PPA Butting Heads With The State of Kentucky.

Poker Players Alliance Makes Stand Against Governor Beshear.

The Kentucky government is in for quite a fight this week over its plan to take control of 141 of the biggest online gambling domain names in the world. The suit, which was filed by lawyers representing the “Bluegrass State” just several days ago, states that they wish to not just ban online gambling within their jurisdiction, but they also want to have the domains transferred over into their possession to be sure they get their wishes. The plan has been met with a ton of resistance by many pro-gaming advocates, none of which get any bigger than the Poker Players Alliance.

According to a newly-rising poker news outlet, the PPA had filed an Amicus Brief (known as “Friends of the Court” in simpler terms) on Friday to let their own case be known that the order put forth by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is beyond its jurisdictions and absolutely unenforceable. The order that was put into motion by the PPA says that domain name disputes go much broader than what state law can possibly enforce, and that online gambling companies that aren’t ran within those state lines aren’t subject to mediation by any local U.S. judge.

There has been no clear-cut decision yet in the case, and it is uncertain when they’re might be one. However, any verdict that might allow such big websites as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to relinquish their domain names could set a HUGE precedent down the line when it comes online poker regulation. If a state government can stick their noses into something that isn’t even operated in their own state, let alone their own country, then who’s to say that other states won’t follow suit?

The situation, albeit a very young one, is already causing quite a buzz in the industry, and it is something we here at Gambling101.org will be following very closely over the next few days.

Bodog Poker Open II Features Huge 650K in Guarantees.

BodogLife’s Sickest Guaranteed Poker Tournament EVER!

Registration for the Bodog Poker Open II is officially open for business. Qualifiers have been up and running for this 8-Event Championship Series for a few days now, with buyins for each of these big MTT’s ranging from $100 to $500.

The first event of the series goes down on September 28th - with a major tournament going down each day after that and culminating with the HUUUUUGE Main Event on October 5th. The guarantee put up by Bodog will be $300K in this finale, the largest EVER put up by Bodog. I’m not sure if the tourney itself will fill to capacity given Bodog’s past considering the weekly $100K has had a regular overlay of $25K to $40K alone!

Click Here For My Official Bodog Review

Adding a little something extra to the mix is that Bodog will also be running 6 bounty tournaments during that week where they will award Main Event Semifinal seats (T$109) to anyone that can knock out one of the 20 players with a bounty on their particular head. The buyins for these special tournaments range from $20 to $100.

Qualifiers for all of the championship events run every day and buy-ins range from 50 Bodog poker points to $100.

Registration for all tournaments is open and listed under the BPO tab in the Bodog poker software. Get more information on Bodog’s biggest online poker tournament ever today.

Zachary “ckingusc” King Wins 2008 WCOOP Main Event!

Poker Versus Casino – What to Choose In The Long Run?

Picking Apart Online Casinos and Online Poker Rooms.

You have had a pretty tough week at work, and now is your chance to take a break and relax for a while. You’ve dabbled in online gambling before in both poker and casino games, but you’re a little stuck for choice between the two. On the one hand you’ve got the skillful game of poker, but on the other you’ve got the quick thrills of online casino games, so which do you choose?

Just as with any choice in life, it all depends on what you are after. To help you make the right choice between online casino and online poker, allow me to draw up the main pros and cons of your options - hey, maybe it’ll just help you choose accordingly.

Online Casino

The term “online casino” is a little broad, mainly because an online casino gives you such a wide variety games to choose from. You have the popular game of Roulette, the classy game of Craps, a whole load of slot machines and so much more at your fingertips. Basically, if you can find the game in a live casino, then you are sure to be able to find it online. You might have enjoyed playing Roulette in a live casino before, so why not play Roulette online?

As with almost every casino game, there is the opportunity for some pretty big wins. Roulette is always going to be pretty popular, because one lucky spin can land you with winnings 36 times the size of your original bet (pretty nice eh?). Blackjack is also a gamblers favorite, as the friendly odds mean that you stand a fair chance of walking away with more money than you started with if you play your cards right.

Unfortunately, in any casino game you are always going to be doomed to failure over a long enough period of time. You may win every now and then, but the games are always going to give the house a bigger edge, so you cannot expect to consistently win money. However, if you are prepared to pay for your entertainment through your losses, this should not be too much of a problem for you.

Online Poker

One of the biggest attractions in online poker is the fact that you can directly compete with players from around the world. In a casino you are effectively a one-man show, as you battle against the odds in the hopes of getting lucky. However, in online poker you have to try and outsmart and out bluff your opponents to win their money, which adds an all important skill factor to the game.

If there is skill involved in a game, then it means that the game can be beaten. So as you might be able to guess, it is perfectly possible to consistently win money from online poker. It may take time and practice before you have the ability to regularly outplay your opponents, but there is no reason why you couldn’t add some extra money to your monthly income through poker if you play the game well.

This may all sound like fun, but the biggest downside to poker is that it can be a pretty slow game. If you have a love for poker, then you will not mind the slow pace of the game and the time it takes to win money, but as a casual gambler it can get a little boring. If you’re into fast gameplay and big wins, then online poker may not be for you.

Casino & Poker Conclusion

In review, if you want big wins and fast action, then online casino is your best bet. However, if you want to play in a slower but more skilful game that will allow you to consistently win money, then give poker a try. However, it is important to remember that it will take a while before you develop the ability to win money from poker, so don’t expect to be a top player in your first session, it will come with time!

But no matter which game you decide to play, I wish you good luck! And you can always check out our different sections on Gambling101.org to learn a little more about the best online casinos and internet poker rooms in the world, as well as how to play each one and get yourself better educated about EVERYTHING gambling.

“Patatino” Hits World Record Pot at RailHeaven!

High Stakes regular Patatino - rumored to be yet another account from renowned billionaire Guy Laliberte - hit a pretty big milestone this week. On Friday afternoon, playing on Full Tilt Poker $500/$1000 NLHE table RailHeaven, Patatino took down a $609K+ pot from one of his fiercest rivals, Hac “Trex313” Dang, holding against the board with just a pair of deuces and avoiding a multitude of draws and over cards en route to the largest pot won in online poker history!

The news has been spreading fast amongst many of the biggest poker media outlets and forums, so its no surprise that it’s being reported here on Gambling101. I mean personally it was absolutely one of the sickest things I had ever seen at this particular table, as Trex called a 3-bet reraise ALL-IN from Patatino after a flop of T 6 8 (with 2 diamonds falling). Now at first, I thought for sure it was either a made straight versus a set or two pair, but what they flipped up just absolutely blew my mind considering there was just a meager $600,000+ in the middle (El ohhhhh Elz) : Trex313 with Jd 9d and Patatino with Qd 2d!

Both players were banking their stacks on flush draws and live cards galore - and that was with the turn and river still to come - just wow! When the turn paired up Patatino’s deuce, it was all up to the mighty river to decide if Trex would be able to come from behind and take away this pot with a straight card filler or one of his 2 over cards. Unfortunately for Hac Dang, his chances of felting Patatino would not come on this day, as the river bricked out, shipping the 600 dimes over to everyone’s favorite fishy over at Full Tilt Poker.

CardRunners and Stox Poker Form HUGE Alliance.

Popular Training Sites Merged Together.

A big announcement was made today regarding CardRunners and Stox Poker, two of the biggest Poker Training websites in the world. It was revealed that both of these giants will be merging their two brands together to form one of the biggest alliances this particular niche has ever seen.

The merge was announced just as membership for both of the sites had been hitting all-time highs all throughout 2008, and CardRunners co-founder Taylor Caby couldn’t be any happier about the move.

“We’re delighted to add breadth and depth to our poker training resources while delivering a decisive competitive advantage to more than 14,000 members,” said Caby. “Members now have two separate platforms to choose from as well as a no-sign up fee option which many customers have requested. Whether you are new to poker or playing nose-bleed stakes, we’ll make sure you’re ready with the top resources behind you.”

The merger also means added value for any new customers looking to improve their game as well. Effective immediately, both of the sites will be waiving the signup fee (normally $99) and also be giving a nice monthly discount on top of that. This will definitely rival any current deals sites like PokerPwnage and RealPokerTraining have to offer from their own companies, so it’ll be fun to monitor them in the future to see if they might make any similar moves to compete with CR and Stox.

As of right now, members of RPT and Pwnage have declined to comment on the recent announcement. I hope to talk to “HerschelW” of PokerPwnage soon enough to get some added insight on what this might mean for the poker training world and how it may affect any future business.

“Oooops, I Did It Again…” - Brian Townsend Edition.

Online Poker Pro Brian Townsend Admits to Multi-Accounting.

In the wonderful world of online poker news today, it looks as if another popular professional player has admitted to using multiple accounts…

The most recent epic failure that we are now able to add to a list that already includes Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo and “JJProdigy” is Full Tilt Red Pro Brian Townsend. The CardRunners instructor and high stakes cash game extraordinaire made the announcement earlier this week on his personal blog explaining a little bit of the situation (excerpt below).

For the past 6 months I have been playing under the 2nd aliases Stellarnebula on FTP and makersmark66 on PokerStars. I have not used the aba20 account on Stars since I began playing on the Makersmark66 account. I have since gone back to using the aba20 account and will play only that account. During this time I played the 25/50 and 100/200 PLO games. I played under the Stellarnebula account from February until the end of June at which time Lee Jones and I had a discussion and we came to an agreement that I needed to close it. During this time I was playing under the Brian Townsend account, never at the same table with the Stellarnebula. Under the Stellarnebula account I played 25/50, 50/100, and 100/200 PLO. During this time I played a very small amount of 50/100 PLO and primarily 200/400 PLO under the Brian Townsend account.

I don’t know whether to take this public admission as a surprise or something I pretty much expected from someone in Townsend’s shoes. He was a hero to the No Limit grinders who dreamed of starting out at $.25/$.50 (which Brian did) and moving up the ranks to playing the biggest stakes in the world. But on the same token, his persona would become so well-known that other high-profile players would either refuse to sit down with him at the tables - or willingly try to find action elsewhere. This undoubtedly led him to seek alternative means to get more high stakes games going - a means that will now haunt his reputation for a lifetime…

His subsequent revelation and apology on his blog has come off very sincere - and weirdly enough, was actually embraced by MANY of the online community. However, as a poker player and grinder myself back in the day, it still upsets me that such behavior could be tolerated and even seemingly be accepted by the gambling fraternity. Hell. the punishment Townsend will receive is nothing short of a slap on the wrist in my eyes. To only have his Full Tilt Pro status taken away from him for the next 6 months and basically be stripped of his rakeback seems a bit soft considering many other online pros have been completely banished from sites and had all their winnings confiscated!

I truly hope he learns something out of this, and becomes an advocate for the use of SINGLE ACCOUNTS only. He has a long way to go in regards to making amends with the very people that looked up to him and/or played with him on the virtual felt…but at least for now it’s out there and he’s doing his best to try and do damage control on his character rep.

Poker Tabloid Getting Taste of Their Own Medicine.

Gambling911 Endorses The Slaying of Baby Kittens.

(photo below courtesy of Fuzion Poker)

As a not-so-famous member of the mainstream gambling media, I take great pleasure in being able to slam and criticize people and websites as I see fit - and really see no ramifications from it given that I’m probably not read as much as those “bigger” outlets. Now for the loyal people who have taken the time to see my work on such pimpin’ sites as PokerOwnage, 4Flush, and a handful of others, I take even greater pleasure in slamming and/or exposing one of my least favorite places as of late - Gambling911.com.

As a webmaster and writer, I really feel they’re just gambling’s version of a tabloid-fueled, waste of space, every time you read their shit a kitten loses its life, wannabe joke of a “publication” that they’ve somehow managed to turn into a widely-read website. And with that statement I think I’m being VERY nice, trust me.

Now why all the anger you ask?

Well for one, as I just mentioned in the aforementioned paragraph, they really are a waste of life on the interwebs. They claim to be insiders to everyone in the industry, yet they seem to be wrong on a lot of their stories, not to mention they make up false ones just to get them even more attention. I know I’m not really helping in that department given I’m just contributing to getting their name out there even more, but honestly enough is enough. Take a page from NWP and just :noose yourselves already guys - it’s really not that funny anymore.

G911’s latest debacle and trainwreck of a story regards Bodog and their possible pullout from the U.S. market. They blatantly went out of their way to produce some half-assed story about how they received “inside” information regarding the layoffs of 200 people within their company, and that Bodog was basically screwed and their U.S. customer base is going to be owned silly very soon. This was all complete bullshit and my own “inside” source Cheryle from SlotsGeek.com fame wrote this fun article on Fuzion Poker about the whole mess (and mind you, this is actually FACT-based and true, so please enjoy!):

This story was completely fabricated by none other than Gambling 911 who stated “With talks all week that Bodog (www.bodoglife.com) has cut its staff and may possibly be leaving the US market, online gambling affiliates have a tough decision to make.” It further continues to make it appear as though these layoffs were part of the Bodog Life Company.

Bodog did in fact have some layoffs, but none of these cuts were from the actual company nor do they have any plans to move away from the US market.

Direct from our affiliate manager this morning:

Bodog has not and is not planning to close its doors to any market. In fact, Bodog is researching new potential markets and will continue to accept new players from all existing markets.

Also, in regards to the layoffs, as you mentioned it, it happened out west: Bodog itself has not seen any layoffs. The layoffs in question have actually taken place with a firm that provides Bodog some software and marketing support, but we are confident their service levels to us have not been, and will not be affected.

We are still strong, going forward, and working hard

We wanted to post this today to let players know that G911 has once again lied. This is just another clear indication that this site is only out for one thing and that’s money. The only intention of G911 is to find a somewhat interesting story, and flip it for their own self-serving purpose. While most online poker sites are trying to provide security to players by writing reviews, publishing factual information relating to the situation with the US, this website displays nothing but eccentric and falsified stories which provides uncertainty to an already uncertain situation.

For the complete story, please visit FuzionPoker.com!

2008 Republican Party Platform Opposes Online Gambling…AGAIN.

Republican Platform Plays Antagonist to Online Gambling.

As the Presidential election gets set to go to their respective conventions, the Republicans have once again decided to include their opposition of online gambling into their Party’s 2008 platform. In fact, since the year 2000, when good ol’ H.W. was elected as our Commander-In-Chief, online gambling has been attached to the Republican Party’s platform in every Presidential election since!

I mean hey, forget about how we’re already pissing away billions of dollars in taxpayer’s money on the Iraq war, corporate bailouts, and a failing healthcare system…I can deal with that - REAAAALLLY I can. But to honestly discriminate against an industry that generates $15 billion a year and then act as if you’re doing something to cleanse America of some immoral social toxin is just AMAZING to me. It’s not like we couldn’t just REGULATE the industry, get the government’s hands to take a piece of the pie, and then use that money to fund more federal programs.

I can only assume that the term “We The People” obviously doesn’t apply to us ‘people’ who have a genuine love for internet poker and gaming in general. Well, at least in a lot of Republican’s eyes it seems that way. The PPA is lobbying to fight back this year, and a flurry of write-in responses can be seen on the Republicans’ website demanding that the U.S. make a stand against the prohibition of online gambling.

Will 2008 be a time for a change as far as the landscape for online gaming goes?

:RantOver

Note: A Big THANKS goes out to the Casino City Times for first writing about this issue and making it known - hopefully more and more players will make their voices heard this year…or at the very least, at least make their written opinions stand out from the crowd.

Electronic Poker Tables Go Live at Excalibur Casino.

Famous Las Vegas Casino Goes 100% Digital Poker.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino has become the newest proprietor of electronic poker tables within their poker room.

Starting this week, the casino’s poker room will be shut down for several days while they clean out the existing felted tables and replace them with PokerTek’s newest brand of electronic poker table - the PokerPro. The casino’s dealers will also been relocated to other areas of the gaming facility during the move. Overall, a total of 12 of these machines will be put onto the property.

In all, PokerTek has now installed 230 PokerPro tables globally. PokerTek CEO Chris Halligan said that he is “delighted beyond words that an operator of Excalibur’s quality is opening a 100% PokerPro poker room on the strip.”

According to Excalibur’s VP of Gaming Operations Todd DeRemer, the property decided to utilize the technology in order to boost to a poker room that has been “on the decline from a customer base (standpoint)” for the last three years.

The move signifies the turning of a new leaf for live poker rooms around the nation. PokerTek tables offer the same experience of a live card game, minus a real dealer. Similar to online poker, these new PokerPro tables will also be able to deal out a significant amount of hands per hour. In addition, it will cut down on costs for hiring new dealers, and will offer a more efficient and exciting way for customers wanting to try out a new spin on poker.

Game selection for these new electronic poker tables will include Texas Hold Em, Omaha, and 7-Card Stud, with the games being spread as low as $.50/$1 up to $2/$4. Excalibur will be holding freerolls and lower hourly rake to promote the new tables, and will even offer low stakes Pot Limit Omaha games.

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