February 26 2012, Brett Collson

Did you miss any of the top poker news stories this week? Well you’ve come to the right place to get caught up. We’re covering Doyle Brunson’s blog about Full Tilt Poker, MGM CEO Jim Murren’s comments about federal online poker in the U.S., and more.

Poker Business

Doyle Brunson Talks Full Tilt Poker

Aside from a controversial joke he made on Twitter last April, Doyle Brunson had been relatively quiet about Black Friday – especially regarding the severe financial situation at Full Tilt Poker. However, after Daniel Negreanu verbally attacked the FTP shareholders (again) in a video blog last week, Brunson defended his friends in his own blog.

“It looks like Bitar, Ferguson and Lederer are taking all the heat,” Brunson wrote. “Ferguson had a lot of faith in his friend Bitar. It is widely perceived that Howard Lederer was still heavily involved in running the company even though he retired two or three years earlier. I’ve been in contact with Lederer the last few months. When someone I’ve known for years, trusted and respected looks me dead in the eye and says he didn’t know about the financial problems, call me a big old Texas sucker because I will believe them.

“I have not talked to Ferguson but I understand he says what Lederer told me, that they didn’t know. There are at least four stockholders that own more of FT than Lederer. Where were they? The guilt should be shared IF it’s true Lederer and Ferguson didn’t know of the financial mess.”

Doyle’s comments got a rise out of several members of the poker community, including Negreanu.

To read Doyle’s full blog, check out doylebrunson.com.

Johnson Tabbed as Online Poker Payment Processor

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah businessman Jeremy Johnson hid the $51.4 million he earned processing online poker payments in the U.S. by moving funds through a variety of shell companies.

A court-appointed receiver found that Johnson tried to conceal the funds after the Federal Trade Commission sued Johnson and his companies for scamming consumers out of at least $275 million. Investigators uncovered 65 previously unknown entities that were “involved in moving funds and concealing” assets, according to the report.

“A majority of these entities do not appear to have generated any business income and were used as conduits to reroute funds and to commingle and hide funds,” the report said.

Johnson wasn’t named in the indictments on Black Friday, but he has ties to John Campos and Chad Elie. Both are set to stand trial next month after a motion to dismiss the charges against them was denied by a federal judge.

Read the full story at the Salt Lake Tribune.

Bally Technologies Acquires Chiligaming B2B Platform

French gaming operator Chiligaming continued to expand its presence in the U.S. by agreeing to a deal with Las Vegas slot machine manufacturer Bally Technologies on Thursday.

Bally’s acquisition of the gaming company will allow it to integrate Chiligaming’s solution for online poker, bingo, casino, and sports betting and social media into its existing management system of slot machines and casinos. Bally Technologies will now look into the option of performing multichannel promotions, bonusing, and player-tracking across Bally’s mobile, online, and traditional platforms.

“This acquisition provides an open, cloud-based platform for Bally Technologies to offer an integrated traditional and online casino solution to operators worldwide,” said John Connelly, vice president of business development at Bally Technologies. “Equally as important, Bally Technologies has also obtained an experienced team of industry veterans from within the online gaming industry, which will help our customers optimize their use of this platform.”

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Poker Legislation

MGM’s Murren Optimistic About Federal Online Poker in 2012

Despite reports that federal online poker has more than likely been shelved until at least 2013, MGM CEO Jim Murren said in a conference call on Wednesday that he believes it will still be legalized at some point this year.

“It’s not easy, not because it’s a complicated issue,” Murren said on the call, according to Reuters. “It’s becoming a clearer issue. It’s because Washington is becoming more complicated.

“We’ll be one of the first horses out of the gate when it’s approved.”

Meanwhile, MGM’s partner, Boyd Gaming, stated during a 4Q earnings call on Wednesday that federal online gaming in the U.S. appears “further off than we hoped,” hinting that the joint venture between MGM, Boyd and bwin.party would have to enter the market at a state level first.

“We believe the best approach is for Congress to enact legislation that creates a national, well-regulated environment for Internet gaming,” said Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smart. “And while we believe federal legislation is profitable, we will consider entering the market on a state-by-state basis if that’s how the issue plays out. We’ve already applied for an interactive gaming license in Nevada.”

Where does the third component in this joint venture, bwin.party, stand on the issue? We’ll be speaking with bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan in the coming days, so stay locked in to PokerNews.com.

Atlantis Internet Group Launches First Legal Intranet Gaming Platform

On Wednesday, the Atlantis Internet Group Corp. (ATIG), a Nevada-based gaming innovator, announced the launch of the first form of legal Intranet gaming within the U.S.

The Coushatta Casino Resort in Louisiana and Coyote Valley Casino in California became the first two Indian casinos to sign with ATIG’s Tribal Gaming Network, allowing ATIG to pioneer intrastate poker.

“We have a huge leg up on the competition, having mastered play-for-fun marketing sites since 2003,” said ATIG President and CEO Donald L. Bailey. “Now, based on the NIGC opinion, to date ATIG is the only gaming company that can legally offer online linking games, other than bingo, nationwide for live cash, such as poker and progressive jackpots. This is a new technology that has never been offered in the gaming Industry before today.”

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Mississippi Joins Race for Online Gaming

According to LegalPokerSites.com, Mississippi Rep. Bobby Moak has filed Mississippi House Bill 1373, which seeks to legalize and regulate online gambling, including poker, within state lines.

The bill details the foundation of regulation for online gaming by establishing policy and procedures for applicants, licensees, Internet service providers, employees and players. Among the highlights included in the bill are age verification, deposit methods, security, and player inactivity.

Mississippi is now the fifth state to consider an intrastate poker bill, joining Hawaii, New Jersey, Nevada, and Iowa. Read more on the story at PokerNews.com.

Iowa Passes Online Poker Bill

Iowa took another step toward online gaming Wednesday when the Senate State Government Committee passed Iowa Senate Study Bill 3164, which seeks to legalize online poker in the state.

Members of the Senate State Government Committee voted 11-4 in favor of the bill. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has now been given the green light to establish a structure whereby operators would partner with state-licensed casinos to provide access to online sites.

“I don’t see this as an expansion of gambling,” Sen. Rick Bertrand (R-Sioux City) said of the bill’s passage. “I see this as an expansion of freedom.”

PokerNews.com has more.

Online Poker

Betfair Poker Signs Peter Eastgate

On Monday, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate became the newest member of Team Betfair Poker. Eastgate will make his first appearance wearing a Betfair logo at the 2012 WSOP Main Event in July.

Eastgate left Team PokerStars in 2010, but made his return to poker at the 2011 NBC Heads-Up Championship. The London native has nearly $11 million in live tournament earnings, including $9,152,416 for his victory at the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

We have more on this story at PokerNews.com.

Happy Birthday, Sunday Million!

PokerStars is celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Sunday Million on March 11, 2012, and for one-week-only the site has increased the guarantee of its flagship event from $1 million to $6 million, with at least $1 million going to the champion.

The event will kick off at its regular time of 1430 EST (1930 GMT) with a direct buy-in of $215. As always, players can qualify for a seat by using their Frequent Player Points or through a wide variety of reasonably priced satellites. There will also be a special 1,000-seat guaranteed satellite running just before the big Sunday Million kicks off, with feeder satellites starting from only $1.

You can expect to see all of your favorite Team PokerStars Pros participating in the event, including Liv Boeree, Johnny Lodden, Lev Velduis, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Jason Mercier.

“When I think of the Sunday Million, I think back to being a 19- to 21-year-old kid, grinding mid-stakes, looking for that big tournament score,” Mercier said. “I would get excited every week to play the Sunday Million, hoping that would be the day that I would have my first six-figure score.”

For more information, check out our story at PokerNews.com.

Everleaf Confirms U.S. Authorities Seized Funds

Nearly two weeks after making a hasty exit from the U.S. market, Everleaf Gaming broke its silence with a statement to the media on Thursday. The company confirmed that player funds had been seized by U.S. authorities but reassured all affected players that all the funds will be refunded in full.

Everleaf players residing in the U.S. were prohibited from playing on any of the network’s 100-plus skins beginning on Feb. 9, 2012. Everleaf did not release an explanation for the stoppage, but a representative from Minted Poker revealed that the network received a cease and desist order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and faced legal action if it continues to facilitate its services in the U.S.

Everleaf said in the statement that the seizure occurred in the U.S. and only affects U.S. players, and that business in other markets will continue to run as usual.

Everleaf’s statement can be found right here at PokerNews.com.

Poker Tournaments

Seidel Joins PartyPoker Premier League

The lineup for the fifth edition of the PartyPoker Premier League continues to get stronger. On Tuesday, poker’s all-time money winner, Erik Seidel, added his name to the mix of players who will put up $125,000 to compete in the televised event in Vienna, Austria, from April 4 through 10.

Seidel joins Patrik Antonius, Tony G, Luke “Full Flush” Schwartz, Sam Trickett, Vanessa Selbst, Andy Frankenberger, and others for the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker V. The 16-player event is part of the World Poker Tour Vienna festivities and will award the winner with a massive top prize plus entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship at Bellagio.

“I am born to crush the Seiborg by the Danube,” Tony G. said on Tuesday. “Forget Tony the Tiger I am Tony the Terminator!”

Visit Tony’s blog for more information on the Premier League.

ISPT Planning Second Event

The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) still needs to get a gaming license in order to launch its inaugural “20,000,000 Guaranteed tournament at London’s Wembley Stadium. However, that’s not stopping ISPT co-founder and president Laurent Tapie from eying future stops for the tour.

According to eGaming Review, Tapie has plans to follow up the event in London with second event in Paris or Monaco. The ISPT’s goal is to attract up to 30,000 players to each event, so it would need to find a stadium with that capacity.

Groupe Bernard Tapie’s original plan was to have most or all of the 30,000 players qualify online, presumably at Full Tilt Poker after the sale of the site went through. However, with that acquisition still on hold, there’s no telling how the ISPT will bring that number of players to London.

You can find more on this story over at eGamingReview (if you have a subscription, of course).

Stars Join Together for WPT Foundation

Daniel Negreanu, Maria Ho, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Selbst, and other high-profile pros have team up with the World Poker Tour to create the WPT Foundation, an organization focused on “utilizing WPT’s unmatched platform to influence positive change in the world.”

WPT Foundation will hold a series of charity poker tournaments called WPT Playing for a Better World. The events will bring together poker pros and A-list celebrities like Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Eva Longoria, Maria Bello, and Gerard Butler, to help raise money for WPT Foundation’s global charity partners.

The inaugural event will take place at SLS Hotel Beverly Hills on March 11, 2012. The festivities will begin with poker training lessons from the pros followed by a round-robin style poker event, a raffle and an auction. Tickets for the launch event of WPT Playing for a Better World are $500 each, with raffle tickets beginning at $100.

Read our article at PokerNews.com for more information.

PokerStars LAPT Gears Up for Season 5

Season 4 of the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour came to a close on Monday, but the tour is already getting arrangements in order for Season 5. The next season will get under way on March 25, 2012, from the Vina del Mar Enjoy Casino and Hotel in Chile.

The LAPT returns to Vina del Mar for the third time and has lowered the buy-in for the $1,000 Main Event in hopes of besting last year’s field of 621 players.

“For this third visit to Chile, the capacity for the Main Event has been increased to allow up to 1,000 players, so we can cater for the entire Latin American and international poker community,” said Carolina Elchiver, the venue’s corporate marketing manager. “In addition, the seven side events will also have an increased capacity.”

You can find the full Season 5 LAPT schedule at PokerNews.com.

Vanessa Selbst Wins Star-studded $5,000 LAPC Event

The $10,000 Main Event at the Los Angeles Poker Classic kicked off on Friday, but a prelim event was getting all the attention at the Commerce Casino late Thursday night. A stacked field in the $5,000 no-limit hold’em event played down to a winner, and Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Selbst and Jonathan Duhamel were the last two standing from a field of 98.

After notables like Josh Brikis, Stephen Chidwick, Faraz Jaka, Matt Stout and McLean Karr exited the final table, Selbst and Duhamel decided to cut a deal. Selbst then went on to take down the title and a top prize of $140,295, while Duhamel collected $121,115 – his fourth six-figure score of 2012.

Here’s a look at the final table results of the 2012 LAPC $5,000 no-limit hold’em event:

2012 L.A. Poker Classic Event #45 Final Table Results

For an in-depth look at how the final table played out, read the recap here at PokerNews.com.

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February 23 2012, Brett Collson, Chad Holloway

Every day, it seems more states in the U.S. are looking into online gaming. This week, Mississippi and Iowa have taken steps toward an intrastate online gambling platform. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’ll bring you the latest on the legislation front, plus the possibility of a motion picture about Jerry Yang’s life, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Need a new book to read at the tables? Check out our review of Poker With A Purpose

Jason Mercier held on to the top spot in the Global Poker Index this week. Mickey Doft takes a complete look at the biggest movers and shakers on the GPI.

Pierre Neuville leads the final 24 players at the PokerStars.com EPT Copenhagen Main EVent. Take a look at Neuville’s rise up the ranks in our EPT recap.

Mississippi Joins Race for Online Gaming

According to LegalPokerSites.com, Mississippi Rep. Bobby Moak has filed Mississippi House Bill 1373, which seeks to legalize and regulate online gambling, including poker, within state lines.

The bill details the foundation of regulation for online gaming by establishing policy and procedures for applicants, licensees, Internet service providers, employees and players. Among the highlights included in the bill are age verification, deposit methods, security, and player inactivity.

Mississippi is now the fifth state to consider an intrastate poker bill, joining Hawaii, New Jersey, Nevada, and Iowa. Read more on the story at PokerNews.com.

Iowa Passes Online Poker Bill

Iowa took another step toward online gaming Wednesday when the Senate State Government Committee passed Iowa Senate Study Bill 3164, which seeks to legalize online poker in the state.

Members of the Senate State Government Committee voted 11-4 in favor of the bill. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has now been given the green light to establish a structure whereby operators would partner with state-licensed casinos to provide access to online sites.

“I don’t see this as an expansion of gambling,” Sen. Rick Bertrand (R-Sioux City) said of the bill’s passage. “I see this as an expansion of freedom.”

PokerNews.com has more.

The Jerry Yang Story

During an appearance with Short Stacked Radio on Wednesday night, 2007 World Series of Poker winner Jerry Yang told host Mark Hoke that there is a possibility Yang’s book will be turned into a movie.

“Between you and me … my father and I will be meeting with a motion picture company in about three weeks or so to discuss the opportunity to have the book made into a motion picture,” Yang said. “I’m very excited and I’m praying, I’m really praying right now. Hopefully that will happen. We have a scheduled meeting already. My father and I will fly out and meet with this particular company. This is my third meeting with them by the way, so hopefully we’ll be able to put something together that is agreeable with both sides.”

The book, All In, follows Yang’s origins from Southeast Asia to winning $8.2 million on poker’s biggest stage. It also focuses heavily on the life of Yang’s father, who helped their people escape an oppressive regime.

If you want to listen to the entire interview, check out Episode 95 of Short Stacked Radio around the two-hour mark.

You can also read our review of Yang’s Book here at PokerNews.com.

Stars Join Together for WPT Foundation

Daniel Negreanu, Maria Ho, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Selbst, and other high-profile pros have team up with the World Poker Tour to create the WPT Foundation, an organization focused on “utilizing WPT’s unmatched platform to influence positive change in the world.”

WPT Foundation will hold a series of charity poker tournaments called WPT Playing for a Better World. The events will bring together poker pros and A-list celebrities like Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Eva Longoria, Maria Bello, and Gerard Butler, to help raise money for WPT Foundation’s global charity partners.

The inaugural event will take place at SLS Hotel Beverly Hills on March 11, 2012. The festivities will begin with poker training lessons from the pros followed by a round-robin style poker event, a raffle and an auction. Tickets for the launch event of WPT Playing for a Better World are $500 each, with raffle tickets beginning at $100.

Read our article at PokerNews.com for more information.

DeepStacks Poker Tour Sizzle Real

Last weekend, The PokerNews Live Reporting Team brought you coverage from the inaugural DeepStacks Poker Tour event in Niagara Falls, New York.

The Western New York Poker Championship will be the first televised poker tournament in Western New York, and the television production team over at Blue Fusion has already put together a sizzle reel from the event.

As you’ll see below, the footage looks pretty impressive.

Bally Technologies Acquires Chiligaming B2B Platform

French gaming operator Chiligaming continued to expand its presence in the U.S. by agreeing to a deal with Las Vegas based slot machine manufacturer Bally Technologies on Thursday.

Bally’s acquisition of the gaming company will allow it to integrate Chiligaming’s solution for online poker, bingo, casino, and sports betting and social media into its existing management system of slot machines and casinos. Bally Technologies will now look into the option of performing multi-channel promotions, bonusing, and player-tracking across Bally’s mobile, online, and traditional platforms.

“This acquisition provides an open, cloud-based platform for Bally Technologies to offer an integrated traditional and online casino solution to operators worldwide,” said John Connelly, vice president of business development at Bally Technologies. “Equally as important, Bally Technologies has also obtained an experienced team of industry veterans from within the online gaming industry, which will help our customers optimize their use of this platform.”

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Borrowing — One of Poker’s Systemic Diseases

One of the most important components in being a successful professional poker player is proper money management. Borrowing money has always been common in the poker community – and likely always will be – but often times it can create bad blood between players, ruin a player’s reputation, and ultimately end a career.

On Thursday, Linda Geenen at PokerWorks.com posted a great article discussing the vicious cycle of loaning money in poker. In the article, titled Borrowing – One of Poker’s Systemic Diseases, Geenen discusses the dire situation at Full Tilt Poker, Chino Rheem’s financial obligations and his probation from the Epic Poker League, and a few other cases in which poker players have found themselves in trouble.

We highly recommend checking out Geenen’s article at PokerWorks.com.

Where the EPT Gets its Bling

Danish jeweler Shamballa Jewels is the official bracelet sponsor of the EPT Season 8 Main Events, so Sarah Grant made her way to downtown Copenhagen for a look inside the Shamballa Jewels shop.

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February 22 2012, Brett Collson

Are you looking for the day’s biggest poker stories? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you comments from MGM and Boyd game about the future of federal online gaming in the U.S., a big celebration coming from PokerStars next month, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Melanie Weisner leads the field after Day 2 of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Copenhagen Main Event. Michael Tureniec is also still alive and looking to become the first double winner in EPT history.

Which poker tournaments should you have on your bucket list? Take a look at our top 10 can’t miss tournaments during the year.

Matthew Weber won the World Series of Poker Circuit event in Tunica last week. Chad Holloway caught up with Weber to talk about his road to the title and how he got his start in poker.

Just like the rest of our body, our ears are not invincible. Lynn Gilmartin explains why players should be careful with headphones at the poker table.

MGM’s Murren Optimistic About Federal Online Poker in 2012

Despite reports that federal online poker has more than likely been shelved until at least 2013, MGM CEO Jim Murren said in a conference call on Wednesday that he believes it will still be legalized at some point this year.

“It’s not easy, not because it’s a complicated issue,” Murren said on the call, according to Reuters. “It’s becoming a clearer issue. It’s because Washington is becoming more complicated.

“We’ll be one of the first horses out of the gate when it’s approved.”

Meanwhile, MGM’s partner, Boyd Gaming, stated during a Q4 earnings call on Wednesday that federal online gaming in the U.S. appears “further off than we hoped,” hinting that the joint venture between MGM, Boyd and bwin.party would have to enter the market at a state level first.

“We believe the best approach is for Congress to enact legislation that creates a national, well-regulated environment for Internet gaming,” said Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smart. “And while we believe federal legislation is profitable, we will consider entering the market on a state-by-state basis if that’s how the issue plays out. We’ve already applied for an interactive gaming license in Nevada.”

Where does the third component in this joint venture, bwin.party, stand on the issue? We’ll be speaking with bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan in the coming days, so stay locked in to PokerNews.com.

Happy Birthday, Sunday Million!

PokerStars is celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Sunday Million on March 11, 2012, and for one-week-only the site has increased the guarantee of its flagship event from $1 million to $6 million, with at least $1 million going to the champion.

The event will kick off at its regular time of 1430 EST (1930 GMT) with a direct buy-in of $215. As always, players can qualify for a seat by using their Frequent Player Points or through a wide variety of reasonably priced satellites. There will also be a special 1,000-seat guaranteed satellite running just before the big Sunday Million kicks off, with feeder satellites starting from only $1.

You can expect to see all of your favorite Team PokerStars Pros participating in the event, including Liv Boeree, Johnny Lodden, Lev Velduis, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Jason Mercier.

“When I think of the Sunday Million, I think back to being a 19- to 21-year-old kid, grinding mid-stakes, looking for that big tournament score,” Mercier said. “I would get excited every week to play the Sunday Million, hoping that would be the day that I would have my first six-figure score.”

For more information, check out our story at PokerNews.com.

Duhamel Leads Global Poker Index Player of the Year

Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel held the top spot in the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings again this week. The award, which is presented by PokerNews, honors the player who has the strongest performance in live tournaments during the calendar year, according to the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.

There were no changes in the Top 10 from last week, but there was plenty of movement in the Top 100. Among the biggest climbers were Noah Schwartz (up 36 sports to No. 19), Marko Neumann (up 67 spots to No. 21), Harrison Gimbel (up 113 spots to No. 33) and Barry Greenstein (up 60 spots to No. 49). Gimbel’s huge rise came by way of a ninth-place finish at the World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open. Schwartz took 18th in that same event.

Here’s a look at the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings:

Current GPI Player of the Year Top 10

For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to EpicPoker.com.

Keith Ferrera Wins Venetian DeepStacks Extravaganza I

Las Vegas poker pro Keith Ferrera took down the $2,500 Venetian DeepStack Extravaganza I Main Event on Tuesday, earning $139,720 for his three days of work. Ferrera, who was coming off a sixth-place finish at the World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open for $42,185, continued his heater this week by besting 254 players at the Venetian, including a final table that featured Will “The Thrill” Failla, Francois Safiedinne and Paul Lieu.

Here’s a look at the final results from the Venetian:

Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza 1 Final Table Results

WPT Heads to Los Angeles

The World Poker Tour heads to the City of Angels this week for the Los Angeles Poker Classic at the renowned Commerce Casino. The $10,000 Main Event gets under way on Friday, Feb. 24, and will play down to a champion on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Last year, Greg Brooks burst onto the live tournament scene by outlasting 681 players to win the LAPC Main Event for $1,654,120. Brooks bested a loaded final table that featured Carlos Mortensen, Steve Gross, Vivek Rajkumar, Amir Lehavot and Daryll Fish.

Other winners of the prestigious event include Phil Ivey, Alan Goehring, Michael Mizrachi, Antonio Esfandiari and Gus Hansen.

Stay tuned to PokerNews.com as we bring you recaps from each day of the LAPC. For more information about the event, check out the World Poker Tour Blog.

Get Hog Wild

If you live in the U.S. and are looking for a way to qualify online for the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, HogWildPokerLeagues.com is giving away a free $13,000 package at the end of May. And all you have to do is compete in Hog Wild’s Staking Series.

“Players in our leagues love the fact that their game improves rapidly when they compete in our league format,” says HogWild CEO Jeff Amrein. “Along the way almost every player has a dream to be staked as a pro and we wanted to give many players that experience, rewarding them for their demonstrated skill over multiple games. Nearly 50 players will live that chance in the next three months thanks to this series.”

Read more about Hog Wild Poker in the press release.

Atlantis Internet Group Launches First Legal Intranet Gaming Platform

On Wednesday, the Atlantis Internet Group Corp. (ATIG), a Nevada-based gaming innovator, announced the launch of the first form of legal Intranet gaming within the United States.

The Coushatta Casino Resort in Louisiana and Coyote Valley Casino in California became the first two Indian casinos to sign with ATIG’s Tribal Gaming Network, allowing ATIG to pioneer intrastate poker.

“We have a huge leg up on the competition, having mastered play-for-fun marketing sites since 2003,” said ATIG President and CEO Donald L. Bailey. “Now, based on the NIGC opinion, to date ATIG is the only gaming company that can legally offer online linking games other than bingo, nationwide for live cash, such as poker and progressive jackpots. This is a new technology that has never been offered in the gaming Industry before today.”

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Daniel’s Weekly Rant

You probably saw Daniel Negreanu’s first video blog about Jason Somerville and the Full Tilt Poker board members. If you haven’t you’ll definitely want to check it out.

On Wednesday, Daniel released his second video blog, discussing topics such as his deep run at the LAPT Grand Final, Doyle Brunson defending Howard Lederer, and more.

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