September 23 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

Our brains are officially fried. There have been so many news stories this week, we almost didn’t know what to do with them all – but we figured it out. We’re definitely glad it’s the weekend. Be sure to check out the top poker news stories of the day, like the online poker petition, and T.J. Cloutier’s thoughts on Full Tilt Poker, and then go grab a beer or something. Oh yeah, and while you’re railing the football games on Sunday, be sure to rail the PokerStars WCOOP action, because we’ll be live blogging the Main Event.

In Case You Missed It

We know that sometimes it’s easier more fun to listen to news than read it, especially when the PokerNews hostesses are bringing you the update. In the latest PokerNews Weekly, Kristy Arnett and Sarah Grant discuss Full Tilt Poker, and more.

The World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open set its final table on Day 4. Who led the way going into the final table on Day 5?

The remaining players from both Day 1 fields were merged on Thursday at the World Poker Tour Malta. The money bubble didn’t burst on Day 2, but it was close. By the end of play on Day 2, Cecilia Pescaglini had overtaken the top spot on the chip leaderboard.

There are only a few days left in the 2011 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker. If you read the Day 19 WCOOP recap, you’ll find out how a two-day event turned into a one day.

Sunday is almost here and that means football. If you can’t figure out which teams to bet on or who to play on your fantasy team, you should probably read the latest Pigskin Diaries.

The spotlight has shone brightly on Full Tilt Poker this week. On Friday, we obtained the arrest warrant in rem from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York that calls for the seizure of bank accounts held by Full Tilt’s board members.

This week’s amended complaint against Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst probably left you wondering whether players will get their money back. Here’s a look at the impact that the allegations have on player reimbursements.

With the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker running, one might think the high-stakes online cash games might be a little light. Wrong. The Online Railbird Report fills you in on this week’s biggest winners, and losers.

We’re not legal experts. We never claimed to be. But we found one who is well versed in the gaming industry and Ponzi schemes – Maurice “Mac” VerStandig. He broke down the allegations against Full Tilt Poker for us.

5,000 in 30

A petition was created on Sept. 22 to bring online poker regulation to the Obama administration’s attention. We the People, is a way to get the public’s voice heard in the government. At the moment, the minimum number of signatures needed on a petition to be reviewed is 5,000 signatures in 30 days.

The online poker petition wants the Obama administration to “protect consumers, create jobs, and generate revenue by licensing and regulating online poker.” At the time of writing, 2,932 signatures have been collected.

“Appropriate regulation of online poker will put the U.S. in charge of safeguarding responsible adult players, prevent underage participation and protect those with excessive gaming habits. The current, unregulated U.S. marketplace does not guarantee a single consumer protection,” the petition says.

The petition continues, “U.S. regulation of this global industry will also mean the creation of American jobs and billions in new revenue without raising taxes. Licensed U.S.-based horse race wagering sites have proven that online betting sites can be successfully regulated. It is time to allow online poker the same opportunity.”

Be heard. Sign the petition.

Cloutier Speaks

Earlier this week, Covers ran an interview with T.J. Cloutier regarding the recent allegations against Full Tilt Poker.

Cloutier told Covers, “From what I understand, Full Tilt never had any intention of repaying these people. This whole thing is ridiculous.”

He continued, “Why would they ever try to get more than they should get out of it? To me, it’s greed. You know that television program, ‘American Greed?’ They ought to have this thing on there. I heard point blank that none of the players on Full Tilt are going to get their money. The feeling now is if there’s any money left, the government is going to get it.”

He even touched on who had ownership in the company, saying, “Phil Ivey in no way had the power that Howard [Lederer] did. Of the poker players, Howard was by far the biggest. They all bought 1 percent pieces of it. Howard had a bigger slice, Phil had a slice, Ferguson had a slice and the rest were 1-percenters. That was just a business deal for them, an investment. The only one who played at the WSOP this year was Erick Lindgren. The rest stayed completely away from it. They didn’t want to have to answer all these questions and face the heat.”

Cloutier’s thoughts on the government weren’t exactly flattering either. “As far as I am concerned, the government is stupid,” he said. “They could have been making all this money on taxes and stuff all along (since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed in 2006). There was money there. All these poor homeless people and the troops that come home and can’t find jobs … some money could be going to them that they could have been collecting from this.”

If you wanted to check out the entire interview, go to Covers.com.

Duplicate Poker and The Table

The International Federation of Poker announced the details of two new tournaments on Wednesday. The events will take place from Nov. 17 through 20 in London.

On Nov. 17, the inaugural Duplicate Poker Nations Cup will kick off at the EDF Energy London Eye (you know, the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe). The Nations Cup will pit 12 different countries against each other for the championship trophy, medals, and of course bragging rights.

“The Nations Cup will be a genuine celebration of all that is best in intellectual sports. Some of the world’s best players playing for pride and the honor of representing their countries in an intense competition with the added spice of international rivalry. Poker is played by millions around the world and Duplicate Poker is the game in its purest form. Players compete against each other based on skill, without any fluctuation in chance,” IFP President Anthony Holden said.

What is duplicate poker? It’s a poker variant where “each table is dealt an identically shuffled pack of cards, which means that each player holds the same hand as those in the equivalent seat on other tables.”

The IFP also launched The Table tournament, where 130 of the world’s best will play against each other in a freeroll with a $500,000 prize pool.

Find out more about the launch of these two tournaments at UK.PokerNews.com.

There is Something Cool About Being Good at Poker

On Sept. 22, 4th Row Films uploaded a teaser trailer for its poker documentary on YouTube. All-In: The Poker Movie features Howard Lederer (yup), Matt Damon, Scotty Nguyen, and plenty of other notable players.

We’ll let you come to your own conclusions about this one.

Is That…No, It Couldn’t Be

In the midst of our flurry of work on Friday, we came across our favorite thread of the moment on TwoPlusTwo – Phil Hellmuth Riding a Giant Hotdog on Water. Yes, you read that right, and yes, it’s literal – well, almost. We aren’t sure if it’s Hellmuth on the hotdog, but if it’s not, the guy in the photo is a dead ringer for the Poker Brat. The initial image is gold in and of itself, but as you’re all aware, there are some Photoshop masters on TwoPlusTwo.

This thread is a must read.

You should follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news. Not only that, like PokerNews on Facebook, and sign up for the Nightly Turbo newsletter below.

Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter – @LaneyLV

August 21 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

If you’re looking for the best place to find the week’s top poker news stories, then you’ve come to the right place. Find out more about the reintroduction of NJ state senator Lesniak’s intrastate online poker bill, a new Full Tilt Poker class action lawsuit, and more.

Try Again

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

That’s what New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak is doing. Rather than giving up after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed his bill for intrastate online gaming, Lesniak is planning on reintroducing it.

“Both industries are dying a slow death and they need the additional revenues that online gaming will provide for them,” Lesniak said of Atlantic City casinos and horse racing.

The state senator says that online gaming would create 1,900 new jobs and tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue. According to reports, one reason Gov. Christie vetoed the bill was because he was worried that Internet cafes would pop up around the state and exploit it.

In the new version of the bill Lesniak said, “They will be strictly prohibited from doing that.”

According to NJ1015.com, the bill will be reintroduced on August 25.

Read more on Lesniak’s reintroduction on NJ1015.com.

Another Lawsuit

According to EGRMagazine.com Full Tilt Poker has another class-action lawsuit on its hands. EGRMagazine is reporting that two Canadian players, Zayn Jetha and Donald Whelan, are responsible for the suit. The two have named Ray Bitar, Nelson Burtnick and Howard Lederer, as well as Full Tilt Poker Ltd and a few other companies associated with Full Tilt Poker. Tiltware was on that list.

This lawsuit comes one month after professional poker player Todd Terry and three other plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf on “a nation-wide class of Full Tilt account holders residing in the United States.” That suit named both Bitar and Burtnick, but also 13 members of Team Full Tilt.

You can read more at EGRMagazine.com.

Cates Multi-Accounting

Last week, Daniel Cates was interviewed by Noah Stephens-Davidowitz and Vanessa Selbst for Subject:Poker. In the first interview with the two, Cates told Stephens-Davidowitz and Selbst that he witnessed Haseeb Qureshi playing under Jose Macedo’s account.

“No, I basically witnessed it happen. Like, I just assumed it wouldn’t really matter. In my opinion, the way multi-accounting is unethical is if there’s some sort of information that leads the…It’s difficult to explain, but basically if there’s some sort of deception involved. Deception involved where, like, some read someone has on a player but if the player is not who they are, the read will be misused. Deception like that. But if that doesn’t really happen then multi-accounting, in theory, is harmless. If that makes sense.”

Subject:Poker was then contacted by Cates’ publicist, who said Cates lied about who actually multi-accounted and that it was actually Cates. He was then interviewed again by Subject:Poker where he clarified the situation.

Listen to the interview at SubjectPoker.com.

Could Bwin Be Wynning?

On Tuesday, numerous reports were circulating that Wynn Resorts had its eye on Bwin.party. The reports were enough to shoot Bwin.party’s share prices up. Rumors are saying a possible bid could reach as high as 170p per share, according to Independent.co.uk. The rumors surrounding Bwin.party and Wynn Resorts come on the heels of speculation that buyers could come from companies closer to home, like William Hill.

This isn’t the first time Wynn Resorts has been linked to an online poker site. In March, PokerStars and Wynn Resorts announced a strategic alliance. The alliance was set to seek a license to jointly operate a U.S. online poker site, but disbanded after Black Friday.

Find out more at Independent.co.uk.

Online Poker TV Ads

With only one business-month left for the California legislature, the push is on to get Sen. Lou Correa’s Senate Bill 40 passed. The California Online Poker Association has released a series of radio and television ads asking the legislature to pass the bill that would make online poker legal and taxed in California.

With ominous music in the background, the ad says, “California is facing a real emergency. A $4 billion budget shortfall that will result in cuts to police and fire departments, health care and state schools among other. Online poker will provide California with billions of dollars including $250 million immediately, create thousands of jobs and will ensure that the state’s online poker market, the largest in the nation, won’t be taken over by Nevada and its casinos.”

The bill is opposed by other gaming tribes and they issued a letter urging the legislature not to take action.

“Even though there have been hearings on the matter of intrastate internet poker, many fiscal, legal, technical and policy related questions must be resolved before adoption of any intrastate internet gaming legislation. There are numerous stakeholders who stand to be irreparably harmed should legislation be ‘ram-rodded’ through this legislative year and this surely would be a disservice to ALL Californians, Tribal and Non-Tribal, alike,” says the letter from Robert H. Smith, Chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance.

The Sacramento Bee has more.

Bonomo on the Move

We tried to come up with a funny Magic the Gathering anecdote about Justin Bonomo moving to Malta to continue playing online poker, but we know nothing about MTG. However, this is the perfect story to link to our favorite video about Malta.

Back to the story at hand. According to his Facebook page, Justin Bonomo is moving to Malta. He’s hoping to be settled in time to check out the World Poker Tour stop in Malta on Sept. 20.

Bonomo is one of quite a few professional poker players who have decided to move from the U.S. to continue playing online poker. Phil Galfond, Vanessa Selbst, Jon Aguiar, and Supernova Elite Mike “MeleaB” Brooks are among those who have made the move.

EPT President Appointed

Global Poker Tours Limited, the poker tour production company behind the PokerStars European Poker Tour, on Thursday announced that the PokerStars EPT appointed Edgar Stuchly president.

According to the press release, Stuchly will “act as an official spokesperson of the EPT, helping refine the vision for the tour, working to further improve the customer experience for the many thousands of players from around the world who participate in the events, and growing the brand across more countries in Europe.”

“The EPT is the richest and most prestigious poker tour in Europe, and I’m delighted to be joining a much-loved and well-run live tour,” said Stuchly. “The goal now is to take the EPT to another level, in terms of improving the experience for players and expanding the tour into burgeoning poker markets in Europe. It’s a big challenge but one that I’m relishing.”

Stuchly is the former head of poker for Casinos Austria. During his four-year tenure there, he managed poker rooms at 12 casinos, founded the Casinos Austria Poker Tour, and managed the European Poker Championships.

“Edgar’s extensive live poker experience and vision for the EPT eased his appointment significantly. I’m sure that players, fans and anyone connected to the EPT will feel the benefits of his leadership over the coming months and years,” EPT chairman John Duthie said.

Find out more at PokerStarsBlog.com.

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