Weblog
13/11: Intertops is NOT Pulling Out of the US
A big WTG to, Intertops for not dumping the US Players!! So give them our support!!The following states are exempt from US Players:
Michigan
Illinois
Louisiana
Oregon
Wisconsin
Washington
Indiana
Nevada
South Dakota
New Jersey
New York
Kentucky
Those of you that live in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri, can continue to play once you confirm with Intertops that you actually live in these states.
Thank You Intertops! When all of this is over Players will remember who was loyal to them!!!!
16/10: Is There a Dent to Online Gambling?
According to Sportingbet, which is an online gambling site say there is no signs of things slowing down. They say that more and more players are putting in cash even with the turmoil and the fears of recession.With a reported 30% increase in revenue for the months of August and September, they are being carefully optimistic for the year.
Growth was helped by the development of its "in-play" betting system, which allows punters to make a variety of bets during live action, accounting for 45 per cent of its European sports turnover.
For more on this:
http://business.scotsman.com/medialeisure/Downturn-fails-to--dent.4596398.jp
To me people who what to gambling online will find a way to do it! This article agrees. It is our right to do it in our own homes!
30/09: Presidential Candidates and Gambling
According to the Chicago Tribune, our candidates both like to dibble in gambling! McCain with $100 chips and Obama throwing nickels all over like they were sand make it all very interesting, in the political world.Maybe that's why Obama thinks it's a subject worth harping on — even though both men played in the company of lobbyists.
Betting habits of the presidential candidates are a hot topic on the campaign trail in the wake of a report that McCain played at a casino table he oversaw as a member of a Senate committee.
As even a casual player knows, you can learn a lot about people by the games they play — and the places they lay down their money.
Read the Tribune story at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-campaign30sep30,0,6036479.story
It will be interesting to see how each candidate stands on the UIGEA!!
01/08: Jennifer Leigh Joins Iron Duke
Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh, Not only a beauty but also a professional Poker Player is now part of the Iron Duke Team. She is sure to be a great asset!!!Press Release:
Iron Duke.com, part of the Merge Gaming Network officially announces that as of August 1st 2008, they are proud to welcome well known poker professional Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh as the first professional poker player to join Ironduke.com
Jennifer “jennicide” Leigh`s poker career started back in 2005 when, at the age of 21 years old was invited to play in a series of televised poker tournaments hosted by GSN called “Poker Royale, battle of the Ages” The series featured seasoned pros over the age of 60 playing up and coming pros under the age of 30.
Jen played in 4 televised tournaments which culminated in her winning 3 out of the 6 tournaments after beating the likes of Dan Harrington and Miami John Cernuto in heads up and this at the fine age of just 21 years old!
Since 2005, Jens career has just sky rocketed and has been the main feature in magazines such as Card Player, Inside Edge, Poker Player news, Skinnie, Bluff magazine, and most recently featured in Playboy as the front cover star along with a full interview and numerous pictures.
Jen accepted the playboy offer to not only promote her poker career but at the same time to promote the game of poker in general within poker networks and live poker play.
When talking to the operations manager at Iron Duke Poker, he quoted how privileged and excited he was in having Jennifer on board at Iron Duke Poker and hopes to see the company reaching brand new goals with Jennifer on board.
When we asked Jennifer, she quoted that she was also proud and excited to be part of the fast growing Iron Duke Poker and that her main focus away from the cash tables at Ironduke.com will be to spend many hours at the Ironduke.com, interacting with Iron duke players, assisting them with any poker related questions, and helping poker amateurs becoming better poker players.
Jennifer can be found playing numerous hours of poker per week playing at IronDuke.com under the screen name “Jennicide” at both the lower stake NL tables as well as the higher limit tables as well as in numerous tournaments that ironduke.com offers.
Jennifer will also be the feature at the regular “Jennicide” Bounty tournaments, held exclusively on Ironduke.com which will be a $15+$1.50 with $150 added and a $60 bounty on “Jennicide”
IronDuke.com CEO, stated as well that the introduction of Jennifer to Iron Duke Poker and the Merge Gaming network, is the first in many new and exciting things happening within the company and looks forward to IronDuke.com growing into a well respected poker site with all the added features, tournaments and bonuses that any top poker site offers.
Come out and welcome Jennifer to Ironduke.com on Wednesday August 5th 2008 in our “Jennicide” welcome free roll at 7pm EST which is open to all Iron Duke players, followed with our first “Jennicide” bounty tournament on Thursday August 6th 2008.
Congratulations to Jennifer and to Iron Duke!!
29/07: More on the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Investigation
The Saga continues, here is the latest on this investigation.Effective immediately, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) has appointed an independent monitor to investigate the KGC Licensee, Tokwiro Ent., parent company of both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, led by former New Jersey State Gaming Regulator, Frank Catania.
Mr. Catania is a former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the regulatory and enforcement agency responsible for maintaining integrity and trust in all Atlantic City gaming operations. As division director, he was a driving force in updating the New Jersey Casino Control Act by fine tuning the balance between regulatory necessity and economic stewardship. After leaving the DGE, he served as the vice president in charge of compliance for Players International, Inc. where he was instrumental in resolving compliance issues the company had encountered in the State of Louisiana, prior to his appointment. He is a principal in Catania Gaming Consultants and the Law Offices of Catania & Associates LLC
The Independent Monitoring Team will be given the task of completing a full forensic audit/investigation of the online gaming business of both licensed entities. The main purpose of the investigation is to ensure that the games offered to the public are fair and honest and that all player protections as required by the Kahnawake Gaming Regulations are being complied with, without exception. The monitoring team will also be charged with verification that all those involved in the fraudulent activities in any manner, no matter how slight, have been or are removed from the licensee company and verify that Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have submitted to full compliance with the directives issued by the KGC and recommended by the independent monitor.
Furthermore, Mr. Catania's team will be empowered by the KGC to have full access to interview all employees, past or present, review all records, contact and interview all sub contractors and individuals whom the monitoring team believes necessary. Any failure by the licensees could result in immediate revocation of their license privileges with the KGC. In the event that any criminal activity is found to have occurred, such activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities for possible prosecution.
KGC License Holder, Tokwiro Enterprises has agreed to comply fully and submit to this independent monitor.
KGC Chairman, Dean Montour adds, "While the ongoing investigative process has dominated the attention of the KGC in recent months, we are fully confident in the ability of the Independent Monitoring Team to deliver results and assist the Commission in bringing this matter to a decisive conclusion."
As per the terms of the monitoring agreement, and at the conclusion of the process, the KGC will review the report of the monitoring team and enter the results into their final considerations at the time of ruling in the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker investigations.
Murray Marshall
Senior Advisor
Kahnawake Gaming Commission
Stay tuned, we will monitor and report the rulings as they come in!!
26/07: Investigation into Unfair Play on Ultimatebet Site
Tokwiro has concluded their investigation into the unfair play at Ultimatebet Poker sites.Have they been cheating? Refunds to the affected players continue. Looks to me they have been.
Here is a Press release:
MONTREAL, CANADA - (July 25, 2008) - Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG ("Tokwiro"), proprietors of UltimateBet.com ("UB"), one of the ten largest on-line poker cardrooms, today announced that it has concluded the investigation into allegations of unfair play on UB’s web site.
Tokwiro has compiled complete forensic evidence including the IP addresses, devices, transfer and withdrawal histories, and names associated with the player accounts that benefited from illicitly viewing hole card information. The results of Tokwiro's internal investigation have been turned over to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) and its auditors, as that regulatory body continues its independent investigation. These results are in addition to the data which Tokwiro has already shared with the KGC.
Tokwiro has identified a total of 19 accounts and 88 associated usernames that were involved in the cheating, including the accounts that were named in Tokwiro's publicly posted investigation updates of May 29, 2008 and July 8, 2008. The same perpetrators that were previously identified controlled all of these usernames. There are no new perpetrators involved, only new usernames. Usernames were changed many times over the course of the cheating scam in an apparent scheme to avoid detection. Our complete list of usernames involved in the cheating scheme has now been turned over to the KGC, and the Company does not expect to uncover any additional usernames.
Paul Leggett, Tokwiro's Chief Operating Officer, said, "Make no mistake: our management team is outraged that this cheating occurred on our site through illicit software placed on the UB servers prior to our purchasing UltimateBet. Tokwiro is aggressively pursuing legal avenues of redress in order to protect and compensate our players and the business. Rest assured that we will release more information to the poker community and to the public at large as we enforce our and our players' rights."
"With respect to refunds to the affected players, we are continuing our analysis in order to determine the refund amounts. We will move forward with another round of refunds in the weeks ahead. We thank the poker community for its invaluable contributions to this investigation and assure it that we remain committed to fully investigating any claims of fraud on our site," Mr. Leggett said.
The investigation revealed that the perpetrators logged into the client software, using an account that had the ability to view hole cards. The ability of a specific account to view hole cards was enabled by illicit software that was placed on the UltimateBet servers prior to October 2006, which was before Tokwiro acquired the business.
The account that was used to view hole cards never actually played in a game. Instead, the perpetrators used hole card information gained from logging in with this account while playing on other accounts, which thereby benefited from the cheating. The money won by the accounts that received hole card information was then moved around and off the site in a complex web of player-to-player transfers and withdrawals. This contributed to the complexity of Tokwiro's efforts to uncover the truth.
Mr. Leggett concluded: "We cannot over-emphasize the fact that Tokwiro and its entire management team had no knowledge of the illicit software until it was revealed by our investigation; and no one associated with Tokwiro was involved in the cheating scheme at any point."
Very interesting to say the least!!! More on this as we receive it, so stay tuned.
16/05: International Poker Champs Will Play
The Asian Poker Tour Manila Has been announced and confirmed! We wish everyone the best of luck. This looks to be some good players, and will be fun to watch all this skill in one place!May 16, 2008 (Manila, Philippines) - The action at the Asian Poker Tour Manila leg is sure to be sizzling hot with several international poker champs now confirmed. Layne Flack, Huck Seed, Roy Winston, Mansour Matloubi and Evelyn Ng are determined to take home the largest share in the $1,000,000 prize pool at the upcoming Asian Poker Tour Manila Event to be held at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel this coming May 27 to June 1.
From being a dealer, Layne “Back to Back” Flack learned the key points of the game from Johnny Chan and has done well in the major tournament circuit. Flack won back to back WSOP bracelets in 2002 and 2003 along with another bracelet won prior to those years, thus the nickname “Back to Back”. He has a total of 5 WSOP bracelets and has more than $3,300,000 tournament winnings and is looking to add more to this roster of success with an Asian Poker Tour Title to his name.
After winning the 1996 WSOP Main Event and grabbing a whopping $1,000,000, not to mention owning 4 WSOP bracelets, Huck Seed has had much success in the poker world. He is a threat to the other poker pros aiming to seize the Asian Poker Tour victory. A gambler at heart, Seed is taking a gamble on attending the APT to win the title and add to his more than $3,700,000 total winnings.
A medical doctor from California with his eyes set on the Asian Poker Tour title, Roy Winston has been in the major tournament circuit for two years and already has found great success. He placed 26th in 2007 WSOP Main Event, and also a 2007 WPT Borgata Poker Open Champion. This medical doctor-poker pro has his live tournament winnings at around $2,500,000 to date.
Mansour Matloubi made history by becoming the first non-American to win the WSOP Main Event. By winning this event in 1990, the Iranian-Welsh professional poker player has accomplished what all poker players dream about. He took home $835,000 along with the title of the Main Event and the most coveted Main Event GOLD Bracelet. His tournament winnings are more than $1,900,000 and he is now preparing to take the title of the APT.
The only rose among the thorns in this roster of champs is the model-like Evelyn Ng. A known figure in the poker world, Ng is a common sight in the tournament circuit. She is currently on Team Bodog, which is made up of some of poker’s biggest stars. Her most notable finish is the 2003 World Poker Tour Ladies Night where she finished 2nd place. Ng is ready to boost her tournament winnings which exceed $300,000 by grabbing the APT’s top prize. Aside from the tournament circuits, Ng is also frequently on poker TV shows: King of Vegas on Spike TV and in the X-box poker video game “Stacked”.
Flack, Seed, Winston, Matloubi and Ng are some of the finest poker players from around the globe who will set the six days of the Asian Poker Tour ablaze. Their eager involvement in the APT bears out that it is indeed a grand poker event -- the biggest in Asia to date. These poker stars, along with more than 400 other players will be battling out with their skills and expertise for the prestige and a share of $1,000,000 prize pool.
The buy-in to this event is $2,500, but on-line satellite tournaments can win you a seat in this event including an all-expense paid trip. The Manila leg of the APT is also sanctioned by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The same goes for the other three legs where huge prize pools are up for grabs as well as incredible tournament packages for on-line satellite winners.
ABOUT ASIAN POKER TOUR
The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is Asia’s biggest and original poker tour. The Tour was recently acquired by AsianLogic (AIM:ALOG). As part of the new organisation of the APT, four events will be held across Asia in 2008. Next year, the Tour plans to increase this to a total of six events. Each tournament is set to attract live players as well as internet players who will qualify via online satellites. Each main event will offer a guaranteed US$1 million prize pool, with buy-ins of US$2,500.
ABOUT ESL-ASIA
Established in 2002, ESL, a subsidiary of AsianLogic, provides a broad range of gaming products and services, encompassing the development, management and marketing of Online Casino Gaming, Online Poker, Multiplayer Games, Asian-Themed Games, Online Sports Betting/Land-based Sports Betting, Live Videostream Casino Gaming, Land-based Slot Machines, Mobile Gaming and Gaming Consulting. ESL is headquartered in Manila, Philippines and employs staff throughout the Asia-Pacific region, maintaining a presence in all key Asian markets.
ESL is a regulated gaming operator, holding licenses from recognized gaming jurisdictions. ESL's subsidiaries operate on Tier 1 licenses issued by Alderney, one of the world's leading gambling jurisdictions. It is a pioneer licensee of CEZA/First Cagayan in the Philippines and its sports betting operation is regulated by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). In addition, the company also holds a Curacao license.
ABOUT ASIAN LOGIC (ALL)
AsianLogic is a leading online and land-based gaming company focusing on the Asia-Pacific markets. The Company is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: ALOG). AsianLogic owns and operates eight online casino brands and two online poker rooms as well as land-based sportsbook operations through its MegaSportsWorld brand. It is a specialist in Asia-specific games such as Mahjong, Cho-Da-Di, Do-Di-Zhu and 13 Card Poker.
The Company also maintains a corporate advisory team specialising in the gaming sector which is an active investor in gaming-related businesses as well as providing consultancy and analytical services. AsianLogic enjoys strong commercial relationships with leading gaming providers including Playtech, ID Games and LVS. Founded as ESL in 2002, AsianLogic employs over 300 employees, the majority of whom are based in the Philippines
We would like to thank everyone involved in this, and hope more will follow suit. A big Thumbs up for all the players!
25/04: California Poker Bill, Will it get Passed?
Law experts say, since this is just a study that legislators may back this bill. I guess we will find out soon. This could be a stepping stone for online poker! If California votes that poker is a game of skill, then just maybe others states will follow suit.California State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, has introduced bill AB2026 to exploit a loophole in the federal law that could bring online poker back to Californians. If this is made legal then California could regulate and get revenues from it.
"Our understanding of the law is that so long as the player and server (hosting the online game) are in California, it would be legal. But that's what we are trying to find out," stated Levine in the Capitol Weekly, California's newspaper that focuses on California state government and politics.
PPOA (Poker Players of America) sponsored the bill. They claim they are the "first independent national organization of American of poker players dedicated to ONE THING- protecting our right to play online and in live games."
We will have to wait and see what happens with all of this. We hope it will be a start in getting out FREEDOM back to play online in our own homes. It has to start someplace, and maybe California will get it started.
For all on this Bill:
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?issueId=wx1t7vhmfi8i7f&xid=wx2ljrtpom8f1y&_adctlid=v%7Cjq2q43wvsl855o%7Cwx391hj8mv4dt2
11/04: Absolute Poker Migration Complete
Congratulations Absolute Poker, for getting the job done in a quick and orderly fashion. I am sure that all the players would say Thank You too. It is always good to see jobs like this taken care of and back for business, without a lot of hassles for the players.Great Job Absolute Poker!!
MONTREAL, Quebec -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Absolute Poker, one of the world's most popular sites for online poker gaming enthusiasts, today announced that it has completed the migration of player accounts from Vegas Poker 247. Absolute Poker had previously announced its acquisition of Vegas Poker 247 in February 2008.
As a result of the completed migration, accounts with Vegas Poker 247 have been fully transferred to Absolute Poker with all benefits intact, including accumulated bonuses, status, points, and raked hands, among others. As a result, poker players will have the opportunity to participate in bigger and better games, to take advantage of better offers and bigger bonuses, and to experience Absolute Poker's enhanced customer service in one of the Industry's safest and most secure online environments.
Absolute Poker will continue to honor and run Vegas Poker 247's tournaments under the Absolute Poker brand. Players who had previously held separate accounts with Vegas Poker 247 through affiliates and with Absolute Poker will be able to keep both accounts, with the option of choosing which account to play on.
Absolute Poker is one of the world's ten largest online gaming sites. Established in 2003, it is licensed and regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
27/03: Casino Bill Struck Down in Massachusetts
Ok All here is another WIN for online gaming!!! This goes to show, never give up!! Keep up the fight!! March came in as a Lion, but with any luck at all it will go out as a Lamb.These bills keep coming in, but we are winning some and before it is over, WE will win them all!! I say never say never and never give up! This is what all of us gamers are
Fighting for!
This is encouraging news for online poker players. The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, or iMEGA, was granted standing to sue the federal government, declaring the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) unconstitutional. Although Judge Mary L. Cooper disagreed with several of iMEGA’s arguments, the case will move on to the Third District Court of Appeals. On April 2nd, the House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing entitled, “Proposed UIGEA Regulations: Burden without Benefit?” The hearing will thrust the banking industry into the spotlight, which could ultimately help lead to the passage of Barney Frank’s or Robert Wexler’s bills. On March 20th, Massachusetts Casino Bill H. 4307 was struck down in committee and defeated overwhelmingly on the House floor. The bill included a provision that would have criminalized online poker. PocketFives.com spoke to two men who helped keep Casino Bill H. 4307 from becoming a nightmarish law, John Pappas and Andrew Woods.
For those unfamiliar with the situation, H.4307 was introduced by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and called for the construction of three casinos in the state. Not threatening to online poker, right? Think again. The bill also included a provision that would make playing online poker punishable by up to two years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Needless to say, the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) and Poker Players Alliance (PPA) stepped in on behalf of our industry by bringing their membership to the scene. H. 4307 was resoundingly defeated 108-46.
The GPSTS found itself in the middle of the fray. Located at Harvard Law School and not too far away from the state’s legislature, the GPSTS attended a rally on Tuesday, March 18th, the day a hearing on the Casino Bill took place. Executive Director Andrew Woods comments on the bill’s defeat: “We’re ecstatic. It’s always good to be a part of the democratic process and to have your voice heard. We attracted a lot of attention from the decision makers here in Massachusetts. I had aids and staffers come to me and say that we didn’t realize criminalizing online poker was even in the bill.”
For now, it’s a monstrous victory for online poker players across Massachusetts; however, there’s a silver lining. Another bill is currently being discussed that would call for legalizing slot machines. This bill, unfortunately, also includes a provision that would criminalize online poker. Woods claims this bill is less threatening than H. 4307: “Right now, Governor Patrick has said he will veto any slots-only bill. There’s still the question on where the pressure to criminalize online poker is coming from. The GPSTS does not support slot machines. We think they’re detrimental to the educational cause we’re trying to advance.”
The Poker Players Alliance is the leading lobbying group for online poker players. The organization is swiftly approaching one million members and is based in Washington, D.C. Because of the severe nature of the Casino Bill, the PPA stepped in. Executive Director John Pappas commented, “We only opposed the bill as long as it had an onerous provision about criminalizing playing online poker on the internet. We have no opposition at all to licensing three casinos in the state (in fact, we’d support it, especially if the casinos had poker rooms), but we weren’t going to sit idly by while the bill had that provision in it. The bill itself could seek new life and the provision hasn’t been removed, but we’re confident we’ll have a good chance to get that provision out of the bill once and for all in the coming weeks.”
The PPA sent its troops to the scene on March 18th as well, donning red shirts that read, “Poker is Not a Crime.” PPA Massachusetts State Director Randy Castonguay sent a mass e-mail to all PPA members in the state to write their local Representative and Senator. It was a true grassroots effort.
In Massachusetts, the legislative process works a bit differently than in other states. Even if a bill gets reported out of a committee unfavorably, it still is sent to the full floor of the House. However, it goes with an unfavorable recommendation from the committee. The bill, according to Pappas, was struck down decisively. On the new bill concerning slot machines, the PPA is standing by for action: “The slot machines bill has been out there for a long time. It was brought to our attention that the criminalization language was included. It has an uphill climb.”
So for now, a crisis has been averted in Massachusetts, at least for the time being. Both the Casino Bill H. 4307 and the slot machine bill still loom, but you can rest assured there are organizations fighting for your rights as an online poker player. Support the GPSTS by visiting the organization’s website at www.gpsts.org. The PPA’s site is found at www.pokerplayersalliance.org.
