Some online gaming companies have remained in the US market, but they are private companies whereas Party Gaming is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and therefore have shareholders who must be answered to. Party Gaming would have faced the wrath of their own shareholders if the DOJ imposed financial penalties upon Party Gaming which the company could have avoided by leaving the US market. To avoid such action Party Gaming had no choice but to leave.

Mitch Garber, CEO of Party Gaming, spoke with Forbes, where he said, “These discussions are progressing constructively and I remain confident that we will reach a resolution in 2008. It’s very hard to predict. There;s some fluidity to it. We’re in the midst of a process and our attorneys tell us it is moving in the right direction and at the right speed.”

Party Gaming will have successfully extricated themselves from the messy legal situation online gaming finds itself in in the US once they reach a settlement with the US. However, the UIGEA has been facing increasing criticism as an unworkable and wasteful piece of legislation, leaving the possibility that the UIGEA will be repealed, letting all the companies that left the US back into the market.

The hearing that Rousso was waiting for occurred earlier today, when he present his arguments before a judge. Rousso argued that the ban was unconstitutional, and one of the reasons he gave in support of his argument was that the law is nothing more than a protectionist measure designed to protect the state’s casinos from the competition tha tonline poker brings and direct more money into the state’s coffers.
The judge agreed with the state attorneys that the law is not unconstitutional so the law will remain on the books. Rousso admits that he has been defeated, but maintains that not all is lost as he said, “Even though it was a loss today, I still think some good things will come of it.”

Rousso has succeed in raising awareness about Washington’s overbearing ban, and was helped by the Poker Players Alliance who held a rally in support of Rousso and his attempts to let people play poker how they choose. The rally’s attendance settled around fifty people, including two professional poker players, Barry Greenstein and Andy Bloch. The rally also attracted the attention of numerous media outlets.

Rousso has not given up, and the fight against the Washington ban on online poker will not stop here.

When choosing an online poker room to play at you should take a moment to decide what is most important to your playing experience. Is it the stakes you play for? Is it the chance to win your way into major tournaments like the World Series of Poker? Is it the graphics and interface that allow for smooth playing and an aesthetically pleasing venue? Or is it some combination of factors? Know what your motivation for playing is, and then, do some research.

Researching the online poker rooms before you start playing is an easy step that can make your poker playing experience much more enjoyable. You don’t want to just throw your money into the site that caught your eye and whose name you recognize, as that site may not be a good site for you. Instead, you’ll want to look at what sites are available ad how they rank against each other in different categories, such as stakes or competition. Once you do this you’ll have a much better idea on what online poker rooms are best for you. If you are a US player you should also make sure the online poker rooms you are considering allow US players. In fact, no matter where you come from you should be aware of the legality of online poker in your jurisdiction.

You are almost ready to throw money into an online poker room, but there is one last thing to check: The deposit bonus. Some sites offer large deposit bonuses but make it difficult while other sites have small bonuses which are easy to earn. Make sure you understand what the deposit bonus is of the site you’ve chosen as well as how difficult it is to earn the bonus. If a bonus requires you to play in a certain number of raked hands before you can use your bonus than you should be confident that you can fulfill the requirements before you put any money in. If you can’t, and the money is important to you, than you may want to consider another poker site.

With the incredible number of online poker rooms it can sometimes be difficult to decide which one to play at. However, the large number also guarantees that there is a poker room that is the perfect fit for you, whatever your motivations. With some research and a bit of work, you can find an online poker room you will enjoy playing at, win or lose.

A WPT spokesman said this about Kayleigh’s departure, “Layla Kayleigh brought great edge, wit, and personality to the WPT as hostess in Season VI and we sincerely wish her well as she continues to explore her TV career. We are currently casing for the Season VII TV hostess role and look forward to introducing the new hostess to everyone soon.”

Rumors abound about who the next hostess will be, but the smart money seems to be on the WPT’s online video host,Kimberly Lansing. The World Poker Tour will hope that their next hostess will stay around. Shana Hiatt lasted three seasons as the WPT’s first hostess, but remains the only one to last more than one season.Sabina Gadecki hosted Season IV and was replaced by Courtney Friel for Season V, who in turn was replaced by Layla Kayleigh in Season VI.

When Season VII begins its run on TV WPT viewers will once again have a new face to get acquainted with.

In the book Gus Hansen takes his readers on a tour of his mind, showing us each hand, how he played it, how his opponent played, and the thought process for his decisions. Gus also reveals his reaction to how he played that hand and whether he would have done anything differently. Every facet of that hand is described, including hGus’s state of mind, the chip counts, and the atmosphere at the table.

Gus has a reputation for being a loose-aggressive player, willing to play any two cards with authority. However, Gus considers himself to be a fairly tight player and thoroughly enjoys situations where he can take advantage of what his opponents think of him. Gus enjoys writing about these situations as well, and they pop up every so often throughout the course of the book.

Gus Hansen has written a great book, as it combines educational material with the flair that comes natural to Gus to present a highly captivating read.

Frederik Hostrup had this to say about the decision: “I am certain we will reach another result than the one we received in the Landsretten. This is a good day for Danish poker. It can make a big difference for everyone who loves poker.”

The Supreme Court’s announcement is good news for poker players as the Supreme Court will typically only take on cases where they already disagree with the decision of the Landsretten. With the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the case private clubs are allowed to organize poker at the very least until the Supreme Court makes a ruling, as under Danish law once the Supreme Court announces they will hear a case the law reverts to what it was before the ruling being challenged was made.

A maximum of 64 players will be allowed to compete in the tournament and no byes will be issued. If more than 32 players signup but the field doesn’t reach 64 the first 32 will be seated in the tournament while those who signed up afterwards will be given a refund. Full Tilt Poker is encouraging players to sign up early to guarantee themselves a seat.

Not everyone will have to pony up the $25,000 buy-in, as Full Tilt Poker will be offering $500 + $35 qualfiers on Thurday, May 22 and Friday, May 23. The qualifiers will start at 3:00 PM EST on both days.

Full Tilt Poker pros Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, and Howard Lederer have confirmed that they will be participating in the event. Recordings will be made of the most important hands and matchups in the tournament with commentary to be provided after the event by Phil Gordon and Ali Nejad.

This will prove to be one of the most entertaining and unique tournaments in the history of online poker.

Mark Castonguay of Canada was eliminated as soon as the cameras started rolling, not allowing the cameras to catch the details of the hand. Castonguay won $30,000 for his eighth place finish.

Mark Roessler of Germany ended up in seventh place when he suffered a bad beat at the hands of the eventual champion, Jack Hinchey. Hinchey and Roessler went to the flop, which came down [Js][9h][2d]. Roessler made a pair of jacks with his [Jc][8c] and bet out. Hinchey responding by raising with king high, his hole cards [Kc][3d]. Roessler didn’t believe the raised and shoved all-in, with Hinchey making the call. Roessler liked what he saw, but his smile would turn to a look of disgust when the turn fell [Qh] and the river fell [10c] to give Hinchey a runner-runner straight. Mark Roessler would head back to Germany with $60,000.

Bert van Doesburg would be Hinchey’s next victim, exiting in sixth place. The Dutchman found himself in a coin-flip situation when he shoved preflop with [Kd][9s]. Hinchley called with [5s][5c] and the two were off to the races. After the board fell [10c][8d][3c][10h][Qs] Bert van Doesburg heading to the exits, richer by $90,000.

Another Dutchman, Bart Wetsteijn would follow van Doesburg when he slowplayed pocket kings by smooth calling before the flop. The flop landed [5c][3s][2s] and Hinchey bet out, only to be raised all-in by Wetsteijn. Hinchey immediately called, showing [Ad][4d] for a straight. The [3d] on the turn and the [Js] on the river confirmed Bart Wetsteijn’s demise. Wetsteijn would collect $120,000 for his fifth place finish.

Arjan Van Bavel was the last Dutchman at the table, and he would also fall before the seemingly invincible Hinchey. Van Bavel pushed all-in when the flop landed [10s][8h][6h] and Hinchey called. Van Bavel held pocket nines, but Hinchey was holding pocket queens. Neither the [2s] on the turn nor the [Js] on the river saved Van Bavel, and he was gone in fourth place, earning $180,000.

Piotr Stanislaw of Poland fell to Hinchey in third place when he went all-in with a dominated hand. Stanislaw shoved all-in over the top of a Hinchey raise with [Ah][5s]. Hinchey made the call with [Ac][10c] and Stanislaw would need some help to survive. Unfortunately for Stanislaw no help would come on a board of [Ah][10s]7d][6c][6s], and he would collect $210,000 for finishing in third place.

Jack Hinchey and Michael Lawson, both Canadians, would fight it out in heads-up play. Hinchey had a significant chip lead to start the match, and he would hold onto it for the victory. In the final hand both players saw the flop of [Kh][Jh][6h]. Lawson moved all-in with pocket tens and Hinchey made the call with [Kc][Qs] for a better pair. The tournament came to its conclusion once the turn and river came out [Js][Ks], improving Hinchey’s hand to a full house.

Michael Lawson earned the second place prize of $397,000 and Hinchey would head back to Canada with the grand prize of $1 million.

The provision to ban online poker proved to be influential in causing the vote to fail, as a member on the committee studying the bill abstained from the committee vote after he could not amend the bill to remove the provision. With his abstention, the committee could not recommend approval of the bill, and their lack of approval was noted by members of the House when it came time for their vote.

One of the rumors says that the bill may be making a comeback due to the political troubles of Massachusetts Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi, whose reputation has taken several hits amid ethical concerns. This has given the bill’s supporters confidence that the bill will have a better chance of passing, especially after the bill was changed to not contain the provision against online poker, which proved to be vital in the bill’s previous demise.

Supporters of the bill hope that the revenues generated by the three casinos will allow the Massachusetts government to provide some property tax relief to its citizens. If the bill does end up passing Massachusetts residents will no longer have to go to Connecticut and the Foxwoods Reort & Casino in order to gamble.

Lee Rousso had been making a run for governor based simply on his desire to overturn the ban on online poker, but recently dropped out of the race due to changes in election law that guaranteed he would not win, as well as the desire to commit full time to his case against the ban, which was finally making progress as Washington’s repeated motions to dismiss the case were denied and further hearings were scheduled.

Washington state’s ban on online poker was signed into law by governor Christine Gregoire, who won the governor’s chair by 133 votes over her opponent, Dino Rossi, who has stated that he would not have signed the bill as it is extremely overbearing, invading people’s homes and privacy, while punishing them in similar fashion to serious crimes. The ban makes playing online poker a Class C felony, which brings the same punishment as would be handed down for possessing child pornography. In order to earn that same punishment a person would have to been convicted of five DUIs or have to have stolen nine cars. It is because of this that many feel that the ban on online poker is excessive.

The rally will take place at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, Washington, which is located in King County. The rally will take place on May 15th from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. the full address is below.

Maleng Regional Justice Center

401 4th Ave N

Kent, WA, 98032