French regulator concerned over poker performance

January 18, 2013

Amid recent reports and rumours that several key international online poker operators are intent on pulling out of France and Spain due to high taxation and low player liquidity in dedicated player pools, the head of French regulator ARJEL has acknowledged that he is concerned at the 5 percent drop in online poker cash game […]

New Windows 8 poker game from Microsoft

January 17, 2013

The gaming publication Softpedia reports that Microsoft is to launch a new poker game on the Windows 8 platform, offering Xbox Live support to play with real competitors online. World Series of Poker: Full House Pro will be distributed via the Windows Store and will be available in the northern hemisphere spring at no cost […]

Massive Hansen cooler on Full Tilt high stakes tables

January 17, 2013

Just when top poker ace Gus ‘The Great Dane’ Hansen thought his (mis)fortunes were turning around on the Full Tilt Poker nosebleed tables he hit a massive cooler Tuesday, ending a 2,700 hand session down almost a million dollars. Hansen’s main tormentor was Alex “Alexonmoon” Luneau, who just could not go wrong, to the Danish […]

New COO for online poker group

January 17, 2013

The Isle of Man-based Rational Group, parent to online poker giant Pokerstars, has appointed a former Playtech exec to the position of chief operating officer, reporting directly to chief exec Mark Scheinburg on all issues concerning customer-facing product and back-office functions for Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker. Rafi Ashkenazi was until November last year COO […]

Heartwarming charitable gesture by poker player

January 16, 2013

Kudos to Greg Jansen, a keen poker player with a big heart who has donated his $286,000 in winnings from a fifth placing at the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller tournament to the families of victims of the Newtown school massacre in the United States. Jansen, who in professional life is a high-flying executive […]

Pokerstars files for permission to buy US land casino

January 16, 2013

A US subsidiary of Rational Group, the parent company behind Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker, has applied to New Jersey gambling regulators for permission to buy the struggling Atlantic Club land casino in Atlantic City. The application makes no mention of the consideration to be paid, although it expresses a willingness and capability to finance […]

French victory at WPT Paris

January 16, 2013

The Euro 1,500 buy-in main event at the World Poker Tour Paris fell to French online and live tourney poker pro Laurent Polito after four brisk days of action last weekend. Polito survived a field of 229 and a final table that comprised Stéphane Benadiba, Omar Lakhdari, Antoine Saout, Paul Fayngersh, Yossi Iffergan, Florent Estegassy […]

Schedule released for WSOP’s Asian debut

January 16, 2013

The World Series of Poker progressed its geographic expansion agenda this week, announcing its official schedule for the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific. Taking place at Melbourne, Australia’s Crown Casino, the tournament will consist of five bracelet events and runs from April 4 to 15 this year. Supporting satellites will kick off soon, and […]

Big week for online poker traffic

January 15, 2013

Almost all the online poker operators reported noticeable improvements in their traffic last week, with a surge of 6 percent overall flagged by the independent online poker monitor Pokerscout as the start of the busy season. PokerStars, PartyPoker, 888 and Microgaming Poker Network all booked weekly gains of 5 percent or more, with most of […]

Partypoker rings the changes on VIP award

January 15, 2013

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment subsidiary Party Poker has announced some significant changes to VIP programs commencing April 1st 2013. Palladium Elite, the ultimate tier in the program, is to be dropped, as are all bonuses that generate an effective rake-back of 30 percent or more. The company recommended in its announcement that players cash in points […]