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Peter Eastgate Puts His WSOP Main Event Bracelet Up For Auction on Ebay

At the mere age of 24, 2008 WSOP Main Event champion, Peter Eastgate, announced his retirement from the game of poker earlier this year. Now another shocking announcement from Eastgate has been released. He has put up his gold bracelet won for his WSOP achievement for auction on eBay. The listing will run through November 25^th with an asking price set at $16,000. At the time of this writing, it is has been upped to a $16,600 bid.

The auction is for a pre-owned “World Series of Poker Main Event Bracelet 2008.” The description follows:

The unique piece of a Corum bracelet weighs 168 and is made of 18kt White Gold paved with 291 diamonds and the face, which says “World Series of Poker 2008”, is Hand painted in silver and decorated with black and red card suits.

After winning more than $9 million for his first place victory, you may wonder why Eastgate would want to sell his bracelet, but according to him, “it was just lying around collecting dust.”

One hundred percent of proceeds from the auction will go to UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, which provides humanitarian aid to children and their mothers in developing nations.

Eastgate says, “Of course, I am still extremely proud of my title to this day. But the bracelet itself, I am never wearing, since I really don’t wear any jewelry. So I thought that by giving away the bracelet and watches, a lot more people will hopefully be able to benefit from the items.”

He added, “I hope that the auctions will attract a lot of people. Every new bid is a help for the less fortunate children helped by UNICEF.”

View the listing here.

Cake Poker Introduces Cake Games: Cake WAR & Tourney Blackjack

Cake Poker fans will be pleased to learn that the popular online poker club is now offering Cake Games. Cake Games will first provide players with two brand new online card games, online WAR, aka “Cake WAR,” and tournament blackjack, aka Cake Tourney Blackjack.

Cake WAR is a multiplayer game inspired by the classic two-player card game, but the new version offers a twist that entices adults to play this otherwise kid-friendly game. All players begin with the same 10 cards and are forced to outguess and out think their opponents in an effort to accumulate the most cards and the most points to come out as the winner.

The game is actually quite simple, but provides players with a new strategy-based card game to engage in. Bluffing is also an inherent element of this game, as Cake WAR allows for a dynamic interaction among players. The new game is offered in two different formats: Tactic WAR and Blitz WAR. Both variations provide players with the option to participate in multi-table tourneys, sit ‘n gos, or ring games. This game is both unique and popular because it appeals to those players who enjoy a mental challenge, as well as those who thrive on competition and hunger for cash.

Cake Tourney Blackjack provides players with all of the excitement of classic casino blackjack but adds to the strategic component of the game. In this form of blackjack, there is no house advantage. Players compete against other players’ chip stacks as they draw against the dealer. The game’s object is to end up with the most chips at the tournament’s end. The number of hands you win is irrelevant; it’s the amount of chips you posses when all the rounds have completed. The innovative component here is the social aspect of the multi-player environment.

Lee Jones, Cake card room manager, says, “Cake Poker is thrilled to offer players these two exciting, fast-paced card games through Cake Games. The fun and simplicity coupled with the strategy involved in both WAR and Tourney Blackjack make the perfect complement to the intensity of online poker.”

PPA Takes on New Board Member

After an almost unanimous vote, the director of the Litigation Support Network for the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA), Patrick Fleming, is now a new member on the PPA Board of Directors. With more than a million members worldwide, the PPA is the leading grassroots advocacy group of poker.

Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato and chairman of the PPA says, “Patrick is one of the poker community’s staunchest champions, donating his time and legal expertise to help PPA members navigate the often murky waters regarding poker’s legal status. I am so pleased that he will be joining the board of directors as we work together to guide the organization’s efforts to provide a safe, regulated environment for poker players in the US.”

Fleming, who is a private attorney in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, specializes in civil rights and criminal defense litigation. He learned to player poker from his dad when he was a teenager, frequently playing in his father’s regular game while he went to college and law school. Fleming discovered online poker in 2004 and took to the sport very quickly, playing under the user name “skallagrim.”

After his disappointment in the UIGEA and the government’s effort to deny him the right to play poker online, Fleming joined forces with the PPA and started offering up his legal expertise and posting about legal challenges through the various popular online poker forums.

He made the suggestion in 2008 that the PPA form a formal Litigation Support Network (LSN) that would serve to help PPA members who were facing legal problems surrounding poker play. The LSN would also serve as a basic framework that would help to advance the argument that poker is a game of skill for use in future cases. After accepting Fleming’s suggestion, the PPA did form the LSN and named him director.

Executive director of the PPA, John Pappas, says, “Without Patrick’s guidance and expertise, the PPA would not be nearly as well positioned from a legal perspective to provide support and testimony in the legal cases impacting poker across the nation.” He adds, “Just as importantly, our members would not have the Litigation Support Network, which is an invaluable resource to protect players as they enjoy a game of Texas Hold ‘Em at home, online or at a charity event. It is a true pleasure to work with Patrick and I look forward the ideas and insights I am certain he will bring in his role on the board of directors.”

Team PokerStars Pro Signs Theo Jorgensen

Popular and successful Danish poker player, Theo Jorgensen, will join the ranks of the elite members of Team PokerStars Pro. After winning more than $1.1 million in live tourneys alone this year, Jorgensen will also take on the title of brand ambassador for the Nordic Championship of Online Poker.

The 38-year-old says, “I’m delighted to be joining the world’s largest poker site. PokerStars has always hosted the best poker events in the world and sponsors only the most talented players, so I am very excited to be a part of this.”

Jorgensen has been playing poker since 1993 and is known as one of the more experienced players. His career earnings for live tournaments total more than $2.5 million that include a first place win in May of this year at the WPT Grand Prix de Paris where he won €638,377 and a first place win at the WSOP Europe for £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha that paid him £218,626 in September 2008. He also has two 4^th place wins, one at the PokerStars EPT Copenhagen back in January 2007 and another at the PokerStars EPT Deauville in February 2006.

PokerStars Nordic Director Michael Holmberg explained why Jorgensen was selected to join Team PokerStars Pro: “Theo Jorgensen is in every way a fantastic ambassador for poker. Both his impressive merits at the tables and his positive aura fall perfectly in line with PokerStars’ values.”

He also added, “We look forward to having such an experienced player as part of Team PokerStars Pro. Theo Jorgensen is a role model for many young and older players.”

Randy Couture Hosts Celebrity Charity Tournament for Wounded US Soldiers

For all the MMA fans in the poker community, mixed martial arts fighter, Randy Couture is hosting the 3^rd annual “Operational All In” poker tournament and auction fundraiser for charity. The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation is the benefiting charity, which supports wounded US soldiers. The event will take place at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 30^th at 2:00 p.m.

This tournament is open to the public and will feature celebrity MMA fighters, well-known poker pros, and Hollywood personalities alike. Some confirmed appearances include Howard Lederer, Todd Brunson, Andy Bloch, Tyson Griffin, Martin Kampmann, Ryan Couture, Jason Ron, Dutch Boyd, Lacey Jones, Bryan Mican (from Donk Down Radio), Dave Farra (from Raw Vegas), Layne Flack, David Zayas (from Dexter), Gavin Smith, Antonio Esfandiari, Nick and Michael Binger, Gray Maynard, and a ton of other big names.

The live and silent auction will feature MMA memorabilia, raffle prizes, and less tangible items such as dinner with Couture, a one-hour personal MMA lesson with Couture, autograph sessions and photo opportunities, and invites to a Halloween after party to be held at 8:00 p.m. at Gold Diggers nightclub, which overlooks the Fremont Street Experience. All proceeds will go to aid injured US soldiers.

The poker tournament will feature a $225 buy-in with multi re-buys available for $100. The winner will walk with $10K and other top finishers will win other valuable prizes from sponsors. All tournament registrants will receive an invite to the 1^st annual Randy Couture Halloween party mentioned above. This event is also open to the public for $25 at the door.

Sponsors of “Operation All In” include Poker Players Alliance, Deepstacks, Xtreme Couture MMA, Full Tilt Poker, Lord Griffon, the Golden Nugget, and Godard Art.

PokerStars Pulls Out of Washington State Market

PokerStars recently announced that they would be blocking Washington state residents in the US from participating in real money poker on the PokerStars website. This would be the first time that US residents from any state would be blocked from PokerStars, as they made it clear they would not shut out US players following the 2006 UIGEA ruling, though other big poker clubs like Party Poker did.

Because Stars and Full Tilt Poker are private companies (unlike Party Poker that is publicly traded and has to answer to shareholders), they were able to make the call to stay in the US market despite the laws that only prohibited banks from processing online gambling related payments. While some states have ruled poker as a game of skill, making it legal to play online, no such ruling has been made on the federal level.
However, Washington is a different story. The laws in place there cite online poker players with penalties of up to five years in prison plus a $10K fine, though no one has ever actually been accused or charged in Washington with online gambling.

Lee Rousso’s lawsuit that challenged the law failed in Washington’s Supreme Court, making it clear that Internet poker in Washington state is in fact illegal, and it is unlikely that this will ever change in the future.

Why Poker Stars suddenly seems to care is because by offering Internet poker in Washington, they would be breaking laws, something they don’t want to do so that when regulation is implemented (now 2013 is the expected date) they will be able to operate in the US. As of now, they feel they have a secure argument that they are not breaking any laws within the UIGEA. It’s a way to a means; if having access to the rest of the US means shutting out a state or two, it by far justifies it to the poker rooms.

It is unknown if Full Tilt will follow Poker Stars, as the following statement regarding the issue was made recently by Full Tilt: “While the option to play real-money poker games of skill is still available on Full Tilt Poker, we will have further information about the status of real-money play by Washington residents in the near future.”

PokerStars Takes In Liv Boeree

It was recently announced that Liv Boeree would join the pros over at PokerStars alongside such poker geniuses as Daniel Negreanu, as well as poker greats like Joe Cada, Vanessa Ruosso, and Chris Moneymaker. On the heels of winning the 2010 European Poker Tour San Remo, becoming a pro player with PokerStars was Boeree’s number one goal for the last five years.

Boeree began her poker career as a reality show personality on Ultimatepoker.com Showdown where she was coached by Phil Hellmuth himself. She has since become a very skilled and active pro poker player. Once she began playing poker regularly, the rest became history. She began placing in major tournaments around the world. Her biggest success finally came in 2008 when she cashed in two WSOP events. In 2010, she tood down the San Remo title and $1.25 million, making her the third female to win a European Poker Tour title. Now she’s collected more than $2 million in live tournament winnings.

Boeree, who was a model and studied astrophysics at the University of Manchester, has since found her calling at the poker felt. After winning San Remo, she was invited to join Team PokerStars after beating out a field of 1,200+ other poker players. She is respected among the profession for her skills, charm, ambition, and beauty.

PokerStars 50 Billionth Hand Update

PokerStars Microstakes player, “tbvle,” won the 50 Billionth Hand grand prize at a quiet little $0.02/$0.05 NLH cash table last week and took in a $56K+ prize plus $46.25 he won on the hand.

Tvble’s pocket Queens went all in pre-flop along with the six other players dealt into the six-player hand. Tbvle was favored to win by 41%. The flop fell: King, Jack, 10; the Queens still had the best chance of winning, along with a shot at an open-ended straight draw. While the turn nor the river showed up any good cards, tbvle won the pot, plus an instant $50,500, plus $5,640 for racking up 11.28 VPPs in the previous 50 hands, all rewards of the 50 Billionth Hand promotion.

Since the majority of the approximate 176 hands per second played at PokerStars take place at the microstake limits, it’s not a surprise that this deserving player won the promotion. And deserving he is, as he’s played more than 288K hands over the past 16 months, which averages out to about 600 hands per day.

About 18 months after PokerStars celebrated their 25 Billionth Hand back in February of 2009, another proud feat has been accomplished.

All players in the hand were also paid $500 plus $500 for each VPP earned in the last 50 hands they played. They also all earned entry into the $5,200 World Championship of Online Poker, which began this past weekend. 300 milestone hands leading up to the 50 billionth hand were also rewarded beginning at the 49.7 billionth hand.

Setback for PPA does not Discourage the Fight

Leading grassroots advocacy organization for poker in the US, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), is disappointed with the ruling by the Washington State Supreme Court decision to uphold state law making poker and online gambling a Class C Felony.

“We are extremely disappointed in the State Supreme Court’s ruling given the clear evidence that the state legislature never sought to regulate Internet poker as it does in-state bricks and mortar card rooms and internet horse racing, but instead simply banned internet poker and, even worse, criminalized the players. This law is still a mistake, and we will continue to fight to have it overturned,” comments Chairman of the PPA and former US Senator, Alfonse D’Amato.

The PPA provided testimony before the Supreme Court in May supporting the case and at least 100 poker supporters showed their opposition to the state law on the steps of the Supreme Court

Lee Rousso, Renton attorney and avid poker player who presented the case said, “Unfortunately, the court has upheld an unpopular prohibition. Poker players in this state need to make their voices heard. Now more than ever we need to rally together to fight this outrageous law. I hope the poker community will stand with me as I appeal this decision to the US Supreme Court.”

Sen. D’Amato adds, “The one bright spot in the ruling is that the Court made it clear they weren’t endorsing the law, but rather endorsing the right of the legislature to pass the law. That underscores what we’ve heard time and again – that this law is ridiculous. In fact, earlier this year, a poll found that 80 percent of Washington voters oppose the law.

“By no means is the fight over. The PPA will pursue other legal and legislative efforts to overturn this law and will continue to work with lawmakers in Washington State and Washington, DC, to pass legislation to license and regulate online poker and protect the rights of poker players to enjoy the game they love wherever they chose to play it.”

This ruling is only one small setback for the cause, as the one million nationwide members of the PPA, 20,000 of those in Washington alone, cannot be suppressed forever.

50 Billionth Hand Fast Approaching at PokerStars

PokerStars online poker giant is fast approaching their monumental 50 billionth dealt hand and has a massive promotion to go along with it. Expected to fall some time near the close of this month, there are a lot of prizes to be won by they who are dealt it. What makes this even more exciting though, is that there’s no set prize value on the hand. The players who are dealt into the 50 billionth hand will win cash in direct relation to how many VIP points they’ve earned. Established cash values will also be awarded to all the participants in the game with the winner of the hand receiving the highest prize.

Each player who is dealt into the hand will earn $500. Also for each VIP Player Point each player has been awarded in the 50 previous hands, he/she will receive $500. Meaning if 5 VPPs had been earned in the last 50 hands, that player will get $2,000. In addition to the $500 and $500 per VPP, the hand winner will earn $50K! And these are straight up cash payouts that can be directly withdrawn from your player account immediately—not bonuses that you have to clear.

Also, a special tournament will take place on September 26, the World Championship of Online Poker. Each player dealt into the 50 billionth hand will get to play in that tournament.

Another facet of the 50 billionth hand promo is the Sit N Go tourneys running through September 25th. Another $50K will be awarded to the SNG event winner. These tourneys range in buy-in from $1.10 up to $55 and can accommodate up to 50 players. Other opportunities to benefit from PokerStars’ 50 billionth hand promotions include the Mega Milestone and specially designated freerolls. Don’t miss the chance to walk away with your piece of the $1 million in cash prizes that they’ll be giving away this month at PokerStars.

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