Brennan starts 2009 off in style

January 6, 2009

Rory Rees Brennan survived an entry field of 255 players, many of them top names in the game, over the weekend to carry off the Euro 160 000 main prize in the first of this year’s major live poker tournaments, the Party Poker Irish Poker Championship. Brennan saw off heads up opponent Chris Dowling to […]

Will last sunday´s million set the 2009 pace?

January 6, 2009

Discounting the media doom and gloom over economic prospects for 2009, last weekend’s Poker Stars.com regular Sunday Million tournament set a cracking pace for the year ahead with a turnout of 8 504 players. The $1.5 million guarantee on the prize pool was easily met and overtaken, offering players the chance to win a piece […]

More action for Canadians

January 6, 2009

The Cake network announced in a press release this week that it has opened up poker, casino and sportsbook poker sites for players in Canada, specifically Sportsbook.com and Superbook.com. The move will expand the player base and the network alike, increasing the value and possibilities players can achieve from these sites. “Sportsbook.com is a growing […]

Getting inside your head

January 6, 2009

The ever-innovative online poker firm PKR.com is helping to fund new neurological research in a bid to better understand consumers’ online experiences. The research is being used to shape the poker site’s relaunch, which is scheduled for next year. Working with customer experience consultancy Foviance, PKR is exploiting the benefits of science using electroencephalography (EEG) […]

Records smashed at Pokerstars

January 6, 2009

Online poker super-site Poker Stars has enjoyed a week of setting fresh records, reports the respected independent statistical information website Pokersitescout.com. Among the records set, according to Pokersitescout, were the Giuness World Record for the largest online tournament ever, which saw 35 000 players in action (see previous report). Other records broken included: * Largest […]

Cardspike axed from P.A.P

January 4, 2009

The message board and website storm over Cake Poker Network skin CardSpike’s alleged no-slow pay conduct (see previous report) continued over the weekend as news surfaced that Poker Affiliate Programs had axed the troubled website on December 31st. Prior to the expulsion a PAP representative at that time posted: “We are working behind the scenes […]

WPT poker subscription site flourishing

January 4, 2009

Online poker companies trying to circumvent U.S. legal minefields came up with the concept of subscription-based online clubs, which initially seemed to be the way to go and reported strong acceptance by Internet poker fans. The business model is centred on the proposition that there are no deposits and no buy-ins. Players instead sign up […]

Party Gaming boss predicts industry consolidation

January 4, 2009

Party Gaming CEO Jim Ryan opines that in three year’s time there will be only five major online poker sites of any consequence due to industry consolidation….and he intends to ensure that Party Poker is one of them. Speaking to the UK newspaper The Financial Times, Ryan said: “We need to retake the hill and […]

Warning signals go out on Cake Poker network skin

January 3, 2009

No-slow rakeback payments seem likely to sink a relatively new skin on the Cake Poker network branded CardSpike.com. The allegations started surfacing in November 2008 and this week became the subject of discussion and some criticism at respected venues like the 2+2 message board and Nat Arem’s blog. Arem, a usually reliable source for online […]

Poker publication acquires staking website

January 3, 2009

The online poker information portal Poker News has announced its purchase of the poker staking website, Chip Me Up.com, where players from across the world can buy and sell shares in their expertise in virtually all major poker events hosted by the top online poker rooms. Additionally, players can sell shares in their efforts in […]