Industry News

Make Your Predictions

Ladbrokes has followed the lead of person-to-person betting site Betfair by adding a hand-predictor game to its portfolio of online games.



"Poker Bet" offers fixed-odds betting on two-, four- and six-seat hold'em games, allowing players 10, 20, and 30 seconds to make a betting decision before the flop, turn, and river cards, respectively, are dealt.



There is a link to the "Poker Bet" tables positioned at the top corner of traditional cash and tournament tables at Ladbrokespoker.com.

Three-Card Heaven
Gameaccount.com has launched "3-card poker," a unique person-to-person skill-based adaptation of the ever popular casino game.



In this version of 3-card poker, players engage in heads-up play against online opponents, never directly against the house. Starting with an imaginary chip stack of $10,000, a player's objective is to simply build a larger chip stack than his opponent.

Greg on the Move

Greg Amoils, a familiar face in UK cardrooms and former head of poker operations at Ladbrokespoker.com, has parted ways with the Gibraltar-based company, but is remaining within the online poker industry.

888 = 5,500,000

The number of accounts opened at 888.com rose by 49 percent during 2005. The site now boasts 5.5 million customers in 177 countries.

World Poker Association

Jesse Jones has launched the World Poker Association, with the intention "to create a globally recognized governing body for tournament poker."



"Over the past five years, we have been witness to and a part of the growing popularity of tournament poker. My goal is for the WPA to establish uniform tournament standards and a code of ethics, address player rights and benefits for professional players, and thrust the sport of tournament poker into a new professional era, similar to what the PGA was able to do for golf," stated Jones, a recognised U.S. professional player.



"The WPA is a nonprofit organization that is not, nor will it ever be, directly affiliated with any specific tour or for-profit entity within the industry. Our goal is to unite all tournament poker entities (from the casual tournament player to the professional, and from casinos to poker tours) to establish standardized rules, codes of ethics and conduct, and an international ranking system for players," he continued.



Jones' WPA is the latest of many attempts to start a professional poker association in the last few years. To date, none have been successful, but at just $50 for membership, you can give this latest endeavour your support at: http://www.wpapoker.com/.

Music Fans, Book Your Tickets for the Tables

Poker-playing music fans should book their flights for Vegas in early June, as music channel VH1 will take its first steps into poker.



The VH1 Classic Rock 'n' Roll Celebrity Poker Tournament is scheduled for June 8 at the Harrah's-owned Flamingo Hotel and Casino.



Celebrities confirmed for the event include Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's, Sully Erna, lead singer of Godsmack, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Dusty Hill from ZZ Top, and, if the shooting schedule permits, singer/actor Steve Van Zandt.



The tournament will be hosted by Phil Laak, the recent winner of the William Hill Grand Prix.

$5 Million Spanish Prize Pool
AlamoPoker.com is behind one of the biggest land-based tournaments in Europe during 2006, with the record-breaking Poker Classic offering a $5 million tournament prize pool.



Casino de Barcelona is the venue, and Sept. 30-Oct. 1 are the dates for this $1-million-to-the-winner event.

As yet, there is no word on the field being restricted to qualifiers only from the progressive Internet site.

Italian Government Unplugs IPs

The Italian government has announced that it will be blocking IP addresses of online gaming sites that do not possess an Italian gaming license.

Party Time in Russia

The St. Petersburg Open, at the palatial Golden Garden Casino, will feature a $2,000 no-limit hold'em main event. The tournament will be sponsored by PartyPoker.com, which is yet to issue word on visa support.

TV Times

It might not be poker, but UK terrestrial stations ITV and Channel 4 are both entering the bluff theme with shows set to debut in the spring and summer.



Ant and Dec will front ITV's The Con Test, which will offer a £1 million first prize, while Big Bluff, produced by the makers of Big Brother, is set for a prime-time slot later in the year.

Garber Joins the Party

Online poker firm PartyGaming has appointed industry guru Mitch Garber as its new chief executive.



Garber, who has a big reputation in the industry, recently stepped down from online payment firm FireOne.



He will succeed Richard Segal, who will leave on May 4 after refusing to uproot his family and move to Gibraltar, where PartyGaming is based.

And Finally …

The strikingly plain and simple http://www.roytheboy.net/ website has received a bit of a revamp and is well worth a two-minute glance for anyone with a spare five minutes on their hands!