Full Tilt Poker's License Suspended - Site Shut Down
By Shari Geller and Lou Krieger
If you thought things could not get worse for Full Tilt Poker and those who play on the site, you were wrong. The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). has suspended Full Tilt’s licenses, shutting down the poker room’s operations immediately and leaving players to wonder if the site will ever reopen and their money be returned.
The AGCC issued this statement about the suspension: “The decision to suspend these licenses follows a special investigation prompted by the indictments unsealed by US Attorney General’s Office in the Southern District of New York on 15th April 2011, during which grounds were found to indicate that these licensees and their business associates were operating contrary to Alderney legislation."
Recap of Event #43, $1,500 No Limit Hold'em, Brazilian Pro Andre Akkari Takes the Gold
By Shari Geller
World Series of Poker Event #43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, started with a field of 2,857 vying for one of the remaining gold bracelets and the $675,117 that goes along with first place. In the end, a familiar name rose to the top. Supported by a loud and enthusiastic crowd of friends and fans, Brazil’s Andre Akkari took down his first WSOP gold bracelet and $675,117. So what did he have to say after his big win? Akkari tweeted: “Nao sei o que falar, nao paro de chorar, obrigado Jesus, obrigado Brasil, obrigado minha familia!” You don’t have to know Portuguese to realize that he was very happy!
New Professional Poker League Line Up/Schedule Announced
By Shari Geller
Back in January, it was announced that former WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and WSOP bracelet winner Annie Duke had joined forces to form a new media company called Federated Sports and Gaming. They publicized that the company’s first initiative was to form a professional poker league. As Duke told an interviewer at the time, the idea behind the professional poker league was to have a place for those professional poker players “who have achieved elite status and the highest level of excellence in the game” to compete against one another. It would be, she said, the poker equivalent of the PGA.
Recap of Event #42, $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha -- Ben Lamb wins, moves into lead for POY
By Shari Geller
Event #42, $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha typically has a star-studded list of entrants and this year was no exception. In the end, however, it was not a household name who took down the top prize but someone who should be. Ben Lamb won the bracelet and the $814,436 that went along with it after conquering an impressive field of the game’s best. And he did so a mere 11 events after registering a second place finish in the $3,000 PLO event.
Recap of Event #41, $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout -- Justin Pechie wins first bracelet
By Shari Geller
To win World Series of Poker Event #41, $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, all you had to do was win three tables. The event’s 537 initial entrants fell short of that goal, but Justin Pechie came out on top of his three matches to take home the first place prize of $167,060 and the gold bracelet. This was his first bracelet and 14th WSOP cash this year. Prior to this he’d had a 2nd place finish at a WSOP circuit event and a 3rd and 4th in prior WSOPs. Pechie has cashed in six consecutive WSOPs.
Recap of Event #40, $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em/Six Handed, Matthew Jarvis takes down WSOP gold
By Shari Geller
Last year Matthew Jarvis was a member of the November Nine, starting in the middle of the pack. On just the third hand he lost a huge chunk of chips in a hand against Joseph Cheong, but was poised to get back into it with a double up against Michael Mizrachi. Jarvis was racing for his tournament life, pocket nines against Mizrachi’s AQ. The flop hit Mizrachi squarely, Q-8-Q. But as the celebration from Team Mizrachi was still echoing in his ears, Jarvis saw a miracle 9 on the turn. Andthen, just as quickly, things turned around once more as an A fell on the river.
Recap of Events #38 & 39 - Tsinis snubs anthem, Schock stuns strong field
By Shari Geller
Event #38, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em, is one of the small buy-in, large field tournaments often disparaged with the nickname a “donkament” for the fact that some 90% of the field is knocked out on the first day and the winners are not commonly well known pros. But anyone who can outlast a field of 2,192 over three days of play deserves the bracelet and the top prize. So congratulations to Arkadiy “Kamsky” Tsinis on his first bracelet and the $540,136 payday.
Recap of Events #36 & 37 - Russia's Lakhitov and France's Soulier each win first bracelet
By Shari Geller
It sounds like a Tom Clancy novel – former Russian army officer defeats the West. But it’s just another day at the 2011 World Series of Poker. Event #36, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, was won by Mikhail Lakhitov, a former Red Army officer, who took down the gold bracelet and a top prize of $749,610. And to think he once fought against the evil capitalist empire.
He came out on top of a field of 1,734 in a four-day long contest that wrapped up with the loudest, rowdiest final tables this year. Lakhitov may not yet be a household name, but with this win he earned his fifth cash in the series, giving him nearly $1 million in lifetime earnings and has moved into the lead for this year’s WSOP Player of the Year, pushing aside Phil Hellmuth.
Poker And The Law: Sweden Gets It Mostly Right
The Supreme Court of Sweden has just ruled that poker is either a game of skill or a game of luck, depending upon the rules.
At first, this sounds almost like a joke. But, in fact, the Court got it almost completely correct.
The poker game under consideration was Texas hold’em. Certainly, experienced players know this is a game of skill.
But courts have been reluctant to rule that any poker game is more skill than chance. Maybe it’s because they fear such a ruling will open the door to widespread cardrooms. Maybe they harbor deep anti-gambling feelings. Or, maybe, they are simply ignorant.
Rep. Barton (R - Tex) Introduces The Online Poker Act of 2011
By Shari Geller
As expected, this afternoon Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas introduced HR 2366, the Online Poker Act of 2011, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill as presented has 11 original co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle: Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), John Campbell (R-Calif.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Michael Grimm (R-NY), Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Peter King (R-NY), Ron Paul (R-Tex.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Col.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.).
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