November 05 2011, Matthew Kredell

There was a lot of anger in the poker community back in 2006 when PartyPoker pulled out of the U.S. market after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

For years, it appeared that Party had made a huge mistake. The site’s market share tumbled along with the company’s stock price. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker took over as the top dogs of online poker and thrived.

It’s a much different story today. Perhaps PartyPoker knew what it was doing after all.

An agreement was announced Monday that Bwin.party would team up with U.S. casino operators MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming if online poker is ever explicitly legalized in the country.

The move indicates a probable return to the U.S. market for PartyPoker if online poker legislation passes in coming years. The partnership is likely to still receive some scrutiny, but support from the influential and respected MGM should help.

It’s the same sort of agreements made early this year by PokerStars with Wynn Resorts and Full Tilt Poker with the owner of Station Casinos. Those ties were severed after owners of PokerStars and Full Tilt were indicted by the Justice Department on Black Friday, an event that forced the sites out of the U.S.

PartyPoker avoided all of that trouble and now is poised to return to the U.S. at the first opportunity. PokerStars and Full Tilt, with the legal troubles and reputation hit taken on Black Friday, might find the road back to America much more difficult.

Will PartyPoker’s return be triumphant? Most of the bad will the poker community held for PartyPoker after the withdrawal has dissipated. It felt like PartyPoker was abandoning us at the time, but hindsight has proven it was the right move for the company. All the troubles players have had in getting their funds out of Full Tilt and Absolute Poker remind us of how well PartyPoker handled its reimbursement of players, right down to the VIP points.

The one issue that shouldn’t be forgiven so easily is that, in a settlement with the DOJ in 2009, PartyGaming admitted to providing illegal Internet gambling services to U.S. customers prior to 2006 despite there being no federal law that declares online poker illegal.

If a PartyPoker-MGM-Boyd site attracts the fish Party once did, the poker community is likely to quickly forgive that one transgression.

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April 11 2011, Chad Holloway

On Sunday, April 10, 2011, PokerStars held the continuation of the SuperStar Showdown featuring Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Scott “urnotindangr” Palmer.

If you recall, last week the two played the first part of their two-round match, with Palmer notching a modest $5,425-win after 2,500 hands. As it turned out, this week’s match was a completely different story as Blom raked in $66,607 over 2,500 hands to finish the two-part match $61,182 in the black.

SuperStar Showdown Breakdown Prior to the Match

How It’s Played: While the SuperStar Showdown may conjure images of the “durrrr Challenge,” there are some differences. The SuperStar Showdown is designed as a one-time high-stakes match where challengers face Blom in a heads-up match of 2,500 hands (as opposed to the “durrrr Challenge,” which is 50,000 hands and can last over many months — or years).

The match is played across four tables of $50/$100 or higher no-limit hold’em and/or pot-limit Omaha, depending on the competitor’s preference. The winner is the player who shows a profit at the end of the match or who felts his or her opponent in the process. What’s more, the SuperStar Showdown matches are announced in advance, so poker fans can enjoy the action live on PokerStars, unlike the “durrrr Challenge,” which has been inconsistent. In this particular match, Blom and Palmer continued to play four tables of heads-up no-limit hold’em.

The Outcome: Part I was characterized by swings that lasted right up to the conclusion of the match. It was during those late stages that Palmer managed to win a couple of pots and pulled into a slight lead. Things turned out quite different during Part II as Blom seized the lead early on, one that he would never relinquish. While things didn’t go Palmer’s way, he was able to battle back from Blom’s one-time lead of over $100,000 and ended up losing $66,607 ($61,182 total over both matches).

Here is a look at a few of the biggest and most notable hands from the latest Blom-Palmer match, according to the PokerStars Blog.

Out to an Early Lead: Blom ($10,800) managed to jump out to an early lead, one he would never give up, when Palmer ($11,200) raised to $300 preflop and then called Blom’s three-bet to $1,000, leading to a flop of . Blom continuation bet $1,200, Palmer called, and the appeared on the turn. Again Blom bet, this time $2,650, and Palmer called, leading to the on the river. Blom pushed all-in for $5,950, Palmer called, and Blom rolled over for a flopped full house. Palmer, who held for a turned straight, lost the $21,600 pot and never fully recovered.

Blom Goes Runner-Runner: While Palmer managed to win a few pots here and there, every time he took a step forward, he’d fall two back. It didn’t help that Blom was running well. In one hand, Palmer was all-in preflop with against the of Blom. The flop seemed harmless enough to Palmer, but the turn gave Blom an open-ended straight draw. The draw was completed when the spiked on the river, sending the $32,300 pot Blom’s way.

Things Not Going Palmer’s Way: Palmer ($25,700) raised to $300 on the button and Blom ($23,500) exercised his option in the big blind by making it $1,100 to go. Palmer made the call, the flop came down , and Blom fired out $1,300. After a call, the hit the turn. This time Blom bet $3,150, Palmer raised to $8,000, Blom made it $12,850, and Palmer called. Blom, who had $8,250 behind, moved all-in when the was revealed on the river, which Palmer called. With $47,000 in the pot, Blom rolled over for a full house and it was good against the of Palmer.

A Little Recovery: With around 500 hands left, Palmer was down over $100,000 and was looking for any luck at all. He received a little when he was all-in preflop holding against the of Blom. The board ran out and Palmer’s hand actually held up. A few more favorable hands saw Palmer recoup around $35,000, bringing his total losses down to $66,607 after the 2,500-hand mark was met.

Updated SuperStar Showdown Breakdown

Who’s Next?: That is a good question since the next challenger for the SuperStar Showdown has yet to be revealed, but when it is, rest assured PokerNews we’ll let you know.

If you want to find out more details and hands from this installment of the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown, check out the PokerStars Blog.

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