Tag: poker

WSOP gets underway

pair of aces in poker with poker chips

This is the time of year for poker aficionados as the World Series of Poker gets underway at the Rio in Las Vegas. The Rio has been slipping in recent years as a Las Vegas destination, but the WSOP always brings it back to the forefront as it gets invaded by poker fans and players who have been brushing up their skills all year online working on their game and going for bonuses like the 888 poker bonus. The atmosphere changes completely this time of year as the Rio becomes a mecca for the poker world.

Every year brings new highlights along with new issues, and the Las Vegas Sun pointed out 25 things to look for with this year’s tournament. The Rio will get some new attention with the all-new VooDoo Zipline, which stretches from one tower of the Rio to the other. The zipline is strung 490 feet above the ground and you can get up to 33 MPH on this thing. This attraction gives you an idea of what the Rio needs to do these days to grab attention, as newer and trendier casinos have swiped many of the young and beautiful visitors who no longer see the Rio as a real option unless they’re trying to save cash.

As for the actual poker, developments in online play with new state regulations are also have an impact. Online players have changed the sport, but sanctioned tournaments can make things even more interesting to the point where the WSOP might start looking seriously at hybrid games. We’ll see how that plays out. Also, WSOP.com is making it easier now for fans to track the tournament action in real time.

There’s no doubt that the WSOP will do everything possible to keep its status as the top tournament and event in the world. This year’s Main Event is featuring a guaranteed $10 million first-place prize.

5 Craziest Wagers in History from the World Series of Poker

Theme1-final table-RO2

Below are the five craziest wagers of all time as chosen by the World Series of Poker’s website, WSOP.com.

The list, with bets from name changes to royalty rights, was spurred by the now legendary Stu Ungar wager, in which the player was bet he could not correctly count the last three decks of a six-deck shoe (312 cards!) Ungar, a three-time World Series of Poker winner, identified all 156 cards without missing a beat, earning the man $100,000.

1. A New Zealand man wagered his name in a poker bet and lost. His friends were able to decide his new name and selected the 99-character moniker, Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Combined With Frostnova, meeting the country’s character limit of 100.

2. A man by the name of Ashley Revell sold his possessions for $135,000. He brought the money to Vegas and bet all of it on red at the roulette table. Lucky for Revell, the ball landed on red, doubling the man’s fortune.

3. U.K. professor, Rob Price, bet $1,600 that golfer, Rory McIlroy, would win the Masters after swearing he saw the athlete’s face in a sweet roll.

4. One of the top five most popular children’s books of all time, Green Eggs and Ham, was written by Theodor Suess Geisal, aka Dr. Seuss, on a $50 bet that he couldn’t publish a book using only 50 unique words.

5. In the 80’s, George Lucas bet fellow director Steven Spielberg that if Star Wars made more money than his own film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg would get 2.5 percent of Lucas’ movie’s profits until death. Spielberg is still getting checks in the mail from his buddy.

Greatest Poker Scorers of All Time

poker dealer

In this interesting read, we present to you the list of the best poker players of all times. Now while reading through, keep in mind that this list is time and measurement bound, however, the players’ progress and winnings have been meticulously monitored and evaluated to give you a thrilling read.

1. Antonio Esfandiari has won two World Poker Tour (WPT) championships and three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets in his career and is known throughout the world for his elaborate chip tricks. As of July 2013, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $25.5 million.

2. Daniel Negreanu has often been called the unofficial ambassador of poker. His charm mixed with highly intuitive and active play has garnered him a huge fan following. He is one of the highest-grossing tournament players of all time. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour titles, all of them in 2004. His total live tournament winnings exceed $16,100,000.

3. Phil Hellmuth also makes the list of biggest all-time poker winner with over $17.4 million won on poker platforms. He plays poker full-time. He is known as the “Poker Brat” and he has reached the historic milestone of 100 WSOP cashes and has won 44 live tournaments.

4. Erik Seidel is a former professional Backgammon player and Wall Street trader who now uses skills learnt on Wall Street by winning money on poker platforms worldwide. In 2010, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and has won $18.5 million in live tournament play till date.

5. British Poker Pro Sam Trickett also makes it to the all-time best list. He is only 27 years old and started playing poker back in 2005 after suffering a knee injury that ended his professional football career. Till date he has won with over $19.6 million.

Thus, be inspired by the likes of the people mentioned in the list. Once inspiration strikes, come and play poker online at Titan Poker to make it to the all-times best list.

Online gambling getting serious consideration in Washington

The news is getting interesting in Washington, as more a more members of Congress are coming around to the notion that the restrictions on Internet gambling are senseless, particularly at a time when it could be regulated and taxed to provide more revenues for the federal government and state governments.

Recent hearings in the House suggest the tide is turning.

But lawmakers and industry players at a Tuesday hearing on Internet gambling seemed to be in broad agreement that the time has come to let the nation’s casinos, cardrooms and racetracks operate online as a regulated industry.

Bono Mack noted that some form of gambling is already legal in every state except Hawaii and Utah.

“I learned to play poker, believe it or not, in the Boy Scouts,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who introduced legislation this summer that would legalize and regulate online poker. “If you learned something in the Boy Scouts, it has to be a good thing.”

Other lawmakers are looking to the powerful deficit reduction committee which is looking for new revenues. Some predict it could generate $40 billion in tax revenues over ten years!

So many people enjoy playing online poker and online slots, this should be a no-brainer. We’ve all seen how foolish it is to restrict something that’s so popular. Hopefully the officials in Washington come to their senses.