WSOPC Caesars Plays Down To Final 9 Today.

Max Reele Leads Day 1 of WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars.

Relative unknown Max Reele was the chip leader at the end of Day 1 of the WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars Palace after play concluded Tuesday night.  The $5k buyin event attracted a solid field of 334 competitors, with 1st place taking home nearly $500,000!

Day 1 was filled with casualties, as 280 players alone exited the doors at Caesars - leaving only 54 players left in the field as Day 2 started today.  Among the contenders remaining is former WSOPC champ Doug Lee, poker pro Ralph Perry, and online phenom Mark Newhouse.

Those who want to watch the final table live can cruise on over to WorldSeriesOfPoker.com on Thursday, May 1st, 2008.

ZOMG PokerStars has a $1.5 Million Guaranteed EVERY Sunday now! Qualify for as little as $2! How can you NOT click?

2008 WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars Palace Begins Today.

Main Event Underway at Caesars.

The second to last WSOP Circuit Event began play today at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The $5,000 Main Event will most likely attract a decent amount of players, including some of the top pros around the globe.

It is a busy time in Vegas right now, with many of the best players in the world predicting this year to be one of the busiest poker tournament summers on record.  It is not yet known how many players this event will draw, considering the last 2 Circuit Main Events have only drawn minimal numbers.

The final table of the 2008 WSOP Circuit at Caesar’s will start on Thursday, and most likely conclude later that evening.  PokerOwnage.com will have more to add once we get more information on the tournament itself.

The final WSOPC will take place in New Orleans on May 9th and conclude on May 21st.  From there on out, the official World Series of Poker (brought to you by Harrah’s) will begin May 30th.

Team PokerStars Welcomes New Addition; Final Sunday MTT Numbers.

Victoria Coren Joins Team PokerStars

Popular British pro poker player Victoria Coren is the most recent addition to the lineup over at Team PokerStars. Coren, often called the “Princess of Poker,” is one of the premier female poker players in the world, and even has an EPT title under her belt after her historic win during season 3 at the EPT London.

Victoria is currently tenth all time on the female career earnings list, trailing poker greats such as Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, and Kathy Liebert. She joins an already power-packed team of poker professionals over at PokerStars, who also include the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Luca Pagano, and Joe Hachem!

She is now the third woman poker player to be signed by Team PokerStars, joining Katja Thater and Vanessa Rousso, respectively.

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Quick Sunday Tournament Recaps (April 27th, 2008)

In case you missed this past Sunday’s biggest tournaments and want to know how your favorite online poker player did, check the updates listed to get the final table names and payouts. Click on the blue hyperlink to join any of these online poker rooms you see below. Good luck at the table and enjoy the quick recap!

Bodog $100k Guaranteed $100+9

Daman04 - $25,000
Body Man D - $14,300
e4 - $9,200
I GOAT FU - $6,900
whoznxt - $5,500
SlotsLover - $4,500
muckanut - $3,500
goodvibe - $2,500
The Destroyer - $1,600

PokerStars $1 Million Guaranteed “Sunday Million” $500+30

KipsterDK - $272,133
plattsburgh - $137,392
tshooter1970 - $98,716
futilewar - $77,975
pearljam1012 - $61,132
iamhiv - $45,226
caicu - $32,750
jmmejjer - $20,585
DCal Zone - $12,164

PartyPoker $300k Guaranteed $200+15

BobPreflop - $61,320
silverfang - $33,726
BCFC_ste - $21,155
xSIBERIAx - $16,710
Unjaded - $14,104
LanvalooO - $10,578
Tall_Paul75 - $8,125
Viktor__ - $5,366
nuisanceindx - $4,139
luc4053 - $2,913

Full Tilt Poker $750k Guaranteed $200+16

ionlyplayAA - $132,788
PedjaMN - $80,250
UBENICE - $52,500
zelong - $41,400
Nocturnick - $31,050
br56887 - $23,025
bozbosjes - $17,250
Draigan1 - $13,500
aabeware - $10,050

Full Tilt Poker $250k Guaranteed “Sunday Brawl” $240+16 Knockout

bastet2004 - $71,724
Klausen - $45,370
121006 - $33,694
desputas - $26,688
MrVengeanceCH - $20,016
villus - $14,345
BeeeBuried - $9,341
russbuster - $6,672
Shahrazada - $4,670

PokerStars “Sunday Warm-Up” $500k Guaranteed $200+15

Big_Col11 - $114,811
diatty - $58,569
HopeUfold - $42,082
thedylan1 - $33,240
RiverMegl - $26,060
petit ponche - $19,279
SOXFAN83 - $13,961
Dyzalot - $8,775
JohnnyBax - $5,815

UltimateBet $200k Guranteed $200+15

kice32 - $45,000
GfcukinBecks - $26,500
UltimateKaos - $18,000
blur5f6 - $13,100
cushmaster - $10,500
MHysler - $8,500
esw2035 - $6,500
Gladston3 - $4,500
calmjackal - $3,400
kbroz - $2,000

PokerStars Giving Away $1 Million in WSOP Seats!

PokerStars Guaranteeing 2000 WSOP Seats Overall.

Download PokerStars today and start your own trek towards the 2008 WSOP now!

PokerStars.com, hands down the biggest and most popular online poker site in the world, is once again taking no prisoners this year when it comes to their presence in the 2008 World Series of Poker.

In a move announced a few weeks ago, PokerStars is running FREE qualifiers to the 2008 Main Event that is of course being held in the gambling mecca of the world - Las Vegas, Nevada.  Each WSOP Freeroll will take place every hour - 24 hours a day - through June 28th. The top 50 qualifiers from every freeroll will battle it out in the grand finale where PokerStars will be giving away 100 WSOP Main Event seats.

LadyHoldem adds, “Players winning their WSOP seats via PokerStars will win their $10,000.00 main event buy in. Hotel Accommodations at the Palms in Las Vegas, as well as an additional $2,500 for expenses incurred on the trip.”

Full Tilt Poker Pro David Chiu Wins 2008 WPT Championship.

Full Tilt Poker Pro David Chiu earns his first WPT title

Overcoming a 5 to 1 chip advantage against WPT legend Gus Hansen, Chiu was victorious against the great Dane himself, taking home his first WPT Title and almost $3.4 million in first prize money! Chiu also won entry into WPT World Championship Season 7.

Howard Lederer, Team Full Tilt member said “David Chiu has been one of the most respected players on the circuit. With this win, the television public will finally get to see what poker players have known for a long time; he is one of the best in the game.”

Gus Hansen, arguably one of the craziest and most colorful characters in WPT history, was the lead contender at the final table of the 2008 World Poker Tour Championship. Hansen overshadowed the poker play with an incredible run of luck and cards. He would knock out every one of the opponents at the TV final table, putting himself in position with a huge chip lead heads up against David Chiu. However, after several fierce double-ups by the David during the final hands of the tournament, it would be Chiu who would actually put Hansen up against the wall for the WPT title.

After the impressive comeback in regards to chip stacks, Chiu proved unbeatable against the formidable Gus Hansen. On the final hand of heads-up poker play, Hansen raised on the button to 750,000 and - with Chiu making the call. With $3.35 million in the pot, the flop brings Ac 10c 8s. The flop had David Chiu checking, with Gus Hansen betting $900,000 into the pot - which saw Chiu make a relatively quick call. On an unusual move that had even Hansen and the crowd scratching their heads, Chiu would bet out $1.2 million on a turn that brought the 5s. After contemplating a few minutes, Hansen would push all in for a whopping $8,675,000. In a dramatic chip count climax, Chiu made the epic call. Hansen turns over T 8 suited for 2 pair, with Chiu turning over A 9 spades for a pair of Aces and a spade flush draw! The river would bring a red Ace, giving Chiu trips and counterfeiting the two pair of Hansen!

David Chiu rejoiced at the end of the tournament by grabbing hold of the Chinese flag and waving it next to the table. Chiu defeats Hansen and takes away what would have been Hansen’s fourth WPT Title and his largest payday ever on the World Poker Tour.

Bold Move Has Barney Frank and Ron Paul Proposing New Gambling Legislation.

In a bold move to stop the online poker ban, PPA Chairman Barney Frank, and former presidential hopeful Ron Paul introduced new gambling legislation -H.R. 5767 on April 10th, 2008. This proposed legislation would block the final implementation of regulations for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The two online poker advocates have written in letters to the Treasury and Federal Reserve, “Given the many other priorities that are pending at your agencies…we believe it would be imprudent for you to devote additional agency resources to this Sisyphean task.”

In Frank’s proposal, he asks for legislation to have a requirement for licensed Internet gambling operators for the the prevention of underage and compulsive gambling in addition to protecting the integrity of financial transactions. A side bill in connection with the proposal from US Representative Jim McDermott, there is a request that would ensure tax collection as well. It has been predicted by PricewaterhouseCoopers that during the first ten years of the regulation of Internet gambling , there would be the potential of generating between $8.7 billion and $42.8 billion in federal tax revenue.

This proposal comes right off the heels after banking industry reps had condemned the proposal as being enigmatic in the determination of legalities of online poker activities. On a positive note, proposal H.R. 5767 has gained endorsement from the The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

PokerStars TV Launched by PokerStars.

Best Online Poker Site Expands Into TV

The team over at PokerStars is launching a new website called PokerStars.tv. This website will allow players to watch live webcasts of major poker events and other poker related videos. These videos will be available for viewing anytime allowing poker enthusiasts to catch the latest events if they happened to miss them. Footage will mostly consist of PokerStars sponsored events and updates from players on Team PokerStars.

Currently the site is in a testing phase and PokerStars wants poker players to check out the new site. I checked it out myself and it is pretty cool. It is not hard to figure out how to view the videos and there are already 500 videos available for viewing. The site is constantly being updated so new videos are sure to be added. You can choose the channels tab and pick which type of video you want to watch.

You can also choose the Team PokerStars Pro tab and view several videos created by the poker stars themselves. Live play videos as well as instructional videos can be viewed. The site also has cool “extras” like your own “channel” option where you can store your favorite videos and you can also email videos to your friends which is another cool option.

All in all I think the PokerStars.TV website is a great addition to the poker world and one the poker lovers should take advantage of. The plethora of information available on the site is staggering and also entertaining. You can currently download PokerStars today and get your share of a 100% bonus up to $50 too!

Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh Signs with Sports Media Gaming.

The Sports Media Gaming Company recently released a press release stating that they will be providing poker player Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh with exclusive commercial representation. The Group stated that they will be looking for deals in the gaming and non-gaming markets and also concentrate on promoting Jennifer in the Poker genre as well.

The Managing Director of Sports Media Gaming, Stephen Pearson, stated: “Jennifer brings a fresh approach to poker which combines skill at the tables with a high sense of fashion and glamour, all attractive attributes to brands wishing to align with more lifestyle conscious players,”

Jennifer has been making name for herself in poker over the past few years with appearances in several high profile events including the 2005 Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages, the 2006 World Series of Poker, and of course the World Poker Tour. In all of the events Jennifer managed to outlast some of the best names in poker.

Jennifer stated that she chose Sports Media Gaming because of they had “all the qualities I was seeking in a representation agency” and their track record as a Company. The Company also represents other poker stars as well as high profile poker websites.

Jennifer was featured in the May issue of Playboy magazine that is already on newsstands. The issue can be seen online at Playboydigital.com as well. With the help of Sports Media Gaming Jennifer is sure to be a mainstay in the public eye for many years to come.

Poker Players Association Reaches One Million Members - PPA Promises More Political Action!

The Poker Players Association (the PPA) reached a huge milestone today. The poker advocate group recently registered its 1,000,000th member!

While the million-member club may not seem like much to most people, it’s certainly a big deal for the PPA. This is because it marks not only a significant milestone for the group itself, but also gives them more legitimacy as they ready themselves to take on the UIGEA with full force within the coming year.

The Poker Players Association, whose chairmen include Rep. Barney Frank and former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, is organizing some huge political rallies to combat the portion of the bill that targets online poker.  The big effort is apart of the “If You Play, Have a Say” campaign, which also recently saw 15,000 PPA members email members of the Financial Services Committee to express concerns over the policing of banks and credit card companies that dare help Americans fund online poker accounts.

Presidential hopeful Ron Paul has also shown his resentment of the bill, and has lobbied Congress adamantly on overturning certain portions of it, even suggesting that online gambling would be better off regulated instead of prohibited altogether.

The PPA is hoping to get a special exception put on online poker, stating that its not like other forms of gambling.  While most activities like online slots, bingo, or sports betting are at times mostly games of luck, the group lobbies that online poker is considered a game of skill, and is something that thousands of players around the U.S. do professionally for a means of income and survival.

“My own feeling is that it will be impossible to get a broad bill,” chairman D’Amato said. “A carve-out is the way to go.”  This “carve-out” would obviously involve online poker being exempt from the UIGEA - and that banks and credit card companies should be allowed to freely perform gaming transactions for players in the United States.

2008 is gonna be a good year for online poker players….I can FEEL it!

Calvin Ayre Stepping Down From Bodog to Focus on Charitable Affairs.

Calvin Ayre, the controversial billionaire founder of Bodog, is stepping down from the empire he created to focus on his charitable efforts involving the Calvin Ayre Foundation.

Ayre started and built Bodog from just a small online sportsbook and turned it into one of the most recognized online gambling brands in the world. He has seen his company grow in ways he never could’ve imagined, and his marketing campaigns have only been rivaled by those at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

The face of Bodog has already relinquished control of his company to the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which houses its operations in Canada. And though Calvin Ayre will no longer be involved operationally, he still made sure he had put into place a very competent and level-headed team of people to handle Bodog’s future in Europe, Africa, and eventually Latin America.

In an official statement, Ayre said that “while it has been great fun to live my life in front of the world’s cameras and online though my blog, I am looking forward to a more private and meaningful period of giving back and working to support the Calvin Ayre Foundation.”

We wish you the very best Calvin…

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