Online Poker News Blog

Testimonies Are Made on the House Committee Regarding the Legalization of Online Poker

As reported by legal poker sites, U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held a hearing on the future of online poker. Many advocates testified that Congress should regulate the industry. These representatives included speakers from the Poker Player’s Alliance, the American Gaming Association and Fairplay USA.

Former Senator Alfonse D’ Amato is the Chairman of the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA). He said he is grateful that Congress has given players and participants in the industry the opportunity to voice their concerns. Amato said that players are frustrated that the government is restricting their freedom to play online poker and the Black Friday indictments have only made them more frustrated.

The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) has also stated their support of the legislative movement. They stated that they are in support of online poker legislation and is encouraged by the stance of Tom Ridge, Louis Freeh and Fairplay USA. The NDAA said under the current policies, it is impossible to protect American consumers from the online poker operators who illegally open their doors to Americans.

Frank J. Fahrenkopf is the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA). Fahrenkopf made a statement that gave a detailed overview of the benefits of legalizing online poker. Fahrenkopf said that legalizing online poker would provide a number of benefits such as creating an additional 10,000 high-tech jobs and bringing in $2 billion in tax revenues each year. These tax revenues could go to fixing schools, building roads and providing medical care.

Many advocates clearly support the regulation of the online poker industry. The Subcommittee has been willing to let them have their say. The representatives have made it clear that the American people have overwhelming support for the online poker industry. The Committee may take their opinions under advisement as they make their decision.

Inventer of the Hole Camera goes to Hall of Fame

The inventor of the hole camera used to see players cards in televised poker tournaments is going to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in November. This invention is credited with starting the poker boom and bringing the World Series of Poker to a mainstream audience.

Before the invention of the hole camera Texas Hold-em and other poker varients didn’t catch on because the TV viewer was only able to see cards when players showed them on the showdown. The landscape changed when viewers knew more then the players at the table and made it a much better game to watch.

Credit: San Jose Mercury

Aced Poker on Merge Network

Aced Poker will be a new online poker room that will be launched on the merge network. They are currently beta testing the poker room and the official launch is soon.

The merge network has great features that can’t be found at many of the top poker rooms including Poker Stars and Bodog. They allow players the option to rabbit a card, show one card and if you happen to get 4 aces in a real money hand you will receive 40x the BB!

Aced Poker is currently offering new players a bonus of 200% up to $500.

The VIP Aced program hasn’t gone live but I am sure the announcement will go along with the official release of the poker room.

Ron Paul Speaks about Online Gambling

Ron Paul discusses at the Financial Services Committee Markup Session about a bill that was cosponsored by Rep. Barney Frank and himself on HR 5767 the Payments System Protection Act. Basically the act is to clarify the 2006 UIGEA which tries to ban players from funding online poker accounts.

He talks about how the government really shouldn’t have a part in this and brings up some great points.  Though, in the end there was a tie vote 32-32 which meant the legislation failed under committee rules. This won’t be the last bill that is brought to the committe and I feel there is a good chance eventually something will pass.

WSOP Prop Bets

Daniel Negreanu talked about the latest prop bets that were made at the start of the 2008 WSOP.  Phil Ivey led the charge looking for takers on a WSOP bracelet prop bet. The bet is who will win the most bracelets and the winner will receive $200k plus an additional $200k per bracelet.

The 2008 World Series of Poker is just underway with the first event the  World Championship Pot-Limit Hold’em (Event 1)  won by Nenad Medic who took home $794,112 and Andy Bloch taking second. The second event a $1500 No Limit Hold-em tournament is still underway with 18 players left.

New WSOP Delay Format Keeps Players Waiting

The 2008 WSOP will change the format of the Final Table which will be held months after the table has been set. The reason behind the change is many poker fans already know the winner months before it airs on ESPN. This year that will change because of the final table delay. ESPN and Harrah’s (who owns the WSOP) will try to build suspense. The final table will bet set on July 14 but another hand won’t be dealt till November 9th (thats 110 days!).

Many players have accepted the change and look for it to help poker because of the media attention the lead up to the final table will bring. Others argue that part of the WSOP main event is the grueling two weeks players have to stay focused and keep playing until one person is left standing. Another argument for professional players is that amateurs that make the final table can study for months and become solid players before the final table is played.

It will be interesting to see how the 2008 WSOP Main Event plays out but we know for certain we won’t have a champion until November.

Poker Star.com WSOP Freeroll

Poker Stars is giving away a million dollars worth of 2008 WSOP freeroll seats. They will be giving away 7 seats per week up until late June when the 2008 WSOP Main Event starts. Poker Stars is running round 1 qualifiers every hour of everyday and the top 50 players will advance to the weekly wsop round. At then end of each week they have 3 freerolls wsop rounds where they give away actual seats to the WSOP.

Poker Star.com is looking to send the next champion to the WSOP and with this promotion they are giving 80 free seats. In other wsop satellite buy-in events they have already given 671 seats and counting! You can find more Poker Stars 2008 WSOP information at Poker Splendor.

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Good luck at the tables!
HPB Team

Poker Stars 2008 WSOP Satellites and Qualifiers

Poker Stars has announced their 2008 WSOP satellites and qualifiers and they are looking to send the next main event champion. They have satellites running everyday and offer players a variety of options to qualify including cash qualifiers.

They have a 33R+ WSOP Qualifiers that runs multiple times a day and once a week run a $650 WSOP qualifier on sunday that usually qualifies around 20-30 players every time it runs.

Poker Stars also has their WSOP Steps satellites. This lets players play sit and go’s for as low as $7.50 for step 1 and make their way up to step 6 where it is a $2,100 buy-in and 1 players wins a seat to the wsop.  One great thing about the wsop steps program is second place usually gets the same prize as first or in the case of step 6 gets $2500. Third and forth get buy-ins to the same event.

The last way to qualify for the 2008 WSOP with Poker Stars is to use your fpp and cash them in to play satellite tournaments. If you are a frequent player then you have the chance to get your seat at Poker Stars for Free!

Find out more at the Poker Stars 2008 WSOP Satellite information.

Brandon Cantu is the Bay 101 WPT Winner

Brandon Cantu won the Bay 101 World Poker Tour event. The event was played at the Bay 101 card room in San Jose, California.  The tournament was played March 10-14th with a $10k buy-in. Brandon Cantu beat a final table consisting of Jennifer Harman, John Phan, Steve Sung, Mike Baker,  Noah Jefferson.

376 players entered the tournament with Cantu taking home $1,000,000 dollars. Brandon Cantu had a large chip lead going into the final table and never looked back. He also won over $400,000 dollars in bounties and was able to dominate the table even with the small blinds.

The winning hand of the tournament was when Cantu won with pocket 5’s against Steve Sung’s pocket 4’s. 

Final Table Results 

1. Brandon Cantu – $1,000,000
2. Steve Sung – $585,000
3. Jennifer Harman – $330,000
4. Noah Jefferson – $265,000
5. Mike Baker – $200,000
6. John Phan - $135,000