Monday, April 22, 2013
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Nears Finalizing US Deals, by Greg Tingle
Profiles
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino PartyPoker World Poker Tour Gibraltar Gaming
Jim Ryan, the co-chief executive of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is a very busy man.
In fact, he's invested three of the past five weeks in the United States pushing a presentation that advertised to investors the strengths of the world’s largest publicly-traded online gambling - gaming firm. Ryan’s presentation included a one-page chart that listed the top online poker brands in the U.S. market. The names of once fierce competitors PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, were crossed out in red. Is Party the only real game left in town? Time will tell.
“Where you see the red lines, those organizations have been indicted, so although one can’t predict the future, it’s unlikely you will see those brands back in the U.S.,” Ryan said during an interview. “The brand that has the most consumer awareness is in fact the PartyPoker brand.”
Ryan’s company happens to own both PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour, two of the top online poker brands that did not have their U.S. operations shut down by the U.S. Justice Department in April because they were not facilitating for-money online poker play in America—in the case of PartyPoker since 2006. They also own PartyCasino, a top online casino destination website. The fact that Ryan, who is based in Gibraltar, has recently been spending so much time in the U.S. demonstrates he is optimistic and hopeful for a U.S. comeback. “My focus is on the U.S.,” says Ryan, who is in the final stages of negotiating partnerships with two U.S. companies. “Even though there is no guarantee that online gaming will ever regulate in the U.S.”
For years Ryan and his staff at PartyGaming, which merged with Bwin earlier this year, had to sit on the sidelines, watching how much money PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were snatching. It was a difficult thing to watch for the top brass and workers at PartyGaming, which was the biggest online gambling company in the world thanks to its domination of the U.S. online poker market until Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. PartyGaming exited the U.S. market and saw its stock price take a massive hit, while PokerStars and Full Tilt kept their U.S. facing .com websites on air. Party competitors enjoyed somewhat of an unfair advantage, with the rouges using the U.S. market to expand globally at PartyGaming’s expense. “We were beyond the point of frustration,” says Ryan.
Next PartyGaming struck a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, paying $105 million and admitting its U.S. operations had for years violated U.S. law. Meanwhile, PokerStars and Full Tilt continued to operate in the U.S. and claimed that their U.S. operations did not violate U.S. law, pointing to legal opinions the companies had received from top American legal eagles. To many, it appeared like PartyGaming had given a lucrative business away. Even at the company’s headquarters there were doubts until April 2011, when federal prosecutors in Manhattan closed down the U.S. operations of PokerStars and Full Tilt, naming them illegal gambling businesses, and indicted some of their key execs. "I think Party has been vindicated now in getting out when they did and in dealing with the Department of Justice," says Behnam Dayanim, a partner at Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, who negotiated PartyGaming’s agreement with federal prosecutors in downtown Manhattan.
With all that said, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is not exactly holding a management party quite yet. It's so close, yet so far, from reclaiming online poker’s crown. Operating in highly-regulated and taxed European markets while competing against well-run companies like PokerStars is not for the faint-hearted. Bwin.Party’s stock, which trades on the prestigious London Stock Exchange, has dipped by 50% in 2011. Big corporate mergers can be problematic, but the outfit has also suffered a setback in Germany, where the nation’s top civil court recently decided to uphold an online gambling ban, and been dissed by higher gaming duties across Europe. When the company attempted to take advantage of the April U.S. shutdown of PokerStars and Full Tilt, Bwin.Party found that while some new European players were attracted to its poker brands, revenues remained flat-ish. It wasn’t until Full Tilt’s European regulator suspended Full Tilt’s license in late June that Bwin.Party’s increased advertising and promotional expenditures started to pay dividends. PartyPoker is now the second-biggest online poker room in the world, according to PokerScout, averaging 4,150 cash players during any given time. PokerStars has 22,800.
Ryan, who joined PartyGaming as CEO in 2008, has been waiting for this moment for what seems like forever. He long ago took Bwin’s Norbert Teufelberger to a McDonald’s in La Linea, Spain, and chatted to him at length about the pros of combining Bwin’s strong online sportsbook business with PartyGaming’s poker brands, resulting in the merger that was first announced in 2010. Ryan also fine-tuned his company’s business-to-business capabilities over the last few years with an eye toward finding a U.S. partner with whom he can re-conquer America. "We had to be realistic about where we sat in the food chain," says Ryan. "We figured if the U.S. regulated it would be unlikely that we would secure a license directly, that the laws of the land would be written to allow existing land operators and equipment manufacturers in the U.S. to secure the licenses." Ryan is optimistic about current efforts in Washington, driven by the American Gaming Association and powerful casino companies like Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, to potentially get some sort of online gambling legislation through a divided Congress. Ryan notes he is also preparing for the possibility that online poker gets regulated first on a state-by-state basis.
"We have to be ready for both federal or state," he says. "It feels good to have American taxpaying companies finally driving this.".
If an offshore operator is to succeed in American, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment looks like the firm to place bets with.
Bwin.Party has identified Australia and New Zealand as places to further expand their business, even sponsoring high profile poker players such as Tony G and Stewart Scott (a former Crown Casino 'Aussie Millions' champion.) PartyPoker is one of a number of rumoured brands set to take over the sponsorship spot at James Packer's Crown Casino that FTP once enjoyed. Party look to have as much chance as anyone, probably more so.
In the meantime, poker and casino game players in regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, South America, South Africa and beyond can continue to enjoy their gaming.
Poker playing celebs such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Tobey McGuire are understood to be open to sponsorship approaches from Bwin.Party.
Governments of the world - you're throw of the dice.
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Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyCasino PartyPoker World Poker Tour Gibraltar Gaming
Jim Ryan, the co-chief executive of Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is a very busy man.
In fact, he's invested three of the past five weeks in the United States pushing a presentation that advertised to investors the strengths of the world’s largest publicly-traded online gambling - gaming firm. Ryan’s presentation included a one-page chart that listed the top online poker brands in the U.S. market. The names of once fierce competitors PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, were crossed out in red. Is Party the only real game left in town? Time will tell.
“Where you see the red lines, those organizations have been indicted, so although one can’t predict the future, it’s unlikely you will see those brands back in the U.S.,” Ryan said during an interview. “The brand that has the most consumer awareness is in fact the PartyPoker brand.”
Ryan’s company happens to own both PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour, two of the top online poker brands that did not have their U.S. operations shut down by the U.S. Justice Department in April because they were not facilitating for-money online poker play in America—in the case of PartyPoker since 2006. They also own PartyCasino, a top online casino destination website. The fact that Ryan, who is based in Gibraltar, has recently been spending so much time in the U.S. demonstrates he is optimistic and hopeful for a U.S. comeback. “My focus is on the U.S.,” says Ryan, who is in the final stages of negotiating partnerships with two U.S. companies. “Even though there is no guarantee that online gaming will ever regulate in the U.S.”
For years Ryan and his staff at PartyGaming, which merged with Bwin earlier this year, had to sit on the sidelines, watching how much money PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were snatching. It was a difficult thing to watch for the top brass and workers at PartyGaming, which was the biggest online gambling company in the world thanks to its domination of the U.S. online poker market until Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. PartyGaming exited the U.S. market and saw its stock price take a massive hit, while PokerStars and Full Tilt kept their U.S. facing .com websites on air. Party competitors enjoyed somewhat of an unfair advantage, with the rouges using the U.S. market to expand globally at PartyGaming’s expense. “We were beyond the point of frustration,” says Ryan.
Next PartyGaming struck a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, paying $105 million and admitting its U.S. operations had for years violated U.S. law. Meanwhile, PokerStars and Full Tilt continued to operate in the U.S. and claimed that their U.S. operations did not violate U.S. law, pointing to legal opinions the companies had received from top American legal eagles. To many, it appeared like PartyGaming had given a lucrative business away. Even at the company’s headquarters there were doubts until April 2011, when federal prosecutors in Manhattan closed down the U.S. operations of PokerStars and Full Tilt, naming them illegal gambling businesses, and indicted some of their key execs. "I think Party has been vindicated now in getting out when they did and in dealing with the Department of Justice," says Behnam Dayanim, a partner at Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, who negotiated PartyGaming’s agreement with federal prosecutors in downtown Manhattan.
With all that said, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment is not exactly holding a management party quite yet. It's so close, yet so far, from reclaiming online poker’s crown. Operating in highly-regulated and taxed European markets while competing against well-run companies like PokerStars is not for the faint-hearted. Bwin.Party’s stock, which trades on the prestigious London Stock Exchange, has dipped by 50% in 2011. Big corporate mergers can be problematic, but the outfit has also suffered a setback in Germany, where the nation’s top civil court recently decided to uphold an online gambling ban, and been dissed by higher gaming duties across Europe. When the company attempted to take advantage of the April U.S. shutdown of PokerStars and Full Tilt, Bwin.Party found that while some new European players were attracted to its poker brands, revenues remained flat-ish. It wasn’t until Full Tilt’s European regulator suspended Full Tilt’s license in late June that Bwin.Party’s increased advertising and promotional expenditures started to pay dividends. PartyPoker is now the second-biggest online poker room in the world, according to PokerScout, averaging 4,150 cash players during any given time. PokerStars has 22,800.
Ryan, who joined PartyGaming as CEO in 2008, has been waiting for this moment for what seems like forever. He long ago took Bwin’s Norbert Teufelberger to a McDonald’s in La Linea, Spain, and chatted to him at length about the pros of combining Bwin’s strong online sportsbook business with PartyGaming’s poker brands, resulting in the merger that was first announced in 2010. Ryan also fine-tuned his company’s business-to-business capabilities over the last few years with an eye toward finding a U.S. partner with whom he can re-conquer America. "We had to be realistic about where we sat in the food chain," says Ryan. "We figured if the U.S. regulated it would be unlikely that we would secure a license directly, that the laws of the land would be written to allow existing land operators and equipment manufacturers in the U.S. to secure the licenses." Ryan is optimistic about current efforts in Washington, driven by the American Gaming Association and powerful casino companies like Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, to potentially get some sort of online gambling legislation through a divided Congress. Ryan notes he is also preparing for the possibility that online poker gets regulated first on a state-by-state basis.
"We have to be ready for both federal or state," he says. "It feels good to have American taxpaying companies finally driving this.".
If an offshore operator is to succeed in American, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment looks like the firm to place bets with.
Bwin.Party has identified Australia and New Zealand as places to further expand their business, even sponsoring high profile poker players such as Tony G and Stewart Scott (a former Crown Casino 'Aussie Millions' champion.) PartyPoker is one of a number of rumoured brands set to take over the sponsorship spot at James Packer's Crown Casino that FTP once enjoyed. Party look to have as much chance as anyone, probably more so.
In the meantime, poker and casino game players in regions such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, South America, South Africa and beyond can continue to enjoy their gaming.
Poker playing celebs such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Tobey McGuire are understood to be open to sponsorship approaches from Bwin.Party.
Governments of the world - you're throw of the dice.
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Thursday, August 4, 2011
Casino News Media: What's The Craic? THE PKR World Poker Tour® Ireland Set For January 2012
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LOS ANGELES – 2nd August 2011 -- World Poker Tour ® is thrilled to announce a new date for its historic 10th season, as the main tour stops on the Emerald Isle for the very first time. The PKR.com WPT Ireland, featuring a €2,500 buy-in (10% withheld), will take place at the legendary City West Hotel in Dublin from Thursday 5th January – Sunday 8th January 2012.
WPT Ireland is the first event in a three-year deal inked between the World Poker Tour and leading next generation online poker room PKR.com, renowned for its thriving community and innovative 3D software.
As well as being a major tour stop that will award a $25,500 seat for the WPT World Championship, the PKR.com WPT Ireland will also incorporate the popular Irish Poker Championships, formerly held in Galway in early January. The €750 IPC Event will be part of a competitive series of side events to be announced shortly. Additionally, qualifiers coming through PKR.com will also win exclusive access to the PKR WPT Experience. Continuing on from their popular series of events during the WSOP in Las Vegas, players will now get to enjoy great parties and special events in Dublin around the WPT Main Event.
Adam Pliska, President of the World Poker Tour said: “We are excited to be join with our partner PKR.com to bring the World Poker Tour to Ireland for the very first time. The history and heritage of poker in the Emerald Isle make it a tremendous tour stop and the beautiful City West Hotel and all of its top-notch accommodations will make this a memorable event.”
Simon Prodger, Marketing Director of PKR said: “We are delighted to partner with the World Poker Tour to bring an event to Ireland for the very first time. Dublin will be a fantastic tour stop and we think the combination of high quality poker and the Irish spirit of fun will draw players from all over the world.”
Online qualifiers get underway on PKR.com later this month.
The most recent stop on the World Poker Tour, WPT Slovenia, presented by Goldbet.com, was won by Slovenia’s Miha Travnik, a 20-year old playing in his first major live tournament, who took down $144,399, including a $25,500 entry to the 2012 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio. Next month the highly anticipated Legends of Poker kicks off WPT Season X in the US on August 25 at the Bicycle Casino outside Los Angeles. Prior to shuffle up and deal, WPT will hold a press conference announcing a variety of new initiatives and developments for Season X, as well as award World Poker Tour Season IX Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger his POY trophy.
ABOUT WORLD POKER TOUR
World Poker Tour (WPT) is one of the most recognized names in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in over 150 countries and territories and is currently airing its all-new ninth season on FSN in the United States. Season 9 of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com, a unique online membership site which offers inside access to the WPT as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club and is available in 35 states across the U.S. WPT participates in strategic brand license, partnership and sponsorship opportunities. WPT is a subsidiary of bwin.party digital entertainment plc. For more information, go to WorldPokerTour.com
ABOUR PKR (WWW.PKR.COM)
PKR is a revolutionary new concept in online poker that has changed the way the game is played. Featuring stunning real-time 3D graphics and a uniquely engaging and immersive gaming system, PKR brings an unparalleled and previously unseen level of realism to online poker. Developed by some of the brightest stars in the video games and poker industries, PKR continues to be the most innovative poker room in the world.
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Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PartyPoker.com PartyCasino.com PKR.com World Poker Tour Poker Online Poker Ireland Casinos World Casino Directory
LOS ANGELES – 2nd August 2011 -- World Poker Tour ® is thrilled to announce a new date for its historic 10th season, as the main tour stops on the Emerald Isle for the very first time. The PKR.com WPT Ireland, featuring a €2,500 buy-in (10% withheld), will take place at the legendary City West Hotel in Dublin from Thursday 5th January – Sunday 8th January 2012.
WPT Ireland is the first event in a three-year deal inked between the World Poker Tour and leading next generation online poker room PKR.com, renowned for its thriving community and innovative 3D software.
As well as being a major tour stop that will award a $25,500 seat for the WPT World Championship, the PKR.com WPT Ireland will also incorporate the popular Irish Poker Championships, formerly held in Galway in early January. The €750 IPC Event will be part of a competitive series of side events to be announced shortly. Additionally, qualifiers coming through PKR.com will also win exclusive access to the PKR WPT Experience. Continuing on from their popular series of events during the WSOP in Las Vegas, players will now get to enjoy great parties and special events in Dublin around the WPT Main Event.
Adam Pliska, President of the World Poker Tour said: “We are excited to be join with our partner PKR.com to bring the World Poker Tour to Ireland for the very first time. The history and heritage of poker in the Emerald Isle make it a tremendous tour stop and the beautiful City West Hotel and all of its top-notch accommodations will make this a memorable event.”
Simon Prodger, Marketing Director of PKR said: “We are delighted to partner with the World Poker Tour to bring an event to Ireland for the very first time. Dublin will be a fantastic tour stop and we think the combination of high quality poker and the Irish spirit of fun will draw players from all over the world.”
Online qualifiers get underway on PKR.com later this month.
The most recent stop on the World Poker Tour, WPT Slovenia, presented by Goldbet.com, was won by Slovenia’s Miha Travnik, a 20-year old playing in his first major live tournament, who took down $144,399, including a $25,500 entry to the 2012 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio. Next month the highly anticipated Legends of Poker kicks off WPT Season X in the US on August 25 at the Bicycle Casino outside Los Angeles. Prior to shuffle up and deal, WPT will hold a press conference announcing a variety of new initiatives and developments for Season X, as well as award World Poker Tour Season IX Player of the Year Andy Frankenberger his POY trophy.
ABOUT WORLD POKER TOUR
World Poker Tour (WPT) is one of the most recognized names in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in over 150 countries and territories and is currently airing its all-new ninth season on FSN in the United States. Season 9 of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com, a unique online membership site which offers inside access to the WPT as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club and is available in 35 states across the U.S. WPT participates in strategic brand license, partnership and sponsorship opportunities. WPT is a subsidiary of bwin.party digital entertainment plc. For more information, go to WorldPokerTour.com
ABOUR PKR (WWW.PKR.COM)
PKR is a revolutionary new concept in online poker that has changed the way the game is played. Featuring stunning real-time 3D graphics and a uniquely engaging and immersive gaming system, PKR brings an unparalleled and previously unseen level of realism to online poker. Developed by some of the brightest stars in the video games and poker industries, PKR continues to be the most innovative poker room in the world.
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011
2011 WSOP November Nine is Set
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2011 WSOP November Nine is Set...
Everyone knew where this road was headed, we just didn’t know who would get there. Just 22 players entered play at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Tuesday with a chance to make the final table and come hell or high water, the field was going to be narrowed to nine before the tournament was adjourned until the fall. No more playing for a set number of levels. We were going to get rid of 13 players if it took all night. Fortunately, it didn’t take all night (so long as you were following the action in Las Vegas) and we now know the identities of this year’s November Nine.
Considering the increases in payouts at this stage of the game and the importance of advancing from Tuesday to November, one would have expected play to slow to a crawl as players became very careful not to bust out. Not so yesterday. Even with a the usual breaks, a two hour dinner break, and an extra one hour break, the field was whittled to the final ten before 10:00pm Pacific time thanks to lots of three-betting, four-betting, and risky all-ins (Konstantinos Mamaliadis moved all-in with 8-2. Granted, he was short, but still. Yes, he lost that hand).
The ESPN announcing team of Lon McEachern, Antonio Esfandiari, and Norman Chad predicted that eliminating that last player to determine the November Nine would take a long time, and it did. With the media attention, sponsorship deals, and a more than $200,000 prize jump waiting for them between now and November, nobody wanted to be the final table bubble boy. In some ways, even though he was to win $607,882, it is worse to be the November Nine bubble boy than the standard “in the money” bubble boy. And while play did slow down significantly as most hands didn’t get past the pre-flop stage, it still went about two hours faster than last year’s six hour marathon.
In the end, it was John Hewitt of Costa Rica who made the other nine players very, very happy. Ireland’s Eoghan O’Dea (son of Donnacha O’Dea, who has made two Main Event final tables) opened the pre-flop betting to 1.1 million chips, with blinds at 250,000/500,000 and a 50,000 chip ante. Hewitt, who had been riding high for much of the day before taking a bad beat when his A-K lost to Pius Heinz’s K-J, pushed for his last 3.875 million. It was a race: Hewitt’s 3-3 versus O’Dea’s K-J. Despite not hitting one of his cards, it was a good flop for O’Dea, as the Q-T-7 gave him an open-ended straight draw. The Ace on the turn clinched the hand for the Irishman, sending the poker room into a frenzy. Hewitt was gracious in defeat and his fellow tablemates were simultaneously congratulatory and empathetic to him. While the remaining players were no doubt thrilled they had made the November Nine, they knew what a disappointment it was for the likable Hewitt to fall short.
While everyone moving on to November has done a fantastic job, perhaps the most impressive player of the day was Matt Giannetti. He was one of the bigger stacks during the early part of Day 8 before running into a painful hand against Ben Lamb. With blinds at 150,000/300,000/40,000, Lamb raised pre-flop to 675,000 and Giannetti called. After the flop of Ah-9h-2d, Giannetti check-called a 700,000 chip bet. Both players checked the 7d on the turn and Giannetti once again checked the 2h on the river, a card which introduced the possibility of a flush. With the pot at just over 3 million chips, Lamb made a huge bet of 4 million. Obviously holding a good hand, but unsure of just how good it was compared to Lamb’s, Giannetti went into the deepest of tanks. One minute went by, then two. Then three. Esfandiari kept viewers interested by analyzing what he thought each player had. Five minutes. Eight. After ten minutes, Giannetti finally made the call with A-9, giving him top two pair. To his dismay, though, Lamb flipped over 2-3 for three-of-a-kind, giving him the large pot and sending Giannetti’s stack down to under 10 million.
Giannetti was noticeably shaken after that and even stepped away from the table a short time later to collect himself. Struggling to stay alive as he made it to the final ten, he held firm and didn’t make any rash moves. He was able to raise a couple times pre-flop without moving all-in to collect the blinds and antes, which at that point meant he was increasing his stack by around 10 percent. He finally decided to put all of chips at risk, twice doing it with pocket Jacks, and both times doubling-up. Matt Giannetti had emerged from the emotionally draining hand earlier in the evening and had climbed back from the November Nine bubble to make it to the final table with the third largest chip stack.
Here is how the chip counts stack up (pun intended):
1. Martin Staszko – 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O’Dea – 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins – 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb – 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz – 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi – 13,825,000
9. Samuel Holden – 12,375,000
It is a final table with a very international flavor: just three Americans and one player each from the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belize, Germany, Ukraine, and England. At this point, everyone is guaranteed at least $782,115 with the winner taking home $8,711,956.
The players are now on a three and a half month break as they prepare for the rest of their Main Event journey. Play will resume on November 5th, will pause when there are just two players left, and will pick up again on November 7th to determine the next No-Limit Hold’em World Champion.
WSOP Day 6: 57 Players Remain, Ryan Lenaghan in Control...
We’re at the point in the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event where everyone left in the field can smell the finish line. The coveted championship bracelet is now a realistic possibility, even for those at the bottom of the leader board. With just 57 of the original 6,865 players still holding on to chips, the tension will be ratcheted up a notch as Day 7 begins on Monday.
Leading the way is professional poker player Ryan Lenaghan, with a stack of 12,865,000 chips, almost 3,000,000 more than his nearest competitor. The Mobile, Alabama native now living in New Orleans made his biggest move late in the day. He opened the betting pre-flop with a raise to 110,000 and was then re-raised to 355,000 by Bryan Follain. Undeterred, Lenaghan took it up to 865,000 only to see Follain five-bet all the way up to 1,200,000. Lenaghan quickly moved all-in, covering his opponent, who, after some thought decided to put all his chips at risk. Interestingly, the hands weren’t all that strong considering the action: Lenaghan had J-J, while Follain held A-Q. None of the five community cards helped Follain and with the 4,200,000 chip pot, Lenaghan soared into the lead.
Despite his chip advantage, Lenaghan will start at a tough table today. Joining him is John Esposito, who has now cashed in seven Main Events, David Bach, who was the chip leader going into Day 6, top online (and now live) poker pro David “Doc” Sands, and one of the other top stacks, Hilton Laborda, who has 7,160,000 chips.
Currently sitting in second place is this summer’s star, Ben Lamb, who has been at or near the top of the field for most of the Main Event. With his deep run in this tournament, Lamb will take over the lead in the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year (POY) standings from Phil Hellmuth. Not counting the Main Event, he has four cashes at this year’s WSOP, including a bracelet, a runner-up finish and a third final table. His worst finish of the four cashes is 12th. Hellmuth will still have a chance to re-take the lead at the WSOP Europe later this year.
Other notables remaining the in the competition include Bryan Devonshire (10th), J.P. Kelly (21st), Lars Bonding (26th), Sam Barnhart (27th), Tony Hachem (36th), Erick Lindgren (38th), Steve Brecher (45th), and Sebastian Ruthenberg (57th).
Everyone remaining is guaranteed at least $130,997. Here is what the remaining payout structure looks like:
1. $8,711,956
2. $5,430,928
3. $4,019,635
4. $3,011,665
5. $2,268,909
6. $1,720,396
7. $1,313,851
8. $1,009,910
9. $782,115
10 – 12. $607,882
13 – 15. $478,174
16 – 18. $378,796
19 – 27. $302,005
28 – 36. $242,636
37 – 45. $196,174
46 – 54. $160,036
55 – 63. $130,997
And the current top ten chip counts:
1. Ryan Lenaghan – 12,865,000
2. Ben Lamb – 9,980,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 7,940,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk – 7,255,000
5. Phil Collins – 7,240,000
6. Hilton Laborda – 7,160,000
7. Nelson Robinson – 6,420,000
8. Tri Huynh – 6,295,000
9. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 6,070,000
10. Bryan Devonshire – 5,970,000
Play will resume at noon Pacific time on Monday. The original schedule indicated that Day 7 would end when just 27 players are remaining, but a tournament update released by WSOP officials has stated that, like in previous days, there will be four blind levels played, at which point the tournament will be paused until Tuesday. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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2011 WSOP November Nine is Set...
Everyone knew where this road was headed, we just didn’t know who would get there. Just 22 players entered play at the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Tuesday with a chance to make the final table and come hell or high water, the field was going to be narrowed to nine before the tournament was adjourned until the fall. No more playing for a set number of levels. We were going to get rid of 13 players if it took all night. Fortunately, it didn’t take all night (so long as you were following the action in Las Vegas) and we now know the identities of this year’s November Nine.
Considering the increases in payouts at this stage of the game and the importance of advancing from Tuesday to November, one would have expected play to slow to a crawl as players became very careful not to bust out. Not so yesterday. Even with a the usual breaks, a two hour dinner break, and an extra one hour break, the field was whittled to the final ten before 10:00pm Pacific time thanks to lots of three-betting, four-betting, and risky all-ins (Konstantinos Mamaliadis moved all-in with 8-2. Granted, he was short, but still. Yes, he lost that hand).
The ESPN announcing team of Lon McEachern, Antonio Esfandiari, and Norman Chad predicted that eliminating that last player to determine the November Nine would take a long time, and it did. With the media attention, sponsorship deals, and a more than $200,000 prize jump waiting for them between now and November, nobody wanted to be the final table bubble boy. In some ways, even though he was to win $607,882, it is worse to be the November Nine bubble boy than the standard “in the money” bubble boy. And while play did slow down significantly as most hands didn’t get past the pre-flop stage, it still went about two hours faster than last year’s six hour marathon.
In the end, it was John Hewitt of Costa Rica who made the other nine players very, very happy. Ireland’s Eoghan O’Dea (son of Donnacha O’Dea, who has made two Main Event final tables) opened the pre-flop betting to 1.1 million chips, with blinds at 250,000/500,000 and a 50,000 chip ante. Hewitt, who had been riding high for much of the day before taking a bad beat when his A-K lost to Pius Heinz’s K-J, pushed for his last 3.875 million. It was a race: Hewitt’s 3-3 versus O’Dea’s K-J. Despite not hitting one of his cards, it was a good flop for O’Dea, as the Q-T-7 gave him an open-ended straight draw. The Ace on the turn clinched the hand for the Irishman, sending the poker room into a frenzy. Hewitt was gracious in defeat and his fellow tablemates were simultaneously congratulatory and empathetic to him. While the remaining players were no doubt thrilled they had made the November Nine, they knew what a disappointment it was for the likable Hewitt to fall short.
While everyone moving on to November has done a fantastic job, perhaps the most impressive player of the day was Matt Giannetti. He was one of the bigger stacks during the early part of Day 8 before running into a painful hand against Ben Lamb. With blinds at 150,000/300,000/40,000, Lamb raised pre-flop to 675,000 and Giannetti called. After the flop of Ah-9h-2d, Giannetti check-called a 700,000 chip bet. Both players checked the 7d on the turn and Giannetti once again checked the 2h on the river, a card which introduced the possibility of a flush. With the pot at just over 3 million chips, Lamb made a huge bet of 4 million. Obviously holding a good hand, but unsure of just how good it was compared to Lamb’s, Giannetti went into the deepest of tanks. One minute went by, then two. Then three. Esfandiari kept viewers interested by analyzing what he thought each player had. Five minutes. Eight. After ten minutes, Giannetti finally made the call with A-9, giving him top two pair. To his dismay, though, Lamb flipped over 2-3 for three-of-a-kind, giving him the large pot and sending Giannetti’s stack down to under 10 million.
Giannetti was noticeably shaken after that and even stepped away from the table a short time later to collect himself. Struggling to stay alive as he made it to the final ten, he held firm and didn’t make any rash moves. He was able to raise a couple times pre-flop without moving all-in to collect the blinds and antes, which at that point meant he was increasing his stack by around 10 percent. He finally decided to put all of chips at risk, twice doing it with pocket Jacks, and both times doubling-up. Matt Giannetti had emerged from the emotionally draining hand earlier in the evening and had climbed back from the November Nine bubble to make it to the final table with the third largest chip stack.
Here is how the chip counts stack up (pun intended):
1. Martin Staszko – 40,175,000
2. Eoghan O’Dea – 33,925,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 24,750,000
4. Phil Collins – 23,875,000
5. Ben Lamb – 20,875,000
6. Badih Bounahra – 19,700,000
7. Pius Heinz – 16,425,000
8. Anton Makievskyi – 13,825,000
9. Samuel Holden – 12,375,000
It is a final table with a very international flavor: just three Americans and one player each from the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belize, Germany, Ukraine, and England. At this point, everyone is guaranteed at least $782,115 with the winner taking home $8,711,956.
The players are now on a three and a half month break as they prepare for the rest of their Main Event journey. Play will resume on November 5th, will pause when there are just two players left, and will pick up again on November 7th to determine the next No-Limit Hold’em World Champion.
WSOP Day 6: 57 Players Remain, Ryan Lenaghan in Control...
We’re at the point in the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event where everyone left in the field can smell the finish line. The coveted championship bracelet is now a realistic possibility, even for those at the bottom of the leader board. With just 57 of the original 6,865 players still holding on to chips, the tension will be ratcheted up a notch as Day 7 begins on Monday.
Leading the way is professional poker player Ryan Lenaghan, with a stack of 12,865,000 chips, almost 3,000,000 more than his nearest competitor. The Mobile, Alabama native now living in New Orleans made his biggest move late in the day. He opened the betting pre-flop with a raise to 110,000 and was then re-raised to 355,000 by Bryan Follain. Undeterred, Lenaghan took it up to 865,000 only to see Follain five-bet all the way up to 1,200,000. Lenaghan quickly moved all-in, covering his opponent, who, after some thought decided to put all his chips at risk. Interestingly, the hands weren’t all that strong considering the action: Lenaghan had J-J, while Follain held A-Q. None of the five community cards helped Follain and with the 4,200,000 chip pot, Lenaghan soared into the lead.
Despite his chip advantage, Lenaghan will start at a tough table today. Joining him is John Esposito, who has now cashed in seven Main Events, David Bach, who was the chip leader going into Day 6, top online (and now live) poker pro David “Doc” Sands, and one of the other top stacks, Hilton Laborda, who has 7,160,000 chips.
Currently sitting in second place is this summer’s star, Ben Lamb, who has been at or near the top of the field for most of the Main Event. With his deep run in this tournament, Lamb will take over the lead in the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year (POY) standings from Phil Hellmuth. Not counting the Main Event, he has four cashes at this year’s WSOP, including a bracelet, a runner-up finish and a third final table. His worst finish of the four cashes is 12th. Hellmuth will still have a chance to re-take the lead at the WSOP Europe later this year.
Other notables remaining the in the competition include Bryan Devonshire (10th), J.P. Kelly (21st), Lars Bonding (26th), Sam Barnhart (27th), Tony Hachem (36th), Erick Lindgren (38th), Steve Brecher (45th), and Sebastian Ruthenberg (57th).
Everyone remaining is guaranteed at least $130,997. Here is what the remaining payout structure looks like:
1. $8,711,956
2. $5,430,928
3. $4,019,635
4. $3,011,665
5. $2,268,909
6. $1,720,396
7. $1,313,851
8. $1,009,910
9. $782,115
10 – 12. $607,882
13 – 15. $478,174
16 – 18. $378,796
19 – 27. $302,005
28 – 36. $242,636
37 – 45. $196,174
46 – 54. $160,036
55 – 63. $130,997
And the current top ten chip counts:
1. Ryan Lenaghan – 12,865,000
2. Ben Lamb – 9,980,000
3. Matt Giannetti – 7,940,000
4. Andrey Pateychuk – 7,255,000
5. Phil Collins – 7,240,000
6. Hilton Laborda – 7,160,000
7. Nelson Robinson – 6,420,000
8. Tri Huynh – 6,295,000
9. Aleksandr Mozhnyakov – 6,070,000
10. Bryan Devonshire – 5,970,000
Play will resume at noon Pacific time on Monday. The original schedule indicated that Day 7 would end when just 27 players are remaining, but a tournament update released by WSOP officials has stated that, like in previous days, there will be four blind levels played, at which point the tournament will be paused until Tuesday. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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Sunday, July 17, 2011
Australian Gambling And iGaming News Developments, by Greg Tingle - 17th July 2011
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Australian Gaming Firms Not So Keen On Outsiders...
An established online betting operator is calling on any legislation on exotic gambling options to also include a toughening up of controls on online casino poker offerings.
Australia's "big four" online gambling brands: Betfair, Sportsbet, Centrebet and Sportingbet last month backed proposed new measures to stamp out match-fixing in sport.
British based igaming firm Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the world leader in igaming, is monitoring the situation closely and is understood to be in negotiations with the Australian government. This follows their successful negotiations with the United States Department of Justice over 2 years ago, which are leading the company once again offering full and completely legal igaming services to Americans, as part of their global strategy.
However, Betfair chief exec top brass Andrew Twaits said online poker websites, which he says cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually, should also be part of new legislation.
"While it is pleasing to see both the federal and state governments taking the integrity of betting in sports seriously and on a united front, the present legislation is clearly not working when it comes to online poker," Twaits said.
"Online sports betting in this country turns over $300 million a year, is highly regulated and we pay our taxes, while operators of online poker sites are not, many of which are controlled and run offshore.
"That's the real challenge facing not just the federal and state governments of this country, but governments across the globe.
"It is estimated that the turnover in this and other forms of illegal betting is $125 billion worldwide. That's why as an industry we welcome any tightening of the present legislation in this country of the Victorian Integrated Gambling Act.
"The sooner the rest of the states and territories fall into line the better it will be for everyone."
A lot of the concerns relate to preserving the integrity of sporting events.
There's a push to employ full-time supervisors to scrutinise betting trends. The AFL employs an integrity officer.
The coalition represents the NRL, AFL, ARU, Cricket Australia, FFA, Netball and Tennis.
"The NRL could take a leaf out of the AFL's book on this issue. They seem to be dragging the chain a little," Sullivan told the press.
"We've seen on the issue arising from the North Queensland investigation that the checks and balances we as an industry already have in place actually do work.
"As for the NRL asking for an industry-wide ban on exotic bets, that's fine, but our figures show that the average bet on the first and last tryscorer is just $9.
"That wouldn't buy you a schooner of beer in some pubs in Fremantle.
"Betting on cricket matches in this country isn't a problem. The trouble starts with the sheer weight of money bet on games in India and Pakistan where the industry is either illegal or nowhere near as regulated as you find it here in Australia.
"All we are asking for as a collective is a level playing field."
European Agency Closed To Australia...
European betting agency Betdaq Friday ceased operating on Australian racing and most Australian sports after revelations its activities were illegal.
It's been revealed that Betdaq, a privately owned Irish-based betting exchange, was operating offshore covering Australian racing and a range of other sports, including the AFL and NRL, without appropriate licensing and in contravention of state and federal legislation.
A Betdaq spokesman contacted by Murdoch's The Australian newspaper said Friday: "The betting services on Australian races and sports has been stopped. A legal problem has developed. It should be sorted out soon but until further notice we will not be operating on Australian sport." The spokesman declined to state specifically what legalities had forced it to close down its Australian operations. When informed by The Australian yesterday that Betdaq had withdrawn its Australian endeavours, the federal Minister for Sport Mark Arbib said: "Betting sites operating offshore without regulation are a potential threat to the integrity of Australian sport. Online gambling has been referred to Minister (Stephen) Conroy's review of the Interactive Gambling Act."
In The Australian's report it was revealed that on Wednesday Betdaq was operating on race meetings in Victoria (Sandown), NSW (Warwick Farm) and Queensland (Eagle Farm). It was also setting markets for the major football codes and also promoting online casino and poker services.
It is fully expected other overseas betting agencies will attempt to bet on Australian races and sport too after Sky Racing completed a deal last week for Australian races to be broadcast live on At The Races, the major thoroughbred racing channel in the UK.
To operate on Australian race meetings, bookmakers and betting exchanges need to be licensed with the various state racing authorities. As well, betting on sport and sporting events needs licensing agreements with the sports.
Websites such such as Betdaq are understood to weaken the potential influence and authority of last month's commitment between the federal government, the state sport ministers and the major Australian sports to agree to national legislation to police integrity issues in sport.
The meeting agreed to a multi-pronged attack on corruption.
A news release from Arbib's department said the key features of the policy were:
*Legal arrangements and integrity agreements between sports and betting companies which will include requirements to share information, provide sports with a right to veto bet types and provide a financial return from sports betting to sports;
*The establishment of a National Integrity of Sport Unit to oversee the national arrangements and provide support for smaller sports;
*Agreement to pursue nationally consistent legislative arrangements;
*The adoption of codes of conduct by sports, and;
*Government funding will be contingent on sports implementing appropriate anti-match-fixing and anti-corruption policies and practices.
The national strategy will be put in front of the state attorneys-general for discussion next month.
However, the limits of that national code to police corruption in sport if offshore bookmakers and betting exchanges offer services to Australian punters are manifest if those betting agencies are not licensed in this country.
Licensing agreements with racing bodies and sporting codes ensure the betting agencies pay a fee for the right to use the racefields and fixtures but also agree to co-operate fully with authorities if they become aware of any suspicious betting patterns or unauthorised sports people or officials placing bets.
The chief executive of Racing Victoria Rob Hines and his NSW counterpart Peter V'landys were unaware on Wednesday that Betdaq was operating on their race meetings.
The AFL, too, did not know that the betting exchange was wagering on its competition.
In effect, the website was not monitored.
Betdaq still had markets for the premiership winner in the AFL and NRL presumably because those bets are not on the fixtures themselves and punters would have already placed bets in good faith.
The Betdaq spokesman indicated that no other sport bets would be taken and relevant markets would be removed.
Hines said he had been told by his integrity services department a letter had been sent to Betdaq warning it of the dangers - a $60,000 fine every day an unlicensed agency bets on racefields - but had received no reply. Betdaq also offers Australians the opportunity to gamble on only casino poker online.
Australian Federal Police Lack Resources To Impose Fines On Gambling...
The Australian Federal Police is lacking resources to investigate online gambling cases.
The official penalties of up to $1.1 million a day have not been pursued.
There's rumors the FBI may or is assisting the AFP.
The Australian Federal Police this week advised that since 2009, 15 allegations of criminal breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act have not been investigated.
The lack of action by the AFP continues despite Australian Crime Commission advice that internationally the integrity of professional sports has been compromised, with organised criminal groups understood to be targeting the sector.
In a submission lodged on July 12 with the joint select committee into gambling reform, the AFP national manager crime operations, Ramzi Jabbour, said: "In the previous two years, the AFP received 15 referrals concerning allegations of offences committed contrary to the act. In isolation, when compared to other criminal activity, these referrals were categorised as low priority for investigation and consequently not investigated."
Under the act's provisions, any person found guilty of providing a prohibited service is liable to a fine of $110,000 a day and any company up to $1.1 million a day.
The AFP submission confirms the force is required by federal legislation to investigate alleged criminal activity referred to it by senator Stephen Conroy's Department of Broadband, Communication and Digital Economy.
On Thursday, Irish-based betting exchange Betdaq closed down its operations on Australian racing after revelations by News Limited's The Australian newspaper that it was acting in contravention of both state and federal legislation.
The Weekend Australian newspaper has learned that the federal police have alerted Conroy's department that they are under-resourced and have known of Bet365's apparent illegal activities since 2001.
A spokeswoman for the department said yesterday that the IGA faces a review and the terms of reference would be finalised shortly.
"The review will include an examination of the operation of the act and the effectiveness of the current provisions. It will include further consideration of international regulatory approaches to online gambling," the spokeswoman said.
Part of the review would also address harm minimisation measures for online gambling services.
"The review will also look at the enforcement of existing prohibitions on certain types of online gambling, the way the act applies to different technological platforms, and the growing number of Australian consumers gambling online in an unregulated environment."
The AFL general manager of football Adrian Anderson said the league would support increased regulatory powers to shut down sites betting illegally on its fixtures. The racing industry supports regulation that would ban banks from processing money transfers to offshore bookmakers which wagered illegally on Australian sporting fields.
The ACC's submission to the select committee lodged last month was stark and warned that online wagering was a common target for money laundering. "Many cyber criminal networks use the boundaries of traditional law enforcement to their advantage, targeting users from other countries and in turn making their crimes harder to investigate," ACC chief executive John Lawler advised.
"The criminal groups that are exploiting professional sport overseas have a strong historical involvement in illegal gambling and gaming and this has been an important source of income for these groups. Sport has simply become a new market for these groups to exploit."
Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News
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Australian Gaming Firms Not So Keen On Outsiders...
An established online betting operator is calling on any legislation on exotic gambling options to also include a toughening up of controls on online casino poker offerings.
Australia's "big four" online gambling brands: Betfair, Sportsbet, Centrebet and Sportingbet last month backed proposed new measures to stamp out match-fixing in sport.
British based igaming firm Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the world leader in igaming, is monitoring the situation closely and is understood to be in negotiations with the Australian government. This follows their successful negotiations with the United States Department of Justice over 2 years ago, which are leading the company once again offering full and completely legal igaming services to Americans, as part of their global strategy.
However, Betfair chief exec top brass Andrew Twaits said online poker websites, which he says cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually, should also be part of new legislation.
"While it is pleasing to see both the federal and state governments taking the integrity of betting in sports seriously and on a united front, the present legislation is clearly not working when it comes to online poker," Twaits said.
"Online sports betting in this country turns over $300 million a year, is highly regulated and we pay our taxes, while operators of online poker sites are not, many of which are controlled and run offshore.
"That's the real challenge facing not just the federal and state governments of this country, but governments across the globe.
"It is estimated that the turnover in this and other forms of illegal betting is $125 billion worldwide. That's why as an industry we welcome any tightening of the present legislation in this country of the Victorian Integrated Gambling Act.
"The sooner the rest of the states and territories fall into line the better it will be for everyone."
A lot of the concerns relate to preserving the integrity of sporting events.
There's a push to employ full-time supervisors to scrutinise betting trends. The AFL employs an integrity officer.
The coalition represents the NRL, AFL, ARU, Cricket Australia, FFA, Netball and Tennis.
"The NRL could take a leaf out of the AFL's book on this issue. They seem to be dragging the chain a little," Sullivan told the press.
"We've seen on the issue arising from the North Queensland investigation that the checks and balances we as an industry already have in place actually do work.
"As for the NRL asking for an industry-wide ban on exotic bets, that's fine, but our figures show that the average bet on the first and last tryscorer is just $9.
"That wouldn't buy you a schooner of beer in some pubs in Fremantle.
"Betting on cricket matches in this country isn't a problem. The trouble starts with the sheer weight of money bet on games in India and Pakistan where the industry is either illegal or nowhere near as regulated as you find it here in Australia.
"All we are asking for as a collective is a level playing field."
European Agency Closed To Australia...
European betting agency Betdaq Friday ceased operating on Australian racing and most Australian sports after revelations its activities were illegal.
It's been revealed that Betdaq, a privately owned Irish-based betting exchange, was operating offshore covering Australian racing and a range of other sports, including the AFL and NRL, without appropriate licensing and in contravention of state and federal legislation.
A Betdaq spokesman contacted by Murdoch's The Australian newspaper said Friday: "The betting services on Australian races and sports has been stopped. A legal problem has developed. It should be sorted out soon but until further notice we will not be operating on Australian sport." The spokesman declined to state specifically what legalities had forced it to close down its Australian operations. When informed by The Australian yesterday that Betdaq had withdrawn its Australian endeavours, the federal Minister for Sport Mark Arbib said: "Betting sites operating offshore without regulation are a potential threat to the integrity of Australian sport. Online gambling has been referred to Minister (Stephen) Conroy's review of the Interactive Gambling Act."
In The Australian's report it was revealed that on Wednesday Betdaq was operating on race meetings in Victoria (Sandown), NSW (Warwick Farm) and Queensland (Eagle Farm). It was also setting markets for the major football codes and also promoting online casino and poker services.
It is fully expected other overseas betting agencies will attempt to bet on Australian races and sport too after Sky Racing completed a deal last week for Australian races to be broadcast live on At The Races, the major thoroughbred racing channel in the UK.
To operate on Australian race meetings, bookmakers and betting exchanges need to be licensed with the various state racing authorities. As well, betting on sport and sporting events needs licensing agreements with the sports.
Websites such such as Betdaq are understood to weaken the potential influence and authority of last month's commitment between the federal government, the state sport ministers and the major Australian sports to agree to national legislation to police integrity issues in sport.
The meeting agreed to a multi-pronged attack on corruption.
A news release from Arbib's department said the key features of the policy were:
*Legal arrangements and integrity agreements between sports and betting companies which will include requirements to share information, provide sports with a right to veto bet types and provide a financial return from sports betting to sports;
*The establishment of a National Integrity of Sport Unit to oversee the national arrangements and provide support for smaller sports;
*Agreement to pursue nationally consistent legislative arrangements;
*The adoption of codes of conduct by sports, and;
*Government funding will be contingent on sports implementing appropriate anti-match-fixing and anti-corruption policies and practices.
The national strategy will be put in front of the state attorneys-general for discussion next month.
However, the limits of that national code to police corruption in sport if offshore bookmakers and betting exchanges offer services to Australian punters are manifest if those betting agencies are not licensed in this country.
Licensing agreements with racing bodies and sporting codes ensure the betting agencies pay a fee for the right to use the racefields and fixtures but also agree to co-operate fully with authorities if they become aware of any suspicious betting patterns or unauthorised sports people or officials placing bets.
The chief executive of Racing Victoria Rob Hines and his NSW counterpart Peter V'landys were unaware on Wednesday that Betdaq was operating on their race meetings.
The AFL, too, did not know that the betting exchange was wagering on its competition.
In effect, the website was not monitored.
Betdaq still had markets for the premiership winner in the AFL and NRL presumably because those bets are not on the fixtures themselves and punters would have already placed bets in good faith.
The Betdaq spokesman indicated that no other sport bets would be taken and relevant markets would be removed.
Hines said he had been told by his integrity services department a letter had been sent to Betdaq warning it of the dangers - a $60,000 fine every day an unlicensed agency bets on racefields - but had received no reply. Betdaq also offers Australians the opportunity to gamble on only casino poker online.
Australian Federal Police Lack Resources To Impose Fines On Gambling...
The Australian Federal Police is lacking resources to investigate online gambling cases.
The official penalties of up to $1.1 million a day have not been pursued.
There's rumors the FBI may or is assisting the AFP.
The Australian Federal Police this week advised that since 2009, 15 allegations of criminal breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act have not been investigated.
The lack of action by the AFP continues despite Australian Crime Commission advice that internationally the integrity of professional sports has been compromised, with organised criminal groups understood to be targeting the sector.
In a submission lodged on July 12 with the joint select committee into gambling reform, the AFP national manager crime operations, Ramzi Jabbour, said: "In the previous two years, the AFP received 15 referrals concerning allegations of offences committed contrary to the act. In isolation, when compared to other criminal activity, these referrals were categorised as low priority for investigation and consequently not investigated."
Under the act's provisions, any person found guilty of providing a prohibited service is liable to a fine of $110,000 a day and any company up to $1.1 million a day.
The AFP submission confirms the force is required by federal legislation to investigate alleged criminal activity referred to it by senator Stephen Conroy's Department of Broadband, Communication and Digital Economy.
On Thursday, Irish-based betting exchange Betdaq closed down its operations on Australian racing after revelations by News Limited's The Australian newspaper that it was acting in contravention of both state and federal legislation.
The Weekend Australian newspaper has learned that the federal police have alerted Conroy's department that they are under-resourced and have known of Bet365's apparent illegal activities since 2001.
A spokeswoman for the department said yesterday that the IGA faces a review and the terms of reference would be finalised shortly.
"The review will include an examination of the operation of the act and the effectiveness of the current provisions. It will include further consideration of international regulatory approaches to online gambling," the spokeswoman said.
Part of the review would also address harm minimisation measures for online gambling services.
"The review will also look at the enforcement of existing prohibitions on certain types of online gambling, the way the act applies to different technological platforms, and the growing number of Australian consumers gambling online in an unregulated environment."
The AFL general manager of football Adrian Anderson said the league would support increased regulatory powers to shut down sites betting illegally on its fixtures. The racing industry supports regulation that would ban banks from processing money transfers to offshore bookmakers which wagered illegally on Australian sporting fields.
The ACC's submission to the select committee lodged last month was stark and warned that online wagering was a common target for money laundering. "Many cyber criminal networks use the boundaries of traditional law enforcement to their advantage, targeting users from other countries and in turn making their crimes harder to investigate," ACC chief executive John Lawler advised.
"The criminal groups that are exploiting professional sport overseas have a strong historical involvement in illegal gambling and gaming and this has been an important source of income for these groups. Sport has simply become a new market for these groups to exploit."
Punters, er readers, stay glued to Media Man reports for more "can't miss" information on Australian pokies, gaming and casino wars.
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming. Media Man also publishes Media Man News
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Sunday, July 10, 2011
WSOP Main Event: Fred Berger Leads After Day 1a - 8th July 2011
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The World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off Thursday with 897 players participating on Day 1a, the first of four starting days in poker’s biggest showcase. The field was down about 20 percent from the 1,125 entrants that participated in 2010 — not surprising given the lack of online qualifiers from the major sites indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday.
The Day 1a chip leader was Fred Berger, who bagged 209,500 chips at the end of five levels Thursday night. The Las Vegas native took the lead in the final hour, winning a massive pot from former November Niner and bracelet winner Scott Montgomery. Berger had Jh-9h on a 8c-6h-2h-Js-Jc board, giving him trip jacks, and Montgomery was sent to the rail after he pushed all of his chips in on the river with two pair, jacks and eights.
Berger is no rookie at the WSOP; he has 13 cashes at the WSOP in his career, including victory in a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold ‘em event in 2002. Berger defeated Chris “Jesus” Ferguson heads up for the bracelet and a prize of $197,400. In total, Berger’s live tournament cashes eclipse $1 million.
Joining Berger at the top of the leaderboard are Shane Sigsbee (182,600), Kyle Burnside (159,050), Cedric Annen (155,400), and Michael Bena (150,350). Among the notables with healthy stacks at the end of the day included 2011 bracelet winner David Diaz (139,150), Sebastien Ruthenberg (117,000), Jonas Klausen (116,075), Raymond Rahme (103,950), Jaime “pokerjamers” Armstrong (103,000), Olivier Busquet (98,975), Luke “IWEARGOGGLES” Staudenmaier, and 2010 November Niner Soi Nguyen (87,325).
Four former WSOP Main Event winners took to the felt on Day 1a, including Doyle Brunson, who surprised many after announcing Monday that he would be sitting out the event. The “Godfather of Poker” apparently had a change of heart and took his seat at the ESPN Featured Table. By Level 3, Brunson had been chipped down to 4,375, and got the rest of his stack in preflop with pocket fives against the Ac-Qh of Steve Costello. The board ran out Ad-Qs-Jc-6d-2h, and Texas Dolly made his exit to a round of applause from those in the Amazon Room.
Former champions Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang also played on Day 1a, but only Chan survived, finishing with 34,000. Others making an early exit Thursday were McLean Karr, Jeff Papola, Tom Schneider, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Vanessa Selbst, Matt Affleck, John Hennigan, Isaac Haxton, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Faraz Jaka, and Evelyn Ng.
A total of 556 players survived the day and they will combine with the survivors from Day 1c to form the Day 2a field on Monday, July 11. The players that make it through Days 1b and 1d will form the Day 2b field, which will take place on Tuesday, July 12.
Here’s a look at the top 10 stacks from Day 1a of the 2011 WSOP Main Event:
1. Fred Berger — 209,500
2. Shane Sigsbee — 182,600
3. Kyle Burnside — 159,050
4. Cedric Annen — 155,400
5. Michael Bena — 150,350
6. Lynne Mitchnick — 145,675
7. Juan Perez — 143,425
8. David Diaz — 139,150
9. Christopher Macfarland — 135,350
10. Philipp Gruissem — 133,050
Day 1b gets underway Friday at 12:00 p.m. local time. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2011 World Series of Poker from the Rio in Las Vegas. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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The World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off Thursday with 897 players participating on Day 1a, the first of four starting days in poker’s biggest showcase. The field was down about 20 percent from the 1,125 entrants that participated in 2010 — not surprising given the lack of online qualifiers from the major sites indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday.
The Day 1a chip leader was Fred Berger, who bagged 209,500 chips at the end of five levels Thursday night. The Las Vegas native took the lead in the final hour, winning a massive pot from former November Niner and bracelet winner Scott Montgomery. Berger had Jh-9h on a 8c-6h-2h-Js-Jc board, giving him trip jacks, and Montgomery was sent to the rail after he pushed all of his chips in on the river with two pair, jacks and eights.
Berger is no rookie at the WSOP; he has 13 cashes at the WSOP in his career, including victory in a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold ‘em event in 2002. Berger defeated Chris “Jesus” Ferguson heads up for the bracelet and a prize of $197,400. In total, Berger’s live tournament cashes eclipse $1 million.
Joining Berger at the top of the leaderboard are Shane Sigsbee (182,600), Kyle Burnside (159,050), Cedric Annen (155,400), and Michael Bena (150,350). Among the notables with healthy stacks at the end of the day included 2011 bracelet winner David Diaz (139,150), Sebastien Ruthenberg (117,000), Jonas Klausen (116,075), Raymond Rahme (103,950), Jaime “pokerjamers” Armstrong (103,000), Olivier Busquet (98,975), Luke “IWEARGOGGLES” Staudenmaier, and 2010 November Niner Soi Nguyen (87,325).
Four former WSOP Main Event winners took to the felt on Day 1a, including Doyle Brunson, who surprised many after announcing Monday that he would be sitting out the event. The “Godfather of Poker” apparently had a change of heart and took his seat at the ESPN Featured Table. By Level 3, Brunson had been chipped down to 4,375, and got the rest of his stack in preflop with pocket fives against the Ac-Qh of Steve Costello. The board ran out Ad-Qs-Jc-6d-2h, and Texas Dolly made his exit to a round of applause from those in the Amazon Room.
Former champions Johnny Chan, Greg Raymer and Jerry Yang also played on Day 1a, but only Chan survived, finishing with 34,000. Others making an early exit Thursday were McLean Karr, Jeff Papola, Tom Schneider, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, Vanessa Selbst, Matt Affleck, John Hennigan, Isaac Haxton, Randy “nanonoko” Lew, Faraz Jaka, and Evelyn Ng.
A total of 556 players survived the day and they will combine with the survivors from Day 1c to form the Day 2a field on Monday, July 11. The players that make it through Days 1b and 1d will form the Day 2b field, which will take place on Tuesday, July 12.
Here’s a look at the top 10 stacks from Day 1a of the 2011 WSOP Main Event:
1. Fred Berger — 209,500
2. Shane Sigsbee — 182,600
3. Kyle Burnside — 159,050
4. Cedric Annen — 155,400
5. Michael Bena — 150,350
6. Lynne Mitchnick — 145,675
7. Juan Perez — 143,425
8. David Diaz — 139,150
9. Christopher Macfarland — 135,350
10. Philipp Gruissem — 133,050
Day 1b gets underway Friday at 12:00 p.m. local time. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continuous updates from the 2011 World Series of Poker from the Rio in Las Vegas. (Credit: Poker News Daily)
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