The online poker industry is bracing for a full-frontal attack on its credibility–and perhaps, its very existence–from a top investigative television show.

Several poker writers have reported that they were recently contacted by the American TV news show “60 Minutes” for information and interviews about the recent cheating scandal at online poker room Absolute Poker. (more…)

A charity poker tournament planned by students at the University of North Carolina has been cancelled after the legality of the event was questioned.

According to media reports, the event, dubbed “Hold ‘em for Hunger,” was to be a Texas hold ‘em tourney to be played on April 20, 2008, on the school’s campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. (more…)

What men do, women can, too.

Van Nguyen, wife of top poker pro Men “The Master” Nguyen, recently became the first woman to win a World Poker Tour (WPT) event when she won the WPT’s Celebrity Invitational. (more…)

Poker personality Mike Sexton has been hired to be a paid flack for the National League of Poker (NLOP), a so-called “legal” online poker room that is based in suburban Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The room, at www.nlop.com, announced in a news release that Sexton has signed an exclusive contract to be the “featured spokesman for its online presence.” (more…)

Poker lobbying group the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has formed an organization to provide free legal advice about poker-related issues.

The organization, called the PPA Litigation Support Network, will assist everyone from those arrested in poker raids to those who simply have questions about the legality of a poker fundraiser. (more…)

European online sportsbook Bet Click (www.betclick.com) is branching out–into the poker business.

The longtime Internet sports betting site, which is based in the U.K., recently added online poker to its repertoire of gambling options. (more…)

The dates have been announced for the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE).

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., owner and operator of the WSOP and the WSOPE, announced this week that the second annual WSOPE will be held September 19 through October 1, 2008, in London, England. (more…)

A professional poker player and his wife who were both found dead in their home last week were murdered, authorities said Monday.

And the killings are being investigated to see whether poker played any role, they said. (more…)

With the exception of Phil “Poison” Ivey–who is the top black poker player in the world–one rarely sees a black face on any of the many poker shows on television.

Most of the participants on those shows are either white or Asian, but now cable channel Black Entertainment Television (BET) is looking to change the complexion of things. (more…)

A former high school vice-principal has been fined for providing vice.

According to media reports, James McDowell, 33, of Wasilla, Alaska, USA, the former vice-principal of Chugiak High School in Chugiak, Alaska, USA, on Friday was fined $5,000 and given a suspended two-year jail sentence for operating an illegal poker den in Wasilla. (more…)

A professional poker player and his wife were found dead Friday in their home near Oakland, California, USA, and authorites are investigating the deaths as homicides.

According to media reports, Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and his wife, Charlene Abendroth, 57, were found dead Friday morning shortly before 1 a.m. in their home at the Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton, California, USA, near Oakland. (more…)

Another cheating scandal has rocked the world of online poker, as allegations have surfaced that at least one player has cheated while playing at online poker room Ultimate Bet (www.ultimatebet.com).

The new scandal breaks on the heels of the recent Absolute Poker (www.absolutepoker.com) cheating scandal, which saw that online room fined half a million dollars by a regulatory agency after it was revealed the room allowed a player to use special software to cheat and see opponents’ hole cards. (more…)

PokerHelper.com poker news reporter Tom Somach will be a guest on poker author Tony Guerrera’s Internet radio show on Friday, March 14, 2008.

The show, “Killer Poker Analysis,” on the Rounders Radio Internet radio station, will air live from 8-9 pm Eastern Time. (more…)

Never one to overdo a subject to death, Hollywood has come out with yet another movie about poker.

The latest poker flick, “The Grand,” is scheduled to open in movie theaters in New York and Los Angeles on March 21, and in the rest of the USA, as well as Canada and elsewhere, two weeks later. (more…)

Top poker pro Huck Seed has won the Main Event of the 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championships.

The Main Event, a $5,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold ‘em tourney with a field of 64 and total prize pool of $320,000, was held this week at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (more…)

The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced Thursday that it lost money–big money–last year.

The professional poker players’ tour, which is televised on cable TV, announced that it lost $9.6 million in 2007. (more…)

A professional poker player who owes more than $100,000 in back child support payments has turned himself in to authorities and been placed in jail.

A felony arrest warrant had been issued for the so-called “Bad Beat Deadbeat,” Scott A. Obst of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, by authorities in the State of Wisconsin, after the 39-year-old poker pro failed to appear in court in Wisconsin to face charges he owes $160,000 in back child support payments for a teen-aged boy he fathered. (more…)

The chief executive officer of Party Gaming PLC, parent company of online poker room Party Poker (www.partypoker.com), has announced his resignation, effective next year.

According to media reports, CEO Mitch Garber, who joined the Gibraltar-based company in 2006, will leave when his contract expires on May 1, 2009. (more…)

It isn’t enough that participants in private poker games have to worry about being robbed by bandits or other players.

Now they have to worry about cops ripping them off! (more…)

Tennis player Boris “Boom Boom” Becker of Germany is the latest professional athlete to turn professional poker player. Becker, 40, who was known for his booming serve and who was once ranked the No. 1 male tennis pro in the world, told a German newspaper this week that he recently started playing poker seriously.

“I have already been playing intensively since last year,” said Becker, who won the men’s singles tennis title at Wimbledon three times and formally retired in 1999. (more…)

The largest poker tournament ever to be held in Russia is scheduled to take place later this year.

Called the White Night Millions, the poker tourney is to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, which was formerly called Leningrad. (more…)

Poker players in the U.S. who win big in the nation’s casinos and card rooms will no longer be able to keep their winnings a secret from Uncle Sam.

Starting this week, all American casinos and card rooms will be required by law to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) anyone who wins $5,000 or more playing in a poker tournament. (more…)

Jesus not only saves, he wins too.

Top poker pro Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was the winner of the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, held last Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (more…)