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Marcus Bebb-Jones Sentenced to 20 Years in Jail

lesley — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:49:28 +0000

Former professional poker player Marcus Bebb-Jones has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being found guilty of murdering his wife. The British poker player originally denied murdering his wife, Sabrina, who went missing in America sixteen years ago. He could have gotten away with the crime. Many UK newspapers have referenced his act as being the “almost perfect murder”, however in 2004 her skull was found in a Colorado national park, and the skull was identified using dental records. To date, the rest of her body has not yet been found.

He was arrested at his home in Kiderminster in 2009, and police alleged that after murdering Sabrina, Bebb-Jones dumped her body in the national park and then went on to spend thousands on her credit cards in Las Vegas, before going to a hotel room and botching a suicide attempt. As the trial continued, speculation arose that his attempted suicide could have been a deliberate botch in an attempt to conceal his crime, stating that he put a gun in his mouth and shot himself in the head, but angled the barrel so that the bullet penetrated the cheek instead of anywhere that would do serious damage.

The UK agreed to allow Bebb-Jones to be extradited for trial after the prosecutors promised not to pursue the death penalty. Bebb-Jones changed his plea from not-guilty to an admission of murder in the second degree, stating that it was a crime committed “in the heat of passion”. He changed his plea in order to get a sentence of no more than 20 years.

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New Ultra-Minimalistic Deck by Joe Doucet

lesley — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:48:06 +0000

Joe Doucet has designed a new ultra-minimalistic poker deck, called the Iota Deck, which is a stylish new deck that streamlines each card down to the essential symbols only – the suits, numbers and letters.

Doucet is a New York based designer, and he will be presenting his new deck as a part of Play, a themed exhibition that will be held during Design Week this May. Other products on display will include lights, rugs and even kites – all designed to brighten up the expo and bring a bit of levity to the display. Doucet said “Last year I presented a completely theoretical exhibit on the idea of time. I learned a great deal in the process but it left me a little drained. This year I wanted to take off the shackles of high design and have a bit of fun.”

The cards are plain and simple, with just plain geometric shapes in the corners of the card. Doucet said that coming up with the cards was a difficult process. “Stripping things down to the edge of comprehension is a very difficult task. Not enough is far from interesting and too much leaves you with an utter failure”. The cards, as he came up with them, offer enough information to ensure that the cards can be clearly identified at the poker table, while the back is marked with a diagonal line, preventing players from accidentally showing their hands.

This new deck looks like a great way to spice up real-world poker games – just as long as you can keep it clean!

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High Heels Women’s Poker Tour

lesley — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:29:21 +0000

In an effort to encourage competitive women’s poker, the High Heels Poker tour has just launched on the East Coast. The tour, being organized by Empire Industries, was be held at the Flamingo Las Vegas and more events are planned to take place in June.

The High Heels Poker Tour will be running an event in celebration of the 2013 World Series of Poker on Wednesday June 26th at the MGM Grand Resort. They will also run a sit-and-go on June 27th, with prizes being seats at the $1K ladies event taking place at the Rio on June 28th.

The high Heels Poker Tour aims to provide an environment where women can explore and develop their poker strategies and learn the game in a safe and nurturing environment. There are a lot of high quality female players competing at all levels of poker, but it is still a difficult world for newcomers to break into and HHPT aims to make competitive poker less intimidating for novice players. The poker industry has come a long way in recent years but it is still difficult for newcomers to find the confidence to join the competitive scene.

Empire Industries runs the High Heels Poker Tour as well as the High Heels Poker Tour Acadamy, Peace, Love and Poker Parties and a boutique brand of poker clothing called PMS Poker Wear. Empire Industries is a young company, having been founded in 2011, although the HHPT first run in 2007, when Laruen Failla started it on the East Coast as a way to empower women and give them a fighting chance at becoming poker champions.

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Full Tilt Climbs Back To Number Two Spot

lesley — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:38:02 +0000

Full Tilt Poker has climbed back to the second spot on the player-count charts published by PokerScout. Full Tilt Poker is now owned by PokerStars, and after a difficult relaunch at the end of last year the site is now well on the road to recovery, boasting a seven-day average player count of 3,000 cash-game players, ahead of iPoker with 2,600 players and Partypoker with 2,350 players.

The site enjoyed a 24 hour peak player count of 5,009 players, which is a large lead over iPokers 4,488 and PartyPoker’s 4,640.

This recovery will be welcome news for the network owners, who will have been concerned about the site’s steady decline in liquidity over the last few months. Hopefully this recent recovery will be sustainable.

PartyPoker has seen a steady decline in player counts over the last several weeks, while iPoker has enjoyed a traffic boost thanks to the addition of several new poker rooms such as Dusk Til Dawn and Everest Poker.

We can expect to see more fluctuations in player counts on popular online poker sites over the next few weeks, especially after Bwin.poker’s recent cancellation of several poker events that had been planned to be a part of the PokerFest event last week. This, combined with the news of them reducing rates for some affiliates, may impair the site’s growth in the medium term. The question is whether or not the players that may otherwise have been referred to one of their network sites will end up landing on one of the other two major online poker sites, or whether they will opt for free-play games instead.

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All About the WSOP Bracelet

lesley — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:54:08 +0000

The World Series of Poker Bracelet is the most covetted prize in poker history. The bracelet is a symbol of the pinnacle of achievement in the poker community. Bracelets have been awarded to the winner of each event at the World Series of Poker since 1976, and today it’s hard to imagine a World Series of Poker event without a bracelet, but believe it or not the bracelet has not always existed.

From 1970 to 1974, champions won trophies. The 1975 champion was presented with a sterling silver plate. Even when bracelets did start getting awarded in 1976, they were not quite up to the glitzy, glamorous designs that we see today. Over the years, the bracelets became more and more flashy, and the organizers started recruiting high-end designers to come up with the prizes for each year.

Today, the WSOP Main Event bracelet is, at least according to Jason Arashebenm, the designer of the 2012 Main Event bracelet, the most expensive piece of championship jewellery awarded across all of the major sports. The bracelet is made of 14 karat gold, and features 35 karats of diamonds.

In the history of the sport, there have been more than 1000 bracelets awarded (1008 up to and including 2012), and almost half of those bracelets have went to the same 140 players, who have each won more than one WSOP event. There are even some players who have won more than 10 WSOP Bracelets – such as Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth.

The 2013 World Series of Poker is just around the corner, and we can be sure it will be an exciting event. I, for one, can’t wait to see what the bracelet looks like!

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Poker Run for Autism Charity

lesley — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:51:04 +0000

The community in Ambler, Lower Gwynedd is gearing up for a charity poker run. The Ride for Autism Poker Run is a special charity event. This one is a family friendly event, and the first of several planned for the 2013 event season.

Poker runs involve a group of poker fans (usually motorcyclists) riding along a pre-defined route. At each stop along the way, the players pick up a poker card. At the end of the route, the players compare hands in order to see who has the best poker hand. Poker runs are invariably charity events, but there is often some reluctance from law enforcement when it comes to assisting the events, because large crowds of bikers can be intimidating for those along the routes. It is always good to see successful events that come of without a hitch. Other events that are planned in the area include comic book weekends and other non-profit and charitable events.

The poker run, which is being organized by the Lucky Seven Motorcycle Club, in conjunction with the non-profit entity, Ambler Main Street, is scheduled to starts at P. J. Whelihan’s in Whitpain, and that venue is also the end-point destination. Players pick up a card at the start and end of the route, and another at each of three stops along the way. After the event a post-party is planned. Since this is a family friendly event, the post-party will begin at 1PM. The proceeds from the poker run will go to The Centre for Autism.

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Oregon Legislation Would Shut Live Poker Rooms

lesley — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:20:28 +0000

A lot of attention has been given to the status of online poker in the United States, but there are changes on the way that will affect live poker too. The live poker community in Oregon could be under threat, thanks to some potential changes coming for Oregon legislation.

The draft bill LC 3928 would change the law in Oregon regarding “social gaming”. The social gaming laws were implemented during the 1980s, and allowed for several card rooms to open in the state. Representative Julie Parrish, a backer of LC 3928, believes that the law was not intended to support such card rooms, and aims to tone the law down and institute more restrictions. Parrish said “These things have exploded. It’s kind of like hookah lounges”.

If Parrish gets her way, then poker would become illegal outside of religious, charity and fraternal games. Parrish has support from several politicians, including Tina Kotek of Portland, who also spoke negatively about the card rooms, saying “If you go into them, you would think you were in Vegas”.

However, the owners of the card rooms disagree, stating that they operate differently to casinos, taking just a small entry fee, rather than a rake. They also believe that they add a lot of value to the community, giving people a place to play games in a friendly and safe environment. If poker rooms are shut down, the game would have to move underground, and that would lead to unsafe games and risky environments for players.

The bill has not yet been debated by the committee, so there is time for it to be changed. Keep checking back for updates.

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High Stakes Poker Players Testify in Homicide Trial

lesley — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:05:46 +0000

High stakes poker players have been brought up to testify in a homicide trial in Saginaw, MI. The jury at the trial heard from eight men who were taking part in a poker game at the Township home of Michael Kuhlman when he was fatally shot last year.

The jury, which consists of seven men and seven women, heard testimonies against Quintel A. West, aged 24, who has been charged with felony murder, as well as eleven other charges. The jury will re-convene next week to hear testimonies from several police officers.

Kuhlman was playing poker with eight others, late at night on May 29th last year, when at least two men are reported to have attempted to enter his home. The men tried to get in through the front door, and Kuhlman put his weight against the door to stop them getting in. At least one gun-shot was fired, and the bullet entered Kuhlman’s right shoulder before travelling through his lung and spine. Kuhlman died as a result of the internal bleeding.

The testimonies that the jury heard varied depending on the perspectives that the men had because of where they were sat at the poker table, however the main part of the story stayed the same – some men attempted to enter the property, and later shots were fired through the door. Shots were also fired at those attempting to fleet once the robbers entered the property. The robbers stole approximately $5,000 from the poker game.

The trial is ongoing, and more testimonies are expected to be heard next week.

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Poker Addiction Issues Raised in Micronesia

lesley — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:45:43 +0000

The issue of gambling addiction, and in particular pokies, is something that is frequently talked about in Australia, but it is not a uniquely Oz problem. The Saipan Zoning Board in Micronesia is getting a lot of complaints at the moment from families that have been shattered due to poker addiction. Board chairman Diego Blanco told Marianas Variety that he had been getting calls from families who had members suffering from poker addiction, and the addiction had torn the family apart.

He explained that the families called to ask the zoning board to find a way to relocate poker outlets away from the local villages, and that the board was investigating the possibility of amending the 2008 Saipan Zoning Law. If the new law, which would be titled the Saipan Adult Gambling Machine Business Zoning Law of 2012 passes, it would relocate the business away from the residential areas of the island.

The original version of the law was designed to allow hotels to have some slot machines, but gambling machine owners found ways to get around the spirit of the law, and gambling establishments cropped up all over the island, instead of just in the key tourist areas.

The zoning boards recommendations now state that “Special regulation of the gambling business is necessary to ensure that they do not contribute to the blight or downgrading of the districts in which they are permitted, thereby adversely affecting property values and deterring or interfering with the development and operation of other businesses within the area”.

The bill has been well received so far, both for its protection of those who may be problem gamblers, and the way that it would separate family-friendly businesses and gambling establishments, protecting minors.

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Party Poker Cancels Pokerfest Events

lesley — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:12:23 +0000

PartyPoker has cancelled the first five events of its spring Pokerfest tournament series. In total, there were $482,500 in a guaranteed prize pool scheduled to be given out across the five events, with the $215 buy-in NLHE Event having an assured $350K prize-pool. Players who had pre-registered for the tournaments have had their buy-ins refunded.

The cancellation of the events was blamed on technical issues, but so far no Bwin.party representative has commented on the exact reasoning behind the cancellation, or whether the events may run at a later date.

Two freeroll tournaments have reportedly been scheduled as an apology for the last-minute cancellation, and a total of $15,000 will be given away in tournament ticket prizes.

The final event of the Pokerfest, which was scheduled to take place on the Sunday, did take place. This event had a $530 buy-in and $250,000 guaranteed prize fund. The event was suspended for 15 minutes, but 501 players registered for it, and it took place. The event concluded in the early hours of Monday morning, with $50,000 being awarded to the eventual winner. Before the end of the Pokerfest, there should be a total of 61 events, with $4 million being given out in prizes.

Overall, it has not been a good time for Bwin – the company has attracted negative attention from many affiliates, because they have allegedly stopped payments to, or reduced the payment rates for affiliates that refer too many winning players, or do not refer enough new players. While this may be understandable as a financial decision, it has reduced the exposure of the brand.

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