Casino Buzz

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – (PRESS RELEASE) -- The remaining twenty-seven players competing in the $5,000 event returned to the new 85-table poker room at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa to play for a champion. Within a few hours the Final Table was formed. The Grinder was the first to be bumped from the table winning, $15,730. Joey Brooks was able to withstand a short stack for much of the day before falling in 7th place winning $44,400. With six remaining players, they deliberated intently over each decision, each move. The stakes were high and the action was tense.

The $5,000 event was the richest event to date at the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Newly turned pro, Matthew Casterella, of White Plains, NY, withstood the pressure of the day and the competition to win the tournament and $375,100 in prize money. Casterella who spent most of the day without much expression on his face was all smiles, while collecting nearly $400,000 in prize money. "This is incredible. I have played a lot of poker, but this is my first major win. It feels great to have won this at Borgata."

Bill Edler, one of the top players in the world, was cheered on by a large selection of pros. Gavin Smith and Chris Bell led the cheering section for "Wild" Bill, who finished in 4th place taking home $84,700. Edler was visibly disappointed after the event noting, "I'm upset. When you make it this close, it's not about the money; it's about winning."

John Myung, another professional with over $1,000,000 in career earnings, fought valiantly with his short stack, but fell in third place winning $114,950. An amateur from Florida, Elio Cabrera fell in second just several hands after Myung. Cabrera, who won $211,750 for his efforts said, "I was not expecting second place to be so much money! This was such a fun tournament and a great time."

Thursday Night also featured the World Poker Tour Kick-Off Party at Gypsy Bar. Many top pros mingled with fans and celebrated the start of the WPT Classic. WSOP's 2006 Main Event winner Jamie Gold played Heads Up on the Poker Pro tables with many fans.

The $10,000 buy-in WPT Borgata Poker Classic day began with nearly 600 entries including the superstar of poker, Phil Ivey. One hundred thirty-six players won their way to the Main Event through one of the Super Satellites that have taken place throughout the Borgata Winter Open. Yesterday's winners included Egg Harbor Township, NJ, native Mike Hofeld. After the event Hofeld commented, "I started with $100 and now I am playing in the $10,000 buy-in event; not a bad return."

Rich Sudy played his best hand at MotorCity Casino Tuesday, even though his fingers only pushed a few buttons.

The 44-year-old poker player from Novi was trying out the newest attraction at the casino -- electronic poker tables.

It's the latest way MotorCity is trying to differentiate itself in Detroit's ultra-competitive gaming market. The tables, which aren't manned by dealers, are popular with gamblers who want to play more hands in less time.

MotorCity got its two, 10-seat tables on Jan. 15. Greektown Casino got electronic poker tables about a week later.

Regulators approved them for use in September. The electronic tables are leased and provide a savings for the casino because they don't need to pay a dealer.

PokerTek, a North Carolina software company, makes the tables. Using them is similar to playing poker online, but the tables have the appeal of playing in front of others rather than from behind a computer screen at home.

Sudy, an experienced Texas Hold'em poker player, investigated the tables for his girlfriend, who is new at the game. "They're pretty easy to use," Sudy said.

The casino takes less of your winnings and "the game moves faster than with a dealer. You can play more hands in less time," Sudy said.

"I think she'll definitely like it," he said. While he liked the game, he still prefers the real thing -- holding the cards and feeling the chips in his hands.

For conventional poker games, the casino keeps 10% of the pot, not to exceed $6 per pot. On electronic tables, the casino keeps 10%, not to exceed $4 per pot.

MotorCity Casino touts the tables as another new offering for customers, and officials say the tables weren't purchased as a way to save money.

"We're hiring seven new dealers at the casino," said assistant casino shift manager George Smith. "And the tables are leased. They cost money."

"The tables have a lot of appeal to both seasoned and beginner players," Smith said. "People like the speed and accuracy of the tables. It's like online but better because you actually get to see the people who you're playing against."
BY MARGARITA BAUZA

Dear Mark: Playing Jacks-or-Better on video poker, should I keep a non-winning pair and draw three cards like I have been doing, or should I be throwing it away and draw one card to fill in a four-card flush, or a four card open ended straight? Bill W.

In certain situations, Bill, a non-winning low pair has a calculable value (the average value of all the wins attainable if the optimum cards are retained and each unique possible draw occurs) and can be worth keeping. But the way you have been playing them, always holding the low pair, is correct some, but not all, of the time. The low pair is worth saving against a four-card straight with no, or only one, high card, but that low pair should be discarded if your four-card straight has two or three high cards, and most definitely when you have a four-card flush.

Dear Mark: Can you recommend a book on how to win at tournament blackjack? Gerald B.

I just finished reading and thoroughly enjoying Play to Win, A World Champion’s Guide to Winning Blackjack Tournaments by Ken Einiger. Einiger was the winner of the 2005 World Series of Blackjack as well as numerous other blackjack competitions. Another recommendation, Gerald, is Casino Tournament Strategy by Sanford Wong. This book combines his previous Tournament Blackjack and Tournament Craps books together. Anything that Wong writes is worth reading, and this book is no exception.

By the way, Stanford Wong is not his real name, but a nom de plume. He took his alma mater as the given name and an Asian last name to provide the "mystique of the Orient.” It’s not true that he types with chopsticks.

Dear Mark: I noticed that the last time I visited the Gulf Coast that your column appears in the Biloxi Sun Herald. Here’s one for you. Have you ever heard of a game called Mississippi Stud? Greg M.

Heard of it, yes, played it, no.

Mississippi Stud is but another poker variant in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. A form of seven-card stud, Mississippi Stud is generally played pot limit, with fourth and fifth street cards dealt without a betting round between them, and seventh-street dealt face up.

ShuffleMaster has their own table game version of Mississippi Stud where players compete against a paytable rather than against other players or a dealer, and win if their hands consist of a pair of 6s or better.

Although I haven’t seen this table game version, I hope those who have will drop me a line and share their thoughts on the game so I can pass them along to Greg.

Dear Mark: The question about "Back Door Little Joe" is referring to the song "It Was A Good Day" by Ice Cube. The lyrics in question are:

…With the seven, seven-eleven, seven-eleven, seven

Even back do' little Joe. I picked up the cash flow.

An educated guess as to the reference would be that since they are likely not playing craps on a craps table, but rather on the ground and shooting against a wall or door, Cube is likely referring to the fact that he was able to roll "little Joe" off the "back do.” Gavin O.

Boy, am I’m listening far too much to lyrics like “Let’s go surfing now, everybody’s learning how ”? It’s probably best that I branch out some, but since the kid’s gone off to college and I now have control of the television remote and the car radio, I won’t be giving up my Oldies 107.5 anytime soon. But thanks, Gavin, for the catch.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “Playing poker for a living gives you backbone. You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart.” -- Bobby Baldwin, 1978 WSOP winner (2001)
By Mark Pilarski

Poker is a democratic game. Whether you are male or female, young or old, rich or poor, black or white - it makes no difference at the poker table. If you like playing for pennies, thousands, or matchsticks, you can become a student of the game and improve your skill level.

A truly American pastime, it's been enjoyed by presidents, generals, Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress and average citizens for more than 150 years.

Poker can be played at home, in clubs, on cruises and in casinos. And until the United States government began intruding on our right to play poker online, that was accessible also.

Unfortunately, even as public support for poker grows, some over-zealous government officials have decided that, while betting on horse races and buying lottery tickets online is okay, playing poker is not. In October 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) became law. While not out rightly banning online poker, it makes criminals out of many of the entrepreneurs who bring it to us.

Last week, two of these businessmen, the Canadian founders of NETeller, were arrested, detained and charged with violations of the 1961 Wire Act, the progenitor of the UIEGA. They face 20-year prison sentences if convicted. Reverberations from the arrests have severely curtailed online poker operations in the United States.

Some say that money, being made offshore and not on our soil, is the reason for this crackdown. The obvious answer is regulation. According to an economic analysis, $3.3 billion in incremental federal tax revenue could be raised annually if the government regulated Internet poker. It's been successfully done in the United Kingdom, to the benefit of the gaming sites, the players, and government coffers.

Others say that "morality" is the reason for the screw tightening, and that those who presume to decide what's right and wrong for us to do in the privacy of our homes believe that playing poker on a computer compromises John Q. Citizen's decency. The obvious answer to that is activism.

Visit www.pokerplayersalliance.org to find out how you can fight back with your vote, your signature, your money, and your mouth.
By Jill Cohen

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 24, 2006) – For the third straight year, a field of 64 of the world’s elite poker players will descend upon Las Vegas from March 1-4 as the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship brings a ‘who’s who’ from the poker world to the Caesars Palace Poker Tournament Room.

Returning to compete this year are several of the worlds top poker pros, including: defending champion Ted Forrest; 2005 champion Phil Hellmuth; and Chris Ferguson, who will try to improve on his 2005 and 2006 runner-up status. Also completing will be Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, among many others.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship features 64 of the world's best poker players competing in a series of heads-up (one-on-one games of Texas Hold'em) matches to determine who is the best face-to-face poker player in the world. The tournament has a unique, single-elimination, bracket-style format modeled after college basketball tournaments.

The single-elimination competition begins Friday morning, March 2 and continues through Sunday, March 4 when a two-out-of-three championship match will determine the winner. The tournament will be taped for broadcast on NBC and CNBC over seven consecutive Sundays in April and May. The viewing gallery is open to guests on a first-come first-served basis.

“The National Heads-Up is poker playing at its finest,” offers Jon Miller, Executive VP of NBC Sports. “We’ve got 64 of the best poker players going head-to-head and there are no second chances – you lose, you go home. The caliber of players and the cut-throat game play makes for the most exciting spectator poker around.”

“This tournament is all about pressure,” offers Ted Forrest, the 2006 National Heads-Up Champion. “There are a lot of great players involved, but in the end, it’s all about who can focus on their cards and opponent, not on the big chance of going home empty handed. But I did it once, so I can certainly do it again.”

The National Heads-Up Tournament field of 64 includes three slots to be filled by the winners of two other tournaments: a Caesars Palace Poker Room tournament and the National Heads-Up Poker Online tournament. The Caesars Palace Poker Room tournament will give two players a chance to win the $20,000 seat in a traditional tournament setting on February 10 at 3pm inside the poker tournament room at Caesars Palace. There is a $230 entry fee with multiple $200 re-buys. Players can learn more at caesarspalace.com. Players can also try to win a single seat by competing in the 2007 National Heads-Up Poker Online Tournament held at nbcheadsup.com in January and February.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The poker action was wild at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa with two final tables taking place on Monday. The morning's action started with the conclusion of the Ladies Event which began with 390 players, the highest attendance of any Ladies Tournament in Atlantic City. The final table was formed around 1:00 AM as these tenacious female players continued to play until a champion was crowned. Emily Flax of Provincetown, MA, was the last lady standing at 4:00 AM, taking home $30,927 in first place.

"I am so excited I won," commented Flax. "I started to believe I had a real chance to win when we made the final table." After picking up her winnings and her engraved champion's watch, Flax's smile brightened up the entire Event Center as she told the crowd: "I'm going to Spa to enjoy my victory before heading home. Borgata is out of this world!"

The second place finisher, Nicole Rowe of Salisbury, NY, took home $17,035. Rowe, who learned to play poker online, explained, "I was stuck at home so much while I was pregnant, that I started playing poker in my free time and I guess I got good. I played my first tournament at Borgata a couple of weeks ago, but this was my first big tournament."

The Final Table for the $500+60 Limit Hold "Em Event took place on Monday after the Ladies Event. The final table featured calculated play and some tension amongst the players. It seemed like the final table would last for hours, but players fell quickly. Daniel Occhipinti of Saddleback, NJ won the event and $41,075 in first place prize money. He battled with Shawn Berthiame of Brooklyn, NY who took home $23,187 in prize money. Justin Peckholdt of Babylon, NY earned $12,187 for third place.

Monday also featured the start of the $2,500 buy-in No Limit Hold 'Em event. There were 249 entrants when the event began competing for their piece of the $622,500 prize pool. John Turner of Henderson Nevada, one of the top internet players in the world, is the current chip leader; but there is a lot of poker left to be played.

The pros have arrived in large numbers at Borgata. Many are ready to compete in Wednesday's $5,000 buy-in event. Others are arriving in time for Thursday's WPT Kick-Off Party at Gypsy Bar beginning at 8:00PM. The party will feature a heads up poker tournament with several top pros. The tournament is sponsored by Poker Tek.

COMMERCE, California -- (PRESS RELEASE) - For any woman who has ever dreamed of a seat in a World Poker Tour (WPT) event, Commerce Casino has a "can't miss" opportunity on Saturday, Feb. 3 -- the Los Angeles Poker Classic Ladies No Limit Hold'Em Tournament. The winner will get both a spot in the WPT Celebrity Invitational from March 3-5 and a seat in the WPT World Championship in April. That's a chance at two for the price of one $1,060-buy-in!

Participants may have a difficult time deciding which event is more exciting: a $25,000 seat in the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas -- which features poker's elite and where last year female poker pro Vanessa Rousso took home $263,265 for her 7th place finish; or the hottest ticket in poker, the WPT Celebrity Invitational, where the top players ante up with Hollywood's poker-passionate celebrities. Players in previous years have included James Woods, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Don Cheadle, Ron Livingston, Mimi Rogers, Ed Asner, Jennifer Tilly, Jon Favreau, Stephen Collins, Anne Heche, Sharon Lawrence, David Sutcliff, Lou Diamond Phillips, Norm McDonald, Dean Cain, Camryn Manheim, Sara Rue, Richard Karn, Willie Garson, Cheryl Hines, Kathy Griffin, Shannon Elizabeth and Lolita Davidovich. Commerce Casino Ladies' Tourney winner is guaranteed at least one celebrity at her table!

"We've gone all out this year," said Cheri Dokken, Tournament Director. "The L.A. Poker Classic will have 31 events this year, but only one that offers these two giant prizes-and it's just for our Ladies' Tournament winner. Women are rising in the poker ranks at lightening speed-both in numbers and winnings and we want to make sure this is one of the premier events on the women's poker calendar."

The $25,000 WPT World Championship entry fee will come out of the prize pool from the women's tourney, but there will be plenty of cash left over to add to the victor's haul.

The Ladies Event is part of Commerce Casino's annual L.A. Poker Classic, Jan. 25-March 5. The world's largest poker room will host its six weeks of non-stop poker action with 31 different tournaments, culminating in the $10,000-buy-in WPT championship event Saturday, Feb. 24. Commerce Casino will guarantee $2 million to the first place winner of the L.A. Poker Classic Championship event and $1 million to the runner-up. A complete schedule can be viewed on the Commerce Casino website, www.commercecasino.com .

Following on the heels of that event is the fourth annual WPT Celebrity Invitational from March 3-5, which is only open to invited guests and poker players who have already completed early buy-in for the WPT World Championship in April. The $200,000 prize pool is compliments of Commerce Casino.

The Los Angeles Poker Classic Ladies No Limit Hold'Em Tournament at Commerce Casino will begin at 3:30pm on Saturday Feb. 3. Players may register on site. For more information, go to www.commercecasino.com .

Commerce Casino

Commerce Casino is the largest poker casino in the world. There are more than 200 poker tables featuring just about every form of poker: Texas Hold'Em, 7-Card Stud, Omaha, Lowball, Pot Limit, Mexican Poker, Pineapple, Draw, Low-Ball and many others. Also offered are Pan and California games. Commerce Casino is located at 6131 East Telegraph Rd., Commerce, CA 90040, just off the Santa Ana (5) Freeway at the Washington Blvd. exit. The phone is (323) 721-2100.

Shares in online gaming firms have tumbled again - amid reports the US Department of Justice is stepping up its probe into the industry.

It has demanded that investment banks hand over documents and details of phone calls connected with internet gaming firms, reports say.

Partygaming shares fell 7.5% in early Monday trading while Sportingbet and 888.com lost about 3.5%.

Online gambling was effectively banned in the US last year.

Legislation was introduced that outlawed financial transactions related to gaming.

Falling values

Reports on Sunday said that the Department of Justice had ordered 16 banks, including HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort and Deutsche Bank, as well as accountants and law firms to pass on information.

In July last year, executives from online gaming firms, including Sportingbet and Betonsports were detained by US authorities.

Last week, two founders of internet payment firm Neteller, which has been used by gaming sites, were charged with handling billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds.

Millions were wiped off the value of internet gaming firms last year as they ceased US trading.

Before the US crackdown on internet gaming, Partygaming had generated about 75% of its income from the US market while about half of 888 Holding's business came from the country.

Dear Mark: In some casinos that offer Pai Gow Poker, the dealer deals a second hand that is offered to the player. Exactly what is it, and is it worth playing? Billy F.

That second hand you observed, Billy, is called “the Dragon,“ It’s an additional hand that each player in turn has the option of playing. Essentially, it gives the player the ability to play two positions rather than one. It could also be a community hand for all to play, should someone want to make an additional bet. It is not a required wager, rather a bonus bet.

I have noticed that those who play the Dragon do so depending on the circumstances and their style of play. Some only play the Dragon when they are holding a stalwart hand; others only play the Dragon when they think their main hand is a loser. Go figure.

In most casinos, if you want to play the Dragon, your wager must be the same size as or larger than your original bet. Also, the rules generally specify that the hand must be set according to the house’s own way of setting hands.

With a deck of cards at the kitchen table you can become quite proficient at the game, and with perfect basic strategy you can grind the casino edge down to 2.5%. Even so, Billy, I wouldn’t recommend playing the Dragon hand myself, because “copies” (where the player and banker have identical two-card or five-card hands) still go to the dealer, biting the player, naturally.

Dear Mark: I have seen double-deck blackjack dealt both face up, and face down. Is there any advantage one way or another for the player or the house? Kyle F.

For card-counting players, face-down (not being able to see all the cards on the layout until the end of the hand) gives them less information. Consequently, Kyle, cards dealt face down benefit the house, face-up the skilled player.

Dear Mark: Could you please explain how a satellite tournament works in poker, and how one goes from one of these types of tournaments to a larger, more profitable one? Martin C.

A satellite tournament, Martin, is a special tournament whose prize isn’t necessarily cold hard cash, but a buy-in to a larger tournament.

A one-table satellite tournament usually has just one winner, although second place is occasionally awarded a free entry to another tournament or cash. In larger satellite tournaments with multiple tables, the winner may get not only an entry to a larger tournament, but also such perks as round-trip airfare and accommodations, especially if the tournament takes place in a city other than that of the larger satellite. The winner may also get a percentage of the excess cash accumulated in buy-ins and re-buys. Second, third, and even additional places can also win a percentage of this cash or buy-ins to this or to other tournaments.

The larger the tournament, Martin, the more places that are paid, from as few as one in a one-table satellite, three in a small tourney, eight to ten in a medium-sized contest, to as many as 36 in a $10,000 buy-in televised World Poker Tour tournament.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “The people who run the casino are tough and smart in so many ways, but they belong in the Dark Ages. They explain the phenomena of their world the way the ancient astrologers did. They really believe that dice get hot.” --Edward O. Thorp, quoted in The Green Felt Jungle
By Mark Pilarski

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – (PRESS RELEASE) -- It was electric inside the Event Center at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa on Thursday. The forty remaining players from Event 1 ($500 buy-in event) returned to battle. The field that began with 1,370 players had been whittled down to three. Tae Baik of Leonia, NJ, knocked out the remaining two players to capture the first title of the 2007 Winter Poker Open and the $152,960 in first place prize money.

David Zhu of Scarbourough, Canada, was the second place finisher taking home $95,900. The third place finisher, Emad Alabsi of Wickliffe, Ohio takes home $58,225. Alabsi, who called himself the "The Beast" at the table, had a dominating table personality often singing for the table or laughing it up with the growing crowd. "I always have fun when I'm playing poker here; Borgata offers a great atmosphere to play in."

Baik, who wore the perfect "poker face" throughout the tournament, was all smiles when he received his prize money and Tag Heuer purchased from Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelry, given to all main event winners throughout the Winter Poker Open. Baik commented, "I have played tournaments in Borgata's new poker room before, but this is my first victory in a tournament of this magnitude."

Vinny Procopio, a constant fixture at Borgata events, was the seventh place finisher taking home $30,825. Procopio was enjoying his time at the final table and was pleased with his finish, inviting many of his poker friends to join him at his table at mur.mur this weekend.

The $750 buy-in event featured juicy poker action from the aggressive field. Players included Men "The Master" and Joseph Brooks, a winner at the 2006 Borgata Poker Open. The remaining 18 players return to Borgata Event Center on Friday to play for the championship and their piece of the $464,250 prize pool.

There are 28 Super Satellites and Second Chance Tournaments remaining -- 28 opportunities to take as little as $120 and turn it into thousands.

BARABOO - More than 2 years after packing away the chips, the Ho-Chunk Casino in Baraboo reopened its poker tables at 10 a.m. Sunday with 40 players filling four tables and more excited gamblers waiting in the wings.

The casino's table games were removed on June 30, 2004, after a state Supreme Court ruling in 2003 that nullified the gambling compacts Gov. Jim Doyle negotiated with Wisconsin's tribes. That ruling was reversed by the same court in July and the casino has been training dealers and preparing tables ever since, said casino spokeswoman Beth Anacker.

The resumption of table games at the casino could mean the addition of at least $70 million to state coffers. After the 2004 ruling, the tribe suspended payments owed to the state under the 2003 compact.

According to the state, the tribe owes taxpayers $70 million in back payments. That figure takes into account a $30 million payment the tribe made last year, said Scott Larrivee, a spokesman for the state Department of Administration.

Larrivee said Tuesday that negotiations were ongoing regarding Ho-Chunk's payments to the state under the compact.

"The state will continue to work with the tribe to ensure that their compact payments are made," Larrivee said in a statement. "The state of Wisconsin is pursuing all available options - negotiation, arbitration, mediation - to collect those payments for taxpayers, and remains optimistic that the Ho-Chunk will make their payment before the end of the state fiscal year" in June.

Ho-Chunk officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The opening of the poker tables Sunday followed the opening of craps tables on Dec. 1 and roulette on Dec. 17. Tables for Let it Ride and three-card poker will open Feb. 1.

"It's a relief to have something to offer," said Amy Kirby, table games operations manager, while overseeing three packed tables Tuesday. ". . . For the past 2 years, that's been the question out on the floor: When is poker coming back?" she added.

As momentum built and rumors swirled prior to the tables' reopening, the casino was receiving so many calls it set up a poker hot line - 608-356-6210, ext. 2190 - to answer questions, Anacker said.

The poker room is in the same 11,000-square-foot circus- tent-shaped dome that houses the casino's new off-track betting parlor. There are 12 poker tables set up, though only five have been going at once so far, Kirby said.

Games and blinds are flexible to the players' consensus, Kirby said, and could vary from the popular Texas Hold'em to Omaha, and from blinds of $2-$4 up to $15-$30.

There are no tournaments scheduled but the casino is planning for them in the future, she said.

The nearest casino that offers similar table games is the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, Kirby said.
By CHRISTINA BEAM

LONDON (Reuters) - British money transfer firm NETeller Plc closed its U.S. Internet gambling services on Thursday, wiping out over 65 percent of its business, after two of the group's founders were arrested there this week.

NETeller is the latest victim in a U.S. crackdown on online gaming, which began with the arrest of BETonSPORTS chief executive David Carruthers in Texas last July.

NETeller's two founders, Canadians Stephen Lawrence, 46, and John Lefebvre, 55, have been charged with handling billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds.

Both face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

"The operations linked to U.S. gambling account for about 65 to 70 percent of sales," said a source close to the company.

NETeller said that after the United States effectively banned online gaming in November, it had experienced slowing fourth quarter growth.

NETeller has always said it was waiting to see the detail of the regulations before making a decision. It had its shares suspended on Tuesday after the two founders were arrested on Monday -- Lawrence in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Lefebvre in Malibu, California.

"Today's withdrawal from the U.S. market by NETeller is the culmination of months of careful planning," NETeller said in its statement on Thursday.
By Pete Harrison

Building on the recent success of the 2006 Borgata Poker Open -- the biggest poker tournament in Atlantic City's history -- and the debut of its new, 85-table room -- the largest poker room in Atlantic City -- Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced it will kick off the New Year with the second annual Borgata Winter Open. The 14-day tournament will begin January 17, 2007, and will conclude with the Borgata Poker Classic, part of the WORLD POKER TOUR(R) (WPT), on January 26-30, 2007.

The Borgata Winter Poker Open will mark the WORLD POKER TOUR's sixth visit to Borgata. The most recent Borgata Poker Open in September drew a record 540 players with a prize pool over $5,000,000. A virtual who's who of poker stars, the tournament drew such competitors as Michael "The Grinder" Mizrahi, Shannon Shorr, Daniel Negreanu (2004 WPT Player of the Year and winner of the 2004 Borgata Poker Open), Phil "the Unabomber" Laak, Academy-Award nominee Jennifer Tilly, David Williams, Antonio Esfandiari, actress Shannon Elizabeth, David "the Dragon" Pham and Maciek "Michael" Gracz, all vying for the WPT title. However, it was an up and coming amateur from North Carolina named Mark Newhouse, who captured the WPT title and the first-place prize of $1,519,020.

Last year also marked the debut of Borgata's revamped 21,500 square-foot poker room, home to three anchor events: Borgata Winter Open/WPT Poker Classic, Borgata Summer Open and the WPT/Borgata Poker Open. The Borgata Poker Room now features an eighteen-table High Limit Room offering food service; a nine-table tournament area offering bleacher seating for tournament viewing that may be partitioned off as a "reserved" poker area; and a 58-table Main Poker Room offering live poker action. The room is outfitted with over seventy plasma televisions and offers the largest variety of games and limits in Atlantic City. Highlights from 2006 include the first ever Borgata Summer Open, which drew nearly four-thousand entrants and cash prizes totaling $2,517,030; the fourth annual Borgata Poker Open, which drew nearly ten- thousand entrants with cash prizes totaling over $10 million; and $50,000 Guaranteed Friday tournaments, a favorite among amateurs and professionals alike.

"At Borgata, we strive to offer our poker players a full destination experience with A-list entertainment, exciting nightlife options, stellar dining, upscale accommodations, a robust poker program and above all, great service," said Larry Mullin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Borgata. "Borgata is excited to partner with the WORLD POKER TOUR once again to bring a world-class tournament to Atlantic City and offer our players a unique experience while they are here."

Televised nationally on the Travel Channel and one of the premier stops on WORLD POKER TOUR's 17-tournament tour, the Borgata Poker Classic will feature the world's top poker players along with local fan favorites competing in No- Limit Texas Hold'em poker. The buy-in amount is $10,000.

Online reservations are available for Main Events by visiting http://www.theborgata.com. On-site registration for all events begins Friday, January 12, 2007, and will be available until January 29 at 2PM.

Special hotel room rates are available to tournament players Sunday through Thursday at $100, Friday at $179 and Saturday at $199. Call 1.866. MYBORGATA for more details.

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- NETeller Plc, a processor of payments for Internet gambling companies whose shares have lost four-fifths of their value in the past year, said U.S. authorities detained two of its founder shareholders.

Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre, both former directors of the Isle of Man-based company, were traveling separately, NETeller said in a Regulatory News Service statement today. They have no current connection with the company, the statement said.

The company didn't say why the two were detained on Jan. 15 and NETeller hasn't received any correspondence from U.S. authorities. ``There is no connection at present between NETeller and the charges against the directors,'' external spokesman George Cazenove said by telephone in London.

NETeller, whose clients include Victor Chandler, on Oct. 31 said that a U.S. law that aims to shut down online gaming in the country by criminalizing transfers of funds would change the direction of the company ``fundamentally.''

Shares of NETeller were suspended in London. They have lost 79 percent of their value during the past 12 months.

``This muddies the water in the industry again somewhat but the reaction in the market has been somewhat muted,'' Tejinder Randhawa, an analyst at Evolution Securities, said today. ``I don't see this as going anywhere,'' he said. Evolution's recommendation on NETeller stock is under review.

Lawrence, the founder and former chairman of NETeller, resigned as a non-executive director on Oct. 13 last year. Lefebvre stepped down as a non-executive director on Dec. 16, 2005, according to a filing.

Cazenove said NETeller doesn't know which firm is legally representing Lawrence and Lefebvre.
By Victoria Richards

He defeated a record field of 8,773 players to capture a record $12 million prize at last year's World Series of Poker.

So what does Jamie Gold of Paramus do for his next challenge?

He sits down with the best cash players in the world for the third season of Game Show Network's "High Stakes Poker," which debuts 9 p.m. Monday.

Gold, who dominated the World Series with his play and talk, offered a humble reason for his appearance on the show that requires each player to come to the table with a minimum of $100,000 in cash.

"Before I was a poker player, I was a fan. So it was an honor for me to play with these guys," Gold said of the competition, which included poker superstars Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein and Daniel Negreanu.

Gold and Brunson hook up in a pair of big hands early

"I knew I was out of my league," Gold said by phone from California on Friday. "But one day I'll be able to tell my grandkids that I played against the best players in the world and I'll have the TV tapes to show them."

For Gold, the months since his victory have been tinged with controversy and grief. He's involved in a lawsuit over half his winnings and his father, Dr. Robert Gold, passed away last month after a battle with ALS.

This week, in addition to "High Stakes," he'll also appear on NBC's new poker show, "Poker After Dark," playing with world champions Brunson, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, Carlos Mortensen and Chris Moneymaker. ("Poker After Dark" airs 2:05 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a weekly wrapup show at 1 a.m. Sunday.)
By MARC SCHWARZ

Dear Mark: I disagree with you in that a player at third base in blackjack has no effect on the outcome of the game. I've seen dumb players take the dealer's bust card far too many times to believe otherwise. Willy H.

I’ll stick by my past statement that poor play on third base does not affect the overall outcome of all hands dealt. Each card dealt is random and since you, the dealer, fellow players, and yes, even the player at third giving the house a 4-5% edge by playing poorly, has no idea what the next card is, the play at third will not have any repercussions on the game in general, just on his or her hand.

Also, Willy, you overlook in your statement the times when a player took a card that would have helped the dealer, resulting in the dealer’s going bust with the following card dealt. For the decade plus that I had dealt cards, or oversaw a pit full of dealers, I can tell you unequivocally that having viewed a kazillion hands, I have seen it go both ways about equally.

Dear Mark: I was wondering if there was anything in craps called a "Back Door Little Joe?" I heard this in a song and was wondering what it was? Troy C.

"Little Joe" and "Little Joe from Kokomo," are two of those colorful calls, made by a stickperson, that represent the number four. As for “Back Door Little Joe,” not only have I never heard of it, I didn’t find it in my extensive gaming library, a google search came up empty, and my inquiry of a few living legends still dealing dice, who -- with a combined working experience of well over 100 years produced a “Sorry, Mark.” They haven’t heard of it either.

Dear Mark: When you watch Texas Hold’em on television, the players always flip over their cards when going “all in.” I’ve been told that technically you don’t have to do that, and instead, verbally say you’re “all in,” and just wait until the end of the hand before you show your cards. Are they doing it wrong on television? Phillip G.

In tournament play, Phillip, which is what you are watching on TV, you are required to turn your cards over. With a cash game, it is optional.

Dear Mark: At our weekly Texas Hold’em game, we had a disagreement over a player who accidentally showed his cards before the betting rounds were complete. The debate was over whether that player's hand was automatically dead. Yeah or nay please. We will stand by your decision. Dan M.

In Texas Hold’em, Dan, an exposed card or hand by any player would still be considered a live hand, not a dead one.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “There are few things that are so unpardonably neglected in our country as poker. The upper class knows very little about poker. Now and then you find ambassadors who have sort of a general knowledge of poker, but the ignorance of the people is fearful. Why, I have known clergymen, good men, kind-hearted, liberal, sincere, and all that, who did not know the meaning of a "flush". It is enough to make one ashamed of the species. --Mark Twain
By Mark Pilarski

NBC's "POKER After Dark" features six great poker players in a $20,000 buy-in, winner-take-all tournament, which is broken down into 5 days of play. I'm compelled to say that I'm embarrassed by my bratlike conduct in the first-ever episode, which featured a classic, 7-minute-long "Phil Hellmuth tirade," but it did make for some pretty darn good television.

My tablemates for my explosion were World Champion of Poker Huck Seed, three-time World Poker Tour winner Gus Hansen, Annie Duke, Shawn "The Sheik" Sheikhan, and Steve Zolotow. Why did I lose my cool? Simply because I asked my tablemates to "Please be quiet for a moment" - during a key hand - and they continued to talk. If my tablemates did in fact go on talking after I asked for silence, then Tournament Directors Association rules they would be assessed a 20-minute penalty, and be forced to hold their tongues and/or leave the room.

I wanted a ruling from show producer, and longtime poker player, Morey Eskandani. I asked Eskandani what penalties were in place to prevent blatant violations of the rules and etiquette of poker tournaments. He said that they had no penalties in place as of yet, but that they would put some in place soon. This answer didn't sit well with me and I stormed off the set - only to return 20 minutes later.

At the time I felt like my tantrum was, at least in part, justified. Upon further review (when I saw the show), I saw a lot of innocent stuff going on.

It seems that I was the one who crossed the line here, and I apologize to everyone involved and to all of the television viewers for my conduct.

The hand

With the blinds at $300 to $600, I raised it up with A-10 (on the button) and, making up my mind that Duke (in the big blind) was likely to reraise me with many different hands that I could beat or match up well against; especially if she had an ace in her hand. Because I only had $7,000 in chips to her $23,000, I knew that Duke could afford to take a chance against me - she could lose only 30 percent of her chips.

Sheikhan folded in the small blind, and Duke reraised it $4,000 more. Now I was trying to decide on the best course of action. Should I follow up on my first line of thinking and call Duke? No, of course not; I decided that I should at least give myself a chance to read her first. If I felt extreme strength, then I would fold my hand. If I felt she was weak, then I would call with my hand (effectively moving all-in). This is when I asked for silence, and asked Duke, "Do you have anything?" Then Seed innocently joked, "You asked for us to be quiet so that you could talk!" Then Hansen then made an innocent joke, and finally Sheikhan said something as well.

Now, as I began to lose my cool (again, I felt like proper poker etiquette was not being observed), I also began to lose my reading abilities to a degree. However, I did eventually make the right move when I folded - Duke had pocket kings. Thus, after much unneeded drama, I made a good fold (A-10 is a 2 ½-1 underdog to K-K).

Poker etiquette and rules state: a) you have the right to silence when you are making a key decision; b) you cannot carry on after a request for silence; c) you cannot let your hole cards hit the floor; d) all of the above.

Answer: d.
By Phil Hellmuth

The final free-roll tournament in the World Series of Poker qualifying series at the Pahrump Nugget will be held Saturday, starting at 4 p.m.

A total of 28 players have qualified for the Saturday tournament, based on their having played 40 hours of live poker in the Nugget during December.

The top five finishers Saturday will be awarded points; 10, for first; 5, for second; 3, for third; 2, for fourth and 1, for fifth. The payoffs total $2,100, with the Nugget having paid out $2,310 in prize money.

A total of $10,000 will be at stake Feb. 24, when the top 20 players compete for at least one seat in the 2007 World Series of Poker, tentatively scheduled to begin June 1 at the Rio Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas.

The series leader, after 11 events, is Tom Duke, with 25 points (one first, three seconds). Blake Lozo has 20 points (two firsts), while Frank Polansky has 19 points (one victory).

The standings:

A total of 31 players have placed in the previous 11 World Series of Poker qualifying tournaments at the Pahrump Nugget.

Listed are the players, their points, and in parenthesis, wins:

1. Tom Duke, 25 (one).

2. Blake Lozo, 20 (two).

3. Frank Polansky, 19 (one).

4. Jim Robertson, 15 (one).

5. Rob Lisull, 14 (one).

6. Larry Mauch, 13 (one).

7. Butch Dole, 10 (one); ties -- Bernie DeSantos, 10 (one); Buzz Busbee, 10 (one).

10. Rob Reddick, 6.

11. Rollie Batayola, 5; ties -- Ken Fiege, 5; Ben Lagos, 5; Andy Franzen, 5; Russ Eleogram, 5; Skip Woodland, 5; Frank Kost, 5.

18. Rupert Hodnett, 4.

19. Don McDermott, 3; ties -- Doug Gregory, 3; Todd Bock, 3; Ron Kaltenbach, 3; Patti Franzen, 3; Rusty Rivas, 3.

25. Jack Morgadonna, 2; ties -- Ray Guin, 2; Nella Lawson, 2; Reno Gregory, 2.

29. Reno Soto, 1; ties -- Mike Greenwich, 1; Carmen Lombardozzi, 1.

The Crystal Casino and Ladies International Poker Series (LIPSTour.com) are proud to present the first annual Los Angeles Poker Expo. The Poker expo, scheduled for April 6-8, 2007 will be held at the Crystal Casino, 123 E. Artesia Blvd. Compton, CA 90220. The Expo will include a variety of poker retailers, authors, magazines and more! Poker enthusiasts can browse through poker related items like t-shirts, books, chips, felts, video's, apparel, tables, art, posters, games, card decks, magazines and so much more!

”This is the first of its kind for a casino here in Los Angeles” said Crystal Casino owner, Mark Kelegian. “We’re excited to open our doors to the public and feature Crystal Casino’s recently renovated property.”

During the Expo, Crystal Casino will host a series of poker tournaments leading up to a championship event. Also included in the series, is a ladies event hosted by Ladies International Poker Series. The winner of that tourney represents the Crystal Casino in the LIPS Tour Grand Championship scheduled for July at the Orleans Casino in July during the Orleans Open.

The LA Poker Expo is currently accepting vendor, sponsor, and advertiser applications on a first come first serve basis. For more details and to register for the expo, visit The Los Angeles Poker Expo website at http://www.lapokerexpo.com.

Mohegan Sun, already one of the world's largest casinos, has unveiled plans for an estimated $740 million expansion in Uncasville, Conn., that will include the return of poker and a new House of Blues music hall.

Tribal gaming officials hope the expansion will help them better serve existing customers and draw in new ones, including people in their early 20s and Asians.

Mohegan Sun, which has been celebrating its 10th anniversary, has about 10,000 employees and expects to add about another 2,000 in the next five years. The tribe's casino attracts 35,000 visitors daily and generates about $1.5 billion annually in revenue.

The expansion, known as ``Project Horizon,'' will include a 38-story, 1,000-room hotel slated to open in 2010. Inside will be a smaller, House of Blues-themed hotel. The House of Blues music hall, which will hold about 1,500 people, is scheduled to open in 2009. There will also be an adjoining restaurant and store.

The casino already has a 1,200-room hotel, but it is 93 percent full on an average night, meaning the casino has had trouble accommodating larger conventions because it can't guarantee hotel space.

The new hotel tower, which will also include a new spa, is set to open in 2010. Other elements of the project are expected to open sooner, spring of 2008, including more restaurants and shops, and a new Casino of the Wind, which will add 964 slot machines to the 6,000 the casino already has.

A new Casino of the Earth opening in the summer of 2007 will aim to draw Asian customers with table games and a Hong Kong street food outlet.

Casino officials are also hoping to bring in more young people by opening a 45-table poker room. The poker room at Mohegan Sun closed in 2003 to make room for more slot machines, but televised tournaments and online gaming have made poker so popular that the casino is bringing it back.

Dear Mark: I was rolling the dice in Atlantic City and off to a good roll. On my last roll I had a pass line bet with odds and a come bet with odds. I rolled what I thought was a five and a six although the six came down on a couple of chips on the other side of the table. The dealer called it a seven and swept the chips and the dice away before I could open my mouth to complain. The five was flat on the table and the six was facing the middle of the table and higher than what must have been a two facing the opposite way. In fact, even though I am 5'10" and standing just to the left of the stickman, I couldn't see the two. I walked away steamed and they called me back to give me the $20 from my come bet and laugh in my face. I feel bad about being cheated, if in fact I was. If you get around to answer this e-mail, I would appreciate it. David S.

In a frenzied game like craps, the stickman needs to make a lickety-split decision that is not always favorable to the player. In your case, the single die in question could have gone your way with a six (or the three and four, as I sit here field testing some chips and a single die), or the two as called, which matched up with the five on the sister cube, making it "five two, you're all through."

Obviously, David, I wasn’t there, but I do trust the ruling of the stickman who made on the call. He, or she, has made thousands of similar calls before, and although it is not always advantageous to you, it was most likely the correct decision.

Question to you, David. Was it figuratively or literally that the dealer was laughing in your face? If the latter, then your beef would be about the inappropriate treatment you received on the game, but probably not your being ripped off.

Dear Mark: In one of your columns quite a while back, you mentioned that you were once employed at the Cal-Neva owned by the late Warren Nelson. Was that the Cal-Neva near Lake Tahoe, or was Nelson's place located in downtown Reno? I tried to find the answer on the net, but couldn't locate it. Apparently he operated a casino a la Binion style, offering the player a fair shake at the tables. Anyway, I just got curious about the location of his casino. Mac F.

In fact, Mac, I worked at both the Cal-Neva at Lake Tahoe when the gaming commission closed it in the early 80’s due to gaming improprieties, and at the Club Cal-Neva in Reno.

Like Warren Nelson, the Cal-Neva Lodge at the lake had its share of colorful owners, the splashiest being, perhaps, Frank Sinatra. A controversy with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (alleged mob connections) resulted in the revocation of Sinatra's license in 1963. Around that same time, Warren Nelson became a partner in the Club Cal-Neva in Reno, which became one of the most successful operations per square foot in Nevada.

The Club Cal-Neva still offers their cherished low-roller players some of the cheapest food prices and liberal gaming rules in Reno. It is one of those casinos that treat you like a treasured commodity, always trying to increase buyer value, and one where you will find me when I’m in the “Biggest Little City.”

More details of Nelson’s life can be found in his autobiography, Always Bet on the Butcher, where warts and all, he writes about his gambling experiences, from the bygone days when casinos used violence, or the threat of it, to protect themselves from shysters, to the present-day casinos with their shiny MBA corporate management.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Ever have a casino visit when nothing goes right? When you wonder where you got the idea that gambling was fun? -- Alan Krigman
By Mark Pilarski

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the recent success of the 2006 Borgata Poker Open -- the biggest poker tournament in Atlantic City's history -- and the debut of its new, 85-table room -- the largest poker room in Atlantic City -- Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced it will kick off the New Year with the second annual Borgata Winter Open. The 14-day tournament will begin January 17, 2007, and will conclude with the Borgata Poker Classic, part of the WORLD POKER TOUR® (WPT), on January 26-30, 2007.

The Borgata Winter Poker Open will mark the WORLD POKER TOUR's sixth visit to Borgata. The most recent Borgata Poker Open in September drew a record 540 players with a prize pool over $5,000,000. A virtual who's who of poker stars, the tournament drew such competitors as Michael "The Grinder" Mizrahi, Shannon Shorr, Daniel Negreanu (2004 WPT Player of the Year and winner of the 2004 Borgata Poker Open), Phil "the Unabomber" Laak, Academy-Award nominee Jennifer Tilly, David Williams, Antonio Esfandiari, actress Shannon Elizabeth, David "the Dragon" Pham and Maciek "Michael" Gracz, all vying for the WPT title. However, it was an up and coming amateur from North Carolina named Mark Newhouse, who captured the WPT title and the first-place prize of $1,519,020.

Last year also marked the debut of Borgata's revamped 21,500 square-foot poker room, home to three anchor events: Borgata Winter Open/WPT Poker Classic, Borgata Summer Open and the WPT/Borgata Poker Open. The Borgata Poker Room now features an eighteen-table High Limit Room offering food service; a nine-table tournament area offering bleacher seating for tournament viewing that may be partitioned off as a "reserved" poker area; and a 58-table Main Poker Room offering live poker action. The room is outfitted with over seventy plasma televisions and offers the largest variety of games and limits in Atlantic City. Highlights from 2006 include the first ever Borgata Summer Open, which drew nearly four-thousand entrants and cash prizes totaling $2,517,030; the fourth annual Borgata Poker Open, which drew nearly ten- thousand entrants with cash prizes totaling over $10 million; and $50,000 Guaranteed Friday tournaments, a favorite among amateurs and professionals alike.

"At Borgata, we strive to offer our poker players a full destination experience with A-list entertainment, exciting nightlife options, stellar dining, upscale accommodations, a robust poker program and above all, great service," said Larry Mullin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Borgata. "Borgata is excited to partner with the WORLD POKER TOUR once again to bring a world-class tournament to Atlantic City and offer our players a unique experience while they are here."

Televised nationally on the Travel Channel and one of the premier stops on WORLD POKER TOUR's 17-tournament tour, the Borgata Poker Classic will feature the world's top poker players along with local fan favorites competing in No- Limit Texas Hold'em poker. The buy-in amount is $10,000.

Online reservations are available for Main Events by visiting www.theborgata.com. On-site registration for all events begins Friday, January 12, 2007, and will be available until January 29 at 2PM.

Special hotel room rates are available to tournament players Sunday through Thursday at $100, Friday at $179 and Saturday at $199. Call 1.866. MYBORGATA for more details.

In last week's column, I dissected a hand that I played in the annual Christmas poker game held in Madison, Wis. This game had a $1,000 buy-in, pot limit game with $500 rebuys. After a lively game -- and a relatively small $1,450 win for me -- another game was held in late December. This time we had a $500 buy-in with $500 re-buys.

I had just won a $2,000 pot when I looked down at the Ah-Qh and decided to raise it up to the maximum before the flop. Thus, after three others called $5 apiece, I called the $5 bet and raised it up $35 more (making it $40 to go); I had to smile at the craziness of the game as seven of us took the flop.

The flop was 10h-7h-4s, four players checked to me, I bet out $100, and a total of four players called the $100 bet.

The next card off was the Jd, and now Brian Hetzel bet out $450. Two players folded, I called, and the remaining player folded.

The last card was the 4h (10h-7h-4s-Jd-4h) Hetzel checked, and I studied for about 30 seconds before I bet $850. Hetzel called, I showed him my ace high flush and collected the hefty $3,380 pot.

Let's take a closer look at the play of this hand. Before the flop, it is a natural and easy tactic to raise up the size of the pot as the first raiser. Of course, the fact that I had just won a big pot the hand before makes it an even easier play, as I was feeling good about risking chips at that moment: due to some extra confidence and a recent surge in the chip stack.

On the flop, my $100 bet was about perfect. I definitely think that it is important to bet here, both to build a pot and to put myself in position to continue to draw in the hand later on. I mean my hand -- an ace-high flush draw and two over-cards -- was now a favorite over anyone that had a pair on the board, or even over pocket jacks.

Also, by betting merely $100 on the flop, I am pricing players into the pot. I mean, with $280 in the pot my $100 bet was modest, and it did in fact lure four players into playing along with me.

One more reason I like the $100 bet is that I was limiting the amount that someone could reraise me on the flop, thus I was controlling the size of the pot.

On the turn, Hetzel's $450 bet -- with what turned out to be a made straight (9-8) -- was perfect.

Should Hetzel bet more here? Many top pros would say that he should. They would tell you that Hetzel needs to protect his hand with a huge pot-sized bet that would drive all of his opponents out of the pot.

But why drive someone out of the pot that has one big pair, and is thus drawing dead? Why drive someone out of the pot that has a weaker straight draw than the made straight you already have completed?

Deciding on the perfect amount to bet depends on a complicated risk/reward scenario and the strength of your hand. In this case, I agree that Hetzel should make a bet of at least 30 percent the size of the pot. Keep this in mind, it is hard to complete a straight, and I like to get paid off when I do finally make one.

As to my $450 call on the turn, I do not think it a hard call at all. After all, I did have a heart draw and I needed a king to complete the best possible straight.

On the end, after Hetzel checked, I felt great about my flush, and now I began to think about being a salesman: How much could I get Hetzel to call?

I knew that I should wait at least 30 seconds before I bet, as an instantaneous bet often gives off a powerful scent, and I wanted a weak scent as I had a powerful hand. I thought, ''If I bet the whole size of the pot, Brian will fold.'' Finally, I just sort of felt like I should bet $850, which was about half of the size of the pot.
By Phil Hellmuth

If you're saving up your money to play in one of the big $10,000 events on the poker circuit, these five tips will help make you a winner.

1. Don't lay odds on your pre-flop raises.

In these big tournaments, after about level four, antes are introduced to go along with the blinds. For example, if the blinds are 400-800, the ante will be 100. With nine players at the table, there will be 2,100 in the pot before the cards are even dealt.

If you have a hand that you want to raise with, I suggest making it 2,000 to go.

The so-called standard raise would be to 2,400 (three times the big blind), but you can get away with a smaller raise and accomplish the same objective.

With a smaller raise, say 2,000, you risk less to win the 2,100; the standard raise costs you 2,400 to win that same 2,100 pot.

2. Protect your chips before protecting the pot.

When you're involved in a pot, the first thing to think about is protecting the chips that you already have. Then you can focus on protecting your hand and not losing the pot.

In other words, in marginal situations, where you probably have the best hand but could easily be wrong, err toward the side of caution. Yes, this approach will cause you to get outdrawn by your opponents more often, but when they do, you'll lose the minimum rather than all the chips in front of you.

For example, you hold pocket aces and the board reads K-K-7-2. If your opponent checks, play cautiously and check as well. If she bets on the river card, you should usually just call and hope that she doesn't have the third king in her hand.

3. Avoid coin flip situations.

When you make it all the way to the end of the tournament, try to avoid playing large pots in situations where the odds of you winning are close to 50-50.

Having a middle pair versus two higher cards (7-7 versus A-K) is a classic example. The best way to stay out of trouble in a marginal situation like this is to avoid reraising before the flop. Instead, just call to see the flop first.

And don't go crazy with the all-in bets!

If you continually put all of your money in before the flop, you're destined to go broke. Sooner or later, your small pair will be in terrible shape against a bigger pair, or you'll be in that coin flip against two overcards. Both are situations that good players try to avoid.

4. Don't bluff too much.

If you bluff too much, your table image will be damaged. It will be less and less likely that you'll be able to get away with future bluffs as the tournament progresses.

Small semi-bluffs are OK for the most part, but when risking a large percentage of your chips, you should rarely be bluffing big.

5. Understand your stack size and never give up.

I often see short-stacked players make desperate moves. They think they have no other choice since they're so low on ammunition, but their desperation is often premature.

You needn't be overly concerned with how your chips stack up against the tournament average. It's more important to focus on your stack size in relation to the blinds and antes.

For example, if you have 12,000 in chips, and the blinds are 600-1,200, you only have 10 times the big blind. At that point, when you do decide to play a hand, you'll need to push it all in.

That doesn't mean you should go all-in with a trash hand. You can wait at least one full round before taking your best shot at the pot.

These five tips are the recipe for success in deep stack tournaments like the World Poker Tour. Keep them in mind and you'll outlast much of the competition.
By Daniel Negreanu

The casino industry is making it quite clear it wants to change the way people gamble.

Server-based slot floors that will allow casino owners to manage their inventories of games from a central on-site location soon will be the standard.

All the leading gaming industry manufacturers are coming out with their own versions of this technology, which will revolutionize the way we play slots.

Whereas much emphasis has been placed on how server-based gaming will allow individual casino properties to change game themes, denominations and even payback percentages on slot machines at the click of a mouse, the sophistication of the system really is far more complex.

The greatest advantage of server-based gambling as perceived by casino marketing divisions is the power it gives to provide what some executives described as "ultimate bonusing," which translates into strategies to keep players at the games for longer periods of time.

This will be accomplished by adding a new dimension to playing the slots utilizing not only the attractions of the game itself but also whatever enticements the casino communicates to players via server-based technology.

International Game Technology developed IGT Advantage Delivery Games, which includes what the company is marketing as NexGen display.

One platform it previewed was a roulette game. When the bonus is triggered, every participating slot player is assigned a number on the LCD screen. Then they watch a virtual roulette wheel spin as the game is played out. Every player with the winning number receives an award.

As for the slot games themselves, the new products clearly indicate a trend toward what are described as "community games" as well as an even greater emphasis on linked "mystery" and multitier progressive machines.

The gaming industry, which successfully utilized IGT's Mega Jackpot wide area progressives to combat the giant jackpots offered by state lotteries, is bringing back the power of small jackpots to slot products made possible by low denomination games.

Community slot machine gambling transports slot players to a social experience previously reserved for table play. One genre of games allows people to enjoy the camaraderie of playing together similar to what IGT already successfully has deployed in Las Vegas with its giant Wheel of Fortune.

WMS Gaming, on the other hand, has come out with an innovative playing experience titled Monopoly Big Event, which already is in play at casinos in Nevada. When the Big Event bonus round is triggered, every eligible player participates simultaneously with the awards they receive based on the size of their wagers.

The company also has announced plans to expand on its successful community gaming category with the development of a game based on the game show "Press Your Luck" for which it has obtained the licensing rights.
BY JOHN G. BROKOPP

Texas Hold’em requires a good knowledge of the rules of the game and mathematical skill, said Mitch Schock, manager of the North Dakota State Championship Poker Tournament. It also requires more subtle skills, such as how to read an opposing player’s face and maintain a “poker” face yourself.

More than 700 people from North Dakota and other states are expected to try their skills in the third annual poker tournament being held this weekend at the Vegas Hotel in Minot. The 50 best players from the qualifying rounds Saturday and from the qualifying rounds today will be given a chance to play for a $25,000 pot on Monday. On Saturday afternoon, poker players frowned, inspected their cards and did their best to ignore the tension mounting at the table.

Players came from Alaska, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida as well as from North Dakota. Wendy Rupert, general manager of the Vegas Hotel, said some of the players from out of state have relatives in town and decided to visit when they heard about the poker tournament. Each player paid a $100 entry fee for the opportunity to enter the competition. The number of players in the tournament has increased each year since it started.

Schock, who finished 29th in the World Series of Poker last spring, also manages the Dakota Poker Tour in North Dakota. Texas Hold’em has exploded in popularity over the past five years, said Schock, and has become a popular spectator sport aired on ESPN. It became more fun to watch the game once a camera was focused on the cards held by the players, letting the audience see the player’s hand.

The popularity of Texas Hold’em was one of the reasons the state championship poker tournament was started a few years ago. Rupert said they were looking for an event that would draw a large crowd during a time of year when there aren’t a lot of events in Minot. The poker tournament also provides an alternative New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day activity, she said, and many of the poker players and their families will spend money in Minot. People who want to come and watch the poker tournament will also be able to have a drink or a meal in the Sevens Bar and Restaurant.

“We even have confetti for the winner,” Rupert said.

The tournament is being sponsored by the Minot State University Alumni Association. Chad McNally, from Minot State University, said some of the proceeds from the tournament will go to fund scholarships for students.

The poker tournament will continue through Monday at the Vegas Hotel.
By ANDREA JOHNSON