Industry News

Finland Launches Online Poker
The Finnish Slot Machine Association, RAY, and Israeli software operator Playtech have joined forces to launch legal, regulated, online poker in Finland.
Playtech was awarded the contract to offer online poker and other online games in May. Seven different poker games have been available since the end of November. Kari Hyttinen, head of RAYs Internet gaming operations, said, “It has been a close collaboration between Playtech and ourselves as we have worked to develop the very best online gaming environment for Finnish players under what is a new regulatory environment.
“With our very strong focus on responsible gaming, we have been pushing the frontiers of technology and integration through this process. Playtech has delivered innovative solutions to achieve these and we can now offer our players market-leading content in a controlled environment that is fully consistent with our core values and controls.” ♠

Paradise Poker
Revenue Down 17 Percent
Sportingbet Plc, owner of Paradise Poker, saw net poker rake down 17 percent to £3.5 million in the first period of its 2010/2011 financial year (August to October 2010) from £4.2 million in the same period last year.
In financial year 2010 the company performed well in the context of declining revenues across the European online poker sector seeing revenue fall just 1.4 percent to £21.7 million in the year to July from £22 million the previous year.
The company commented on the first quarter decline saying, “Poker now accounts for 7% of Group revenues. The poker market remains challenging as the environment is very competitive, as large US-facing companies continue to utilise their significant US cash flows and high liquidity to aggressively target the European region.” ♠
Victor Chandler Poker Joins Entraction
Victor Chandler Poker, launched in 2002 and boasting a database of almost 1.5 million online poker players, is leaving the iPoker network and joining Swedish-based Entraction.
The migration of software and players will take place in December 2010.
Peter Åström, chief executive officer of Entraction added, “We are very excited that Victor Chandler has signed an exclusive agreement with Entraction. This shows the strength in our strategy to remain a standalone poker network which allows us to always put our partners first. They know our poker product and our team well and we are very much looking forward to continue to provide them with the best product and the best service.”
See this issue of Card Player for an interview with Victor Chandler Poker’s Andy Horne on the challenges and opportunities of migrating an online poker room from one network to another. ♠
TV Stations Lose Poker Ad Rulings
The New Zealand High Court has dismissed an appeal by TV Works, owner of TV3 and C4, over ads promoting the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.
In November Justice Ron Young ruled that the ads were defined as gambling under the Gambling Act and ruled in favour of the Department of Internal Affairs which was appealing an earlier District Court decision which ruled in the TV company’s favour.
However Justice Young did note he had some sympathy with TV Works as the legislation is far from clear. He referred the case back to the District Court for further consideration.
Earlier in the month a similar ruling was made in favour of the government in Australia.
In the first investigation of its kind under Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act (2001), two TV stations were found to have breached their broadcasting obligations by the Australian Communication and Media Authority.
The Nine Network showed an ad for PokerStars.net during its 2009 Wimbledon coverage while Network Ten showed billboard ads which ran before a weekly sports show.
The ACMA said the website was clearly aimed at directing users to PokerStars.com, the real money version of the site, despite promoting its .net equivalent, a free-to-play site.
Both companies escaped with a reprimand on this occasion as opposed to sanctions such as stricter licensing conditions or court action. ♠

Euro Company to
Enter U.S. Online Market
French online gaming operator, Chiligaming has said it plans to launch an online subscription poker site in the U.S. next year.
The company runs Chilipoker.com and Chilipoker.fr and recently launched a licensed site in the French market
Chief executive officer Alexandre Dreyfus, said, “We are very excited about this new dimension to our business. Our economies of scale will help this be a strong mechanism for further growth and it will help fill the void that exists in markets where online gaming is restricted and consumers want to play poker.
“In markets where we operate online gaming, this new product will provide consumers with more choice.”

Poker Revenue
Down 33 Percent axt Entraction
Poker net revenue at publicly-quoted Swedish gaming operator Entraction fell by one-third to SEK46.9 million (€5 million) in the third quarter of 2010 from SEK69.9 million (€6.7 million) in the same period last year.
In the first nine months of 2010 poker revenue was down 31 percent to SEK158 million compared to SEK229.3 million in the first nine months of 2009.
Net sales for the period January-September were down 13 percent compared with the same period the previous year when expressed in euro and taking into account the closure of Cardroom 2 which shut last year. Net poker revenue in the previous quarter was down 31 percent.
The company said that, “2010 has been marked by a general decline in the poker market and lower sales per player. The summer months are seasonally weak for online poker, although September showed a clear upswing and the positive trend has continued.” ♠
Devilfish
Poker Sold for £330,000
Devilfish Gaming Plc has announced the sale of Devilfish Poker for £330,000.
The struggling online poker room will be taken over by an as yet unnamed company for £40,000 in cash and the rest in shares of the new parent company which is listed on the AIM market in London.
The sale has not yet been completed and is subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence and legal process. A further statement will be issued when the sale has been completed. ♠

Unibet Poker Revenue Falls 30 Percent
Third quarter poker revenue at Unibet fell to £3.95 million compared to £5.66 million a year earlier, a decrease of almost 30 percent.
Poker represented 13 percent of gross winning revenue in the third quarter of 2010 compared to 19 percent in the third quarter of 2009 although it was up 1 percent compared to the 12 percent recorded in the second quarter of this year.
The company said, “Poker at Unibet continues to perform relatively strongly in challenging market conditions, shifting away from professional users and refocusing on more casual players. The global promotion schedule gathered pace with the popular Tornado Series running in September, in line with the refocus.”

888 Poker Revenue Down 34 Percent
888’s third quarter financial statement made for grim reading for its business-to-consumer (B2C) poker unit in November 2010.
Operating income was down 34 percent to $8 million from $12 million in the third quarter of 2010, however the company said it was encouraged by the three percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2010.
The number of active customers in the business-to-consumer poker business fell five percent to 115,000 compared to the previous quarter while third quarter total operating income per active poker customer was up eight percent to $71.
In the nine months of 2010 to date, total operating income for B2C poker was down 28 percent to $28million compared to $39 million a year earlier.
The company said in its statement, “Trading during October was stronger than the third quarter across all business lines. Average daily revenue increased by approximately 6%, led by poker showing a more than 16% increase.
We are pleased with the results achieved during the third quarter. Our business showed resilience during the historical seasonally weak summer period, with growth in Poker. The fourth quarter has started well and given that our various business initiatives are progressing as planned we expect to grow the business further during the year.”
Total operating income across all business units, including casino, sportsbook, and bingo, remained stable compared to the second quarter of 2010 at $61 million.

‘Durrrr’ Cracks Jungleman12’s Kings With 6-3 Offsuit
The Durrrr Challenge between Tom “durrrr” Dwan and Dan “jungleman12” Cates resumed in November 2010 after a near two-month break.
The two nosebleed regulars put in about 2,000 hands over the course of two separate sessions (at the time of writing), with Dwan finishing in the black $12,000 on the day. He is still down about $650,000 in the challenge.
The biggest pot of the session between the two combatants on Full Tilt Poker was also the largest of the week in the online world. Dwan was able to secure a small victory on the day thanks to cracking the kings of Cates with small connecting cards for more than $100,000.
Here is a look at the hand:
The Action:
The confrontation started when Cates raised to $800 from the button. Dwan three-bet to $2,400 from the big blind, and Cates four-bet to $5,200. Dwan called, and the flop came 6♠ 6♦ 3♥.
Dwan checked with the nuts, and Cates bet $4,800. Dwan called. The 9♠ fell on the turn. Dwan checked, and Cates bet $14,400. Dwan called, and the 3♣ landed on the river. Dwan checked for a third time, and Cates moved all in for just under $40,000. Dwan made the call with his full house. Cates mucked his kings, and Dwan raked in the $128,371 pot.
According to Card Player’s Texas Hold’em odds calculator, Dwan wins about 91 percent of the time on the flop with his full house. ♠
Tom Dwan Loses Nearly $1 Million
Even though Tom “durrrr” Dwan resumed his battle in the Durrrr Challenge with Dan “jungleman12” Cates in November, the real fireworks for the 24-year-old were at $500-$1,000 pot-limit Omaha against “cadillac1944”.
Dwan and cadillac1944 sat down at the virtual felt on Full Tilt Poker for some action at the highest stakes offered in the discipline. Play at the $500-$1,000 level had been almost completely absent during the last couple of months of 2010.
The largest confronation started when “cadillac1944” had the button and raised to $3,000. Dwan three-bet to $9,000 from the big blind, and cadillac1944 called. The flop came 10♣ 8♣ 2♦, and Dwan bet $13,000. Cadillac1944 raised to $57,000. Dwan bumped it up to $189,000, and cadillac1944 made it $378,000. Dwan called all in for just under $250,000 total.
Both players were draw heavy, as Dwan exposed the 9♣ 5♣ 7♥ 6♥, and “cadillac1944” tabled the A♣ K♣ 6♣ 9♦. According to Card Player’s Omaha Odds Calculator, cadillac1944 wins about 60 percent of the time after the flop.
Both players elected to run it twice, and cadillac1944s hand was the winner after each river card. Cadillac1944 scooped the massive pot worth more than $550,000.
Combined with losing a couple of other pots exceeding half-a-million dollars, Dwan ended up in the red nearly $750,000 to “cadillac1944” over the course of the lengthy session. Dwan also dropped about $200,000 in other matches to start December 2010 stuck nearly $1 million. ♠
Benefield Picks Off Bluff for Almost $100,000
Another one of the biggest downswings in the online world in the last week of November 2010 was for David Benefield. The cash game pro was down about $600,000 after doing battle with Patrik Antonius at $500-$1,000 pot-limit Omaha.
One pot in another session saw Benefield battle “IReadYrSoul” at $100-$200 no-limit hold’em on Full Tilt Poker.
When the battle was over, Benefield was in the black about $70,000. Most of the profits were due to a hand where he picked off the failed semi-bluff of his opponent for a nearly $100,000 pot.
Here is a look at the hand that propelled Benefield to a win:
The Action:
The confrontation started when Benefield raised to $600 from the button. IReadYrSoul three-bet to $2,200 from the big blind, and Benefield called. The flop came K♦ 4♥ 2♣.
IReadYrSoul led out with $3,250, and Benefield raised to $7,650. IReadYrSoul called. The A♠ fell on the turn. IReadYrSoul bet $13,500, and Benefield called. The 7♠ that landed on the river prompted an all-in bet from IReadYrSoul. Benefield made the call for his entire stack, which was about $23,000. Benefield exposed his pair of kings and was good against the failed semi-bluff of IReadYrSoul. The Texan raked in the $94,614 pot.
According to Card Player’s Texas Hold’em odds calculator, Benefield wins about 82 percent of the time on the flop against the gut-shot straight draw of his opponent. ♠

Patrik Antonius
Dominating Limit Hold’em
One of the biggest games during November occurred at the limit hold’em tables.
Unlike the usual fireworks at no-limit hold’em or pot-limit Omaha, $2,000-$4,000 limit at Full Tilt Poker was the home to some massive swings.
Patrik Antonius and unknown “IHateJuice” continued to battle at the highest stakes offered in the discipline. Antonius took more than $500,000 off his opponent and was up close to $1 million against “IHateJuice” in limit hold’em.
Danish pro Gus Hansen also did well on the virtual felt in November 2010. Hansen won more than $250,000 over one weekend at cap pot-limit Omaha, cutting his overall losses to more than $1 million on the year. Hansen was in the red more than $3 million a couple months previous.
Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies suffered a loss at the hands of Phil Ivey at $200-$400 pot-limit Omaha, bringing his extended downswing to around $3 million late last year. According to the Finnish pro’s Facebook page, he is taking a short break from poker. ♠

FTOPS XVIII Concludes
The Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) XVIII ended in late November with the conclusion of the $600 + $40 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. Unknown “JHoWn” outlasted 5,023 players to win $411,932 after a three-way deal.
The FTOPS XVIII main event had a guaranteed prize pool of $3 million, and the tournament surpassed that mark by $13,800.
Professional Lee “acumen53” Childs made the final table of the event, finishing in fifth place for a six-figure score of $144,512. Other notables who cashed in the event include Brendon “Brendooor” Rubie (12th) and Justin “YourTimeIsUp” Schwartz (14th).
The second largest prize of the Series was claimed in event No. 29 ($2,000 + $100 no-limit hold’em), which was won by “tennisassxy” for $332,265. Third-place finisher “log1c07” took home slightly more in the three-way deal at the final table. The two-day event drew 1,088 players and featured a prize pool of $2,176,000.
One of the other big story lines of FTOPS XVIII was Soi Nguyen winning his own event. Altogether the series consisted of more than $19 million in guaranteed prize money, giving the online poker site’s players a chance at poker glory. ♠
‘DrugsOrMe’ Wins Cooler for 186K
Another big online game in November was between nosebleed regulars “DrugsOrMe” and “cadillac1944” at $300-$600 pot-limit Omaha on Full Tilt Poker.
When the heads-up battle was over, DrugsOrMe was in the black about $200,000. Most of the profits were due to a monster cooler where both players flopped big and had flush draws to boot.
Here is a look at the hand that propelled DrugsOrMe to a win:
The Action:
The confrontation started when DrugsOrMe raised to $1,800 from the button. Cadillac1944 called from the big blind, and the flop came J♦ 7♣ 6♦. Cadillac1944 led out with $3,600, and DrugsOrMe raised to $11,400. Cadillac1944 made it $37,800, and DrugsOrMe moved all in, having his opponent covered. Cadillac1944 called all in for slightly more than $90,000 total. The 7♠ on the turn had cadillac1944 drawing dead against the full house. The meaningless 8♠ fell on the river, and DrugsOrMe raked in the $186,761 pot. According to Card Player’s Omaha odds calculator, DrugsOrMe wins about 75 percent of the time in this cooler situation. ♠
Peter Eastgate’s Bracelet Auctions for $147,500
The auction for the bracelet of former World Series of Poker main-event champion Peter Eastgate reached six-figures in November on the auction site eBay.
After 116 bids, the auction was closed. The winning bid of $147,500 went to “7***l,” whose identity is protected by eBay privacy rules. That bid came in at 5.38 a.m. PT, just 22 minutes before the auction closed.
Eastgate, the winner of more than $9 million at the 2008 WSOP, put the bracelet on sale to help children via the charity UNICEF. Earlier in 2010, Eastgate abruptly retired from poker and did not appear at last summer’s WSOP.
The auction caught the attention of poker pro Antanas “Tony G” Guoga. The Australian said in his blog that he wanted the bracelet and would use it as a collar for his German Shepherd, Zasko. It is unclear which bids on eBay came from Guoga. ♠