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In landmark ruling for the case for poker being a skill-based game, a New Zealand court has ruled that .net advertisements are not promotions for gambling operators, and that poker tournaments themselves are not gambling but a form of competition.

The Department of Internal Affairs recently brought charges under the Gambling Act 2003 against TVWorks Limited (which owns the television stations TV3 and C4). The DIA claimed that a number of advertisements for PokerStars.net (the play-for-free site) promoted an overseas gambling operator (PokerStars.com or PokerStars or APPT) or alternatively that the advertisements were likely to induce New Zealanders to gamble overseas.

In the first case of its kind, his Honor Justice David J Harvey has dismissed all of the charges.

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“I think I can win 30 gold bracelets,” said the sickest poker player on the planet after winning his eighth career WSOP decorative wristband.

That player, of course, is Phil Ivey. The 33-year-old assassin is perhaps the most feared No-Limit Hold’em player in the world, but none of his eight WSOP victories have come in a Hold’em event.

It seems it doesn’t matter which game is being played as Ivey showed off his versatile skill set by overcoming a short stack with two tables remaining to seal the come-from-behind victory in the $3k mixed H.O.R.S.E. event this time.

The win brought with it a $330k payday, bringing his career WSOP earnings above the $5 million mark. Plu

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Yesterday was simply crazy with seven events. Technically, that makes Day 21, with its six events, a little less chaotic, though it didn’t feel that way. The Pavilion and Amazon Ballrooms were large enough to handle all of the players, and all tournament staff was on deck, but many members of the media were struggling to figure out which event was where, who was playing which event, and even what day it was. Admittedly, the exhaustion may be setting in a bit for some.Day 21 didn’t even mark the halfway point through the 2010 World Series of Poker, so technically, the fun was still getting started. Many players were still making their way to Las Vegas, and the fans who are watching the action from around the world feared not, as much more poker was to be played this summer. And
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The fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy will be aided by a check for $165k from poker players. The head football coach of the University of Texas, Austin will present the check to CureDuchenne. The money was raised in a poker tournament put on by the coach, Mack Brown, and his wife Sally. The charity poker event was augmented by a few football legends, such as two Heisman trophy winners, Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell. The tournament was a Texas Hold’em Freezeout and was to raise awareness as well as money.

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There was a chance the third $1K NLHE tournament of the 2010 World Series of Poker could be done in three full days, four counting the two starting days. But in the end, the field had been too large, action progressed too slowly toward the end, and it was better for everyone involved to take it the full four days, for which the schedule was prepared to accommodate. So when Day 4 arrived, players were more than ready to find their winner.The event started on Saturday, June 12, with Day 1A and the first 1,931 players to take their seats, and Day 1B on Sunday brought another 1,358 to the tables, making for a total field of 3,289 players and prize pool of $2,960,100.
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California led the way with the introduction of the issue of intrastate online gaming in 2008, but New Jersey not only began its own examination of the issue in January of 2010 but took it to committee by June and seeks to move it forward at just as quick a pace. The topic of intrastate online gaming is a somewhat controversial one, especially in states where Indian gaming claims it interferes with pacts but also as a topic that tends to divide progressive and conservative politicians. But the revenue that could be gained from such an endeavor has spurred the movement by several states to push the envelope, and New Jersey might be leading the way on it.The process began when State Senator Raymond Lesniak introduced S.B.
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Outside of the Main Event, the most popular tournament for players at the 2009 World Series of Poker was the $1,000 buy-in no-limit holdem “stimulus special,” the cheapest open tournament offered at the WSOP in quite some time. Its popularity let WSOP officials know there was a need for this type of tournament on a regular basis, so each weekend of the 2010 WSOP offers a $1K event with two starting days. The second one started on Saturday, June 5.The first starting day of the $1K NLHE event brought in 1,922 players, and the second added another 1,120, making for a complete registration number of 3,042. The prize pool was complete at $2,737,800, allowing for payments to 324 players and setting up the winner to receive $472,479. The
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With the continuous late nights like we’ve seen at the World Series of Poker, it’s easier and easier to see why a reported 80 percent of poker players take some kind of performance enhancing drug to battle the long nights, according to a recent university study.  The coffee, energy drinks, shots, or anything else most of these poker players (not to mention the media) could get their hands on was certainly flowing during the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better World Championship, which finally finished at 4:30 a.m.This event was another example of remarkable things happening when much of the rest of the world is sleeping.  The final table featured four previous bracelet winners, and nearly every name that made it to the final eight was a recognizable one.  One of those names, Vladimir Shchmelev, is quickly adding his name to the list of one of the “recognizable ones.”  Shchmelev made his third final table of the year, putting him barely ahead of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi for early top candidate as WSOP Player of the Year.  Remarkably, Shchmelev has made the final table in all events that are deemed “World Championship” events by the WSOP, because they have a buy-in of $10,000, or more.  That accomplishment alone, three world championship final tables in one year, puts him in rarefied territory as the only man in WSOP to accomplish that feat.  Making it more remarkable is that he did it just 12 days into the series.In the official wrap-up for the event, Nolan Dalla pointed out that many news outlets have been spelling Shchmelev’s name wrong.  It’s my guess if he keeps making final appearance at this clip his name will soon be as easy to spell as Brunson, Negreanu, or Ivey.Despite Shchmelev, and the other big names including John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Steve Zolotow, and Dario Minieri, being at the final table, it was business owner Frank Kassela who took down the championship.  Generally the popular names bring out a big crowd, but because they were playing stud hi-lo, many spectators opted for a bed.  According to Dalla, it is “because people have a hard time following hi-lo games, and many people don’t often know the rules.”  Still, a fairly healthy gathering circled the feature table throughout the night, and early morning hours, when Frank Kassela finally outdueled Allan “Chainsaw” Kessler.  K♦-K♥There is plenty of ac
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It was less than three hours into day eight of the World Series of Poker, but that didn’t stop the drama.  Tournament directors had a tough decision regarding the $1,500 Pot Limit Holdem event.  Ten levels had just completed, which is generally when tournaments wrap-up and continue the next day, except during the final table.  However, they were down to just 65 players, which was just two before the remaining players made the money.
 
When it was announced they would be ending the tournament for the evening, many of the players disagreed, wondering why they couldn’t just finish knowing if they are going back for the next day and are officially in the money.  Additionally, many questioned how angry the two short stacks, William Smith and Davis Aalvik, would be considering they would most likely have to wait all night just to bust out early the next day.  
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Players who enjoy Deuce to 7 triple draw lowball generally vary their poker games regularly. They relish in learning new games and strategies, while many players stick to holdem, for example. Event 7 was set up with a $2,500 buy-in, which meant that most of the players in the tournament would be well-versed in the game, and recognizable faces would be aplenty.

All in all, the field consisted of 291 players when they gathered on June 1 for the first day of action, and they were competing for pieces of the $669,300 prize pool. Only 30 players would cash in the tournament, but the first place winner was set to receive $180,730.
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