Bodog Refutes Forbes.com Editorial.

Alwyn Morris Defiantly Challenges Forbes.com Story.

Bodog Life recently had $24 million in funds seized from US bank accounts according to a story published on Forbes.com.

However, Alwyn Morris, who is the operations director for the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group that runs Bodog out of Canada, refuted the story just hours after its publication.

“(The) seizure of funds from these US payment processors was mischaracterized in this article, which refers to two specific legal cases against US processors,” said a statement released by Morris. “The first of these cases - relating to a seizure of funds from a processor known as JBL Services - happened some time ago and has absolutely nothing to do with the current payment processing challenges being experienced in the US. The constraints being experienced by payment processors in the US are universal in that region and not specific to any particular processor or site.”

It is unclear what will happen from here considering the story just broke.

What is clear is why hundreds of thousands of US players haven’t received their cashouts from Bodog.

Some players have gone more than 40 days without receiving a dime of their cashouts - and the Forbes story might shed some light on it all.

We’ll be reporting on this story as we learn more information about it.  Good luck to all those still looking to receive their cashouts soon and in a very timely way.

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

PokerStars Sunday Million Now A $1.5 Million Guarantee!

Sunday Million Makes $500k Jump in Guaranteed Pool.

PokerStars, which is the biggest online poker site in the world, has made their tournament prize pools and structures an industry standard to follow.

This week they added to that in a HUGE way.

PokerStars announced they be raising the guaranteed prize pool in their famous Sunday Million from $1 million to $1.5 million dollars!

This is a pretty big incentive for online poker players who haven’t tried out the room, mainly because satellites to this world renown tourney start at just 2 bucks!  So for a small amount of cash, players have the chance to take a shot at a solid prize pool and a 1st place payout that normally is NEVER under $110,000.

It’ll be interesting to see how many seats sell this week for the inaugural Sunday Million MTT - which is when the new prize pool goes into effect.

Tiffany Michelle Finalizes UB Sponsorship Deal.

Embattled PokerNews Host Signs With Ultimate Bet - FINALLY.

Former color commentator and celebrity poker host Tiffany Michelle finally inked a sponsorship deal with controversial poker room Ultimate Bet this past week.

Michelle was the last woman standing in this year’s 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, outlasting over 6,000+ players en route to making it to the final two tables!  Unfortunately her luck would run out while she was making a serious play at the final 9, finishing in a heartbreaking 17th place.

“From Hollywood to Vegas, Tiffany Michelle is a rising star in so many extraordinary ways,” stated Annie Duke, UltimateBet’s Cardroom Consultant. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring such a talented force on board.”

The signing is just one of several HUGE acquisitions that UB has made over the past few weeks.  They’ve picked up a ton of huge online stars, the biggest of course being Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy.

It is clear that the signings represent a time of change and transition for the controversial poker room - and with more and more evidence has popped up regarding the once thought-to-be-isolated Superuser account scandal in recent days - they’re in desperate need of a makeover.  It definitely seems they look to be trying to restore their faith in the online poker community with their signings as of late, but it is unclear they will be out of the woods any time soon.

Poker After Dark Keeping Their Lineup Fresh.

Heads-Up Poker Is The Specialty This Week on NBC.

The creators of NBC’s hit late night television program, “Poker After Dark,”are once again finding some very creative ideas to keep the show fresh and fun to watch.

This week’s theme will be one of my personal favorites - Heads Up Poker!

The producers will be inviting the winners of the National Heads Up Championship back to the show to battle it out for a $50,000 winner-take-all prize.

Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Phil Hellmuth, and Paul Wasicka will all be showing off their skills in this first-of-its-kind “Poker After Dark” format.

The first show will air on July 28th at 2:05 AM, and continue on for 5 days until a winner is crowned.

Good luck to the participants!

Kahnawake Gaming Commission Releases Official Statement.

UB and AP have been facing some tough times lately.

Every time it seems like they’ve just been forgotten by the online poker world, more and more news and allegations keep popping up to put them right back in the negative public eye - AGAIN.

With the revelation of MORE superuser accounts involved in the scandal, and rumors of 1994 Main Event winner Russ Hamilton possibly being involved in the controversy, it really seems as if Ultimate Bet and AP can’t get out of the corner they’ve been constantly backing themselves into.

In light of the mess, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission finally released their official statement on the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker superuser controversy.

Here is the entire statement in its entirety - YOU make the decision to call bullshit or not:

“Kahnawake Gaming Commission (the “KGC”) has been continuously regulating online gaming for over 9 years – longer than most, if not all, other jurisdictions. During that period of time, the KGC has proven to be a world leader with regulations and methodologies that have established a regulatory environment in which online gaming can be conducted fairly and securely. The KGC’s success as a regulator is evidenced by the fact that a significant percentage of the online gaming industry has chosen to locate and operate within Kahnawáke. Given the length of time that it has regulated this new industry and the significant number of licensees under its control, the KGC’s record has been exemplary.

As commentators have correctly noted, even the most well regulated industries are not immune from abuse. Examples can be found in the banking, securities and land-based gaming industries. The fact that the online gaming industry is new and is technologically driven creates additional regulatory challenges. Throughout its history, the KGC has met these challenges and its regulations have been emulated in a number of other jurisdictions around the world.

Over the past several months, it was discovered that individuals within two of the KGC’s licensees – Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet – had created and carried out a scheme to cheat players. In both cases, the improper conduct of these individuals was brought to the attention of the licensees, and the KGC, by affected players. The KGC acknowledges the diligence and sophistication displayed by these players and the role they played in bringing these matters to light.

The first case involved Absolute Poker. After a thorough investigation carried out by the KGC and its agents, Gaming Associates, the KGC rendered its decision in this matter on January 11, 2008. This decision concluded that the cheating that took place was not initiated, nor did it benefit, Absolute Poker as a corporate entity, or its directors or principal ownership. The decision imposed a number of sanctions and conditions on Absolute Poker, including twenty-four specific directions for changes to its management and systems. The KGC was provided evidence that all players affected by the cheating that took place were fully reimbursed for their losses.

Shortly after its decision was rendered in the Absolute Poker matter, the KGC first became aware of similar allegations of cheating involving individuals within Absolute Poker’s sister company: Ultimate Bet.

Over the past several months, the KGC has been closely involved in an in-depth investigation of the Ultimate Bet cheating allegations. Significant efforts have been expended to identify and correct the flaws in Ultimate Bet’s system that permitted the cheating to take place; to identify the individuals that were responsible for the cheating and to ensure that all affected players were fully reimbursed. Unfortunately, the KGC’s actions were not well communicated to the poker industry or public at large, creating an incorrect perception that the KGC was ‘doing nothing’.

The KGC’s investigation into the Ultimate Bet matter has yielded a number of key findings which, within the next several days, will enable the KGC to issue its decision on the appropriate steps to be taken.

It should be stressed that the KGC’s primary concern throughout both matters was to ensure that affected players were fully reimbursed and that corrective measures were implemented to prevent against any further incidents of cheating. Both of these objectives have been accomplished – as evidenced by the fact that the recent concerns that have been raised about the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet matters are not being driven by affected players.”

Internet Poker: CEREUS Business.

But Is it CEREUS Bullshit?

Players on the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet will soon notice some busier action on the cyber felt. The two online poker giants announced this week that they are planning a merge of the two independent rooms. The new platform will be launched on the CEREUS Network, and its hoping to clean up the image of the embattled poker rooms.

The newly-formed network will combine the players from both sites onto one platform. The merger is meant to give increased liquidity to current players and integrate features from both AP and UB into one major platform. Players will still play at their favorite sites, but they don’t have any plans in the near future to make one single brand.

“I’m confident that Absolute Poker and UltimateBet customers will be thrilled by the new platform and we look forward to welcoming many new players from around the world,” said Paul Leggett, Chief Operations Officer of both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet. “Paul Leggett, Chief Operations Officer of both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.”

This is an iffy move at best for the people at Ultimate Bet and AP, but I’m assuming it’s the best they can do right now while they battle off pissed poker players and media networks on their recent superuser cheating scandals.

We will be keeping you posted on this story - all while we pray this poker giant gets their act together.

Asian Poker Tour Continues On…

…this Time in The Gambling Mecca of Macau!

During the week of August 26th, 2008, the Asian Poker Tour will be making a much anticipated stop in one of the newest gambling meccas around the world - MACAU!

One of the newest poker tours had a very successful opening in the country of the Philippines last month, attracting some of the best pros in one of the more unique countries in world!

When the APT makes it stop in Macau, which closely resembles the Las Vegas strip, it will take with it over $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools.  It should bring in some more of the biggest professional poker players on the circuit, which should definitely make for one of the more exciting tournaments this year!

Looking forward to reporting on this later next month.

Chris Webber to Host Celebrity Poker Tournament.

Former Sports Star Hosting No River Hold Em Event!

Retired professional basketball player Chris Webber will be combining sports and poker on Friday night at Planet Hollywood when he hosts the “C-Webb’s Bada Bling Celebrity Weekend” -  a charity poker tournament to benefit the Chris Webber Foundation.

In addition to the many sports legends that will be in attendance for the event, each of the attendees will be privy to one of the newest crazes in poker - No River Hold Em!  This game deals out a flop and turn, but NO river card whatsoever.  Players are allowed to bet both the flop and turn, but still use their hole cards to make the best five card hand.

All proceeds are going to the Chris Webber Foundation, an organization that was founded by the basketball great to provide both recreational and educational advantages to underprivileged children.

To sign up for the event - or to make a direct donation to the Chris Webber Foundation - please go to www.chriswebberfoundation.org.

ESPN To Air First WSOP Episodes of 2008!

2008 World Series Airs Tuesday on ESPN.

Tuesday night is almost here. Only weeks after the 2008 World Series of Poker ended in Vegas, ESPN is finally ready to air the first episodes of the series!

The aired final table Event #1 (($10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em) includes a huge lineup of poker giants!

Andy Bloch (who holds the record for most WSOP final tables without a bracelet) joins Phil Laak, Patrik Antonius, and Chris Bell. All of these players are looking for their first gold bracelet.

Two veteran greats, Mike Sexton and Kathy Liebert - who each have one bracelet already - will be doing their best to add to their own bracelet collection.

The two one-hour episodes will air back-to-back beginning at 8 pm ET. A total of 33 hours of WSOP coverage will air on ESPN over the next 17 weeks. The final episode to air will be the Main Event final table that will be shown live in November.

Poll Shows Overwhelming Support For Online Gambling Legalization.

USA Today Poll Shows Positive Numbers.

In a recent poll conducted by USA Today, over 95% of the responses favor the legalization AND regulation of online gambling in the United States.

The poll, which has been receiving numerous amounts of hits since the weekend’s British Open golf championship, isn’t necessarily an indicator of what might happen in the future - but at least its a start in the right direction in terms of the general public’s opinion on this rather controversial hot topic.

“We gamble billions of dollars in this country, and the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t get a dime,” Lee Trevino tells ESPN.com’s Bob Harig in a story from the Open at Southport. “Instead, they spend millions of dollars trying to catch these people.”

Representative Jim McDermott, D-Wash., is attempting to convince the US government to do just that.

Just this past week, McDermott introduced a bill to Congress that will eventually help legalize and regulate online gambling.  His plan has high hopes for the slumping economy, which is of course in a near-recession at the present moment.  The bill would hopefully generate nearly $40 billion in additional tax revenue to the government over the next ten years!

“We have gambling on horses. All of a sudden we say you can’t gamble online. What’s that about?
If we can take revenue from horse racing we certainly can take revenue from online,” preaches an optimistic McDermott.

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