U.S. Postpones EU Meeting Regarding UIGEA.

U.S. Government Pulls Out One Week Before EU Meeting.

The United States government has unexpectedly withdrawn its scheduled appearance with the European Union regarding the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The pullout, which may be a precursor to what may lie ahead for the near-impossible-to-enforce UIGEA bill, comes at a time when another bill was recently introduced to the Congress about dismissing many important guidelines of the UIGEA.

The EU requested these meetings in D.C. to discuss with U.S. lawmakers how the outlines of the unlawful ban violated World Trade Organization (WTO) policy and should be overturned. It is now unclear when the meeting will be rescheduled.

World Poker Tour to be Shown in India.

WPT Founder Steve Lipscomb Expands Global Presence.

Just a few weeks after the World Poker Tour signed on with Fox Sports to continue broadcasting their popular television program, the WPT has inked yet another solid deal to further expand their global presence in the poker market.

Hindi-based Zee Sports, which controls the television rights for many of the top sports teams in the country, partnered up with WPT founder Steve Lipscomb to showcase the World Poker Tour throughout India. This move puts the tv show in front of millions of potential viewers - and in a country that houses over 1 billion people, it could be a profitable decision for both sides in the deal.

Poker enthusiasts will be able to watch nineteen 1-hour episodes of the WPT starting later this year.

And to think, this show ALMOST went away for good when the Game Show Network was about to let them go just a few months ago!

Official Location of 2008 WSOPE Announced This Week.

According to media sources, the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe will be hosting all of this year’s events in Leicester Square in London, England.

More commonly known as the Casino of the Empire, the location was also a previous host for the 2007 WSOPE. It is unknown how many of the world’s top pros will be in town for the festivities, but preliminary lists have players such as Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Harman, and Daniel Negreanu already slated for appearances.

The schedule of this year’s events was also released this week, with play beginning next month on September 19th and concluding with the Main Event on September 27th.

Here is a complete schedule of events for the 2008 WSOPE:

• (9-19-08) Event #1, £1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Day
• (9-22-08) Event #2, £2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
• (9-24-08) Event #3, £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha
• (9-27-08) Event #4, £10,000 World Championship No Limit Holdem

Boyd Gaming Suffers Setback.

Boyd’s Newest Las Vegas Casino Delayed.

A slumping economy has hit mega casino giant Boyd Gaming where it hurts them the most - their wallets.

The company, which has 16 properties spread out across 6 states and employs over 18,000 workers, was hoping to further expand its presence with a huge new property to be unveiled in Las Vegas.

However, the recent sag in the nation’s economy has caused many creditors to stop lending money to Boyd Gaming, and the project for the company’s newest Las Vegas casino (promptly named The Echelon) has unfortunately been delayed until more funding can be secured.

Construction is expected to resume within the next year or so, but in the meantime 800 workers were recently sent packing from the job site at the “future” Echelon Hotel and Casino. The estimated date for completion of Boyd’s newest casino was 2010, but that date might be set back due to the current state of affairs with the U.S. economy.

The Echelon is expected to occupy nearly 1,000,000 square feet of land to fill its casino, hotel, and meeting space endeavors. It is also supposed to have 5,000 rooms available for booking!

This newest Las Vegas casino will be on the same plot of land where the famed Stardust Casino used to lie, before it was promptly razed by Boyd Gaming a few years ago to clear up space for their newest hotel property.

2008 Olympics Sports Wagering Underway.2008 Olympics Sports Wagering Underway.

Casinos and Sportsbooks Taking In Bets For Beijing!

One of the biggest - and LUCKIEST - days of the year is finally upon us.

August 8th, 2008, aka 8-8-08, will hopefully not just bring in a day full of good fortune, but it will also ring on in one of the most celebrated sporting events around the globe - The Summer Olympics!

This year’s Olympic festivities will be held in Beijing, China, and will undoubtedly have millions of people from all walks of the world tuning to watch their home countries battle it out for gold medal supremacy.

However, it’s not just a big day for the athletes and spectators of the Olympic Games, it’s also a time where casinos and sportsbooks will be taking in a ton of wagers for the events. It is estimated the tens of millions of dollars in bets will be placed in Las Vegas casinos and online sportsbooks during this time, with even more gambling taking place at other gambling establishments in dozens of countries from all around the world!

Take advantage of this time now by placing your own bets for this year’s Olympics by visiting Gambling 101 partners BetUS or Sportsbook.com. Both sites accept USA players and credit card deposits are normally never an issue when it comes to getting your funds placed into your new betting accounts.

Good luck and tune in to the Olympic Games on NBC this week to watch the opening ceremonies.

BetUS Is Newest Online Poker Room on Cake Network.

BetUS is the newest online poker room to hit the industry in recent months. Operating on the very popular Cake Poker Network, BetUS has been making huge strides in assuring that they offer their players the absolute best in customer service, playability, and user satisfaction.

The site, which is primarily known for its very trusted sportsbook operation, is venturing into the poker world with a slick new skin and interface. BetUS offers weekly freerolls, huge guaranteed prizepool tournaments, and very soft cash games.

Gambling101 is a proud partner of this program, and invite you to check out our BetUS Poker Review or use our BetUS Poker Bonus Code (”POKER600″) when you signup!

As an added incentive, most credit cards are accepted and U.S.A. players are welcome!

PokerStars Announces 2008 WCOOP Prize Pool!

$30 Million in WCOOP Guaranteed Prizes in 2008 WCOOP!

In a statement made by the biggest online poker room in the world, PokerStars has recently announced they will be upping their guaranteed prize pool for this year’s World Championship of Online Poker to $30,000,000!

The news had rapidly spread across the 2+2 Forums in past months, but it was officially confirmed on the PokerStars website this past week.

The 2008 WCOOP is expected to shatter the $30 million in aforementioned guarantees, as satellites and non-stop qualifiers will undoubtedly bring in way-more-than-ABOVE-average fields to each of the 33 events. The Main Event will be a guaranteed $10,000,000 prizepool alone, and first place is expected to exceed $1 million easily.

Here’s a small excerpt from the Stars website regarding the history of this acclaimed event:

History of the WCOOP Main Event

“Since the WCOOP started in 2002, the Main Event prize pool has grown at an incredible rate. Swedish player ‘MultiMarine’ won $65,450 for his victory in that year. But by 2003, first place prize money had risen to $222,750, and was won by ‘DeOhGee’. ‘Ragde’ won $424,945 in 2004, while ‘Panella86’ picked up $577,342 the following year. In 2006, pro player J.C. Tran walked away with $600,000, before ‘Ka$ino’ won a massive $1,378,330 in 2007. See our 2007 WCOOP stats page for more information on last year’s winners.”

Don’t forget to check out our PokerStars Marketing Code so you don’t miss out on YOUR 100% deposit bonus - U.S.A. players are welcome!

PPA To Hold Benefit Tournament.

The Paralyzed Veterans of America to be Apart of the PPA-Hosted Tourney.

The Poker Players Alliance (aka the PPA) will be hosting a benefit poker tournament at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, on August 26th, 2008.

“The PPA is honored to host this charity poker tournament and looks forward to raising a lot of money for these American heroes,” said Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA and former Democratic senator from New York. “This is a great opportunity to harness the popularity of the game in order to raise much-needed funds for those who have fought to protect our country and our individual freedoms — paralyzed vets.”

The event’s proceeds will be donated in their entirety to the PVA, with the winner also getting a seat to the 2009 World Series of Poker!

Among those who have confirmed for the benefit are actor Ben Affleck, along with poker pros Andy Bloch and Barry Greenstein.

Hygiene Issues For Borgata Poker Player?

In one of the funnier stories of the week, a local poker player who frequented the Borgata Casino was kicked to the curb for his offensive body odor!

Michael Wax, a regular at the Borgata for a few years now, was approached by the casino room manager after multiple complaints had been presented to management’s attention. The 400+ pound Wax was asked to leave the property to clean up - and was even offered a free room to help “freshen himself” so he could come back to playing with his table mates.

The “B.O.’d” customer - who in turn became rightfully “P.O.’d” after being publicly embarrassed in front of his fellow players, as well as other casino employees - filed a complaint with the Casino Control Commission shortly after his dismissal.

It will be interesting to see what the Commission rules after this incident.

In all honesty Michael, couldn’t you just have taken the comped room and gotten back to your game in a more professional manner? After a 17-hour session, it was more than thoughtful of management to help you out with you personal hygiene - what will we hear of next in the casino world?

To be continued…

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