A professional poker player, who doubled as the longtime attorney for the rock band the Grateful Dead, is dead.

According to media reports, Harold “Hal” Kant, 77, of Reno, Nevada, USA, who earned a championship gold bracelet and $174,000 for winning a pot-limit Omaha tournament at the 1987 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, died October 19 in Reno from pancreatic cancer. (more…)

A West Virginia woman, who along with an accomplice robbed a poker game at gunpoint last year, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

According to media reports, Jacqueline Dennis, 25, of Huntingdon, West Virginia, USA, received the sentence from Putnam County Circuit Court Judge O.C. Spaulding on Friday. (more…)

A Hollywood production company has signed a deal to produce a new reality television show about poker.

Circa PIctures and Production Company International Inc. announced this week in a press release that it has signed an exclusive option agreement for a new reality TV show called “Lucky 7 Pro.” (more…)

There is a University of Florida and a University of North Carolina and, of course, a University of Nevada.

Now there is a University of Poker. (more…)

Will people shell out big bucks merely to watch other people play poker?

Apparently so, at least in Las Vegas, the Gambling Capital of the World. (more…)

Aren’t there enough online poker tournaments on the Internet already?

Apparently not. (more…)

A new website called Poker Software provides online poker players with everything they need to know about–what else?–poker software.

Located on the Internet at www.pokersoftware.com and operated from San Jose, Costa Rica, the site in a news release declares that it is, “loaded with professional video reviews and informative breakdowns of the leading online poker software.” (more…)

Only in the world of poker can someone viewed as a person of low moral character be seen as a hero.

The latest example? (more…)

Officials in the State of North Carolina have destroyed almost two dozen video poker machines that they said were unlawful and were confiscated in raids.

According to media reports, members of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday morning destroyed 20 illegal video poker machines. (more…)

Zosoz?

Yep, Zosoz! (more…)

Las Vegas poker pro Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson, a multi-millionaire who routinely bets $50,000 or more on NFL games, is blasting the U.S. government for bailing out failed American financial institutions.

So now Brunson is an expert on economics? (more…)

Political candidates in South Carolina disagreed sharply this week over whether the state should legalize video poker.

At a political forum Tuesday at the Charleston County Library in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, opposing State Senate candidates sparred over the issue, according to media accounts of the forum. (more…)

Contrary to popular belief, not all professional poker players are greedy, money-grubbing bastards.

Most are, for sure, but a handful are not. (more…)

A Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Club in Sanford, Maine, USA, has been raided by the State Police, who confiscated several video poker machines.

According to media reports, members of the Maine State Police’s Special Investigations Unit, armed with a search warrant, raided the club on October 3. (more…)

The biggest poker tournament in the history of New Zealand has been won by–surprise, surprise–a New Zealander!

Daniel Craker, 30, a full-time plasterer and part-time poker player from Lower Hutt, New Zealand, on Saturday won the Sky City Festival of Poker Main Event, a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament that had 306 entrants, payouts to the Top 32, a buy-in of 3,000 New Zealand dollars (about 1,800 U.S. dollars) and a total prize pool of about 800,000 New Zealand dollars (about 480,000 U.S. dollars). (more…)

The people who run professional baseball are less uptight than the people who run professional football.

And that’s a good thing for people involved in professional poker. (more…)

Forty people, including some who are soldiers at a nearby U.S. Army base, were charged by police with gambling offenses after a poker tournament in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA, was raided.

According to media reports, members of the Fayetteville Police Department and the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division executed a search warrant on a Fayetteville building on October 3 and found an illegal poker tournament in progress. (more…)

A man in Saipan was arrested for beating his wife after she complained about his poker playing.

According to media reports, Shou Ji Zheng, 39, of Saipan, was arrested Thursday and charged with assault and battery after punching his wife. (more…)

A trust fund that belonged to the daughter of the artist who painted the world’s most famous poker painting has endowed a California college half a million dollars.

According to media reports, the trust fund that belonged to Marcella B. Coolidge, daughter of artist C. M. Coolidge, has endowed $500,000 to the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) to support lifelong learning for mature adults. (more…)

A former sheriff in North Carolina was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for taking bribes from illegal video poker operators.

According to media reports, Bobby Medford, 63, who was the sheriff for 12 years in Buncombe County, North Carolina, USA, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Ellis for his role in a gambling and bribery scheme that netted the ex-lawman over $300,000. (more…)

A poker player who shares the name of the American Civil War’s most famous photographer has won a Caribbean poker tournament.

Matthew Brady, 27, of Havertown, Pennsylvania, USA, on Saturday won the 2008 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic, an offline poker tournament run by online poker room Ultimate Bet (www.ultimatebet.com) at the Radisson Hotel and Casino on the tiny Caribbean island nation of Aruba. (more…)

So-called “legal in the USA” online poker room Duplicate Poker (www.duplicatepoker.com) has pulled the plug.

A notice posted Sunday on the Duplicate Poker website reads: “Dear players: Duplicate is sadly bidding farewell to its players. Caught in the middle of the global financial situation, the company is not able to continue to provide service. We are a small victim of the global financial crisis. Regretfully, as of the today, October 5th, 2008, we are closing our service. We thank our players for being with us. Hopefully at later time and in a better economic climate, Duplicate Poker will reappear. Sincerely, The Duplicate Poker Team.” (more…)

A United States senator has introduced a new bill in the U.S. Congress to legalize online poker in the USA.

According to media reports, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez introduced legislation last week that would “establish a legal framework to license and regulate online poker in the United States.” (more…)

Paul Newman was Cool Hand Luke.

Now there’s Cool Hand Poker. (more…)

Irish online poker room Boyle Poker (www.boylepoker.com) announced this week that is has signed Irish poker pro Padraig Parkinson as a paid flack.

Under an agreement, Parkinson will participate in online poker tournaments at the Boyle Poker website, and also represent the online room in offline poker tournaments on the international poker circuit, the room announced in a news release. (more…)

So just who is John Juanda, who this week earned almost $2 million for winning the Main Event at the second annual World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in London, England?

For one thing, he’s the most famous person in years to win a WSOP or WSOPE Main Event. (more…)

Here are some facts and figures about the just-completed 2008 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event, as provided by WSOPE statisticians:

The winner, John Juanda, has now made the final table of a WSOP or WSOPE event 23 times… (more…)

Noted poker pro John Juanda is the winner of the Main Event at the second annual World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) at the Empire Casino in London, England.

Juanda, 37, who was born in Indonesia and immigrated to the USA as a youth, collects 868,800 British pounds for the big victory, or about $1.7 million. (more…)

Danish poker pro Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen is truly a great poker player, having won nearly six million dollars in career poker tournament earnings.

But when it comes to running a website–even one about poker–he is just as inept as the next clown who thinks anyone can sit down at a computer and create and operate a successful website. Hansen’s website, at www.theplayr.com (that’s “player” without the “e”), has announced it is pulling the plug. (more…)

Looking for the nearest casino or card room poker tournament?

But too lazy–or busy–to call all area casinos and card rooms or look up their websites? (more…)