Browse > Home / Archive: January 2012

Bluff Magazine POY Award Goes to Eugene Katchalov

January 6, 2012

The 2011 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year race was one of the closest races yet, but Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov was ultimately victorious over Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier by only 18 points.

Katchlov started out the year with a bang at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, taking the first place title from Daniel Negreanu in the $100K Super High Roller event and winning a $1.5 million purse and foreshadowing what would be a year of epic success for the almost 31-year-old native Ukrainian native raised in Brooklyn, New York.

Katchalov went on the win his first World Series of Poker bracelet at the 2011 WSOP, make the final table at another 2011 WSOP event, and final table the Epic Poker League Main Event. He also finished third in the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event, all the while blazing past $7 million in career tourney earnings, putting him at the 36th spot for all-time money earner.

He finished out the year with 1,089 points on the Bluff Magazine Player of the Year standings. Grospellier took the number two spot with 1,071 points; Ben Lamb came in third with 988 points. Pius Heinz, 2011 WSOP Main Event Champion, came in 10th place with 892 points for the year.

The first Bluff Magazine Player of the Year Award was given to Phil Ivey in 2005. Since then, the Bluff POY listing has become a prestigious and creditable catalogue of the year’s most successful poker tournament players. The 2010 award went to Sorel Mizzi.

Written by Maria · Filed Under Poker News 

DOJ’s Stance on the Wire Act is Merely an Administration’s Opinion

January 2, 2012

Is the recent news from the DOJ regarding the 1961 Wire Act and its application only to sportsbetting (not online poker) too good to be true? Some legal analysts say don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.

An online gaming expert and Las Vegas attorney with Lionel Sawyer & Collins, Greg Gemignani, says of the recent DOJ announcement, “This is just an opinion of the Department of Justice and only reflects what the Obama administration would bring charges on. Future departments of justice could interpret the Wire Act differently.”

The opinion of the DOJ can at any time be reversed and withdrawn. Courts can intervene, voiding the DOJ’s memorandum. If Congress passed the DOJ’s ruling into law, then the “opinion” would become permanent, but for now, it’s merely opinion.

An attorney who specializes in gambling laws with K&L Gates LLP in Pennsylvania, Linda Shorey, says, “An opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel can be withdrawn or changed, although it is not often done. Under the US Constitution, only the courts have the authority to determine whether the Wire Act applies to poker wagers. The Department of Justice memo is not binding on the courts.”

In the past, the Wire Act has been ruled in a New Orleans court of appeals that the Wire Act only applied to sportsbetting, but a federal judge in Utah did not share view and ruled opposite. Hopefully Congress will take some action now though to clear things up, though controversial matters such as online gambling are not well received this close to an election.

The executive director of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), however, believes this is still positive ground for the cause. He says, “This ruling gives states the confidence to move forward with intrastate Internet poker.”

The PPA does however still support federal level legislation rather than intrastate laws.

Pappas adds, “Efforts at the Federal level are going to increase as well. There are a number of lawmakers that feel like it is time for Congress to step in.”

Written by Bea · Filed Under Poker News 

« Previous Page