Industry News

"Your seat is safe," says Betfair
As the official online satellite provider and presenting sponsor, Betfairpoker.com has announced that it is committed to sending more than 125 players to the first World Series of Poker bracelet event ever to take place outside Las Vegas, at the WSOP Europe.

"As presenting sponsor, I want Betfair to have a strong presence," said head of poker Ben Fried. "There are a limited number of seats, and at Betfair Poker, you can be assured that you will have a place at the tables in London."

With the main event of the WSOP Europe demanding a £10,000 ($20,000) buy-in, Betfair's pledge will take a lot of money out of "online circulation" in a relatively short time, with the tournament starting on Sept. 10.

Stars World Championship of Online Poker
PokerStars has announced its schedule for its sixth World Championship of Online Poker, outlined below:

No. 1 - Friday, Sept. 14, 15:00 - $215 - no-limit hold'em [six-max] - $400,000
No. 2 - Friday, Sept. 14, 16:30 - $215 - pot-limit five-card draw - $100,000
No. 3 - Saturday, Sept. 15, 15:00 - $215 - pot-limit Omaha [six-max] - $200,000
No. 4 - Saturday, Sept. 15, 16:30 - $215 - deuce-to-seven triple draw - $100,000
No. 5 - Sunday, Sept. 16, 16:30 - $530 - no-limit hold'em - $2 million
No. 6 - Monday, Sept. 17, 15:00 - $320 - pot-limit Omaha (with rebuys) - $400,000
No. 7 - Tuesday, Sept. 18, 15:00 - $215 - limit hold'em - $100,000
No. 8 - Wednesday, Sept. 19, 15:00 - $530 - limit Omaha eight-or-better - $300,000
No. 9 - Thursday, Sept. 20, 15:00 - $215 - no-limit hold'em (with rebuys) - $1 million
No. 10 - Friday, Sept. 21, 15:00 - $320 - no-limit hold'em match play - $500,000
No. 11 - Friday, Sept. 21, 16:30 - $215 - fixed-limit razz - $100,000
No. 12 - Saturday, Sept. 22, 15:00 - $215 - fixed-limit H.O.R.S.E. - $200,000
No. 13 - Saturday, Sept. 22, 16:30 - $530 - pot-limit hold'em - $400,000
No. 14 - Sunday, Sept. 23, 16:30 - $1,050 - no-limit hold'em - $2 million
No. 15 - Monday, Sept. 24, 15:00 - $320 - seven-card stud - $100,000
No. 16 - Tuesday, Sept. 25, 15:00 - $320 - pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better - $200,000
No. 17 - Wednesday, Sept. 26, 15:00 - $320 - no-limit hold'em [six-max] - $400,000
No. 18 - Thursday, Sept. 27, 15:00 - $530 - seven-card stud eight-or-bette - $200,000
No. 19 - Friday, Sept. 28, 15:00 - $530 - pot-limit Omaha - $300,000
No. 20 - Friday, Sept. 28, 16:30 - $530 - no-limit hold'em triple shootout - $300,000
No. 21 - Saturday, Sept. 29, 15:00 - $5,200 - H.O.R.S.E. - $500,000
No. 22 - Saturday, Sept. 29, 16:30 - $1,050 - limit hold'em - $200,000
No. 23 - Sunday, Sept. 30, 16:30 - $2,600 - no-limit hold'em main event - $5 million

European Poker Tour Season Four
The European Poker Tour has announced its dates and venues for season four. Prague is a new entry on its schedule, and buy-ins have risen substantially at most events.

Casino Barcelona - Barcelona - EPT Barcelona - Aug. 28-Sep. 1 - €8,000 - 600
Victoria Casino - London - EPT London - Sep. 25-29 - £5,400 - 500
Grand Casino Baden - Baden - EPT Baden Classic - Oct. 7-10 - €8,000 - 500+
Royal Society Dublin - Dublin - EPT Dublin - Oct .30-Nov. 3 - €8,000 - 500+
Atlantis Resort & Casino - Bahamas - EPT Caribbean - Jan. 4-10 - €8,000 - 500+
Casino Hohensyburg - Dortmund - EPT German Open - Jan. 29-Feb. 2 - €8,000 - 500
Casino Copenhagen - Copenhagen - EPT Scandinavia - Feb. 19-23 - 60,000 DKR - 500
Hyatt Regency - Warsaw - EPT Poland - March 11-15 - 30,000 PLN - TBC
Prague Hilton - Czech Republic - EPT Prague - TBC - TBC - 500
Monte Carlo Bay Hotel - Monte Carlo - EPT Grand Final - April 12-17 - €10,600 - None
*Includes registration fee

Unibet on their bikes
A French court has confirmed that the decision of Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) not to invite the team to participate in this year's Tour de France was just.

Although the Unibet team is a member of cycling's Pro Tour, it has been denied entrance to a number of races due to French laws prohibiting the advertisement of gambling operators.

WPC in Malta
The second World Poker Congress will take place Nov. 29-30 at the Westin Dragonara Resort in St. Julian's, Malta.

Asian Poker Classic to return
The Asian Poker Classic (APC), the richest poker tournament ever staged in India when it was held for the very first time in Goa in March of this year, will return in March 2008.

It was a massive success the first time around. More than 140 players turned out from more than a dozen countries around the world, all vying for their share of the $1 million prize pool.

In the end, an unknown named Carl Hostrup from Denmark took the crown, beating a host of pros such as Willie Tann, Mel Judah, and Surinder Sunar to claim the $320,000 first prize.

"We are extremely excited about coming back in 2008. The inaugural APC was a huge success, so of course the planning started right after to produce a bigger, better, and even more luxurious poker tournament in India. The Asian Poker Classic is no doubt poised to be one of the biggest tournaments in the region," said Imran Hassan, director of operations for the Asian Poker Classic.

Bob's promotional plan
Vega Promotional Systems Inc. - which describes itself as "a marketing company that is seeking complementary business opportunities that will allow it to increase its shareholder value and extend the brands of its clients throughout the world" - has entered into an agreement to acquire the rights of personality Bob Clarke.

Clarke, who describes himself as "professional poker's Bob the Butcher," is using Vega to brand his name and likeness throughout the world for product campaigns and for celebrity poker tournaments.

Stars goes Pacific
PokerStars has announced the launch of the Asia Pacific's first poker tour, the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour. Spanning the region from Korea to Australia, the tour will "bring world-class poker action to some of the most exotic destinations and luxurious casinos in the world."

"One of the most exciting aspects of being a poker player is the incredible travel opportunities it offers," said Sarne Lightman, co-founder of the PokerStars APPT.

"Every year, PokerStars sends thousands of poker players to compete in events across Europe, the U.S., and the Caribbean. The launch of the PokerStars APPT brings a whole new dimension to poker in Asia and marks poker's emergence into a truly global sport."

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour launch event will be held Aug. 23-26 at the five-star Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila in the Philippines, with the second event scheduled for Sept. 27-30 at the Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel and Casino in Seoul, South Korea.

At least three more events are expected for 2007, and the venues will be announced later in the year. The tour culminates in December with the Grand Final at the majestic Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia. This $5,000 buy-in event will be held in the casino's spectacular poker room, which overlooks the city's world-famous icon, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Net close down?
NETELLER, the online e-wallet company, has been removed from the FTSE Share Index following the suspension of trading of NETELLER shares on the London Stock Exchange AIM for a period exceeding six months.

Vegas Diary
At a time when World Series bracelets are harder and harder to come by, is it not interesting that Dave "Devil Fish" Ulliott has never played the seniors event at the WSOP? After all, he has been eligible for more than three years now.

Did anyone see the huge fella walking around the Rio cardroom? No, the really, really huge one. He was wearing one of those popular basketball T-shirts with "DOUGHMAN" written on the back. True story, and I don't suppose he is much of a bluffer!

I stood in one of the long registration queues at the WSOP and overheard the following conversation:

"I don't suppose there will be such a big field in the main event this year, what with fewer automatic paid-in online qualifiers."

"No, there will therefore be a lot less dead money and value in the field this time around."

"It's not all bad, we do still have the Europeans!"

John Duthie has been accused of being so laid-back that he is almost horizontal. Is it any surprise? After all, he had a three-hour massage at the start of the WSOP $10,000 Omaha event, and then had a second later in the evening.

Rookie poker author Des Wilson did his sums ahead of the WSOP, calculating that the price of making the end of the first day of the main event would be $35,000 in chips. Des, therefore, did well, making day two of play with a stack a little short of $18,000.

Is it any wonder that the WSOP casino employees event is staged at the start of the Series? Not really, as most of the field lose what they cannot afford to lose in entering the tournament, and then have to work the whole WSOP to pay off their entry! Great thinking, methinks.

Lady Party
PartyPoker is sponsoring yet more televised poker, its latest offering being the inaugural PartyPoker Women's World Open.

Filmed in London during August, the 36-runner field features one of the strongest lineups ever assembled for a women's poker tournament in Europe.

There is a notable American presence, with the trio of Jennifer Tilly, Liz Lieu, and Shannon Elizabeth. Tilly, the Academy Award-nominated actress, is a World Series of Poker bracelet holder, while Elizabeth is best known for her role as a beauty in the film American Pie.

Amongst the European challengers are World Pot-Limit Champion Xuyen "Bad Girl" Pham, former PartyPoker World Open winner Pippa Flanders, and European Ladies Champion Jackie Meecham.

Filmed by Matchroom Sports, the show will be broadcast later in the year on Channel Five in the UK, with broadcast rights for the remainder of the world being negotiated.

Not Everything That is the Biggest and Best is American
The World Series of Poker main event has come and gone for me. It lasted about six hours, which works out to be $27 a minute; it wasn't worth it!

Where did it all go wrong? Well, I'm sure that you don't want to be bored with tales of great calls, great plays, and bad beats. Anyway, I'm convinced the damage was done 24 hours earlier at the World Series of Poker press conference.

I sat through a good hour of back-patting at this conference, where they congratulated everyone from the dealers to the caterers and toilet attendants for their great work.

There also were inductions into the Hall of Fame, which was fair enough, and then praise for the celebrity charity event taking place that night, where, ultimately, none of the billed big-name celebrities turned up.

Finally on the agenda we got to the European World Series of Poker leg, where the top brass from both the organiser and sponsor boasted about the virtues of the forthcoming tournaments that will be staged in London later in the year.

They went on and on, a full 15 minutes, touting the sponsor's brilliant product and boasting how much money they are turning over, allied to a proclamation that the £10,000 buy-in main event will be "the biggest, most valuable, and most prestigious poker tournament ever staged in Europe."

Naturally, it did sound exciting, but when there was an invitation for questions from the floor, I could not miss my chance to pose the most obvious of questions:

"This sounds simply fantastic, great news for European poker. As you probably know, every major tournament in Europe boasts added prize money, most notably the Ladbrokes Poker Million, which, despite having just 72 players, had $1 million added last year. Given that this European World Series of Poker will be, and I quote, 'the biggest and most prestigious tournament ever staged in Europe,' can you tell me how much money you will be adding to the prize pool?"

This was the biggest move in my poker career, and the looks on the faces of the two gentlemen seated in front of a host of microphones was priceless.

Caught in a total bluff with all of their chips in and forced to show their hand, they gave me and the floor another assurance that "this will be the richest and most prestigious tournament ever staged in Europe."

I gave them one more chance, doing a Jeremy Paxman, asking an awkward question directly once again. "I appreciate that this will be the richest and most prestigious tournament ever staged in Europe, but answer my question. Is there any added prize money or isn't there?"

The answer, along with a bowed shaking head: "No!"

It created bad karma perhaps, and possibly that has something to do with my main-event elimination. But, it did give me some added [entertainment] value for my $10,000 ticket.