Texas Poker Bars?

It looks like the politicians in Texas may not be as crazy as in some other parts of the USA. This bill to legalize poker in Texan bars is gaining support in the lone star state.

State Rep. Jose Menendez from San Antonio has introduced a bill that would regulate poker and allow up to four poker tables in certain bars or establishments.

“This legislation could raise over a billion dollars over the next biennium for state coffers while bringing the game out of legal limbo and into the light,” said Mike Lavigne, treasurer of the Texas Poker PAC.

“Texas would finally be able to benefit from rise of Texas Hold’em”

Charity poker tournaments would also be legal. Supporters say it would raise moneys for state programs.

“Charitable poker means more Texans win,” said Lavigne. “Texas charities are losing out on millions of dollars due to the antiquated laws governing the game.”

Despite recent federal attempts to eliminate online poker, the game continues to grow in popularity worldwide. As poker related television programming continues to spread in popularity, so do the many new tournaments that attract tourists and visitors. States like California and Connecticut have long been reaping the benefits of the poker boom.

Highlights of the bill:

• 4 live and/or electronic, raked tables allowed in each establishment that meets requirements
• Lottery Commission decides how many tables are allowed in each racetrack
• Charitable poker enabled
• Mandatory dealer training and licensing (inexpensive)
• Licensing for distributors of commercial poker equipment
• Money raised will be dedicated to necessary state services
• Criminal penalties for dishonest operators
• Raises over a billion dollars for state services

Good work Jose! It's good to see some politicians have the sense to give people what they want and do it in a way that benefits the community as a whole.

Miracle card gives Bob win

Bob Willis, a 41-year-old professional motorcycle racer was on the receiving end of three twists of good fortune at the final table of event #4 at Caesars Atlantic City yesterday.

There were three big hands in the WSOP circuit event that combined with his well disciplined play to give him his first major poker tournament victory.

The $500 buyin tournament attracted 510 players, 501 of which were eliminated in the first 12 hours of play. The nine survivors returned yesterday to play the final table.

Willis' first lucky hand occurred when he busted 6th place finisher JJ Hurley. Hurley tried to bluff when Willis had a 6 in his hand and two more showed up on the flop for a set.

The second lucky hand Bob had 5-5 in his hand, against the K3 of hearts of Derek Buonano. Two hearts came out on the flop, but so did a 5 so all the chips went into the middle. The turn produced a heart so Bob's set was looking shaky... Until the board paired on the river and Bob's lucky full house beat Derek's flush and sent him to the rail in 3rd place.

Heads up play began and Willis enjoyed a 2-1 chip lead over David Santitoro. Santitoro made up some ground to take a slight chip lead until Bob's third lucky hand was played.

After being dealt A6 he raised against David's cowboys - KK. Santitoro was all in with his kings and after thinking long and hard, Willis called to see he was drawing to just three outs.

But of course an Ace hit on the river, and a few hands later it was all over. Willis had lucked himself into an extra $35,000 in prizemoney with $76,500 for first place.

But that's poker - it happens in real life too, not just online!

The Beginning of the End

Neteller is closing up in the USA, and I have to agree with Bill Rini: this is the beginning of the end for online poker in the USA.

I'm in shock, to be honest. I don't see how online gaming hurts ANYONE or does ANYTHING that is bad (mmmkay) and I just don't understand the jihad my idiot government is waging against online poker, while horse racing, dog racing, and state lotteries are still A-OK for anyone.

I'm worried, because though I don't make a ton of money playing online poker, I do make a significant portion of my monthly income writing about it and even though I'm not as good or well-known as everyone else on Team PokerStars, I've been a proud member of the team, and I've worked hard to be an ambassador to normal, every day players who don't play in the hard core 40-80 games. Now that the US market is rapidly closing up, I have this looming sense of inevitability that I'll lose that, too, and eventually I'll lose the ability to enjoy my evenings playing some low-limit SNGs or cash games.

See, I really like poker, but I'm not rich, and while I'm entirely comfortable risking the price of a night out for dinner and a movie to play cards and maybe even leave with more than I started, I don't see myself driving to Commerce or the Bike, or making a special trip to Vegas to play in a B&M room for higher stakes, with the associated
costs of travel and the extra investment of my time.

There are a lot of reasons to loathe my idiot government now, and this is right up there in my top five: they're telling me what I can do in my own home, and they're negatively impacting my ability to support myself and my family . . . and for what, exactly? So Bill Frist can pander to a minority of ultra-conservative whackos, and then not even follow through on his presidential bid?

This sucks. It makes me angry, and it makes me depressed.

(BoDog Girls tearfully included to remember the good times.)

2007 WSOP Schedule Released

I'm in Vegas for CES, but I'm staying just down the hall from where I lived during the 2006 WSOP, so it was a little surreal for me to read at PokerNews that the 2007 WSOP schedule had been released.

Really? Already? It seems like I was just here. In fact, I am here. Okay, I'm freaking myself out.

But enough about me, let's get to the poker. Dr. Tim says that the series will kick off 55 events on June 1, running for seven weeks before the Main Event begins on July 6th. Yeah, you read that correctly; we're going to have to be in Vegas for the 4th of July craziness.

They say that there will be several events other than Hold'Em (possibly responding to criticism from players after the 2006 WSOP was pretty much the World Series of Hold'Em) , including three different HORSE events, a SHOE event, and several different mixed games. There are lots of different buy-ins, as low as $1,000 and running up to $5,000 with the Main Event still being a $10,000 event.

Speaking of the Main Event, they plan to have three day ones, pushing through 3,000 players a day.

Uhm. Yeah. If they're stopping the online poker sites from running satellites and putting players into the Main Event, how in the world to they expect to get even 5000 players?

Dr. Tim has the full schedule of events including their buy-ins, at PokerNews.