When Barack Obama was running for the presidency in 2008, he consistently suggested that online poker should be legal. What’s more is that it was also frequently noted that Obama was a poker player himself and sympathized with the cause of legalizing poker. But a half year into his term people are starting to ask about what, if anything, Obama has done for poker.
So far it seems as if Barack has done nothing which is extremely unfortunate since Barney Frank is still introducing bills to Congress that call for the legalization of online poker. Now you might think that Obama has been currently focusing on the most important issues, but so far there hasn’t been a whole lot of news on him doing anything major while in office.
And I realize that the president is just a single person (though a very powerful person) who can’t be expected to single-handedly turn around the economy and handle every issue within the first 6 months. But many poker players are starting to wonder when their problem will get handled. The Poker Players Alliance is especially worried about this since they have been lobbying forever to get poker legalized.
I guess the important thing to remember is that Obama has only had 6 months in office so far and there will be more time for him to get to this issue later. However, Congress has already mentioned that it will be at least September before the House votes on the legalization of poker. I just hope that it doesn’t go any farther than that and, if it does, I’m hoping that Obama does something about it.
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When people want a link to poker’s past, they often consult Doyle Brunson. The 75 year-old not only grew up playing poker in the dusty towns of Texas, but he was also a participant in the early days of the World Series of Poker. Back then, Brunson explained that he left the 1972 WSOP (faking an illness) because TV cameras started showing up and Doyle didn’t want people knowing he played poker for a living. Brunson reasoned that people in the 70’s looked down on gamblers and he didn’t want anyone knowing about his profession.
My how things have changed since nearly 7,000 people descend on Las Vegas for the biggest poker event in the world. TV cameras are always present and the media wants to interview all of the stars at the Main Event. With all of this going on, it’s pretty clear that Doyle Brunson wouldn’t be able to get away with faking illness because everyone would then know about it.
To get a glimpse of how big the WSOP has gotten, consider that only 839 people entered the Main Event in 2003 when Chris Moneymaker maker won it all. Last year, over 6,900 people attended the Main Event in hopes of taking home the big prize. And the big prize is yet another indication of how huge the Main Event has gotten since Moneymaker took home a then record $2.5 million while 2008 Main Event champ Peter Eastgate hauled in over $9.1 million for his win.
It’s unclear as to how much bigger the WSOP will get, but I suspect that the numbers will only go up. This is especially true if the United States ever decides to lift the UIGEA that they imposed in 2006 since it will attract more casual players to the game.
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With many of the earlier World Series of Poker tournaments setting records for attendance and prize money, it was a shock to see so few people enter the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Just 95 players shelled out the $50k buy-in and this meant that the overall prize pool was definitely down from last year as well. But that didn’t deter many of poker’s greatest players from showing up as Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Barry Greenstein, Erik Siedel, Scotty Nguyen, and others were on hand for this tournament.
Even Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss was in attendance, and he fought his way to a respectable 36th place finish in the tourney. However, the big story of the H.O.R.S.E. event was that David Bach won his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Many people who are well versed in poker know David Bach, but he is a virtual unknown outside the game, and has yet to make a major name for himself despite $2.4 million in career earnings. But after winning what many consider to be the toughest tournament in the world, Bach has certainly made a name for himself now.
What’s really interesting about Bach is that he used to be a professional bowler before he decided that poker was his true calling. After making the switch to poker, Bach is definitley glad with his decision since he’s now $1,276,802 richer after beating John Hanson in a tough 7 hour session.
Other notables who cashed include Vitaly Lunkin, Gus Hansen, Huck Seed, Erik Siedel, David Chui, Tony G, and Freddy Deeb.
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A little over a year ago, I can remember a bit of a scare where poker dealers were fearing for their jobs. Was it the economy that had them shook? A drop in the level of participation in online poker? No, it was none of the above. Instead, it was a fear that automated poker tables would slowly steal jobs away from all of the workers at online casinos.
And this was definitely a legitimate fear too since automated tables have several advantages over tables with live dealers. For one thing, there isn’t going to be any mistakes in the deal unless an automated table breaks down. Another advantage is that more hands can be played at an automated table since they deal faster than live dealers. One more big thing is that an automated table won’t bitch about tips either when they’re not being given which may delight players more than anything.
However, people in major casinos haven’t been delighted by automated machines at all really as can be seen by the fact that yet another major casino in Las Vegas’ Excalibur took out their automated machines recently. The reason given is that customers admitted that they would much rather play at a table with a live dealer than at one with a computer screen shuffling their cards.
I think another main reason for this is that casinos are finding out that automated poker tables just aren’t as big of money makers as slot machines. Whatever the case is, I’m definitely a fan of the live dealers and can dealing with the gripes about tips as long as the live experience is still there.
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In the last post, I took at look at some of the poker players who everyone loves to hate. So far, Layne Flack, Annie Duke, Todd Brunson, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliot, and Scotty Nguyen have made the list. However, the top 5 most hated poker players have yet to be revealed. With that in mind, let’s finish out the list!
5. Men Nguyen
This is the second Nguyen to make the list, and for good reason too. Whether Men “The Master” Nguyen is starting a verbal fight at the table or being accused of training other Vietnamese poker players to help him rig games, Men is definitely not a liked man in the poker community.
4. Mike Matusow
Not only does The Mouth have major money management issues, but he has also battled drug problems throughout his entire poker career which may explain his abrasive personality. His awful segment on CardPlayer.com hasn’t helped his image much either.
3. Tony “G” Gouga
Tony G is always an entertaining person at the table, however, a lot of the players can’t stand him. He constantly gives other players advice while berating them at the same time during big hands. Tony’s rants have even become YouTube sensations over the years.
2. Phil Hellmuth
Many consider Hellmuth to be the most annoying poker player alive, and he certainly backs this billing up at the table with his over-the-top rants directed at other players. The only reason Hellmuth doesn’t make number one on this list is because most of his rants seem fake these days and are only a means of self promotion.
1. Sean Sheikhan
From getting busted for messing around with underage girls to taunting poker legends like Doyle Brunson for no reason, there is little to like about Sheikhan. About the only thing cool about Sheikhan is that he has had some great verbal fights with Matusow.
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