Carbon 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 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.
Pokerstars, world’s largest online poker site, has been very busy in Las Vegas over the last month. After announcing support for the passage of a new Nevada law that would bring online poker to the state and creating 500 new jobs if the law gets passed they have now formed a partnership with Wyn Resorts.
Wynn Resorts Ltd announced that they have entered into a partnership with online poker giant Pokerstars, and that the two companies would work together for the passage of a U.S. legislation that will define illegal internet gambling.
The companies plan to jointly operate a regulated, U.S. online poker site, PokerStarsWynn.com, if they can get the legislation to pass, Wynn said.
“We are convinced that the lack of regulation of internet gaming within the U.S. must change,” Wynn’s Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wynn said in a statement.
Following a news story posted on Bluff online this morning, Holdem Poker Chat can confirm that there has indeed been a deal struck between the struggling Cake Poker Network and Pokerlistings.com. While most are reporting that Pokerlistings has bought Cake Poker, we are hearing that they did not buy 100% of the network. We’re hearing 50%.
The Pokerlistings website has already been changed this morning to reflect the pending sale. Cake Poker is now listed as their #1 site followed by two new Cake Poker Network skins.
This is breaking news and we’ll have much more information on the deal later today.
UPDATE: We finally spoke to Cake Poker and a deal is in the works but has NOT been finalized. I does look like it will happen sometime later in the week. As we reported earlier, the deal is NOT for 100% ownership but is for majority control of the network.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:
Cake Gaming NV announced today that it will be undertaking a strategic partnership with PokerListings.com. The partnership brings together two companies with extremely complimentary resources: PokerListings.com being the most comprehensive poker news and Poker Strategy website in the world and the Cake Network, a popular global poker network with a number of strong consumer-facing poker brands.
“We are extremely excited to become a major component of PokerListings.com’s massive online presence,” said Cake Network Marketing Director, Andrew Turner. “The value of being integrated into one of the premiere leaders in new player acquisition and poker-related search can not be overstated and will have a significant impact on the Cake Network ecosystem and overall liquidity. This partnership positions the Cake Network for future growth in terms of new depositing players as well as for the addition of several strategic network partners. ”
With its significant Poker and Casino holdings, PokerListings.com can stake a claim to being the largest single gambling affiliate business in the sector. Through a very close working relationship in the areas of web development, content production and traffic conversion, PokerListings.com is positioned to substantially contribute to future development of the Cake Network.
A notable aspect of this partnership includes an ongoing commitment from PokerListings.com to drive a minimum of 2,000 new depositing players per month to the Cake Network which will have a significant impact on the number of recreational first time depositors. This partnership adds considerable strength to the position of the Cake Network by ensuring a steady stream of new depositing players every month which will soften games and increase liquidity across the network.
“We have been looking for this kind of partnership for some time now and we are very happy to have closed this deal with Cake Network. Not only does the partnership bring great commercial value to our respective companies, but we are very proud to secure the best possible deals for PokerListings.com’ visitors” said PokerListings.com’ representative, Martin Carlesund.
In addition to an influx of new players to compete against, Cake Network players will enjoy several other benefits from this partnership including: syndicated high quality content, added functionality and fantastic deals for those referred to the Cake Network
nby Pokerlistings.com.
Pokerstars is once again reaching a milestone when they deal their 60 Billionth Hand. So, by popular demand… Milestone Hands are back!
There will be 300 regular milestone hands leading up to the 60 Billionth, starting from hand number 59,700,000,000 – and then every millionth hand. You can see the current hand number in the top left corner of the tables you’re playing on.
The milestone hands could hit at any table, any stakes. Every player dealt into any milestone hand will win $50 and an extra $50 for every VIP Player Point (VPP) earned in the previous 50 hands played on that table. Even better, if you win one of the 300 milestone hands Pokerstars will double your prize money.
The player with the winning cards in the 60 Billionth Mega Milestone hand will receive at least $60k. Just make sure you’re playing on the day.
Since the signing of Isildur1 by Pokerstars and his being revealed as Viktor Blom, Pokerstars has been running a special, high stakes promotion: 2,500 hands, played at 50/100 NL, across 4 tables; each player puts up $150,000; whoever either busts or is in the negative after 2,500 hands loses.
Blom has played against 3 opponents up to this point, with a 3-1 record: he has beaten Anthony “Tony G” Guoga, Daniel Cates, Eugene Katchalov, while losing to his first opponent, Isaac Haxton. Through all of these games, Blom shows a net profit of just over $160,000.
His next opponent is someone who’s accomplishments are too lengthy to list here: the face of Pokerstars himself – Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu has been dropping hints for weeks now, discussing how he finds this Showdown a challenge he would like try. Now, Pokerstars is making it happen.
However, the rules are slightly different: instead of 2,500 hands in one day, they will be playing 5,000 across two! That’s right, they will sit down for their first 2,500 hands on Sunday, March 20th and for their remaining hands on Sunday, March 27th.
While Blom is clearly a favorite, with all of his high stakes heads-up experience, its hard to count someone out who has done what Negreanu has accomplished in the poker world. It should be exciting to watch the players battle it out on the felt.
We’ve just added WildSide Poker to our list of poker sites. You may have seen this software in the past. It’s been taken over and cleaned up to provide a much better 3D poker experience and best of all it’s open to all players in the US.
Wild Side Poker is now part of the Atlantis Poker Network and from everything we’ve been hearing they’re about to add a bunch of new sites joining the network.
For their grand opening they’re running some nice freerolls. Have a look below.
WildSide Poker has a $250 Freeroll scheduled for 04 March 2011 at 10 pm Central European Time (CET). The password is: newwild. There is an open freeroll the same day starting at 8:30pm CET.
The following promotions are starting this week with the first freeroll starting as soon as 03 March 2011! Please see below for details:
* $100 DAILY FREEROLLS running 7 days a week, beginning on 03 March 2011. These are already listed in the lobby under the Texas Holdem Tournaments tab.
* $1000 Guaranteed Tournaments every Sunday (4 GTD $1000 tourneys in a month) where buy-in for the first month will be as low as $2.25. This begins on 06 March2011. These are already in the lobby as well as satellites to this tournament for as low as $0.22!
* $500 BEGINNERS FREEROLL tournament for FIRST TIME DEPOSITORS starting on 27 March 2011.
Cake Poker marks the return of their Two for the Money promotion for March 2011. If you enjoy multi-tabling cash games, then this promotion is definitely for you. Each week you will be assigned a target number of FPP’s to hit while multi-tabling. If you hit your number, you will be entered in a $2,000 Kamikaze Freeroll for that week. the kamikazes will pay out to 30% of the qualified players so there is a real chance to get some cash out of the deal. If you play cash games, you already know that the Cake Poker Network has some of the softest tables around. Now you can earn extra cash while being paid by the unsuspecting masses as well.
How it Works:
Each week in March you will be assigned a multi-table hand target. If you meet that target within the specified time period, you will automatically be awarded entry in to that week’s $2,000 kamikaze tournament*. Multi-table to meet your target through all four weeks and you’ll get a shot at a combined prize pool of $8,000!
For hands to count towards the multi-table target, you must:
Be seated at two tables or more with stakes equal to or greater than $.10/$.20.
Cannot be sitting out.
Play real money hands across all tables combined.
View your multi-table hand target and monitor your progress via the My Account tab of the Cake Poker software starting March 1st.
$2,000 Two for the Money Kamikazes
When you reach your multi-table hand target, you will automatically be entered into that week’s kamikaze tournament. Two for the Money kamikazes take place each Thursday at 17:57pm GMT starting March 10th.
Each week starts on Tuesday at 00:00 GMT and end at 23:59 GMT the following Monday.
*Kamikaze tournaments require no action by players as all hands are forced all-in. A table winner is quickly declared and the tournament continues at warp speed until the prize pool is distributed.
Terms and Conditions
Players must be 18 years of age to participate.
Employees and immediate family members of employees of Cake Gaming N.V., the Cake Poker Network and its associated companies are not eligible to take part in the Promotion.
Cake Poker reserves the right to alter, modify or terminate the Promotion and/or these Terms at any time, without notice (written or verbal) where it is reasonable to do so.
To be eligible for the Promotion players must be seated at two tables or more with stakes equal to or greater than $.10/$.20; cannot be sitting out and; must play the specified number of raked hands across all tables combined within the specified weekly time periods.
Players who meet the requirements set out in #4 will be awarded entry into that week’s Two for the Money kamikaze.
Two for the Money kamikazes award cash to players in the top 30%.
Two for the Money kamikazes run weekly, every Thursday at 17:57 GMT
Players may not transfer, sell or award their Two for the Money kamikaze seat to anyone else.
888 Poker, one of the world’s most popular gaming entertainment companies, has launched a groundbreaking “pokercam” option for 888 Poker, innovating to again provide players with something that they have not experienced before.
The poker cam tables, powered by ooVoo, a leading video communication service provider with a best-in-class mobile video chat solution, will be available from the main lobby and will allow players to see their opponents while playing a Texas Hold’em Cash game.
The option builds on the strong social aspects of the 888 poker rooms, which already lead their way in the use of personalised avatars providing an immerse social experience in which players can interact together.
The addition of the “Teams Tournament” feature adds a further dimension to 888’s social play. This innovative type of tournament gives players the option of joining a virtual team in a regular tournament format. However, in addition to the traditional prize-pool, players score points for their team, and a portion of the prize is allocated to all of the players that belong to the winning team. Players can group together to face off as rival football teams or cities, adding an emotional level to the play, with links to major social networking sites letting people know when like-minded people have joined a tournament.
As well as these innovations in the game play, the “late registration” option means that there is always a tournament to join, even at off-peak times. An improved lobby also gives a better user experience, and allows quick and easy entry to tables.
The new offer builds on the enormously successful launch of Poker 6 in June 2010, which overhauled the Poker platform and provided an intuitive usability that targeted the casual player. The platform also allowed players to play Poker in 3D.
Hili Shakked, Director of Poker Offering, 888holdings, said:
“Through the addition of video streams to our hugely successful Poker 6 we are offering an even more personal, inclusive, and social environment. On top of this, the chance to play as part of a team in the Team Tournaments, provides a competitive edge that allows players to meet and play with other like-minded people.”
Senator Jon Kyl, one of the most vocal and influential opponents to the legalization of online poker in the United States, plans to announce that he will not seek re-election when his term lapses in 2012.
First elected to the Senate in 1994 from Arizona, Kyl is one of the top ranking Senators in the Republican party, and is influential in finance and defense legislation.
He has stated his reasoning for retiring simply: time.
Senator Kyl has been one of the strongest supporters of the UIGEA since its proposal in 2006, and has argued vehemently against legalization of online gambling in the United States. His retirement may be a win for the PPA and everyone in the online poker industry.
Carbon 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.
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.
Following a news story posted on Bluff online this morning, Holdem Poker Chat can confirm that there has indeed been a deal struck between the struggling Cake Poker Network and Pokerlistings.com. While most are reporting that Pokerlistings has bought 
We’ve just added 
