Card Snaps

Bush Wins Poker Poll

A recent stateside survey asked people whom they would most want to ante-up against in a game of online poker. The American public selected President George W. Bush as their most-preferred celebrity poker competitor, followed closely by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton. Just as well we are not all the same!



The Good Gambling Guide

With no shortage of poker on television in the UK and around Continental Europe, www.thegoodgamblingguide.com is proving to be an invaluable guide for armchair poker fans.



The site features full TV listings of forthcoming programmes that feature gaming and, more importantly, poker. Furthermore, thegoodgamblingguide.com normally boasts first-class coverage from the World Series of Poker.



Bravo Billingsgate

The World Poker Exchange, described as "one of the world's fastest growing online poker sites," has announced it will host The London Open at the Old Billingsgate Market in August.



The offline poker tournament will be held in partnership with FHM UK Magazine and The Bravo Channel, the UK's leading men's entertainment network, Aug. 3-6.



Gimmicks Galore by the Marketing Men

It's been a fun time on the poker gimmick front, with marketing managers showing no shame in the depths they will sink in order to obtain exposure.



The folks at EmpirePoker.com announced that they hired a trinity of clergy – a Christian minister and a rabbi in the United States and an imam in the Middle East – to pray for bad weather.



"The numbers, in terms of players, increase significantly when there is cold weather, snow, or rain – anything that causes people to stay home," said Ron Burke, vice president of marketing at EmpirePoker, when explaining the move.

Not to be outdone, SunPoker.com was the highest bidder in an online auction, paying $8,900 for the advertising rights of and on the stomach of a pregnant former Miss Hawaiian Tropic Beauty.



Nick Melrose, poker manager for SunPoker.com commentated: "We do realise that people like to see and feel a pregnant woman's belly, so we thought we would use the space as a form of print media!"



The belly's purchase price makes the $3,000 paid by ­AbsolutePoker.com for a man to be "branded" with the site's logo at a live tattooing party in Las Vegas an absolute steal.



Poker 425 Launches Poker Magazine Show

William Hill TV, Channel 425 (on the Sky platform), recently ­announced the launch of a new-style poker programme, Poker 425 for the burgeoning late-night poker viewer.



Poker 425 is a weekly magazine-style programme aimed to bring the poker aficionado the most "recent and relevant" news from the European Poker Tour. At the helm is a fresh "poker" face in 5TV presenter Johnny Gould and professional player Tony Kendall. Poker 425 (sponsored by williamhillpoker.com) aims to bring a fresh outlook to the game, featuring the most recent tournament action, results, analysis, interviews, and tips from the top European professionals competing on the European poker circuit.



David Hood, William Hill PR director, said, "We expect Poker 425 to attract a large slice of the late-night poker viewership. An explosion in the number of players now participating in the game means poker is the hottest gaming product on the ­Internet. William Hill is bringing together the popularity of williamhillpoker.com (with players in over 150 countries) and Channel 425 TV to ensure some dynamic content for Poker 425. It is a natural fit for Channel 425's late-night viewers."

Poker 425 is broadcast at 11 p.m. each Wednesday, and ­repeated at the same time nightly throughout the week.