$1 Million Free Roll Poker Tournament Series Has Begun!

Players Can Qualify Free for Ten Chances to Win

In the biggest tournament series since the re-launch of their video-rich poker room, casino and sportsbook, PlayersOnly.com has just begun its first Million Dollar Free Roll Tournament Series. A total of $1,000,000 will be awarded over the next ten months with winners of monthly finals taking away $75,000 each. Players can win their way to the monthly finals at free rolls held twice a day, at one of three cash satellites with buy-ins as low as $2, or by direct buy-in ($50). There will be special opportunities for Gold Chip players and 25 seats at the final table will be awarded in a unique Deposit Bonus Lottery.

The first monthly final will be on September 30th at 9:00 pm ET. Qualifying matches began last week.

“We’ve got a couple of poker tournaments going right now where the prizes are trips – one to the WPT Turks & Caicos and another to baseball’s World Series,” said PlayersOnly.com Brand Manager David Anderson. “But this series is for cold cash, and lots of it!”

The payout structure for PlayersOnly’s monthly tournaments divide the monthly prize pool so that the winner takes away $75,000 and even second and third place players win $10,000.
Any PlayersOnly.com player can qualify for the monthly finals for free by winning one of 14 free roll qualifiers held each and every week.

PlayersOnly.com’s tables are always busy and with this kind of money at stake they’re bound to be hopping. Those that prefer to avoid high volume free roll satellites can win their seat in the finals in cash buy-in satellites held every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Players with Gold Chip loyalty points can play special qualifiers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays where the buy in is ten Gold Chips. All players also have the option of simply buying in directly at the final table for $50.

25 players will make it to the final table absolutely free, possibly without winning a single hand. For the Deposit Bonus Lottery, each deposit of $100 made with the special bonus code announced prior to each month end final will be one entry in a random draw for free seats at the final.

Europeans Win First WSOP Europe Bracelets

Two European players sponsored by Betfair.com have got the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe off to a flying start by becoming the first people to win a recognized WSOP bracelet outside of the US.

German player Thomas ‘Buzzer’ Bihl had the honour of making poker history yesterday when he took down the first WSOP Europe event, winning £70,875 in the H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Two-time WSOP winner Jennifer Harman from Reno, Nevada, finished in second place after relinquishing a two-to-one chip lead to Bihl, who played a quiet waiting game for most of the 13-hour final table.

Following in Bihl’s footsteps today was another Betfair-sponsored player, Italy’s Dario Alioto of Palermo who won the £5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, £234,390 in cash and the second WSOP gold bracelet ever awarded outside the United States.

The 23-year-old battled past a strong contingent of star players including Roland de Wolfe, Andy Bloch and Ted Forrest, who all cashed, to take the title in the early hours of this morning. Istvan Novak of Hungary took second place and £137,280.

The WSOP Europe £10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event will kick off later today at the Casino at the Empire on Leicester Square, The Sportsman in Marble Arch, and Fifty on St James’ Street.

Source: OnlineCasinoNews.com

Doyle Brunson a True Poker Superstar

My friends Inka and Esther at Lyceum Media arranged a media meet-and-greet for Doyle Brunson in London this week. Here's some pix.

The legendary WSOP superstar was in London for the first WSOP Europe and to launch his online poker room, DoylesRoom.com, to Europeans. As always, a hush fell over the room as the iconic, stetson-wearing Brunson entered the reception area. Brunson has played in every WSOP since it began, and has an armful of gold bracelets to show for it, so it's great that he could make it to London. DoylesRoom.com is the only online poker room where you can actually play against Doyle Brunson!

Chilipoker Signs Poker Diva, Liz Lieu as Ambassador

Chilipoker.com has signed an exclusive contract with talented, astute and stylish Poker Star – Liz Lieu. Liz being an icon in the poker world brings card-playing expertise to the Chilipoker tables with style, versatility and flair.

According to Alexandre Dreyfus, “The partnership between Liz and Chilipoker is the perfect synergy of the aspirational poker lifestyle . Liz fits the concept perfectly. She has a flair for style and has created a unique personal image notwithstanding an aggressive and winning approach at the tables.”

Liz Lieu has secured her stance in the poker world achieving several limit and no-limit hold’em titles and earning over $600,000 in less than two years. Her most recent victory was in the LA Poker Classic last February, winning nothing less than $148,000 and a pledge to donate 20% to charity. Liz is among one of the few most feared high limit cash game player in the Bellagio and Commerce casinos. Her resume is rich of achievements and is considered to be one of the top 2 female poker players in the world.

Founder and CEO, Alexandre Dreyfus states “We are proud to have Liz Lieu as the ambassador of the Chilipoker brand and we are sure that this collaboration will further consolidate our presence in the European and the Asian Markets. We appreciate that Liz has decided to move to London to be closer to our European customer base and we are pleased to communicate to our players that Chilipoker will be organizing regular monthly exclusive tournaments with Liz Lieu. We are flying all the winners to the UK to play with Liz Live in an exclusive tournament that will be broadcasted on various channels.”

Liz Lieu confides, “I was very careful to find a site that I could work with as a true partner and one that had the same aspirations as myself. ChiliPoker is an ambitious site with exciting plans and also offers a lifestyle positioning. I was of course approached by other sites but I like the fact that with Chilipoker I will become an important face of the site. Chilipoker are also very supportive of my charity work and also a percentage of my winnings will go to my charities, which is very important to me.”

Liz lieu will be playing at the WSOPE in London on Monday the 10th of September. All poker enthusiasts will be able to tune in to follow the poker diva’s experience at the WSOP on http://www.chilipoker.com/.



“We are very proud to announce such an innovative feature on our site and give both players and guests the chance to experience the WSOP with Liz”. Chilipoker Players should keep an eye on the Chilipoker school, as the poker diva will soon be revealing some of her best kept tips and winning secrets.

PlayersOnly Hostess is Playboy Magazine’s Babe of the Month

Carrie Stroup, PlayersOnly VIP Players and yours truly to Party at the Playboy Mansion with A-Listers Including Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson & Tyra Banks

Carrie Stroup, host of PlayersOnly.com, is celebrating her Babe-of-the-Month spread in the September issue of Playboy Magazine by partying at the Playboy Mansion this weekend with PlayersOnly.com VIP players and a host of Hollywood celebrities. And I get to take my cameras and follow her around as she schmoozes the crowd just like I did at PlayersOnly.com's last party in Las Vegas.

“I had so much fun doing the shoot for Playboy,” said the actress, model and columnist. “I think the boys from PlayersOnly.com are going to like it. Let’s just say they see a little more of me than they see in all the video animations I did for the lobbies on the new PlayersOnly site!”

As a sponsor of the Players Toast Awards being held at the Playboy Mansion Saturday night, PlayersOnly.com has invited 15 VIP players to live it up at the world’s sexiest party venue with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson and Tyra Banks, all of whom will be receiving Players Toast Awards recognizing their extraordinary lives. Presenters expected include Brandi Williams, Coolio, Danny Bonaduce, Davetta Sherwood, Patti Labelle and Christopher Tyler. Aretha Franklin, Coolio and 2Deep will entertain the A-list crowd.

“It took me, like, five minutes to book a flight and accept this invitation!” said PocketFives.com host Cal Spears from the popular poker community’s new headquarters in Costa Rica. “Playboy Mansion – I’m all in!”

Carrie Stroup, the sexy and charismatic host of the recently re-designed PlayersOnly.com casino, sportsbook and poker room, has appeared in NBC “Scrubs”, movies “Cellular”, “Starsky and Hutch”, “The Girl Next Door”, and “Redline”. She has also appeared in the MTV pilot “Living the Dream” and hosted “VIP Parties Uncensored”. Most recently Carrie completed The Learning Channel show “Faking It”. One of the most recognized models in the world of online gambling, Carrie Stroup has worked exclusively with PlayersOnly.com and Sportsbook.com since 2006.

Carrie is a talented actress and a beautiful model. She’s also a total party girl and clearly enjoyed herself at PlayersOnly.com’s last party at the WSOP in Las Vegas. Photos and video clips from the party at the Sapphire strip club are online: www.lyceummedia.com/playersonly

PlayersOnly.com definitely knows how to throw a party – it’s also one of the busiest poker rooms online and hosts the best tournaments anywhere. PlayersOnly’s Million Dollar Free Roll Series – 10 monthly tournaments each with a $100,000 prize -- began last weekend. Saturday afternoon Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments continue until September 22. The ultimate winner will get a trip to experience World Series baseball first hand. WPT Turks & Caicos satellites for the World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic also continue on Sundays.

InterCasino and InterPoker Obtain Full European Online Casino and Online Poker Licenses

The first of the offshore online gambling companies make their move to Malta

As of September 1st when the new Gambling Act came into effect in the UK, advertising of online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms is now permitted -- but only by companies that are licensed in the UK. It didn't take a genius to predict that many big companies currently licensed offshore in places like Antiqua and Costa Rica will move their businesses to Europe. This is all good for us online gamblers -- it means that more and more online casinos will be regulated by strict jurisdictions.

InterCasino and InterPoker have just been granted online casino gaming and online poker licenses from the government Malta. Pursuant to their licence, the companies have successfully satisfied the stringent requirements of the Maltese government to operate their online gaming business from Malta.

Recognised as blue-chip brands throughout Europe, InterCasino and InterPoker chose to relocate their servers to Malta due to the country’s progressive policy in online gaming regulation, and because of the operational advantages across Europe that an online gaming license within the EU affords. It has already been recognised by the United Kingdom that InterCasino and InterPoker’s Maltese license places these companies on a white-list of compliant operators allowed to advertise within the UK.

Besides players, the other beneficiaries of InterCasino and InterPoker’s Maltese license are the company’s affiliates and marketing partners, who will be able to continue marketing these brands across the EU. “InterCasino and Interpoker are both top quality brands that have been player favourites for years. They are a first choice brand to market, and their new license means that you’ll see a lot more of them in the future,” according to Michael Caselli, Editor-in-Chief of Europe’s #1 poker magazine, Bluff Europe.

“We are very pleased to confirm that InterCasino & InterPoker now have a full European license in the EU territory of Malta.

Following increased regulation of online gaming across the world, InterPoker and InterCasino have moved our business, servers and official license to Malta. We have done this to ensure that all our customers are able to enjoy playing at InterPoker in the full knowledge that their game play will be with the premier European gaming license jurisdiction,” said InterCasino Group Spokesman Peter Marcus.

Intertops Kicks Off NFL & College Football Season for American Sports Bettors

Perfect Season Prop Could Pay Off for Indianapolis Colts Fans


American sports bettors will be pleased to hear that one of the few online sportsbooks still open to U.S. bettors will be sending one lucky punter to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. To celebrate the start of the NFL and college football season this weekend, Intertops is welcoming new customers with a $20 free bet and giving a 20% deposit bonus to all new and existing customers.

While most sportsbooks have pulled out of the U.S. since last season, Intertops continues to accept deposits and pay out winnings reliably. Intertops was established in 1983 and has been one of the most trustworthy online sportsbooks and casinos since 1996.

“Ever since we posted our NFL lines several weeks ago, we’ve welcomed many football fans deserted by sportsbooks that have left the American market,” said Michael Weiss of Intertops.com.


One lucky Intertops.com NFL bettor will be attending the XLII game in Arizona February 3rd. Every wager on Intertops’ NFL regular season betting offers gives one entry into the end-of-the-season draw where the winner of the deluxe Super Bowl package will be drawn randomly. The prize includes luxury accommodation, airfare for two to Arizona and two tickets to the biggest game of the year.


At +300, the New England Patriots are currently the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Intertops bookmakers favor USC (+250) to win the BCS Championship.


In addition to Super Bowl and Rose Bowl wagers, the long-established gambling site offers a wide variety of NFL props including Spread Winner, Over/Under Totals and Straight Up bet on the outcome of the game. The popular casino, poker and sportsbetting site also takes First Half and Second Half Side, Spread Winner and Totals wagers. For anyone that thinks the Indianapolis Colts can top their recent 14 win season, Intertops.com’s Perfect Season proposition may be their best bet.


“Since the Colts came so close a couple of years ago, we’re seeing a lot of interest in our Perfect Season wager,” says Weiss, “Only one team has ever won every regular season game – the Miami Dolphins in 1972. Lots of people think the Colt’s might just pull off such a miracle this year but it’s still a long shot (+2500) so betting on a Perfect Season could really pay off for dedicated Colts fans!”


For all current NFL and college football lines see: www.Intertops.com/sportsbook

New Low-priced Sportsbetting Odds Service Direct from Vegas

Wiseguys.com Re-Launches Website Featuring Non-Download Live Odds, Insider News, Links to Over 1,600 Local Sports Newspapers, Police Blotter

Wiseguys.com has re-launched their non-download live odds service from a direct feed from the Las Vegas Sports Consultants featuring Las Vegas casino and offshore internet sportsbooks. Their low-priced subscription service includes Insider News and links to over 1,600 local sports newspapers.

“We are truly excited to offer our services to the sports betting community all in an easy to use website,” said Scott Schettler, CEO and legendary Vegas sportsbook veteran.

The new design of the website allows for a streamline view of the odds without downloading any software on you computer allowing access on a guest computer and even users’ mobile phones. The Insider News service, slanted towards handicappers without the fluff, provides the true Las Vegas insight on games.

“By adding the latest sports news, scores, match-ups, and along with our premium services, Wiseguys.com is the one-stop shop for sports bettors and handicappers” says Schettler.

The premium service offers a monthly subscription for only $79 or annual subscription for $475, both deeply discounted compared to other live odds providers. A 7-day trial is also available to sample the offering.

“Our non-download lines combined with other features priced at a quarter of the competitors makes Wiseguys an obvious choice” says Eddie Murphy, Wiseguys.com Director of Operations.

The website’s new look and feel features easy to navigate services, cutting edge articles by Las Vegas experts, and the all new “Police Blotter” covering the ever increasing athletic legal trials and tribulations.

Doyle Brunson is coming to London

Doyle Brunson Keynote Speaker at CAP Euro

It’s official - Doyle Brunson is coming to London. The Godfather of poker has agreed to be the keynote speaker at this year's conference, which is anticipated to be the biggest affiliate event of the year.

The legendary poker player will make a rare speaking appearance on the first day of the conference, Friday October 5th at 1 pm. Doyle will be talking about his extensive experiences in poker and how the poker industry has evolved over the five decades he has been playing.

DoylesRoom.com is launching its new-look site on the 1st of September focusing specifically on the UK and rest of Europe. The revamped site, which is an international hub for Texas Hold’em and other popular poker games, considers CAP Euro as one of the best platforms to communicate with European affiliates.

Doyle Brunson said “When CAP Euro invited me to Barcelona to be their keynote speaker, I accepted as it complements our re-launch strategy. Reaching out to so many affiliates like this is the perfect way to generate awareness within Europe of the new look DoylesRoom.com.”

In addition to a story or two, Doyle will be having autograph sessions and photo opportunities on the 5th and 6th.

DoylesRoom.com has received numerous industry awards over the years for its innovative tournaments, responsive customer service and the unique opportunity to play against the Godfather of Poker in the one and only original Bounty Tournament where players can pick up a cool $25,000 by knocking out the three celebrity bounties. To become part of this exciting and fast growing online poker community, simply go to www.doylesroom.com and register.

CAP Euro Barcelona, Europe’s premiere networking event for affiliates and casino operators in the iGaming industry, will be an exciting, interactive three day event taking place on the 5th, 6th and 7th October.

FantasySportsbook.com Launches Legal, Public League and Commissioner-based Fantasy Sportsbook Contest Site

FantasySportsBook.com has announced the launch of their 100% legal, public league and commissioner-based, fantasy based Sportsbook contest website. You can sign up and play for free using the same format found in the Las Vegas casino sportsbooks in a legal and safe manner. FantasySportsBook.com provides authentic odds, match-ups, and ability for players to pick the favorite, underdog, over, and under total score all in a user friendly point and click website.

“FantasySportsBook.com provides everyone, from the casual sports fan to the fantasy sports enthusiast, the ability to compete against each other in a fair, legal, and free environment, with the opportunity to win exciting prizes,” states Director of Operations and Founder, Eddie Murphy.

The website keeps track of all the picks and balances via a leaderboard format and offers cash prizes each week to the players with the highest winning balance. The grand prizes based on the total season winning balances earns a trip to championship game for each sport including NFL, NCAAF, NBA, NCAAB, and NHL, 65” Big Screen TV, and XBOX game consoles. The company also is planning on adding more sports in the future and spreading the format in overseas markets.

In addition to the free public league, FantasySportsBook.com has launched the first authentic fully functioning commissioner-based fantasy sportsbook. This subscription-based product works like the traditional fantasy format where a commissioner subscribes, sets the rules (including fictional bankroll and betting requirements), then invites their buddies.

“Our Commissioner Fantasy Sportsbook offers a truly unique experience for those players who want to compete in an environment where they don’t risk any real money, while getting the real Las Vegas sportsbook experience. Players can even place parlays and teasers, using flexible bet amounts,” says Murphy.
Other contest and commissioner based formats in development include survivor and team fantasy sportsbook.

“As the fantasy sports industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, it’s great to see companies like FantasySportsbook.com introduce new and unique products that meet the demands of the fantasy player and sports enthusiast” says Fantasy Sports Trade Association President and SportsBuff.com Founder Jeff Thomas.“

PlayersOnly.com Unleashes Players at Playboy Mansion Awards Ceremony

Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson & Tyra Banks among those to receive Players Toast Awards

Yup, real tough life I've got... I'm in London now for the opening of WSOP Europe next week. When I go home I'll hardly have time to unpack and I'll be off to Los Angeles -- Beverly Hills to be precise -- for a party at the Playboy Mansion. Jealous yet? Read on!

To celebrate the recent re-launch of the world’s sexiest online casino and poker room, PlayersOnly.com is sponsoring another celebrity fundraiser at the sexiest party venue on the planet, the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. 15 PlayersOnly.com VIPs players will attend the star-studded $1000-a-plate dinner September 8th with the PO’s hostess Carrie Stroup -- Playboy Magazine’s “Babe of the Month” for September.

One especially lucky PlayersOnly.com player will win a $10,000 prize package including travel, luxury accommodation in Beverly Hills, and two tickets to the fundraising event. Players are entered in a random draw when they make a $100 deposit between now and Saturday midnight (one entry per player). Deposits earn a reload bonus of 30%.

The event at the Playboy Mansion is the annual Players Toast Awards that recognize high profile individuals who have accomplished great tasks in their careers without forgetting about their roots. Hosts for the evening are the always-articulate hip-hop artist Ice-T and his wife model Nicole Austin. Awards will be presented to Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, P Diddy, Jay Z, Magic Johnson, Tyra Banks, Harvey Nobel, Judge Mathis, Cicely Tyson, the Maloof Family and the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman. Presenters expected include Brandi Williams, Coolio, Danny Bonaduce, Davetta Sherwood, Patti Labelle, Christopher Tyler. Entertainers expected include Aretha Franklin, Coolio and 2Deep.

Proceeds from the evening will benefit The Art of Elysium, a foundation that helps artists who volunteer time and talent to benefit children battling serious medical conditions.

“We only have a few tickets for this event this time,” said PO Manager David Anderson. “Not like the party we did in Vegas last month where we could invite hundreds of players. I don’t even get to go myself this time – we can just send a few lucky tournament winners and some of our VIP players.”

This isn’t the first time PlayersOnly.com has sent players to the Playboy Mansion. In April and again in June the site sent special free roll tournament winners to play in celebrity fundraiser poker tournaments at Hef’s place.

“Let’s just say there were a few distractions that night” recalls the April winner that played in the All Star Tournament at the Mansion after winning an online tournament at PO. “It was kinda hard to concentrate on my game and I was eliminated pretty fast but it was a fantastic party that’s for sure!”

PlayersOnly.com Poker has been busy all summer with two tournament series currently in progress. Every Saturday there’s the Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments that will send 2 players to the World Series. Winners of the Sunday tournament series will play in the World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic Main Event in the Caribbean this fall. For further information on PlayersOnly.com’s WPT Turks & Caicos satellites see: http://www.playersonly.com/contest/WPT-Turks-Caicos/index.php.

Backgammon Community Adds Blackjack to Free Multilingual Games Site

Free Contest Rewards Backgammon Players for Taking a Blackjack Break


The popular online games community, BackgammonMasters.com has added multiplayer Blackjack to its suite of games which already includes Backgammon, Perudo and Poker. To encourage their Backgammon players to take a Blackjack break, the site is presenting a free Blackjack contest with daily cash prizes to the player that plays the most hands of Blackjack each day until September 4th.

BackgammonMasters.com networked game software is the only free software of its kind which offers all of its games in one download from one site. All games are available in ten languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, French, Japanese, Danish, Greek and German. The BackgammonMasters software has fast become a leader in the game industry due in large part to its powerful platform which contains a network of thousands of players at any given time. By adding the ever-popular BlackJack to its game lobby, industry experts predict that BackgammonMasters will triple its traffic.

The BackgammonMasters BlackJack game offers a multiplayer table where up to five players are spaciously seated and playing at the same table simultaneously, with the option of participating in real-time chat. Besides the sophisticated graphics and avatar modes, the software includes a unique View Mode adding another dimension to the fast-paced game whereby players can sit in on an existing game and watch the action before joining in.

For new players and experienced players that want to improve their game, BackgammonMasters.com has a library an extensive library of articles on how to play and win Backgammon, Perudo and Poker. A collection of articles on Blackjack play and strategy has been added to the library.

American Punters Look for Reliable U.S. Sportsbooks for NFL Bets

Long-established Intertops has pre-season and regular season NFL odds online now

The first online sportsbook to post NFL lines this season is the most reliable choice for American bettors looking for a safe book to take their football wagers. Although sports bettors typically have accounts at several sportsbooks, legislative developments that have forced many operators out of the U.S. over the last year have prompted many bettors to consolidate into one or two accounts with the most trustworthy books remaining in the American market. Intertops.com – the first company to ever take an online sports bet in 1996 – has earned players’ trust over the last eleven years and is one of the few online sportsbooks that has remained open to bettors in the U.S.

“I like to gamble on sports,” said one sportsbetting forum post. “I don’t like to gamble on whether or not I’m going to be able to collect my winnings!”

Intertops hasn’t had problems accepting payments or paying out winnings like the books that have left the American market did. They’ve stuck by their American customers.

"So many big books have closed their doors to Americans,” said Intertops bookmaker Andy Donahue. “We’ve had a lot of action on NFL bets ever since we posted our early lines in June.”

Lines for pre-season NFL games are posted at Intertops Sportsbook on Thursdays. Current regular season odds are also posted here: http://www.intertops.com/sportsbook/cgi-win-2/itwww.exe?app=itbet.exe?sprtyp=AF;scrncd=BI;compno=1018;lan=e;hide=true

From this Friday until Sunday August 19th, Intertops is giving a 20% reload deposit bonus (maximum $250) on all deposit methods. Most market competitors will not be giving away offers like this until the first weekend in September – when, of course, Intertops.com will also be back with another great deposit special. But with 20 days to go until the September 6th NFL kick off, Intertops.com is kick-starting the season with this "20% for 20 days to go" special for its customers.

The long-established gambling site offers a wide variety of NFL props including Spread Winner, Over/Under Totals and Straight Up bet on the outcome of the game. The popular casino, poker and sportsbetting site also takes First Half and Second Half Side, Spread Winner and Totals wagers.

This will be the 88th season of America’s National Football League (NFL). Last year’s Super Bowl champions, Indianapolis Colts, kick off the regular season September 6th when they meet the New Orleans Saints at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

$50,000 Prize Money at DoylesRoom.com Summer Free Rolls Finale

Winner to Play Face-to-Face With Legendary Doyle Brunson


DoylesRoom.com is giving online poker players the opportunity to face poker legend Doyle Brunson in a big money heads-up online cash game. The top poker site concludes it Summer Series of Freerolls with a no buy-in $25,000 Grand Finale event, where the winner will play poker legend Doyle Brunson for an additional $25,000!

Yes, it’s true - the winner of the Grand Finale will get the opportunity to play heads-up against the great Doyle Brunson, the biggest name in poker. The Grand Finale Freeroll will take place at 7:30pm GMT on Wednesday September 19th.

To play, simply register at DoylesRoom.com, where you will find the $25,000 Finale Freeroll, labelled in green under the Freerolls list option of the multi-table tournaments (MTTs). To get into this fantastic freeroll simply play 25 raked hands (minimum 25 cents in rake) in the ten days before registering for the tourney. The winner of the Finale Freeroll will not only win the first place prize money in that game but will go forward to a heads-up match against Doyle Brunson on September 30th. If he or she can beat Doyle heads-up, in addition to the ultimate bragging rights, they’ll walk away with a further $25,000.

Source: Online Casino News

Doyle Brunson Is Coming to London!

Poker legend “Texas Dolly” crosses the pond to launch his new-look poker site

Legendary Vegas poker pro Doyle Brunson will be in London in September to introduce the UK and Europe to his online poker room, DoylesRoom.com.

His visit will also coincide with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe, the first event of its kind, which is taking place in London and kicks off on September 6th.

Brunson, nicknamed ‘Texas Dolly’, is one of the biggest names in the poker world. His list of achievements is endless: he was the first player to earn $1 million in tournaments and has picked up an amazing 10 WSOP bracelets throughout a glittering career.

Doyle Brunson wrote his name into the poker history books when he won consecutive WSOP Main Event bracelets in 1976 and 1977 and remains one of only four men to do so. Given his track record it is little wonder BLUFF magazine last year named him the ‘Most Influential Force in the World of Poker’.

He has taught millions how to play the game with his book Super System, published in 1978, and an updated version, Super System 2, released in 2004. His latest book, My 50 Most Memorable Hands, reveals 50 of the greatest poker hands he’s ever played.

Doyle’s move into online was a natural progression and has proved a great success. The DoylesRoom.com website offers tournaments, great cash games, and sit ‘n’ gos as well as advice from Mike Caro, founder of the first permanent poker school. The site boasts the highest and lowest limit tables on the web and attracts celebrity players including his son Todd Brunson.

“I've watched poker evolve for over 50 years now and I continue to play in some of the biggest games in the world," said Brunson. "If you want to go heads up against me, look out for my screen name TEX_DOLLY.”

There’s no better time to log on to DoylesRoom.com as the site is offering a number of exclusive weekly Summer Freerolls. The tournaments culminate in a $25,000 “Finale Freeroll” where the winner will get not only their share of the prize pool but the opportunity to play heads-up against Brunson for an additional $25,000 prize.

Gambling Commission Report Shows Online Gambling Alive and Very Well in UK

The UK's Gambling Commission has just published new statistics showing that the number of Brits that gamble on their computer or their mobile phone continues to increase.

Hmmm... Why would that be I wonder? Because it's so much fun maybe? Or because Britain is the best market for online gambling companies these days so there's so many great online casinos and poker rooms and sportsbetting sites to choose from?!

Last year, 7.4% of those surveyed had participated in some form of online gambling. This year it's up to 8.6% Course, leave out those who's only form of gambling is national lotteries and it's 5.9%, up from 5.2%.

Mobile gambling is gaining popularity in Britain even faster. About a million and a half people had placed a bet using their mobile phone in the month preceding the survey. As mobile phones get better and better, and the cost of using the internet on your phone goes down, next year's numbers will no doubt skyrocket. (Hey, if you're into mobile gambling, take the Online & Mobile Slots Players Survey.)

For more stats from the UK Gambling Commission report there's an article on OnlineCasinoNews.com.

Weekly WPT Turks & Caicos Satellites Continue Through the Summer

PlayersOnly.com Awarding $12K World Poker Tour Prize Packs

The World Poker Tour is making its first stop in the beautiful Turks and Caicos this fall and PlayersOnly.com Poker is giving players a chance to enjoy surf, sand, sun and a shot at fame and fortune at this televised WPT event. World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic prize packages that include travel, accommodation and a seat at the Main Event will be awarded to Super Satellite tournament winners and to leaderboard champs.

Players can qualify for a seat in a Super Satellite for as little as $2. PlayersOnly.com is also rewarding its loyalty program participants by offering two free seats to players topping their Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard .

“There’s a million dollars guaranteed to the winner, and the final table is going to be televised,” said PlayersOnly.com Manager David Anderson. “So WPT Turks and Caicos should attract some high profile competition!”

The Players' Club Turks and Caicos Poker Classic is a World Poker Tour tournament being held at the Club Med resort. The tropical islands just south of the Bahamas are where Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria and basketball star Tony Parker spent their honeymoon in July after their 7/7/07 wedding. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner got married there and Julia Roberts, Jerry Seinfeld, Barbra Streisand, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake all love the secluded paradise.

"It's important to continue delivering fresh and exciting experiences for our players and fans on both the tournament and television level," said Steve Lipscomb of the WPT. "By adding WPT stops in beautiful locations around the world season six is our best year yet."

There are two ways for PlayersOnly.com players to qualify to win the prize packages: by winning the weekly Super Satellite or by playing their way to the top 100 on the Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard.

Weekly Super Satellite’s began July 8th and continue until September 9th at 5:00 pm each Sunday. Direct buy-in for these events is $200 but players can also qualify for them at Sit & Go and multi-table cash satellites in the week leading up.

Regular PO players collect Gold Cards in real money ring games. Each Gold Card is worth points on the Gold Card Poker Tour Leaderboard. The top players on that list will qualify for the playoff matches.

PlayersOnly.com’s $12,000 Prize Pack includes registration in the WPT Turks & Caicos Main Event ($7700), seven nights at Club Med (Turquoise) and $1800 cash paid directly to the winner’s real money account for airfare.

The PlayersOnly.com Poker Room is part of the Cake Poker network, one of the fastest growing poker networks open to American poker players. The poker room is part of PlayersOnly.com’s graphically-rich, ultra realistic casino environment hosted by model and gambling columnist Carrie Stroup.

In addition to this Sunday tournament series, PlayersOnly.com is also presenting a weekly Saturday free roll series: the grand prize winner of the Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments will win an all expense paid trip to the World Series this fall. Free roll qualifiers are held every Saturday at 3:30 pm EST – just as Fox Television broadcasts Saturday afternoon games.

Humans Win First Man-vs-Machine Poker Tournament

I was reading an email from my boss in London telling me to get down to the Artificial Intelligence Conference in Vancouver just as the first ever Man vs Computer Poker Challenge headlining the event was being featured on the morning TV news. A bunch of computer geeks from the University of Alberta was in town for the Association for the Advancement of Artifical Intelligence annual conference with a computer program they said could beat any poker pro. Two well-known professional poker players, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and “Prince” Ali Esmali were playing against a computer program called Polaris. This I had to see!

I knew I’d stepped into some sort of parallel universe the minute I walked through the doors of the Hyatt Hotel where the conference was in progress. There was a laptop charging in every available electrical outlet in the hotel lobby, and all manner of geeks jostled for the best positions for wi-fi reception.

My trek to the Man vs Machine Poker Tournament took me past several large meeting rooms filled with studious looking computer programmers absorbed in presentation screens cluttered with formulas and charts and long words about logic and probability…

When I arrived at the Tournament site, poker pro Phil Laak was about halfway through five hundred hands of poker against Polaris and their chip stacks were about even.

The tournament format was designed to reduce the luck element and increase the chances that the match will be won based on skill -- cards dealt in the first match to the human are dealt to the computer in the second match, and vice versa. During the two-day tournament, Laak and Esmali took turns playing against the computer in the public room where a nice little crowd gathered to see if the humans could outwit the computer, while the other played the computer in another room.

Two years ago at the 2005 WSOP Laak took on and defeated an earlier version of the Polaris software called Poki-X. This time out, the program has more human abilities – it can now bluffs and it can read an opponent’s style of play and adjust accordingly.

After a Draw in the first of the four sessions, Polaris won the second round. The humans fired back in the third session taking the teams into the final match tied. Laak and Eslami won the final session by $570 to become the first Champions of the first ever Man vs Machine Poker Challenge.

Listening to Laak’s banter with the computer, one thing I noticed is that, as in any poker game, it still seems to be a matter of observing your opponent and predicting their next action based on their previous actions. Laak would say things like “Well, he always folds on even semi-shitty hands, so I know he’s gonna fold…” and “What should I do? It’s impossible to know what he’s gonna do here…”
The first official poker competition between humans and computers, organised by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), was held in Vancouver, Canada July 22-26. AAAI is is a nonprofit scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines.

Polaris Team Leader Dr. Jonathan Schaeffer believes this week’s event is an evolution of the 1997 match between IBM's "Deep Blue" chess program and Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion at the time.

"The difference is that chess is a game of perfect knowledge, meaning there is nothing hidden from the players. In poker you can't see your opponent's hand and you don't know what cards will be dealt. This makes poker a much harder challenge for computer scientists from an artificial intelligence perspective," Schaeffer said.

My boss bet me a pint that the humans would win. Time to pay up. :(



Opening remarks at the Man vs Poker tournament on YouTube

Online Slots Player Proves Even $2 Bets Can Be Exciting

Slotland Winner Calls $615 Win a Jackpot

A regular at Slotland.com has proven that even a $2 bet can get your heart pounding and a $600 win can feel like a jackpot. Player “CHAROO“ says that her $2 might as well have been a million and that winning her $17 balance up to $615 made for one her most exciting nights of online slots ever!

“I can’t exactly retire on $600,“ laughed the winner, “But that night sure was the best run of good luck I’ve ever had. I’m still shaking my head!“

After playing the $150 she budgeted each month for playing online slots down to just $17, CHAROO was ready to pack it in. She’s glad she didn’t though because that night luck was on her side.

“I sat down with my last seventeen bucks and went right to my favourite online slot machine, Treasure Box,” wrote the winner. “I was betting $2 and on my first pull I hit the Double Win symbols. On my second pull, I hit three different colored ones for $30. After I hit some other $5 and $10 pots, I held one green seven and then had two more given to me for $125 -- all within 20 minutes!”

“I continued to play and again hit three green sevens for another $125. I left there with about $300 and switched to the Striking Sevens slot machine and after only ten minutes I hit a Straight Flush for $65 -- not once but twice! Leaving there, I went to the Jacks or Better video poker game and kept my winning streak going. I was hitting Full Houses and Flushes like there was no tomorrow! I kept my bets below the max because I felt luckier that way. After about an hour, I hit four tens for $125 and 20 minutes later I hit four twos for another $125.

“I managed to keep my little bank roll playing for hours and before I went to bed I closed the night out with two Wild Royal Flushes on the Santa’s Sleigh machine. I hit big with small bets and look forward to turning this $600 into $60,000!”

Slotland.com, where victories like Charoo’s are celebrated every day and major jackpot wins happen every few weeks, features 13 unique games and is the most popular slot machine and video poker web site in the world. Slotland.com/mobile, which is compatible with virtually every phone model including Blackberry and the new iPhone, brings the five best games to mobile phones and PDAs.

Fox Baseball World Series Tournament – Free Roll This Saturday

Poker Tournament Champion Wins World Series Travel Package

Weekly Free Roll Qualifier: Saturdays at 3:30 pm EST; Final: September 22

Playing poker and watching baseball on TV simultaneously could be a multitasking nightmare for some couch potatoes, but the boys at PlayersOnly.com are mastering the art of poker between pitches. The grand prize winner of the Fox Baseball World Series Free Roll Tournaments will win an all expense paid trip to the World Series this fall. Free roll qualifiers began last weekend and continue this Saturday at 3:30 pm EST – just as Fox Television broadcasts Saturday afternoon games.

The top ten players in this weekend’s free roll will advance to the Fox Baseball World Series Tournament Final on September 22nd. Those that don’t win their way to the final table can buy into the $50.00 + $5.00 buy-in freeze-out tourney. Tournament details are posted here: http://www.playersonly.com/poker/free-roll.

“We’ve always got tournaments happening. Tournaments are a great way to get poker experience,” said PlayersOnly.com Manager David Anderson. “All you risk is the buy-in fee – so in a free roll you risk nothing. Everyone starts with the same stack of chips. And you play until one player has them all.”

This Saturday and every Saturday this summer, players will start with 1500 chips and advance through 8-minute levels. The top ten players – the Final Table – will automatically win a seat at the Grand Final Tournament on September 22nd. The winner of the Grand Final tournament will receive a deluxe travel package to attend the World Series including two box seats to Game 1, first class air for two, hotel suite and limo to and from stadium. The runner-up will receive two field level seats, coach air for two, a standard hotel room and limo to and from stadium. The Third Place player can watch the game from home on his new Proton 37" LCD TV.

For those extreme multitaskers that can play poker, watch TV AND predict who’ll take the pennant this fall, as of today the PlayersOnly.com Sportsbook favors the Detroit Tigers at 7-2 to win the World Series, followed by the Boston Red Sox at 4-1, the New York Mets at 6-1 and the Los Angeles Angels at 8-1.

In the recently re-designed PlayersOnly site, players enter the trendy, up-scale Poker Room, Sportsbook or Casino from the sexy, ultra-realistic Main Lobby where they’re greeted by site host Carrie Stroup and the ladies of PlayersOnly.

In addition to this Saturday tournament series, PlayersOnly.com is also presenting a Sunday free roll series where the winner will play in the WPT in Turks & Caicos. WPT Turks & Caicos satellites are held every Sunday.

PlayersOnly.com will award more than $25,000 in cash and prizes during this summer’s online poker free roll tournaments.