Mark Mendel is the lead attorney who represents Antigua and Barbuda in a World Trade Organization dispute against the United States, a dispute in which WTO panels have repeatedly ruled that the U.S. is violating WTO rules by limiting online gambling.
Caesars Palace opened in August of 1966, and since then it has become legendary on the Las Vegas Strip. Although new hotels have been built around it since that time, Caesars Palace has remained at the top. It also has become more involved in the world of poker in recent years, recently remodeling its poker room and hosting the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship the last three years.
The winner of every open World Series of Poker event in 2005 and 2006 was a man, as were all 18 final-table players in the championship events. The 2007 razz event was won by Katja Thater, and the no-limit hold'em event in London by 18-year-old phenom "Annette_15" Obrestad. Every other 2007 bracelet went to a man, as did the top 36 spots in the main event. Jennifer Harman, Cyndy Violette, Kathy Liebert, Annie Duke, and Nani Dollison have also won bracelets; they and a few dozen other women, including Millie Shiu, Erica Schoenberg, and Anna Wroblewski, make handsome livings at poker.
Scott Clements may be the best player you've never heard of. The unassuming Clements doesn't bring attitude, theatrics, or gimmicks to the poker table. This 25-year-old from Mount Vernon, Washington, brings only one thing - game, and lots of it. Although he is known as one of the best young players on the tournament circuit, many casual fans have never heard of him.
Card Player is lucky to call Las Vegas, the epicenter of the world's poker action, home. Over the last two years, the town has seen a resurgence in poker-room openings, and the more than 35 million people who visit each year have more tables and options than ever before.
Recently I played on the hit TV show Poker After Dark, which is aired on NBC six nights a week at 2 a.m. We were filming for 2008, and I suspect (a little birdie told me) that this episode will be the first one televised in early January 2008. This episode has been titled "The Dream Team," as amateur poker player Todd Light handpicked the opponents of his dreams. Light chose Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Scotty "The Prince of Poker" Nguyen, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, and me (the "Poker Brat").
"God Save the Queen," and all of her subjects who play poker. These guys are gonna need divine intervention if they hope to stay in money. OK, I know you're sick of reading that by now. This is the last time - at least I hope so.
Learning when to induce bets from an opponent and pay off or fold with marginal hands are distinguishing characteristics of good players. The equity of those bets won/lost/saved add up over the course of time, enough to make a significant difference in your earnings at the end of the year.
What is Killer Poker? To answer this question, I have to go back in time to 1996, and travel across space to Highland, California. I was driving with a buddy to Lake Arrowhead and we decided to stop off at the San Manuel Casino for a little poker. Both pretty much low rollers at the time, our understanding of the game extended no further than, pretty much, "When you get the goods, bet the goods." We sat down in a $3-$6 hold'em game, and saw something that made our jaws drop.
Recently I was in a crazy $2-$5 no-limit hold'em game. I could tell it was a crazy game even before I watched one hand. The maximum buy-in was $500, but at least $8,000 was on the table. Four players each had more than $1,500. Either the game had been going with the same lineup for a very long time or people were playing a lot of all-in pots, sloshing money around to one another (and rebuying over and over).
