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Poker Player Accused of Murder

The trial begins this week of poker player Ernest Scherer III, who is accused of murder. Scherer allegedly murdered his own parents back in March of 2008 in their home in California. The accused reportedly owed substantial amounts in gambling debts, so the motive for murder was his $1.5 million inheritance. Scherer III was eventually arrested in Las Vegas in February 2009, almost a year after the murders of 60-year-old Ernest Scherer Jr., a real estate investor, and 57-year-old Charlene Abendroth, a college professor took place.

While a gag order put in place by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Horner for the county where the murders took place has been put on the case, it is known that a witness for the prosecution is an identified woman claiming she was the victim of domestic violence acts by Scherer III in July 2008. The prosecution claims they will contest the testimony in order to prove he never showed violence.

Both father and son were poker players, but Scherer III and his wife were at least $40K in credit and loan debt and had been unable to pay their property tax and home mortgage before the murders.

Now he is accused of two counts of murder and faces two special circumstance allegations: murder for financial gain and multiple murder and murder for financial gain. The trial is now finally underway as of Tuesday after weeks of pre-trial discovery and motions, as well as jury selection.

2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year

The 2011 CardPlayer Online Player of the Year results were announced, and Taylor “ambiguosity” Paur earned the title, building up an all-time record resulting in 11,030 points for the entire year. Paur’s points soared above second runner up and last year’s POY, Steve “gboro780” Gross for both years and Alex “AJKHoosier1” Kamberis, who was the POY for 2008.

Twenty-two-year-old Paur took down the Full Tilt Poker $75K Guaranteed on December 27 for almost $25K, securing the POY title. Furthermore he racked up more than $1 million in online poker winnings for 2010, about 2/3 of his lifetime earnings. In 2010 he won 13 tourneys, six of them for more than $80K. His biggest score of the year was the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) $15 Rebuy, which garnered him more than $192K.

Criteria for the POY requires that players win ranked tournaments on sites including PokerStars, UB.com, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Bodog. Furthermore, only tourneys with a $100+ buy-in are eligible, and the prize pool must total $100K cash or more.

It was quite the accomplishment for Paur to beat last year’s POY, Gross, who has accumulated $5+ million in winnings since 2005. Gross was also runner up in 2008. He is one of the most prestigious players in online poker.

Also in the top five for the 2010 POY runner was Casey “bigdogpckt5s’ Jarzabek, who won $780K+ in 2010 and has been in the top 10 for two years in a row now. Chris “Getting Daize” Oliver and Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet also ranked in the top five.

Full Tilt Store Rewards to Change

Don’t miss out on your last week to participate in the Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway which ends on January 9th at midnight ET. Don’t let your Full Tilt Points go to waste—trade them in! Changes will be made to the Full Tilt Store starting January 10th, 2011, which will correspond with changes in the FTP system that were previously put into effect.

The Full Tilt Poker site states: “We will be updating the prices of certain items in the Full Tilt Store beginning on January 10th to correspond with the changes in the Full Tilt Points system implemented earlier this year. Merchandise such as electronics and clothing will be re-priced to more accurately reflect their value.”

One thing that will not change is the price of tournament tickets.

The Full Tilt Store Holiday Giveaway honors players who spend at least 7,500 FTPs in the Full Tilt or Black Card Stores. Those who spend between 7,500 FTPs and 14,999 FTPs will get a free Step 1 ticket along with their purchase(s). Players who trade up to 39,999 FTPs will earn a Step 2 ticket, and those who spend up to 74,999 will get a Step 3 ticket. Spend up to 139,999 and get a $50 cash bonus. Spend 140,000 FTPs or more, get a $100 bonus.

Another reason to spend your points now is that anyone who makes a purchase before January 9th will earn a seat in the $50K Holiday Giveaway Freeroll. This tourney will be held on January 16th at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Now through the 9th of January 2011 is your last chance to use the old Full Tilt Store price structure. Some of the things available in the store are Full Tilt Poker merchandise, electronics, and other great items.

Changes at Cake Poker Make Some Weary

Two operational heads at Cake Poker announced their resignations from the popular US-friendly Cake Poker online poker card room via online poker forum Two Plus Two. First, Lee Jones, former Card Room Manager for Cake Poker, announced his resignation from the company earlier this week via a TwoPlusTwo thread. He posted: “This is a brief announcement to let you know that, as of yesterday, I have resigned my position at Cake Poker and will not be making any further posts here. Their management has made some strategic decisions with which I’m not comfortable.”

He added, “Please direct any questions or concerns to the Cake support staff; they are top-notch people.”

Not long after, Serge Ravitch (aka “adanthar”), former tournament director for Cake Poker, posted: “It sincerely pains me to say that, for the same reasons, I am also no longer affiliated with Cake in any way. I wish them the best of luck going forward.”

It is still unknown as to what “strategic decisions” the two men are referring to, but this may mean big changes are in store for Cake Poker and its players—good or bad.

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Jones said, “I’m just not comfortable with some of the decisions that the Cake management was making.” He also admitted that he has some other job offers in the works, so he’s not without a job, but many of his fans on TwoPlusTwo have wished him and Ravitch luck in the future and saying good things about the pair. Calvin Ayre commented on his blog that it likely means that a crash and burn is in the cards for Cake Poker when the two top operational heads walk away in the same day.

It is unclear what the future holds for Cake Poker, but they have experienced a bit of a down turn in December traffic, which could merely be accredited to the holidays.

2011’s 42nd Annual WSOP Dates Announced

World Series of Poker fans and participants can now make summer 2011 plans, as the WSOP 2011 dates have been announced. For those whose vacation plans revolve around the series, the 42nd annual WSOP will begin the day after Memorial Day, Tuesday, May 31, 2011 and will run for the 50 days following through Tuesday, July 19, 2011.

Once again the series will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in the Convention Center where the WSOP has called home since 2005. The Main Event will start on Thursday, July 7, 2011 featuring four starting days through July 10th.

The Main Event will play out to nine players and then halt play until November when the final nine players, otherwise known as the November Nine, will commence play until a single champion is determined. One definitive change for the 2011 series will be hard stop times. Players must bag and tag their chips after the maximum of 10 levels of play per day.

The complete schedule for the series including individual events, dates, times, and buy-ins will be announced in January, so tournament goers can start planning out their 2011 poker budget and saving up for their favorite WSOP events.

Rounders 2 A Reality

Over the years, many blockbuster movies have been based on the popular game of poker. Perhaps one of the most defining films that has helped to make the game what it is today is “Rounders” starring Matt Damon (Mike McDermott in the movie) and Ed Norton (character Lester “Worm” Murphy). After more than a decade of speculation regarding a sequel to the movie, it is finally official, and while the cast has not been confirmed, both Damon and Norton are rumored to return in “Rounders 2” with the same director as the first movie, John Dahl. It’s not yet known whether or not John Malkovich (Teddy KGB) and John Turturro (Joey Knish) will be back in the sequel.

Last Thursday, Miramax announce the news: “Miramax and the Weinstein Company today announced an agreement to create sequels to some of Miramax’s best-known properties and to partner on potential new television shows and special edition home entertainment products. The first films to be produced under the agreement will be sequels to ‘Bad Santa,’ ‘Rounders,’ and ‘Shakespeare in Love.’”

Other potential future projects from Miramax were also suggested and include “Swingers,” “Bridget Jones’ Diary,” “Clerks,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Swingers,” and others.

“We are very close to these films and the new management of Miramax also feels that we are in the best position to create sequels that are at once worthy and compelling in their own right,” commented Harvey and Bob Weinstein in a joint statement.

The poker community has long awaited a new poker movie that’s worthy of watching over and over again, as there really hasn’t been one since “Rounders,” although one of the best installments to the James Bond series, “Casino Royale,” did have a few intense and worthwhile poker scenes in it.

The bottom line is that the return of the reckless and extreme but powerful duo “Rounders 2” will be well accepted by poker fans.

Shocking Online Poker Cheating Scam

Co-creator of the longest running animated series in the history of television (The Simpsons), Sam Simon, claims a high-stakes poker player has lost more than $4 million due to a hidden cheat cam that had been secretly installed in his house.

According to Simon, someone broke into the pro’s house and installed the camera unbeknownst to the online pro.
Simon, who also plays poker, has indicated that the pro in question happens to be one of the biggest nosebleed players out there—someone the poker community knows very well, though he never revealed who this player was. He just explained that the said online poker pro was “losing, and losing, and losing.” Then he realized that someone had gained access to his house and installed the camera above his computer.

“He found a camera stuck in his ceiling, looking at the [computer] screen,” says Simon.
Simon has also told the Las Vegas Review Journal that he too had been a victim of cheating scams that involved online poker. For instance, he explains that two players will be sitting together physically while playing online at the same table, ganging up on unsuspecting victims.

After Simon had been victimized by this scam, PokerStars ran an algorithm test proving he had been scammed, and ultimately Simon got his money back. He no longer plays poker online.

Simon also made comments about the proposed bill by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that will legalize online poker in the US. Simon is weary of it and accuses it of being corrupt. The bill will actually ban existing sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt for at least one year, allowing only big-name casino brands like MGM and Caesars Palace to run online gambling sites in the US.

Full Tilt Follows PokerStars Lead and Pulls Out of Washington

About six weeks ago, we reported that PokerStars had made the decision to pull out of the Washington State Market due to the fact that Washington laws cite online gamblers with up to five years in prison plus a fine of $10K, though they have yet to actually accuse or charge anyone with online gambling.

Now because of the same ruling by the state’s Supreme Court that makes Internet gambling a Class C felony, Full Tilt Poker is following suit and will no longer allow Washington state residents to play real money poker on the Full Tilt Poker website, though they will be allowed to play for fun money.

While PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker account for at least 2/3 of online poker traffic, they supply a vast majority of US players with Internet poker services, along with only five additional poker clubs or networks allowing US players, Full Tilt’s policy regarding Washington players varies from that of PokerStars. Unlike PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker will allow residents of Washington to play real money poker if they have traveled beyond the state’s borders. This will make it possible for professional players residing in Washington to play online at Full Tilt when they are traveling to tournaments. Also, they will be able to maintain a Washington residence while setting up their business in Oregon, British Colombia, etc. in order to participate in online poker.

Team UB Signs Maria Ho

After outlasting 6,358 other poker players in the 2007 WSOP Main Event to become the last woman standing and placing 38^th for a $237K+ payout, nine WSOP career cashes, and three WPT cashes, among other accomplishments, Maria Ho is a decorated poker pro. It is for this reason that many online poker clubs have been knocking on her door for a sponsorship deal. And now, Ho has chosen an online poker site to call home, UB.com, where she will sit on Team UB alongside other female poker pros, Annie Duke and Tiffany Michelle, as well as poker legends like Phil Hellmuth and Joe Sebok.

Within the last three months alone, Ho has made a WPT final table as well as a WSOP Circuit final table, making her a well-deserving and perfect fit for the prestigious and elite Team UB professional poker team. Ho is also a very established high stakes cash player in Vegas and LA. In fact, she’s one of the youngest few female players who participate in these choice high stakes games.

Ho is not only a poker player, but she’s established herself as a television and broadcasting personality as well. Her most recent stint was on CBS’s Amazing Race which she appeared on with her team partner, Tiffany Michelle. Ho has also frequently appeared on numerous ESPN360 poker broadcasts.

Ho says of her new partnership with UB.com, “I am honored to be joining the ranks of top UB pros such as Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. With the new direction and vision I know UB has for their future, this is an extremely exciting time to become a part of such an amazing team.”

Ho, who is now 27 years old, was born in Taipei, Taiwan but moved to LA with her family at the age of four. She is one of the few poker pros who actually graduated from college (rather than dropping out to play poker). She received a degree in Communications with a Law and Society minor from the University of California, San Diego back in 2005. One interesting fact about her is that she has dual citizenship and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and will be writing blogs, posting videos, and writing articles for UB.com in both English and Mandarin Chinese.

Catch her playing at the tables on UB.com.

Carbon Poker Pays Out Bad Beat Jackpot

After a recent bad beat jackpot payout at UB.com, another one hit at Carbon Poker, this time in the low-stakes. This dual hit is the first time in the history of Internet poker that two bad beat jackpots have been hit in the same week on two separate poker sites.

The UB.com bad beat jackpot paid out more than half a million dollars and the second at Carbon Poker paid out about $156,000—not bad for a cash game with a max buy-in of less than $100.

“dk2112” open limped into the hand that ended up in a bad beat with pocket 7s. The table was $0.05/$1 NLH. The flop fell 8/7/2. Before he had a turn to act, player “Stingray57” led out with a small bet and was then raised by another player “BlackOutBob.” Player dk2112 called, and to his delight, fourth street was another 7. He then bet $5. When a second 8 fell on the river, he went all in with his last $6.50, expecting to win the $55 pot hands down. However, to his surprise, he didn’t win the pot. Instead, BlackOutBob holding pocket 8s (giving him quad 8s) won.

But losing the hand qualified dk2112 for the Carbon Poker Bad Beat Jackpot, which paid him a lot more than $55. Instead, he earned the $156,000+ jackpot prize. BlackOutBob was also rewarded with a nice $78,000+ payout, and all the other players in the hand split the $13,000 remaining prize money. The Carbon Poker bad beat jackpot is already back up to $100,000. Make no mistake—it is possible for it to hit again in the near future!

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