Spitzer made a name for himself in New York fighting organized crime rings, like the prostitution ring he is accused of soliciting, while working in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
For eight years before becoming the governor, Spitzer was attorney general for the state of New York. While in office he won national recognition for landmark cases protecting investors, consumers, the environment and more. He took up civil actions and criminal prosecutions relating to corporate white-collar crime, securities fraud, Internet fraud and more.
Through his work as attorney general, Spitzer also became a very vocal opponent of online gambling. In 2002, Spitzer threatened banks involved with online gambling transactions with prosecution.
One result was that Citibank, one of the United States' leading credit card issuers, made an agreement with the attorney general's office to no longer process transactions with online casinos and other Internet gambling operations.
"Americans now waste $4 billion a year on this pernicious form of gambling," Spitzer said in a press release after the deal was made. "With this agreement, we will cut off an unlimited line of credit that was a jackpot for illegal offshore casinos."
Other law enforcement actions in the past had been directed at the online gambling entities. Spitzer's action was the first to target financial entities that process gambling transactions.
Noting that it is often difficult to prosecute online gambling companies operating in violation of New York and U.S. law, Spitzer said in the press release it's essential that financial entities such as banks and credit card companies do everything in their power to avoid facilitating "these illegal and harmful transactions."
In 2006, Spitzer ran for governor of New York based on a reform platform, promising to "change the ethic of Albany."
After winning the election, Governor Spitzer said in his inaugural address, "Every policy, every action and every decision we make in this administration will further two overarching objectives: We must transform our government so that it is as ethical and wise as all of New York, and we must rebuild our economy so that it is ready to compete on the global stage in the next century."
Spitzer's ethical house of cards came crashing down around him this week, however, when The New York Times reported he has patronized a high-class prostitution service called Emperors Club VIP, based in New Jersey, and that he met for more than two hours with a $1,000-an-hour call girl at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C.
The governor's liaisons with prostitutes were discovered after an investigation was initiated into his monetary affairs when his bank reported suspicious transactions to the IRS as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.
According to Newsday, Spitzer split up more than $10,000 he wanted to transfer to an organization that turned out to be a front for the prostitution ring. Federal law requires the reporting of any transfer of $10,000 or more, so Spitzer split up the transfers.
He then tried to have his name taken off the wire transfers, which the bank refused to do, contending it would be improper and that the wires were already out anyway.
The bank reported the transactions as potentially suspicious activity, and the IRS launched an investigation, initially believing they would find that Spitzer was the victim of extortion or perhaps find an imposter.
The case was later handed to the FBI for it to investigate possible political corruption, but FBI investigators linked the money transfers to the prostitution ring instead. Federal prosecutors charged four people operating the Emperors Club VIP last week, before the announcement of Spitzer's involvement.
When his involvement in the prostitution ring first came to light, Spitzer made a public apology for his conduct without ever mentioning the specifics of the scandal or giving any indication that he would resign.
Since then, officials across the state of New York have been calling for the governor to resign or be impeached because of his actions. As a result, Spitzer announced his resignation today, effective Monday (March 17), to give the lieutenant governor time to make a smooth transition.
"Over the course of my public life, I have insisted, I believe correctly, that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself," said Spitzer. "For this reason, I am resigning from the Office of Governor."
His resignation doesn't put a stop to the controversy. There is still the possibility that Spitzer could face criminal charges for his actions, and he could also face disbarment.
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WPT Shooting Star returns players to spotlight
The tournament, a $10,000 buy-in event, has been on the WPT schedule since the second year of the organization's existence. While it has generated huge prize pools for the victors in the past, the unique feature of this tournament is the bounties that are placed on 50 of the top names in the game.
Each bounty player has a $5,000 bounty placed on them (the figure dates from the buy-in in the early years of the event). The money, along with a commemorative T-shirt that immortalizes the victory, is awarded to the player who eliminates a given bounty-holder from the tournament.
By the looks of the names on the bounty list this year, it could be a daunting task to knock one of them out.
On Day 1a of the tournament, none other than World Champion Jerry Yang is expected to be on hand with a bounty on his head. As if that wasn't enough, players such as Todd Brunson, Hoyt Corkins, Kristy Gazes, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, current PokerListings Player of the Year leader Men "The Master" Nguyen, Vanessa Rousso, Erik Seidel and WPT champion Roy Winston are also on the bounty list.
Players bellying up to the felt on Day 1b will find the likes of the legendary T.J. Cloutier, Allen Cunningham, defending Shooting Star champion Ted Forrest, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman and Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, and former world champions Phil Hellmuth, Dan Harrington, Tom McEvoy and Joseph Hachem on the bounty list. For the full bounty list visit Bay101.com.
While the bounty carriers will be on hand representing the pros, players can also expect to see some non-bountied pros taking their shot at the top prize in the tournament and making sure that next year they won't be overlooked for the bounty list.
For a bounty tournament, professionals have done rather well in this event. Tiltboy Phil Gordon was the first champion of the tournament back in 2004, defeating the reigning world champion, Chris Moneymaker.
Newcomer Danny Nguyen captured a $1 million prize the next year with Gus Hansen and Men Nguyen at the final table. Professional Nam Le was the victor in 2006 with David Williams and Chad Brown at the final table and Forrest outlasted Joanne "JJ" Liu last year.
The playing field for the event is capped at 500. If it meets that number, the top prize in the event is expected to pay out an estimated $1,200,450 and a seat at April's WPT Championship to the winner.
PokerListings.com's reporting team will be there for every turn of the card and details on the shot-down bounties, so be sure to tune in to the Live Tournaments section today for all the action at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star.
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Harman, Full Tilt team up to help animals
Jennifer Harman will host the "Animal Lovers" charity poker tournament on Full Tilt Poker Sunday, March 16. The tournament will have a $5+$5 buy-in with 50% of all revenue benefiting the Nevada SPCA. The remaining money will go to the prize pool of the event.
The Nevada SPCA is a non-profit organization that operates a no-kill animal sanctuary in Las Vegas. The organization also promotes humane education, makes referrals for lower-cost spay/neuter and vaccination services and challenges pet owners to be the best possible guardians for the animals in their care.
Harman, a member of Team Full Tilt, has been a Nevada SPCA friend and supporter for several years. Not only do she and her husband Marco Traniello actively look for homes for dozens of animals each year, last year she hosted the First Annual Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament in Las Vegas, which raised more than $130,000 for the organization.
The funds allowed the animal shelter to expand its facilities and services, protecting hundreds more animals.
"We're making a difference," Harman said. "The people at the Nevada SPCA are amazing. They have so much heart. Every penny counts, and these fundraisers really work."
According to a press release, the Nevada SPCA animal sanctuary is in need of immediate funding and Harman is encouraging everyone to join her in the Animal Lovers fundraising efforts.
Several Full Tilt Poker pros have already pledged to lend their support on Sunday. Howard Lederer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Clonie Gowen, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, Kristy Gazes and more will take part in the tournament.
There is plenty of support coming from outside the poker world as well. Professional snowboarder and world half-pipe champion Jeff Brushie (SMAKEbreak) and pro snowboarder Kris Swierz (WheatSApuff) will be playing.
Olympic medalist and two-time X Games champion Ross Powers, X Games gold medalist and five-time wakeboard world Champion Parks Bonifay (pbpbpb), X Games and Gravity Games wakeboard medalist Shane Bonifay (jeanyes407), four-time X Games wakeboard gold medalist Danny Harf (d9bigtime) and professional motocross champ Jimmy Button (BTNFLY) will lend their support at the tables as well.
Poker players interested in playing in the tournament will need to create an account at Full Tilt Poker if they don't already have one, and then register for the Animal Lovers tournament.
The online poker tournament isn't the only way people can show their support for the Nevada SPCA. Donations can also be made to the organization at NevadaSPCA.org.
Related Articles:
- Jennifer Harman Raises $125k for Nevada SPCA
- Rock Stars, Pros in Harman's Charity Event
- Harman to Host Charity Tournament for SPCA
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Full Tilt adds Team Cardrunners to its team
Team CardRunners and Full Tilt Poker have joined forces, with Cardrunners signing a deal with the online poker site to have its players play exclusively at FTP. Team CardRunners consists of Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins, Brain “sbrugby” Townsend, Brian “Stinger885″ Hastings, Eric “p3achy_keen” ��...full article
Team CardRunners and Full Tilt Poker have joined forces, with Cardrunners signing a deal with the online poker site to have its players play exclusively at FTP.
Team CardRunners consists of Taylor “Green Plastic” Caby, Andrew “muddywater” Wiggins, Brain “sbrugby” Townsend, Brian “Stinger885″ Hastings, Eric “p3achy_keen” Liu, Mike “Schneids” Schneider, and Cole “cts” South. Cardrunners.com, a poker education site, cThose players offer tiTeam CardRunners offers online video lessons, and lessons and advice via hand histories, chats, and blog posts on www.CardRunners.com.
According to a release on their Web site:
Because they are all strong believers in practicing what they preach, the members of Team CardRunners can regularly be found playing in high-stakes ring games and tournaments on www.FullTiltPoker.com. As the newest additions to the Full Tilt Poker pro roster, Team CardRunners join more than 100 other elite pros in representing the world’s second-largest poker room both online and at live events around the world.
“Poker and education go hand in hand,” said Team Full Tilt member Howard Lederer. “I’m thrilled that one of the most innovative poker education sites has joined the team.”
“The biggest names in poker all play at Full Tilt, so it was a natural alignment,” said Taylor Caby, co-founder of CardRunners.com. “I am excited to showcase the CardRunners strategies, secrets, and work ethic in front of Full Tilt’s highly ambitious, extremely loyal player base.”
Here’s a story on www.poker-king.com.
Live the Dream finalists to face judges
The international panel of judges chosen by Everest Poker is made up of Thomas Kremser, Alberto Russo and Bruno Fitoussi.
Kremser, from Vienna, Austria, is considered to be one of the most respected faces in European poker. Not only does he have more than $80,000 in tournament winnings, he oversaw the last two Everest poker European Championships and is a regular European Poker tour tournament director.
Russo, 31, is considered one of the founders of the Texas Hold'em movement in Italy. He was editor of the first Italian poker portal and recently switched from written poker reporting to TV, where he is a regular on EPT Live.
Fitoussi is the poker star among the judges. At age 49, the Frenchman already has nearly $2 million in tournament winnings. His poker accomplishments include defeating Amarillo Slim to win the World Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2001 as well as coming second in the 2007 World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E. event.
Everest Poker staff members will also make up part of the jury, and will constantly monitor every aspect of the players' behavior.
The judging of the 200 qualifiers will take place in Palais Auersperg, Vienna, March 29-30. From that group, the top 10 players will be chosen to represent Everest Poker for the next year.
The Live the Dream prize package each player will receive is worth $100,000 and includes:
- European Poker Tour Season 4 Grand Final seat ($13,000 buy-in)
- World Series of Poker Main Event ($10,000 buy-in)
- Two World Series of Poker side events (two $2,500 buy-ins)
- Two World Poker Tour Season 7 events (two $15,000 buy-ins)
- Two European Poker Tour Season 5 events (two $10,500 buy-ins)
- $21,000 in cash for expenses
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‘60 Minutes’ may do Absolute Poker scandal story
Nat Arem, one of the people who investigated and uncovered the Absolute Poker superuser scandal, wrote on his blog that “60 Minutes” may be doing a story on online poker and AP. While the story is far from a sure thing, Arem believes the show is ��...full article
Nat Arem, one of the people who investigated and uncovered the Absolute Poker superuser scandal, wrote on his blog that “60 Minutes” may be doing a story on online poker and AP.
While the story is far from a sure thing, Arem believes the show is in the middle of working on it, and he thinks it may have a negative tilt/impact on online poker.
East vs. West: Round two in Vienna
The East vs. West Team Cup II is a €60,000 freeroll "bonus" for the 60 players who qualified for the PartyPoker European Challenge main event online.
Each team of online qualifiers will get help from a handful of well-known professionals. Among the professional players set to take part in the brawl are Ciaran O'Leary, Roland de Wolfe, Kirill Gerasimov and Alexander Kravchenko.
David Ulliott's lifetime tournament winnings have almost reached $4 million. His reputation and feared table image are not only a result of his lengthy list of tournament cashes, but also of his having spent over two years in prison for safecracking, armed robbery and public fighting convictions.
Having won seven major tournaments, and finished on the final table of countless others, Team West will be a fearful opponent for Tony G's team of East Siders.
#img: antanas-tony-g-guoga_1704.jpg: right: Antanas "Tony G" Guoga.#
Tony G has one major tournament win. With multiple cashes and final-table appearances, his current winnings are just under $1.5 million. Team East being the underdog of this title fight, they will benefit from the hyper-aggressive style of Tony G, which perfectly suits him to go toe-to-toe with the Devilfish.
The format for the Team Cup II is unlike standard tournaments, in that the final table of 10 will share €37,500, while the winning team will get €22,500 split among themselves. With Bookmaker PartyBets.com rating Team West favorites to retain the Cup at 4-5, it proves to be a tight match.
The main event of the Party Poker European Challenge starts March 11 with a €3,000+€150 buy-in. Europe's top professionals will try to take back the title after an online qualifier named Branimir Brunovic took home a first prize of €190,160 in 2007.
With the number of high-quality players to be present at the event, there should be no shortage of side action to be found, making Vienna's Concord Casino the place to be playing cards in March.
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1 comment:
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