Le Monde du Poker.

February 28 2012, Brett Collson

It was a busy day in the world of poker, so we're here to get you caught up on all of the biggest stories around the globe. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we're covering the guilty plea by a Black Friday payment processor, federal indictments handed to Calvin Ayre and three others, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The 2012 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic played down to 18 players on Day 4. Noah Schwartz bagged the most chips as play concluded but Dan Kelly, Stephen Chidwick, Jason DeWitt and Jason Somerville were lurking.

Phil Ivey was the bubble boy of the aforementioned L.A. Poker Classic. Rich Ryan takes a look at the community's reaction in his latest Five Thoughts piece.

Poker After Dark is set to return to television on March 5. Chad Holloway caught up with Poker PROductions' Mori Eskandani to talk about the show's relaunch, as well as the possible return of the National Heads Up Poker Championship.

Matt Glantz has been very vocal about the downfall of Full Tilt Poker. Glantz joined the PokerNews Podcast this week to discuss his recent blog about the FTP shareholders, the pending deal between FTP and Groupe Bernard Tapie, and more.

Black Friday Principal Pleads Guilty

Ryan Lang, one of the 11 men indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on Black Friday, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.

Lang, 36, was accused of facilitating the illegal transfer of funds from online poker sites to players in the U.S. Lang operated as a payment processor out of Canada from 2007 to 2010, assisting financial brokers who made false statements to the banks to trick them into processing payments. He was charged with money laundering and fraud, among other things.

Lang apologized in court for the crimes, which carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.

Calvin Ayre Indicted; Bodog.com Seized

One day after the Bodog.com domain name was seized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bodog brand founder Calvin Ayre was indicted by the federal government on charges of operating an illegal gambling business and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Federal prosecutors claim that Ayre and three other men — James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney supervised an illegal gambling business from June 2005 to January 2012 in violation of Maryland law. According to the indictment, Bodog used payment processors in Switzerland, England, Malta, and Canada, and then directed the processors to send at least $100 million by wire and by check to gamblers in Maryland.

The company is also under indictment after its domain name was seized. Bodog.com was no longer operational after the U.S.-facing business was rebranded to Bovada.lv last December, and CalvinAyre.com reports that other Bodog Brand properties won’t be affected by the seizure of the inactive domain.

For more, read the story here at PokerNews.com.

Gambling Firms Blocked From Offering Games in Holland

According to numerous reports, the Dutch Supreme Court has ordered online gaming operators like Ladbrokes and Betfair to implement software that blocks residents in Holland from accessing their sites.

The ruling is the latest in a long battle between online gambling firms and the Dutch government. Currently, the Dutch Lotto is the only organization with a license to run online gambling in the state. The government has attempted to block foreign companies from offering their services in Holland since 2003 to keep them out of the market.

The ruling took 10 years because the Dutch Supreme Court waited for a judgment from the European Court of Justice, which declared in 2010 that the country is within its rights to ban foreign operators as long as the ban is aimed at reducing fraud and discouraging people from gambling.

NL.PokerNews has more.

WPT National Returns

The World Poker Tour made its way to Vejle, Denmark, on Tuesday for the €1,650 buy-in National Event. The tournament, held at the Casino Munkebjerg Vejle, is comparable to a $1,650 buy-in WPT Regional Event in the U.S.

Among the players taking part on Day 1a were Theo Jorgensen, Sander Lylloff, and Alexander "AlexKP" Petersen. Also in the field was award-winning poker commentator Jesse May, who qualified for a WPT for the first time in 12 years. Naturally, Tony G. had some fun with May's accomplishment on his blog.

The World Poker Tour will also be hosting WPT National events in Mauritius and France this year and expects to announce partnerships with a number of additional venues soon. Winners do not qualify for a WPT title, Player of the Year points or a WPT World Championship buy-in, but the affordable buy-ins allow players to compete for big prizes against some of the top players around Europe.

For more information on the first WPT National Event, visit the World Poker Tour website.

Online Poker Traffic Rankings

On Monday, PokerScout.com released its online poker traffic rankings for the previous week. The tracking site reported a slight drop of 0.7 percent, marking the third straight week of losses on networks around the globe.

PokerStars continued its stranglehold over the competition, boasting a seven-day average of 25,800 cash game players last week. That numbers dwarfed the averages of PartyPoker (4,650) and the iPoker Network (4,100), which came in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. 888poker landed at No. 4, and the Ongame Network moved up a notch to fifth place, passing PokerStars.it.

One of the big stories this month has been the Everleaf Gaming's exit from the U.S., and the network has since seen a sizable falloff in traffic. Everleaf's traffic slid another 6 percent last week after it dropped 16 percent the week before. Last week, Everleaf released an official statement confirming that player funds were seized by U.S. authorities.

As for year-over-year traffic numbers, online poker has seen a worldwide decline of 30 percent since this time last year. Along with obvious decline at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, the International Poker Network (down 45 percent), PKR (down 26 percent) and the Ongame Network (down 23 percent) have seen a significant decline.

The biggest climbers over the past year are the Merge Gaming Network (up 76 percent), 888poker (up 75 percent) and Bodog (up 60 percent).

The full report can be found at PokerScout.com.

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January 22 2012, Brett Collson

Miss any of the top poker news stories this week? We're here to get you caught up on everything from Zynga's sudden interest in real-money online gambling to Black Friday payment processor Ira Rubin's plea agreement, and much more.

Poker Business

Zynga's Flip-Flop

Is Zynga reversing its position on real-money online gambling? Well, that's what one company spokesperson told All Things D on Friday.

It appears Zynga has a sudden interest in the real-money space and is speaking with several potential partners about a shift into the market if legislation is passed in the U.S.

“We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than 7 million people playing every day and over 30 million each month," the spokesperson said.

"We know from listening to our players that there’s an interest in the real money gambling market. We’re in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity.”

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Ira Rubin Makes Plea Bargain

Black Friday payment processor Ira Rubin is set to face 18 to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy on Tuesday in court in Manhattan, N.Y.

Rubin, 53, had been charged with nine counts in assisting PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker with deceiving banks by disguising payments as transactions with phony Internet merchants. Rubin has been jailed since last April when he was arrested in Guatemala while supposedly attempting to flee to Thailand.

Rubin's plea bargain could potentially shave decades off his maximum prison sentence because he pleaded guilty to only three of the nine charges.

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Poker Pros vs. UB

Poker pros Brad Booth, Tom Koral and Dustin "neverwin" Woolf were among eight plaintiffs to file a RICO complaint against Excapsa Software, the former owners of Ultimate Bet. The players claim that the online poker site stole $20 million from players in a hole-card scam perpetrated by former employees.

The defendants in the complaint are 6356095 Canada Inc. (Excapsa Software), and 10 John Does. The players are seeking an injunction and damages for RICO conspiracy, conversion, interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair business practices, and fraud and negligence, according to the complaint.

Booth has been very vocal about how the UB cheating scandal ruined his life. The Canadian pro told DonkDown Radio last February that he had about $2 million stolen from him during the super-user incident and lost even more money that he borrowed from his peers.

You can find the full complaint against Excapsa at PokerNews.com.

Taylor Caby Enjoying New Venture

Taylor Caby is arguably one of the most influential figures in the growth of online poker. However, after the Department of Justice killed "40 percent" of his business at CardRunners and Hold'em Manager on Black Friday, Caby has branched out to exercise his business expertise in a new venture: fantasy sports.

In September 2011, Caby launched DraftDay.com, a daily fantasy sports site that awards prizes similar to the payouts you'd find in an online poker tournament. Users can find daily games across each of the major sports in the U.S. with buy-ins ranging from freerolls all the way up to $500.

Caby told Mashable.com that while he wishes the online poker crackdown had never happened, it allowed the chance for his newest venture to succeed. The site has already attracted more than 10,000 users, and 2,500 of them play the games regularly.

Read the full story about Caby at Mashable.com.

Ladbrokes Purchases Las Vegas Casino Software Provider

U.K. bookmaker Ladbrokes has taken its first large step across the Atlantic. On Thursday, the company announced it had agreed to acquire a major stake in Las Vegas-based Stadium Technology Group, a software supplier for race- and sports-book operators in Nevada and Delaware.

The $3 million purchase give Ladbrokes a 65 percent stake in the company, with a retained option to buy the remaining 35 percent of the business over the next five years on a performance-related basis. It gives Ladbrokes access to technology for customers such as the Treasure Island, Golden Nugget and Hard Rock casinos.

"The size of the U.S. market and potential for positive regulatory change in the coming years make it a sensible place to establish a presence," said Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn. "Stadium Technology is already one of the key software suppliers to casinos in Nevada and Delaware and it has the potential to expand."

Read more at PokerNews.com.

PartyGaming Named in MegaUpload Indictment

The fight to protect intellectual property continued Thursday when online file sharing site MegaUpload.com and sister site MegaVideo.com were shut down by federal authorities.

The federal indictment showed that the site's owner, Kim Dotcom (yes, that's his name), made $42 million last year by hosting illegal copies of popular films and television shows. The indictment also shows that some of that money came from PartyGaming, the parent company of online poker site PartyPoker.

Financial Times reports that PartyGaming was a major advertiser for the site, paying more than $3 million for online ads that users had to view before watching a video. MegaUpload also had ad contracts with companies such as Goodle AdSense and adBrite.

The indictment can be found at sribd.com.

Online Poker

Melanie Weisner Lock'd Up

Former Full Tilt Poker Red Pro Melanie Weisner found a new home last weekend. Weisner was announced as the newest sponsored pro at Lock Poker, joining pros like Chris Moorman, Matt Stout and Leo Margets on the LockPro ELITE team.

Weisner, 25, has more than $1 million in online tournament earnings to go along with nearly $400,000 in live tournament earnings, placing her 74th in the Global Poker Index rankings as of Jan. 9, 2012. Her biggest live score came at the 2010 EPT Prague Main Event, where she took 12th place for $43,000. She also scooped a win at the 2010 EPT Monte Carlo Ladies Event for nearly $33,000.

"I am thrilled to join a team of world-class players and talented peers such as Chris Moorman, Matt Stout and Leo Margets," Weisner said. "I feel very honored to be a part of this exciting and growing brand, and look forward to representing Lock around the world."

Read the full release at 24-7pressrelease.com.

DJ Lady Maverick

As if she hasn't spent enough time in the classroom already, Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso is hitting the books once again. Rousso, who studied economics at Duke University before attending law school at the University of Miami, is taking classes at BerkleeMusic.com, the online extension school of Berklee College of Music, where she is pursuing a master certificate in Electronic Music Production.

Rousso recently appeared in a video endorsing Berklee, where she has been taking up to five classes at a time while balancing her poker career and other endeavors. Rousso says taking the classes online enables her to continue traveling the world as a professional poker player.

"If I were to think about where I would ideally like to end up with music, it would probably be where I'm traveling around the world playing tournaments, and in addition to tournaments I'm doing DJ gigs and performing songs that I've written recently," she says. "If that was my life, I think I'd be as happy as possible."

View the full video at berkleemusic.com.

Ch-ch-Changes

Phil Galfond's departure from Blue Fire Poker last month has prompted the high-stakes legend to launch his own blog at philgalfond.com. Galfond has already been busy; along with a video outlining his plans for the new site, he posted a blog this week that has captured the attention of the poker community.

Titled Let's Make Some Changes, Galfond makes several suggestions regarding the future of online poker. Galfond says he believes the following goals need to be considered to improve the online games:

Make playing poker an easy and fun experience for both pros and recreational players;Close loopholes that allow unethical players to gain an advantage over those who choose to be more honest; andPromote the play of more hands. Galfond then dove into each of the ideas with his own thoughts on how to improve the game.

The blog has been all over Twitter and even got a response from PokerStars:

PokerStars PokerStars @PhilGalfond Some really great points in that post Phil, thanks for sharing it with us all. Certainly plenty to consider :) January 15 2012

You can find the blog in its entirety at philgalfond.com.

Poker Legislation

Iowa Lawmaker Pushing for Online Poker Legalization

On Tuesday, Iowa Sen. Jeff Danielson said he intends to draft a bill soon to legalize online poker in the state. Iowa has been one of many states to show support for online poker since the Department of Justice changed its position on the Wire Act of 1961 last month. Iowa lawmakers also commissioned a study last year to determine the practicality and potential income Internet poker could generate for the state.

Danielson added that the DOJ's decision could also allow states like Iowa to join jurisdictions that have already approved the activity. Nevada approved regulations for in intrastate online poker last month, and states like New Jersey and California are likely to follow.

“We believe that because of the Department of Justice ruling, we can now have a multi-state compact,” said Danielson.

Read more at the PokerNews.com.

Northern Ireland Still Without Live Poker

The U.S. isn't the only country preventing poker players from hitting the felts. Despite allowing games of chance like bingo, slots and sports betting to be played for real money, Northern Ireland's ban on live poker is still in effect after more than five years.

Many residents hope that ban will soon be overturned. On Thursday, members of the Legalize Poker in Northern Ireland group appealed to the Social Development Committee to allow regulated poker clubs and tournaments.

Spokesperson Glenn McCabe explained to the committee that because many poker clubs had been closed down in Northern Ireland around 2006, many games had gone "underground." The Legalize Poker in Northern Ireland group added that poker could create up to 150 jobs in Northern Ireland

The BBC reported that the response from the committee was mixed, but it was still a step forward for the movement. Following the meeting, the committee agreed to write to the Department of Social Development to ask whether it is considering changing the gambling legislation.

The full story can be found at BBC.com. If you'd like sign a petition to support poker in Northern Ireland, visit gopetition.com.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

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December 20 2011, Brett Collson

Major tournament series from around the globe have ceased for the holidays, but we're still here providing you with the latest poker news. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you a plea agreement from the cofounder of Absolute Poker, some great news from the World Series of Poker Circuit, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Which poker player is the most likely to succeed? The best dressed? Who's the most talkative? Find out in the 2011 Poker Player Class Superlatives.

What does it feel like to get your first World Series of Poker cash? Phil Hellmuth explains his experience in the latest edition of My First.

Who were some of the breakout players of 2011? We put together a list of some young guns who made names for themselves this year.

Absolute Poker Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges

On Tuesday, one of the 11 men indicted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. According to a report by the Associated Press, Brent Beckley, cofounder of Absolute Poker, admitted in Manhattan federal court to violating terms of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

Beckley, 31, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis that from 2006 to 2011 he accepted credit cards from players at Absolute Poker so they could make bets for real money. He then disguised the purpose of the transactions to prevent any red flags.

"I knew it was illegal to deceive the banks in this way," Beckley told the judge. The plea deal could see Beckley serve a year and a half in jail, but sentencing won't take place until April 19, 2012.

More on this developing story can be found at PokerNews.com.

WSOP Circuit On Pace for Biggest Year Ever

With the close of the World Series of Poker Circuit event at Harrah's Atlantic City last week, six of the 17 stops on the 2011-2012 WSOPC are in the books. That means 12 of the 100 seats to the 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit National Championship have been secured by each stop’s Main Event champion and overall points earner.

The WSOP announced Monday that overall attendance is up more than 25 percent over the same six Circuit stops last year, with the prize pools increasing by 33 percent. The opening event at Horseshoe Hammond set a record by attracting 3,001 players, obliterating the previous mark of 1,611 set in 2010.

The 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit Event resumes on New Years Day 2012 with the first event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. After the stop at the Bike, the WSOP will head to the Choctaw Casino in Durant, Okla. The season concludes at Harrah’s New Orleans, which takes place May 10-21, 2012.

Get more information about the WSOP Circuit at wsop.com.

Atlantic City's Newest Poker Spot

A new poker room in Atlantic City will be opening its doors just in time for Christmas. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City announced Tuesday that its new room will be unveiled on Dec. 24, 2011, with 20 smoke-free tables offering a variety of different games.

“We have been very eager to bring this new poker room to the Golden Nugget and we look forward to offering players all of the best games a full-service casino has to offer,” said Tom Pohlman, executive vice president and general manager.

To celebrate the grand opening, the Golden Nugget will offer players a chance to cash in on promotions and special events, including multiple daily tournaments with low buy-ins and deep stacks.

Get more information at the Golden Nugget's website.

Online Poker Traffic Report

The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a worldwide decline of 3.5 percent, mostly because of a significant drop at PokerStars in the wake of its 72 Billionth Hand promotion.

PokerStars saw its traffic slump 6.4 percent over the previous week but still maintained its stranglehold over the competition. On Sunday, Dec. 18, more than 60,000 players participated in the largest Sunday Million ever, generating a prize pool of more than $12 million.

PartyPoker's traffic increased by 1 percent over the previous week, good enough to move past the iPoker Network to No. 2 in the rankings. iPoker dropped to third, while 888poker and the Ongame Network landed in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Bodog's traffic steadied after a lousy week dropped the poker room three spots to No. 14 last week. The company rebranded its U.S.-facing business to Bovada.lv last week, but traffic dropped only 1.7 percent from the previous week as the two sites share all of their tables and tournaments.

As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout's ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 28 in the past year. In addition to the obvious deteriorations at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, the Entraction Network (down 52 percent) and the International Poker Network (down 45 percent) have seen significant drops since last year. Meanwhile, 888poker (up 78 percent) and the Merge Gaming Network (up 74 percent) were among the biggest climbers since December 2010.

Get the full report at PokerScout.com.

Changes to Aussie Millions Registration

On Tuesday, Crown Poker announced changes to the registration process for the 2012 Aussie Millions. With the exception of a few select tournaments, all Championship events will have late registration available until the second break.

Also, for the first time, registration for the $10,600 Main Event will be open until the second level of Day 2. Crown Poker made this change in order to minimize scheduling conflicts with the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the Chinese New Year.

If you're still looking to make the trip to Melbourne in January, several online poker rooms are offering satellites for as little as $2 to win a $16,000 package. In addition, Crown Poker is offering a handful of daily satellites to win an entry into the Main Event.

Learn more about the satellites to the 2012 Aussie Millions here at PokerNews.com.

World Poker Tour Hits Florida Again

Another stop was added to Season X of the World Poker Tour this week. The WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open will run from February 10 through 14, 2012, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. The stop features a $3,500 buy-in Main Event with a re-entry option for players that bust on Day 1a.

The new addition precedes another WPT event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in April. In total, four WPT events will hit Florida in Season X, three more than there were in Season IX. The Jacksonville Poker Room will also be hosting a pair of events this season.

For a look at the remaining Season X schedule on the World Poker Tour, check out PokerNews.com.

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20 Décembre 2011, Chad Holloway

Le 20 décembre, l' Associated Press a rapporté que Brent Beckley, cofondateur de Absolute Poker, a plaidé coupable à des accusations criminelles, y compris le complot en vue de commettre une fraude bancaire et d'un grillage de fraude.

Dans la Cour de District des États-Unis à Manhattan, Beckley, 31, a admis qu'il brisait sciemment la Loi lorsque l'Absolute Poker arrangé pour les banques des États-Unis afin de faciliter les fonds au jeu, violant la Illégale Internet Gambling Enforcement Act de 2006 jusqu'en avril de cette année.

« Je savais qu'il était illégal de tromper les banques », Beckley dit Juge magistrat Ronald Ellis. Conformément à l'acte d'accusation vendredi noir, Beckley embauché Ira Rubin comme un processeur de paiement de contourner la loi américaine, camouflant des dépôts et retraits bien que diverses sociétés fictives.

En plaidant coupable, Beckley a accepté une entente de plaidoyer qui verrait lui aller en prison pendant un an pour un an et demi, bien au-dessous de la peine d'emprisonnement maximale de 30 ans, même si la peine n'aura pas lieu jusqu'au 19 avril. Pendant ce temps, un avocat pour Rubin a déclaré aux journalistes que son client est proche de parvenir à un accord de plaidoyer de la sienne.

Mise à jour : Ministère de la Justice des États-Unis a publié un communiqué mardi au sujet de plaidoyer de culpabilité de Beckley.

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Suivez le Tchad Holloway sur Twitter — @ ChadAHolloway

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