Four armed and masked robbers got into the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Nassau and took cash, wallets and cell phones. More than 80 players were in the Texas Hold’em Tournament.
The robbers entered the room and pointed their guns at the guests, shouting and ordering the dealers to handle over the money from the pots, after that, they took the players’ wallets and purses.
The World Poker Tour announced this week that it will produce a special show entitled Fathers and Sons. The program will be filmed at the Foxwoods Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut and poker’s most prominent personalities will compete for family pride and a seat in the WPT World Championship.
The father-and-son match will have the presence of Doyle Brunson and his son, Todd, plus Barry Greenstein and his son Joe Sebok.
PokerTek announced in a press release the launch of the first two-seated heads-up style electronic poker table, the PokerPro Heads-Up. “Poker players love to play heads-up poker and casino operators are constantly looking for new ways to meet their customers' needs,” James Crawford, President of PokerTek, said.
Crawford added that in the past, it was hard to find a casino that would deal a heads-up game for regulars. “Now, PokerPro Heads-Up offers casinos a profitable way to spread heads-up poker,” he explained.
Gross income in 2005 reached at least 2,6 billion dollars, growing to 3,7 billions in 2006. In 2006, at least 3 million players tried out the online version of this popular card game. Online poker players represent a 20% of the total online and casino gambling in the world, and this number is growing quickly.
Although poker is still inferior to the rest of the online games, it is the game that has shown the highest growth in the last years. A study says that online poker will have an 18% annual growth rate until 2010.
The Federal Gaming Commission (CFCG) and twelve police officers raided a venue last Saturday in Landquart, Switzerland. The place was the planned site for a Poker Tournament with more than 250 players registered.
Officers seized 25 poker tables and other instruments. This was the first time in Switzerland that government officials seize a gambling event according to Andrea Wolfer.
There were 250 players enrolled in the tournament, but they were not there because the mail with the address was still unsent. The raid was organized because of an anonymous call to the police.
The Belgium-based company Cartamundi, who received a license to produce and market poker accessories for “Casino Royale”, the newest James Bond movie, has announced the launching of poker cards and poker chips sets that are identical to the ones used by the famous British agent in the film.
“We are proud that a Belgian company, Cartamundi, is able to contribute to the success of the world-famous Bond films,” Bert van Pelt, Business Unit Manager, said.
Only a few days after he won the World Series of Poker, Jamie Gold was sued by television executive Bruce Crispin Leyser. The executive claims that Gold promised to give him half of his winnings in exchange for publicity. To support the lawsuit, Leyser presented a voice-mail tape that contains the promise.
Gold recently said that he will not give away half of his $12 million prize and filed a court brief in which he states that the agreement was “nothing more than a promise to make a gift.” The court will have to decide if the verbal agreement is binding or not.
The new system will be designed so that clients can play poker through a cable or wireless device in an Internet save server operated from inside a casino. A poker player will be able to play Texas Hold’em “Pier to Pier” of the World Series of Poker in different places within the casino, without having to sit at the poker table, he can do it even from the pool.
The system will be offered with a platform of the hardware with cable or wireless, by means of a portable mobile device or a fixed terminal. This helps to maximize the gambling space.
The Poker Industry Expo, which will take place at the Marriot Hotel in Costa Rica on December 7-8, has a busy agenda that includes a thorough discussion about all the major problems that are currently affecting the sector and new marketing and technology techniques.
One of the main topics to be discussed at the Expo will be the effect of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on the online poker boom. The market opportunities, legal interpretations and payment alternatives will also be part of the talks.
Andreas Walnum, a professional poker player from Norway, won the Festa Al Lago Main Event final table at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The 23-year-old player beat 433 players and earned $1,090,025 together with his first major-tournament title.
Walnum defeated Steve Wong in only two hands of heads-up play. His winning hand was a pair of deuces completed by a third deuce on the flop. Wong took home $542,700 after five days of play at the Bellagio.
