Category: Online Poker

Full Tilt Poker has Suspended Real Money Play in the US

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Full Tilt Poker just released a statement regarding Friday’s indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice announcing that it is suspending real money play for USA players until the situation is resolved.

Click here for Poker Sites Accepting Players from the US

Full Tilt Poker™ Supports Poker Players And Its Chief Executive

Dublin Ireland (April 15, 2011)- Full Tilt Poker is saddened by today’s charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick.

Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online.

Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law.

“I am surprised and disappointed by the government’s decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick’s and my exoneration,” said Mr. Bitar.

Unfortunately, as a result of this action, Full Tilt Poker has decided that it must suspend “real money” play in the United States until this case is resolved. However, Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide peer-to-peer online poker services outside of the United States.

Feds seize Poker Domain Names

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The Feds are once again going after poker sites without defining what “illegal gambling” is. Without a real law, or a working definition, this amounts to just a strong arm shakedown. “We are big tough guys so we will tell you what to do, even though we have no lawful basis to do so”

Excerpt from a press release I am sure that they are very proud of:
MANHATTAN U.S. ATTORNEY CHARGES PRINCIPALS OF THREE LARGEST INTERNET POKER COMPANIES WITH BANK FRAUD, ILLEGAL GAMBLING OFFENSES AND LAUNDERING BILLIONS IN ILLEGAL GAMBLING PROCEEDS

 

 

Multi-Billion Dollar Civil Money Laundering And Forfeiture Action Also Filed

Internet Domain Names Used By The Poker Companies Seized

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JANICE FEDARCYK, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an indictment today charging 11 defendants, including the founders of the three largest Internet poker companies doing business in the United States—PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker (the “Poker Companies”)—with bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling offenses. The United States also filed a civil money laundering and in rem forfeiture complaint (the “Civil Complaint”) against the Poker Companies, their assets, and the assets of several payment processors for the Poker Companies. In addition, restraining orders were issued against more than 75 bank accounts utilized by the Poker Companies and their payment processors, and five Internet domain names used by the Poker Companies to host their illegal poker games were seized.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits. Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge JANICE K. FEDARCYK said: “These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck. They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost.”

The whole press release can be found here:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April11/scheinbergetalindictmentpr.pdf

Free WSOP with Bodog Poker

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Bodog Poker wants to give new depositing players a chance to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for free. All new depositors for April will receive entry into four special freerolls that will award ten tickets to $37 WSOP satellite tournaments. Even if you have had the software, but have yet to deposit, you can qualify for this promotion. The freeroll tournaments will run on April 16,23,30 and May 7 2011. New depositors could be well on their way to a WSOP Main Event seat for free!

If an April new depositor buys into at least $100 worth of WSOP qualifiers will qualify for a June 26, 2011 freeroll that will award threeBodog Swag Bags that Bodog WSOP players receive in Vegas. Additionally, if you buy into $500 worth of Bodog WSOP qualifiers (still April first time depositors), you will receive a ticket to a freeroll on June 25, 2011 that will award a Las Vegas trip. The trip looks like it will be totally set up and bought by Bodog with no cash value.

This is a good deal for players who may have been considering an initial Bodog Poker deposit.

Pokerstars Game of Your Life Freerolls

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PokerstarsThe Pokerstars Game of Your Life freerolls give you the chance to win your share of thousands of dollars in cash, plus the trip of a lifetime to any major sporting event in the world. You can bring your friends along too, with everything taken care of by us. Here’s what you can win:

* Front-row seats to the sporting event (or events) of your choice, anywhere in the world
* Invite as many friends as you want
* Travel and accommodation included
* Total prize package value of $100,000
* $1,000,000 in additional cash prizes awarded in freerolls running every week

Simply play any of the free daily qualifiers and advance to one of the six Freeroll Finals. The first five finals each have a prize pool of $100,000 in cash. The Grand Final in week six is where you can win the Game of Your Life prize package for you and your friends!

Lock Poker Battle of the Ronin

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Lock Poker Battle of the Ronin is a rake chase with some great cash prizes.  The Battle of the Ronin has limited prizes for each level attained.   For instance, the easiest to attain level is 100 points, but only the first 200 players to reach the 100 points get paid.  Naturally the levels increase from there as the number paid at each level decreases.  If you manage to complete all levels for the month of April you would earn $45,000 as long as each prize level is still available.  Additionally the Ronin with the most VIP points for the month of April will receive a 2011 WSOP Main Event seat, worth over $10,000.  The Ronin theme comes from ancient Japan’s warrior castes.

Battle of the Ronin Prize Levels

Points Prize Total Points Total Prizes Prizes Awarded
100 $1.50 100 $1.50 200
200 $3.00 300 $4.50 100
300 $5.00 600 $9.50 80
400 $10.00 1000 $19.50 70
500 $12.50 1500 $32 60
600 $15.00 2100 $47 50
700 $17.50 2800 $64.50 45
800 $20.00 3600 $84.50 40
900 $22.50 4500 $107 35
1000 $50.00 5500 $157 30
1500 $60.00 7000 $217 50
2000 $80.00 9000 $297 50
2500 $100.00 11500 $397 50
3000 $120.00 14500 $517 50
4000 $200.00 18500 $717 50
5000 $225.00 23500 $942 50
6000 $300.00 29500 $1,242 50
7000 $350.00 36500 $1,592 50
8000 $400.00 44500 $1,992 50
9000 $450.00 53500 $2,442 50
10000 $500.00 63500 $2,942 50
12500 $800.00 76000 $3,742 50
15000 $950.00 91000 $4,692 50
20000 $1,250.00 111000 $5,942 50
25000 $1,750.00 136000 $7,692 35
30000 $2,000.00 166000 $9,692 15
35000 $2,250.00 201000 $11,942 10
40000 $2,500.00 241000 $14,442 6
45000 $2,750.00 286000 $17,192 4
50000 $3,000.00 336000 $20,192 3
55000 $3,250.00 391000 $23,442 3
60000 $3,500.00 451000 $26,942 3
65000 $4,700.00 516000 $31,642 2
70000 $6,000.00 586000 $37,642 2
80000 $7,500.00 666000 $45,142 2

Battle of the Ronin Terms & Conditions

  • The ‘Battle of the Ronin’ promotion will run from Friday 1 until Saturday 31 April (inclusive), 2011. On Sunday 1 May at 00:00 Server Time the Battle of the Ronin VIP points counter will cease recording VIP Points and any earned after this time will NOT count towards prize requirements.
  • All Battle of the Ronin cash prizes will be paid in full directly to a player’s poker account, without any further play through requirements. Any cash prizes will be available for withdrawal after 7 days of being issued to your account, but can be played with at the tables immediately.
  • A player can win ALL 35 cash prizes during the promotion period, but must meet each level’s individual prize requirements.
  • Please allow up to 30 minutes from when an individual prize level is completed, until payment is received.
  • Any form of cheating or collusion will not be tolerated.
  • The maximum number of cash prizes to be awarded at each level are limited and will only be awarded to the fastest eligible players to reach each level. In the case of multiple players reaching the same level and prize limits being exceeded, then the prize will be awarded to the fastest player to obtain that level (within the prize limits).
  • Lock Poker reserves the right to alter, modify or terminate the Promotion and/or these Terms at any time, without giving you any prior notice (written or verbal) where it is reasonable to do so or for reasons beyond the Promoter’s control. The Promoter does not accept any responsibility or liability for any late or undelivered entries or registrations, notifications or communications or for any form of technical failure, error, malfunction or difficultly or for any other event beyond its reasonable control that may cause the operation of the Promotion to be disrupted, unavailable or incorrect.
  • In order to be eligible a player must setup a real money account, which includes their full contact details, so that we can pay any winnings to their account should the win.
  • Offer only open to players that are of the legal age of majority as determined by the laws of the country where you live. Employees and immediate family members of employees of Lock Poker, its associated companies, affiliates, advertising and promotional agencies are not eligible to take part in the Promotion. Entry to the Promotion is limited to those people who are resident in countries where their registration and use of the Cardroom is permitted by the law of their country.
  • The company reserves the right to ask for proof of age from any customer and customer accounts may be suspended until satisfactory proof of age is provided.
  • By downloading the software and registering an account, a customer is deemed to have fully accepted and understood all rules, terms and conditions published by this website.
  • All players must meet Lock Poker’s Terms & Conditions, and Lock Poker reserves the right to modify these rules at any time, and for any reason, at its sole discretion.

Full Tilt Poker Take 2

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Full Tilt Poker introduces Take 2. This painless promotion requires you to only opt into it. Take 2 is a cash ring game promotion. There are two parts to the promo. One side of the coin gives you double Full Tilt Points for playing either two standard ring games at the same time, or one Rush Poker game any time from April 08-April 17, 2011. The second part awards cash for playing multiple days. The qualifying is still the same, two standard rings or one Rush game, but the number of days played determines your cash. Play 5 of the 10 days and get $5 cash. If you play 9 of the 10 days you will receive an additional $20 cash for a $25 total. There is a certain number of points to get the double points and the “day” recorded.

How to Participate in Take 2
Follow these steps to participate in Take 2 and claim your cash and bonus points:

If you haven’t done so already, download Full Tilt Poker and set up an account.

Log in to Full Tilt Poker and click on the red Cashier button in the game lobby.

Click on the My Promotions box and then the Take 2 link.

This will lead you to your personal Take 2 page. Follow the instructions on this page – you must elect to participate in this promotion or you will not receive cash or double points for your play during Take 2

The Full Story from the proverbial Horses Mouth:
Take 2 at Full Tilt Poker to earn up to $25 AND double the Full Tilt Points that you’d normally receive for playing in your favorite ring games.

Running from Friday, April 8th to Sunday, April 17th, play at least two standard ring-game tables at the same time or any Rush Poker* table during Take 2 to receive double the Full Tilt Points. Play as often as you can during Take 2 and we’ll also reward you with up to $25 in cash, depending on how many days you play.

Earn up to $25 in Cash
The more you play during Take 2, the more you’ll earn. Earn at least five Take 2 bonus points on any five days during Take 2 to get $5 in cash. Do so on nine of the ten days to get an additional $20, for a total of $25:

Level 1: Play on any five days during Take 2 and receive $5
Level 2: Play on nine of the ten days during Take 2 and receive an additional $20, for a cumulative total of $25
Earn Double the Full Tilt Points

There are two ways to earn double the Full Tilt Points during Take 2:

Play TWO standard ring-game tables at the same time and receive double points at BOTH tables. For example, if you earn 60 points while playing on one table and 40 points while playing on the other, you’d normally receive 100 Full Tilt Points for your play. During Take 2, you’ll earn a total of 200 points – 100 points for your play and an additional 100 bonus points.
Play any table of Rush Poker* – the world’s fastest poker game – and receive double the points. For example, if you earn 100 points while playing at a Rush Poker* table during Take 2, you’ll get an additional 100 bonus points for a total of 200 Full Tilt Points. Rush Poker* is the fastest way to earn double points during Take 2.
You can use your bonus points to get some great gear from the Full Tilt Poker Store, including plasma TVs, iPods, custom Full Tilt Poker jerseys and more. You can also use your points to enter special Full Tilt Points Sit & Gos and Multi-Table Tournaments.

Bodog $7,500 Freerolls

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Bodog Poker will be holding $7,500 freerolls Bi-monthly (twice a month). These freerolls can only be entered using Poker Points that players earn by playing poker on Bodog. The tournaments will be held on the second and the last Saturdays of each month at 2:20 pm et. The $7,500 prize pool will be distributed to the top 20% of the entered players. Additionally first place is guaranteed $1,000.

The $7,500 freerolls cost 1,000 PTS to buyin directly. However, there are a number of satellites for much fewer points.

The 25 PTS satellite runs daily at 10:40 pm et and awards a $7,500 seat for every 40 players entered.

The 200 PTS satellite runs daily at 6:10 pm et and awards a $7,500 seat for every 5 players entered

The 150 PTS Sit and Go tournaments are 6 handed and award a $7,500 seat to the 1st place winner (these run whenever they fill)
Tournament Tickets will be issued within 24 hours from the end of the tournament.

Poker Points are not very difficult to accumulate at Bodog Poker. Bodog offers a 110% initial deposit bonus and new depositing players get 6 entries to their $100K New Player Qualifier (3 per week for 2 weeks). First place wins a T$162 Tournament Ticket to play in the $100,000 Guaranteed on Sunday at 4pm ET, 2nd to 10th place win T$17 in any $100K Semifinal.

Bodog Poker also offers two $500 freerolls daily at 2:40pm etand 9:40pm et. these are free to enter for any Bodog Player at any time, as many times as you want. They do offer $1 rebuys if one so desires.

Carbon Poker now allows Australian Players

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Carbon PokerCarbon Poker, the flagship of the Merge Gaming Network now allows Austalian players on their servers. The Merge Network was based in Australia to some extent previously and certain rules locally (that I am not entirely familiar with) forbade them from accepting customers from Down Under.

No lengthy explanation was readily available from Carbon Poker, but this is what they had to say on Facebook: “Happy to announce that we are now accepting all our Australian friends as real money players with CarbonPoker. Exciting news to help grow Carbon!” So if you are Australian, welcome to the Merge Network and see you at the tables.

FeltStars WCOIP Returns in May 2011

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FeltStars has thrown their hat back into the online series ring. Though no FTOPS, their World Championship of Internet Poker (WCOIP) is a great value for non-nosebleed players. WCOIP will have 13 events spanning 22 days in May 2011. There are events for all bankrolls. the lowest buyin event is $1.10 while the highest is $109. Satellites to all events are running daily now. There are even freeroll satellites for the bankroll challenged.

The WCOIP begins May 01, 2011. The WCOIP will have a Leaderboard to determine the Overall Champion. If you make the final table in any WCOIP event, you will be awarded points. The top 10 Overall Leader board winners will win a Feltstars Guaranteed Tournament Coupon Package. The more events you play the better chance you have to win the Overall Championship. The winner of each event will also receive a custom Feltstars baseball jersey with the name and number of their choice.

WCOIP Schedule:

Overall Leaderboard Prizes
1st $460 Tournament, $215 Tournament, $109 Tournament, $109 Tournament,
$60 Satellite, $11 Satellite, $11 Satellite, $10.80 Double Up,
$2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30),
Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50), $2 All-in or Fold ($2.20)
Total Coupon Worth $1,002.30

2nd $215 Tournament, $109 Tournament, $109 Tournament, $60 Satellite, $11 Satellite,$2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30),
Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50)
Total Coupon Worth $518.30

3rd $215 Tournament, $11 Satellite, $11 Satellite, $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50)
Total Coupon Worth $251.30

4th $109 Tournament, $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), $11 Satellite, Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50)
Total Coupon Worth $134.30

5th $60 Satellite, $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50) , $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), $11 Satellite, $11 Satellite, $10.80 Double Up, Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50), $2 All-in or Fold ($2.20)
Total Coupon Worth $109.30

6th $60 Satellite, $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50), $2 All-in or Fold ($2.20)
Total Coupon Worth $76.50

7th $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), $11 Satellite, $11 Satellite, $10.80 Double Up, $10.80 Double Up, Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50), $2 All-in or Fold ($2.20)
Total Coupon Worth $60.10

8th $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), $11 Satellite, $11 Satellite, $10.80 Double Up, Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50)
Total Coupon Worth $47.10

9th $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30), $11 Satellite, $10.80 Double Up, Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50)
Total Coupon Worth $36.10

10th $2,000 Guaranteed Entry ($5.50), $2,000 Guaranteed Turbo ($3.30),
$11 Satellite Feltstars Pro Bounty ($5.50)
Total Coupon Worth $25.30

Full Tilt Poker Launches 2011 WSOP Qualifiers

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FullTiltPoker has launched a wide range of online qualifier tournaments offering $12K prize packages to the 2011 World Series of Poker* Main Event – including eligibility for the $10 Million Main Event Mania bonus.

Winners of FullTiltPoker’s $12K Main Event Prize Packages receive more than just their buy-in to poker’s most prestigious event. They also receive $2,000 in spending money and gain access to the exclusive Pro’s Choice suite, where they will get the opportunity to meet members of Team Full Tilt Poker and other FullTiltPoker pros.

In addition, any player who wins their 2011 Main Event seat at FullTiltPoker is eligible for the following benefits:

– A massive $10 Million Main Event Mania bonus if they go on to win the Main Event
– A free seat at the 2012 WSOP* Main Event if they finish in the money at this year’s Main Event
– Five days free accommodation at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during the Main Event

Players can chose from a diverse range of WSOP* Qualifier Tournaments running now through June 27th. Options include ‘The $1 Main Event Seat’, up to ‘$1K Thursday Direct Qualifiers’. Players can also take part in the popular ‘Steps to the Main Event’, which starts at just $3.30.

This year’s WSOP* Main Event kicks off on July 7th in Las Vegas, and Prize Package winners will strive for a repeat of last year’s success, when seven of the nine players at the Main Event final table were sponsored by FullTiltPoker.

*World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah’s License Company, LLC (“Harrahs”). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with FullTiltPoker.com or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.