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Duplicate Poker Ceases Online Operations

One of only a handful of online poker rooms welcoming players from the United States is saying goodbye - for now. The rocky state of the current economy seems to have taken yet another prisoner in breaking news that DuplicatePoker.com has ceased operations as of today. I say the word ‘seems’ because according to several reports over the past month, the amount of online poker players has doubled in the past two years, despite the UIGEA. Perhaps the closing is actually due to poor management skills combined with marketing campaigns that weren’t successful.

Duplicate Poker opened its doors in 2007 with its innovative concept of it being a skill-based games website and not a gambling site. If offered Texas Hold’em following standard rules with a couple of twists. The concept had each player being dealt identical hands at each table with the same amount of chips. Each table also showed the same community cards. The idea was that by each player holding the same cards at each table, the aspect of luck would be dramatically reduced. Players would have to rely pretty much solely on their playing skills.

This following statement is posted on the now defunct poker room’s website:

Dear players,

Duplicate is sadly bidding farewell to its players. Caught in the middle of the global financial situation the company is not able to continue to provide service. We are a small victim of the global financial crisis.

Regretfully as of the today, October 5th, 2008 we are closing our service. We thank our players for being with us. Hopefully at later time and in a better economic climate Duplicate Poker will re-appear.

Sincerely,
The Duplicate Poker Team
Customercare@duplicatepoker.com

Boss Media Ventures Into Italian Poker Market

The European iGaming Congress and Expo recently held in Barcelona brought a couple of surprises. Powerhouse Boss Media, an online poker networks industry leader, announced their newest venture - an Italian online poker network. In conjunction with St Minver and the newly acquired GTECH, they will exclusively offer a brand new online poker room for players in Italy.

The Italian gaming authority AAMS, recently allowed the presence of online poker in its country. They feel that online gaming in Italy will be a significant contributor to their economy and has implanted a licensing system that is proving successful. The gaming regulator’s main focus at the moment is to make sure players are fully protected with the development of their online gaming sector.

In hopes that other European countries legislation will soon follow suit, Boss Media would eventually like to conjoin with their other poker networks in Europe. The end goal with the newest venture is the possibility of their International Poker Network (IPN) to be hosted outside of Italy. This latest online poker room addition makes number three for the Boss Media family which provides services for nationally-licensed European operators in Sweden and Austria. In utilizing the breadth of GTECH’s resources along with the launch of the Italian poker room, Boss Media feels it will be a promising advantage for the further development of their poker platform.

Boss Media along with St. Minver and the Finsoft Group (operating under New Media Sports & Betting - NMSB) have also launched a new skill gaming platform, Skilljuice.com. According to NMSB Chief Innovator, Gary Shaw, “There are a number of skill game offerings in the market, but we wanted to create the largest scalable back office and game engine where over a million players could play concurrently in a heads up tournament format”. Shaw has the hopeful expectation that their group’s current and future customers will embrace the same concept. He summed it up by stating, “Together our distribution would be truly global.”

New Online Poker Bill Introduced To Legislation - Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act of 2008

Yet another (and hopefully not too farfetched), attempt in the war for the legalization on online poker has been launched. Democratic New Jersey Senator, Robert Menendez is proposing a new act into legislation titled The Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act of 2008. The official name of the bill is S.3616 and the main premise is to provide exclusion in the UIGEA for the online games of poker, mahjong and bridge.

The bill’s intention is to place regulations on the aforementioned games and not to ban the games entirely; the reason is because they are games of skill and not luck. This allowance would give players the opportunity to play legally online without any repercussions.

Senator Menendez of course has the Poker Players Alliance fully supporting this new act. The Poker Players Alliance is of course fully supporting Senator Menendez’ new act and is please with its obvious benefit to poker players. They feel the bill will provide much needed clarification of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Banks and financial institutions wouldn’t need to bear the cross of monitoring online gambling transactions.

PPA Chairman and Former Senator, Alfonse D’Amato made the statement, “The PPA has long advocated for thoughtful and effective licensing and regulation of online poker as a means to protect vulnerable communities, such as children and compulsive gamblers, and provide appropriate controls to thwart consumer fraud and abuse. Senator Menendez legislation is the right vehicle to achieve those goals.”

Here are the pivotal points in the Internet Skill Games Licensing and Control Act:

• Complete financial information about the applicant;

• Documentation showing the corporate structure of the applicant and all related businesses and affiliates;

• The names of all persons directly or indirectly interested in the business of the applicant and the nature of such interest;

• A certification by the applicant, agreeing to be subject to United States jurisdiction and all applicable United States laws relating to Internet skill games or gambling activities;

You can read the S.3636 poker bill in its entirety here.

WPT Along With Fox Sports Network Launch New Poker Show

WPT Enterprises announced last July it was gearing up for seventh season of the World Poker Tour on the Fox Sports Network. What seems like right off the heels of that announcement is another one regarding a brand new poker show to debut on FSN as well. In collaboration with the WPT, the new show is titled ClubWPT.com and will feature non-professional poker players competing against each other on the felt.

Amateur poker players will have their moment to shine just like the poker pros do on this nationally televised program. Players will have the opportunity to win seats to the show through the WPT online subscription website in addition to qualifiers which will run consecutively for six nights at 10p.m. on ClubWPT.com. This is an exciting opportunity for players as they do not have to come up with high buy-in amounts to participate. Each week, six successful players from the United States and Canada will earn their right to play in the live poker tournament for cash prizes.

Qualifying players will have the chance to “come on down” to Los Angeles with roundtrip airfare, a two-night stay at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village as well as spending money and special VIP privileges. VIP treatment will include being whisked away to the ClubWPT.com poker lounge and play live in front of millions of poker fans. “Live at the Bike” announcer Bart Hansen along with Fox Sports Network Sportscaster Barry Tompkins, will provide the audience with running commentary on each played hand. The lovely Alison Waite will be the hostess of the brand new show.

“Poker is the only sport that allows the everyday Joe to go up against the professionals and win life-changing money and celebrity status. And we all want to be in that seat, but most of us don’t have the opportunity to invest the time or money to be a pro and play in big casinos games,” commented WPT Founder, President and CEO Steve Lipscomb. He further added, “ClubWPT.com gives you the opportunity - six nights a week, in your own home - to win a seat on national television and the chance to live the dream.”

FSN Executive VP of Programming and Production, George Greenberg stated, “The World Poker Tour, the most respected brand name in poker, has long been the leader in poker innovation and they continue that trend with this series. ClubWPT.com is the premier place offering amateur poker players the opportunity to experience the status and cache usually reserved for the biggest names in poker.”

This latest television poker venture is further evidence of just how popular and main stream the game of poker has become. Fans can catch the show’s premier Sunday, October 5^th at 4p.m. with the show re-airing at 11p.m. as well for those not able to view it during its regular time slot.

Russ Hamilton Implicated In UB Scandal Investigation.

Just a few weeks ago, former WSOP Main Event champion Russ Hamilton went on PokerRoad Radio and officially denied any involvement that he was ever a suspect in the ongoing UB scandal investigation being headed by the Kannawake Gaming Commission and Catania Gaming Consultants.

Flash-forward to now.

According to a press release that went out today by the KGC, its findings showed without a doubt that Hamilton not only lied about his subsequent involvement, but also covered up the fact he was one of the main conspirators behind the now BLOWN-WIDE-OPEN Ultimate Bet/Absolute Poker Superuser account controversy.

This story, which was first reported by iGaming News, shines the light on the darker side of poker, as Russ Hamilton and several other high-profile people have now been officially named as the main contributors behind the stealing of millions of dollars from online poker players.  Hamilton, who was involved with the affiliate program of Ultimate Bet whey first launched a few years ago, has not been able to be reached for comment on this continually ongoing saga.

From the press release that was issued earlier, all we know of right now is that only $6.1 million has been refunded back to the players thus far, although that amount could escalate to a much higher figure as the days progress, and that UB was ordered to pay a $1.5 million fine and adhere to strict guidelines by the KGC or face losing their license.  There is no word on how this case might play out as far as a trial is concerned, but you can be sure that Russ will be nowhere to be seen over the next few weeks, considering he has a lot of explaining to do to the authorities once they get their official report together.

This situation can’t get any worse for Ultimate Bet, who has yet to complete their merger with the Cereus Network, and who face even more public scrutiny when a CBS 60 Minutes piece airs on national television within the coming months.

PokerStars Announces Tournament Schedule For The 2009 PCA!

Hold on to your seats for high stakes action and an adventure of a lifetime in the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Newly released by PokerStars is the tournament schedule as well as the buy-in amounts for the tropical poker event.   The showboat of the tournament will be the three day $25K buy-in for the aptly titled ‘High Roller No Limit Hold’em Event’.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will set sail on January 5^th and run until January 10^th. Once again, the event will be held at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the ever-peaceful Bahamas. The final two days of the tournament will be televised live on www.pokerstars.tv.

There will be direct entry buy-in amounts in the figures of $1K, $2K, $5K and $10K for the Main Event, which is up from $8K in last year’s event. If those amounts are too steep for your pockets, you will have the opportunity to win a prize package to the tournament as Satellites will be abound at PokerStars. Through Pokerstars Steps Satellites, you can try your hand at winning from as little as $7.50 or 500 FPP’s. If you’re skilled enough to win one of the online qualifiers, you’ll be awarded the $9,700+$300 Main Event entry as well as hotel, food credits and $1,000 in travel and spending money worth $14,300 in all.

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2008 brought in an overwhelming field of 1,100 players, the majority of who qualified into the event through PokerStars.com! It offered an $8,594,976 prize pool with Team PokerStars member Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier walking away with $2 Million in cash. Grospellier will be making another appearance at this year’s event hoping to reclaim his 2008 glory.

Kentucky Online Gambling Lawsuit Update: Continuance Issued

A continuance was issued today in the case of Commonwealth of Kentucky versus 141 Internet Domain names in which Judge Thomas Wingate will make his decision to whether or not the domain names should be liable and confiscated.  The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) presented the Franklin Court Circuit with an Amicus Curiae (Latin for ‘friend of the court’ - a 3^rd party that doesn’t have a direct personal stake in the case but can have a special interest in its outcome).

The PPA was delighted that an allowance was made for the seizure of the domain names case to be fully reviewed in order for both parties to properly argue the issue. There are over one million members in the PPA’s organization, 13,000 of whom live in Kentucky; they were out in full force expressing their voice on the courthouse steps. This is the first time the PPA has been involved in running interference between the gambling industry and a court order with this brief.   In the brief, the PPA provided the Court with an Exhibit that included the background, analysis and skill elements of poker; it was stated that poker is a legal game of skill and not an illegal game of chance.

Their argument states that “Kentucky has adopted the Predominance Test to determine whether a game is a lawful skill game or an unlawful chance game”. Concluding the brief was this statement, “In this case, the Commonwealth of Kentucky has not provided any evidence that poker as played on any internet site listed in the Complaint is not a permitted game of skill under Kentucky law.  Without such evidence, Plaintiff has no reasonable chance of success on the underlying claim of illegality that would support its likewise spurious basis for forfeiture of the domain names.”

Two of the 141 Internet sites listed in the case, LuckyPyramidCasino.com and HighRollersLounge.com have already ceased their operations. Many other have begun redirecting their domain names to .co.uk sites.  It is also being reported that GoldenCasino.com has blocked access to players residing in Kentucky.

The following are key points presented in the PPA’s Amicus Brief:

• Extensive research citing expert opinion that poker is indeed a game of skill;

• References to academic, gaming and artificial intelligence experts citing the fact that skill is an essential element to winning at poker, be it against a human or a computer;

• Unequivocal consensus among experts that in the long run a skilled poker player will beat an unskilled poker player;

• Kentucky state law asserts that “a contest or game in which eligibility to participate is determined by chance and the ultimate winner is determined by skill shall not be considered gambling”;

• Under Kentucky law, poker is a lawful game of skill because the facts can easily sustain a finding that skill of the player predominates over chance in determining outcome;

• The current case provides no evidence to suggest that any of the poker games played on any of the 141 websites in question are based on chance as opposed to skill;

• Cases in other states as well as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) letter verify that skill is the dominant factor in the game of poker; and

• The case raises First Amendment free speech issues in restricting residents’ access to poker websites that contain news, blogs and forums as well as the ability to play poker.

PKR Offers Up 2nd Annual ‘Oktoberfest’ Online Tournament

The ultra festive PKR ‘Oktoberfest’ online poker celebration will be soon be played for the second consecutive year. The innovative 3D poker room will offer up autumn fun beginning October 17^th. An amazing $260K Guaranteed cash prize pool (almost twice as much as last year’s inaugural event) will be on the line for participating online players. Twelve events will be played over twelve days with each day offering up a new tournament of play. There will be a variety of tournaments offered with someone for everyone to join in on.

Players will find everything from your basic tournament play, speed tournaments, 6 max, bounties, deep stacks and much more. PKR has yet to release the buy-in amounts for the tournaments, but those announcements should come shortly. The twelve days will culminate into the ‘PKR Masters’ and ‘Tournament of Champions’ of the top overall players in the tournament. The final ‘Oktoberfest’ tables will be televised to viewers in Europe and on YouTube.com where the overall top players will receive an invitation for a $5K free entry tournament buy-in. In addition, PKR.com operates an Internet video channel with PKR.tv where poker fans can catch all the hot action at as well.

Neil Wright, PKR’s Cardroom Manager stated, “Last year’s festival was a huge success and this year’s will be bigger and better. We are also looking forward to achieving our biggest prize pool ever in The PKR Masters.”

This Super Satellite Series comes almost right off the heel of their huge win as “Hotshot Operator of the Year” Award at the 2008 eGaming Review Awards. This award is especially meaningful because PKR.com was recognized as showing the “greatest promise” globally in the online gaming industry.

World Poker Congress Receives Endorsement from FIDPA

New directions in the ever changing poker market will be one of the main focuses of the Third Annual World Poker Congress (WPC) which takes place on October 29^th and October 30^th in Budapest, Hungary.  Keynote speakers include WPT Founder and CEO, Steve Lipscomb and bwin Interactive Entertainment’s Head of Poker, Hendrick Knopp.  Hot topics to be discussed are the impacts of branding on market capitalization, and financial strategies for online and land-based poker rooms.

A recent announcement about the upcoming 2008 WPC was the endorsement by the Federation Internationale de Poker Association (FIDPA).  The mission of the FIDPA is to create a sense of international unity within the poker community by providing rules and standards as well as a connection between casinos, events and poker rooms.  FIDPA’s Founder and Co-Founder Marcel Luske and Michelle Lau will be speaking at the conference regarding the advantageous importance of  an implementation of one set of rules to assure “consistency and fairplay” between players and the gambling industry. The FIDPA will be launching their website www.fidpa.com at the end of this year and the ‘International Poker Rules’ website www.theiprules.com is expected to launch at the end of this month.

According to Michelle Lau, “The WPC is a perfect example of FIDPA’s mission to promote poker on a global level by uniting the Queens, Kings and Jacks of the Poker World. FIDPA is making great progress; with the recent endorsement of Bellagio, the poker industry has welcomed FIDPA and the IP rules with open arms and open minds.”

Marcel Luske said, “In order to take the steps and make the changes necessary for the growing poker industry, events like the WPC are essential. The WPC brings together the casinos, card rooms, leading industry professionals and the players, onto one playing field, seated side-by-side. The lines of communication across the seas and the tables must be open in order to grow, improve and learn from each other. The WPC is an event that can help with this challenge.”

Luske and Lau will also be partaking a side session titled ‘Hearing from the Players Themselves’. Professional as well as amateur poker players will be expressing their opinions and exchanging ideas in this session about online poker rooms.

Kentucky Seizes 141 Online Gambling Domain Names

At a news conference held yesterday, Kentucky Governor, Steve Beshear proclaimed that online gambling websites need to be closed down because they are a threat to the citizens of Kentucky.

Last week, Beshear filed a civil suit in Franklin Circuit Court against 141 Internet domain names.  Included in the lawsuit are the poker websites, PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, Bodoglife.com, and DoylesRoom.com, CakePoker.com as well as several Bingo, Sportsbook and Casino websites.  According to Beshear, the law in Kentucky allows the seizure of devices involved with illegal gambling such as domain names.  The suit is requesting that the Court mandate gambling websites into blocking players in Kentucky from using their online gambling rooms or face the surrendering of their domain names.

According to Governor Beshear, “Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal Internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity.”  He further added, “”The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue.  It’s an underworld wrought with scams and schemes.”

Many in the gambling industry believe this motion of Beshear’s is really filled with cloaked attributes; it’s not about protecting its citizens but in light of the economy, Kentucky is actually seeking to protect their precious horseracing industry and land based casinos.

Joe Brennan of The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA.org) came out and stated, “If that is not a clear case of abuse of power, I don’t know what one is.”

Kentucky State has already temporarily seized the domain names and is seeking forfeiture as well. A hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, September 25^th before Judge Thomas Wingate of Franklin Circuit Court.  Public Safety Secretary J. Michael Brown said that Kentucky will become the first state to seize domain names of gambling websites if the forfeiture order goes through.  Brown also made the acknowledgement this could affect access to the domains nationwide but his main focus was on Kentucky only.

Attorneys for PokerStars are expected to make an appearance before the Judge and make the argument that the courts do not have the jurisdiction over “.com” domain names registered overseas.

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