photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

If you happen to be in downtown Las Vegas right now, Montel Williams has taken over the Golden Nugget poker room.

And not the Montel Williams for charity events, this is his own money, your own money, and money won won't go to any outside company.

Williams will be in the poker room all day today, May 10, playing nonstop $1080 sit-n-gos.

Levels are 20 minutes per round, blinds begin at 50/100, and players start with 10,000 in chips.

First place wins $700, second place wins $300.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

For the first time in World Series of Poker history, those reaching the final table this year will have their table delayed four months.

In true reality show fashion, between July 16 and Nov. 9, we will now know the stories of all final table players, as well as be able to follow how they do in other tournaments in between.

In addition, the very players at the final table will have time to research and strategize their opponents during the intermission.

Nov. 9-10 will be the final table, with quick editing to air on ESPN on Nov. 11.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

According to our friends at NeverWinPoker, Brandi Hawbaker committed suicide on Sunday. Here's the statement from Micon:

"Brandi Hawbaker to some, Naami Dea to others, took her own life on Sunday. This news has been confirmed through Brandon and Brandi's family. Brandon, Brandi's family, and friends have asked the poker world to respect their privacy while they grieve. When the time is right we will have Brandon's statement on NWP..."

Stay tuned for more information as this story develops.

To bring you up to speed, Brandi Hawbaker took the poker world like a category five hurricane when she was involved in the "Capt. Tom's Penis" debacle. Most recently, her former boyfriend posted a thread on 2+2 detailing their sordid relationship. Since then, rumors floated around that Brandi had left Las Vegas and relocated to Southern California where she converted to Islam and changed her name. She was reportedly seen playing cash games in L.A. based casinos.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The Orleans has $5 bounties, but $50?

TI (Treasure Island) in Las Vegas has a Head Hunters bounty tournament that runs every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and every Sunday at 7 p.m.

The tournament attracts about 30-40 players and 1st place averages $600.

Buy-in is $125 with a $50 bounty on each player (so technically a $75 tourney). If you bust someone out, you not only get their chips, you also get $50. If you win the tournament, you get your own $50 bounty.

Starting chipstack is 5,000 and levels are 30 minutes.

For more information, call (702) 894-7291.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Golden Nugget's upcoming Grand Poker Series in downtown Las Vegas will host a celebrity poker tournament on the first night of the series, June 6.

Buy-in is $1,080 with half going into the prize pool and half going to the Montel Williams MS foundation.

Golden Nugget will host a pre-tourney cocktail reception at 4 p.m., including live music and showgirls and plenty of photo and autograph opportunities.

Later that night will be a tourney after-party upstairs in Golden Nugget's new indoor/outdoor nightclub Gold Diggers.

Satellites into the charity event will also be available, and total players are capped at about 400.

To register, call (702) 386-8164.

This month marks the one year anniversary of Rep. Barney Frank's Internet Gaming Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007. This time last year I was paying homage to this campaign for removal of the Port Security Bill's ban of Americans' rights to play poker in the world's great Internet poker rooms. Now, a year later, I realize the deck is stacked heavily against us. When a professional politician as powerful as Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, doesn't have the horsepower to nudge his Internet poker relief bill out of the starting blocks what's our chance of success? How long are the odds for any of us ordinary poker players doing anything - solo, collectively or otherwise - to return this freedom to the US poker players? Slim to none.

How come a collection of rich, powerful, and well connected professional politicians can't undo, given a whole year, what just one of their unscrupulous brethren accomplished in minutes? If it was so easy for then Senate Majority Leader Frist to attach his Internet poker torpedo to the Port Security Bill; then what's preventing the equally powerful Frist successor from returning this missing freedom using the same proven technique of eleventh hour must-pass bill riders? Two Words...Harry Reid (D-NV). Nuff said?

A whole year has passed and there's not even been an agreement to start a "year long study" of Internet poker before proceeding to pass any legislation overturning the Frist Internet poker death warrant. Next April will I be posting the same old Internet Poker story of "no demonstrated progress" for the second straight year? The smart money is saying I will do exactly that.

Flipchip has posted a gallery of Las Vegas HDR photos on the Las Vegas News Blog.

Science Daily brings us news of a study that confirms what every poker player (give or take a few IQ points) already knew--

Poker is a game of skill.

What will we see next from The Experts? Hard to say. There are just so many bedeviling questions out there about things that should be obvious but apparently aren't. I'd like to see a study confirming that if I press down on the accelerator, the likelihood of the vehicle going faster does indeed increase. Say, how about a study to confirm whether or not we should be paying attention to studies?

(h/t Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

While the Silverton extension is still being finished, one of our coziest poker rooms in town has been displaced to the keno and slots area right in front of where the poker room was.

Taking a hit in traffic, Silverton offers a variety of promotions to reward their loyal locals.

We liked their no-limit game when the room first opened, but every time we return there's just one 3/6 limit running with the same faces (of course, where else can you find a packed 3/6 game running in Las Vegas?).

Now Silverton wants to lure the no-limit crowd back, and they'll pay you for the privilege. Just like a prop player, only there's 10 of 'em.

Every Monday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., be one of the first 10 players to sit down at a NL hold'em table. Put at least $175 in play, play for at least 2 hours, then when you cash out you'll receive $25.

Now what happens if you bust? Well, you can always leave without collecting your $25. But you can only pick up your $25 after 2 hours. Be sure to bring enough buy-ins just in case.

The promotion will run every Monday for the foreseeable future, and you can participate as often as you'd like.

The Venetian Deep Stack event in February was so popular, they're doing it again!

While not as big as the first Deep Stack Extravaganza, this sequel will still provide lots of play to practice for the WSOP (or the next DSE, which is May 29-July 16).

The event runs from April 4-25 in the poker room at The Venetian, with daily registration at 4 p.m. for the 6 p.m. tournament. Note that this will substitute for the regularly scheduled evening tournament.

Cost is $330 and players start with 4500 chips (plus $10 to the dealers for 1500 more chips). A food credit will also be given.

Satellites into the tournament will run every day, with winners receiving tokens that can be used to buy into not only the DSE but any poker tournament at The Venetian.

The Venetian's website does not yet list the DSE, but you can email poker@venetian.com for more information.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

An April 10 premier opens the second of season of I Bet You on MOJO HD TV, an exclusive channel to High Def cable TV subscribers (satellite viewers are SOL). Tune in at 9:30 pm ET/PT for the first of fourteen original shows starring poker pros, Antonio "Magician" Esfandiari and Phill "Unabomber " Laak, two poker guys proving once again that traveling around the country doing nothing more than hanging out with celebrities and betting on anything and everything in sigh is a lot of fun; and, I'm talking about the stuff you don't see, the side wagers that happens when the cameras are off. You'll see the production set-ups of "I'm bigger, faster, better, longer, smarter, harder and can be slickly packaged up for a TV time slot... and best of all, I've got xxx $'s that sez so."

This season the shows will include an invited celebrity or a poker professional to join in and take part of the action. Scheduled to appear are Elizabeth Shannon, Jennifer Tilly, Lance Burton, George Segal, Frank Stallone, Richard Carn and more.

Season II episodes synopsis after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

A reminder that the Montel Williams MS Foundation Pro-Celebrity Poker Challenge happens this Thursday, March 13, in New York City. Cipriani on 42nd Street in the City is the place and the arrivals start at 5:30 PM. I've photographed Montel Williams at various poker tournaments including the WSOP and can report he plays poker quite well so be advised to bring your A-game. Did you know Montel Williams is a retired US Navy Lieutenant Commander and he graduated from Annapolis?

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Join him in his dedicated fight to slay the MS enemy of health. Even if you can't play the tournament you can still be part of the fight by bidding on some great stuff at the online auction, Thursday March 13, beginning at 11:00 AM ET. Use this handy link to pre-register as a bidder, then follow this link to the auctions at the appropriate hour Thursday. You'll find a 2000 Plymouth Prowler in mint condition, a New York Jets Ultimate VIP package for four fans includes field passes, and a really big Playboy Poker outing that includes all the amenities for your trip to the Playboy Mansion and a paid $1,500 seat in the Third Annual Celebrity Poker Tournament held at Hef's house.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Monday the BBC reported the EU has agreed to assess European online gaming firm's complaints of discrimination imposed against them as a results of the 2006 US Internet gaming ban. The complaints claim the US allows US companies to provide Internet gambling services to its citizens while excluding any US rivals from doing business. The EU firm's complaints continue with claims that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutes foreign gambling operators even though US gambling firms continue to do business as usual.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

World Poker Tour® (WPT) has released the schedule for the 14 tournaments making up the 2008/2009 Season VII. With more than 84 WPT Poker-Made Millionaires™ the new season promises to be bigger and better than ever.

The Season VII inaugural event is the Bellagio Cup at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas July 11-17, 2008. The tour then moves on to hop-scotch around the country from coast-to-coast, stopping twice more at the Las Vegas Bellagio, before returning to Las Vegas and the Bellagio for the season finale, the WPT $25,000 World Championship, slated for April 18-25, 2009. This final event usually creates two or more millionaires.

A list of the Season 7 Schedule with links after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The arrest of Paul "Cigar" McKinney in Kingsport, Tennessee last November for the grievous crime of playing poker has yet another installment. McKinney was arrested along with 15 poker players and the group was charged with a variety of crimes including gambling, possession of moonshine, going armed (someone had a pistol in their pocket), and aggravated gambling promotion (sports bet booking).

Last Thursday 12 of the original 16 poker players pleaded guilty to their charges before Kingsport General Sessions Judge Duane Snodgrass and each of the defendants received a 30-day suspended jail sentence and a $50 fine including the gun toter and the moonshine man. One defendant failed to show and a warrant was issued to bring the card playing scoundrel in to face the music.

Paul McKinney, oldest player to win a WSOP bracelet, and the owner of the establishment where they were arrested while playing poker are scheduled to appear in Sullivan County General Sessions Court on March 20th to answer the various felony charges brought by Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne.

Checking the arithmetic reveals a collection of $600 going into the city coffers to date. If the judge in the March 20th hearing doesn't go for a large piece of the $202,725 McKinney won in the 2005 WSOP it would appear that the citizens of Kingsport got short changed on the cost of keeping them safe from these dangerous men. Could someone book Chief Osborne into a cost-effective law enforcement class?

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

You already know him as the host of his namesake talk show, you've seen him in the TV drug commercials handing out free prescription meds to the Katrina flood victims, and many will remember him as one of the first day chip leaders at the 2008 WSOP Main Event, so it should come as no surprise that Montel Williams spends so much of his time doing humanitarian work.

Montel is a victim of MS and he is the founder of the Montel Williams MS Foundation, dedicated to furthering the scientific study of multiple sclerosis. Now, you can be a part of this continuing effort to isolate and eradicate this currently incurable disease.

Sign up now to take part and play in the Montel Williams MS Foundation Gala & Pro-Celebrity Poker Challenge charity event slated for March 13th at 6:00 PM in New York at Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 East 42nd Street. Purchase your ticket for this event online at montelms@hgnyc.com or call 212.843.1745 to lock up your seat in this tournament. Tickets start at $1,000 and proceeds go to the foundation to fund this much needed research. Do your part by signing up today or if you can't attend make a donation and you'll feel really good about yourself; after all, poker players are the most generous people in sports.

Montel Williams bio after the jump...

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Saturday afternoon at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino a select group of UFC and poker pros along with a collection of celebrities and Vegas fun seekers gathered for a charity poker tournament. Hosted by Randy Couture, Ultimate Fighting Challenge champion and US Army veteran, the event was staged to raise money for the Extreme Couture G.I. Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to providing assistance to returning disabled war veterans. The event was a great success and all the 150 seats were filled with an alternate list, rebuy runners were constantly on the run, and the silent auction was picking up bids. All photos with the post from the charity tournament.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Legalization of Internet poker for US citizens has taken another hit from the 'elected politician turned morality police' crowd. In the last couple of weeks a letter was drafted, signed and delivered to both houses of the US Legislature by 45 state attorneys general. The top lawyer collective expressed "grave concerns" about Rep Barney Frank (D - MA) Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, H.R. 2046.

They noted the glowing success of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) "...which has effectively driven many illicit gambling operators from the American marketplace.," and according to their learned judgment the Barney Frank bill proposes to do the opposite, "...by replacing state regulations with a federal licensing program that would permit Internet gambling companies to do business with U.S. customers." Isn't that exactly how the Feds handle the legality of land based casinos?

photo by flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com

We just got word that the legendary Chip Reese has passed away.Chip Reese was considered by many old school poker pros to be one of the best all around players in the history of poker. Doyle Brunson called Chip Reese "the best seven-card stud player I had ever seen."

Reese won the inaugural $50K HORSE event at the 2006 World Series of Poker, in a marathon heads up session against Andy Bloch, proving to the entire world that he was indeed one of the best mixed game players of all time.

More after the jump....

Part 3 in the politics of online poker continuing series from Gene Bromberg. Online US poker players are 30 million plus strong and over 21. Politicians can hear large voting blocks very clearly. Gene Bromberg is writing for everyone that wants online poker legalized, so read it, talk about it, pass it around...let them hear you!

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

The push to legalize online gaming took center stage in Washington back on November 14th as the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing entitled "Establishing Consistent Enforcement Policies in the Context of Online Wagers." Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) invited both proponents and opponents of online gambling to give testimony, and among the panelists was Tom McClusky, who is the Vice-President of Government Affairs for the Family Research Council. The FRC is a Christian, right-wing lobbying organization that, according to its website, "champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society".

This is the the second of a multi-part examination of the issues on-line poker faces in the US. LasVegasVegas investigative journalist Gene Bromberg has spent countless hours researching the problems and uncovering the truths, half-truths, and outright lies employed by the opposition to the legalization of on-line poker.--Editor

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

One of the difficulties in discussing problem gamblers is deciding who, exactly, is a "problem" gambler. If you visit the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling homepage you'll learn that those who have a casino between 10 and 50 miles from home are twice as likely to become gambling addicts. That this statistic is somewhat misleading should not come as a surprise, considering the source, but examining the study conducted by the Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) that NCALG links to leads to some interesting conclusions.

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

Kingsport, Tennessee Police Chief Gale Osborne has the dubious distinctions of having arrested the World Record Holder for 'oldest player to win a World Series of Poker event'. Paul "Cigar" McKinney was 80 years young when he won the No-Limit Hold'em Seniors event at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas during the 2005 WSOP. McKinney outlasted a field of 825 players in the $1,000 buy-in tournament to take down the $202,725 winner's purse and the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. He played mistake free poker during the 2 day event then survived a 3 hour heads-up dual with runner up Bob Hume. Quite a feat of poker for any player, an extraordinay performance for an octogenarian.

Unfortunately, William Paul McKinney's luck ran out Friday when the Kingsport police acted on a "concerned" citizen's tip and raided a poker game in progress where they found 16 poker players playing poker. "Cigar" McKinney, now 82, could be facing felony charges as one of the organizers and promoters of the game.

Chief Wiggins Osborne was apparently quite proud of cuffing the 16 poker players and making Kingsport a safe community once again. He used the opportunity to solicit more "tips" from concerned residents by stating the importance of the public to spy and report on their neighbors with the following quote, "It takes all of us, it's not just (police). It's vital that we have the eyes and the ears of the community to partnership with us." Of particular interest is another quote from the Chief, "Whether it's drug activity or gambling or domestic abuse..." In Kingsport poker players are grouped with drug dealers, wife beaters and child molesters.

I wonder if the Chief's neighbor spy ideas came from reading Mien Kauf?

Sample the public-at-large comments for this bust at PocketFives.com.

[Flipchip sent a comment to "Kingsport Times News" for the article, Hog Wild co-owner, World Series of Poker winner, among 16 people arrested in Kingsport gambling raid. Flipchip's musings apparently didn't meet editorial standards and were rejected so read them here in their entirety after the jump...

Continue reading "Paul "Cigar" McKinney World's Oldest WSOP Winner Arrested in Kingsport, Tennessee" »

Posted by flipchipro at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the first of a multi-part examination of the issues on-line poker faces in the US. LasVegasVegas investigative journalist Gene Bromberg has spent countless hours researching the problems and uncovering the truths, half-truths, and outright lies employed by the opposition to the legalization of on-line poker.--Editor

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

This past week the Poker Players Alliance engaged in a major lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill. Over 100 members of the PPA, including such well-known players as Chris Moneymaker, Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, spoke to lawmakers in the hopes that Congress will take steps to legalize and regulate online gaming. But even though the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act was passed thanks to some parliamentary sleight-of-hand by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, reversing that law will be a tall order. As Lederer said in answer to a question about getting a new law passed, "I think it's very difficult to unring a bell."

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com

This is the week the Poker Players Alliance sends about a hundred known poker players into the nation's capitol to lobby for the return of online poker as a legal past time. An estimated 25-30 million online poker players in the US have been denied the right to play their favorite game since the passage of the Frist bill that made it a crime to process payments to online poker rooms. This group of hand picked card carrying gamblers will make the rounds of Congress in a united front intent on convincing lawmakers to support a bill that will return legal online poker to America.

photos by flipchip / lasvegasvegas.com - Las Vegas, NV

Jean-Robert Bellande continues to roll on the CBS Survivor China series. He's still there going into Week 3. Professional poker player Bellande can be an intimidating presence with size alone; he stands 6'6". He spends hundreds of hours competing with people that have "intimidating presence" down to a science. Combining size and poker table experience should result in the stuff needed to win the Survivor game.

I'm favoring Jean-Robert because he is the poker player. I believe the attributes shared by winning poker pros are ideally suited for success in the Survivor domination and deceit game. Of course, if the scripting of the show is to such a degree as to alter the outcome, then all bets are off. If the Survivor honchos have a choice they won't choose the poker player. Poker players are no longer politically correct, poker is no longer the media darling and the "mighty right" is determined to push the card players right back into the dark arenas from whence they came.

The third installment of Survivor China fills the CBS TV airways Thursday evening 8PM ET / PT.

photos by flipchip / lasvegasvegas.com - Las Vegas, NV

photos by flipchip / lasvegasvegas.com - Las Vegas, NV

Las Vegas is blessed with the highest cocentration of poker rooms on the planet. Practically every casino in town has a poker room spreading poker games for any bankroll and stress level. Every day, around the clock, players have their choice of hundreds of poker games in dozens of casinos playing everything from Stud to HORSE with limits from 'pocket change' up to six figures and beyond.