Poker Player Blog

Bodog Back in American Market—Bodog Poker voluntarily withdrew from the American market in the summer due to fears of closure by the U.S. Department of Justice but it seems they are making a return. Bodog has returned to the U.S. Market offering cash money games through a new website Bovada.lv. The domain “lv” is reserved for the country for Latvia but Bodog is using it to symbolize Las Vegas. This is a reference to the state of Nevada’s early jump on licenses in preparation for the passing of federal gaming legislation. So far, Bodog aka Bovada is the first poker site to do this but it could be the beginning of a new trend.

If you go to the Bodava website the home page displays an image of Las Vegas and what is meant to be a welcome to Nevada sign where Nevada has been changed Bodava. This is the site’s way of saying they are operating in the U.S.? Either way they are offering $1,600 in signing bonus so what the hey. Site users can bet on poker games, casino games, horse races and sports.

Doyle Brunson Gets EPL Achievement Award—The Epic Poker League, still new on the poker tournament scene, has awarded Doyle Brunson a lifetime membership that qualifies him for all future EPL tournaments. According to news sources Brunson found the gesture of lifetime membership very nice but he doesn’t expect to play a lot of tournaments in the future. Doyle Brunson won the WSOP Main Event two years running back in 1976 and 1977. To date he has 10 WSOP bracelets, 52 cash winnings and over $5 million in lifetime earnings. Brunson is 78 years old and hopes to play poker professional until he hits 85.

Agreement Between FTP, DOJ and Taipe Reached—It looks as though the Full Tilt Poker operation is finally being sold to Groupe Bernard Taipe (GBT). The agreement was decided between Full Tilt, Bernard Taipe and the U.S. Department of Justice. It was a two thirds majority vote and comes almost a month after the idea of asset transfer became viable. GBT takes on Full Tilt’s assets and its debts, including the paying back of American players. Of course GBT also takes on all of Full Tilt’s other debts whether related to the American portion of their company or not. Pokerlistings.com reports a $150 million in debt owed to players outside of the United States. The American player debt will be “facilitated” by the Department of Justice. Who knows if this is some sort of loan to GBT or the use of public funds. At the moment that isn’t clear. There is a long way to go for the matter of Full Tilt debt to be settled.

Another part of the agreement still under negotiation is the civil charges against the company that owns Full Tilt Poker. Until these charges are dropped or followed through, the poker site cannot be put back into action. Some poker fans suggest that a lot of the American players owed money will not claim it if the Department of Justice has access to their personal files. Maybe this is exactly what the DoJ and GBT want.