As you may recall, Party Poker was the largest and most successful online poker room before the UIGE Act came into play. While some companies decided to risk it and stay with the US market, Party Poker pulled out. At the time, Mitch Garber was the CEO of Party Gaming. Harrah’s has pulled out all of the stops and has hired Garber as the head of their new subsidiary, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, Inc., to lead the way into a new era of online gaming.

The move makes perfect sense. While the move to pull out of the US market can be questioned, the success of the company up to that point in the US is unquestionable. He will have the advantage of knowing the ins and outs of the industry and will also be able to launch their site in European countries while US legislation is still in question.

There can be little doubt that if this legislation goes through, Harrah’s will immediately take over as the major online poker room in the United States. They will have one advantage over any other site as they are actually a brick and mortar casino and a lot of the packages that they will be able to put together should far surpass anything that any other site can do the satellites into the WSOP. They have the ability to add food, beverage and lodging in a way that no other site can do.

While the other sites have to get more entries for a $20,000 package, this stuff can literally be comped off by Harrah’s to make their site the most attractive on the net. When you also add in the fact that a US company will finally be involved in the gaming industry, it reeks of success.

US players have been longing for a company that they could trust 100% and that would be regulated by the United States to get involved in the online poker industry. While European players will have the advantage of seeing the product first, it is hard to imagine that any other site will be able to match the product that they will develop. This is welcome news to United States players and will definitely change the online poker world in a positive way.

Paddy Power Poker today Blasts Off for Las Vegas by announcing a WSOP* Mega Satellite with 40 packages guaranteed. The WSOP Blast Off MTT is a $500 + $35 NLH freezeout scheduled for Sunday June 14th. Feeder satellites will run daily from Monday June 1st with buy-ins starting at less than $1.

Each WSOP package is worth $13,000 and is made up of WSOP Main Event entry ($10,000), 7 nights’ accommodation and $1,900 to cover travel and spending money.

“The World Series is just around the corner, so I’ve fuelled up our rocket and set a course for Las Vegas”, said  Communications Manager for Paddy Power Poker. “With over 40 packages up for grabs, our players have a great opportunity to live the poker dream and play in the biggest game in town – it’s time to Blast Off!”

Feeder satellites to the WSOP Blast Off $500 + $35 Mega Satellite can be accessed via the poker software lobby from June 1st; select ‘Scheduled MTT’s’ and then the ‘Satellites’ tab.

Whether you like him or not, you have to admit that Phil Hellmuth is one of the best NL Hold’em tournament players in the world. It is hard to argue the 11 WSOP bracelets that are dangling off of his wrist. He always seems to make the perfect move, but will often get beat when someone does not respect a raise or a move that he makes and then we are treated to the rant.






Phil made is at far as the quarterfinals and after a marathon match of about 6 hours, manage to get all the money in with the best of it only to fall to a 2 outer on the river. It was 99-66 and when the 6 hit, Hellmuth was tossed to the rail by the eventual winner, Benjamin LaBlond.

Defending champion Huck Seed had a target on his head from the moment he sat down and never even made it out of the first round of players. All in all, 93 people showed up for the event, not a World Series turnout by any comparison, but the field was filled with landmines. With his $100,000 now safely in hand, it is an easy assumption that LaBlond will now be headed to Vegas for fame and glory.

There is only one more major event to get through before the WSOP starts at the end of the month and then it is time to dig in for 2 months of poker insanity. The WSOP has added a few events and has also added an anniversary event that should be filled with every big name in the poker world. Dig in folks, poker is about to get real serious!

This is one of those events that even the common man can understand and relate to. It is not often that we can afford or play in an event that has 90 minute levels or lasts for days on end, but getting handed 10,000 chips and having 20 minutes levels is something that we can all relate to. The turbo format is accompanied with a best two out of three series that is sure to be filled with a ton of action.

If you think the big boys of poker are going to sit this one out with the WSOP less than two weeks away, you are crazy. They would not think of missing the opportunity to lay their claim as the best heads-up player heading into the series. The main event of the Canadian Open Poker Championship will see the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Phil Helmuth and Huck Seed sitting down at the felt in an effort to gain some heads-up glory.

It is not often that you will see a heads-up event as the final showpiece of any tour event, but that is what makes this one so special. You are going to have Kid Poker defending his turf as you can only imagine the embarrassment he would feel if someone like Phil Hellmuth walks out of his country with the heads-up trophy hoisted on his shoulders.

The four day event will finish up on Sunday, May17th with the final match. The defending champion is Huck Seed who took home a cool $100,897 last year. With the beating Negreanu has taken on the last couple of episodes of High Limit Poker, it is safe to assume that he will go after this championship with even more vigor than usual. Updates will be posted as soon as they are available. Now shuffle up and deal!

The “bwin Poker in the Sky” platform marked the “high” light of this racing weekend in the truest sense of the word: the bwin poker players played 50 meters above the racing circuit! And they were right at the heart of the action at the race track, too. They got to meet up with MotoGP stars such as Loris Capirossi, had an exclusive tour of the pits and a visit to the starting grid before the race. Host of this racing weekend in Jerez was former motorbike racer Randy Mamola. Poker table winner André Braender was visibly thrilled and said, “I met the stars of the MotoGP, was a VIP for the whole weekend and I made it to the final! I’m just delighted!”

bwin Poker team membership worth $100,000

The seven winners of the online qualifiers for each event will be accompanied by camera teams and will star in their very own Magic Moments of Poker show. A million-strong audience around the globe will be keeping close tabs on each player’s performance at the televised poker table.

At each one of these unforgettable Magic Moments of Poker events, one player will qualify for the Grand Final in Vienna. There, the winner will walk away with bwin Poker team membership. This means all-inclusive packages for major international poker tournaments such as the WSOP or WPT.

Next stop PokerIsland

The next stop on the Magic Moments of Poker tour will be an action-packed weekend on PokerIsland! Qualifications via freerolls are running until May 30 at www.bwin.com/magicmomentsofpoker.

The bwin Magic Moments of Poker tour will be stopping off at some of the biggest football clubs and top sporting events in Europe. Real Madrid, AC Milan and Bayern Munich, a MotoGP racing weekend in Jerez or a luxury stay on PokerIsland. The winners of the online qualifiers will get to put their skills to the test in front of the cameras.

New website for the media

bwin has launched www.bwinpressevent.com, a website especially created for media representatives. This website offers exclusive picture material as well as videos of the televised Magic Moments of Poker show to download.

The upcoming stops on the Magic Moments of Poker tour:

July
PokerIsland

August
FC Bayern Munich

September
FIBA

October
“Train and Meet” Real Madrid

December
Grand Final in Vienna

The final table started as they all have lately, very slowly. Players were tight and nobody dared call an all in for fear of being the first one launched from the table. It took about 30 hands before any significant action happened and then finally both Traply and Mikkelson looked down at a couple of monster hands and the fireworks started.

Traply and Mikkelson started the day in 3rd and 1st place respectively and if Mikkelson were to take down this hand he would have a 4:1 chip lead over the next closest player. Mikkelson called the all in with his QQ and saw one of three hands you don’t want to be up against in that position, AK. Luckily, the ladies held up for once and the chips were shipped. Now with over 12,000,000 in chips, he was clearly in control.

Mikkelson picked off one more player, Daniel Zink, to get it down to seven and then turned the duties over Mikhail Tulchinskiy. Starting the day with a little over 3 million, he welcomed the action from the short stacks and took out Alem Shah and Eric Qu. With the new chips, he was over 7,000,000 and now putting pressure on Mikkelson for the lead.

However, as shorthanded poker tends to do, everything changed quickly and the momentum of the table started to swing to the players that had been merely spectators at that point. Pieter DeKorver started to make his move and his cards allowed him to do so by slamming Mikkelson’s stack time and again. From the penthouse to the outhouse he went and 4th place was all he could muster with that giant stack to start the day off.

Matt Woodward then stepped up and took out Tulchinskiy and they players were finally heads up for the largest payout in EPT history. The players started the round back and forth until DeKorver had enough and started to get super aggressive. He took advantage of Tulchinskiy’s passive style and continued to scoop up chips.

At the start of the final hand, DeKorver held about a 3,000,000 chip lead and looked down at 96s to start the hand. The flop came out 10-6-5h and both players hit the 6, but while Woodward was sitting with a weaker kicker, he was also looking at the only flush draw as he held 6c4h in his hand. Figuring he was good on the flush draw, he fired out a bet of 700,000 and DeKorver tried to push him around again and immediately went all in. Woodward had the right read and called having to know he needed to hit the flush in order to win. The board never improved and he watched the €2,300,000 get shipped to the other side of the table.

This was another great tournament with a lot of the major players in poker going out early. The amateurs continue to target the pros and make their road to the final table more difficult. The WSOP is getting ever closer and it should be another great series with a lot of new faces becoming instant millionaires.

Paddy Power Poker today announces that the Back That Ace Up IV: The Cash Is Back cash race will start at midnight on Sunday, 29th March.

The latest instalment of the poker room’s popular promotion will award over $60,000 in cash and prizes over the course of ten weeks, with over $5,000 cash on offer each week. A WSOP Main Event package worth $13,000 will be won in a special Grand Final tournament on June 11th.

The promotion is open to all Paddy Power Poker players and their position on the leader board will be determined by the amount of hands played, the table stakes and the time players spend on the tables.

“The Back That Ace Up promotion is too good to go into the archives; our players wanted another sequel and we’ve delivered!” said Eric Booth, Head of Poker at Paddy Power Poker. “In addition to handing out over $5,000 in cash and prizes each week, we’re sweetening the deal with a WSOP package and giving players ample opportunity to qualify for the Grand Final tournament. It’s time to pull on your skinny jeans and Back That Ace Up for the fourth time!”

Paddy Power Poker today announces that Antanas ‘Tony G’ Gouga, Brian ‘sbrubgy’ Townsend and 2006 world champion Jamie Gold are the latest professional players to confirm their attendance at this year’s Irish Open. They join Marty Smyth, Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak, Ciaran ‘Big C’ O’Leary, Neil Channing and many other pre-registered professionals. The €3200 + €300 No-Limit Holdem tournament is taking place from April 10th – April 13th 2009.

Tony G is one of the most recognisable professional poker players, known for his over-the-top table talk and fearless play. He is also celebrated for the substantial charitable contributions he has made with his tournament winnings, including his large donation to various Asian and Australian causes after winning an Asian Poker Tour event.

Brian Townsend is an online poker player who has achieved legendary status among the internet poker community as a result of his cash game successes. He plays some of the highest stakes available online, specialising in short-handed and heads-up play, and is lead instructor for the popular CardRunners online poker training site.

Jamie Gold shot into poker super stardom after winning the WSOP* $10,000 Championship Event in 2006, capturing a record prize of $12,000,000 and the coveted gold bracelet. Mentored by poker legend Johnny Chan, Jamie is motivated by philanthropic ideals to devote much of his time to charitable causes via poker tournaments and other events.