon for positive and well research consumer protection laws and Internet gaming regulation.

Maryland Lottery Proponents Say No to Online Poker—The Super Committee of six republicans and six democrats have been formed into a think tank and have to find $1.5 trillion to help fix the national budget. Governor O’Malley of Maryland opposes legalizing online gaming in his state as he fears it will take money away from the long established state lottery. His argument against online poker continued as he pointed out that live slot machines and casinos contributed greatly to the funds for Maryland’s public education. If folks turned to the online version of things that money would be lost or at least have to be found from somewhere else in the budget. O’ Malley’s opinions have not found favor publicly or among online poker fans.

Bloomberg Supports Online Poker Legislation—Bloomberg.com, well established and widely regarded economics and news site published an op-ed piece supporting the passing of online poker legislation. In fact the folks over at Bloomberg showed the logicality of supporting online poker over other forms of gambling such as state lotteries. They explain how seeing online gaming regulation as a moral issue is without logic. The article continued by explaining to readers a little more about the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). It also explained the happenings of Black Friday for those not yet in the know and basically presented the current state of online gambling and gaming in America. It was nice to see the comments following the article were for the most part positive and well formed. Having the endorsement of such a large news and finance medium can only help the cause of online gaming legislation. The reach of Bloomberg includes public education, private businesses, the world of stocks and shares not to mention television media. If more influential economic formats and companies would get behind poker legislation it would be easier to pass through the House. After all online gaming is a money maker and its legalization can only improve the national economy. As the economy improves in one area it will effect others such as budget issues, unemployment numbers and getting the country back on track.

NHUPC Canceled—The National Heads-Up Championship (NHUPC). With no budget for advertising, promotion or pricey entrance fee for professional players the tournament has been canceled indefinitely. PokerStars and Full Tilt were major advertising players in the NHUPC but of course they are banned from operating in any way shape or form on American soil. Without the thousands, even millions, of dollars in sponsor money the landscape of live American poker tournaments are changing rapidly. NHUPC started back in 2005. The buy-in was $20,000, a price often paid by PokerStars or Full Tilt to support their players and keep them in the limelight. Some names you may recall easily from TV poker are Hellmuth, Ferguson, Duke, Ivey and Moneymaker. So many of our favorites will have to be found on the blogs, news sites and few remaining online casinos if we want to keep up with their game.

California Full Tilt Lawsuit— California is suing Full Tilt for damages in the amount of $900 million and hopes to turn the allegations into a nation wide class action lawsuit. According to both Pokernews.com and the LA Times the state is being represented by Lary Kennedy and Greg Omotoy of Los Angeles. The couple are alleging fraud, deception, money laundering, not reserving money from player accounts and illegal raking of individual game profits. Its more of the same just on a larger scale.

The California suit claims that prominent poker players including record breaker Phil Ivey are also responsible and complicit with the fraud and deception as they spent their time promoting the site. That may be a bit of a stretch but if they have company stock…well they may have a valid point. Also the amount of damages is way above any other number in the Full Tilt civil suit collection. The next highest is $150 million.

WSOP November Nine Schedule Change— This year’s WSOP final table has a changed scheduled and an expanded coverage. Because of the decline of major television poker such as Full Tilt and PokerStars many poker TV shows have disappeared from the airwaves. The extended coverage of the main event final table is both an attempt to keep poker on the air and perhaps enjoy an increased audience and advertising revenue. ESPN are the fuel behind the WSOP November Nine fire beginning coverage a day later beginning on November 6 instead of November 5 as previously advertised. The break in coverage will now be between the final table and the final three rather than the final table and the final two. There will only be a 15 minute delay between actual play and air time making the coverage for all intent and purposes live. The November Nine final table will air on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. We can expect poker celebrity commentary as in past years but who those commentators will be has yet to be announced.

Hinrichsen Wins Largest WSOPE Event to Date—Andrew Hinrichsen became the sixth ever Australian to take home a WSOP gold bracelet this week when he won the second event of the WSOP Europe. It was a No Limit Hold em event that had a record breaking number of entrants and supplying the final table folks with a nice chunk of change. It was Ace King over King Nine for the win. Heads up play between Gianluca Speranza and Hinrichsen was short lived with the Ozzie gaining the chip lead with a few good hands. Hinrichsen came 23rd at this year’s WSOP and has enjoyed several successes in tournaments in his own neck of the woods.

California Creates Calshark.com—The new online poker website launched by a consortium of California based organizations may help fill the gap between the fall of the Big Three and the passing of American based online poker legislation. This new website, Calshark.com offers American poker enthusiasts a place to polish their game, network with other poker fans and try out new techniques all without having to worry about federal indictments. Calshark.com offers players the chance to either download their software or play the game through their browser, an option not often found at online casinos. So for those with memory space issues or virus paranoia you can still play poker. You receive 1000 chips for signing up. Another great feature for many of us is the no credit card required option. Yes the games are free and you aren’t going to get rich over night playing at Calshark.com but it’s a good chance to sharpen your skills for free.

Global Poker Index–-Here’s the top ten for this week as reported on GPI website:

#1           Erik Seidel           2586.96

#2           Jason Mercier    2545.04

#3           Bertrand Grospellier       2503.67

#4           Eugene Katchalov            2473.83

#5           Sorel Mizzi          2341.12

#6           Fabrice Soulier  2257.90

#7           Thomas Marchese           2058.11

#8           Scott Seiver        2003.33

#9           Shawn Buchanan             1986.96

#10         Juha Helppi         1970.14

Card Player Magazine creates Own Tournament—Card Player magazine has decided to launch the Native American Casino Poker Tour soon to be known as the NACPT. With around three hundred Native American owned casinos currently operating in the United States, the NACPT has lots of options for national tournaments. The first NACPT will be held at the Choctaw Casino and Resort in Oklahoma. There will be buy ins as low as $100 and the tournament will run from December 1 through December 11, 2011. Winners will receive a seat in the WSOP Choctaw tournament to be held in January of 2012. The winner of the NACPT will be featured on the front cover of the print version of Card Player magazine and the final table will be streamed live on the Card Player home page. All of the games in the series will be filmed from start to finish but where and when they will be aired has not been decided.

There may be other things happening in the world of poker but the issue on most online players minds is the state of the Full Tilt poker site, it’s possible legal issues and the chances that players, loyal customers of the company, will receive the money that they are owed.

So what’s happened in the last few days? Well Full Tilt lost its online gaming license. Well, the license has been suspended for the time being pending the results of criminal investigations. The U.S. Department of Justice has added individual names to the civil suit against Full Tilt naming former owners and several board members. The allegation is that employees and board members received profits from the company that came out of payer accounts due to phantom accounting. Oh yeah, the French company the Bernard Tapie Company has formally stepped forward to take over the Full Tilt company and brand believing they can solve its many problems.

So how do they intend to reinvent Full Tilt? Well the latest rumors are that the Tapie Company will offer former players a personal stake in the new Full Tilt in lieu of payment of their refunds. Of course this ‘stake’ would probably be proportional to the amount of money that was in player accounts creating some major inequality and unfairness across the board. It sounds a little iffy to be sure. Add to that the latest news that the French folks are considering offering shares to the former owners to raise capital to pay off player accounts. Al sounds a little unsound doesn’t it?

Personally I don’t trust the Tapie Company to revitalize the Full Tilt site. There has been too much mistrust, excuses and criminal allegations for any serious player to place their bets with this former big three poker site. I think the only way for any success is to change the names of the companies involved and get rid of all past associations. Seems it would be easier to just start from scratch. If the French want to make it work why not just buy the software right s from the Full Tilt folks and let time and the courts settle the rest? I for one am tired of facile press releases and ridiculous business solutions.

Full Tilt Fears Increase: Warrant Issued—We all know that Full Tilt’s Black Friday Fallout continues to make headlines and today is no exception. It was announced on pokernewsdaily.com that the state of New York has issued a warrant to seize the assets of the individuals that have been named in the Full Tilt civil complaint. This means the bank accounts and assets of Raymond Bitar, Chris Ferguson, Rafe Furst and Howard Lederer. Some are personal accounts while others are attached to the business dealings of the individuals. It seems the civil complaint against the big three poker sites had to be amended to include the new information discovered by the Department of Justice and its affiliates. That discovery being the fact that millions of dollars that were supposed to support player accounts ended up in the back pockets of Full Tilt’s board members.  And we’re not talking about a few million we are talking about somewhere in the region of $443 million. Operating like a Ponzi scheme Full Tilt was shuffling around money real and imagined to line their own pockets while betraying their loyal customers. We are still waiting to hear what happens next in this growing poker soap opera.

Matt Gianetti Wins WPT Malta—There were a total of 240 original entrants in this newer WPT tour stop including a variety of professional from around the globe. It didn’t take too long before the final table emerged. The only female player at the table Cecilia Pescaglini made light work of several of the table’s players relying on a mixture of luck and skill to move up in the chip count.  It took over 100 hands and six hours to get down to head to head play. Simon Trumper went out in fourth place and Filippo Bianchini took third place and then there were just two payers left: Matt Gianetti and Cecilia Pescagini. The final hand was  a 10-8-2 flop and Matt Gianetti decided it was time to take a leap and went all in. Pescaglini pushed over half a million in chips to the center of the table.  Pescaglini held Q-10 and Gianetti had 9-7. The turn was a jack and the final result gave Gianetti a bigger straight than Pescaglimi and he took home the win. Not to mention the $273K in prize money.  Here’s the results from WPT:

1. Matt Giannetti – $273,200
2. Cecilia Mescaline – $159,412
3. Filippo Bianchini – $104,936
4. Simon Trumper – $72,985
5. Tristan Clementon – $54,381
6. Fabien Sartoris – $41,977

Matt Gianetti is having that kind of a year because until the 2011 WSOP he had very few titles, rank or earnings to his name.  Perhaps this is an indication of the play to come. Guess we’ll find out in November.

Check out this week’s top ten players over at http://www.globalpokerindex.com/

The global poker index website is enjoying traffic as many a pro and amateur alike check out the cream of the current crop in the poker world. On a winning streak to match all others this year you would think Erik Seidel would enjoy first place without worry but things they are a changing.

Jason Mercier of WSOP Pot Limit Omaha fame is climbing to the top of the poker pile almost in position to push Seidel out of first place; a place he only recently acquired. Seidel’s score is 2604.55 and Mercier’s score is 2604.48. Yup things are about to get interesting.

Here’s the figures straight from the GPI website:

#1 Erik Seidel           2604.55

#2 Jason Mercier 2604.48

#3 Eugene Katchalov 2505.06

#4 Bertrand Grospellier 2486.00

#5 Sorel Mizzi 2359.29#6 Fabrice Soulier 2234.25

#7 Thomas Marchese 2163.24

#8 Scott Seiver 2056.29

#9 Daniel Negreanu 2043.77

#10 John Juanda 2014.97

The GPI really lets us evaluate players and see how good the top ones are collectively. there are just a few points separating the players and it will only take a win or two here and a loss or two there to change the whole dynamic.

In the last couple of weeks the saga of the Full Tilt online poker folks has saturated the poker chat rooms, blogs and forums like a piece of wet tissue paper you just can’t seem to get off your shoe. In between the federal shut downs and thievery, blame shifting and secret meetings there have been several pieces of Full Tilt news that need covered.

Negotiations with the Irish poker consortium Pocket Kings is a no go. Despite a number of press releases suggesting the company would take over Full Tilt’s debts and get them back in the red there are still no secret investors willing to invest in a company that can’t seem to get its story straight.

A recent hearing in London, England regarding the reinstatement of Full Tilt’s operating license came with its own set of excuses. The company revealed that they had been investigated by the federal government for at least two years before the Black Friday shut down. The theft of millions by an employee and the stagnation caused by federal investigation are, according to Full Tilt, just two of the reasons they are as yet unable to pay back US players. A rescheduled hearing was set for September 19 but was closed to the public. We’ll keep you posted.

And finally over the weekend long time business partner, The Hendon Mob officially severed their ties with Full Tilt. The Hendon Mob enjoyed an “exclusive relationship” with Full Tilt. In their press release they expressed sadness but loyalty for players. They used financial issues as their main reason for parting ways with Full Tilt.

And that’s the story of the last couple of weeks. We should know shortly the results of the license hearing.

Full Tilt Offers Another Press Release of Excuses—Forbes magazine shared with PokerNews.com the latest press release from Full Tilt this week. The online casino company is now claiming they had financial and legal issues for two years before Black Friday and it was only because of Black Friday and the U.S. Department of Justice that they can’t pay back their players. A 42 million dollar theft, third party processor issues and government cash seizures all came out this week as reasons the company just couldn’t cope with one more thing. The press release was to explain and increase consumer confidence but it doesn’t seem to be doing very well.

Entraction Network Bans Five Countries From Play—Both Donkr.com and PokerNews.com have stated that the Entraction Network, an umbrella company for a number of poker sites, will be banning play from several countries by the end of September 2011. Entraction Network houses such online casino sites as Devilfish.com and Bettson.com and has until recently been accessible in several countries. But as of September 29, 2011 players from Canada, Israel, Norway, Russia and Turkey will no longer be able to access the network or the sites and poker deals that come with them. The company spokesperson explained that the changes they are making in their markets and structure will help them better prepare for coming changes in online gaming laws. Perhaps the countries banned from the network are in some way going to hinder Entraction from making the switch to licensed online gaming in the future.

Epic Poker League Pro/Am Tournament Results—This is the second tournament held by the newly formed Epic Poker League. It is taking place at the Palms Resort and Casino in Vegas and has attracted 97 players. This no limit hold em tournament runs four days with professional players going to head with amateur winners from satellite tournaments. Phil Hellmuth, Kathy Leibert and Greg Mueller are just a few of the big names enjoying the event. As of this writing Greg Mueller held the chip lead for the second day in a row.

Who’s on Top on the Global Poker Index—for the week ending August 30, 2011 the top ten players in the poker world are as follows: 1. Jason Mercier, 2. Erik Seidel, 3. Betrand Grospellier, 4. Eugene Katchalov, 5. Fabrice Soulier, 6. Samuel Stein, 7. Thomas Marchese, 8. Sorel Mizzi, 9. Scott Seiver, 10. Daniel Negreanu. Source: http://www.globalpokerindex.com/

EPT Spain Main Event—Day one of the EPT PokerStars Barcelona main event came to an end with 179 players. There was an original 346 and it wasn’t only amateurs that didn’t make it to day two. Vanessa Selbst made herself known but the chip lead went to German player Martin Schleich. To date Schleich has not made much noise on the professional poker scene but maybe this is his time to shine.

Full Tilt’s Latest—PokerNews.com received a press release from the former poker giant Full Tilt informing them previous rumors of new investors were true although the deal fell through. Irish casino company Pocket Kings apparently decided Full Tilt was not somewhere they wanted to place their money without backup. The major casualty of the Black Friday event, Full Tilt has claimed financial troubles and law suits as the main reason they have yet to even attempt refunds to players. Their press release indicated that they were now in the process of entertaining other investors to help resuscitate a company drowning in red tape.

PPN Withdraws from U.S. Jurisdiction-–Another casualty of Black Friday PPN or the Poker Pros Network is leaving American jurisdiction in order to comply with the law enforcement of April 15. A part of the Cake Poker network, PPN has switched over to European play only. The graceful exit will become official on August 31, 2011 when the website will no longer accept US players.

Mexico Casino Massacre-–At the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Mexico last Thursday armed gunmen entered the casino, set fires and killed members of the public. Mexican news outlets describe the event as a “massacre.” Casinos in Mexico have become a place to hide money, launder money and extort from players. The Casino Royal in question is located in a quiet business district not used to the violence of the inner city. Although the gang members were armed the police are calling this a case of arson indicating no or few shots were actually fired. The motive behind the attack seems unclear with no specifics appearing in the news reports. Somewhere between six and twelve men (reports differ) entered the casino in two cars pouring flammable liquid all over the place. 52 people have been reported as dead and there are many more non fatal injuries.

Location, Location, Location—Pocket Fives has begun a relocation service for professional poker players. Since the Black Friday debacle, American professionals struggle to find legal ways to make a living. For a thousand dollars per person Pocket Fives will help you find accommodation, deal with visas, set up bank accounts and best of all, find you the best places to play poker. Time will tell if the service will be a success.

Epic Poker Drama Already-–only days after their first tournament, the newly formed EPL has run into bad press. The press comes from the winner of their tournament David Rheem. As soon as his win was announced his fellow poker players began spilling the beans about unpaid debts. Turns out there is quite a lot of them. Official complaints were filed with EPL and the first recipient of an EPL winner’s ring has been put on probation due to poor conduct.

New Jersey Tries for Poker Bill—Despite the fact that only a few months back New Jersey governor Chris Christie vetoed an online poker bill senator Lesniak is giving it another shot. The proposed bill would legalize online poker in the state creating revenue for the state and employment for thousands. Last time the bill was proposed it passed almost unanimously through the legislature. It was only the governor that seemed to have issues. A little different wording and Lesniak hopes to get the bill passed on August 25.

GPI Leaders—the poker index has issued its weekly tally and the end of last week gave first place to Jason Mercier. Here’s the top ten:

1. Jason Mercier
2. Erik Seidel
3. Bertrand Grospellier
4. Eugene Katchalov
5. Fabrice Soulier
6. Samuel Stein
7. Sorel Mizzi
8. Thomas Marchese
9. David Baker
10. John Juanda

The GPI takes into account a number of different factors when determining who is the highest scoring poker player each week.