Friday, April 4, 2008

Poker News - #368 – NBC Heads-Up Championship #18 – Chris Ferguson Has Eliminated Phil Ivey to Make the Finals of the Championship for the Third Time in Four Years

#368 – NBC Heads-Up Championship #18 – Chris Ferguson Has Eliminated Phil Ivey to Make the Finals of the Championship for the Third Time in Four Years
Chris Ferguson eliminates Phil Ivey to win his way into the finals. On a board of 9-4-3-5, Chris bets 100,000. Ivey moves all-in. Chris thinks about it for 4 minutes. He’s shaking his head almost imperceptibly. He doesn’t look happy....

iMEGA to challenge dismissal of lawsuit against UIGEA
The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association filed notice that it plans to challenge the dismissal of its lawsuit against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the United States. iMEGA has said that the UIGEA infringes upon basic constitutional rights and that criminalization of ��...full article

imega_logo3.jpgThe Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association filed notice that it plans to challenge the dismissal of its lawsuit against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the United States.

iMEGA has said that the UIGEA infringes upon basic constitutional rights and that criminalization of financial transactions can be illegal in some instances.

According to pokerpages.com:

Earlier this month, though Judge Mary L. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed the overall case, she countered a major government challenge to iMEGA’s suit by ruling that iMEGA did indeed have “legal standing” to pursue challenging UIGEA further, which was a strategic victory (click here for related article).

Commenting on important elements within the ruling, Eric M. Bernstein, Esq., attorney for iMEGA noted that “Judge Cooper’s ruling holds that, even with the passage of UIGEA, online gambling is only illegal in states where a statute specifically says it is.” Joe Brennan Jr., the chairman of iMEGA noted another significant aspect of the ruling, saying, “Judge Cooper found that banks, credit card companies and other payment system instruments are exempt from criminal sanctions under UIGEA, significantly undercutting UIGEA’s enforcement mechanism. Her ruling echoes the growing consensus of opinion that UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed statute.”

Whole thing here.

iMEGA’s recent filing is only the first step in the appeals process for its case against the UIGEA.



#359 – NBC Heads-Up Championship #10 – Spades Wrap-Up
We’re less than an hour from starting the second round (a/k/a “round of 32”) and I still want to post a preview of the coming matches, so let me summarize very briefly how the Spades bracket sorted itself out last...

Hansen takes on ladies on

Four-time World Poker Tour title winner Gus Hansen will have his hands full at the Poker After Dark tables this week as he takes on five of poker's most prominent female players.

With more than $5 million in tournament winnings, and six previous appearances on the show, including one win, Hansen may prove to be a tough opponent for the women lined up against him this week.

However, these aren't ladies who will be easy to steamroll at the table, either. Clonie Gowen has made three appearances on Poker After Dark as well, winning twice and finishing in fourth place just behind Gus Hansen in a February 2007 session of the show.

Vanessa Rousso has also made a couple of appearances on the show as well. Plus she has nearly $800,000 in tournament winnings, much of which has come from World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour cashes.

The remaining three ladies heading to the table are new to Poker After Dark, but they all have fairly impressive poker pedigrees.

Erica Schoenberg switched from professional blackjack to Texas Hold'em in 2005. Since then she's racked up nearly $600,000 in tournament winnings. That includes cashes in three WPT and three WSOP events.

Beth Shak also hasn't been playing that long, though she has the advantage of also being married to professional player Dan Shak. She has two WSOP final-table appearances on her resume and not quite $400,000 in tournament winnings to her name.

Perhaps one of the more formidable ladies at the table will be JJ Liu. Not only has she cashed in more than 40 major tournaments around the world, including several WSOP and WPT events, she also became the highest-placing female in a WPT event in 2007 with her second-place finish at the Bay 101 Shooting Star event.

Her tournament career has added up to more than $1.6 million in winnings, putting her the closest to matching Hansen's accomplishments.

The question is will Hansen have what it takes to conquer the ladies at the poker table, or will he find that his status as one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people in 2004 means nothing when it comes to female pros gunning for a $120,000 prize?

Play begins tonight on NBC and will continue with episodes all week long and a recap on Saturday night. Check your local listings for times.

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