Online Poker News

Black Friday Bank Shutdown

SunFirst Bank, a Utah, USA financial institution associated with poker’s Black Friday, was shut down in early November by state regulators.

SunFirst Vice Chairman John Campos was named in April’s indictment that also included members of PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker.

Campos allegedly processed the illegal Internet gambling transactions at the request of Las Vegas businessman Chad Elie.

The bank was experiencing financial troubles in addition to its legal ones, losing $2.7 million in the first half of 2011.

Both Campos and Elie were arrested on the morning of the indictment. Campos was released on $25,000 bail, and Elie was released on $250,000 bail.

The allegations include violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), money laundering, and bank and wire fraud. ♠

Department Of Justice OK’s Full Tilt Purchase

Groupe Bernard Tapie, the French company seeking to purchase beleaguered Full Tilt Poker, has reportedly struck an agreement with the Department of Justice that would permit the acquisition.

Jeff Ifrah, attorney for Full Tilt’s CEO Ray Bitar, told Card Player, “I have not seen final paperwork but I believe a deal in principle has been reached.” The Department of Justice said it cannot provide confirmation.

The deal would allegedly facilitate paying out the more than $300 million owed to players worldwide.

The online poker site announced in late September that the sale would be contingent on resolving its case with the Department of Justice. Earlier in the month Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called the company a “global Ponzi Scheme”.

News broke in June that the company had signed an agreement with a group of European investors in order to pay back players, however, nothing materialised.

Groupe Bernard Tapie has a reputation for turning bankrupted businesses around. In the 1980s, former chairman Bernard Tapie is reported to have made more than 40 troubled companies profitable. Tapie, the 68-year-old former owner of Adidas, spent time in prison in 1997 after being convicted of bribing soccer players to throw a match and was also convicted for tax fraud in a non-related case. ♠

Kahnawake Gaming Commission On UB And Absolute

In late October, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission issued a statement regarding United States player funds held by its licensee Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet. Regulators allege a “potential solution” to compensate victims.

The Commission said that it has been “in close and regular discussions” with Blanca Games since the indictments were announced on April 15. Antigua-based Blanca Games acquired the Cereus Poker Network in August 2010.

The Commission also alleges it has “received regular updates of discussions between AP/UB and the [US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York].” The Department of Justice declined to comment on its case with Absolute Poker.

“Over the past several weeks, we were advised of […] a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.”

The announcement comes after an amended complaint was filed in late September seeking the forfeiture of some assets and $500 million in penalties for alleged violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), bank and wire fraud and money laundering. Subsequently, Absolute Poker requested additional time to file claims for the contested property and “to answer or otherwise respond to the amended complaint”. The operator had until Oct. 31, 2011.

In May, the online poker site said it struck a deal with the Department of Justice. Limited cash outs were being processed in the following months for non-U.S. players while the company still continued to operate in foreign countries.

Also in May, MSNBC reported possible bankruptcy for Blanca Games. A debt holder of the gaming company stated that it couldn’t honor its debts. Blanca Games denied the bankruptcy rumors. ♠

Brit Does Sunday Million Poker Double

Englishman Kevin “kevsteele” Steele had a bout of deja vu as he successfully took down his second Sunday Million on Nov. 6. This was an even bigger payday than that of Jul. 17 when he topped a field of 6,182 for a top prize of $128,792.58, decided upon after a five-way deal.

Steele’s latest win saw him add $168,838.99 to his winnings for being the last standing out of 6,967 players. When the final table began blinds were 150,000-300,000 with a 30,000 ante and Steele was second in chips with 10,752,442. The chip leader was V1rtuozzzzzz with just under 15.8 million.

When play got down to fourhanded the remaining players discussed a deal and after some adjustments decided on the payouts with $20,000 on top for the champion.

The payouts decided upon in the fourhanded deal were:

kevsteele (23,746,906 in chips) — $148,838.99
V1rtuozzzzzz (26,078,594 in chips) — $156,500.00
ShipTheFliip (11,446,539 in chips) — $121,467.70
Sir_Ellwood (8,397,961 in chips) — $110,000.00

kevsteele then eliminated ShipTheFliip and Sir_Ellwood and turned his sights on V1rtuozzzzzz. Steele had the chip lead with a little more than 51.5 million in chips but V1rtuozzzzzz, who held just over 18.1 million, fought gallantly to the end. The final hand came when kevsteele moved all in over his opponent’s raise and V1rtuozzzzzz called and flipped over A 10. kevsteele revealed 7 2 but it was meant to be for the Brit as the board came K 9 5 2 3 and a pair of deuces sealed the deal. ♠

Excluded Entraction Countries Get New Site

VictorChandler.com has come up with a solution for players who have recently been excluded from the Entraction network. It has become the first online poker operator to launch a new website, BetVictor.com, aimed at players from countries who had their IPs blocked on Nov. 1.

Players from Israel, Canada, Norway, and Russia were prevented from playing online as Entraction attempted to comply with various gaming laws. When news broke of this back in September, Victor Chandler Poker had less than two months to come up with an alternative for players who were blocked from the network, but now thanks to BetVictor.com and the Microgaming Network, it’s game-on again.

Head of poker at Victor Chandler, Andy Horne, said “We are very happy to be the first to have found an alternative solution for players from the Entraction banned countries and in such a short space of time. We’d like to welcome our old players to their new home and are confident that they’ll be happy to return to their favoured and trusted poker site”. ♠

Doyles Room Acquired By Americas Cardroom

DoylesRoom, the well-known online poker brand previously fronted by poker legend Doyle Brunson, has been acquired by Americas Cardroom.

When visiting DoylesRoom.net (DoylesRoom.com was seized by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its ongoing crackdown on online poker) players are automatically redirected to AmericasCardroom.net where the FAQ section states, “Over the last few months, DoylesRoom has become one of the most popular online poker sites in the United States thanks to its reputation for superior software and a strong focus on the US market. Americas Cardroom, launched in 2001, was one of the original online poker card rooms.

“The site has recently re-entered the online poker world and is acquiring skins to fast-track itself to be a dominant player in the market. The DoylesRoom acquisition gives Americas Cardroom an opportunity to make that happen with an established, well-respected poker experience already in place.”

The site will continue to accept U.S. players but Doyle Brunson has severed ties with the company post-Black Friday. ♠

Ilari ‘Ilari FIN’ Sahamies Up $2 Million

Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies is still in the midst of a massive online upswing. He has now won more than $2 million this Autumn, a period in which he won the largest pot ever tracked on PokerStars.

At one point this summer Sahamies was in a deep hole across all poker sites, but now sits as one of the year’s biggest winners, partly thanks to seven days in late October where he was up $750,000.

Action had been wild and crazy on PokerStars in October, with the usual fireworks at pot-limit Omaha but also with some huge pots at $200-$400 no-limit hold’em. ♠