Two Benefit Tournaments Held on Sunday

To contribute to the cause of raising money for the legendary poker player’s fight with cancer, PokerStars held two benefit tournaments on Sunday. From each event, half the amount paid by players for buy-ins contributed towards the Thor Hansen Charity Fund. The first tournament was held at 7:30pm. The buy-in for the tournament was $20. The second tournament with a buy-in of $100 was held at 10pm.

Andreas Hoivold Gives Updates on Hansen’s Health

According to updates given by poker pro Andreas Hoivold on a forum, there have been a few developments in Thor’s situation. A doctor is advising the former poker player regarding the ideal course of action for treatment. If Hansen goes to his home country, he can get free treatment. However, Hansen is happy with the treatment he is currently receiving.

Hansen’s Poker Career Began in 1987

Thor Hansen, who is now 64 years old, started playing poker in 1987. That year, he played at Grand Prix of Poker which was held in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget. During the tournament, Hansen made it to the final tables of 3 events. He made a 4th place finish in one of the events and took home a total of $110,000 at the tournament’s end.

The next year, Hansen made his presence felt in the poker tournament world by landing many cashes. He registered for the World Series of Poker in 1988 and become one of the first foreigners to win a bracelet. It was won in a seven card stud tournament with a buy-in of $5000. The second bracelet was won by the player in a Deuce to Seven Lowball event with a buy-in of $1500. Hansen has made a total of 45 cashes in WSOP events.

Hansen’s successes were not limited to WSOP. He was made the European ambassador for poker and travelled throughout the world, while making several victories. A month ago, the player added 2 more cashes to his list of achievements. These were made in WSOP Circuit events held at the Bicycle Casino. Till date, the legendary poker star has cashed in a total of 180 events. Among them were 18 events wins and a total of $2.9 million.

PokerStars boasts of one of the largest player traffic. The poker room offers a host of real money online poker games. The site runs a wide range of tournaments for which players from across the world register.

The lead sponsors for this event are Robert W. Baird & Co, which is based in Wisconsin and Coyote Logistics, a Chicago-based company.

Charity Poker Championship 2012

The 2012 Charity Poker Championship will have 350 poker players competing for a prize pool of more than $20,000. Besides the cash prizes, this charity poker tournament is giving away a free seat for the 2012 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which makes it all the more exciting for poker fans. Along with the $1,000 WSOP Main Event entry, the winner of this charity event will also get $2,000 for travel and accommodation expenses for the WSOP.

The event will also have players winning a hoard of non-cash prizes. The remaining amount raised through this event will be used for children diagnosed with cancer. The aim of this charity event is to help the kids experience the simple childhood pleasures, in spite of their disease. The funds raised through the 2012 Charity Poker Championship will be used to organize fun activities like ski trips and camping trips that these kids could participate in. Along with a number of local poker players, the 2012 Charity Poker Championship is expected to draw a number of celebrities, from the world of poker and elsewhere.

How to participate

Make yourself present at the River East Arts Center in Chicago, Illinois, on March 1 and you can be a part of this good cause. To participate in the poker tournaments, you should be at the venue by 5:00 pm to register and check-in for the event. Tournament entry is limited to 350 players, although you can choose to be a spectator by paying $75. The buy-in for the events is $275, and registration ends at 5:45 pm.

The tournament begins at 6:00 pm and registered players will be seated randomly through a draw. Registrations can also be made in advance, through the internet.

About COSI

The Children’s Oncology Services, Inc (COSI) was founded by Dr. Edward Baum in 1978. COSI functions largely by the support of its volunteers, who drive the various activities that its children can enjoy. Currently, the organization has more than 350 volunteers and supports over 300 children. The Chicago Charity Poker Tournament has become a part of COSI since 2005, when it was first organized. The COSI poker committee has 11 members, who have been successful in finding sponsors and vendor services to host the events year after year.

£5,000 to be Added to Sky Poker Jackpot this Week

This week, Sky Poker is offering £5,000 as a jackpot. This offer is over and above what is provided through the regular promotions of the site. The jackpot prize can be availed by the player who wins the Main Event of Sky Poker to be held at 8pm. A Mini Main Event will be hosted on the same day at 8:15pm. There have been many weeks in which there were no jackpot winners at Sky Poker. To make the jackpot offer more rewarding, £100 has been added to the prize pool.

Main Event Winners to Receive iPads

The jackpot is not the only offer run by Sky Poker on its 5th birthday. Winners of every main event are provided with attractive free gifts. There will be a total of 5 main events. Each event winner will be provided with an iPad. In addition, another iPad gift is also on offer. It is offered daily at the site as a lucky draw prize. To qualify for the draw, players should earn 55 poker points on the day of the event.

Happy Hours Running Everyday

Sky Poker is also running a Happy Hours promotion at present. Happy Hours is offered daily at the site at 10 am and 1pm during the day. During the evening, Happy Hours is made available at 4pm and 6pm. After this, Happy Hours starts again at 11pm. During these hours, players are entitled to receive 50% bonus on the points earned. The most attractive offer is made at 5:55 daily and runs till 6:00. Points earned during this time are multiplied by 5.

Freerolls from Monday to Saturday

Freeroll tourneys are run by Sky Poker as a part of its 5th birthday offerings. Freerolls run every week from Monday to Saturday. The tournaments commence at 5:55am every day. Another freeroll tourney has been announced by the site. It will be held on 11th February, Saturday. To enter the tournament, players should have at least 55 Sky Poker points.

Apart from its anniversary special promotions, Sky Poker also announced the launch of a new poker offering, called ‘Timed Tournaments’. The game format is quite interesting. It offers players the experience of playing online poker against time. The tournaments are run in multi-table formats. However, the limits set for these games are higher than for a regular tournament. At the end, players are paid according to the positions in which they finish. The best aspect about the new tournament announced by Sky Poker is its versatility in terms of time limits. Each round can be as short as 15 minutes. This gives an opportunity to players who have less time to compete for a big prize pool.

Schedule of events

The PokerStars Eureka Poker Tour begins on April 19, at the Golden Sun Casino in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. The Eureka Croatia festival will last till April 24, and has a player cap of 400. The prize pool for this event in Zagreb is over €200,000 so far. Participants in this festival will get to play different poker formats including no-limit Holdem (NLH) rebuy and Freezeout satellites, NLH Turbo Freezeouts, Omaha Freezeouts, high-roller satellites and more. The Main Event of the festival, however, remains the highlight of the Eureka Croatia.

The Main Event will take place from April 11th to 14th and has a buy-in of €1,100, with a starting chip stack of 15,000.

The Eureka Bulgaria festival begins on June 4, at the Grand Hotel and Casino International at Varna, the popular seaside-resort in Bulgaria. The Main Event of this festival will start on June 7 and take place through June 10.

The Royal Casino SPA & Hotel Resort in Riga, Latvia, will host the Eureka Latvia from October1st to 7th. The Main Event of the Eureka Latvia will be held from October 4th to 7th.

The number of participants for both Eureka Bulgaria and Eureka Latvia is capped to 500.

How to participate

One of the simplest ways to participate in the PokerStars Eureka Poker Tour Season 2 is through the direct buy-ins. However, this could also be the most expensive way to participate in the competition. If you wish to buy-in directly, you can do so through PokerStars site or directly at the venue of the event.

The best way, however, to get a seat at the Eureka Croatia festival is through the online qualifiers that PokerStars.com is hosting. With these satellites, you will be able to get yourself a seat at the €1,100 Main Events by investing less than a few hundred euros. In addition to that, participating in the satellites gives you a chance to practice and sharpen your poker skills for the main event.

PokerStars online qualifiers

To win a seat to the Eureka Poker Tour in Croatia, Bulgaria, or Latvia, just go to the poker tournament lobby on PokerStars.com and register for the special satellite events. If you are not yet a member of PokerStars, register and make a deposit now, and you could win a first deposit bonus of upto $600. Considering that the number of players allowed to participate in all these events is limited, you should get started as soon as you can, to even stand a chance to participate in the competition.

Churchill Downs Plans to Build on Bluff Media’s Content

Representatives of Churchill Downs stated that the firm aims at building on the content of Bluff Media. With this acquisition deal, Churchill Downs will have lots of business opportunities in the US, especially if online gambling is made legal in the country.

The deal allows Churchill Downs to acquire the US operation of Bluff Media entirely. Bluff Magazine is one of the most well-known US poker magazines. It has an online and a print version. Both will be under the new ownership. In addition, Bluff Media’s forums, blogs, rankings and the website, BluffPoker.com will also be under Churchill Downs. ThePokerDB – a reliable database of Bluff Magazine has also been taken over by Churchill Downs.

Management Team of the Newly Acquired Firm

Churchill Downs has announced the names of those who will be in the management team of the newly acquired firm. The co-presidents of the firm are Eric Morris and Eddy Kleid. They have been associated with Bluff Media since the time it was created. Jeff Markley will be web operations’ vice-president, a position he has held in Bluff Media for a while. He will continue as the leader in the company. Bluff Europe is another arm of Bluff Magazine. It is not likely to be impacted by the acquisition.

A Two Plus Two forum thread picked up a discussion regarding the motives behind Bluff Media’s recent moves. It was stated that Bluff Media is the perfect target for an acquisition considering its present status in the industry. Bluff Media is a heavy poker media company based in the US. It was badly hit after Black Friday struck the US. The forum also posed an open question to everyone regarding their speculations about the future of partnership venture.

Bluff Media has a strong history. The company has been successful since it was launched. The magazine initially was published twice a month. Later, it was introduced as a monthly magazine. Soon, Bluff became one of the key competitors of CardPlayer Magazine, one of the most well-known poker magazines in the industry. For radio and online coverage, Bluff Media partnered with the World Series of Poker.

New Partnership will be Recognizable in the Regulated US Market

The new partnership venture is expected to create a huge impact in the US once poker is regulated in the country. The Kentucky Derby is hosted by namesake racetrack owners. The company has also set its eye on other racetracks in the US. Before the announcement made by Churchill Downs last week, the firm’s share price closed at $55.87 on NASDAQ exchange. Share price dropped by $.44 compared to the records of the previous day.

PokerStars Enters the Guinness Book of World Records

PokerStars celebrated its 10th anniversary by running a series of attractive tournaments. One of these tourneys entered the Guinness Book of World Records as it had the highest player field. The 70 billionth hand of the online poker room was completed during this tournament series. The 72 billionth hand was also completed during the special tournaments held on the occasion of PokerStars’ 10th anniversary.

More Celebrations at PokerStars

The poker room is all set for more celebrations. The 75 billionth hand will be dealt at the site soon. A lucrative prize pool of $1 million has been announced for this hand. To grab a share of the prize pool, players have to play at the table at which the hand will be dealt. Lucky players can add thousands of dollars to their account. $20k is on offer for players who will be at the table. More than 75,000,000,000 hands have already been dealt at PokerStars.

Players, interested in being a part of the PokerStars 75 billionth hand, should visit the website. With these tips, players can enhance their winning chances at the site. Players good at multi tabling will have a better chance of playing the 75 billionth hand.

Prize Money Determined by Number of Hours Spent

Players interested in making a lot of money in the PokerStars 75 billionth hand promotion have to stay in games for a long duration. The prize money which players can receive will depend on the number of VIP Player Points (VPP) they can collect during the login session of the 75 billionth hand. Players, who will be at tables for a longer duration, can earn more VPPs and hence, contribute more towards the pot. Players are urged by the poker site to be a part of action packed games such as Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. These games will enable them to collect more points. Players, who want to play the milestone hand at PokerStars, have to log in to their account and play at the designated poker table.

PokerStars is the leading poker room in the online poker world. It runs a wide selection of cash games and tournaments at all hours of the day. The lobby comes with top-notch software features providing players with advanced multi-table features and a host of customization options. PokerStars offers one of the widest selections of poker variants in the industry. Games offered here include Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha, H.O.R.S.E, Five Card Draw, Triple Draw, Mixed Hold’em, Badugi and Omaha Hi/Lo. The site keeps introducing new offerings on a regular basis. After the Black Friday incident, the site had to close its doors to US customers. Yet, PokerStars continues to be the most popular poker site in the industry.

Event schedule

Fox Poker Club, which is located in the heart of London city, will be hosting the three-day Betfair Poker Live Event from February 17 to 19. The 2012 Betfair Live will feature a number of cash poker games and other tournaments besides the Main Event. Some of the events you can take part in are -

• The ₤60 DeepStack tournament for Betfair customers; this event will begin at 8:00 pm on Saturday and will be a one-day event.

• The ₤10,000 guaranteed Sunday tournament begins at 3:00 pm on Sunday; this is a side event and will have a starting stack of 10,000 and a 25-minute timer.

• The Main Event, which is the highlight of Betfair Live London, will begin at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 18. The event has a buy-in of $650 and a starting stack of 15,000. Games would be timed with a 40-minute clock.

If you didn’t have a chance to play the satellites and have not yet registered for the event, do so without delay. Once you are registered with Betfair, you can make a deposit for the buy-in. Players who deposit on February 17, Day 1A of the event, will get a chance to win the $1,400 package to the next Betfair Live event, in case they win this year’s main event. In addition to that, poker players finishing ‘on the bubble’ at the Main Event will win the $120 entry to the Betfair Live Online weekly final, and also a bottle champagne to celebrate.

Last year, more than 170 participants had registered for the event. Of the total prize pool of ₤39,000 in 2011, ₤7,000 was taken home by the main event winner Arttu Pitkakangas from Finland. This year, the expected number of people competing for the Betfair Live London title is a little above 120.

Betfair Live – After London

Can’t make it to the Betfair Live in London? Don’t worry. After its stop in the UK, Betfair Live will be off to the Dominican Republic in April. The GSOP Dominican Republic will be the final event in the second annual Betfair Poker Live. The grand final will take place at the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Punta Cana, on April 12, 2012. The online finals for this event have already started on January 24, and will take place through April 10, 2012. The Supersteps have started on January 29 and will go on till April 8. The direct buy-in for the final event is worth $3,300.

The Schedule

Starting from February 10, Caesars Palace will host a total of 42 poker events that will take place every day till March 1st. The main event during the series is the 3 day Championship for No limit Holdem, which will begin on February 25. The regular events will take place at12:00 pm and 4:00 pm on all days and at 10:00 am on some, during the tournament.

The events you can participate in include -

• No-limit Holdem (NLH) single-day tournaments with buy-ins of $130, $240, $350 on almost all days during the series; you can also take part in the NLH double stack turbo events, which would start at 4:00 pm on select days.

• Omaha 8 with buy-in of $130 on February 12;

• 6 handed no limit Holdem with a buy-in of $130 on February 14 and March 1;

• Pot limit Omaha with a buy-in of $130 on February 15, and a buy-in of $240 on March 29;

• The Heads-Up NLH event at 4:00 pm on February 16; the event has a buy-in of $130 and the number of players is limited to 64.

• A special event called Valentine Couples at 4:00 pm, on the 12th of February, where couples can participate together, playing for 15 minutes each; this event also has a buy-in of $130.

• Pot Limit Big “O” – 8 with a buy in of $130 on February 20;

• The Seniors NLH at 10:00 am on February 23.

The main event of the Caesars Winter Poker Classic, which is the Championship event, will start on February 25 and has a buy-in of $560. On February 26, which is the second day of the main event, the game will restart at 1:00 pm. The final table of the Championship event begins at 2:00 pm on the 27th of February.

In addition to these tournaments, Caesars Palace will also have three additional NLH tournaments at 9:00 am, 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm everyday, between February 10 and March 1.

How to participate

Registrations for all events would open from February 10, 2012. Except the main event and the heads-up event, registrations for all other events will be allowed only one day before the event. So, if you really need some exciting poker action, you better get started before all the seats are taken.

October Nine to Feature in WSOP this Year

Instead of November Nine, a new event October Nine will feature in this year’s WSOP. Last year’s WSOP main event was a major success. There were rumors in the poker industry regarding some changes that WSOP will bring about this year. As opposed to previous years, this year’s event will not have a 15 week break between the forming of the final table and its recommencement. WSOP 2012 will have a 14 week break before the winner is announced.

Main Event to be Broadcasted on Television

Poker enthusiasts will now have the opportunity to watch WSOP main event as the entire event will be broadcast on ESPN. There will not be any build-ups or breaks. No speculation sessions will be conducted before the main event begins.

No Day Off in WSOP 2012 Schedule

The event schedule for WSOP 2012 has been announced. The tournaments will commence from May 21 and continue till July 16. A total of 61 bracelet events will be held. The main event will be staged at the Rio All-Suite Hotel& Casino. It will kick off on July 7, Saturday. Those who will qualify on Days 1a and 1b will get to play at the tables on Day 2, July 10. Qualifying players of Day 1c will be back in action on July 11th.

A missing element in the WSOP schedule this year is a customary day off featured in the main event every year.

Event for Casino Employees to Feature in WSOP 2012

The opening event for WSOP this year will be a No Limit Hold’em tournament for casino employees. The $500 buy-in event will take place on May 27th. It is a new addition made by WSOP this year.

In addition to the tournament for casino employees, another new event has been added to the WSOP schedule this year. A re-entry event will feature in the WSOP for the first time. It will be a No Limit Hold’em tournament with a buy-in worth $1,500. The tournament will be held on June 2nd. Players who are eliminated on the first day can make their way back to WSOP through the re-entry tournament.

Another new event added by WSOP is a No-Limit Hold’em Mixed Max which will be held over 4 days. The buy-in for the event is $5,000. It will be held on May 31. Short handed tourneys have also been included in WSOP schedule this year. On June 14, a 3-day long short-handed tournament will be held. It will be based on the No Limit Hold’em format. The buy-in for the event has been announced as $2,500.

ANZPT Season IV Consists of Four Stops

ANZPT season IV consists of a total of 4 stops. SKYCITY’s Queenstown has been included for the Snowfest of ANZPT to be held between July 24 and 29. Another event, with a buy-in worth NZD$3,000 will also be hosted around the same time. The maximum number of entries for this tournament is 200. An unnamed stop has been scheduled to take place in June. A tournament with a buy-in worth AUD$2,200 will feature in this stop.

ANZPT Season IV will conclude with the Grand Final tournament, which will take place in Melbourne between August 31 and September 3. The event will be hosted by the Crown Casino of Melbourne. The buy-in for the tournament is AUD$5,000. The maximum number of players who can be a part of the event is 500.

The Biggest ANZPT so Far is Season III

ANZPT season III has been the biggest in the event’s history so far. Eight stops were included in ANZPT season III. Last year, a total of 1,746 players registered for the event. The prize pool created was AUD 3,692,040. Many players made their presence felt in the poker community through their performance in ANZPT events. One of the most significant wins was made by Octavian Voegele Adelaide. He won a tournament worth $147,642 after outlasting a field of 252.

Another player to make a significant impact in ANZPT season III was Grant Levy from Sydney. The player had won the Obsteg Native in which he outlasted as many as 252 players, last February. The total amount won by Grant Levy was $147,642. The ANZPT season IV kicks off on March 22nd. Significant achievements are expected this season as well.

PokerStars Remains Committed to Promotion of Poker

PokerStars is one of the largest online poker rooms and has remained committed to the cause of poker. A wide variety of live poker events are held by the site. PokerStars.com was launched in the year 2011, September. Real money wagering started on the site from December 12, same year. Originally, a company of Costa Rica, PokerStars was moved to the Isle of Man later.

A large number of poker variants are offered by PokerStars. These include Omaha, Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Stud Hi/Lo, Stud, Five Card Draw, Razz, Badugi, HORSE and Triple Stud. Players can participate in real money games at the site with as little as 1 cent. High rollers can wager as much as $200 on games offered by the site. Over 20,000 players gamble on the site daily. A large number of players are also associated with live tournaments held by the site. The poker room is the home of one of the biggest poker tournament series held in the industry- the World Series of Poker.