September 2nd – Daily Deal
September 3, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
On today’s Daily Deal, the coalition of California casinos clarifies its stance on internet gambling legislation, 888 reports its financial results for the first half of two-thousand ten, the World Series of Poker Main Event continues airing on ESPN and we find out who the final nominees are for this year’s Hall of Fame. It’s all ahead… faster than you can say, “I can dodge bullets, baby.”
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Recently, the Commerce Casino, Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, Hollywood Park, and the California Gaming Association joined in opposition Congressman Barney Frank’s HR 2267, which would create a full licensing and regulatory framework for the internet gambling industry in the United States.
The four casinos have found themselves in a war of words against the Poker Players Alliance, which has launched an online petition at PlayersBeforeProfits.com to reverse their stance against the groundbreaking legislation. Poker News Daily sat down with card room coalition spokesperson Waltona Manion to explore the coalition’s resistance.
Manion argued,
“We’re looking for Federal enforcement of the same strict licensing and regulation for online poker as U.S. land-based casinos abide by. This means that they have to license all of their employees and the physical operations should be in the U.S. In addition, the hardware and software should be tested and certified.”
She added, “Frank’s bill provides fewer industry regulations and player protections. It imposes lower taxes for foreign online companies than what U.S. casinos pay. It would enable illegal offshore companies to export significant money from our economy.”
We’ll keep you posted as this story develops.
888 Holdings, the gaming operator that owns 888 Poker, announced Tuesday that it will be cutting costs in order to address a loss in profits for the first half of 2010. The company has also decided to scrap its dividend in order to pay for acquisitions after the weak economy and World Cup caused a decline in poker revenue.
888’s first half financial results showed revenues were up 10.5% to one-hundred thirty million dollars, but pre-tax profit dropped by 56% to four point three million dollars. Poker revenue dropped 25% to nineteen point six million.
The WSOP Main Event continued airing on ESPN on Tuesday night with Day Two-B. Two one-hour episodes were devoted to the second Day Two and the feature table included Dan Harrington and Jeff Shulman, who were seated next to each other. Prahlad Friedman and Allied Network Solutions CEO Ted Bort tangled in a hand in which Bort called the clock after pushing all in. Friedman waited until the count reached one and quietly said, “I call,” but floor officials ruled that the clock had expired. Bort turned over top two pair and Friedman mucked.
A maelstrom of yelling ensued. ESPN aired a replay clearly showing that Friedman had called at the one-second mark and the dealer promptly said, “He called.” Nevertheless, another floor supervisor was summoned who also said the hand was dead. Don’t forget that Friedman was also involved in “Ante-gate” with Jeffrey Lisandro.
Finally, the nominees as voted by the fans are in for the Poker Hall of Fame. This year’s class is a who’s who of the poker world, all of whom have distinguished careers warranting their nominations. This year’s class of nominees, who will be voted on by the 16 living Hall of Fame members and a 17-person media panel. Only these 33 individuals cast votes for induction. The nominees are:
1. CHRIS FERGUSON
2. BARRY GREENSTEIN
3. JENNIFER HARMAN-TRANIELLO
4. DAN HARRINGTON
5. PHIL IVEY
6. LINDA JOHNSON
7. TOM McEVOY
8. DANIEL NEGREANU
9. SCOTTY NGUYEN
10. ERIK SEIDEL
Well, that does it for today’s edition of The Daily Deal, and we’ll be back with you on Tuesday of next week. Be sure to visit Poker News Daily every day for the latest poker headlines, and be sure to check us out at twitter dot com slash poker news daily. I’m Sean Gibson, thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time. Now go crush those fish at the tables!
The Nightly Turbo: World Poker Tour London, Barney Frank on Jay Leno, and More
September 2, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
The Nightly Turbo is bringing you the day’s top poker news stories all in one place. Tonight you can find an update on the World Poker Tour London, Barney Frank’s appearance on the Tonight Show, and more.
Poker News
Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 Nominees Revealed
September 2, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
After a two-month long public voting period, Harrah’s officials unveiled the top 10 vote getters for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 on Wednesday. Now, the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council will review the list and axe anyone deemed not eligible to enter.
Four criteria are required for a person to be considered for the prestigious Poker Hall of Fame: “A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition; played for high stakes; played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers; stood the test of time; or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.”
Each of the 10 finalists appears to foot the bill. Last year, no women were among the final ten. This year, two are up for consideration, Linda Johnson and Jennifer Harman. Johnson, a Guest Columnist here on Poker News Daily, was an inaugural inductee of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. Harman, meanwhile, will be enshrined on Friday as part of its Class of 2010. Johnson and Harman have taken up a considerable amount of charitable work and been responsible for the growth of the game among women.
Four former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champions will be considered as well. Full Tilt Poker’s Chris Ferguson (2000), Dan Harrington (1995), Tom McEvoy (1983), and Scotty Nguyen (1998) may find themselves as the center of attention at the Poker Hall of Fame’s induction during the November Nine weekend at the Rio in Las Vegas.
ESPN.com Poker Editor Andrew Feldman, who will join this author on the 17-member media panel that will vote for the Class of 2010, told Poker News Daily, “The nominees this year show the amazing diversity that we have in the industry and there are definitely some names that stick out above the rest. Every player on the list will definitely deserve some credit.”
Several younger players also grace the top 10, including Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey. The two are a combined 70 years old, nearly the same age as both McEvoy and Harrington. Ivey has eight WSOP bracelets, tied for the fifth most overall with fellow nominee Erik Seidel. Rounding out the list of 10 finalists for the Poker Hall of Fame is Barry Greenstein, whose generosity off the felts has not gone unnoticed.
WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla shared many of Feldman’s sentiments, telling Poker News Daily on Wednesday, “I can’t imagine a better or more qualified group of 10 nominees than this. The only question I see on each of these names is not if they will make it into the Poker Hall of Fame because in the long-run most of them will inevitably be inducted. The real question is which one or two candidates will be inducted this year. The best thing about this list is there’s no question that he or she will be most deserving.”
A total of 102 “valid unique names” received nominations, 44 of which garnered multiple votes. On September 13th, the 16 living Hall of Fame members and 17 members of the media will receive a final ballot. The group of 33 will rank who they deem worthy of admission and the top two vote getters will be inducted in November. Each of the two finalists must have received at least 50% of the vote. Last year, World Poker Tour host Mike Sexton was the Poker Hall of Fame’s lone inductee; the threshold for enshrinement in 2009 was 75% of the vote.
Here are the 10 nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 following the two-month public voting period:
Chris Ferguson
Barry Greenstein
Jennifer Harman
Dan Harrington
Phil Ivey
Linda Johnson
Tom McEvoy
Daniel Negreanu
Scotty Nguyen
Erik Seidel
Visit WSOP.com for more details. I look forward to being part of the voting process once again this year.
The Nightly Turbo: Poker Hall of Fame Class Unveiled, World Poker Tour London Update, and More
September 1, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
If you’re looking for the news on the 2010 Poker Hall of Fame class, updates on the World Poker Tour London, and more, you can find all of that and more in tonight’s Nightly Turbo.
Poker News
PokerStars EPT Vilamoura Day 3: Jacobsen Up, Cantu Down
September 1, 2010 by Sit N Go Pro · Leave a Comment
The PokerStars European Poker Tour has seen the Day 3 field go from 69 to 24. Find out who is left and if Cantu will make good on his prediction of final tabling this EPT.
Poker News
