PokerFilter.Net

From the looks of things the case between 1st Tech and Bodog has reached some sort of settlement which has Bodog back in control of the Bodog.com name.

An excellent press release about the number of people playing poker on Facebook. The Texas Hold’em poker by Zynga application has over 11 million users and is making between $50 million and $60 million annually from selling virtual goods to the players.

(NewDesignWorld Press Release Center) — The growth of Facebook applications is creating a new audience for online poker. Online poker applications on Facebook are the fastest growing and most popular. The most popular application on the 200-million user site is Texas Hold’em poker by Zynga.

The London Financial Times has reported that the Zynga Texas Hold’em poker application has more than 11 million users on Facebook and is still growing. This is a number that all online poker rooms are aspiring to capitalize on.

Gareth Davis, Facebook chief of games, said that there has been an increase in the number of people using Facebook in order to play games, poker being a top ten choice by users. “With all that growth, what we’ve seen is a tremendous interest in the usage of games,” Mr. Davis explained. “Poker just passed 11 million monthly users, which is the same size as (popular online role-playing game) World of Warcraft.” Mr. Davis believes that a shift away from solo video games to more social forms of entertainment is driving the interest in poker and other applications.

Even though the application is played with pretend money and not for real cash, it is believed that Zynga is raking in between $50 million and $60 million annually in revenue, mostly from virtual goods like poker chips in its Facebook application.

Online poker room sites are hoping that this virtual application will convert casual players to playing for real money in other online poker room sites. Many online poker rooms, and even some poker pros, have fan pages on Facebook; some of those have attracted a large number of members too. There are several poker applications, and while they may not be enjoying the success of the Zynga one, Poker Palace has more than 2 million users, and there are a few others with tens of thousands of users.

The social networking demographic is very wide, and online poker and casino sites could do well to reach out to those users looking to play free online poker with their friends, and offer them the full online poker experience.

###

Patricia Jones
http://www.pokerteam.com/
pattypj.jones@gmail.com
(845) 876-3929
45 Village Grn
12572-1342
Texas
United States

Original press release can be found here.

Although gaming companies haven’t been doing so hot lately, Harrah’s and MGM Mirage made the Forbes 500 list this year. Then again, it’s not like 2008 was a banner year for anybody so perhaps it’s all relative.

Looks like the rumor mill is buzzing with news that Gigamedia and Party Gaming are in talks about a possible merger. Coming off the back of a successful negotiation with the US DOJ Party now has a clean bill of health in terms of possible prosecution in the US and is a much more attractive partner to deal with.

The Time Online reports that some Gigamedia shareholders may not be too keen on the deal as they do not want to hold stock in a London based company.

It has been announced for awhile now but Poker Room’s final transition into Bwin has taken place and the once popular poker room is no more.

Some have questioned whether this was a good move because Poker Room ranked so highly in Google and other search engines for great keywords but obviously Bwin felt that there was more value in swallowing up Poker Room than keeping it going as a skin on their network.

Dates and Venue:

Thursday, September 17, 2009 to Thursday, October 01, 2009
London Clubs International
5-6 Leicester Square
London WC2H 7NA , UK

Events:

No-Limit Hold’em (Event 1)
Fri, Sep 18th
12:00 AM
4-Day Event
No Rebuy/Add-ons
£1,000

Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 2)
Mon, Sep 21st
12:00 AM
3-Day Event
No Rebuy/Add-ons
£2,500

Pot Limit Omaha (Event 3)
Wed, Sep 23rd
12:00 AM
3-Day Event
No Rebuy/Add-ons
£5,000

WSOP Europe Main Event No-Limit Texas Hold’em (Event 4)
Sat, Sep 26th
12:00 AM
6-Day Event
No Rebuy/Add-ons
£10,000

Here is the text of the press release

7 April 2009

PartyGaming Plc
(the ‘Company’)

Non-Prosecution Agreement Concluded with the US Authorities

Further to previous announcements, the Company announces that it has entered into a Non-Prosecution Agreement with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the ‘USAO’).

Under the terms of the Non-Prosecution Agreement, the USAO will not prosecute PartyGaming Plc or any of its subsidiaries (collectively, ’PartyGaming’ or the ‘Group’) for providing internet gambling services to customers in the US prior to the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (‘UIGEA’) on 13 October 2006. As part of the agreement, the Company has accepted a Statement of Facts regarding its business activities prior to the enactment of the UIGEA and has agreed to pay $105 million, payable in semi-annual instalments over a period ending on 30 September 2012. Such payments will be made from the Group’s existing financial resources.

Summary of key terms of the agreement

• The Company has agreed to pay a total of $105 million, payable as follows:

o 10 April 2009 - $5m
o 30 September 2009 - $10m
o 31 March 2010 - $15m
o 30 September 2010 - $15m
o 31 March 2011 - $15m
o 30 September 2011 - $15m
o 31 March 2012 - $15m
o 30 September 2012 - $15m

The Company has entered into a Statement of Facts regarding its activities prior to 13 October 2006. Key elements of the agreement and factual background are as follows:

From 1997 until 13 October 2006, PartyGaming offered internet gaming to players located in the US, including real-money poker and casino gaming. On 13 October, 2006, the day the UIGEA was enacted, the Group voluntarily exited the US market.
Prior to 13 October 2006, certain of the US customer transactions intended for PartyGaming that were processed by third parties, and other gaming and payment-related activity, were contrary to certain US laws.
PartyGaming has agreed to maintain, with respect to its operations, a restriction preventing internet gambling services from being provided to customers in the US in violation of the prevailing law of the US or any jurisdiction within the US.
If requested by PartyGaming, the USAO will bring the co-operation and remedial actions of PartyGaming to the attention of other licensing and regulatory authorities.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer said:

“The resolution of our position with the US authorities marks an important day for PartyGaming. It has been a long and complex process but we have reached an amicable solution with the USAO that makes commercial sense for our business and is in the best interests of shareholders. We are now well-placed to seize organic as well as strategic opportunities that previously were beyond our reach.”

Contacts:
PartyGaming Plc +44 (0)207 7337 0100
Peter Reynolds, Group Director of Corporate Affairs
John Shepherd, Director of Corporate Communications

For the last two years the Office of Substance Abuse in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has offered a counseling service for those they call “problem gamblers.” The problem is that not one single person has received treatment through the program. Their budget was cut from $100,000 to $50,000 a year for lack of use and then the budget was cut to $0. The government plans on giving it a budget again at some point in the future but at the moment their disappointing results and hard financial times have eliminated any funding.

Poker pros Annie Duke, Erik Seidel, and Greg Raymer have launched the poker training site ProPlayLive.com. The site teaches by letting subscribers watch videos of the pros playing various hands and hearing what their thought process is behind their moves.

Many in the poker world were chattering away for weeks about a comment that was overheard during one High Stakes Poker episode. Supposedly Doyle said “yeah Russ is innocent” which ignited passionate message room posts about whether Doyle knew something everyone else didn’t or the old man of poker had gone off the deep end and was in denial.

Well, Mr. Brunson has clarified himself in a recent post on Gambling911.

I also heard I defended Russ Hamilton in the UB scandal. I remember saying, “yeah Russ is innocent”, on High Stakes Poker, but it was a tongue-in-cheek remark. I don’t know if he is guilty or not, but the evidence does look bad. However, I’ve heard all sorts of stories about poker players, including myself, that were out and out lies. So, I’ll wait until all the evidence is in before I make any positive statement about Russ.

So there you have it folks. It seems Doyle Brunson has a sense of humor. Everybody can calm down and go back to playing poker.

Not that it should come as any great surprise but the EU has conducted an investigation and concluded that the US unfairly targeted overseas operators while doing little or nothing to pursue online gaming going on within the US. Currently the EU has given the US a grace period before taking their case to the World Trade Organization but this puts added pressure on the EU to act on behalf of European gaming operators who were impacted by the US UIGEA.

The European Commission issued a statement saying, “The report comes to the conclusion that these proceedings are legally not justified and discriminatory.”

While under the Bush the US was prone to ignoring international trade agreements that they didn’t agree with, Obama has made it a focus to improve ties with other countries so the US stance on issues such as this might soften.

Ultimately, today’s news does little than to give more ammunition to a case that seems fairly self-evident on its own.

The FTOPS XII will run May 6 - 17 featuring 25 tournaments. The highlights of the series are the $2.5 million guarantee and a high-roller event with a $2500 buy-in.

New this year is the mini-FTOPS which will run alongside the main FTOPS but the buy-ins will be 10% the size of the main FTOPS.

The schedule for FTOPS XII is:

#1 5/6 21:00 ET $200+16 NL Hold’em 6-Max $1,000,000
#2 5/7 14:00 ET $240+16 PL Omaha Knockout $250,000
#3 5/7 21:00 ET $200+16 Limit Hold’em 6-max $300,000
#4 5/8 14:00 ET $500+35 NL Hold’em 3x Shootout $500,000
#5 5/8 21:00 ET $200+16 Stud/8 $100,000
#6 5/9 14:00 ET $500+35 PL Omaha 6-Max $400,000
#7 5/9 16:00 ET $100+9 NL Hold’em w/ Rebuys $600,000
#8 5/10 14:00 ET $240+16 NL Hold’em Knockout 6-max $750,000
#9 5/10 16:00 ET $500+35 NL Hold’em Heads Up $500,000
#10 5/10 18:00 ET $300+22 NL Hold’em $1,500,000
#11 5/11 14:00 ET $200+16 PL Omaha-8 $200,000
#12 5/11 21:00 ET $1,000+60 NL Hold’em 6-Max $1,500,000
#13 5/12 14:00 ET $300+22 NL Hold’em 4x Shootout 6-Max $300,000
#14 5/12 21:00 ET $500+35 HEROS $300,000
#15 5/12 21:00 ET $200+16 NL Hold’em Turbo $500,000
#16 5/13 14:00 ET $200+16 HA (half PLHE, half PLO) $200,000
#17 5/13 21:00 ET $300+22 NL Hold’em 6-max w/ Rebuys $1,000,000
#18 5/14 14:00 ET $200+16 PL Omaha Heads-Up $150,000
#19 5/14 21:00 ET $300+22 Razz $150,000
#20 5/15 14:00 ET $200+16 NL Hold’em $400,000
#21 5/15 21:00 ET $200+16 Mixed Hold’em 6-Max $150,000
#22 5/16 14:00 ET $2,500+120 NL Hold’em (2-Day Event) $2,000,000
#23 5/16 16:00 ET $100+9 PL Omaha w/ Rebuys $350,000
#24 5/17 14:00 ET $120+9 NL Hold’em Knockout $1,000,000
#25 5/17 18:00 ET $500+35 NL Hold’em (Main Event) $2,500,000

Online poker site Bugsy’s Club has decided to throw in the towel and sell their player list to PokerStars.

From the Bugsy’s Club site:

Dear Bugsy’s Club Player,

Firstly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of the Bugsy’s Club Poker Room. Since Bugsy’s Club was formed, our mission statement has always been that we will offer you ‘The Best Poker Games in Town’ and that ‘We will take care of you Personally’. We are proud to say that these are goals we feel we have consistently exceeded, providing you with a great place to enjoy poker.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control with regards to banking facilities, it is with regret that we have to announce it is no longer viable for the Bugsy’s Club Poker Room to continue our business operations. However, we are delighted to inform you that Bugsy’s Club have reached an agreement with the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars.com, to allow all Bugsy’s Club players to transfer your account balance over to their site.

Through the agreement we have reached with PokerStars, your player balances will be transferred to them. Regrettably, your Bugsy’s Bonus Points (BBPs) are not able to be transferred from the Bugsy’s Club Poker Room.

While this transitional period occurs, you will still be able to contact PokerStars support at bugsysclub@pokerstars.com with any questions you may have with regard to this procedure. Please go to https://www.pokerstars.com/welcomebugsysclub/index.html in order to initiate your transfer from BugsysClub to PokerStars. You will be receiving a welcome email from PokerStars during the next few days.

Please note: Prior to the close on the 24th March BugsysClub paid out the full monthly league payouts. It did not pay the weekly leagues that started on March 22nd. This will be reflected in your final balance that can be transfered to PokerStars.

Once again, we would like to thank you for supporting the Bugsy’s Club Poker Room, but we are confident that PokerStars will provide you with an exceptional level of service so you can continue to enjoy playing poker.

PokerStars are a highly reputable poker site that is fully equipped to meet the original mission statement set out by Bugsy’s Club Poker Room. They are trustworthy, quick to handle cashouts and offer an outstanding level of customer support. In short, they fully deserve their reputation as the best online poker site around. We are delighted to have been able to make these arrangements with them as we know we are leaving you in the best possible hands.

The management and staff of BugsysClub

PokerNewsDaily is reporting that there are some changes coming to tournaments being run on the iPoker network. In a nutshell:

1. 10 min instead of 8 min levels
2. Breaks happen on the hour rather than the more odd system they currently use
3. Antes will be introduced after six levels.

For more on the changes to iPoker tournament structures, please check out PokerNewsDaily.

The Gibraltar Panorama is reporting that over 100 jobs have been lost in the online gaming sector in Gibraltar. Among those trimming staff are PartyGaming, Mansion, Victor Chandler, 32 Red, 888, and Bwin.

Check out the whole story here.

Karl Hevroy of Norway bested Alejandro De Arruabarrena of Argentina heads-up at the final table to take the title and $283,500 at the PokerStars LAPT Punta del Este. You can check out coverage of the entire event on the Stars Blog.

There has been a lot of hype in the poker community in the last few days about PartyGaming re-entering the US market. The buzz has been spurred by comments Party CEO Jim Ryan made in an interview. However since that interview all sorts of clarifications seem to be coming out. First it was that Party simply intended to keep its brand strong in the US market perhaps by offering free games. Next came word that they might attempt to offer gaming in states where governments are considering allowing poker.

Whatever it is, it does seem a little pie in the sky. First, what use is it to keep one’s brand strong by signing up a huge database of free money players who never realized that perhaps they could go to Stars or Tilt and play for real money? It’s highly unlikely that a player who plays on a Party free poker site for two years will suddenly become a hard-core player on a real money site once it’s legalized. The WPT and several other “membership” sites are already struggling with a similar business model and none of them seem to be able to make it as successful as they boasted when they each of them set out.

Second, regulation in any US state seems like it may come about sooner than say legalization at the federal level but states like California getting the most hype are still very early on in the process. Even if they passed a bill in 2009 it could take another year or two before specific regulations, licensing procedures, regulatory bodies, etc are in place to begin accepting applications for licensing. So while there is a chance Party might be able to re-enter the US market in a limited and legal way don’t expect it to be next quarter or perhaps even in the next year or two.

In other words, most of the news about Party re-entering the US market is likely hype.

Uh oh! According to Gamging Intelligence the Dutch government is linking online aliases with real names and coming after Dutch poker players for taxes.

Gambling911 is reporting that a Kentucky appeals court has blocked the seizure of 141 domains sought by Gov. Stephen Beshear to protect the state’s gambling industry from online gambling Web sites.

Poker News Daily is reporting that CryptoLogic will get rid of its poker network by March of this year.

Justin Thouin, Vice President of Product Development for CryptoLogic said “If you look at the online gaming industry, it’s becoming more difficult to be a generalist. The companies that are succeeding now and will succeed in the future are those who can specialize. We saw an opportunity to differentiate ourselves in the online casino space.”