Full Shill Poker

Bodog.com is giving online poker players even more chances to qualify for the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. Beginning this Sunday, May 27, the online poker powerhouse is holding three “Main Event Semifinal” tournaments each and every week, with two $12,000 WSOP prize packages guaranteed per tournament. The “Main Event Semifinal” tournaments are held Sundays at 2:20pm ET, Mondays at 9:15pm and Thursdays at 9:15pm.

The buy-in for these tournaments is $270, but players can satellite their way to a seat for as little as $1.50, and Bodog.com has also amped up the number of satellite qualifiers into the “Main Event Semifinal” tournaments with the addition of two $29 buy-in “Main Event Last Chance” tournaments that guarantee at least three seats into the Semifinal, with the possibility of up to five seats depending on the number of entrants.

Players who want to use their Bodog Poker Points have the option to enter the twice-daily “Main Event PTS Quarterfinal”, which previously paid out T$250 for every 17 players entered but now pays out T$270 for every 10, all for the same buy-in of 1,000 PTS. The T$270 buys you directly into a “Main Event Semifinal” tournament.

This amped up schedule only runs through June 18 when all WSOP qualifying at Bodog.com will end, so get started now and hopefully we’ll see you in Vegas when the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event kicks off July 6 at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino.

BetonSports, PLC, pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges, U.S. Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway for the Eastern District of Missouri announced.

BetonSports, PLC, admitted today to its involvement in a racketeering conspiracy. As part of the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri agreed that as long as the company lives up to its obligations under the plea agreement, including supplying witnesses and evidence in the pending cases against co-defendants, no further criminal prosecution will be brought in this District relative to its participation in the Kaplan Gambling Enterprise between July 2004 and the present date.

“This plea, combined with the terms of the civil junction should put an end to the BetonSports illegal gambling empire,” said U.S. Attorney Hanaway. “BetonSports, PLC is presently the corporate parent, based in the United Kingdom, of the companies comprising the vast illegal internet gambling operations described in the indictment. BetonSports, PLC had been failing to appear and answer the criminal charges in the indictment and Judge Jackson had imposed sanctions against the company. This plea constitutes a submission by the company to the U.S. justice system.”

By pleading guilty to the racketeering conspiracy charge, BetonSports admits that it conducted an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering acts, including repeated mail and wire fraud, operated an illegal gambling business, laundered money, and admitted to multiple state gambling felony charges. As the corporation admitted in federal court, the Gambling Enterprise began as an illegal sports betting business in New York City in the early 1990s. After its founder’s arrest on New York State gambling charges in May of 1993, the founder relocated his illegal gambling operation to Florida, continuing to take sports wagers from bettors in New York by telephone. In 1995, the Enterprise moved to Aruba, in the West Indies. To facilitate its U.S. operations, the enterprise established and controlled toll-free telephone services to accept sports wagers from gamblers in the United States. It also started to accept sports wagers through the Internet. In 1997, the Enterprise relocated to Antigua, and then to Costa Rica.

Among the Enterprise’s first computer-based sports book was one called the North American Sports Association International, which evolved into betonsports.com, advertised as the largest online wagering service in the world. This website gave gamblers in the United States the opportunity to illegally wager on professional and college football and basketball, as well as many other professional and amateur sporting events and contests. Members of the enterprise formed a corporation, BetonSports PLC, in 2004, which subsequently solicited and accepted wagers from individuals in Missouri and elsewhere throughout the United States. Entities and individuals associated with BetonSports PLC also caused fraudulent promotional materials to be available to prospective and actual bettors and used interstate facilities to further wagering activity in, to and from Missouri, as well as throughout the United States, in violation of federal law.

The company faces a fine of up to $500,000 or more, in that the maximum fine can be double the financial gain from or loss caused by the enterprise. It also faces possible forfeitures and the company is subject to a permanent injunction which requires it to repay money received from U.S. gamblers held by the company as of June 1, 2006. As noted in the plea agreement, at the present time there is no intention to charge any past or present individual BetonSports PLC director, other than those already charged. Sentencing has been set for October 19, 2007.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, and is a result of a joint investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the FBI. Assistance has also been received from several state and local police departments, including Chesterfield Police Department and departments in Florida and Washington.

No trial date has been set for the remaining co-defendants.

World Poker Tour introduced today Layla Kayleigh, the new WPT hostess for Season VI. Layla will make her debut tonight at the Mirage Poker Showdown, kicking off the first Season VI final table.

Specializing in celebrity interviews, video game industry events, and pop culture trends, 23-year old Layla is already well-versed in television and media. Her vast resume includes being an on-air correspondent for Fox Sport’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” and The Vegas Insider, as well as co-hosting G4’s Attack of the Show and hosting “The Feed” news segment.

The London native has also previously hosted for MTV in Britain, ABC Football, and on Al Gore’s Current TV, and can be heard weekly on Sirius Maxim Radio on the Covino and Rich Show. Layla has been featured in Maxim Magazine and played the lead role in the feature film “A Simple Promise,” due out in 2007.

“From the first casting interview with her, we knew Layla would be a great fit for Season VI,” said Robyn Moder, Executive Vice President, WPT Studios. “Not only does she have an impressive TV background hosting in the sports and entertainment world, but she is energetic, intelligent and strikingly beautiful — the perfect combination to engage WPT fans. We are thrilled to welcome Layla to the WPT family.”

WPT Season VI episodes will begin airing in early 2008 as part of GSN’s Monday night casino lineup where the network has built a substantial following in the casino game genre. Season V currently airs every Wednesday night on the Travel Channel at 9PM Eastern/Pacific.

Otis at the Pokerstars Blog tells the story best -

It happened at a six-handed $.01/$.02 table.

More than 100,000 players were packing PokerStars tables. Among those 100,000 were PokerStars players Rechargeable, inwooke, The_Moog, XTedForrestX, Ferius, and justine0003.

Suddenly, everything stopped, and the hand number at the top of the Venusia table read: 10,000,000,000.

The Big Ten Billion.

The commentator popped into the chat box and said, “Welcome to the biggest hand of 1 cent 2 cent ever.”

Four of the six players got all their money in and the board ran out:

[Ac Kc Td 9c] [8h]

Justine0003 tabled 3c8c for the flush and the $100,000 win. Every other player at the table received at least $10,000.

So, who is the mystery woman who walked away with $100,000? Her name, as you might expect, is Justine. Justine Hall, in fact.

The 19-year-old woman is a university student from Canada who is waiting tables for the summer. At the time she won the $100,000, she had $12 in her PokerStars account. She started playing poker in high school about four years ago and fell in love with the game. So, naturally, she gravitated toward PokerStars.

While she knew the BIG Ten Billion promotion was going on, she wasn’t expecting to hit it. In fact, when her table stopped, she didn’t even realize that she had hit the big one.

“It was a total fluke,” she said. “I didn’t even realize that it was the major big hand right away,. I thought it was just another one leading up to it!”

So, now, Justine has $100,000 which she plans to use to pay for her education, and, she said, “of course, a little shopping. I’m just really thankful and feel extremely lucky.”

Congratulations to all the players who won money in the milestone hands leading up to the BIG Ten Billion, especially justine0003 who now has a big enough bankroll to 1000-table $.01/$.02 as much as she wants.

reprinted from the PokerStars Blog

The Full Tilt Online Poker Series IV is in the books, and poker blogger and master of the term “fonkey” Hoyazo holds the title of Last Blogger Standing, making it to 101st place on the back of his stealing & re-stealing ways. Congrats to Hoy and Grubby and all the other poker bloggers who made it deep in yesterday’s Main Event!

Join the cast and producer of “Ocean’s Thirteen” and help relieve the suffering in Darfur

Oceans 13 Darfur Benefit Poker Tourney PokerStars has teamed up with the cast and producer of this summer’s Hollywood blockbuster “Ocean’s Thirteen” to offer a truly unique set of tournament prizes. And, just by playing, you’ll be joining PokerStars in sending much-needed funds to relieve the suffering in the war-torn region of Darfur.

The four winners of the second “Oceans’ Thirteen” Charity Tournament (see details of our first group of winners below) will receive a pair of tickets to the movie’s American premiere in Los Angeles June 5th, plus two night’s hotel accommodation and $2,000 for travel/expenses. The top 18 players will also receive a copy of the “Ocean’s Thirteen” DVD (available after its general release) signed by the stars. See full tournament details below.

In addition to providing our players with opportunities to help (see below!), PokerStars is donating $1 MILLION to the charity Not On Our Watch, as part of our continuing work toward social responsibility and giving back to the community.

The film’s stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle, plus producer Jerry Weintraub (pictured) - have together launched Not On Our Watch to focus international attention on the ongoing suffering in Darfur. The donation will be made at a special event on May 22nd, two days before the May 24th World Premiere held at the Cannes Film Festival.

Darfur – the western region of the Sudan, Africa – has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival.

If you want to donate direct to the charity it couldn’t be easier. To transfer funds simply go to the main lobby, then to Requests, and drop down to Transfer Funds. Type in the User ID NOOW and the amount you wish to donate. The funds will then be taken from your account and credited to the charity. All money will go directly to the charity and PokerStars will match all funds donated!

NOTICE: Any money contributed to Not On Our Watch through PokerStars may not be considered a tax-deductible donation in some jurisdictions.
Ocean’s 13 Cast

Last weekend, four PokerStars players won trips to the premiere in Cannes, France. On May 24th, PokerStars’ players JaspudUF, SM4RTASS, herbert, and berchem13 will all be on the red carpet.

PokerStars will also host a third charity tournament (date to be confirmed). The winner of this event will receive a professional poker table baize, signed by the film’s stars. If that doesn’t impress your friends at your Friday night cash game, nothing will!

We hope you will join PokerStars and the cast and producer of “Ocean’s Thirteen” in helping such a worthwhile cause.

To find the tournaments, go to the lobby, click Tourney and then Special.

Click here to view the tournament terms

Overview of the “Ocean’s Thirteen Darfur Charity Tournament”

These tournaments are special re-buy tournaments - the entire prize pool will be matched by PokerStars and donated to the Darfur relief efforts. At the conclusion of the event the prize pool, which will be temporarily awarded to the 1st place finisher, will be removed from the 1st place finisher’s account.

The amount will then be matched by PokerStars and sent forward to the Darfur charity. Thank you for participating - go re-buy crazy! – it’s for a good cause. Good luck!

Date: May 27th 2007, 15:30 ET
Buy-in: $10 plus rebuys.
Prizes: Top 4 receive tickets to June 5th premiere in Los Angeles plus 2 night’s hotel and $2k for travel/spending.
Top 18 receive autographed copy of “Oceans 13” DVD.
Total prize pool will go to charity and PokerStars will match the donation.
The tournament is open to all players. Good luck!

PokerTek, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEK), the innovator of automated poker and PokerPro®, has received a manufacturer and distributor license from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

“Receiving our manufacturer and distributor license is a major milestone for PokerTek,” said Lou White, PokerTek’s Chief Executive Officer. “Getting to this point is a testament to the hard work of our compliance team, which has devoted a tremendous effort over a long period of time to achieve this goal.”

Now does this, coupled with the recent news that PokerTek inked a deal with Harrah’s to provide automated poker tables for the Harrah’s properties (included a WSOP-branded table) mean that we’ll see PokerTek tables at the Rio this summer? I dunno, but I’m asking.

Shit, try saying that 5 times fast!

paddypowerpoker.com celebrates the arrival of summer today with the launch of Paddypalooza - two weeks of pure summer madness from 18th to 31st May with over $3 million in guaranteed tournaments, giveaways and freerolls.

Paddy Power, spokesman for the online poker room said, “This will be the rockingest event of the summer with freerolls, giveaways, WSOP satellites and a chance for our poker players to get out and dance at the country’s top music festivals”.

Festival Tickets

In an attempt to disprove the lie that poker players are allergic to sunlight Paddypalooza will provide players with a chance to win tickets to the summer’s top music festivals. Three lucky freeroll winners will brush off their wellies and pack their tents with tickets to the Garden Party, Midlands Music Festival and Lovebox.

Paddypalooza Freerolls

It’s the summer of love and Paddypalooza is all about giving. Players can sit back and make money for nothing by entering any of the three daily freerolls.

7am $50 Brekkie Roll Freeroll

12pm $50 Fast Food Freeroll

8pm $500 Paddypalooza Freeroll

WSOP Qualifiers

With the biggest show in town just around the corner there is still time to get in as little as $1.70 through the daily feeders or players can buy directly into Sunday’s Super Satellite for $375 (one package for every $14,000 collected).

Jackpot Hand Promotion

Any player winning (or losing) a hand with quad aces at a cash table during Paddypalooza will win 20 times their big blind.

$250,000 and $100,000 Guaranteed Tournaments

$250,000 Guaranteed - Sunday May 20th at 6pm - $400 + $40 Freezeout:

Qualify for as little as $3.

$100,000 Guaranteed - Sunday May 27th at 7pm - $200 + $20 Freezeout:

Qualify for as little as $3.

$500,000 Freeroll

With just ten weeks to go to paddypowerpoker.com’s largest ever freeroll, players can qualify during Paddypalooza for just 50 paddy points.

$3 Million Up for Grabs

There is $3 million up for grabs over the course of the Paddypalooza fortnight. Every month on paddypowerpoker.com there is over $6 million on offer in guaranteed tournaments and freerolls.

Industry leading poker room CelebPoker.com is pleased to announce two major campaigns that are guaranteed to turn a few heads. For a limited time, all new first time depositing players can qualify for an amazing 250% up to $1,000 free bonus. This is the largest bonus ever offered by CelebPoker.com. Interested players should take advantage soon as it ends July 12.

In addition, players who already are enjoying CelebPoker.com can really cash in by referring their friends. For a limited time, all players that refer new depositing members will receive a free $100 cash bonus after their friend meets some simple requirements. Full information on both new offers can be found at CelebPoker.com.

Marketing Director Michael Maenck is enthusiastic about the next few months at CelebPoker. “We are working around the clock to bring even more added value to our loyal players.” Both existing and new players will begin to really experience a new and improved level of player satisfaction at CelebPoker.com. Maenck continued, “We have some really amazing new promotions and programs on the horizon and being a member at CelebPoker .com will really mean being rewarded — we value each and every player that chooses to call CelebPoker their home.”

From the Casino City Times, Aaron Todd writes -

The U.S. Department of Justice has seized $9.25 million in funds from Citadel Commerce, a third-party payment processor that had previously allowed U.S. residents to conduct financial transactions with Internet gambling companies. The Canadian-based company stopped processing U.S. gaming transactions in January, almost immediately after its competitor, NETeller, withdrew from the U.S. following the arrests of its two cofounders.

Another Canadian-based processor, FirePay, announced earlier this week that they have received seizure warrants from the DOJ for about $4.2 million in gaming-related funds. FirePay stopped accepting U.S. gaming transactions following the adoption of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October.

Citadel had announced in late April that these funds had been frozen by one of its financial transaction processors.

In a separate indictment this week, three payment processors and seven individuals have been accused of miscoding gaming transactions and funneling money to online casinos and sportsbooks. BetUS has been charged with conspiring with the payment processors.