Even though it’s all about football right now, nobody can forget that the WSOP was just a couple months ago and the final table will be here before we know it.  I had the opportunity to sit down with a Dream Team Poker player who gave me his take on team poker events.  Dan Michalski from my favorite website after Gambling911.com and Swingular.com, Pokerati.com, was on the winning team, Team Tao, along with Paul McGuire and Lana Maier.  

JENNY:  How was it playing in the first WSOP Dream Team Poker event? 

DAN:  Good times.  Seriously, it was a well-run tournament (by the WSOP staff), and I’m a big fan of the team-poker concept.

JENNY:  Have you played in any team poker other than the DTP recent events?

DAN:  Actually, yeah.  The WSOP tourney was my third Dream Team event, and a couple years ago I played in some preliminaries for the (now defunct) US Poker Bowl.  The rules there were a bit different, but I was no stranger to the concept.  Pauly (Paul McGuire) and I played together in the Caesar’s Dream Team event, and he also played (with different teammates) in the WSOP media event a few days earlier — and made the final table there. Lana (Maier), our third teammate, also played in the media event — her first time — and actually won the team competition there too.  Like any tournament, Dream Team events have their own unique feel, and some slight alterations in strategy and game plan come into play.  So I dunno, maybe experience counts for something? Either that or we just got lucky.

JENNY:  Will you be playing in more DTP events?  And if so, will you be staying as a team?

DAN:  Definitely.  I am sure Pauly and I will continue to play together on various incarnations of Team Tao of Pokerati, but I also don’t see this being the only team I ever play on.  

JENNY:  How do you like the overall concept of team poker?  And do you think this will be the new craze of poker?

DAN:  Like I said, I’m a big fan.  These events are always a good time, and appropriately challenging with desirable prize pools. New "craze"?  Definitely not.  But I do see it becoming a more standard tournament variety — not unlike heads-up events.  I also think it could make for some great televised poker, but who knows, maybe the Dream Team folks are already working on that.

JENNY:  You seem to be getting a lot of praise for looking out for the team versus yourself when you folded pocket K’s.  Did you see members of other teams not grasping onto the DTP concept by looking out for themselves versus the team?

DAN:  Well it was just one hand, and what they don’t tell you is that I stupidly limped with pocket 6s a few hands earlier only to be forced off of them when Kenna James raised me off of them with a laugh — knowing that I could know he was raising with any two cards, and yet would probably have to lay down Aces there. I got greedy hoping to flop a cheap set with the 6s — and put me in contention for some big individual money, too — and that left me in a position where I had to think about the team prize and essentially be blinded down into first place.

I won’t say that I saw other teams not grasping the team concept, but there are definitely spots in the middle of the tourney where you technically might have the odds to gamble, but if your team is still doing well, you stand to win more money by staying alive no matter what to improve the teams overall finish.

JENNY:  Do you have any pointers when playing in a team event?

DAN:  Haha.  Yes, get lucky on the river.  In general, play for the team prize early, and worry about the individual prize later.  I’d say everyone should play tight so your whole team finishes in the top half of the field or better, but I think there are also situations where, say, one player has a monster stack, and another player is hurt early … and in those situations it probably pays for the smaller-stack player to gamble it up, and the big stack to see how that works out before shifting into a certain gear of aggression.

JENNY:  Did you guys celebrate?  And if so, what did you do?

DAN:  Actually not too much, because we were all still working the Series and they were getting to the final days of the main event. We bought our media friends a few rounds of drinks then the next night at the Gold Coast bowling alley bar.  Lana still owes Pauly and me a nice dinner!

JENNY:  Did any of you play in any other WSOP events?

DAN:  Lana cashed in the 2007 Ladies event, and finished 10th in the 2009 $1,500 HORSE event.  She was supposed to be our ringer!  But she went out early … and yet still banked $11k.  Not bad for finishing three hundred and twenty somethingth.  (Haha)

JENNY:  What’s been the most memorable moment for you at this year’s WSOP?

DAN:  Oh, I’m gonna need a little scotch in me to tell you that …

JENNY:  Thanks Dan!

—

Jenny Woo, Gambling911.com Senior International Correspondent 

Costa Rica-licensed online casino RomeCasino.com has revealed that one lucky player has walked away with $60,000 after hitting it big on its Crazy Pizza three-reel slots game.

Online player ‘Ruth K’ revealed that she had taken out a bank loan of the same amount last winter to help pay for a house renovation along with her daughter’s medical bills after the youngster had been involved in a traffic accident over the summer.

“I thought I’d be paying off interest on this loan for the rest of my life and that I may never get around to paying it off completely,” said the grateful winner.

“I never though I would have enough money to pay it all off in less than a year.”

To win on Crazy Pizza, players must spin the trio of reels and get three pizza slices in a row. However, there are nine other winning combinations and the maximum reward will only be paid out if players wager the highest stake.

“I had actually ordered some pizza and decided to play slots while I was waiting,” said ‘Ruth K’.

“I was playing Crazy Pizza because I thought it was a fitting choice while I waited for my pizza to be delivered. By the time it arrived I was too excited to eat.”

RomeCasino.com offers a large array of online video and classic slot titles featuring regular and progressive jackpots. It revealed that popular titles include Bankroll Reload, Berry Flavors, Tropical Punch, Wild Sevens, Red Chili Hunter, Black Diamond, Diablo 13, Bingo Slot, Slotstructor and Ocean Fantasy. Powered by software from Top Game, players can also take part in games of blackjack, roulette, keno and video poker.

“Even if I don’t hit another jackpot, playing the slots is one of my favourite things to do,” said ‘Ruth K’.

“It’s so exciting. I’m sure I’ll keep on playing for years to come.”  

The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative has launched an advertising campaign aimed at convincing lawmakers to end the prohibition on Internet gambling. The campaign is being used to educate people in the US on the dangers associated with millions of Americans gambling online in an unregulated industry.

“As Congress searches for ways to pay for health care reform and other worthy programs,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, “it should end the unsuccessful prohibition of Internet gambling and start collecting taxes on the billions in revenue currently lost to unlicensed, offshore gambling operators.”

Frank has taken a slightly different approach. While he agrees that offshore companies should not be receiving the benefits of people in the US gambling online, his concern is more with the freedoms of these people.

Rep. Frank and a growing list of lawmakers are in favor of changing the current laws and allowing people to gamble in the comfort of their own homes. A regulated system, according to Frank, would ensure that people in the US were protected against bad business from these online gaming companies.

While Frank has attempted to overturn the UIGEA before, he seems to have growing support amongst his peers. Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey has introduced separate legislation that would legalize online poker.

The new ad campaign from the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative will appear on such prestigious publications as The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. Ads will also run on Politico.

Shane Warne’s Poker Ashes will be the first major poker television show of its type broadcast on network television Downunder, a 888.com spokesman has claimed. The show was filmed in London during the recent Ashes test match confrontations between the two national cricket teams.

The show will have a series of five episodes, first flighting on the Nine Network in Oz. Members of the English and Australian cricket test teams will again face off against each other in a poker team contest with a prize for the winning team’s charity of choice of $50,000.

The teams have nominated the Shane Warne Foundation as the favoured destination for the cash if the Aussies win, whilst the Brits have chosen the Professional Cricketers Association Benevolent Fund.

With the 2009 Ashes defeat by England still smarting, the cricket-mad Australians will likely give this show top viewership ratings.

In case you missed it on Tuesday, the folks from Smart-Live’s online gambling affiliate program addressed concerns over the recent "suspension" of said program here at Gambling911.com. 

We were among the first to report on this situation and will continue to monitor it.

From Smart-Alive:

"We deeply regret that many of you are so disappointed. Whilst we quite expected this response, some clarifications need to be made on our part to ensure that we are communicating our position as effectively as possible. First of all, we want to reassure everybody that the Smart-live affiliate program has not shut down -as stated from different sources – but is momentarily suspended, in light of some technical issues that need to be 100% sorted out before launching the whole new affiliate program again.

"In fact, previously we have managed to continue running the whole process with a very manual processes, we feel that this cannot be done in future, because of an increased number of affiliates, traffic and the next launch of the poker platform. The new management and affiliate team strongly believe that transparency is the main value in a business relationship with our affiliates and partners. So, instead of hiding behind the trees and claiming that everything is ok – and we bet there are some out there doing just that- we would rather be honest and prefer to pause the program for some weeks, get exclusively focused on what needs to be sorted out, changed and implemented and get back in the arena in the best possible shape.

"Secondly, during the closure period, existing affiliates will continue to be paid for the revenue generated by existing customers referred. Each one of our affiliates will be provided with a specific report showing all the values and the amount of updated commissions as soon as the program is live again. We are honouring our Lifetime revenue commissions and have no intention to renege on this. It is just that whilst we are sorting out the issues affiliates will not be able to view statistics. Finally as a gesture of good will once we are 100% confident that everything is stable with the program, we will be ready to reward all existing affiliates with an increased flat rate of 40% commissions on net revenues for the first 2 months once that we re-launch the program. We hope that this clarifies our situation and looking forward to seeing you all again soon when we have better news! Many thanks Smart Live Affiliates."

BOSTON (AP) – Internet poker fans won’t be getting a chance to push for a ballot question legalizing the game.

Attorney General Martha Coakley ruled Wednesday that the initiative didn’t meet the legal requirements to secure a place on next year’s ballot.

Also barred were two mortgage modification proposals and a question requiring a certain percentage of the state budget go to local aid.

Dozens of other questions – including a proposal to eliminate tolls, several questions to roll back the state income tax, a question to require whale-safe commercial fishing and a proposal to lift the state cap on charter schools – cleared the hurdle.

Now comes the hard part. Supporters must collect the signatures of at least 66,593 Massachusetts voters by Dec. 2.        

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller in San Diego denied a bid Thursday by lawyers for the company, Account Services Inc., and the Poker Players Alliance to return the money.

On June 2, the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan seized approximately $40 million in funds belonging to Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, the two largest online poker rooms.  Some of that money was being transferred through Account Services, Inc.

After filing a motion asking for return of the funds, the US Attorney’s Office issued an indictment against Account Services owner Douglas Rennick.

Lawyers for the players contend prosecutors in the case have used questionable tactics to hold on to the money, and have avoided arguing the legality question.

Now, after Miller ruled against them, it could be years before they see any of the money, according to Greg Moran of the Union Tribune.

Account Services is one of a handful of online poker payment processors who work with Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars and had funds froze.

Costigan Media, which owns the Gambling911.com website, won a landmark decision to have seizure warrants related to the case unsealed as part of its Motion to Intervene in a New York Circuit Court.  The Honorable Judge Laura Taylor Swain agreed to redact some information contained within the seizure warrants due to an ongoing investigation, however, the US Attorney’s Office is required to notify the Court in advance of any upcoming indictments that would allow for further information within those warrants to be unsealed. 

Further unsealing of court documents revealed that both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars are mentioned as part of the ongoing investigation. 

Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com         

Online gambling and poker software company, Microgaming, once had a stellar reputation.  They are still a respected firm for the most part, but this year has been especially tough on the group beginning with the state of Kentucky singling out Micrograming in its efforts to seize some 141 online gambling domain names, an effort that failed thanks to a winning appeal by The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association.

The company has had its once impeccable reputation tarnished by licensee Grand Prive (Bella Vegas Casino), which decided to cut off all its "life time affiliate partners" and Microgaming has remained nonresponsive.

This week, licensees Eurolinx and BetonBet Poker were dissolved.  Over 30 online poker skins of Microgaming have been dissolved in the past year.

Dan Stewart of PokerScout.com explained to Poker News Daily, ‘Microgaming has seen its market share decline, but then again so have a lot of sites, which have been losing share to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. The Microgaming Network still has a healthy amount of traffic and we don’t know how much business the individual licensees are doing’.

One individual familiar with the online poker sector who wished not to be identified told Gambling911.com that "the Microgaming online poker network is full of poker sharks", players who win often.

"More so than most of the online poker rooms out there," he added.

As much as $140,000 in player funds are supposedly frozen on Eurolinx, according to CrunchPoker.com. 

Ladbrokes and Stan James remain two of the network’s most reputable exponents.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher 

One of online poker‘s most aggressive players has been scooped up by a top online poker site. UltimateBet today announced that Billy Kopp, who finished 12th in the Main Event of this year’s World Series of Poker, has signed on to join UltimateBet’s Team UB, a group of successful poker pros that includes Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and some of the most respected online poker players in the industry. In just a few short years, Kopp has earned over $2.6 million in both online poker games and in land-based tournaments.

In the Main Event of the 2009 World Series of Poker, Kopp finished 12th, just three spots shy of the November Nine. His impressive showing earned him $896,730 and a high level of respect among poker’s top players.

The University of Kentucky student, known and feared for his loose-aggressive style of play at the tables, continues to school even the most successful poker champions. At a feature table, Kopp knocked out Peter Eastgate, the 2009 WSOP Main Event champion, and Joe Hachem, the 2005 champion.

Other notable successes of 2009 include a 2nd place finish in Event #20 of the Harrah’s New Orleans WSOP Circuit – Bayou Poker Challenge for $127,832 and an 8th place finish in Event #15 of the WSOP for $71,115.

In addition to his land-based successes, Kopp has amassed eight Top 10 finishes in a variety of online poker events this year alone at UltimateBet, Absolute Poker and other popular online poker sites.

Online poker players at UltimateBet can employ the online poker site’s free UltimateBuddy software and add the name billy_kopp to their buddy list to discover which tables Billy Kopp is seated at.

The reason behind the optimism is a recent slew of Italian “crisis legislation” proposals prompted by tough economic conditions and natural disasters this year, which have increased the need for additional tax revenues. However, anticipation should be moderated by the fact that the national regulator, the AAMS, has yet to make any formal announcements on what is and is not allowed, and when implementation might take place.

The speculation is that the Italians may be about to add cash games to lighten up the “tournaments only” regulations for online poker, and that online casino games will be added to the list of permissible online activities, along with new licences for scratchcard gaming.

The delay is reportedly not with the politicians, but with the regulator.