Top Rated Poker Rooms

The WPT’s only bounty event kicks off Monday at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose.  Long a favorite on the circuit, this is a rather intimate event in one of the smallest casinos on the tour is packed with as many fans as players most years.  The key difference maker in this event is that each table on each starting day has a ‘Shooting Star’ player seated on it.  Anyone who knocks out one of these bounties is given $5,000 on the spot, plus a T-Shirt bearing the picture of the bounty the player claimed.  Chipleaders on both day 1a and 1b as well as day 2 get a $10,000 bonus.  (Nice to see those guys finish with some money.)  Pros and amateurs alike gun for these players and the added money, sometimes with hilarious results as close friends may clash over the bounty.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is an example of the shirt WSOPE Champ John Juanda received when he knocked out Eric Sidel.

It hurts when a friend makes 5k ending your day.

Last year’s champion Brandon Cantu won a million dollars along with the WPT title, but also took advantage of Tournament Director Matt Savage’s special bonuses and structure.  Cantu made an additional $30,000 for taking 6 bounties as well as winning the additional bonus of $10,000 for finishing day 1 as the chip leader.  So, even before be sat down at the final table, he had $40,000 in his pocket.

Speaking of Matt Savage, his recent takeover and management of the LAPC was a huge success drawing record fields in a new, exciting variety of events and drawing tons of praise for his signature slow paced structure.  He brings that same structure and management style to his old home casino along with another twist — play goes 6 handed at 36 players to help speed up play as well as test players in a short handed format.

All that said, if you are in the area or just have 10k burning a hole in your pocket, find your way to San Jose and take a shot a WPT championship, a million dollars and about 50 bounties on the heads of poker’s best and brightest. If you don’t want to play come along and bring a camera and an autograph pen to one of the most fan friendly stops on the door. Just let them make it to the bathroom on breaks, OK?

Possibly Related Posts:

• WPT Locks in a Multiyear Deal with FSN
• Sleep in, Make Millions: Press Release WPT LONDON POKER CLASSIC
• 2010 WSOP: Turn out the lights, the Party’s Over. For now.
• 2010 WSOP: The Daily ‘Lack of Sweat’ or Ode to Gavin Smith
• 2010 WSOP The Daily Sweat mobile blackout edition 22/23 June

Online poker and live poker both face a lot of challenges today:

Item 1:  Texas looks at making Texas Hold ‘Em Legal:

From the desk of Texas based poker reporter Michele Lewis comes and update on the fight for live poker in the Lone Star State.  The Texas legislature is holding a vote today on a bill to get live poker legal inside of Texas borders.  To quote a bit from Ms. Lewis’ blog:

Will Doyle Brunson and other top pros from Texas see poker legalized in their home state soon?  Tomorrow the attempt will be made as Texas HB 222will be heard at the capital.  Once again, I will be testifying in hopes of making Texas Holdem legal in Texas.  In the past, most Texans have felt legalizing poker was a pipe dream; however, the bill from two years ago actually made it to the House Floor which was a milestone for Texas poker.  Although the bill died, everyone agreed we would have a great shot in two years.  Which brings us to… tomorrow.

I wish I had more notice to rally up a poker posse of media, pros, players and fans to show up for support tomorrow.  That being said, show up at the Capital tomorrow to show your support in legalizing poker in Texas!  HB 222 is scheduled sometime shortly after lunch, however, things can change rather quickly (but usually slowly) so follow me on twitter for any changes.

Item 2:  Washington State deals the PPA lobby another blow:

Getting blown by a prostitute is still less of an infraction than playing online poker in your own home for the $2 you won in a 2500 man freeroll.  Washington State has decided that it can regulate interstate law despite the PPA lobby attempting to show the unconstitutional nature of such and action.  Lee Rousso, PPA representative for the State of Washington, was handed another setback in his quest to keep online poker from being a felony insde the borders of his state.  Mark Anderson posted the following story with far more accureate information and details than I can muster at this hour, enjoy:

Lee Rousso, the Washington State Director for the Poker Players Alliance, recently weathered another major setback in his ongoing battle to curb the state’s extreme anti-online poker laws when a state appeals court rejected his argument that a 2006 law (which makes playing online poker in Washington a felony) is unconstitutional.

According to a recent article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (www.seattlepi.com), a three judge panel from division 1 of the appeals court disagreed with Rousso that the Washington law oversteps it’s jurisdiction and violates the U.S. Constitution, which puts the regulation of interstate commerce in the hands of the federal government.

With this setback, Rousso’s next step would be to appeal again, this time to the state Supreme Court, which according to the article he is currently considering.
For more information on this and other ongoing fights concerning the legality of poker visit the Poker Players Alliance - poker’s largest grassroots advocacy group.
(We like to call them a LOBBY, but hey, you go boys.)

Item 3:  Poker is illegal!?!  Wanna bet?

On a similar note, online training site BlueFire Poker (who’s instructors included online poker luminary ‘OGMClay Aiken’ Phil Galfond) has put up a $1,000,000 to $1 challenge to the President or any member of Congress that wishes to test the ‘Game of Skill vs. Game of Luck’ theory face to face.  Despite amazing odds, no one has piped up to take this shot at winning the case for their side and making a quick million bucks.  Maybe they should attach it to a pork barrel amendment on a bill introduced right before midnight at the end of a session of congress.  That should get some action.  Worked for the UIEGA.

Item 4:  Online poker for Aussies, Aussies, Aussies?  No! No! No!

Australia seeking to ban online poker??  Toothless scare tatics or a serious threat to one of the fastest growing poker paradises?  Say it ain’t so, mate!!  Well, things are in the works and you can find the full measure (Australia’s Interactive Gaming Act of 2001) here and discuss the issue with our friends at Poker Road on their forums.  Basically,  the Internet Gambling Act 2001 has been in place for years, but only recently has the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) become more adamant about restricting “offensive and illegal” material. The Internet Gambling Act 2001 has been updated over the past few years to include the promotion of interactive gambling services to customers in Australia.   Apparently enforcement is reaching a boiling point as a “blacklist” was leaked according to online source, Wikileaks.

On that blacklist of 1,370 sites are a myriad of online poker sites, including PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. But it also includes several actions seeking out anyone who includes hyperlinks to banned sites — i.e. PokerWire, Poker Road and PokerNews. Hey, I guess were could be illegal in Austrailia now.  As the government proceeds with its plan to censor such sites, the blacklist gives an ugly look at how comprehensive the censorship may be, assuming it gets introduced and enforced.

Possibly Related Posts:

• WPT Locks in a Multiyear Deal with FSN
• Sleep in, Make Millions: Press Release WPT LONDON POKER CLASSIC
• 2010 WSOP: Turn out the lights, the Party’s Over. For now.
• 2010 WSOP: The Daily ‘Lack of Sweat’ or Ode to Gavin Smith
• 2010 WSOP The Daily Sweat mobile blackout edition 22/23 June

By Matt Waldron

Reporting from the road can be challenging — especially when you are your own cameraman, videographer, writer, editor and gopher.  But then again, it can let you do a lot of things that a structured setup won’t let you do.  While I’m at the 2009 World Series of Poker, this is what I will be doing.  My “one man and a cam” Random Questions interviews have been paired with my freelance writing and photography to get access to every level of the action at the WSOP this year.  What I hope to give you as I bounce back and forth from the WSOP this year is a selection of inside bits that you won’t be able to get anywhere else as well as supplemental photos, writing and video that will help take you inside the rail at the Rio.  That, along with a few editorial articles, should make for a whole lot of fun.  Some of the features to expect:

Photo Updates! Shots of both Pros and Joes as they battle it out at the events that we are covering for Life’s A Bluff.  I know many of you will be coming here looking for those shots that I took of you, your wife, your husband, boyfriend, sister or the hot girl on the rail, etc. and for the most part, you will find them on my Flickr site.  If you are downloading them for your personal use, I say GO AT IT!  But, if you want to publish these, they are copyrighted, so make sure you contact me to set something up.

Video Interviews! The Random Questions train rolls up on its third anniversary at the end of this year’s WSOP and I like to think I’ve gotten a little bit better.  Watch this space for RQ’s with two of Event #2′s Final Tabelists, Alec Torelli and Justin Bonomo.  You can see all my old interviews here if you are looking for a particular player.  I might also be uploading “Random Nuggets” from the road that will be brief clips of the wild, weird or interesting things I run into out here at the WSOP.

Road Reports! Little shout outs from the road when I get a bit of time.  No guarantees on length, but some blurbs to keep you updated and let you know what I am doing and how things are progressing.  Without further ado, Road Report #1:

I arrived in Las Vegas at almost 10pm on Friday 29 May.  I have the same mix of excitement and energy that I always do when I hit Las Vegas during the series.  Even though I’m about to work 18 hours a day doing everything under the sun, wear myself out and squeeze in some moments of really  -EV gambling…I can’t help but feel like I’m coming back to a home away from home.  The Rio…possibly one of the strangest locations and themes in Las Vegas…will be my palace and prison as I bounce back and forth between the tournament and cash action, side events and my $30 a night off-strip hotel/casino crash pad.  All powered by a rental Yaris, (that has its check engine light on and sounds like a devil-possessed blender), my “studio in a backpack” (a combination of a Flip Mino, Nikon DSLR, digital audio recorder, laptop, Zazzle Cards and good old pen & paper), caffeine and intestinal fortitude.

After checking in at my hotel (which boasts a McDonald’s AND a drive through sports betting service) I made a bee-line for the Rio and wandered aimlessly trying to find out where in the hell the media room was this year.  4 different Rio employees sent me in 4 different directions but I finally got there and got checked in.  Upon getting my media credentials I was also issued a bag of Teriyaki flavored Jack Link’s Beef Jerky and told (very diligently by the WSOP media staff) to “Not mess with the Sasquatch.”  Oooooo-kay.  I dropped most of my gear except my camera and went into the Amazon room to see how things were progressing with Events 2&3.  The 40th Anniversary $40k buy-in NLHE “super tournament” and the $1500 Omaha 8 or Better.  (Check the photo link for some views from that evening.)

Coming into the Rio was like coming to a reunion of sorts.  Not only was I seeing the players (known and unknown) that I’ve covered and played with over the last 5 years, I’m seeing the poker media teams from all over that have become friends as we ground-out late hours covering poker action.  The teams from Poker Road, Poker News, Poker Pages, Cardplayer, Bluff, the WSOP and dozens of little sites from all over the globe are all here in full force.  Its like getting to see all your friends you haven’t seen for about a year…all at one time.  We are all being “supplemented” by modern technology this year.  Twitter is taking over the poker world!  Not only is about every known and semi-known player calling their own action, but the guys at Poker Road have teamed with Twitter to bring you Poker Road Nation.  From that one page you can see streaming updates from players they are tracking, Poker Road fans that are at the WSOP and poker journalists getting their 140-character sized two cents in as well.  You can follow the link to join the Nation and just add #nation to any post to send it out to that crowd.  (It even works when the Fail Whale lurks!!)  Let me know what you think!  I’m @MattCWaldron if you want to follow along.  (PS — keep track of me as there will be a chance to play a Sit N’ Go with some pros at the Sapphire “Brazilian” Pool on Monday.  Yes, that kind of Brazilian.)

The place was MAD with activity in the satellite room and the cash games as punters went at it to make enough to buy into Event #4, the $1000 “Stimulus Event” that was obviously about to run to capacity.  Lines were easily 100 or more deep from when I got there to when I left.  (Turns out it hit 6,012 runners and had a first prize of over $770,000.)

This is about midnight on the eve of The Event 3.

Then I saw something that made me both happy and sad at the same time.  Right in front of the on-site studio for Poker Road Radio, was a picture that Scott Diamond had commissioned from Life’s A Bluff of our lost friend Justin Shronk.  Shronkdaddy was taken away far too early and this picture really captured him.  Players were signing the poster print so that it can be sent to his mother and I can only hope it shows her how special he was to all of us.

Scott Diamond commissioned this art in memory of Shronk

It somehow turned into about 3:30 in the morning and I had to be back in the ‘palace’ at 10am so I wandered out into the warm desert night, studio in tow, fired up the Devil’s Blender and motored up the 15 for some sleep.  I wish I was driving this:

1970 454 Stingray prize for Invitational Champ

Report #2 tomorrow!!

Possibly Related Posts:

• WPT Locks in a Multiyear Deal with FSN
• Sleep in, Make Millions: Press Release WPT LONDON POKER CLASSIC
• 2010 WSOP: Turn out the lights, the Party’s Over. For now.
• 2010 WSOP: The Daily ‘Lack of Sweat’ or Ode to Gavin Smith
• 2010 WSOP The Daily Sweat mobile blackout edition 22/23 June