"Bob Barr Comments on the Future of Internet Gambling"

Via:PokerNewsDaily.comThe evidence keeps mounting that Capitol Hill is going to address the issue of internet gambling head-on. Recently, a column from noted libertarian politician Bob Barr suggested that legislation clarifying the legal standing of internet gambling is on the horizon.

On Monday, Barr published the latest installment of “The Barr Code,” his weekly column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The entry, entitled “Get ready to ante up to Congress,” predicted that Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (HR 2267) would be heard in Congress sometime this fall. Barr pointed out that in addition to Frank’s bill, which seeks to reverse the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and implement a government-run system to tax and license online gaming venues, there are at least two other pieces of legislation designed to reverse the actions of the UIGEA. In addition to Frank’s aforementioned bill, Frank also authored the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, (HR 2266) which, if passed, would delay the December compliance date for U.S. financial institutions to meet UIGEA standards by one year.

Barr went on to discuss one of the major causes behind the growing support for regulated online gambling: the economy. When discussing the possible hearings on the Frank bill, Barr noted, “It is likely that testimony in support of the legislation will be based as much on economics as on the principle that individuals should be able to gamble online if they want to.” The former Presidential candidate then went on to add what many online gambling supporters have been saying for some time: “The economics of taxing Internet gambling are indeed impressive.”

According to Barr’s calculations, which are based on a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, the U.S. Government stands to gain $51 billion during the first decade online casinos are in operation, a sum that has many in Washington suddenly taking interest in the issue. Even some of the traditional opponents of online gambling, like brick-and-mortar casinos, are coming onboard. Barr cited Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas when discussing the growing support from these land-based institutions. Pappas pointed out that in countries in which online gambling has a less murky legal standing, many players take their gambling interests into nearby casinos as well. Read Full Stroy

"Full Tilt Late Night Poker 2009 Episode 3 4/5"

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"2 Months, $2 Million: Team Opens Boot Camp"

Via: PokerNewsDaily.comOn this week’s installment of the G4 online poker reality show “2 Months, $2 Million,” the cast opened boot camp, taking on four students for $7,500 each. In the end, the group earned $106,000 for the week. The show airs on Wednesdays at 8:00pm ET.

The episode began in the desert, with Emil Patel refusing to ride a dune buggy. Housemate Dani Stern explained the reason: “He didn’t want to get sand in his eyes.” Brian Roberts attempted to spray sand on Patel using his dune buggy, but ultimately becapoker skills me stuck. Entering the sixth week of “2 Months, $2 Million,” the team was up a scant $35,000 total. Roberts noted, “We haven’t been playing super high. Something has to be done.”

Rather than play big, the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast sought to extend their to others through training. Jay Rosenkrantz told G4 cameras, “Everyone needs to re-center, so hopefully a little bit of teaching will bring everyone back to Earth.” Stern elaborated, “Teaching other people how to play, in many ways, helps your own game. Even though we’re helping out the other guys, it definitely is going to help us get back on track.”

Four boot campers turned out at the Las Vegas “2 Months, $2 Million” home. Harry “UgotaBanana” Kaczka is 18 years-old and just graduated high school. He also dropped $100,000 the day before filming started and seemed to have a chip on his shoulder throughout the episode. Also making the trip were Dave “NLsoldier” Schnettler, Russian-born Wladimir “insyder19” Taschner, and U.K. native Ben “pokiethepanda” Middleton. The group headed to the war room, where Kaczka’s woes continued, losing a $20,000 pot despite turning the nuts.

The “2 Months, $2 Million” team brought showed their protégés winning strategies of the game, while Middleton was brought into the Tilt Room to release aggression on several watermelons. After a hard day’s work, the cast hit the town, but rented a party bus since Kaczka is underage. Everyone but Kaczka partied at Blush at the Wynn, while two women were dispatched to the bus to keep the lone minor company. Middleton, meanwhile, overcame reticence at the bar by dancing with several women. Patel explained, “Ben was shy at first, but he gained some confidence as the night moved on.” Read Full Story

"WSOP on ESPN Field Makes the Money"

Via: PokerNewsDaily.com Day 4 unfolded in front of ESPN cameras at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. November Nine member Phil Ivey presided over the feature table, while a pair of former Main Event champions headlined Table Two.

In the show’s opening montage, Ivey explained his take on the money bubble, which had yet to burst at the 2009 WSOP Main Event: “The money is nice. The money is great. Winning is definitely more important at this stage in the game.” The chip leader entering Day 4 was Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Others in the field included 2005 Main Event winner Joe Hachem, 2008 champion Peter Eastgate, and Surindar Sunar, who all appeared at Table Two. The ESPN feature table included Ivey, who noted that he had bought UFC tickets for that night.

In the first hand shown, Ivey raised to 11,000 with A-10 of hearts and Bernhard Perner made the call with Q-9. The clop came 10-J-A and Perner bet 16,500 with his straight draw. Ivey made the call and the turn fell a three. Perner fired out 27,500 chips and Ivey once again called behind. The river was a nine and Perner finally slowed down and checked. Ivey bet 50,000, prompting a fold from Perner and securing the 166,500 chip pot for the “Tiger Woods of Poker.”

Elsewhere in the field, Jeff Norman ousted 2009 dual bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller with pocket aces against Mueller’s pocket sixes. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips doubled up J.C. Tran with pocket tens against Tran’s wired pair of aces. Denise Malloy, a grandmother of three, made quads in a hand against John Monnette.

At Table Two, the two Main Event champions squared off. Eastgate raised to 10,500 with A-10 of clubs and Hachem called from the big blind with 8-6, including the six of diamonds. The flop came 5-7-10, all diamonds, and the action went check-check. The turn was another five. Hachem bet out 18,000 and Eastgate called to see a river nine, giving Hachem a straight. Hachem bet 25,000 and Eastgate folded, prompting the following line from the Aussie: “Think you can raise my blind with A-10? You need to muck A-10.”

Former World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup winner Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul tangled with Brian Shapiro. In the hand, Shapiro rivered a straight and then pointed to Saul and exclaimed, “You deserve that because you’re arrogant.” Jack Effel issued Shapiro a warning for excessive celebration and, upon Saul complaining that Shapiro targeted him with brash comments, a one hand penalty was issued. Meanwhile, Ivey’s run of cards continued, as the Full Tilt Poker pro made quads with 8-7 on a 7-J-7-8-7 board.

The Full Tilt-sponsored “Deal Me In” featured Chris Ferguson at the 2004 WSOP Main Event. The feature was about protecting your hand. Meanwhile, Ivey was dealt pocket kings in a hand against Keven “Stamdogg” Stammen. ESPN announcer Norman Chad commented, “Phil Ivey with pocket kings? I think that’s illegal in 45 states.” Ivey scooped a 214,500 chip pot in the process, while Dan Harrington was shown donning a neck brace. Chad quipped, “Did he have a bad flop?” and then proceeded to laugh.Read Full Story

"Gabriel Aminov Leads WPT Borgata Poker Open"

Via:PokerNewsDaily.com A total of 1,018 runners turned out for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Borgata Poker Open. Now, 555 players remain, led by New York’s Gabriel Aminov. The winner of the $3,500 buy-in tournament will pocket $925,000.

Two starting days played out over the weekend at the Borgata Poker Open, the largest WPT tournament ever held. The top 100 players will take home money from the East Coast event, with the top six convening for the televised final table, which will air as part of Season VIII of the WPT on Fox Sports Net. Among those still in contention is Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and ESPN.com “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee, who will come armed to Day 2 play on Monday with 15,700 chips, good for 524th overall. Lee won a race late in the day holding pocket eights against A-10 when the board ran out 7-7-2-2-3.

On the atmosphere at the Borgata, Lee told Poker News Daily, “This feels just like the old days. We used to get 600, 700, or 800 people all of the time. It feels like it’s during the boom of the WPT. It just shows you the interest people have and that the Borgata runs a first-class operation.” Among those who hit the rails during play on Sunday on Day 1B were Will “The Thrill” Failla, who ran kings into aces, and Matt “All In At 420” Stout, who came out on the short end of a race holding A-K to Roy Winston’s pocket tens.

Many of the game’s top pros are not in Atlantic City for the Borgata Poker Open. Instead, they made the trek to London, site of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe. Lee, however, noted that the running of the 2009 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) may have also cut into attendance: “There was also the WCOOP Main Event going on yesterday and a lot of people had to make the decision to play in one or the other. Some people didn’t come here because it was a smaller buy-in event and the WCOOP Main Event will have a $10 million guarantee.” First place in the PokerStars tournament will pay $1.7 million, nearly double the grand prize at the Borgata. Read Full Story

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"Terrence Chan (Unassigned) Wins WCOOP Limit Hold’em Event"

Via:PokerNewsDaily.comDuring the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) in April, Terrence “Unassigned” Chan made headlines by winning both the high- and mid-stakes versions of Event #20 (Six-Max Limit Hold’em) on the same day, earning him more than $185,000. It was an accomplishment deemed nearly unachievable by poker aficionados.

On September 18th, Chan once again made headlines in the poker world, this time in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Again, it was Six-Max Limit Hold’em and, once again, Chan was victorious, besting a 437-player field in the $1,000 buy-in Event #39 for a payday of $83,030.

Chan entered the final table second in chips and ultimately drew an appealing heads-up match against Cesar “makavelyces” Fuentes, widely considered one of the best high-stakes online tournament players in the world. They began play nearly even in chips with around two million each and it was Fuentes who grabbed control early, cutting Chan’s stack down to 300,000. Chan doubled up and then quickly took over the chip lead when his pocket kings made a full house on a Kd-Qd-4d-Th-Qh board.

Chan chipped away at Fuentes’ stack and eventually Fuentes got the last of his chips in pre-flop with pocket nines against Chan’s Kh-Jc. The Kd-Qc-Qs flop left Fuentes drawing thin and the turn and river were no help, sending him out in second place for $61,180. Chan, meanwhile, added another prestigious Limit Hold’em title to his record as well as his first WCOOP bracelet.

Chan was updating his blog and Twitter account during his run in Event # 39 and expressed his contentment following the victory: “Insane. Just…insane. I kinda run good in these events, y’know?” He also noted in his blog that he hadn’t cashed in his first five WCOOP events of this year’s series, saying, “I have been frustrated in all of them, resulting in poor decisions in many of them.” That frustration has surely dissipated.Read Full Story