Wed, 03/23/2011 – 23:05 – PokerPages Staff

#5 Sam Trickett
Trickett who is seventh in the ProRank1 standings, has won $1,340,735 so far this year.  The Englishman has entered two tournaments during 2011, with $1,278,269 coming from his January victory in the Aussie Millions No Limit Hold’em 100,000 Challenge.
 
#4 Gregory Brooks
Brooks is also a one-hit wonder as far as earnings this year are concerned.  The $1,654,120 won during 2011 so far was all gained following his victory in the LA Poker Classic No Limit Hold’em Championship in February.  Brooks currently occupies 9th place in ProRank1.

#3 Eugene Katchalov
Sitting in third spot in the PokerPages ProRank1 standings, has boosted his bank balance by $1,689,920 so far during 2011.  Katchalov won the lion’s share of that money in his opening tournament of the year.  A first place finish in the PCA No Limit Hold’em Super High Roller on January 6 saw him pocket $1,500,000.

#2 David Gorr
Gorr has earned $1,676,418 from poker this year, and remarkably it was all won in one tournament.  Gorr, who currently is in 10th spot in ProRank 1, earned his mammoth winnings with a first place finish in the Aussie Millions Main Event – No Limit Hold’em in January.

#1 Erik Seidel
Seidel has already earned $1,759,971 in 2011 so far, even though the year is in only its third month.  Seidel, who is runaway leader in the ProRank1 standings, has been no slouch on the tournament poker circuit so far this year, having entered six.  His most lucrative appearance came in early March when victory in the NBC National Heads-up Poker Championship earned him $750,000.

Wed, 03/23/2011 – 00:13 – PokerPages Staff

An online poker chip thief from the United Kingdom has been jailed for two years for money laundering and computer misuse.

29 year-old Ashley Mitchell hacked into Zynga Poker’s computer system and used the identity of two employees to steal 400 billion virtual chips in 2009.

Mitchell then attempted to sell the chips by creating numerous fake Facebook accounts.

He eventually managed to sell around a third of the chips for $85,000. That figure is significantly short of their estimated $12 million value.

Mitchell was finally exposed when the company realized large numbers of their gaming chips were vanishing and that the system had been hacked.

Mitchell admitted earlier this year that his addiction to online gambling, which had cost him over $1,500 a day, had been the reason behind his actions.

Judge Phillip Wassall concluded that Mitchell should be given a sentence which reflected the impact that the breaches in security would have on public confidence in security systems.

“The dishonesty in this case was substantial and protracted. Online security is a priority for everyone these days.”

“You deprived Zynga of income. It is quite clear you used a considerable degree of expertise and persistence to hack into the system.”

Mitchell was also handed an extra thirty week sentence for breaching a suspended sentence imposed in 2008 when he hacked into a local council’s computer system.