2008 World Series of Poker Kicks Off Today!

Event #1 $10k Pot Limit Hold Em, Event #2 $1,500 NLHE Highlights Day 1 of the World Series of Poker.

It’s finally here.

The World Series of Poker 2008 baby!

PokerOwnage.com will be following and recapping the events day to day, and posting the final results on the site.

Here is the 2008 WSOP Schedule in case you want to follow it closer.

*You can also follow PokerNews.com and CardPlayer.com for more extensive coverage.

Date	Days	Event	Tournament	Buy-in
Friday, May 30th 12:00 PM	3-Day	1	World Championship Pot-Limit Hold’em	$10,000
Saturday, May 31st 12:00 PM	4-Day	2	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Monday, Jun 2nd 12:00 PM	3-Day	3	Pot-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Monday, Jun 2nd 5:00 PM	3-Day	4	Mixed Hold’em Limit/No-Limit	$5,000
Tuesday, Jun 3rd 12:00 PM	3-Day	5	No-Limit Hold’em w/ReBuys	$1,000
Tuesday, Jun 3rd 5:00 PM	3-Day	6	Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better	$1,500
Wednesday, Jun 4th 12:00 PM	3-Day	7	No-Limit Hold’em	$2,000
Wednesday, Jun 4th 5:00 PM	3-Day	8	World Championship Mixed Event	$10,000
Thursday, Jun 5th 12:00 PM	3-Day	9	No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed	$1,500
Thursday, Jun 5th 5:00 PM	3-Day	10	Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better	$2,500
Friday, Jun 6th 12:00 PM	3-Day	11	No-Limit Hold’em Shootout	$5,000
Friday, Jun 6th 5:00 PM	3-Day	12	Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Saturday, Jun 7th 12:00 PM	3-Day	13	No-Limit Hold’em	$2,500
Saturday, Jun 7th 5:00 PM	3-Day	14	World Championship Seven Card Stud	$10,000
Sunday, Jun 8th 12:00 PM	3-Day	15	Ladies No-Limit Hold’em World Championship	$1,000
Sunday, Jun 8th 5:00 PM	3-Day	16	Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better	$2,000
Monday, Jun 9th 12:00 PM	2-Day	17	No-Limit Hold’em Shootout	$1,500
Monday, Jun 9th 5:00 PM	3-Day	18	No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ReBuys	$5,000
Tuesday, Jun 10th 12:00 PM	3-Day	19	Pot-Limit Omaha	$1,500
Tuesday, Jun 10th 5:00 PM	3-Day	20	Limit Hold’em	$2,000
Wednesday, Jun 11th 12:00 PM	3-Day	21	No-Limit Hold’em	$5,000
Wednesday, Jun 11th 5:00 PM	3-Day	22	H.O.R.S.E.	$3,000
Thursday, Jun 12th 12:00 PM	3-Day	23	No-Limit Hold’em	$2,000
Thursday, Jun 12th 5:00 PM	3-Day	24	Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha	$2,500
Friday, Jun 13th 12:00 PM	3-Day	25	World Championship Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em	$10,000
Friday, Jun 13th 5:00 PM	3-Day	26	Seven Card Razz	$1,500
Saturday, Jun 14th 12:00 PM	3-Day	27	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Saturday, Jun 14th 5:00 PM	3-Day	28	Pot-Limit Omaha W/Rebuys	$5,000
Sunday, Jun 15th 12:00 PM	3-Day	29	No-Limit Hold’em	$3,000
Sunday, Jun 15th 5:00 PM	3-Day	30	World Championship Limit Hold’em	$10,000
Monday, Jun 16th 12:00 PM	3-Day	31	No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed	$2,500
Tuesday, Jun 17th 12:00 PM	3-Day	32	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Tuesday, Jun 17th 5:00 PM	3-Day	33	World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better	$5,000
Wednesday, Jun 18th 12:00 PM	3-Day	34	Pot-Limit Omaha W/ReBuys	$1,500
Wednesday, Jun 18th 5:00 PM	3-Day	35	Seven Card Stud	$1,500
Thursday, Jun 19th 12:00 PM	3-Day	36	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Thursday, Jun 19th 5:00 PM	3-Day	37	World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better	$10,000
Friday, Jun 20th 12:00 PM	3-Day	38	Pot-Limit Hold’em	$2,000
Saturday, Jun 21st 12:00 PM	3-Day	39	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Sunday, Jun 22nd 12:00 PM	3-Day	40	2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Limit	$2,500
Sunday, Jun 22nd 5:00 PM	3-Day	41	Mixed Hold’em limit/no-limit	$1,500
Monday, Jun 23rd 12:00 PM	3-Day	42	Seniors No-Limit Hold’em World Championship	$1,000
Tuesday, Jun 24th 12:00 PM	3-Day	43	Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better	$1,500
Wednesday, Jun 25th 12:00 PM	3-Day	44	No-Limit Hold’em w/ReBuys	$1,000
Wednesday, Jun 25th 5:00 PM	5-Day	45	World Championship H.O.R.S.E.	$50,000
Thursday, Jun 26th 12:00 PM	3-Day	46	No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed	$5,000
Thursday, Jun 26th 5:00 PM	3-Day	47	Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better	$1,500
Friday, Jun 27th 12:00 PM	3-Day	48	No-Limit Hold’em	$2,000
Saturday, Jun 28th 12:00 PM	3-Day	49	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Sunday, Jun 29th 12:00 PM	3-Day	50	World Championship Pot Limit Omaha	$10,000
Sunday, Jun 29th 5:00 PM	3-Day	51	H.O.R.S.E.	$1,500
Monday, Jun 30th 12:00 PM	3-Day	52	No-Limit Hold’em	$1,500
Tuesday, Jul 1st 12:00 PM	2-Day	53	Limit Hold’em Shootout	$1,500
Wednesday, Jul 2nd 2:00 PM	1-Day	-	Ante Up For Africa	$5,000
Monday, Jul 7th 12:00 PM	2-Day	55	Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em	$500

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

Ultimate Bet Admits To “Unfair Play” On Their Site.

Controversial NioNio Account At Center of Press Release.

The people at Ultimate Bet have finally released an official press release regarding the cheating scandal that has rocked their company for the last few months. The super user account behind the scandal, NioNio, has been referenced in the statement, and they go on to admit that “unfair play” did indeed take place that was basically swept under a rug until it was discovered by the regulars at 2+2.

The company itself has made continual efforts to clean up their sites and has since gotten rid of the people who had been behind the apparent NioNio “superuser” account. The site, which also owns Absolute Poker, is doing its best to polish their image and make amends to the online poker community - but it is unclear how long it may be before full trust is put back into UB and Absolute as a whole.

It isn’t unusual to me that they have released this big press release the day after they announced they signed online poker great Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy to Team Ultimate Bet, which was seen by many online poker players as a move simply aimed at trying to garner trust back into UB, and not necessarily because they wanted to bolster an already power-packed lineup of pros like Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke.

The following press release can be seen at Ultimate Bet’s website, but I’ve made it available for view here at PokerOwnage.com:

ULTIMATEBET ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING UNFAIR PLAY

MONTREAL, CANADA (MAY 29, 2008) — Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG (”Tokwiro”), proprietors of UltimateBet.com (”UltimateBet”), one of the world’s largest online card rooms, today announced the results of its lengthy investigation into allegations of unfair play, which was triggered by concerns about an account named ‘NioNio’. Tokwiro has worked diligently in cooperation with its regulatory body, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (”KGC”), and with independent third-party experts to conduct a thorough investigation that included a comprehensive review of hand histories and game data, thorough analyses of software and network security, and audits of its security practices and procedures.

The investigation has concluded that certain player accounts did in fact have an unfair advantage, and that these accounts targeted the highest limit games on the site. The individuals responsible were found to have worked for the previous ownership of UltimateBet prior to the sale of the business to Tokwiro in October 2006. Tokwiro is taking full responsibility for this situation and will immediately begin refunding UltimateBet customers for any losses that were incurred as a result of unfair play.

The fraudulent activity was enabled by unauthorized software code that allowed the perpetrators to obtain hole card information during live play. The existence of this vulnerability was unknown to Tokwiro until February 2008 and existed prior to UltimateBet’s acquisition by Tokwiro in October 2006. Our investigation has confirmed that the code was part of a legacy auditing system that was manipulated by the perpetrators. Gaming Associates, independent auditors hired by the KGC, have confirmed that the software code that provided the unfair advantage has been permanently removed.

Throughout the investigation of this incident, Tokwiro’s consistent priorities have been:

1. To permanently remove the ability to engage in unfair play;
2. To complete its investigation and come to a full understanding of what occurred;
3. To refund the affected customers; and
4. To implement measures that prevents future incidents.

The Company said, “We would like to thank our customers for their patience, loyalty and support, as well as for their understanding that we are doing everything we can to correct this situation. The staff and management of UltimateBet are fully committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our players, and we want to assure customers of our unwavering resolve to monitor site security with every resource at our disposal.” Investigation Timeline

These are the key events in the course of the incident.

• January 2008: UltimateBet is alerted to suspicions of unfair play on the part of the account “NioNio”. Within 24 hours, UltimateBet contacts the KGC to provide formal notice that UltimateBet has initiated an investigation of the incident. UltimateBet subsequently forwarded a copy of all related data to the KGC.
• January 2008: The “NioNio” account and related accounts are suspended pending further investigation.
• February 2008: Preliminary findings indicate abnormally high winning statistics for the suspect accounts. After discussions with the KGC, UltimateBet engages third-party gaming experts to assist with the analysis.
• February 2008: Investigators confirm that the suspect accounts are associated with individuals who had worked for UltimateBet under the previous ownership.
• February 2008: UltimateBet discovers the unauthorized code that allowed the perpetrators to obtain hole card information during live play. The code was part of a legacy auditing system that was manipulated by the perpetrators of the fraud.
• February 2008: UltimateBet immediately removes the unauthorized code and works with the KGC and with third-party auditors to verify that the security hole has been eliminated.
• March 2008: Six player accounts are confirmed to have participated in this scheme. No accounts were deleted at any point, although some account names were changed multiple times. The following account names are known to have been used in the fraudulent activity: NioNio, Sleepless, NoPaddles, nvtease, flatbroke33, ilike2win, UtakeIt2, FlipFlop2, erick456, WhackMe44, RockStarLA, stoned2nite, monizzle, FireNTexas, HeadKase01, LetsPatttty, NYMobser, and WhoWhereWhen.
• May 2008: The investigation confirms that the fraudulent activity took place from March 7, 2006 to December 3, 2007.
• May 2008: Gaming Associates certifies that the software code that enabled unfair play was removed from UltimateBet servers in February of 2008.
• May 2008: Customers affected by this incident are identified, and plans for corrective action are reviewed with the KGC.

Corrective Actions Taken

The following actions have been taken or are currently underway as a direct result of this investigation.

• The security hole identified in UltimateBet’s investigation has been permanently eliminated.
• UltimateBet is establishing a state-of-the-art software Security Center that consolidates and greatly enhances existing security capabilities. The first release of the new Security Center focuses solely on the immediate detection of abnormal winnings. Gaming mathematicians, poker professionals, and security software developers have all contributed to the specifications for the new Security Center.
• UltimateBet customers are no longer permitted to change account names unless they have suffered abuse in chat rooms. Requests for changes must be supported by proof of abuse and must be approved by the Chief Compliance Officer.
• In addition to its existing security department, UltimateBet has established a new specialized Poker Security team of professionals dedicated to fraud prevention.
• The refund process will begin immediately. The accounts associated with fraudulent activity did not use an unfair advantage in all play sessions. Regardless, UltimateBet is refunding all losses to these accounts.
• Accounts related to the fraudulent activity have been disabled, and the individuals associated with those accounts permanently banned from the site.
• UltimateBet has worked closely and transparently with its governing body, the KGC and its designated expert auditors, to determine exactly what happened, how it happened, and who was involved, and has taken action to prevent any possibility of this situation recurring.
• Tokwiro is pursuing its legal options in regard to this incident.

For further inquiries please contract press@ultimatebet.com

Cliff Josephy aka JohnnyBax Signed by Ultimate Bet.

Online Poker Legend Signs with UB.

It’s official everyone.

Online poker great Cliff Josephy - also known as JohnnyBax - was recently signed on as the newest online pro to Team Ultimate Bet.

Josephy, who has won over $1.3 million in live tournaments and countless amounts in the online poker arena, joins a team is already stacked with players like Shawn Rice and Mark “P0ker H0“  Kroon.

The former stockbroker-turned-poker player is known around the world for his poker prowess and aggressiveness.  He and friend Eric “Sheets” Haber started the popular poker training website PokerXFactor, and he has most recently been spotted playing in some of the biggest poker tournaments around the globe.

The decision to bring a player as popular as JohnnyBax onto their team is one that most likely has to do with winning back the trust of the online poker community, especially after the debacle that saw Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet admit to basically turning their backs on possible “superuser account” accusations.  After months of investigations by poker news insiders and other swift “in-house” terminations, both sites have guaranteed the “problem” has finally been taken care of - and both AP and UB are 100% safe to play on.

I’m hoping this move to bring on Bax will prove to be a positive one, because with as much controversy as these two sites have seen in the last year, a welcome change for the better would really ensure that trust is built up once again in the poker community - both online and live.

Recent Titan Poker News Regarding The ECOOP and APT Manila.

Titan Poker Players Compete at Europe’s Richest Online Tournament Series

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Titan Poker, the largest poker room on the iPoker Network, is currently staging a thrilling online tournament series, offering an unprecedented $3,600,000 in Guaranteed Prizes.

The ECOOP II started on Friday the 23rd of May, and will run for ten consecutive days. Players are able to compete in a different event each day of the series, which consists of Texas Hold’em and Omaha Poker Tournaments. Every ECOOP II event awards huge guaranteed prizes and the series will conclude with a $1,500,000 Main Event on the 1st of June. As an added bonus, the top 100 tournament players participating in the ECOOP events will automatically be entered into a $50,000 Freeroll, staged 72 hours after the Main Event. Titan Poker players were able to buy-in directly to each of the ECOOP II events or win their seats at online daily qualifying tournaments, which started at just $2 + $0.20. Titan Poker VIP players were able to participate in an exclusive freeroll on the 22nd of May, awarding free entry to all ten ECOOP II events -worth $3,420.In addition to its exciting online tournaments, Titan Poker also regularly awards its players with seats at the world’s most well-known live poker events. This summer, it will be sending players to the World Series of Poker 2008 in Las Vegas and the Asian Poker Tour in Manila. The popular poker room is also expected to deal its ‘Billionth Hand’ before the end of the month and it is giving away a total of $350,000 as it counts down to this landmark moment.

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Titan Poker Players Compete at $1,000,000 Manila Tournament
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Leading online poker room, Titan Poker, sends eight of its best players to compete in the Asian Poker Tour event in Manila.

Titan Poker, the largest poker room on the iPoker Network, has sent a delegation of eight talented poker players to the Asian Poker Tour (APT) - Manila. Beginning on May 26th until June 2nd, players will test their poker skills with at least 400 poker players, amateurs and top professionals, from around the world. By winning an APT Manila Super Satellite tournament at Titan Poker, each of the eight players was subsequently rewarded with a $6,000 prize package to the Asian Poker Tour. In addition to receiving a $2,500 buy-in to the Main Event, $2,600 is also included for flights and spending, along with a seven night accommodation at the Dusit Hotel in Manila, worth $840.

Participants in the Manila tournament will compete for an unprecedented One Million Dollar prize pool, the largest ever offered in Asia.

Winner Frank De Vries, from The Netherlands is very excited for his upcoming trip. He says he is “looking forward to playing in the poker thrilla of Manila.”

The popularity of poker in Asia is growing rapidly and APT tournament officials expect a lot of excitement with Manila being the first stop of the 2008 Asian Poker Tour. The tour continues in South Korea, Macau, and Singapore.

Titan Poker regularly rewards its players with huge cash prizes. At the end of this month, the poker room will give away $3,600,000 in its second European Championship of Online Poker (ECOOP II). It also frequently awards its players with seats at the world’s most well-known poker tournaments. Titan Poker will be sending players to the World Series of Poker 2008 in Las Vegas. Earlier this month, it sponsored the Eurocity Poker Tour Madrid Open - an elite poker tournament open to just 200 players.

About Titan Poker Titan Poker is the leading online poker room in Europe and part of the iPoker Network. Titan Poker’s software was developed by Playtech, a publicly-traded company and leading gaming software developer. Titan Poker guarantees more than $16,000,000 in monthly prizes, has nearly 30,000 online players at peak hours, and awards winning players with entries to the major poker tournaments worldwide. Titan Poker features special jackpot sit ‘n’ go tournaments with progressive prizes and jackpots as high as $100,000. Titan Poker is exclusively promoted by Euro Partners, the worlds largest e-gaming affiliate program. For more information about Titan Poker please visit the Titan Poker website.

2008 LAPT San Jose Won By Valdemar Kwassyer.

LAPT Has Great Success in Costa Rican Stop.

The Latin American Poker Tour made its way to Costa Rica this past week, attracting 398 players for the £2,500 buy-in event.

The tournament was played in San Jose at the Cariari Country Club, and drew a record prizepool of just over $965,000.

The 3-day event saw some of the best international poker players in attendance, including 45 native Costa Ricans.

In the end though, it was PokerStars Qualifier Valdemar Kwassyer who would take down first place and nearly $275,000 USD, with Max Steinberg taking home a very-nice $144,773 for his runner-up performance.

“We were expecting a robust field of players full of enthusiasm, but having nearly 400 players turn up is truly overwhelming. Costa Rica is a recognized leader of poker in Central America . We have very skilled players with a great deal of experience, and that has certainly been demonstrated here in San José,” said LAPT President Glenn Cademartori.

LAPT San Jose Final Results:

1. Valdemar Kwaysser -$274,103
2. Max Steinberg - $144,773
3. Steven Silverman - $106,167
4. Alex Soderland - $77,212
5. Alec Torelli – 57,909
6. Pawel Sanojca -$38,606
7. Ashton Griffin - $28,955
8. Joe Ebanks - $19,303
9. Steven Thompson - $14,477

David Singer Wins 25k Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up Championship!

High Stakes Pro Takes Down 64-Person Field.

David Singer, one of the top professional poker players in the world, beat out one of the toughest fields in online poker history this past weekend when he took down the $25,000 Full Tilt Poker heads-up championship.

The special event, which was hosted by NBC National Heads-Up Champion Chris”Jesus” Ferguson, was put up by Full Tilt Poker as part of the conclusion to the very successful FTOPS VIII series that had just recently concluded.

64 of the best players showed and ponied up the $25k buy-in to play, with many of the field actually being Full Tilt “red” pros.

Of the final 4, only “whitelime” was not a specially designated “red” Full Tilt Poker pro.

Heads-up specialist Andy Bloch would finish in 4th, Brian Hastings in 3rd, and “whitelime” finishing in 2nd.

David Singer would bring home $560,000 for his efforts.

“The Commerce Killer” Kang-Hyuk Choi Pleads Not Guilty To Murder.

Murder Suspect Arrested at Commerce Casino Pleads NOT GUILTY.

Over the past few days, more and more interest has risen about Kang-Hyuk Choi of New York, who was recently arrested at the Commerce Casino in California for the murder of three victims in New Jersey. Investigators arrested Choi after reading information they found in the journal of one of his unsuspecting victims. Han Il Kim had kept an in-depth journal and noted inside that he had stayed with a friend from Valley Stream on Long Island, who would turn out to be Choi.

Mr. Choi was arraigned on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. Harry Carroll, the State Superior Court Judge, did not set bail for Choi pending further investigation.

Choi is charged with murder and is believed to have stabbed Mr. Kim after they argued and then stuffed his body inside a closet. Choi then stabbed Yoo Bok Kim age 57, Mr. Kim’s mother, and also stabbed Ms. Kim’s brother-in-law, Doo Soo Seo.

The bodies were found on Friday in Tenafly, New Jersey. The residents of Tenafly were shocked when news of the murders hit and everyone was in disbelief. Many could not even remember when the last homicide had occurred in their neighborhood.

The executive assistant prosecutor, Frank Puccio, stated that Choi and Kim had spent time together on May 3rd and 4th, visiting various clubs and then ended the nights at Mr. Kim’s home. Marijuan and white powder residue was found in Mr. Kim’s bedroom. Puccio then stated that on the 4th, Choi stabbed Kim after arguing over money, stuffed him inside the closet, then stuffed the bed with linens to make it appear that Kim was asleep. It was a while later that Ms. Kim went to check on her son and Choi stabbed her and her brother-in-law.

Choi then stole $30,000 and Mr. Kim’s credit cards and drove away in Seo’s BMW 525. Choi checked into a motel in Flushing and had a relative take him to the hospital for wounds that he received during the stabbing. On the 6th, Choi drove the airport, left the vehicle in long term parking, probably leaving with a relative. On the 13th, Choi returned to the airport and flew to California.

It was not until investigators read Kim’s journal that they found details that lead them to Choi. Then it was interviews with people who knew Choi, that led them to California. Choi was found at Commerce casino where he was arrested while visiting the restroom. According to several reports, Choi was a regular at the high rollers table at the Borgata in Atlantic City. According to regulars at the casino, Choi would wager thousands of dollars per hand frequently.

Nick Ceci Wins 2008 WSOPC New Orleans.

New Orleans WSOP Circuit Final Table Concludes.

The last World Series of Poker Circuit Event of the 2007-2008 schedule has ended, naming Nick Ceci the champion. Ceci, a demolition worker, managed to outlast the 248 other players to take home the coveted top spot winning a nice chunk of change, a championship ring and of course the $10,000 entry to the WSOP Main Event. What could be better than that?

The event lasted three days and saw many a new comer as well as veterans to the felt. Several pros played in the tournament, but only last year’s champion, Lou Esposito, was left by the final table. Esposito tried to claim the title for two years running but only managed a 6th place finish. Ceci and Timothy Miles were the two final players at the table, with Miles holding the chip lead in the beginning but couldn’t pull it out, leaving Ceci as the winner.

WSOP Circuit New Orleans Final Table Payouts

1. Nick Ceci - $382,928
2. Timothy “T.K.” Miles - $210,610
3. Floyd Vanderford - $107,699
4. Gabe Costner - $83,766
5. Jeff Tims - $71,799
6. Lou Esposito - $59,833
7. Chuck Kelley - $47,866
8. Ed Jatho - $35,900
9. Marc Fratter -$23,933

2008 WSOP Circuit New Orleans Main Event Concludes Today.

WSOP Circuit New Orleans Final Table Is Set.

Just two days ago 249 players entered into the $5,000 World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans and built a prize pool of $1,196,650. All entrants were vying for the top prize of $382,928 and a gold ring. First place also got a nice $10k entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas!

As of now there are nine players remaining. The current chip leader is Timothy Miles with just over 600,000. Not too far behind is Ed Jatho with just over 400,000 chips. The other seven players left, in chip order are: Jeff Tims, Marc Fratter, Nick Ceci, Gabe Costner, Chuck Kelley, Lou Esposito and Floyd Vanderford. Esposito was last year’s champion in this event and is hoping to hold on to his title.

By the end of the day the tournament will be over and we will know who the champion will be and who will also earn a free ticket to the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Chip Standings for the Final Table:

Timothy Miles 687,000

Ed Jatho 406,000

Jeff Tims 345,000

Marc Fratter 321,000

Nick Ceci 256,000

Gabe Costner 166,000

Chuck Kelley 142,000

Lou Esposito 116,000

Floyd Vanderford 65,000

Online Poker in Washington State Declared Illegal.

Online Poker and Gambling Ban Still Stands in Washington State.

On July 1st, 2007, Lee Rousso, the Washington State Director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), filed a lawsuit that would have an amendment of the Washington Gambling Act declared unconstitutional. The Washington Gambling Act of 1973 bans “the receipt or transmission of gambling information” by radio, phone or telegraph means. An amendment was created in 2006 that included the internet to the list. The amendment also upgraded the charges if the law was violated. The charge went from a gross misdemeanor to a felony and also made the person subject to seizure and forfeiture.

Rousso filed the lawsuit claiming that the new law violated the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution due to its discrimination against interstate businesses. Rousso also stated that the law was created to benefit the state’s casinos and card rooms. Rousso also pointed out that the bill was sponsored by Senator Margarita Prentice, whose district held the casinos and card rooms that would benefit from the bill.

This past Thursday, May 16th, Rousso’s complaint was dismissed by the State Court Judge, Mary Roberts. The Judge stated that Rousso had not proven that the state was unfairly gaining from the law at the expense of outside the state gaming. Roberts also stated that the strict prohibition of gambling history of the state also weighed heavily on her decision. Rousso then stated: “The state loves gambling, it’s a gigantic business. It’s just the state protecting its turf,” and claimed that the law was hypocritical and blatantly discriminatory.

After the ruling, Rousso spoke to supporters who were gathered outside the courthouse. Among those supporters were professional poker players, Barry Greenstein and Andy Bloch. Rousso encouraged the supporters to “continue the fight” and “We are going to win this battle. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday soon.” Greenstein also spoke against the state ban.

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