Poker News - Fearsome Finnish foursome to play heads-up battle

Fearsome Finnish foursome to play heads-up battle
Some idle bragging about who is the best Finnish poker player may be turning into an epic high-stakes showdown. Patrik Antonius (pictured) wrote in his blog that while traveling on vacation in France with friends and fellow pros Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies amd Jani “KObyTAPOUT” Vilmunen, that ��...full article

Some idle bragging about who is the best Finnish poker player may be turning into an epic high-stakes showdown.

Patrik Antonius (pictured) wrote in his blog that while traveling on vacation in France with friends and fellow pros Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies amd Jani “KObyTAPOUT” Vilmunen, that they got into an argument of who is the best of the trio.

The bragging turned into planning, as the three began plotting out a competition to see who is the best. They decided to include Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelpuro in the mix as well.

According to the blog:

The boys [Sahamies and Vilmunen] flew back to Finland that night and met Sami at the night club and got him to agree on a bet. It is going to be a team HU match, Ilari and myself vs Jani and Sami. All matches will be played on Martins Poker with 200BB stacks. I will play LarzLuzak in NL HU and Ilari will play Jani in HU PLO. If one team wins both matches, then they are crowned Champions. If it is a split, then I will play Sami in a final tie breaker, the final match will be NL to decide the Champion.

You can read the blog here.

Seeing as all four players are very successful, and they’ll be playing for a “large amount of money,” according to Antonius, the stakes could get very high.

Antonius also talked about his challenge of Doyle Brunson that he made in CardPlayer magazine, and it appears they will be meeting in a heads-up match of some type in the future.

WPT show moves to GSN; collaborative Web site launched
The World Poker Tour has left the Travel Channel behind after five years with the network, and moved to GSN, announced WPT Enterprises public relations manager Lyndsay LaGree today. The 6th season premiere will be broadcast at 9 pm, Monday, Mar. 24th, bringing with it ��...full article

The World Poker Tour has left the Travel Channel behind after five years with the network, and moved to GSN, announced WPT Enterprises public relations manager Lyndsay LaGree today.

The 6th season premiere will be broadcast at 9 pm, Monday, Mar. 24th, bringing with it a new hostess in the form of Layla Kayleigh, an addition which can only spur the cause of women in poker.

The Web site WPT on GSN was launched this week to provide a “one-stop shop for everything poker fans would want in a website,” according to Jamie Roberts, Senior Vice President of Programming, GSN. “It provides exclusive content, features, information and much more about the new season of the WPT as it premieres on its new network home, GSN.”

Officials announce dates for WSOP Europe

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. announced today that the WSOPE will take place Sept. 19 to Oct. 1 this year. The schedule of events is still being finalized, but like those of the inaugural WSOPE in 2007, they will take place in London at Fifty, The Casino at the Empire and Sportsman locations.

"We look forward to again serving as hosts for this prestigious event," said Michael Silberling, London Clubs International COO. "A first class tournament at our first class properties promises to bring out the best poker players in the world."

David Yu, CEO of Betfair, the World Series of Poker Europe's primary sponsor, said last year's events produced a fantastic tournament that exceeded all expectations.

The inaugural WSOPE featured three events: £5,000 H.O.R.S.E., £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha and £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event.

The H.O.R.S.E. event was won by Thomas Bihl, from Germany, and Dario Alioto from Italy took down the Pot-Limit Omaha event.

However, it was the 19-year-old Norwegian Annette Obrestad who made the biggest impression in London as she won the Main Event. Not only did it make her the youngest WSOP bracelet winner, she was also the first female to win a £10,000 WSOP event.

"It was a clean sweep for the Europeans last year," said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. "There are many, many talented players in the European poker community and I think it caught some of the world's best known poker players by surprise. It's safe to say the pros haven't forgotten about last year and the young guns should expect a tougher fight in 2008."

According to Yu, online qualifiers for the 2008 WSOPE are already available at Betfair Poker.

For as little as $5+50¢, players at Betfair Poker can work their way up to the WSOPE Main Event satellites that will award two $23,000 prize packages that include the buy-in for the London Main Event as well as money for travel and accommodation.

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Shannon Elizabeth makes

The show, which brings 12 celebrities together for a dance competition, will air the first of its two-episode season premiere tonight. Among the stars chosen for this season is Shannon Elizabeth, actress turned poker player.

Elizabeth is most well-known for her role as the foreign exchange student in American Pie. Her other credits include Scary Movie, Love Actually, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and a recurring role on That '70s Show.

In recent years Elizabeth has switched gears and has been making a name for herself on the poker circuit as well. She has four World Series of Poker event cashes to her name now, plus she placed third in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

While her acting career and her poker career haven't exactly been illustrious, she may still be the most recognizable female celebrity on Dancing with the Stars this season, at least among the younger crowd.

The other female competitors are Marlee Matlin, Priscilla Presley, Monica Seles, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Kristi Yamaguchi.

Matlin and Winokur are the two other actresses in the mix. Matlin is an Oscar-winning actress for her role in Children of a Lesser God and has made appearances on several TV shows including West Wing, The L-Word, and Desperate Housewives.

Last season of Dancing with the Stars brought a new element to the show; Heather Mills learned to dance with a fake leg. This season, Matlin fills the role of a competitor overcoming an extra challenge in the competition because she's deaf.

Despite the obvious problem of trying to dance to a rhythm you can't hear, she will probably last longer than Winokur based on name recognition.

Winokur's claim to fame is creating the role of Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway musical Hairspray. Since then she has been in the Farrelly brothers' film Fever Pitch as well as in the TV series Stacked. Because her biggest work has been on Broadway, it's likely most people aren't going to know who she is by name or by face.

Priscilla Presley also has some acting on her resume with a starring role in Naked Gun plus appearances on Dallas, Touched by an Angel, Spin City and Melrose Place. She is best known, however, as Elvis Presley's widow.

Presley will have good name recognition, but it will be interesting to see if maybe she learned some of The King's moves to help keep her in the competition.

The final two women in the competition come from the sports realm. Seles was a Grand Slam tennis champion and used to be one of the top-ranked women in tennis. She's used to fancy footwork on the tennis court, but it's probably going to be a tougher transition from the court to the dance floor for her than it will be for Yamaguchi to go from her sport to the dance floor.

Yamaguchi is an Olympic gold medalist figure skater. Since winning the 1992 Olympic figure skating event she has been performing with the Stars on Ice tour, and has founded the children's charity Always Dream Foundation.

Two seasons ago, speed skater Apolo Anton Ono proved that Olympic skaters have what it takes to win a dance competition, and Yamaguchi has even more of an edge in the competition since her skating performances are to music and figure-skating choreography starts in the dance studio.

The men could prove to be Elizabeth's biggest competition though. Traditionally, men have fared better than the women on Dancing with the Stars. While the first season was won by Kelly Monaco, the subsequent four seasons were taken down by men - Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ono and Helio Castroneves.

This season's men include: Adam Carolla, Cristian de la Fuente, Steve Guttenberg, Mario, Penn Jillette and Jason Taylor.

Guttenberg and de la Fuente are the actors in the group. Guttenberg was made famous with movies such as Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, Short Circuit and Cocoon. He'll find a fan base among people who are big fans of '80s movies, but that may not be enough to keep him in the competition long.

De la Fuente has more recent acting credits on his resume. He began his acting career in his native Chile and gained fame in the United States with regular roles on Family Law and CSI: Miami. People Magazine also named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful," which could make him a favorite among the ladies watching.

He'll also have some stiff competition from Mario, an R&B/pop singer. He's easy on the eyes and has a musical background, which has worked for Dancing with the Stars men in the past such as Lachey and Joey Fatone.

A performer of a different sort, magician Penn Jillette will take the stage as well. Of the men, he seems the least likely to have the grace and skills necessary to keep him in the competition. Then again, there's also radio host Adam Carolla whose stints on shows like The Man Show and Loveline don't exactly presage success in such a feminine endeavor.

However, he may have more of a fan base than Jillette because of his work on MTV and with Jimmy Kimmel on The Man Show. It remains to be seen if he's popular enough to trump Elizabeth's fan base as well.

The final male competitor is Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor. He was this year's NFL Man of the Year winner as well as last year's NFL Defensive Player of the Year. His footwork on the field has earned him the NFL record for touchdowns by a defensive lineman, plus he's the Dolphin's all-time leader in quarterback sacks.

You can be sure Dolphins fans will be willing to grab the phone and dial in to vote for their player on Dancing with the Stars - that is if they happen to see he's on there while their wives are watching the show.

Stay tuned to PokerListings each week as we let you know if actress turned poker player Shannon Elizabeth can hold her own on the dance floor or if she gets the boot. The first update will be Wednesday after the competitors have all had their chance to perform tonight and on Tuesday.

All the celebrities will perform once again next March 24, and there will be a double elimination during the March 25 show. We'll let you know if Elizabeth survives to dance another day, and continue to do so until she's out or she wins.

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Patrik Antonius signs with poker agency

Poker Royalty announced last week that Patrik Antonius had signed on at the agency, which will provide him worldwide management and marketing representation in areas such as media, sponsorship, licensing, commercial endorsements and appearances.

Antonius, 27, hails from Finland and has become one of the breakout young players on the poker circuit. Not only can he be found playing the "Big Game" at the Bellagio against the likes of Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein and Jennifer Harman, he's also found success in tournament poker.

He has more than $2.6 million in the past few years, with 10 World Series of Poker cashes, six World Poker Tour cashes, and two European Poker Tour cashes in 2005 that include a win and another final-table finish.

"Patrik is one of those rare combinations of natural abilities, looks and raw talent that can transcend the game of poker," said Chris Porter, Poker Royalty director of sales and marketing. "Add Poker Royalty's resources and core business relationships and Patrik will be an even brighter star on the tour and off."

Antonius joins a roster of poker players at Poker Royalty that includes Josh Arieh, Johnny Chan, T.J. Cloutier, Antonio Esfandiari, Gus Hansen, Phil Hellmuth, Erick Lindgren, Carlos Mortensen, Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Evelyn Ng, Cyndy Violette and more.

"Poker Royalty works with some of the biggest names in poker, creating for them the kind of opportunities no other company can provide," Antonius said. "I am very excited about the new relationship with Poker Royalty."

Related Article: Bill Edler Signs with Poker Royalty

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Brunson vs. Antonius match in the works

In a recent magazine interview, Patrik Antonius issued a challenge to poker legend Doyle Brunson to play a heads-up match against each other. It appears Brunson is amenable.

In his blog Tuesday, Antonius said it seems like Brunson has accepted the challenge, and now his agent is working to get the match televised.

"I will try and talk to Doyle and iron out the details. No matter who wins, it will be an amazing experience playing Doyle, one of the great legends of all time, heads up for over a million dollars," Antonius wrote. "I am getting excited just thinking about it."

Brunson, who has his own online poker site at DoylesRoom.com, also brought up the challenge in his latest blog entry.

"It is amazing how things can be taken out of context," Brunson says in the blog. "I saw in Cardplayer Magazine where Patrik Antonius said that someone told him Doyle Brunson said he would swim a river to play Patrik. I don't remember exactly. I could have said I would swim a river to play the Internet stars in a real cash game. I certainly never used Patrik's name but he made a challenge to play me any game for any amount."

Brunson doesn't normally bite on heads-up challenges because even though he thinks he can play two-handed very well, it doesn't make sense when "you can get softer players in a full game."

#img:patrik-antonius_13548.jpg: left: Patrik Antonius#

Brunson said he also wouldn't have singled out Antonius to play heads-up on his own because he's a tough player. Antonius is one of the Internet pros who Brunson says would have thrived in the old days because he has the style, love of poker, instinct and game mentality it takes to compete in high-stakes games.

"I really like Patrik and I think he is a great player, but he cast the gauntlet and I'm prepared to do battle. So, I accept his challenge," Brunson says in his DoylesRoom.com blog.

However, Antonius may not know what he got himself into by saying he'll play Brunson any game for any amount.

"Ive got seven to ten different games, all of which I've played in Las Vegas casinos for high stakes, that I'm willing to commit to for at least a seven-figure match," Brunson writes. "There will be no animosity between us; we are both pros who love a good gamble. It will be interesting if he accepts, and I'm sure we will both have a great time playing."

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Ladbrokes introduces Six-Seat SNG Jackpot

During March, poker players can win an extra $20,000 cash by winning four to six consecutive games at the Ladbrokes Poker Six Seat Jackpot tables.

The competition is set up as follows:

Buy-in	Consecutive Wins Required
$5.75	6 wins
$11.50	5 wins
$23	4 wins

The first 10 players to achieve the consecutive run of wins required for the buy-in level they choose will be entered in a $20,000 single-table tournament freeroll. The freeroll is scheduled to play April 6.

The players wanting to compete must submit their claim to highhand@ladbrokespoker.com, providing tournament IDs and dates of their Six Seat Jackpot wins using the subject line "Sit and Go Jackpot Claim."

Players only have until March 31 to qualify. So far only three players have made it - Plymlegend, The_Fox_11 and Legal_eagle2.

If no one else qualifies by the end of the month, they will play for the $20,000 prize pool themselves.

The prize structure for the $20,000 Six Seat Jackpot freeroll will depend on the number of entrants, and all entrants will receive a payout.

If all 10 seats are filled, the prize money will pay out $6,000 for first down to $300 for 10th place.

Ladbrokes Poker has plenty more to offer its players as well. As an official satellite for the World Series of Poker, it has plenty of seats up for grabs for the 2008 Main Event.

PokerListings.com players also have exclusive access to some of those WSOP* seats. Players who sign up at Ladbrokes Poker through a PokerListings.com link are eligible for two freerolls Ladbrokes Poker is hosting to give away WSOP seats.

The first freeroll is taking place June 7 for PokerListings.com players who earn 1,000 player points between March 1 and May 31. The second freeroll is scheduled for June 14 for players who earn 2,000 player points between March 1 and May 31.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with PokerListings.com or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.

Related Articles:

• Ladbrokes Offers WSOP Seats to PL.com Players
• Ladbrokes Marches in with Rake Race
• Ladbrokes Approved as WSOP Satellite

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U.S., Costa Rica reach net gambling settlement

As compensation for not allowing online gambling companies based in Costa Rica access to U.S. customers, the United States has offered Costa Rica greater access to other service markets, including research and development, storage, technical testing and analysis.

This is similar to the settlements the United States has reached with Canada, Japan and the European Union in the matter.

Costa Rica's settlement took place after the country had filed for arbitration before the World Trade Organization, when it didn't look like the United States and Costa Rica would be able to find agreeable terms.

"The agreement has been satisfactory for the country," said Foreign Trade Minister Marco Ruiz in a written statement.

The United States has been under fire in the WTO for its online gambling laws since Antigua and Barbuda asked the organization to look into it a few years ago.

The WTO eventually ruled that the United States was in violation of trade regulations it had agreed to when it became a part of the WTO. Although countries are allowed to protect their residents from products and services they consider to be a threat, they have to do so in a fair, unilateral manner.

While the United States has argued that it does not allow online gambling because of the social ills that come with gambling, it does still allow states to provide lottery services online and horse race betting online is permitted.

Because of the WTO ruling, Antigua and Barbuda was able to ask for damages in the case until the United States brings its laws in line with the WTO trade regulations.

Rather than changing its laws, the United States has chosen to alter its agreement with the WTO to exclude online gambling. By doing so, it opened itself up to compensation claims from any country where online gambling companies are headquartered.

Related Articles:

• Rep Wants Net Gambling Settlement Details
• EU Investigating Online Gambling Restrictions
• New Hope for U.S. Net Gambling Regulations
• Trouble Ahead for U.S.-EU WTO Deal?

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