Poker News - Online poker bill in California clears hurdle

Online poker bill in California clears hurdle
A California bill designed to fund a study on online poker within the state got through a key committee on its way to a potential vote by the legislature. California Bill AB 2026 received unanimous approval by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee (AGOC), according to a ��...full article

A California bill designed to fund a study on online poker within the state got through a key committee on its way to a potential vote by the legislature.

California Bill AB 2026 received unanimous approval by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee (AGOC), according to a story at pokerpages.com:

The Bill, titled “The Gambling Control / California Intrastate Online Poker Act”, was introduced Feb 15, 2008 by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys), Chairman of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.

According to Capitol Weekly, the newspaper of California government and politics, Bill AB 2026 directs the California State Gambling Control Commission, in conjunction with the state Department of Justice, to perform a study regarding authorization of Internet poker for California residents, in accordance with the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), which stipulates that individual states have the right to legalize and regulate intrastate online gambling.

Whole thing here.

The study, if approved, could pave the way for a future bill that would legalize online poker in the state as soon as next year.

Exclusive Pacific Poker Tournament
PTP and RNB were approached by Pacific Poker with the opportunity to run a private tournament this Sunday at 2pm eastern with an absolutely insane value. Pacific does not accept US players. Here are the details:

PTP and RNB were approached by Pacific Poker with the opportunity to run a private tournament this Sunday at 2pm eastern with an absolutely insane value. Pacific does not accept US players. Here are the details:

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PokerStars.net offering free seats to the WSOP

"There's nothing better than going to the World Series and playing for the biggest prize pool on earth, except getting there for free," said Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem.

Players will have the chance to qualify from April 13 to June 27 with $1 million in WSOP prize packages up for grabs. The winning package includes:

• $10,000 buy-in to the 2008 WSOP Main Event
• Hotel accommodation at the Palms
• $2,500 for expenses

All players have to do is download PokerStars free software and register an account. The Million Dollar Giveaway Round 1 freerolls run every hour and are accessible in the PokerStars lobby.

Those finishing in the top 50 of the round 1 freerolls will win a ticket to the Million Dollar Giveaway Weekly Final.

The weekly final tournaments are held on Saturdays from April 19 until June 28 at 7:31 ET, 13:30 ET and 20:00 ET. The early event offers one seat while the later two award three seats.

PokerStars qualifiers who make it to the final table of the WSOP Main Event will automatically win a cash bonus, including an extra $1 million if they win the Main Event. Second-place winners will get a $400,000 bonus and third place earns a $300,000 bonus. Finish in fourth-fifth or sixth-ninth place and get $200,000 or $100,000 respectively.

PokerStars.com is the world's biggest poker site and is home to former world champions Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Hachem. Moneymaker and Raymer both qualified for their Main Event seats on PokerStars. To date 659 players have qualified to go to the WSOP on PokerStars.

The site's software is also considered some of the best in the business. To check out PokerListings' review of the site, just follow any of the highlighted links to the room.

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Forum chatter reports Hawbaker death

The first news of her death was posted at NeverWinPoker, where Bryan Micon wrote on Thursday:

"It is with great sadness that I write this story. Brandi Hawbaker to some, Naami Dea to others, took her own life on Sunday. This news has been confirmed through Brandon and Brandi's family.

"Brandon, Brandi's family, and friends have asked the poker world to respect their privacy while they grieve. When the time is right we will have Brandon's statement on NWP. This truly is a tragedy, as the whole poker world loved to watch this eccentric young lady on and off the felt. Brandi will be missed and I hope she has found some peace."

Since that posting, poker forums across the Web have been talking about the news and speculating on whether it is just a hoax.

The 26-year-old Hawbaker rose to attention in the poker world not so much for her poker skills but instead because of her eccentricities at the poker felt, as well as due to the scandals she's been a part of in the poker community.

All a person has to do is troll the 2+2 forums to see the impact she's had on the poker community - good or bad - and the many ways she's found to keep herself in the spotlight.

The person who broke the news, Micon, was one of Hawbaker's biggest nemeses, often raking her through the coals with his stories on NWP and YouTube videos.

"She did some bad stuff, we all watched. She did some crazy stuff, we all watched. She died, we all watch... She is our Marylin Monroe," Micon wrote.

Her flamboyant reputation may have been what kept her in the public eye, but Hawbaker did have moderate success in the game as well. In October 2006, the poker community first took notice of her when she cashed in a Festa al Lago V event at the Bellagio and went on to also cash in 35th place in the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago V main event.

Her most recent success was at the 2007 World Series of Poker where she cashed in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.

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Golser thrills railbirds; re-buys for $1 million

But it certainly does get the railbirds all jacked up.

Such was the case yesterday when, after dropping 10 consecutive $20k buy-ins in a session with another of the world's best Limit players, Matt "Hoss_TBF" Hawrilenko, Austrian poker pro Markus Golser soiled some railbird shorts - and possibly Hawrilenko's - with a $1 million re-buy.

A pre-emptive strike on the "Golser is busto" thread? A pure showtime move for the rail? A statement to Hawrilenko about his bottomless bankroll?

We'll never know for sure. What we do know however is that he still ended the session $200k+ in the hole - although it seemed not to be much of a sweat for him, as he was more than a gracious loser in the chat with Hawrilenko after.

His only suggestion? Hawrilenko buy him a few drinks at this year's WSOP in Vegas.

Ironically, the biggest pot of the session as tracked by the PokerListings.com MarketPulse section went to Golser, shortly after his million-dollar buy-in.

The details:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6053776422 TABLE : Mirasol (six-max) $1,000/$2,000 - Limit Hold'em - Wed Apr 16 2008 - 1:45am (ET)

Table Setup

Seat 3: Hoss_TBF ($246,216.50)
Seat 6: Markus Golser ($996,494.50)
Hoss_TBF posts the small blind of $500
Markus Golser posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #3

Pre-flop

Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
Markus Golser calls $1,000

Flop: #Kd-#3d-#Qh

Markus Golser bets $1,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $2,000
Markus Golser raises to $3,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $4,000
Markus Golser calls $1,000

Turn: #Kd-#3d-#Qh-#Ks

Markus Golser bets $2,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $4,000
Markus Golser raises to $6,000
Hoss_TBF raises to $8,000
Markus Golser calls $2,000

River: #Kd-#3d-#Qh-#Ks-#8d

Markus Golser checks
Hoss_TBF bets $2,000
Markus Golser raises to $4,000
Hoss_TBF calls $2,000

Showdown:

Markus Golser shows #Kh-#Qc for a full house, kings full of queens
Hoss_TBF mucks
Markus Golser wins the pot ($35,999.50) with a full house, kings full of queens

Summary:

Total pot $36,000 | Rake $0.50
Board: #Kd-#3d-#Qh-#Ks-#8d
Seat 3: Hoss_TBF (small blind) mucked
Seat 6: Markus Golser (big blind) collected ($35,999.50)

For more big hands from their session, and more of the top 100 biggest pots won online over the last day, week, month and year, jump to the MarketPulse section.

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PokerStars Launches PokerStars.tv
PokerStars has launched a new video site dedicated to "offering live webcasts of major events and a unique collection of high quality poker footage." The site, currently in the beta-testing phase, is located at pokerstars.tv and includes...

WPT reverses decision to take percentage of prize pool for charity
The World Poker decided yesterday not to donate a percentage of the prize pool for its 2008 Ladies Championship to charity after top women’s players said they wouldn’t play in the event because of the policy. Two-time champion Susie Isaacs led a group of players who ��...full article

The World Poker decided yesterday not to donate a percentage of the prize pool for its 2008 Ladies Championship to charity after top women’s players said they wouldn’t play in the event because of the policy.

Two-time champion Susie Isaacs led a group of players who said they wouldn’t play in event because 15% of the prize pool would be given to event partner Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

According to a story at pokerpages.com:

World Poker Association Chairman, Wendeen H. Eolis explains, “The furor has centered on the WPT’s insensitivity to the varying financial means of ‘working players’ and more broadly on the decision to compel a charitable donation in an event labeled as a championship.” The WPT has never exacted such a pledge in any previous championship event. Eolis called upon the WPT to “reverse this mistake” for the future.

Today, Lyle Berman, Chairman of the Board of World Poker Tour Enterprises told Eolis, “The WPT has re-evaluated its decision to make a charitable donation a condition for participation in the WPT Ladies Championship.” He added, “In the future there will be no such requirement in a WPT championship event.”

Whole thing here.

The group of women threatening the boycott have said they don’t have a problem with donations being made to charity, as long as the decisions were made by each player and were voluntary.

World Poker Tour officials said they thought the decision to link the event to charity would increase its visibility and draw more interested.

2007 WSOP Europe Broadcast Schedule Announced
World Series of Poker Europe title sponsor Betfair has announced its upcoming schedule of 2007 WSOP-E broadcasts, anchored on the United Kingdom's Sky Sports channel and scheduled to air across much of Europe. Betfair's sponsorship...

WSOP Champions: Where are they now, Part 4

The third installment featured Amarillo Slim Preston, Doyle Brunson and Bobby Baldwin, showing off some of the game's biggest characters and biggest legends. This week we showcase another bumper crop of WSOP champions, with the likes of Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston and Johnny Chan.

Tom McEvoy (1983)

Tom McEvoy has been one of the most stable, solid players on the tournament circuit since he took up poker full time in 1978.

McEvoy worked as an accountant before he got into poker so obviously he never had any trouble with the math behind the game.

McEvoy burst onto the poker scene in 1982 by winning the $1,000 Hold'em event of Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker. He took down $57,600 for his efforts, but the best was yet to come.

In 1983 McEvoy won the $1,000 Limit Hold'em event of the WSOP and grabbed his first bracelet. With momentum on his side, McEvoy registered for the Main Event and went on to outlast 107 opponents and win the biggest game in town. McEvoy won $540,000 and a piece of poker immortality.

Since then McEvoy has added two more WSOP bracelets to his resume ($1,000 Razz in 1986 and $1,500 Limit Omaha in 1992) in addition to cashing in numerous WSOP events. In 2005 he won the Bay 101 Shooting Stars of Poker in San Jose when it was still a part of the Professional Poker Tour, which has since collapsed.

McEvoy has always been opposed to smoking and in 1998 he helped organize the first tournament where smoking was not allowed. Since then most major poker tournaments have banned smoking at the tables.

McEvoy also authored or coauthored over a dozen books on poker and remains a pillar of knowledge on the game.

These days McEvoy lives in Las Vegas and is still active on the circuit, as well as working as an ambassador for the game as a member of Team PokerStars. McEvoy also blogs on occasion for PokerListings.com and you can read his articles here.

Berry Johnston (1986)

Berry Johnston is a poker veteran in nearly every way possible. His first WSOP bracelet came in 1983 (the same year McEvoy won the Main Event) and he added a bracelet of the Main Event variety in 1986.

Time has not slowed Johnston down, as his WSOP wins are spread over many years. He won his third WSOP bracelet in 1990 in the $2,500 Limit Hold'em, his fourth in the 1995 $1,500 Limit Omaha event and finally his fifth in the 2001 $1,500 Razz event.

Johnston has gone onto accumulate a total of over 26 final tables in the WSOP and 52 money finishes. The record Johnston is most well-known for, however, is cashing in the Main Event a total of 10 times, which is more than any other player.

Away from the tables Johnston is known as a devoted family man who is a gentleman at all times.

In 2004 Johnston was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, where he joined some of the game's most colorful and successful players.

Johnston is still a regular on the poker tour and is also a pro with Full Tilt Poker. Johnston can be found on the site playing as "Berry Johnston."

Most recently Johnston went deep in the 2007 Main Event and managed to finish 113th for $58,570.

Johnny Chan (1987, 1988)

Johnny "The Orient Express" Chan is one of the most recognizable players in the poker industry, and if his astounding accomplishments in the poker world weren't enough, he also had a cameo in the poker flick Rounders.

When it comes to sheer number of bracelets accumulated there are three players who rise above the rest - Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan. Chan and Brunson both have 10 while Hellmuth pulled ahead with his 11th bracelet in 2007.

Although Chan has been making money in the poker world for years, it was the 1987, 1988 and 1989 WSOP Main Events that turned The Orient Express into a household name.

Incredibly Chan won both the '87 and '88 Main Events and if it wasn't for Hellmuth he would have won the '89 one as well. The fields are so large in the modern Main Event it's unlikely that anyone will ever win consecutive titles again, let alone three in a row.

Since his stunning back-to-back Main Event victories, Chan has been immersed in the poker world. He continued to meet with success at the World Championship and returned to the final table in the 1992 Main Event in which he finished seventh.

After 1988 Chan would go on to win seven more bracelets, the most recent coming at the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em in 2005. It was during that year that Chan became the first player to win 10 bracelets, although Brunson would quickly catch him in 2006 and Hellmuth would eclipse that record in 2007.

Chan is still very active on the poker circuit and is invited to poker TV shows like High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark and the NBC National Heads-up Poker Challenge on a regular basis. Chan has the unique distinction of having the most victories at Poker After Dark.

As of 2008 Chan's live tournament winnings exceed $6.5 million. He lives in Las Vegas, has six children and is a consultant for various casinos and game makers. In 2007 Chan launched his own online poker room at Chanpoker.com.

Chan was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002 and continues to be a force in the poker world.

***************

Stay with us next week as we bring you three more WSOP champions and take a closer look at what they've been up to since they won the big dance.

Related Articles:

• WSOP Champions: Where Are They Now, Part 3
• WSOP Champions: Where Are They Now, Part 2
• WSOP Champions: Where Are They Now, Part 1

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Barry Greenstein shines at Stars of Poker

The event, which was organized by PokerStars at the EPT4 Grand Final, featured a number of Team PokerStars pros including Daniel Negreanu, Katja Thater, Dario Minieri, John Duthie, Vicky Coren, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Noah Boeken, Barry Greenstein and one PokerStars Supernova Elite Joe "bigjoe2003" Michael, who won a Supernova Elite satellite into the event.

The event, which was by invitation only, took place over the course of seven hours and with $100,000 in prize money up for grabs, no one wanted to go out first. That dubious honor would surprisingly go to "Kid Poker" Negreanu. The Canadian pro was knocked out by EPT creator John Duthie in one of those set-over-set debacles you always hear about.

Negreanu quickly had some company on the rail in the form of Noeh Boeken and Dario Minieri, who finished eighth and seventh respectively.

Coren finished sixth but got one heck of a bad beat story out of the experience. Coren went out when she got A-K against A-K and her opponent hit a flush.

Michael did well to survive that long against the sheer number of talented poker pros but eventually went out fifth when he ran JJ into AA.

French pro Grospellier didn't last much longer than Michael and ended up going out in fourth when his A-K failed him against A-J. ElkY was the unfortunate bubble boy and all three remaining players were in the money.

It was clear that Katja Thater was gunning for first place but after a long, hard-fought battle she eventually went out on a blind steal that went awry. She earned $20,000 as a consolation prize for finishing third.

The heads-up battle saw Duthie and Greenstein feeling each other out for the first bit but eventually Greenstein managed a pivotal double-up. In the final hand Duthie got all-in with #9h-#8h versus Greenstein's #As-#Ks. The big slick prevailed and Duthie had to settle for third and $30,000.

Meanwhile Greenstein took home a stunning $50,000 for seven hours of work. It's very likely Greenstein's been killing the cash games lately but his last big score came in October at the WPT North American Championships, where he won $316,638 for coming in fourth.

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