Poker News Round-up

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Poker News Round-up: Week #08

By Adam Noone, 23/02/2007

Last week’s round-up highlighted the plight of online poker at the moment and sadly this week has also been rather a gloomy one. Following the downfall of Paradise Poker, Doyle’s Room has now barred all US players from real money games. Whilst the site will still serve players elsewhere in the world it remains to be seen how long they can survive without the lifeblood of their US customer base.

The demise of Neteller continues apace following their recent announcement that they will be trimming their workforce by 37%. A total of 250 job cuts will be made, mostly in Calgary, Canada but some workers are also facing redundancy here in the UK.

Leading the fight to keep online poker legal in the US is the Poker Players Alliance. The PPA’s primary goal for 2007 is to get online poker exempted from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, taking pretty much the same stance as the defence in the Gutshot Private Members Club recent court case i.e. that poker is a game with a predominance of skill. So far the PPA has had around 140,000 members sign up to show their support yet this is a remarkably small number bearing in mind that there are an estimated 70 million poker players in the US. In a bid to assist the PPA’s target of recruiting over 1 million members, Full Tilt Poker are currently offering a selection of bonuses to those who sign up. A further shot in the arm seems likely to come in the form of backing from Alfonse D’Amato – a former senator who is still an influential figure at Capitol Hill and someone who shares a passion for the game. No announcement has been made as yet but recent leaks would suggest that an announcement is imminent.

On a more positive note, the Dusk Till Dawn club in Nottingham took a step closer to opening after a certificate of consent was granted by the UK Gambling Commission. There is still no firm opening date due to further legislature needing to be approved, but judging by the number of membership applications already received it seems as though this will be a popular venue when the doors open.

The EPT event at Deauville should have been well under way by now but for the intervention of the French authorities so the main news from the live tournament scene comes from the second leg of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour in Walsall. In the £1000 buy in main event Ross Boatman made the money and Joe Beevers posted a very respectable 7th place from 360 entries. Top honours however went to Jerome Bradpiece who beat Billy Ngo heads up for first place and a payday of £121,600.

The LA Poker Classic concludes on 1st March with a $10,000 main event so be sure to check here next week to find out who has won the $2 million guaranteed first prize and latest World Poker Tour title.

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