Full Shill Poker

He might be the Phil Mickelson of poker. Gavin Smith has won millions of dollars playing poker, and lost shitloads of that in prop bets with Joe Sebok. But he has never won a WSOP bracelet. Now he’s the chipleader at the final table of Event #4 - Pot Limit Hold Em, and his first piece of WSOP hardware might be within his grasp.

Gavin’s a great guy and an amazing player and we wish him all the best. After all, we got the chance to play with the Caveman at a charity event last year and found him to be a funny drunk. And that’s all you need in my book.

No, I didn’t win. Yes, I outlasted Gavin. No I didn’t bust him. Yes, it was cool. Yes, I spent the first 3/4 of this post referring to myself in the royal we. My blog, my rules.

Yeah, I know we write that every year, but until somebody has the audacity to win a bracelet in an event they enter on their 21st birthday, or they lower the legal gambling age in Nevada, or move the WSOP offshore, this one’s probably gonna stand. Steve Billrakis at the ripe old age of 21 yrs. 10 friggin’ days grabbed his first WSOP bracelet this week. He took down Event #1, a $5,000 buy-in Mixed Limit/No Limit event, beating out Greg “FBT” Mueller in the process.

Billrakis is mainly an online player, since HE’S TOO DAMN YOUNG TO HAVE DONE ANYTHING ELSE, and goes by the handle of “MrSmokey1.” Another killer poker player who still gets carded to get into rated-R movies, Steve Paul-Ambrose, was also at the final table. I gotta go take a friggin’ geritol.

That’s the song a lot of gamboolers’ money is singing today, as Neteller has recently announced a deal with the devil, I mean Department of Justice, to return the nearly $55 Million stoled, oops, siezed, from US players’ accounts. Here’s a ridiculously long press release to say essentially the same thing -

The NETELLER Plc Group (LSE: NLR), the independent global online payments business, today announced that it has agreed to a plan for the distribution of funds to its US customers.

NETELLER is continuing to cooperate with the investigation being conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”), under the advice of its legal advisers and in accordance with court orders in the Isle of Man. The Company is in discussions with the USAO for the purpose of resolving the investigation. The Company has advised the USAO that it will use its best efforts to resolve the investigation no later than 13 July 2007.

On 21 March 2007, the Company announced that it signed agreements with the USAO and Navigant Consulting, Inc. (“Navigant”) with respect to, among other things, developing a plan for the distribution of funds to US customers. Since then, in accordance with the agreements, the Company has worked with the USAO and Navigant to develop the plan. The Distribution Plan is now agreed upon, and the Company anticipates implementing the plan upon the resolution of the investigation.

The agreed Distribution Plan details the process and mechanisms for the return of funds to US customers. US customers will be able to access their NETELLER accounts online for a certain time and make a request for their funds. In accordance with NETELLER’s Terms of Use, no interest on account balances will be paid. NETELLER will not charge fees to customers to process requests for funds. Funds will be distributed either by electronic transfer to the bank account on record with NETELLER or by a cheque to be sent to a mailing address as confirmed by the customer. If a US customer has a bank account already registered with NETELLER, funds transfer will be by electronic transfer subject to confirmation by the customer that the registered bank account remains valid. US customers will receive the entire balance of funds in their account; no requests for partial payments will be processed. US customers cannot use their accounts for any transaction other than to request the funds.

Further information will be communicated to NETELLER’s US customers via email, through our website and through a press release once the date for implementation of the Distribution Plan is finalised.

Ron Martin, Group President and CEO said: “The agreement on the Distribution Plan represents a milestone in our cooperation with the US authorities. While we are disappointed not to have been able to return funds to our US customers at this point, we believe that the steps we have made in our discussions are significant and we hope to be able to announce further progress with the USAO by 13 July 2007.”

The Company continues to work with Navigant to produce a report to the USAO on the Company’s current financial condition. On 8 February 2007, the Company informed the market that approximately US$ 55 million had been seized by the USAO or otherwise restricted by third parties. After ongoing consultation with the USAO, the Company currently believes this amount could be up to approximately US$ 60 million.

The Company’s shares continue to be suspended from trading on AIM in view of the continuing uncertainties the Company faces although the Company is making progress towards achieving restoration of trading. The Company is also working towards the finalisation of its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2006 and will announce the date on which these will be published to the market in due course. NETELLER customers not resident in the US continue to be minimally affected by the withdrawal from the US market.

Further information is available on the Group’s website in the form of updated FAQs.

So in a “News of the Fucking Stupid” moment, Harrah’s has decided that people who spend a shitpot full of money at -EV games and occasionally get lucky are no longer welcome at their properties.

Here’s the story, from the Lion’s mouth -

Richard Brodie (made a shitpot full of money by creating the red squiggle under misspelled words in Microsoft Word) plays a fuckton of video poker at Caesar’s for a fuckton of money. He actually manages to hit a couple times, to put him well in the black for the year, and Harrah’s decides that he is no longer welcome at any of their properties in Nevada or California.

Yeah - because this dude was willing to bet stupid money on games where the house has a defined mathematical edge and managed to get lucky a couple of times, Harrah’s has banned him from the casino. This not only holds true for Caesar’s, but now Brodie is also barred from taking part in the World Series of Poker, being held at the Rio, a Harrah’s property.

Brodie didn’t cheat, he didn’t angle-shoot, he didn’t try to game the system. If he’s guilty of anything, it’s writing too often about fish dinners and playing stupid -EV games at too great a level to impress young hotties. But really, what balding bajillionaire wouldn’t do that?

Nice frickin’ move, Harrah’s.

So a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, like last year, a bunch of poker pros took exception to the release that the World Poker Tour requires that people sign when they enter their tournaments and sued the WPT over it. Then they filed for a motion of summary judgment, as is not uncommon in civil suits. a motion of summary judgment would have ended the case before it actually came to trial, and this one would have ended in favor of the pros suing the WPT. Well, the judge said “not so fast, folks,” and now there’s gonna be a trial. Here’s the press release -

In the antitrust lawsuit brought against WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE) by seven professional poker players, United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II denied the Motion for Summary Judgment filed on March 14, 2007, by plaintiffs Chris Ferguson, Andrew Bloch, Annie Duke, Joseph Hachem, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer. WPTE filed an Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion on April 12, 2007, to which the plaintiffs filed a Reply Brief. After review of the parties’ submissions, as well as the arguments advanced by counsel at a hearing on May 14, the court on May 22nd denied the plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

“We are very pleased with Judge Wright’s order denying the Motion for Summary Judgment,” said WPTE’s General Counsel, Adam Pliska. “We feel that this decision confirms our contention that this case is without merit.”

WPTE has engaged the law firms of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and Brownstein, Hyatt and Farber in connection with this case.

Well, it looks like we might not have been quite warranted in our doomsaying earlier. I, among others, wondered what would happen to the WSOP fields in the wake of the UIGEA passing and Harrah’s decision to actually enforce their three-year-old policy of not accepting third-party registrations.

Well shit, Chicken Little, what’s that above us? Looks like sky, and with nearly 3,000 players taking the field yesterday in the $1,500 NLHE event at the Rio, it might even stay there. For the second year in a row, this first low buy-in open event has shattered the record for largest field of any WSOP tournament that isn’t a Main Event. So far a bunch of big-time pros have already hit the rail, including World Champions Phil Hellmuth and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson. Other notable bustouts are Annie Duke, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu and Gavin Smith.

Go to PokerWorks and PokerNews for all the best in WSOP coverage. Come here for random other shit.

Looks like those pre-sales for used WSOP Poker Peek decks might not be quite so used as folks once thought. According to Craig over at Pokerworks, the reviews from players are less than stellar, getting shite reviews from everyone from satellite players to WSOP Main Event Champ Greg Raymer.

Check out the excellent article by CC at Pokerworks on all the issues with the decks, including tiny suits making boards unreadable, shitty design making it hard to tell between a 6 and a 9, and an off-center back design where they can’t even spell the name of the WSOP commissioner right!

GG US Playing Card Co. Well done, sirs.

The US Playing Card company, maker of Kem and Bicycle playing cards, has unveiled their new PokerPeek cards, set to debut this year at the World Series of Poker. From the WSOP website-

Professional and serious players were consulted during development, and the United States Playing Card Company’s casino division tested actual decks with PokerPeek in selected casino poker rooms. Average consumers were also shown PokerPeek cards during consumer testing in 2006.

In late 2006, USPC began collaborating with World Series of Poker (WSOP) officials to develop cards for the 2007 tournament. One of the primary concerns was table security, and the PokerPeek face style was instantly adopted as an idea to be evaluated.

The then-current PokerPeek decks were sent to members of the WSOP Players Council in January for evaluation. Feedback noted that the corner markings were just a bit small, and the larger markings in the middle of the card were too close to the corner markings.

USPC revised the faces based on this feedback and came back with three prototype decks for evaluation. These concepts all included larger corner markings, but designed in a way to take up less overall space in the corner. The three designs included an angled corner mark, a horizontal corner mark, and a mark that integrated the number with the suit designation. In all three examples, the corner markings were included in all four corners and the large middle markings on the card were moved down to the middle of the card.

Based on player feedback USPC eliminated all but the angled corner design, removed the extra corner markings, and moved the larger side marking further down on the card to protect the top one-third of the card edge from “flashing” to other players at the table.

THE PRODUCT

Tournament cards used at the WSOP will be the exclusive KEM® brand with the PokerPeek face and a Bicycle branded card back design.

Bicycle Pro, USPC’s retail version of PokerPeek, is slightly different than the version that will debut on the table at the 2007 WSOP. The design of the Bicycle Pro playing cards includes the 4-corners design to offer amateur player additional options for peeking their cards. It is also a benefit to left handed players.

A federal grand jury in San Diego has indicted 19 defendants on charges related to an alleged racketeering enterprise and a scheme to cheat casinos across the country out of millions of dollars, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Karen P. Hewitt announced today.

The three-count indictment, handed down in the Southern District of California on May 22, 2007, and unsealed today, charges Phuong Quoc Truong, also known as “Pai Gow” John and John Truong; Van Thu Tran; Tai Khiem Tran; Anh Phuong Tran; Phat Ngoc Tran; Martin Lee Aronson, also known as Martin Smith; Liem Thanh Lam; George Michael Lee; Tien Duc Vu; Son Hong Johnson; Barry Wellford; Willy Tran, also known as “Duy;” Ha Thuy Giang, also known as Thuy Ha Giang; and Han Truong Nguyen each with one count of conspiracy to participate in the affairs of a racketeering enterprise; one count of conspiracy to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal money and other property from Indian tribal casinos; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The indictment also charges Khai Hong Tran; John Tran; Tuan Mong Le; Nam Van To, also known as “Tommy;” and Duc Cong Nguyen each with one count of conspiracy to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal money and other property from Indian tribal casinos; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the indictment, from in or about March 2002 through the date of the indictment, the defendants formed and participated in the affairs of a racketeering enterprise by cheating at gambling in casinos across the United States. The indictment lists 18 casinos that were allegedly targeted by members of the conspiracy, including 10 casinos that are owned and operated by Indian tribes.

According to the indictment, the defendants and others executed a “false shuffle” cheating scheme at some of the listed casinos during blackjack and mini-baccarat games. The indictment alleges that members of the criminal organization bribed casino card dealers and supervisors to perform false shuffles during card games, thereby creating “slugs” of un-shuffled cards. According to the indictment, after tracking the order of cards dealt in a card game, a member of the organization would signal to the card dealer to perform a “false shuffle,” and then members of the group would bet on the known order of cards when the slug appeared on the table. By doing so, the indictment alleges that members of the conspiracy repeatedly won thousands of dollars during card games — up to $868,000 on one occasion.

The indictment also alleges that the members of the organization used sophisticated mechanisms for tracking the order of cards during games, including hidden transmitter devices and specially created software that would predict the order in which cards would reappear during baccarat and blackjack games.

“The subjects arrested and indicted colluded with casino dealers and engaged in a sophisticated card counting scheme to cheat casinos out of large winnings,” said Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI will continue to cooperate with its local, state and federal partners to conduct joint investigations of organized criminal activities with the goal of disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting criminal enterprises that threaten the American economy and society.”

Philip N. Hogen, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), stated, “The NIGC is pleased to have contributed to such a large-scale investigation involving a criminal network that cheated Indian casinos out of millions of dollars. This operation is a good example of the high-quality work tribal gaming regulators do in protecting fair play at their facilities. It also exemplifies the benefits of tribal, state, and federal investigators, and prosecutors coordinating efforts to identify and prosecute crimes against the tribal gaming industry.”

The racketeering conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy charge relating to money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy charge relating to commission of several offenses against the United States carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Also today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced that two federal grand jury indictments have been unsealed. The first indictment charges Phuong Truong; Van Tran; Martin Aronson; George Lee; Son Johnson; Ha Giang; Thongsok Sovan; and Pheap Norng, with violations relating to alleged card-cheating activity at the Emerald Queen Casino, in the vicinity of Tacoma, Wash. The second indictment charges George Lee; Tien Duc Vu; Levi Seth Mayfield; Kasey James McKillip; and Jason Dyson Nickels with violations relating to alleged card-cheating activity at the Nooksack River Casino, in the vicinity of Deming, Wash.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Diego Field Office, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, and the California Department of Justice’s Division of Gambling Control. The investigation has received assistance from federal, state, tribal and foreign authorities, including: the Ontario Provincial Police; the National Indian Gaming Commission; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington; the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Gulfport, Mississippi Resident Agency; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi; the Indiana State Police; the Sycuan Gaming Commission; the Barona Gaming Commission; the Mississippi Gaming Commission; the Washington Gambling Commission; and others. The prosecution of the case is run by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, headed by Bruce G. Ohr, in Washington, D.C. Department of Justice trial attorneys Gavin A. Corn, Robert S. Tully, and Joseph K. Wheatley are involved in the case.

The Indian Gaming Working Group (IGWG) was established in February 2003 to combat crimes related to Indian gambling. The group is spearheaded by the FBI and includes the Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General, the National Indian Gaming Commission, the Internal Revenue Service’s Tribal Government Section, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Center, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Law Enforcement Services. The IGWG works to ensure the honesty and fairness of Indian gambling activity for visitors, and fights organized crime groups attempting to commit embezzlement and other scams.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Parties that have information relating to the investigation may contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Diego Field Office at (858) 565- 1255.

More than a dozen Hollywood celebrities and sports legends are expected to join poker’s greatest players to raise public awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur in a special “Ante Up For Africa” tournament at the 2007 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light.

The brainchild of Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke, the Ante Up For Africa tournament is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. July 5 in the WSOP tournament area in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Among those who’ve expressed their intent to play, subject to availability, are Hollywood stars Cheadle, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Tilley, Hank Azaria, George Clooney, Matt Damon, George Lopez, Danny Masterson, Mekhi Phifer, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler and James Woods.

Basketball great Charles Barkley and poker notables Duke, Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon, Joe Hachem, Andy Bloch, Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Robert Williamson III, Phil Laak, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow and Clonie Gowan have also expressed plans to compete.

Participants in the $5,000 buy-in tournament, which is open to anyone, are also eligible to attend a private party at the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio beginning at 10 p.m. July 5. The tournament will feature a fast-paced structure designed to complete the competition within five hours. Seating for the tournament is limited and persons who want to participate are encouraged to pre-register at www.worldseriesofpoker.com/anteup/anteup.pdf .

“We’re honored to host this event and hope that entrants – particularly those fortunate enough to win money – will make donations to help ease the human suffering that defines the crisis in Darfur,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the World Series of Poker.

“While a donation is not required to enter, we are respectfully asking players who win prize money to donate half of their winnings to the ENOUGH Project and the International Rescue Committee – organizations whose goals include raising public awareness and providing aid to the survivors of Darfur,” Duke said.

“Four years ago, the specter of genocide reared its ugly head in an area of the Sudan called Darfur,” said Cheadle, whose role as a hotel manager in the true-life film “Hotel Rwanda” earned him an Academy Award nomination. The movie told the story of the government-sanctioned slaughter of more than a million innocents in Rwanda in 1994.

For more than two years, Cheadle has worked to raise public awareness of the Darfur humanitarian crisis. He recently testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee about his visits to Darfur and refugee camps in neighboring Chad. “Not On Our Watch” – a book he co-authorized with human-rights activist John Prendergast – was released into bookstores nationwide this month.

Cheadle, an accomplished poker player, and Duke, who has more than $4 million in tournament winnings, are committed to raising both public awareness about the tragedy in Darfur and funds to aid its victims. As the world’s richest sporting event, the WSOP is covered by more than 600 journalists from around the globe each year and attracts players from more than 50 countries.

Cheadle and Duke are supporting the work of two non-profit organizations as part of their efforts. The International Rescue Committee (www.theirc.org), a leading provider of humanitarian assistance to refugees and those displaced by conflict, offers critical aid to people uprooted by crises in 25 countries, including the more than 700,000 survivors of the ethnic and political violence in Darfur, Sudan. The ENOUGH Project (www.enoughproject.org), a joint project of the Center for American Progress and the International Crisis Group, is dedicated to raising awareness and activism for causes such as Darfur.

The 2007 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light will begin June 1 at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. More information on the tournament is available at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

The WSOP is operated by a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET). Harrah’s is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through its operating subsidiaries. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company’s properties operate primarily under the Harrah’s®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names; Harrah’s also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah’s Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.
More information about Harrah’s is available at its Web site — www.harrahs.com