Lost in the release this week by World Series of Poker (WSOP) organizers of the 2009 WSOP schedule was the announcement that this year’s WSOP would contain no rebuy tournaments.

(Unlike typical poker tournaments, in rebuy tourneys participants who run out of chips can buy more.) (more…)

The owners of the Super Bowl-playing Pittsburgh Steelers are involved in a controversial lawsuit about, of all things, poker.

According to media reports, the Rooney family, which has owned the NFL’s Steelers for decades, also owns a combination greyhound racetrack and poker room in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, called the West Palm Beach Kennel Club. (more…)

The envelope, please!

Online poker room PKR (www.pkr.com) has won the Academy Award of Internet poker. (more…)

Professional poker player David Peat says he was rousted at an airport by Federal agents who thought he was a drug dealer because he was carrying a lot of cash.

Peat, of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, earlier this week relayed the harrowing tale at the poker-themed posting forum, Two By Two (www.twobytwo.com). (more…)

If you have a bad hand in poker, you fold it.

The same goes for a bad poker show. (more…)

Poker has crashed the (former) Iron Curtain.

The Poker Channel, a cable and satellite television network until now seen only in Western Europe, has announced its first foray into formerly-Communist Eastern Europe. (more…)

A poker crackdown this week on Long Island resulted in 17 arrests.

According to media reports, police in Nassau County, New York, USA, raided several business establishments on Wednesday night in Freeport and Roosevelt, towns on Long Island, in search of illegal video poker machines. (more…)

The reputations of former NBA stars Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley as big gamblers may be under challenge.

From Allen Iverson. (more…)

Steve “Thorladen” Weinstein is the winner of the 2009 Borgata Winter Poker Open.

The no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament had a $3,000 buy-in and 1,017 entrants, giving it a total prize pool of over $3 million and making it one of the most prestigous poker tourneys in the world outside of Las Vegas. (more…)

A new poker magazine is slated to debut soon.

Dennis Publishing Ltd. has announced it will launch “the first ever business-to-business poker magazine” later this month. (more…)

A power-ful man has won a prestigious poker tournament.

Sam Dickson, of Oxbow, Saskatchewan, Canada, is the first Canadian in history to win the North Dakota Texas Hold ‘em Championship Tournament. (more…)

A well-respected university professor holds a public lecture.

He’s an expert on the topic he’s lecturing about. (more…)

Looking for some poker instruction, without having to leave home?

Poker Swat may be just the ticket. (more…)

Dates and events for the next World Series of Poker (WSOP) have been announced by the WSOP.

Among the highlights: (more…)

George Costanza, poker shill?

Whatever floats your (full) boat! (more…)

A poker club in Albany, New York, USA, was shut down by police on Wednesday, just hours after a man leaving a poker game there was beaten and robbed of thousands of dollars.

According to media reports, police shut down the Azzurri club, which was operating illegally. (more…)

A game of poker in Montana turned violent Friday.

According to media reports, a poker game among patrons at the Kingpin Lounge and Lanes, a combination bar and bowling alley in Butte, Montana, USA, was ending at around 5 a.m. Friday when one of the poker players, Sarah Petrakis, became involved in an argument with several other poker players. (more…)

Apparently, porn can be sustained, but poker can not.

According to media reports, online poker room Playboy Poker (www.playboypoker.com) is planning soon to close its doors permanently. (more…)

Professional snowboarders and professional poker players are to square off in Sin City for a common good.

A charity poker tournament to fight global warming is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. (more…)

How popular is video poker Down Under?

Downright popular! (more…)

For the third time in less than three years, poker pro Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston Jr. has been victimized by crime.

According to media reports, the latest incident happened Tuesday in Amarillo, Texas, USA, when Preston was beaten and robbed while trying to collect collateral on a $3,000 gambling debt he was owed. (more…)

In the culinary world, there’s instant coffee, instant oatmeal, even instant Chinese noodles.

In the poker world, there is the instant millionaire. (more…)

A judge in Pennsylvania ruled last week that poker is a game of skill, not luck.

The distinction is an important one because in Pennsylvania, games of luck are considered gambling and thus illegal, while games of skill are not considered gambling and are thus okay. (more…)

Is poker a game of luck or a game of skill?

Another day, another opinion. (more…)

Legal video poker may be coming to the Bluegrass State.

A bill under consideration in Kentucky’s state legislature, the General Assembly, would allow the state’s horse racing tracks to open casinos. (more…)

A Pennsylvania state legislator says he plans to introduce legislation to allow Pennsylvania’s casinos to offer table games such as poker, blackjack, craps and roulette.

According to media reports, Pennsylvania House of Representatives majority whip Bill DeWeese, who has tried and failed to pass similar bills in the past, says this time things will be different because of the poor economy. (more…)

Online poker room Pure Play (www.pureplay.com) announced this week that it ended 2008 with a total of 1.7 million customers, making it the largest legal, U.S.-based, online poker room in the world.

“Despite the difficult economic times, Pure Play’s 1.7 million-strong player base doubled during the year, making it more than 10 times the size of its nearest competitor,” the company crowed in a news release. (more…)

The largest top prize ever awarded in a poker tournament outside Las Vegas has been won by a Canadian in the Bahamas.

Poorya Naziri, 22, of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday won the Main Event of the 2009 Poker Stars Carribean Adventure, a no-limit Texas hold ‘em tourney that had 1,347 entrants, a $10,000 buy-in and a total prize pool of over $12.5 million. (more…)

Busted for poker?

Give to charity–and get off! (more…)

American cable sports TV network the Fox Sports Network (FSN) announced that its popular poker-themed program, “Best Damn Poker Show,” has been renewed for a second season.

New episodes are scheduled to begin airing on Monday, January 12, 2009, and will air on each Monday thereafter, for a total of seven weeks. (more…)