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Several big name poker pros including Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Howard Lederer and Greg Raymer will be back at WPT tables after having struck an agreement with the poker tour promoter.  Absent from the tables since 2006 over a dispute over the WPT’s rights to their likeness for any purpose it saw fit without any compensation to the players.  The dispute even extended to the players which saw Greg Raymer and Daniel Negraneau swap insults with Negraneau taking the side of the WPT.

The WPT will now use a standard release which protects the player’s rights more to their liking.

French Budget Minister, Eric Woerth, has told the media that he will recommend the opening of the online gaming market to President Nicolas Sarkozy.  France which has come under EU scrutiny due to its closed markets may be open to online gaming by 2010. 

Various sources in the poker world are reporting that Brandi Hawbacker was discovered dead on Sunday.  Her death is being reported as a suicide.

If you happen to be free August 8-10, 2008, have an extra $15,000 laying around and would like to hang out with Daniel Negreanu and 17 other players for an instruction filled few days, Mr. Negreanu might have cooked up exactly what you’re looking for. 

Check it out at Weekend With Daniel Negreanu

Rumors are flying everywhere and there has been no official statement from ePassporte but supposedly gaming sites have been emailed by ePassporte telling them that they are no longer processing US transactions due to pressure from US authorities. 

Leeann Tweeden was tapped to take on the role of as host of NBC’s "Poker After Dark."  Tweeden who had previously appeared on "Mansion PokerDome Challenge" and "2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship" where she obviously impressed the brass. 

Full Tilt Pro Erik Seidel battled it out for 12 hours at the final table to collect nearly a million in cash and his first World Poker Tour title.  Seidel had some stiff competition which included Ted Forrest. 

Though Seidel went into the final table as chip leader his opponents put up a good fight which drew the game out to be the longest in WPT history.  Though the heads-up portion only lasted one hand when Seidel’s AJ held up against Robert Richardson’s 97 when both paired on the flop. 

Party Poker is aiming to take the emphasis off of the big Sunday tournaments by offering a great range of tournaments on Friday nights culminating in a $50k guaranteed.  With a total of $250K guaranteed tournaments starting all night long players are sure to find something they like. 

Harrah’s Board of Directors has approved changing the name of the company from Harrah’s Entertainment to Caesars Entertainment.  The company will still operate Harrah’s properties without a name change but due to the stronger brand recognition of Caesars in international markets they have decided to rename the parent organization.

May 7 - 18th Full Tilt Poker pulls out all the stops for the FTOPS VIII.  With over $10 million in guaranteed prizes over 24 events it’s one of the bigger tournament series around. 

Tournaments range from your standard NL Hold’em to HORSE, Razz, and Omaha so there’s something there for everyone.  The main event will have a $2 million guaranteed prize pool and will be hosted by Jennifer Harman. 

The full schedule and other details can be found on the Full Tilt Poker website.

PokerNews reporter Amy Calistri gets one on one with Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh about her recent appearance in Playboy.

The upper house of the Dutch parliament struck down a bill that would have allowed state monopoly, Holland Casino, to open up an online card room. The bill had already passed in the lower house but was defeated defeated by 37-35 in the upper.

Cryptologic who had planned on partnering with Holland Casino said “While advocates of safe, secure, and regulated e-gaming are disappointed with the Dutch decision, CryptoLogic never places all its bets on one table.”

A bill designed to liberalize poker offerings in Florida successfully passed through a state Senate committee earlier today. The bill, designed to improve the selection and availability of poker at Florida parimutuels, was sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller and was passed on an 8-2 vote by the state’s Regulated Industries Committee.
Florida Poker Expansion Bill Passes State Senate Committee

A recent article in online magazine Science Daily has taken the results from two studies and announced skill is more important than luck when it comes to being a successful poker player.

Poker Is Skill, Say Scientists » Bluff Europe Poker Magazine

Business is booming for the men behind the European Poker Tour. Off the back of a strong showing in Poland, the organisers of the Pokerstars.com EPT San Remo have announced the event is sold out, this despite an extra 100 seats having been added to capacity.

EPT San Remo Sold Out

The Asian Poker Tour has announced its 2008 calendar with four events set to take the Tour to bigger and brighter places.

Asian Poker Tour Announces 2008 Schedule

With a Congressional hearing looming regarding the planned implementation of rules for 2006’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Acgt (UIGEA), a conservative Washington D.C. has issued a “white paper” on the UIGEA, designed to highlight the law’s shortcomings and unrealistic demands in a manner clearly digestible to the business and legislative worlds.

D.C. Think Tank ‘White Paper’ Assails UIGEA

An important and long-delayed Congressional hearing regarding implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) has now been confirmed for April 2, 2008. The hearing will be conducted by the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology and will be chaired by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL).

Congressional UIGEA Hearing Confirmed for April 2nd

Phil Hellmuth has just released a new series of high profile online poker videos known as the ‘Black Belt Poker Course’, aimed at helping poker players progressively improve their game. This new online poker course has been described as one of the most comprehensive yet, allowing players to progress through a series of karate style ‘belts’ as they develop their poker skills.

Phil Hellmuth Videos for Free at Pacific Poker

With Every Hand Revealed, Hansen offers an extended reply to that question. Starting from the premise that he has yet to “come across a book that convincingly presents a viable poker strategy based on practice, not theory,” Hansen minutely chronicles his 2007 Aussie Millions victory with descriptions of every hand from the beginning of Day 1 to the end of heads-up play in the final. The format recalls recent examples of players such as Greg Raymer and Annette Obrestad making public entire hand histories from their online tourney triumphs, inviting others to extrapolate what they may from such a wealth of detail. The difference, of course, is that Hansen here narrates a live tourney experience, and thus provides a great deal more information than a simple rehearsal of stack sizes, cards dealt, and betting action.

Book Review: Gus Hansen’s ‘Every Hand Revealed’