Winning the first event of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series might take some luck, but there was no magic involved when player Kadabra finished first in the $500,000-guarantee No-Limit Hold'em tournament Wednesday evening.
Kadabra outlasted and outplayed some top poker pros and a field of 4,165 entrants to win the $147,099 first-place prize money.
After all had posted the $200+$16 buy-in, the healthy crowd swelled the prize pool to $833,000 at yesterday's inaugural series event.
Though Kadabra earned the biggest portion of the money, runner-up Jeezy888 saw his Full Tilt account balance jump by $89,047 for his finish. The_Closer3 was hot on his heels but proved he is was no Kyra Sedgwick when it comes to winning tournaments and went out in third for $58,310. Play $500 match poker bonus.
The final results for the FTOPS No-Limit Hold'em Event 1 are as follows:
Place
Player
Prize
1.
Kadabra
$147,099
2.
Jeezy888
$89,047
3.
The_Closer3
$89,047
4.
Mattman14
$45,815
5.
scarr09
$34,402
6.
chipgoon
$25,489
7.
THEnaturalACE
$19,159
8.
FatMoneyBags
$14,994
9.
aerospace22
$11,162
10.
lilfishy897
$7,996
Joining the usual coterie of online poker enthusiasts were several pro players who opted to spend their Wednesday night in front of the computer screen.
Best in-the-money-finish honors went to woman poker champ Karina Jett, who cashed $957.95 for placing 93rd and outlasting her husband, Chip Jett. The patriarch of the Jett clan finished 263rd for $263.50 and the title of lowest-family-income-earner.
Miami John Cernuto placed 194 for $499.80, the same amount awarded to MrSmokey1, 2007 World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner Steve Billirakis, for placing 214th in the tournament. Finnish pro and disturber of chip stacks Thomas Wahlroos finished in 416th to earn $308.21.
No word on the whereabouts of host Phil Gordon in the poker tournament results.
The FTOPS continues until the main event Aug. 19, with a mix of No-Limit, Limit, Omaha, Hold'em and Stud games. Today's tournament is the $200+$16 H.O.R.S.E, which features a $150,000 guarantee and Full Tilt pro David Singer serving as host.
It's like an All-Star poker tournament and an '80s flashback all in one.
In what is sure to confuse a few demographics and decidedly please a few others, Spotlight 29 Casino in California's Coachella Valley has announced plans for its inaugural "All-Star Poker Challenge."
Scheduled for October 13 and 14, the All-Star Poker Challenge will "give everyday players a chance to play with their favorite celebrities."
That is, of course, if your favorite celebrity is one of these scheduled to appear so far:
Football Hall of Fame inductee and bit-part actor Deacon Jones; multi-sport legend and famous "Bo Knows" pitchman from the '90s, Bo Jackson; lightweight boxing champ Jorge Paez, Jr. (known for the most outrageous mullet ever-seen by man and in-ring backflips); and Murray Langston, also known as "the Unknown Comic," who made regular appearances on '80s staple The Gong Show and told jokes with a brown paper bag over his head. Online poker.
Holding down the fort from both the '80s and the modern era: Notable poker host and the one and only Mr. Kotter, from Welcome Back Kotter, Gabe Kaplan.
Also scheduled to appear: Coachella Valley locals DJ Ant Dogg from U-92 FM and Coachella Mayor Eduardo Garcia. Download poker wallpapers.
Set to go October 13, the All-Star Poker Challenge action will be No-Limit style, with 30-minute long rounds beginning at 2 p.m. The final table is then scheduled for 12 p.m. on October 14.
Players will each receive $10,000 in tournament chips, and all players at all levels are welcome to register to play. Women poker players.
Buy-ins for the All-Star Poker Challenge are available now at the Spotlight 29 Casino box office or gift shop, with the cost $560 each; $500 goes to the prize pool, $50 to the house and $10 to dealer gratuity.
Adding to the excitement: the chance of a player winning a new Chevrolet, Cadillac or GMC. If the winning hand at the final table is a Royal Flush, the winner will score the new car.
As an added bonus, Kaplan and Langston will also be performing in the Spotlight Showroom on October 12. All entrants into the tournament receive two free tickets, with individual tickets for the comedy concert available for $35. Play route 66 poker.
A silent auction is also planned to benefit the Native American Land Conservancy, with items in the auction including a wide range of autographed sports memorabilia.
For all the details, you can check out Spotlight29.com.
The time has come to give the woman poker player one single place to find everything poker, including information regarding the whereabouts of ladies only tournaments. That place is right here at CardPlayer.com.
I am excited to announce that Card Player and LIPS have partnered to bring our readers information specifically geared toward woman poker players. Together we have created a portal for women’s poker with a variety of new and exciting programs.
You will notice a new section on the CardPlayer.com home page entitled LIPSTOUR. With just one click, you will be directed to our women’s section, which will include women’s tournaments, profiles, schedules, articles, and more.
Joining in our efforts to provide dynamic poker content will be Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, J.J Liu, Cecelia Reyes, Lisa Wheeler, Lizzy Harrison, Pam Brunson, and many other respected women in the poker industry. This dynamic group will write articles for women, about women, and from a woman’s perspective. I am personally hoping Pam Brunson will be persuaded to write an article about her experience cashing at the main event of the WSOP while outlasting both of the other bracelet-winner Brunsons!
Our new co-branded website will offer great services for all the ladies out there wanting to learn, have fun, improve, network, and participate in ladies-only poker tournaments all around the U.S.
Some of the new programs include a Worldwide Women’s Player Ranking System for women only events, Woman Player of the Year, player profiles, tournament schedules, featured player spotlights, articles, event results, and a ladies forum section on CardPlayer.com’s popular forum.
LIPS was founded in 2004 by Ms. Lupe Soto who has since grown the organization to a group of over 8,000 women around the nation who ask to be included and updated regarding ladies-only tournaments. Download poker wallpapers.
“We can't think of a more natural partnership than this one with Card Player, the brand that is synonymous with poker,” said Lupe Soto, Founder and CEO, Ladies International Poker Series. “Being able to provide women poker players these new services and opportunities is a huge progression in women’s poker. This will help us expand our reach to women who play women’s only events and secure a ranking for them as they play.” Online poker.
LIPS is just coming off its Grand Championship, which took place at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas. That event marked the beginning of the women’s player ranking system. Casinos that host ladies-only poker tournaments or are seeking to host them should contact CEO Lupe Soto to make arrangements to be included in this exciting new program.
Soto states, “We have more women playing poker then ever before. With the LIPS Tour, women have an opportunity to be ranked, win their way into the LIPS Annual Championship, and other exciting events just for women.” Play route 66 poker.
Over 40 casinos are participating in the tour, with more being added all the time. Next stops on the LIPS Tour include the Legends of Poker Ladies Event at Bicycle Casino, the Ladies of the Derby Series at Hollywood Park Casino, the Gulf Coast Poker Championship at the newly resurrected Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, and always a favorite, the California State Ladies Championship at Ocean’s 11 Casino. Any casino wishing to participate in the tour can still be added. For details and how to get involved, click on LIPS at the CardPlayer.com home page. Play $500 match poker bonus.
I invite all you ladies out there to check back often and watch our women’s section grow! If you would like to be involved in our efforts, contact me with your ideas at allyn@CardPlayer.com.
In poker's ultimate test of man-versus-machine who was the final victor? (Photo courtesy AP Images and C-2 Pictures)
First it was Chinook with checkers. Then it was Deep Blue with chess. And now, more recently it's Polaris and poker.
Last week poker pros Phil Laak and Ali Eslami went head-to-head against Polaris, the latest artificial intelligence designed to put humanity in its place. Women poker players.
The competition took place at an artificial intelligence conference in Vancouver starting at noon on Aug. 23 and concluded the following evening. It was broken down into four sessions of 500 hands of $10/$20 Limit Holdem in each session with $50,000 going to the winning team. Play online poker.
Was the machine good enough to beat seasoned veterans Phil Laak and Ali Eslami? Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
Rep. Barney Frank's online poker / gambling bill is getting more support by the week. Three more congressmen signed on to cosponsor the bill Thursday, bringing the total up to 34.
The three new cosponsors were all Democrats who had initially voted against Bill Frist's bill last year, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Frank's bill is their chance to help get rid of a new law they didn't support in the first place. Play $500 match poker bonus.
One of the supporters is Joe Baca (D-Calif.) who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, of which Frank is chairman.
Baca also serves on the House Agriculture and House Natural Resources committees.
Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) is an interesting addition to the cosponsors list. Gambling is illegal in his home state.
He too serves on the House Natural Resources Committee as well as the Armed Services Committee. Women poker players.
California has another representative joining the list as well with Rep. Lynn Woolsey. She serves on the Education and Labor, Science and Technology, and Foreign Affairs committees.
Additional cosponsors:
* Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) * Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) * Howard Berman (D-Calif.) * Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) * Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) * Julia Carson (D-Ind.) * William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) * Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) * Bob Filner (D-Calif.) * Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) * Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) * Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) * Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) * Peter King (R-N.Y.) * Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) * Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) * James McGovern (D-Mass.) * Charlie Melancon (D-La.) * Ron Paul (R-Texas) * Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) * Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) * Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) * Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) * Melvin Watt (D-N.C.) * Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) * Don Young (R-Alaska)
Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act isn't the only attempt at legalizing online gambling in the Unites States that's getting more support this month. Robert Wexler's Skill Game Protection Act also saw a jump in cosponsors this month. Download poker wallpapers.
Many of the representatives signing on to his bill to create an exception for poker in the UIGEA are the same ones who've signed on to Frank's bill to legalize online gambling all together.
Originally, Wexler only had one cosponsor - Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). He signed on June 27.
Since then, 11 more congressmen have added their support to the bill. They are:
* Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) - 7/18/2007 * Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) - 7/10/2007 * Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) - 7/17/2007 * Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) - 7/17/2007 * Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) - 7/10/2007 * John Larson (D-Conn.) - 7/18/2007 * James Moran (D-Va.) - 7/17/2007 * Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) - 7/23/2007 * Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) - 7/18/2007 * Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) - 7/25/2007 * Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) - 7/17/2007
Two other pieces of legislation dealing with online gambling have been proposed. One is Jim McDermott's Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative that deals with the taxation of online poker, which goes hand-in-hand with Frank's bill.
Shelley Berkley also introduced legislation that calls for a study of Internet gambling for the purpose of taxing, regulating and providing protection for minors. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
When the chips are down, computers can now beat humans at most cerebral and mechanical activities. They can fly planes, drive cars, arrange timetables, make lists and retrieve information better, more accurately and faster than we mere mortals. At chequers (draughts), computers have a program that cannot lose, and, at best, can be tied. Deep Blue, a supercomputer-based chess-playing software system, can trounce the world champion at chess. But humans still have one ace in the hole. And that is poker.
At an interspecies match at the University of Alberta, two professional high-rollers beat a gambling computer with the unusual nom de cartes of Polaris. They mocked their mechanical opponent’s play as “sick”, when the machine made an extraordinary or unusual action. They were playing Texas Hold ’Em heads-up limit poker tournament. So the computer science professors are going back to their keyboards to try new algorithms and strategies. And even the ranks of nongamblers, who do not know their blue chips from the ace up their sleeves, can scarce forbear to up the ante. Play online poker.
For poker calls for two human qualities that cannot be reproduced mechanically: bluff and imagination. A poker face beats a computer screen every time. Play route 66 poker. You can program your computer for different opponents or styles of play called “bots” in the trade, but you cannot prepare it for the forgotten factor of human orneriness. Statisticians said that if you gave a zillion chimpanzees a zillion keyboards, they would end up by tapping out the works of Shakespeare. Because of the internet we now know that this is not true. The failure of computers to call our bluff is conclusive evidence that we are still on the winning team. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates. Poker News Source: Times Online
Law enforcement officials in Florida hope that playing cards can help them in their efforts to solve the toughest homicide and disappearance cases in the state.
Earlier this week the state launched a program to give inmates playing cards featuring 104 victims of unsolved crimes. Online poker.
The Cold Case Playing Card Program in Florida is inspired by the decks of cards that were distributed to U.S. troops in Iraq, with pictures of the most wanted fugitives in the country. A total of 100,000 decks will be distributed in the prisons of Florida. Women poker players.
Two different decks have been produced, with unique information on each of the 104 cards. Every playing card contains a picture of the victim and facts about the unsolved crime. The total cost for printing and distributing the cards is $80,000. Download poker wallpapers.
Officials hope that the cards will help to get inmates to talk about the cases while playing a friendly game of canasta or poker. Inmates that provide information that helps to crack these cold cases have the chance to be put in better facilities or be offered different programs. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
Winning the first event of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series might take some luck, but there was no magic involved when player Kadabra finished first in the $500,000-guarantee No-Limit Hold'em tournament Wednesday evening. 
