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.
The NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship has just concluded and the player that is on one of the best runs on recent history has made his way to the top of the list yet again. Beating out 63 of some of the best players of the poker world (and some celebrities that have a love of the game), Full Tilt Poker Pro Erik Seidel has claimed yet another title in 2011 and collected $750,000 in the process.
In the final match versus Pokerstars Pro and WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker, Seidel left little room for Moneymaker to have a shot. While the format requires the winner to win the best two out of three contests, Seidel decided to make it quick and easy by simply winning the first and second matches to secure the title.
Seidel did not have an easy road to travel to his title. He first match was against the recently quiet Allen Cunningham. In the round of 32, he faced yet another Full Tilt Pro Jennifer Harman. In the round of 16, he was up against fellow Full Tilt Pro Phil Gordon, busting him with AQ versus the Tiltboy’s A4. In the quarterfinals, he had to overcome another Pokerstars pro in Vanessa Selbst, who has also been on a tear the last year. In the semi-finals, he faced Andrew Robl, maybe more well known as “good2cu” in the online world. There was not a soft spot anywhere in Seidel’s road to victory, pitted against fellow pro’s every step along the way.
Seidel continues his historic 2011. It seems like every week that Seidel is collecting yet another title. In this tournament where there is always a discussion as to who has been slighted or disrespected for not being invited and for who does not deserve to be there, it is nice to have a sense of calmness with a winner who undoubtedly deserved to be there.
Congratulations Erik. We will soon be calling 2011 the Year of Erik Seidel.
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.
This March, 888 Poker is turning the world of online poker on its head when 888poker goes social!
888poker incorporates two special features that allows poker players across the world to engage socially while playing their favorite game and winning real cash.
1. NEW PokerCam Tables: The REAL Experience. NEW PokerCam tables for face-to-face play in real time! Revolutionizing online poker for a more “true-life” experience.
2. NEW Teams Poker™: Every week 888poker adds special Teams Poker™ tourneys, where players can join the favorite teams for only $0.88. It’s the same as a regular poker tourney, except 50% of the prize pool is shared with the winning team so even those knocked out still get their share of the pot!
Complementing these two new advancements in the world of online poker…888poker is revolutionizing online poker AND offering up some great bonus offers and tournaments this March!
$8/£5 FREE: All new players start off with an instant £5.00 (UK players) $8.00 (all other players) FREE, no-deposit bonus when they download and register at 888poker.
ALL for 8 Cents! Three times a week, players can enjoy a $1000 tournament with just an $0.08 buy-in! Super-low buy-in, super high winnings!
Play More, Win More! According to the number of days they play, players get entry to weekly ‘“Play More’” freerolls of $1000, $4,000 and every 2 weeks $10,000.
With over 5 million registered users, 888poker continues to offer the best consumer experience. For all the latest information on 888poker’s current promotions, online reward store and new community, go to 888poker.
FullTiltPoker.net announced today that Emmitt Smith, the National Football League’s (NFL’s) all-time leading rusher, as the latest “Friend of FullTiltPoker.net”.
The three-time Super Bowl champion will represent FullTiltPoker.net at a selection of live events, starting with this week’s “National Heads-Up Poker Championship” at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, from March 3rd to 6th.
During his glittering football career, Emmitt amassed 18,355 rushing yards and 175 total touchdowns. He became the first player ever to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Super Bowl MVP awards in the same season, when his 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns helped the Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII.
The former Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals running back is also looking to add a coveted World Series of Poker* bracelet to his collection of silverware, by representing FullTiltPoker.net at this year’s World Series of Poker* (WSOP).
Emmitt got his first taste of WSOP* action in July 2010, one month before his induction into the “Pro Football Hall of Fame.” He earned his seat at poker’s biggest stage by winning a Celebrity Invitational Charity Tournament that he organized in support of the charity he set up with his wife: “Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities”. He won his WSOP* seat by beating out world renowned poker player and Team Full Tilt Poker Pro Phil Ivey.
Now, as part of poker’s most elite roster of celebrity and professional poker players at FullTiltPoker.net (including actor Don Cheadle, actor Mekhi Phifer, Tennis Player James Blake, Former UFC Champion Matt Hughes, UFC announcer Bruce Buffer and others) Emmitt is looking to transfer his skill on the gridiron to prowess at the felt. Look for Emmitt at the tables – exclusively at FullTiltPoker.net.
*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.net or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.
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.”
The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate has returned to poker. Some of you may recall his high profile retirement last summer. Eastgate also sold his WSOP bracelet on eBay to raise money for charity. At the time of his retirement he had this to say about poker: “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player.” I guess if you do not enjoy the game then maybe you got into it for the wrong reason and probably should get on with your life. For now Peter Eastgate returns to being sponsored by PokerStars and plans to play EPT Copenhagen and the NBC Heads Up Championship at least.
Fast forward (but not too fast) to a scant 8 months later and Mr. Getonwithmylife has this to say: “I truly enjoy playing poker. I love the competitive element and the mental challenges of tournament poker.” He goes on to talk about missing his friends and family while jetting around to all the tournaments and losing himself. Yeah, well strong-willed people do not “lose themselves”. Many poker pros jet around the world without dumping their friends and family.
Mr. Eastgate brushes aside the comeback aspect of his return “I do not consider this a comeback, as I always knew there was a good chance I would play poker again.” Yet last summer the tune he was whistling was a tad different “now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life. What this will be, I do not yet know.” Now this young man is just that, young. We should understand and remember that some young people get confused and tend to talk in absolutes when they should talk of possibilities and options.
We have all seen the “i am done with poker”, “I am back playing poker” carousel. I do not think there is a lot of surprise in this. I do wonder how he will feel about selling the symbol of his big victory as he moves on in years. So all you aspiring pros out there, if you ever realize your dream please do not “retire”, if someone asks why you are not playing call it “a little me time” or a vacation. Save the poker world the emotional roller coaster of the quit/return cycle we all know too well.
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.
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 
This March, 
FullTiltPoker.net announced today that Emmitt Smith, the National Football League’s (NFL’s) all-time leading rusher, as the latest “Friend of FullTiltPoker.net”.