28 Jul 06
Dot.com Merchandise Banned At WSOP
There was a 15 minute delay to the start of the World Series of Poker's $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold 'em event after tourney officials would not allow players to wear merchandise bearing ads for online casinos.
Dot.com shirts and hats were being worn by many players who had qualified for the event through many of the satellite events sponsored by such sites as Pokerstars.com.
Players ended up turning shirts inside out or blocking it out with black tape.
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28 Jul 06
Players ready for poker's big event
"The biggest and richest high-stakes poker game in history gets under way today in the Amazon Convention Center at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 players from around the world are expected to ante up $10,000 each to compete for roughly $60 million in prize money, including between $10 million and $12 million to the winner, in the No Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship.
It's the main event in the 37th annual World Series of Poker, a gargantuan competition encompassing 45 individual poker tournaments that began June 25. More than 20,000 players from some 40 countries are on hand to compete for well over $100 million in total prize money."
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28 Jul 06
Poker Players Thrown from Airplane
"Poker pro Phil Laak, and four other www.InterPoker.com online poker players, took part in the sky high tournament, InterPoker’s Loser’s Leap Extreme Poker Challenge, 15,000 feet above the multi-colored Las Vegas.
Phil Laak, Nick Grudzien, Jamie Glasser, Frank Linkletter, and Patrick Neary played an intense game of extreme poker.
Four losers were thrown out of the plane, with parachutes of course, and amateur Nick Grudzien won the tournament, and a seat at the Caribbean Poker Classic in St. Kitts."
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27 Jul 06
Hellmuth Makes History, Wins 10th WSOP Bracelet
Las Vegas, NV – Every World Series of Poker tournament has a special moment or two. This one had a dozen special moments that will linger on in the minds of everyone lucky enough to have been at the Rio on the night of July 25, 2006. Phil Hellmuth, Jr. finally broke down the barricade that had separated him from winning an elusive tenth World Series of Poker gold bracelet and sky rocketed to the top of the poker pyramid.
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26 Jul 06
Poker's true new world champion
Daniel Negreanu On poker -- [T]his year, a new event was added to the WSOP schedule -- a $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament. The rich buy-in alone ensured an elite field of players, and the mixed game format guaranteed that there would be no lucky winners.
HORSE is an acronym for the following mix of games: Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud and Eight or better Stud. There's another unique twist to this tournament. Once play reaches the final table, the tournament reverts to No Limit Hold'em until a champion is crowned. ...
Chip Reese ended up winning the tournament and took home a cool $1.7 million. Sure, that payout will be dwarfed by the estimated $10 million first place prize in the main event, but those within the poker community will know who the real World Champion is.
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26 Jul 06
Star's odds of winning at WSOP not good
Gambling911.com -- All your favorite celebrities are playing in this year's World Series of Poker - well, maybe not all of them, but a lot of big names are. They includes the likes of Ben Afleck, Leonardo Di Caprio, Mimi Rogers and Jerry Buss.
Even better, you can actually bet on your favorite celebrities to win the 2006 World Series of Poker at odds that will make you richer than the winners.
... "The odds of a big name celebrity winning the World Series of Poker is close to zero," commented Gambling911.com columnist Payton O'Brien. "It's never happened before and this is why you can bet on someone like Ben Affleck for $100 to win close to $180,000."
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25 Jul 06
Millions come and go for Matusow
USA TODAY -- Poker professional Mike Matusow began 2005 in jail and finished the year by winning the World Series of Poker's Tournament of Champions and $1 million just two blocks from the bars that imprisoned him.
In between he won another $1 million by finishing ninth in the WSOP's main event and lost at least as much playing poker and betting sports, mostly the NFL. Except for the six-month jail term, 2005 was normal in his world, where millions in poker winnings vanish as quickly as they accumulate.
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25 Jul 06
MoneyMaker's Online Poker Millions
"There is no doubting the fact that when Chris Moneymaker turned a $39 online poker satellite buy-in at Pokerstars.com into the 2003 WSOP Main event bracelet and a life-changing $2.5 million pile of cash, the poker landscape as we all knew it changed forever...
Pokerstars.com have decided to relive this historic day in poker, by today announcing the launch of the Moneymaker Millionaire tournament. This will be the biggest ever free roll in online poker history. The tournament commences on Monday, July 24 at PokerStars.com. The prize pool is a massive $2.5 million which will include an awesome new Aston Martin DB9 Volante, as well as a a trip to exotic Bahamas to play at the final table for a first prize of $1 million."
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24 Jul 06
European poker pro evicted in WSOP incident
"Drama and loud protest attended the $2000 No Limit Hold'em event at the World Series of Poker this week when European poker pro Harry Demetriou was escorted, and not quietly, from both the table and the venue of the event following a dispute over the rules.
The player was escorted out after witnesses saw him shouting loudly and angrily at a floor person during the early stages of the tournament."
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24 Jul 06
The Chimp Leader?
"Ladies and gentlemen, there is a chimp playing in the 2006 World Series of Poker main event. Don't believe me? Fine. But it's true. ...
Mikey is a chimp that is nearing the end of his professional career. Having appeared on the cover of Vogue, a Black Eyed Peas CD cover, and various other publications, Mikey is aging a bit. Like all chimps, Mikey must live on his lifetime earnings once he retires. I'd say $10 Million for a first-place finish would be a very tidy sum to live on.
Mikey has been trained in the art of Hold'em. He's been trained to recognize shapes, colors, and even go 'all-in,' which apparently is his favorite move. Surprise."
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24 Jul 06
Online poker distances itself from sports betting
"At the World Series of Poker tournament at the Rio, operators of Internet gambling sites are hosting swank hospitality suites to promote online poker games.
... But promotions can no longer be found for online sports betting, which is being targeted by the U.S. government because it is illegal in this country.
So goes the convoluted, controversial business of Internet gambling."
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24 Jul 06
Youngest WSOP winner does it again
"A week ago, [Jeff ] Madsen turned heads by beating a field of 1,578 players over three days to earn $660,948.
On Saturday evening, he was raking in chips again, this time at a final table from renowned pro Erick Lindgren, despite having a stack about half of Lindgren's."
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21 Jul 06
No Senate action soon on Internet gambling bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to ban Internet gambling is facing some opposition in the U.S. Senate and will not come up for a vote before the chamber takes its August recess, an aide to the U.S. Senate majority leader said on Thursday.
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21 Jul 06
WA State player wins first gold bracelet
"Scott Clements understands Las Vegas. He knows of the various vices and distractions the gambling Mecca presents to visitors. When Clements boarded his flight from his home in Washington State to come and play in the 37th annual World Series of Poker presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light, Clements viewed his experience as a business trip."
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20 Jul 06
Absolute Launches Ladies Only Poker Site
cardplayer.com -- Absolute Poker today launched AP Lady, an online poker site specifically for women.
“Poker is popular with women because it can be very social and it’s also a thinking game,” said Lacey Jones, one of Absolute Poker’s professionals and participant in this year's World Series of Poker. “AP Lady is a very safe way for women to take the first few steps into a poker from the comfort of their home and it also gives more-experienced female poker players a great way to refine and improve their skills by practicing between live events.”
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20 Jul 06
BetOnSports forced to close
"ONLINE poker and casino operators, such as PartyGaming and 888 Holdings, have been drawn into the American Government’s assault on the internet gambling industry.
It emerged yesterday that BetOnSports, which on Monday was indicted on charges ranging from running an illegal gambling business to money laundering, has been forced to close down its poker and casino websites as well as its betting sites."
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19 Jul 06
Poker Players Alliance to Host Rallying Party
LAS VEGAS, July 18 -- Invigorated by the recent federal legislation that would prohibit playing online poker in the United States, the Poker Players Alliance (http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/) is hosting a rally/cocktail party in Las Vegas July 28 for poker players
interested in defending the game of poker on the Internet.
Event sponsor, Poker Players Alliance, organization president Michael Bolcerek, and members Chris Ferguson, Linda Johnson, Howard Lederer and Greg Raymer, invite all interested poker players to enjoy a hosted bar and hors d'oeuvres from 5 - 8 p.m. at Buzio's Seafood Restaurant in the Rio Hotel and Casino (http://www.harrahs.com/). Reservations are not required.
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18 Jul 06
Cellphone Poker Alerts
"Poker fans who need to know immediately when World Series of Poker events are going down have a new cellphone service from this month.
News and updates from the poker world series are now available as SMS alerts to U.S. wireless network subscribers via the Poker! Mobile service, which is offered through a combined effort by Bluff Magazine, FullTiltPoker, Setanta Mobile, Trajectory Sports & Media Group and mStyle."
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18 Jul 06
WSOP's Youngest Winner Ever
"At 21, Jeff Madsen reportedly became the youngest poker champ to win a World Series of Poker event. The film student from Los Angeles, along with 1,578 other players, took part in a 3-day No Limit Hold'em event with a $2,000 buy-in. At the final table, Madsen managed to beat his opponent's straight with a higher straight. Following his win, the young poker champ pocketed $660,948 as well as one of the coveted World Series of Poker bracelets."
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17 Jul 06
Humans still trump computers at poker
"It may surprise you to learn that it's more difficult for a computer to play poker, perhaps the world's most popular card game, than chess, the pastime of deep thinkers.
Unlike chess, poker deals with tricky matters such as uncertainty, probability, guesswork and deception — human wiles that a chess-playing robot, such as the one that beat world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, doesn't need to consider."
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