Poker News

PartyGaming Sues over Empire Online Acquisition

PartyGaming Plc, the London-quoted online gaming operator which owns PartyPoker.com, today to Bloomberg news agency it was suing Livermore Investment Groups Ltd. over the 2006 acquisition of online poker site Empire Online. Livermore formerly operated as Empire Online and became an investment business after its $38 million takeover by PartyGaming. John Shepherd of PartGaming said […]

EPT — PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Day 1A

The tournament circuit offers multiple exotic locations throughout the year, but few are truly poker in paradise. The Atlantis resort in the Bahamas has become the mecca of tournament poker. For one week out of the year, players young and old escape the cold to the warm waters of the Atlantic, and when it is […]

Hellmuth Highlights New Poker After Dark Episodes

Tonight, another new batch of Poker After Dark episodes will air on NBC at 2:05 a.m., featuring players who have a reputation for being anything but quiet. The self-proclaimed greatest player in the world, Phil Hellmuth, will take on five other vocal competitors — Todd Brunson, Phil Gordon, David Grey, Gabe Kaplan, and Cory Zeidman […]

ESPN Airing World Series of Poker Europe

ESPN announced that it will air the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe main event starting Sunday, Feb. 1. The tournament, which attracted 362 entrants, will be aired in eight one-hour episodes. The first four episodes will be shown back to back starting at 6 p.m. ET before moving to ESPN2. Episodes will be rerun […]

PartyPoker.com Premier League III Airs in UK Tonight

The much anticipated PartyPoker.com Premier League III starts tonight/tomorrow morning on Channel 4 in the UK at 01:35 a.m. (Monday Jan. 5/Tuesday Jan. 6). The first match features Peter Eastgate,  Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott,  Annette Obrestad, Roland de Wolfe, Andy Black, and  JC Tran. Victoria Coren commentates with Jesse May. With the increased buy-in —  $75,000 […]

Online Poker — Tourneys Kick Off First Sunday of 2009

The first Sunday of the 2009 Card Player Online Player of the Year race kicked off yesterday, though many of the online world’s best competitors were kicking their feet up to relax at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Surprisingly, the number of laptops in the lobby was down yesterday as the players opted for the free […]

European Poker Tour Caribbean Adventure Kicks Off

The PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure, part of the European Poker Tour, stops off at Paradise Island in the Caribbean today with a hugh field expected for the $10,000 buy-in event. Last year Frenchman Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier beat 1,135 others to lift the first prize of $2 million. The schedule for the event is: $10,000 EPT Main […]

World's Richest Race Rake at Ladbrokespoker.com

Ladbrokespoker.com has announced the richest cash game race rake ever held with $4 million being distributed to players over four months. The top 3,000 rakers each month between January and April 2009 will share in $1 million per month. The payout’s break down as: $25,000 first prize $10,000 for a top 5 finish $5,000 for […]

Irish Poker Championship Title Stays in Emerald Isle

The PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship,was held in the Radisson SAS hotel, Galway, Ireland from Jan. 2 to 5 and was the first major festival of 2009. The €2,000 (9 percent withheld) buy-in event attracted a score of big names on the circuit including Mike Sexton, Kenna James Donnacha O’Dea, Marty Smyth, Padraig Parkinson, Ciaran O’ […]

Online Poker — Interview with Va Shon 'Julian Verse' Watkins

Va Shon Watkins had a monster 2008, going from relative unknown to the top of the online poker world with one of the largest scores of the year. Playing as Julian Verse on Full Tilt, Watkins tore through the FTOPS main event and steamrolled the final table to claim the outright victory, along with over […]

Poker for the Homeless Charity Event Today

Formerly known as Simon Poker Day, the Poker for the Homeless charity event takes place this evening at the PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship event in Galway. The  €330 buy in event (of which €100 goes directly to homeless charities) is generously supported by some of Europe’s top online poker rooms including PartyPoker.com , Ladbrokespoker.com, Boylepoker.com, […]

PartyGaming Chief Predicts Online Poker Consolidation

Jim Ryan, CEO of PartyGaming has told the Financial Times there will only be five online poker operators of any consequence in the next three years and he believes PartyGaming will be one of them. “We need to retake the hill and position ourselves to be that leader again,” Ryan told the London newspaper. “Our […]

Czech Republic Allows Online Gambling from Monday

The Czech Republic is set to legalise and regulate online gambling with five firms being granted permits to operate from January 5, 2009 according to the Prague Post. Tomáš Bahník from the Fortuna Group, which will receive a license, told the Czech newspaper, “We are sad and bitter that foreign internet betting companies are allowed […]

Poker Tournament Trail -- 2009 POY Eric Baldwin

Eric Baldwin (pictured left) is the 2009 Card Player Player of the Year. He won the award with 6,994 points. He won four poker tournaments this year, including his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet in event No. 34($1,500 no-limit hold’em). His most impressive accomplishment in 2009 was the fact that he made 17 […]

This Week in Poker: Poker Tournament News Dec. 27 – Jan. 2

Check out CardPlayer.com every Friday for a weekly wrap-up of the news from the live poker tournament trail. Card Player Player of the Year Update Final 2008 POY Standings: John Phan — 6,704 David “The Dragon” Pham — 6,022 Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier — 5,510 Ivan Demidov — 4,940 Erik Seidel — 4,754 David Benyamine — […]

EPT — PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Begins

One of the largest events of the year will kick off major tournament poker in 2009 when the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event begins on Monday, Jan. 5 at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. This will be the fifth year for this destination tournament, and it also marks the second time […]

"ElkY" Wins European Player of the Year 2008

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier is the Card Player European Player of the Year 2008. The Frenchman, who now calls London, England home, made six major final tables during 2008 including memorable victories at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January and World Poker Tour Festa Al Lago Classic in October. He wrestled the title from 2007 winner […]

Irish Poker Championship Gets Underway Today

The PartyPoker.com Irish Poker Championship is due to set the poker ball rolling for the new year, and it will play out in the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway, Ireland from Jan. 2-5. The €2,000 buy-in will see many well-known names participating including Donnacha O’Dea, Marty Smyth, Padraig Parkinson, Ciaran O’ Leary, and Andy Black. […]

This Week in Poker -- Dec. 26-Jan. 1

Check out CardPlayer.com every Friday for a weekly wrap-up of the news from the live poker tournament trail. Card Player Player of the Year Update Final 2009 POY Standings 1: Eric Baldwin (pictured right) Points: 6,994 Cashes: 17 POY Money Won: $1,494,494 Final Tables: 17 Tournament Wins: 4 Average Money Won per POY Cash: $87,911 […]

London's Famous Hippodrome to Get Poker Room

London’s iconic Hippodrome building in Leicester Square is to become a casino complete with poker room according to a report in the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday. The £8 million plan by Hippodrome Casinos has received full planning permission and the company won an appeal in the high court which challenged the decision. The venue, which […]

Greek Poker Tour Set for Austria This Month

The second season of the Greek Poker Tour has been announced with the Concord Card Casino in Vienna, Austria the venue for the €500 + €50 buy-in main event on January 30 and February 1 2009. Season one saw over €200,000 in prize money given away and the main event this year will have a […]

Tournament Trail POY Q and A — Michael Binger

Michael Binger cashed an astounding 21 times in 2008, at poker tournaments on three different continents. He found early success at the Aussie Millions, where he cashed twice, and then he returned to the United States and traveled the tournament trail. Binger had a lot of success in preliminary events in 2008, winning tournaments at […]

Poker Industry Happenings — Jan. 1, 2009

Get the scoop on the latest promotions and tournament results from casinos near you with CardPlayer.com’s regular Poker Industry Happenings feature. California Ocean’s Eleven Casino Ocean’s Eleven Casino continued its tradition of generosity this past holiday season, as the casino’s managers, employees, and patrons donated their time and money to help out the less fortunate […]

Tournament Trail POY Q and A — David Benyamine

David Benyamine is a true triple threat in the poker world, one of the few. He can take your entire bankroll in Bobby’s Room, at a high-stakes cash game, or at one of the $10,000 no-limit hold’em events he plays in all over the world. Benyamine added a large chunk of tournament success to his […]

New Year's Eve Poker Action

New Year’s Eve sees plenty of poker offerings for those in search of a game before the clock strikes 12. PaddyPowerPoker.com‘s “12 Days of Christmas” continues to give away prizes and cash until Jan. 5, 2009. This evening at 8 p.m. a $5 + 50c no-limit hold’em speed rebuy kicks off, with $250 and a […]

Tournament Trail POY Q and A — Erik Seidel

Erik Seidel won his first World Poker Tour title in 2008. He defeated a field of 346 players to walk away with $992,890, the largest win of his career at the Foxwoods Poker Classic. The second largest single cash of Seidel’s storied career also came in 2008, when he finished runner-up to Alexander Kostritsyn at […]

Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure Will Be Televised on GSN

As if playing poker in the Bahamas was not enough of an incentive, PokerStars has confirmed that its PCA event will be televised on Game Show Network. Matt Clark, a representative for the online site, confirmed to Card Player that PokerStars has reached an agreement with GSN to air the tournament, with the premiere date […]

World Records Smashed at PokerStars.com

Sunday, Dec. 28, saw numerous records smashed at PokerStars.com for World Record Week.   Firstly, it set the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Online Poker Tournament” when 35,000 players paid $11 to participate in a $500,000 guaranteed tournament. Play ran for more than nine-and-a-half hours and a record 8,750 players made the money. “Stan34powa” was […]

Tournament Trail POY Q and A — Ivan Demidov

Ivan Demidov accomplished the most impressive poker feat of 2008 on his way to finishing in fourth place in the Card Player Player of the Year race. He made the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em world championship main event in July, and he also made the final table […]

Bellagio Hosts New Year's Day and Eve Poker Tournaments

Did you have a miserable year in terms of poker, seeing all of your premiere hands waste away on the river? Maybe you had an amazing 2008, raking in pots wherever you went. Well, either way, you can either end your 2008 on a grand note or start your 2009 in spectacular fashion with two […]