October 3rd, 2005
Mariah Carey Won $27,000 At A Poker GameMariah Carey won $27,000 at a poker game in Las Vegas last Friday. Carey, 35, invited at producer Jermaine Dupri's birthday party at the opening of the Tao restaurant from Venetian Hotel, visited a nearby casino to play some poker.
The Diva, who won $27,000 after just three rounds of the game, confessed she's not apoker player, so the winning was not on account of her skills.
Contactmusic.com quote her as saying: "I used to play poker with my sister. But I think my low-cut dress put some of the guys off."
The pop star, born on March 27, 1970 in New York, became America's most successful recording artist for that decade, according to Billboard magazine.
The World Music Awards recognized her as the world's biggest-selling artist of the '90s and declared her the best-selling female pop artist of all time in 2000.
She has produced every one of her ten studio albums, except the debut one and directed music her videos.
Since 1999, she has occasionally worked as an actress and supported a variety of charitable organizations.
By Mihaela Stroia
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October 3rd, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) - Doyle Brunson can remember when being a professional poker player meant being an embarrassment.
The 72-year-old Texan recalls old friends crossing to the other side of the street when they saw him coming, and pulling out of the finals of a televised high-stakes tournament in 1972 because he didn't want to shame his family by advertising what he did for a living.
All of which made Brunson's situation on Friday night that much more interesting. With his trademark cowboy hat and his drawl as thick as Texas heat, he was the esteemed elder statesman at the "High Rollers Steak Dinner," one of the opening night events at this year's New Yorker Festival.
More than 100 people paid $200 a plate to sit in a dark, wood-paneled room at Gallagher's steakhouse and listen - and sometimes loudly react - to tales about the suddenly trendy world of poker from Brunson and fellow players Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer and David Williams.
"There's no life like the life I've lived," said Brunson, a 10-time World Series of Poker champion. "You're free like a cloud floating up in the sky."
The festival, in its sixth year, is three days of interviews, panel discussions, readings and musical performances. Writers such as Stephen King, Pulitzer winners Michael Chabon, Jhumpa Lahiri and Edward P. Jones, musicians Ric Ocasek and Ani DiFranco, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and many others are among those scheduled to appear before it wraps up on Sunday. The weekend event also features actor Steve Martin leading a banjo concert and a benefit for hurricane victims.
With the influx of players who have honed their game on the Internet and the proliferation of poker shows on television, professional poker has changed dramatically in the last few years and many of the world's top players have become minor celebrities. Tournament players are at record numbers, making winning a more difficult goal for longtime pros.
"It's like hitting the lottery," Brunson said. "We've got more tickets than everybody, but you've still got to hit."
The democratic feel of poker, a game that combines skill with luck, was evident during the panel discussion. Many comments made by the players, especially Hellmuth - with his reputation as the game's "brat" - were met either with applause or open derision from the crowd. The atmosphere might have been heightened by the fact that there was an open bar before the discussion began.
At one point when Hellmuth was explaining how he thought poker helped with social skills in teenagers and young adults, a man in the audience yelled out, "That's insulting."
"I'll debate you any time, baby," the nine-time World Series of Poker winner replied with a grin.
For Williams, who made more than $4 million playing poker while still in college and finished second at the 2004 World Series of Poker championship at the age of 23 after qualifying online, the emergence of poker in the national consciousness is both good and bad.
"It's so popular, which is great, but people don't see the bad side to poker," he said, talking about how he receives e-mails from kids who are ready to drop out of school and risk all the money they have to try for a win in a high-stakes tournament.
And all agreed that longevity is the one true way to measure a great champion. In that category, almost no one can match Brunson.
Now, however, there is plenty of money to be made away from the table. Book deals, advertising deals with online casinos and marketing deals for different apparel worn at the table - sunglasses, caps, etc. - have made the actual tournaments and big-cash games seem at least temporarily secondary to some of the world's most accomplished players.
"I feel like this is the time to take care of some of the business opportunities," Lederer, winner of two World Series of Poker bracelets, said in response to a question about why he didn't play in the big-money cash game at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Brunson delivered the definitive line about the gambler's mentality.
"Money's just a tool to the real gambler," he said. "It doesn't have any value, except for what you can buy and you don't even miss it until you run out."
By CONNOR ENNIS
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October 3rd, 2005
09/25/2005, Minneapolis, Minnesota --Pokerbeat, an exciting, informative and fresh new television show, is now in the final stages of production in Las Vegas, Nevada.More than two years in development and orchestrated by experts in gaming content, Pokerbeat offers a stylish and unique glimpse into the world of professional poker play.The episodes will showcase top competitors and industry insiders while delivering up-to-the-minute poker news in a fast-paced, magazine-style 30-minue format.
Pokerbeat takes up where poker tournament programming leaves off, taking an innovative approach that is not be found in traditional poker coverage.
“We’re not TV people making a poker show, we’re POKER people making a TV show.” explains Michael Hochman, one of the show’s creators.He, along with content developer Annie Adlin and co-creator Matthew Kaphan are assembling some of the hottest names, and hottest players in the business.
“What makes this show so incredibly unique is a combination of insight and innovation that cannot be duplicated with smoke and mirrors”, says Adlin.“This show is produced by poker enthusiasts for poker enthusiasts.Everyone involved, from the ‘gopher’ to the executive producers – All poker players.“We all knew what we were looking for, and were very precise about the information we are packaging.We are confident that all poker fans will embrace this distinctive style of programming.”
Dan Goldman, vice president of marketing for PokerStars.com, attempts to explain the red-hot phenomenon documented by this show.“There has been a lot of poker on TV in the past few years, and a lot of online and print news stories about poker, but no one – until now – had managed to catch on to a fundamental missing piece:Covering poker as news in a light-hearted, TV newsmagazine format,” he says.“Pokerbeat is as exciting and as revolutionary, in its own way, as the World Poker Tour.”
Among the first season’s guests on Pokerbeat are familiar names and faces:Daniel Negreanu, Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein, Chip & Karina Jett, Russ Hamilton, Linda Johnson, Tom McEvoy, Matt Savage, Howard Schwartz from the Gambler’s Book Club, and Evelyn Ng.Pokerbeat is primarily being filmed in Las Vegas at Wynn Las Vegas, Sunset Station, and The Plaza.A studio produced newscast will add up-to-the-minute tournament results and industry news to an impressive array of guests, events and comedy sketches.
Producers of PokerBeat include: Annie Adlin, Michael Hochman, Matthew Kaphan and Lisa Tenner.
Pokerbeat is scheduled to premiere in November of 2005.
Airing on FSN New EnglandSundays at 4pm EST
and America One Sports on Wednesdays at 11:30pm EST
For more information visit Pokerbeat at www.pokerbeat.com.
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October 3rd, 2005
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Sept. 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- College Poker Championship(tm) (http://www.collegepoker.com), the world's largest online college poker tournament, introduces its third annual competition today at Penn State University. The search is on for the world's best college poker players as College Poker Championship III launches with its largest prize package ever, including $200,000 in scholarships, $10,000 in charity donations and four brand new cars.
College Poker Championship is a free online tournament open to registered college and university students worldwide. With weekly Sunday night qualifying events now through May 7, 2006, the third annual event is the largest, fiercest collegiate Texas Hold'em, No Limit competition held to date. Students from around the world will battle for the coveted title and scholarship funds.
``Poker has exploded in popularity especially among college students,'' said Lou Krieger, host of College Poker Championship. ``Each year, College Poker Championship allows thousands of students to practice and hone their poker skills in a safe and fun environment.''
For the first time in the third annual tournament, College Poker Championship will be segmented into 10 conferences: North America (Canada, Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Midwest, South, Southwest and West), United Kingdom, Scandinavia and the rest of the world. Each Sunday at 6:00 p.m. EST, students will play to become part of the top five percent who will advance to their online conference semi-finals, and ultimately, the one person who will go on to represent their conference in the championship tournament where the remaining $135,000 will be on the line.
Students will also have the opportunity to compete against other schools within their conference and on a conference-to-conference basis by earning points in the Campus Rivalry Challenge. In the 2005 competition, Penn State outplayed 2,400 other schools and is now known as the campus with the strongest poker players and the one to beat in this year's rivalry.
Other new additions in the tournament include the Win-A-Car Points Challenge, which will award a brand new car or the cash equivalent to four lucky students every eight weeks throughout the competition. In North America, players will also have the opportunity to win a wild card entry into the North American Conference Final.
Look for Chad Flood, a junior at the University of Minnesota -- Twin Cities, to defend his title as the World's Best College Poker Player. Last year, Flood outplayed 25,000 students from 55 countries earning a $41,000 academic scholarship and a $1,000 donation to the American Diabetes Association.
``I'm already logged on and ready to play,'' said Flood. ``The College Poker Championship has been a great experience for me in the last couple of years and the tournaments are a lot of fun. I look forward to defending my title.''
About the College Poker Championship
The College Poker Championship(tm) (http://www.collegepoker.com) is open to registered college and university students worldwide to determine the World's Best College Poker Player. Entry into the tournament is free of charge, with all events being played with tournament chips. No purchase is required. College Poker Championship supports students' educational endeavors with scholarships worth $200,000, charity donations and champions the use of poker as a strategic learning tool.
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October 3rd, 2005
NEW YORK, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ - After battling 3,900 opponents online, Lee Biddulph, a 28 year old chef from Blackpool, England has walked away with $1 million dollars, the winner of ParadisePoker.com's first Million Dollar Free online poker tournament. This is the world's largest online poker tournament prize ever, and it was absolutely free to participate!
The final table, which was played out in a mystery tropical location, was made up of nine amateurs, eight from the U.S. who beat out almost four thousand players at ParadisePoker.com. In the end, it came down to a showdown between Biddulph and Mike Darweesh, a software engineer who processes images from Mars, and lives in Tempe, Arizona.
After seven hours of play at the final table, Biddulph revealed the tension. "Even my teeth are shaking," he said as he played the final hand.
On the second to last hand minutes before, both players checked right through to the river, facing a board with four diamonds. Darweesh led with a bet of $200,000. Biddulph thought for a moment before reraising it up to $600,000. Darweesh called, and flipped over a 9 of diamonds. Biddulph turned over the 10 of diamonds and took the pot with a higher flush.
Darweesh rose to his feet as the final hand caused an eruption from the previously silent crowd. Both players were all in before the flop, and as they revealed their hole cards the crowd saw that Darweesh had queen/nine and Biddulph had the dominant ace/ten. The first card from the deck was an ace, which sent the crowd into a further frenzy. The remaining cards on the flop were a 6 and 3. The turn card produced an 8 - sending Biddulph into shock and sending tears streaming down his girlfriend Debbie's face. The river showed another 6, and it was over.
"ParadisePoker.com is a great experience at the best of times, but throw $1 million in to the pot and make it a freeroll for amateurs and you discover a whole new crowd able to challenge the best of the pros", said Bruce Stubbs, marketing director, ParadisePoker.com. "Lee played brilliantly, he started the final table with less chips -- $1.58 million to Mike's $2.72 million and came out a winner.
"In the end - the $1 Million Freeroll Tournament has been a historic event, lots of fun and ample opportunity for online poker players who want to try out their skills with the best of amateurs. Our second $1 Million Freeroll Tournament is already in progress," Stubbs added.
All finalists received an all expenses paid weekend to a five star resort in Costa Rica for themselves and a guest, as well as receiving $10,000 just for making it to the final table.
To find out more about Paradise Poker and the how to participate in the second $1,000,000 Freeroll Tournament visit: www.paradisepoker.com
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October 3rd, 2005
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) September 27, 2005 -- Full Tilt Poker representatives John D'Agostino and David Singer each had strong showings at the Borgata Poker Open, finishing fourth and sixth respectively out of a field of 515.
D'Agostino earned the biggest payday of his professional career, collecting $349,685 for his fourth-place finish at the World Poker Tour event, while Singer earned $249,775 and his sixth final-table appearance of the past year.
Before last week's finish, D'Agostino's biggest payday came at the 2004 Championship Poker at Turning Stone where he collected $250,000 for second place. D'Agostino has scored three other final table appearances within the past year, including a third-place showing at the Heads-Up Limit Hold 'em tournament at Bellagio in December 2004.
Prior to his sixth-place finish at Borgata, Singer's largest win was $120,000 for his ninth-place finish at the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. So far in 2005, Singer has made a total of six final table appearances, including a fourth-place finish at the WSOP's $2,500 Short-Handed No-Limit Event.
"John and David played brilliantly against a tough field at Borgata" said Team Full Tilt member Howard Lederer. "Their results further demonstrate the depth of talent that represents Full Tilt Poker."
D'Agostino and Singer represent one of the fastest growing online poker sites, www.FullTiltPoker.com, and spend several hours a week online helping amateur players learn the game by sharing their poker knowledge through real-time chats at the virtual tables. Along with D'Agostino and Singer, 25 other top poker professionals play at www.FullTiltPoker.com, where they have helped to create the best possible atmosphere for players who want to improve their games.
"Team Full Tilt," is a select group of the world's finest professional poker players, including Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon (co-host, Celebrity Poker Showdown), Clonie Gowen, John Juanda and others. Full Tilt Poker offers players the unique opportunity to play, chat, and learn with the best in the game. Full Tilt Poker's 27 professional players have a total of 39 World Series of Poker bracelets.
About Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker™ software was developed by TiltWare LLC, a software development and licensing company based in Los Angeles, California and licensed to Kolyma Corporation, A.V.V. which is regulated and licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. "Team Full Tilt," is a select group of the world's finest professional poker players, including Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon (co-host, Celebrity Poker Showdown,) Clonie Gowen, John Juanda and others. With innovative graphics, superior customer service and a safe, secure interface, the software is geared to enhance and personalize the online poker experience. Users of all skill levels can download the software at www.FullTiltPoker.com and can play for fun or for real money where online games of skill are permitted by law.
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October 3rd, 2005
Lately, it seems poker is everywhere. From how-to books and cable channels to the Internet, odds are if you're hankering to learn, play or just watch poker, you'll be able to do it anywhere - in Arizona or London.
Which is exactly what Jason Smith, 28, of Chandler, is banking on while he is in England this week playing in the World Speed Poker Open, where he has the chance to win $90,000.
"It's really the competition," he said, just before his trip. "Being able to outthink someone else, making a play when you don't have the best hand and winning, just being able to do that is the most appealing" about the game he has been playing for eight years.
His experience, and that of other top players in the world, will be chronicled by the English satellite network and the tournament sponsor, the Poker Channel.
Smith, a self-employed truck driver who works with FedEx, won his chance to take part in the London tournament in August, when he entered a $20 no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament online at Party poker.com. He and five others won a five-night trip to London, the $3,000 entry fee and $1,500, which he used on airfare for him and his wife, Terri. "It's a short trip," said Terri, 30. But hopefully, we're going to do some sightseeing."
Until now, Smith had mostly played with his buddies, with the hobby growing from "nickel-and-dime" games to the now popular Texas Hold 'em tournament style.
"It really evolved from a bunch of guys playing once a month to a bunch of guys and their families playing every weekend," he said. "We have a group of about 20 people. It's the husbands, the wives, girlfriends, it's everybody; we even got the mothers and the mothers-in-law playing."
By Lars Jacoby
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October 3rd, 2005
Poker chips, or poker tokens, are used to keep track during gambling, to replace money during the game. Even though poker chips are called clay chips, poker chip sets are not made of clay. Sometimes clay is used as filler, but it is always mixed with some synthetic material for durability. Clay composite chip sets were popular in the early 1800s and today are rarely used mainly because they are more expensive and tend to break easily.
Today the most popular poker chip sets are made of plastic, clay composite, and acrylic. Since 1930s poker chip sets were decorated with metal foil for extra durability and security. Ten years later, poker chip sets were printed in the center and along the edges.
Since 1950s most casinos introduced their own designs and logos imprinted on the poker chip sets, and these chips became a collectable items. To add extra security and prevent counterfeiting, casinos started to use unique blends and materials in their poker chips. Most often, it’s a top-secret blend of synthetic polymer acrylic composite, sometimes with added clay or kaolin.
All casinos have their own unique colorful designs or at least a logo on their poker chip sets. These sets are produced only by a few specially appointed companies in the US, and the designs are protected by copyright.
For home gambling metal core poker or plastic chip sets are used. The metal core ones are heavier, can be customized in design and color scheme, which adds that special casino feel to them. Plastic poker chip sets are more lightweight and can be damaged easily. On the other hand, they are less expensive and can be bought anywhere in any quantity. Plastic poker chip sets are the best choice for beginners in gambling, or for people who play occasionally. When people become serious about poker and start playing regularly, they prefer to invest into metal core poker chip sets or even in composite clay poker chip sets.
Poker chip sets are widely available on the Internet. Most companies when you place an order would send a sample chip. You can also collect a nice poker chip set if you buy one-dollar chips from casinos – these would be of much better quality than any chips you could buy in stores, plus, they are a great conversational piece! And you can always trade them back for money in the casino or even play with them.
If you decide to keep your casino poker chip set, you need to provide them good “shelter”. To keep your poker chips safe you need a poker chip case with lock and key where you would store your precious poker chip set during the poker session. Most often, you will get a complementary poker chip case when you place an order for a poker chip set. If you buy one separately, look for the case made of metal or hard wood, with a reliable lock and soft interior lining to protect chips and cards. Plastic or vinyl cases are easily damaged and do not provide enough protection for heavier poker chip sets.
When you are ready to buy your poker chip set, make sure you go for the best quality you can afford and that you order enough chips to accommodate the number of players you usually have. As a rule, you cannot have too many chips, but if you order not enough of them, you can easily add more. Store them in a reliable poker chip case and enjoy the game!
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October 3rd, 2005
TORONTO (CP) - Canada's new Texas Hold'em poker champion says it was all about the luck and, of course, the poker face.
Liam Greig received $105,000 after winning the Degree Poker Championship playoffs at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Taped in June, it was broadcast Saturday night on TSN.
"The semi-final had me just totally wrapped up in nerves," Greig confessed from his home in Vancouver, where he works as an online poker software designer and plays jazz guitar.
"(But) I get nervous whether or not I have a good hand or I'm bluffing ... so I don't think that people can use it against me."
Greig hid behind a tweed hat and oversized sunglasses throughout the tournament to battle intimidation from other competitors and the cameras.
"My emotions were just running so high that I think, watching the tournament, I probably look pretty drained," recalled Greig of the moment he won. "I could not even crack a smile."
The 25-year-old learned to play draw poker from family members in Northern Bay Sands, N.L., where he spent summers as a young boy.
"Then I ... taught it to all my buddies around the community where I lived, and started winning their allowances," he said with a laugh.
Greig feels like he was "born with the (card) hand rankings already ingrained," but he didn't pursue his natural ability until about a year ago when he started designing gaming software for an online poker company.
"The people that I work with are all really fantastic players," he said.
"So I had to learn quick or else I was going to lose my paycheques every time I went out and played."
Greig played poker online and in few smaller tournaments prior to entering the Degree Poker Championship, but hadn't had any big payoffs.
"The most I'd won before the $105,000 was $580," he said. "And at the time that I won that, that was a big win."
Greig went up against 2,000 entrants to win Canada's first national Texas Hold'em poker championship, set up by TSN amid a surge in the game's popularity.
As part of his win, Greig also received entry to the 2005
World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. But he didn't make it to the second day of the tournament.
"My luck ran out," he says. "And there is that element of luck. You need to play well but you also need to have some cards on your side."
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October 3rd, 2005
WPT: Network Withdraws "Pro Poker" OfferLOS ANGELES (AP) -- WPT Enterprises Inc. on Thursday said a cable network withdrew its offer to buy broadcast rights to the "Professional Poker Tour" series, but WPT said it has resumed negotiations with the Travel Channel.
The Travel Channel currently broadcasts WPT's "World Poker Tour" TV series.
On Sept. 19, WPT sued the Travel Channel and its parent company, Discovery Communications Inc., to prevent the broadcaster from interfering with WPT's prospective contract with the other, unnamed company. WPT is currently negotiating with the Travel Channel to broadcast the "Professional Poker" series "despite the dispute."
Shares of WPT fell 64 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $8.34 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. The stock reached a 52-week peak of $29.50 in July, but is now nearing its year-ago low of $7.65.
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