It’s encouraging to see the online poker sites chipping in to help out in Haiti. This is a true humanitarian crisis: the United States and Haiti have had a troubled relationship for most of Haiti’s history, but it’s refreshing to see so many Americans stepping up to help in this desperate situation. Even the poker players (who contrary to the opinion of some in Congress, are NOT just degenerate gamblers)!

Online Poker Sites Help Out Haiti

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50 Cent, perhaps best known for his drug dealing and Rasputin-like survivability, is reportedly set to appear in a new poker movie with actor Benicio del Toro and fellow non-actors Wisin Y Yandel (a Latin rap duo). Perhaps we’ll be treated to live musical performances in between key hands? With such a star-studded cast, the film seems certain to join the likes of “High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story”, “Lucky You” and “All In” on the long list of poker films that are absolute train wrecks at the box office. You can read more about the project here: http://www.rapbasement.com/50-cent/081209-50-cent-will-co-star-with-benicio-del-toro-in-new-poker-movie.html

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The World Poker Tour, which became famous during the post-Moneymaker poker boom by featuring the likes of top poker pros like Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Howard Lederer and J.C. Tran, has been sold for $9.075 million to Gamynia Ltd. Gamynia is promising to continue operations of the World Poker Tour and the Professional Poker Tour, while WPT Enterprises Inc. (a publicly listed company) will use the money to acquire an unspecified “non-poker related business.” I’m sure the WPT shareholders are thrilled by that news. You can read about this development here: http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/08/03/daily15.html

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NBC is debuting a new poker show called “Face the Ace” August 1. The show pits amateur poker players heads-up against top poker pros for a shot at up to $1 million. I’d expect the amateur players to do quite well against the professionals in a heads-up poker tournament. With a level one-on-one playing field, there’s less room for the pros to use their skills to build up a big chip lead against a weak field. And heads-up play is usually a matter of well-timed aggression. It’ll be interesting to see how these matches play out. Read more about “Face the Ace” here: Face the Ace to Debut on NBC.

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As part of the Poker Players Alliance’s National Poker Week campaign urging Congress to lift restrictions on online poker, Greg Raymer – the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion – made the rounds on Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers’ staff. He also sat down with reporters from the Washington Post to answer reader’s questions. Raymer discusses the PPA, making the transition from amateur to professional player, his ongoing tournament poker book project (it hasn’t gotten very far, apparently), game selection, and other issues. You can read the Greg Raymer interview here.

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Full Tilt Poker’s attempt to seize Poker Stars place in the Guinness Book of World Records for largest online poker tournament has failed. Full Tilt managed to round up the 50,000 players they hoped to for their $5 “Record Breaker Tourney”, which would have broken Poker Stars previous record of 35,000 players in a poker tournament they hosted last year. Not to be outdone, Poker Stars promptly organized its own $1 Record Breaker tourney which signed up 65,000 players. It looks like this rivalry is just starting to heat up… perhaps Bodog will get in on the action by organizing a $.01 record breaking tourney?

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It seems the U.S. Golf Association and PGA Tour simply can’t help but stir up controversy. First, the PGA Tour tried to pick on disabled golfers, refusing to make even the most reasonable accommodations for players’ disabilities (despite the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act). They fought for their right to discriminate against the handicapped all the way to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court… where the PGA Tour lost resoundingly.

Not content with picking on the disabled, the PGA Tour spent the next few years standing by the Augusta National Golf Club’s brave decision to refuse to allow any women to join the Club (the Georgia golf club had admitted its first black member in 1990 – under duress). Theoretically, women CAN join the Augusta National Gulf Club, and many remain on the waiting list today. Of course, given the Club’s secretive admission process that tends to mysteriously exclude women and minorities, they’ll be waiting a good long time. Of course that doesn’t stop Augusta National from being a marquee event on the Tour, however.

Now, the blue bloods have made yet another bold stand for morality and justice: stripping a poker player/golfer, Dusty Schmidt, of his amateur status for “gambling” $1 million that no one could beat him at 4 rounds of golf and a poker match. Apparently “gambling” (even as a publicity stunt that no one was ever going to accept) is “detrimental to the best interests of the amateur game” and violates the “spirit” of golf. And what does that spirit consist of, exactly? Dusty’s Story in USA Today

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It can often seem that Twitter is nothing more than a chaotic, disorganized shouting match, with more people selling “make money from home” nostrums than actual readers. Yet sifting through the rubble, one can often find useful coverage of breaking events. At the 2009 World Series of Poker, for example, Twitter users @taopauly and @JeffreyPollack distinguished themselves with up-to-the-second Twittering of real-time tournament results. The online poker sites, many with hourly posting schedules, simply couldn’t keep up with the fast-paced action in the tournament’s final days. Users of Twitter are practically transported live onto the scene; a Twitterer texting on their phone can provide instant coverage of breaking events.

Read more about how Twitter changed coverage of this year’s World Series of Poker here: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2009/jul/16/raise-fold-or-tweet/.

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