Poker News

I read with interest the post by Iggy a couple of days ago about the fight to protect poker in Washington DC and across the country. He was dead on and I especially appreciated his enumeration of the arguments to use when speaking and working to this end.

Here in Texas, we have a similar fight going on. We are behind much of the country though in terms of what poker is allowed by law.

Below is an op-ed i recently wrote for a Dallas weekly sports magazine. I'll let it speak for itself. Feel free to email me (info@texaspokerpac.com) if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks to Dan and Party Poker for the opportunity to plug for the cause...

Just what the doctor would have ordered. A day away from the Rio and poker. Instead an evening at the Palms watching a movie about life as a poker player in a theatre packed with poker players.

I felt very square attending a movie when so many parties options were available but party animals Chip + Karina Jett, Kenna James, Kristy Gazes (not Gays as on the guest list), Matt Savage, Mike Sexton and Amir Vahedi all made the same decision.

This is almost a movie version of Anthony Holden's "Big Deal" as a poker player turns pro for a year documenting every step. The player is Susan Genard who reminds me of Stacy Matuson. When I noticed the Hendon Mob playing the Four Queens tournament I knew the movie wasn't filmed recently. In fact google lead me to a blog of the movie premiere,at the Palms, on July 5th last year. This year, with some financial help from PartyPoker, the movie included an after party at Rain on the 26th floor of the Palms Casino.

My favourite moments:
1)Thor Hansen "If I won a million, I would use some to pay off my debts" " What about the rest?" "The rest would have to wait."

2)When Susan was seated next to Shirley Rosario, at the Commerce, the camera never left Shirleys cleavage out of a single shot.

3)The look Kathy Liebert gave her when she informed her,non player, husband she needed a banana.

In fact Susan doesn't do the women of poker any favours by seeming more interested in blaming her seat number for her many losing tournaments.

I did sympathize when Harrahs/ESPN prevented Camden being able to film Susan's finest moment when she made the final two tables in a WSOP $5k Omaha event.

The nightclub has two ladies naked except for bodypaint. For a photo of Susan with the models go to:Link Text

"Betting is pretty much like liquor: you can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular."
Arthur Baer

Howdy all and welcome to my inaugural post. I'm humbled to be joining some of my favorite writers here and I hope I can provide some mini-ubers (uberettes?) for your poker reading pleasure.

Of course, I'm insanely jealous of the PokerBlog crew, hanging out in Vegas, hobnobbing with poker elite. But because they are stuck in the vacuum that is Sin City, I thought that addressing all the latest news from around the interweb about the impending poker ban would be apropos. And perhaps spur some action from our readers.

Damnit, join the Poker Players Alliance today!

I am a recent convert to the forums of Neverwin poker. The forums have quite a cult following too. The site belongs to Dustin Woolf aka Neverwin, Todd Witteles aka DanDruff and Bryan Micon aka Micon System. The guys are the new crew. I am not sure how much time or adoration Bryan got from ESPN for his final table appearance yesterday but he certainly ruffled the feathers of one online poker site.

Bryan won his entry through an online tournament. Players are supposed to register with the site once they reach the Rio so they can be given caps and t shirts to wear and sign an agreement so in the event of you making a televised table you won't suddenly jump ship.

Maybe with help from "Neverwin," who acted in similar manner last year, Micon made it to the final table before he showed up on the sites radar. Micon had his own site to promote so did not want to give free advertising for the poker giants. Obviously blood vessels were burst when they realised Micon had entered the tournament without signing an agreement.

Micon was summoned to the (in)hospitality suite to try and make him see the error of his ways. Micon had seen this coming and had previously liquidated his account.Voices were raised and Micon was told "You are done with us Micon."

The boys had put one over on the establishment. Micon marched proudly over to the final table and handed out "Neverwin" swag to his waiting fans. Micon finished ninth.

All seemed fairly quiet Thursday when the week three checks came out to the WSOP dealers and staff. For those who actually remember last week Dealer Article #1, there was a small but significant departure of dealers after large and vocal dealer unrest at the meager checks received. Some number of dealers did depart last week, the number remains unclear, high estimates put the resignations at around 60; Harrah’s set the number at zero.

This week, all seemed fairly quiet. None of my sources had called after midnight Wednesday when checks were released. The word on the street at the Rio was that dealers who were still here were resigned to the wage they were receiving and for better or worse; they were sticking it out for the duration of the Series.

When my friend told me that Peter Alson's new book about the 2005 WSOP was out, I went straight over to the Reading Room at Mandalay Bay and picked it up. I sat next to Peter in the bleachers during the first part of the final table last year at Binion's. And, I'd attended his book signing for One of a Kind, about Stu Unger, that he co-wrote with Nolan Dalla. He seems like a nice guy, even though men hate that, it's true. He was pleasant, quiet, and saved my seat for me when I had to volley back and forth from the media room.

The Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas has become L.A. East this week as scenes for an upcoming movie about poker are being filmed in the casino.

“The Grand,� described on the Internet Movie Database as an “improvisational comedy centered around a handful of actors in an actual poker tournament,� features an all-star cast of comedic actors, including Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano, Cheryl Hines, Michael McKean, Richard Kind and David Cross.

Seven professional poker players filed an antitrust lawsuit today in the Federal District Court of Los Angeles against World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE). Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, Chris Ferguson, and Phil Gordon are seeking injunctive relief and punitive damages based on claims that the World Poker Tour’s player release forms and exclusive contracts with participating casinos constitute wrongful conduct as defined by the Sherman Antitrust Act and the California Business and Professions Code.

Readers should check out WPT Lawsuit for a status and updates on the Players v. WPT.

I was hanging out at the Poker News booth when I heard that David Carruthers, the CEO of BetonSports, had been arrested. According to the Dallas Business Journal, he was "one of 11 individuals and four corporations named in a 22-count indictment charging them with racketeering, conspiracy and fraud."

Since the ban on internet gambling bill passed by the House of Representatives 317 to 93 on July 11th, everyone is wondering what is going to happen. Many are hoping that the Senate will not pass the bill, and it is the Poker Players Alliance that is working the hardest to educate the government about poker being a game of skill and why it should not be tied into restrictions on other internet games if chance.

Walk into the Rio and it’s the usual madhouse, as players, spectators and generally lost tourists mill around the World Series of Poker tournament area taking in the grandeur of it all.

New WSOP Commissioner Jeffery Pollack has touted improvements for the event, and most are good, but there are still areas to work on.