Online Poker Takedown
As this author was heading back from a week away, playing some poker in International waters, and visiting the Bahamas, a country where citizens may play poker online if they like, the DOJ back in the U.S.A. was taking down the Big 3 of online poker sites - Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and Ultimate Bet. If you're on a U.S. IP, and visit one of the websites of these online poker houses, you'll just see the following image, as their primary domains as been seized by the FBI as a part of the crackdown:
From Jess Wellman's article in Bluff Magazine:
High stakes pros and young 21 year-old grinders may have a multitude of options before them, but others don’t really have any options at all. Devin Porter is a 27 year-old poker pro from Utah who actually converted from being a live pro to an online grinder so he could stay home and spend more time with his wife and two-year old son. For six years, he has paid his bills, supported his family, and played full time. Now, he doesn’t see much of a way he can continue living the life he’s made for himself.
There is plenty of solid coverage of the event out there, so we at Chicago Poker Club have opted to be the source of the source.
- There's plenty to view and read on the Poker Player's Alliance website - http://theppa.org/special/doj-seizure/.
- One of my personal favorite sites, Mashable, did a bit on this - http://mashable.com/2011/04/16/online-poker/.
- Jess Wellman, a favorite of ours at Chicago Poker Club, wrote a great piece for Bluff Magazine on what this means for online professional players - http://news.bluffmagazine.com/the-morning-after-players-speak-on-the-online-poker-shutdown-20172/
- Change100, the girlfriend of CPC's good friend Dr. Pauly, and accomplished journalist in her own right, wrote this awesome joint, a personal experience - http://potcommitted.blogspot.com/2011/04/end-of-poker-world-as-we-know-it.html.
- And finally, Jared Hubbard, a professional online player, penned this interesting stream-of-conscious - http://jhub3000.livejournal.com/90426.html.
There's lots more out there to read, but this will get you started.
WCPC Deep Stack Main Event Feature Table
2011's third episode of Windy City Poker Championship airs this Sunday, March 20, 2011. This episode not only brings the conclusion of the Heads Up event, but introduces Day 1 feature table action from the Deep Stack Main Event. Players are competing for over $50,000 in cash and prizes.
The table is a veritable who's who, including WPT Player of the Year Faraz Jaka, our own Chicago Joe, last year's Windy City Poker Championship Champion Leroy Carver, WSOP Main Event Winner Jerry Yang, WSOP Circuit Event winner Scotty Clark, Horseshoe Hammond Indiana's Poker Room Manager Jeremy Smith, and a host of amateur Chicago players.
The episode airs on Comcast SportsNet at 9pm. Here's a sneak preview of the show, including a opportunity to win a free seat to the March 31 Chicago Poker Open and Casino Night benefiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago.
WCPC Heads Up Finale Preview
This Sunday, March 20, 2011 tune in for part 3 - the exciting conclusion of the Windy City Poker Championship Heads Up Match. We will crown the first ever Wind City Poker Championship Heads Up Champ. The episode airs on Comcast SportsNet at 9pm. Here's a sneak preview of PimpMyTable.net's Jason Pace versus 2007 WSOP Champ Jerry Yang..