Rumours on Pokerstars acquisition of FTP persist

June 22, 2012

Earlier this year the hopes of former Full Tilt Poker players disadvantaged by that company’s closure on Black Friday (see previous reports) were raised when reports surfaced that Pokerstars was in talks with the company and the US Department of Justice regarding a possible acquisition. The French Groupe Bernard Tapie had abandoned its takeover bid […]

iPoker confirms rumours of a liquidity split

June 22, 2012

Playtech’s iPoker Network has followed press releases on its launch of fast-fold product Sprint Poker (see previous report) with a more controversial advisory on a policy change designed to divide player liquidity by grading operators on their active and new player numbers, with some virtual tables only available to top-tier rooms. The rumours of a […]

No more new US players for Intertops Poker

June 21, 2012

The online poker operations of industry pioneer Intertops has abruptly and inexplicably banned new US sign-ups. Would-be new US players receive the following message from the operator: “Thank you for your interest in Intertops! Unfortunately, we are unable to accept new customers from your country or region at this time. If you believe you received […]

Two more WSOP bracelets won

June 21, 2012

Two more World Series of Poker players were sporting shiny new winner’s bracelets…and fatter bank accounts…. Thursday as events 34 and 35 passed into the history books. In event 34 – the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Six Handed competition, Naoya Kihara survived a field of 419 entrants to engage in an exciting if brief heads […]

US land casino launches free online poker site

June 20, 2012

The US land gambling group Station Casinos enjoyed widespread publicity Tuesday over its announcement that it is to launch an online poker site on Facebook this week under a brand that has historically garnered some unfortunate industry publicity – Ultimate Poker. The owner’s choice of Ultimate Poker stems from their involvement in the Ultimate Fighting […]

Weekly poker traffic declined 6.3 percent last week

June 20, 2012

The independent online poker monitor Pokerscout’s weekly report on industry performance showed a decline in internet poker traffic last week of 6.3 percent compared with the same period last year – the sixth week of a continued downward slide. Pokerstars continued to lead the market by a healthy margin, followed at the top by iPoker […]

Seniors battle it out at WSOP

June 18, 2012

One of the biggest fields so far at this year’s World Series of Poker is currently playing down to a winner, with just seven survivors from a field of 4,128 left around the final table at the Rio when we went to press Monday morning. Former World Series of Poker main event champ Dennis Phillips […]

Philanthropic Texas rancher wins WSOP event

June 18, 2012

Texas cattle rancher and World Series of Poker regular player Larry Wright (58) upended many predictions on Father?s Day by besting some of the most recognisable names in international poker, winning event 30 – $1,500 Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball. Wright faced a formidable final table that included Brandon Cantu, Andrew Lichtenberger, Michael Mizrachi, Erick Lindgren, Rep […]

5050 Poker software licence suspended by Microgaming

June 18, 2012

The Microgaming Poker Network has suspended the operations of licensee 5050 Poker Limited, claiming in a public statement that the operator is in ‘material breach of contract’, and that the directors of 5050 have been aware they were in breach since June 14 this year. The network does not appear to have completely written off […]

Black Friday poker defendant seeks delay in sentencing

June 17, 2012

The trial and punishment of former Absolute Poker finance exec Brent Beckley, one of 11 online poker executives indicted on Black Friday last year, entered a new phase earlier this month when his legal team requested a delay in sentencing in order to prepare arguments against a possible increase in his punishment. Beckley (31) originally […]