OnGame, the world’s 6th largest online poker network, has just brought on the largest sports betting exchange, Betfair.

Though the biggest exchange betting site, Betfair has had little luck when it comes to the online poker arena.

A sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe, Betfair regularly lags in the number 16 spot of all Internet poker "real cash" ventures, just ahead of Bodog.  They averaged just over 600 "real cash" players in the past 7 days.

Betfair is scheduled to go live on Ongame Network’s P5 Poker Engine later this month, providing players with an enhanced gaming environment with substantially higher player liquidity.

"This move is a conscious effort to place our poker players at the forefront of our product offering," said Daniel Svard, Head of Betfair Poker. "Betfair Poker players will have access to more games, at all times of the day. Both companies are dedicated to the long term improvement to player experience."

Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network, added: "Betfair is the ideal kind of long-term partner for Ongame Network: a respected gaming brand and technically mature. In our competitive industry, we welcome the player liquidity and poker knowledge that Betfair brings to our network."

The Betfair partnership could help Ongame regain its position ahead of the Cereus Network, which this week just squeezes by Ongame and takes over the number 5 position.

Cereus of course is home to Gambling911.com sponsors UB.com and Absolute Poker.

–

Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com

Amidst all the hustle and bustle at the Rio Hotel and Casino, site of this year’s World Series of Poker, the chaos was interrupted by orchestrated acts of kindness at this year’s Ante Up for Africa event. When the cards went up in the year, 83 players, which included a dazzling array of poker pros and Hollywood celebrities, plunked down $5,000 for this year’s cause, the crises in the country of Darfur. When it was all said and done, players had raised almost $300,000 for the cause. Prior to the tournament, there was a star-studded red carpet media session leading into the tournament room where Ante Up for Africa founders Don Cheadle and Annie Duke conveyed the message of their cause.

While actor Ben Affleck skipped the media session entirely, other celebrities to make the rounds included Shannon Elizabeth, Jerome Bettis, Evander Holyfield and Montel Williams. However, following all the Hollywood style glitz and glam, there was poker to be played and when the dust had settled, poker pro Phil Gordon was the last man standing, emerging victorious from a heads up showdown against newly minted Carbon Poker personality Elizabeth. In speaking of his victory, the humble Gordon said "I wish the rest of my WSOP had gone the way this tournament went," alluding to his lack of a single cash.

The final table featured an eclectic mix of celebrities and poker pros as players such as Erik Seidel and Jerome Bettis finished short of glory. The final fateful hand for Elizabeth occurred when she was all in preflop holding K-10 against Gordon’s meager Q-3. However, a flopped Queen essentially sealed the deal. After winning, much to the delight of the packed room, Gordon donated all of the winning prize money to the charity, a gesture that he was in no way obligated to do.

Here are the final table results for this year’s event:

1.    Phil Gordon – $130,641 2. Shannon Elizabeth – $80,737 3. Alex Filatov – $56,516 4. Carter "BdyBldngpkrplyr" Phillips – $41,166 5. Erik Seidel – $30,287 6. Jerome Bettis – $22,624 7. Barry Hartheimer – $18,146 8. Kyle Carlston – $15,125 9. Claire Renaut – $12,998

Source:  www.aintluck.com

More Poker Articles Like This…

1. Update at the $50K H.O.R.S.E. Event

UB and PokerPlayersUnite.org join forces to support Crystal King on her road to recovery, and poker players can help Crystal and her young family with a small outlay of $10.

UB.com and PokerPlayersUnite.org is teaming up for a second time in as many months to deliver another amazing ‘Second Sundays’ online fundraiser, this time to support the Crystal King Benefit Foundation ("CKBF"). The July 11th $10 buy-in event at UB.com is scheduled for 14:45 ET, and will be hosted by Amazing Race contestant and Team UB Pro Tiffany Michelle. UB will match 100% of the prize pool, with all proceeds donated to this month’s chosen charity, plus all participants are automatically in the running for $2150 in added prizes.

On May 3rd, just outside of Tallahassee, Florida, Crystal King and her 3 year-old twins, Camrea-Rose and Caden, were involved in a horrific accident with a semi-trailer. Tragically, Caden suffered a major head injury and died on impact. Camrea-Rose escaped with some minor facial bruising and a slight nose fracture, while Crystal incurred extensive injuries, including a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, fractures to both femurs and a shattered right knee.

"There is a lot of money thrown around in poker on a regular basis and it’s causes like this and the ability to help that make what I do for a living worthwhile," said Team UB pro Tiffany Michelle. "I’ve seen first hand the emotional and financial stress that comes from awful accidents like this one. As a friend or bystander it’s hard not to feel completely helpless. This is such a significant way to lend a hand."

Crystal King’s story first came to UB’s attention via several mentions of the Florida resident’s traumatic road accident on PokerRoad Radio, and by way of the champion of charity in poker, Rick Blumenthal of PokerPlayersUnite.org renown. UB has been quick to rally to the cause, with the July 11th Second Sundays event set to raise much needed funds for Crystal’s ongoing care, counseling and rehabilitation.

The upcoming CKBF charity poker tournament payouts to the top ten finishers include entry to UB’s weekly Sunday $200+15 buy-in $200,000 Guaranteed tournament. The winner will receive a bonus wireless poker controller. There’s also a bounty on Tiffany’s head, with the player who sends her to the rail picking up a $66 entry to UB’s $7K GTD tourney at 21:30 ET on the same day.

Last month’s Second Sundays event, hosted by Team UB’s Joe Sebok, benefited the National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association ("NTSAD"). A total of 284 players participated, raising an overall figure of $5690 (includes a $10 direct donation) for this worthwhile charity. BOB5BOB from Massachusetts not only went on to win the Second Sundays event, but he also won the bounty on Joe’s head.

"Fortunately, I was able to hit a few flops and pulled out the win. By knocking out Joe I got an entry into the $7K that night where I came in third place for over $800. So I had a very fun and profitable day, and got to help out National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association," said BOB5BOB.

Register now for this month’s Second Sunday event by logging onto UB.com (or AbsolutePoker.com) and look for the tournament name "Second Sundays Charity" in the tournament lobby in the "EVENTS" tab. 

Direct donations can also be made online at UB via Player-to-Player transfer to the account "CHARITIES" (first name is "Charity" – a required field for all P2P transfers), a perfect option for those who can’t commit the time at the table, but who still want to show that they have a heart.

UB’s Second Sunday fundraiser tournaments are hosted online across the CEREUS Network on the second Sunday of every month, with each one benefiting a different worthwhile national charity. Players at Absolute Poker are also invited to participate and support these events.

For more information on Second Sundays visit http://www.ub.com/poker-promotion/second-sunday/, or http://www.absolutepoker.com/promotions/second-sundays/.

For more information on the Crystal King Benefit Foundation go to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crystal-King-Benefit-Foundation/122754691076279

About UB.com

Raise. Stack. Own.


Built for the passionate poker player, UB.com offers top poker rewards, optimal tournament structures and fast-paced action games in one of the largest online poker communities in the world. Players can download the free poker software, play in free ring games and tournaments, plus meet and chat online with Phil Hellmuth and other Team UB pros to learn and enhance their playing strategy. UB provides the best poker games available on the net as part of the CEREUS poker network.

About AbsolutePoker.com


Absolute Poker is part of the CEREUS poker network and is dedicated to providing players from around the world with an online poker game experience that is second to none. Players worldwide can access Absolute Poker online 24-hours a day, 7 days a week from any PC or Mac and experience the best multi-player game online poker has to offer. Absolute Poker is committed to remaining the most trusted and best online poker experience, created by poker players for poker players.

Event 41 was a $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better competition entered Day 3 Thursday afternoon with15 players left from the initial entry field of 847, and by late that night after 12 hours of action only four players remained when level 29 started.

Leading the field was Jelinek on 2,500,000 and John Gottlieb on 1,511,500, and that’s the way the heads up panned out after 12 hours of action.

In the early hours of Friday morning, and with very little difference in the two finalist’s chip stacks, it was Jelinek that pulled it off to claim his first bracelet and the $245,871 first prize, leaving his opponent with a still-generous second placing reward of $151,884.

The other Brit bracelets this year belong to Praz Bansi, James Dempsey, Richard Ashby and Mike Ellis.

25 players returned to the felt for Day 3 of event 42, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em contest that brought in a field of 2,521 at the start. By the beginning of Day 3 Friday afternoon only 25 players remained, led by James Schaaf.

When Niccolo Caramatti was eliminated in 4th place late Friday evening the action became a three handed tussle between Dean Hamrick, Thomas O’Neal and Ian Wiley, with Hamrick holding a comfortable 3 to 1 lead over nearest rival O’Neal as play reached level 29.

Late night Friday Vegas time only 5 players remained in Day 3 action from an original stellar field of 241 in event 43, the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship.

Day 3 play commenced Friday afternoon with 23 player left and New Jersey pro Cuong Do in the lead, closely pursued by Marco Johnson, Brian Townsend, Eugene Katchalov and Carlos Mortenson.

Level 26 late Friday saw the survivors positioned thus:

Eugene Katchalov 2,200,000
Richard Ashby 2,150,000
Matt Glantz 1,250,000
Marco Johnson 1,250,000
Ian Gordon 300,000

Final table eliminations included:

Carlos Mortensen in 6th place ($102,237)
Nick Schulman in 7th place ($78,654)
Marco Traniello in 8th place ($61,414)
Scott Fischman in 9th place ($48,638)

There were 507 entries on Day 1 of event 44, a $2,500 buy-in Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No Limit) contest, a field that had been reduced to only 70 players by day’s end, with some big name bust outs that included Allen Cunningham, Antonio Esfandiari, Joe Sebok, Michael Mizrachi, Sorel Mizzi, David Benyamine and Tom Dwan.

Day 2 Friday night saw the field reach level 19 and a final table of:

Jarred Solomon 748,000
Gavin Smith 745,000
Danny Hannawa 542,000
Michael Michnik 527,000
Timothy Finne 331,000
Jamie Rosen 300,000
Daniel Idema 237,000
Dwyte Pilgrim 196,000
Michael Santoro 179,000

Notable departures along the way were Eli Elezra, Jim Collopy, Grant Hinkle and Shannon Shorr, Eric Froehlich, Jeff Shulman, Erica Schoenberg, Matt Matros, Alexandre Gomes, and Matt Stout.

The action will resume Saturday.

Event 45 – a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em competition saw the completion of Day 1 Friday night with 400 players still in contention at level 10 from a massive initial entry field of 3,097.

The original entry field contained names like James Akenhead, Dennis Phillips, Adam Junglen, David Singer, Peter Gelencser, Antonio Esfandiari, Scott Montgomery, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Jared Hamby, Isaac Haxton, Jeff Madsen, Sorel Mizzi, Bertrand Grospellier and Shannon Elizabeth.

Leading the field when the chips were bagged for the night was Will Failla (156,000) and Hiren Patel (138,000), but with Chino Rheem, Dutch Boyd, John Phan, John Juanda, Johnathan Little, Victor Ramdin, Tom Schneider and Adam Junglen still very active, it would a bold prediction to say who will prevail in this exciting event.

Notable Day 1 eliminations included Phil Ivey, Eric Baldwin, David Williams, Dennis Phillips, James Akenhead, Joe Sebok, Chris Moorman, Phil Gordon, Bertrand Grospellier, Neil Channing, Sorel Mizzi, Faraz Jaka, Shaun Deeb, Hoyt Corkins, Tony Dunst, Scott Montgomery, Scott Seiver, Jason Mercier and Antonio Esfandiari.

The stars were out in force again for Friday’s start of event 46 – the $5,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better competition which recorded 284 registrations, among them

John Kabbaj, John Cernuto, Roland de Wolfe, Sorel Mizzi, Vitaly Lunkin, Greg Raymer, Isaac Haxton, Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Daniel Negreanu and Perry Friedman – the latter wearing an extravagant and colourful Egyptian pharaoh’s headgear.

Late night Friday the Day 1 action was still in progress at level 8 with 171 players led Johannes Steindl on 47,000, with Toto Leonidas (41,000) and Mike Matusow (40,000) close behind.

The list of recent casualties gives an indication of the star power in the field, including Humberto Brenes, Pat Pezzin, Phil Gordon, Scott Clements, David Williams, MIke Sexton, Kevin MacPhee, Chau Giang, Joe Hachem.and Perry Friedman, who left his exotic headdress behind!

PlayNowNH will offer customers the opportunity to buy $100 worth of credit at lottery retailers. The gamblers may then take that credit and go online to pick which of the games they would like to play. The games all play out similar to scratch off tickets.

The determination of a win or a loss is made when the credit is bought. That allows New Hampshire to circumvent the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that took effect on June 1st. The UIGEA calls for financial institutions to block transactions to and from online gambling sites.

If a gambler chooses to do so, they may find out if they won on the lottery tickets when they purchase them. They do not need to go online to play the games to find out if their tickets are winners. Even with the state lottery running the online gambling, some lawmakers are miffed that this type of gambling is allowed.

“I’m sure you can say it’s no different (than scratch tickets), but we know from the research that’s been done there is nothing more addictive than being able to play games on the computer,” said House Finance Chair Marjorie Smith, as reported by The Associated Press.

Other states in the Northeast are seeking a much larger version of Internet gambling in the future. New Jersey lawmakers are considering regulating online poker. Florida and California also have legislators pushing for regulated online gambling.

Bwin are known for their fearless innovation within the online gambling market, and recently have expressed this by taking out a majority shareholding in UnitedGames, the EU Massively Multiplayer Online Game developer & Publisher.

This deal follows closely the recent deal carried out with Gioco Digitale, the Italian Poker & Casino operator and is Bwin’s first entry into the MMOG industry, giving Bwin access to UnitedGames profile of 17,000,000 players in over 178 countries.

UnitedGames is based in the Netherlands and was founded in 2007 and provide marketing, translations, community support with localization services.

Chief Executive Marjin Hanrick has commented saying ‘Bwin and UnitedGames are extraordinary partners and this combination will have a huge impact on the online gaming market’

Bwin Casino are currently running some fantastic promotions, so why not head over there and grab your Free £200 Deposit bonus Today!

Closely held Gioco boasts it is Italy’s first independent online gaming site and offers mainly poker, betting and skill games, but there is clearly good potential for expansion into other genres under the Bwin banner.

A timeframe for the takeover has yet to published, and the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, although some idea of value can be deduced from a report in the Italian newspaper Finanza & Mercati, which said said last week that an investor had bought 10% of Gioco for more than €2 million. This fits with previous estimates of around €90 to 100 million.

Industry observers say that the burgeoning Italian market is ripe for the sort of consolidation that the Bwin deal represents. Gibraltar-based Party Gaming recently acquired an online poker operator, while 888 has said it is close to buying an as yet unidentified asset.

A recently passed law due to be enacted this autumn, means that poker cash games and other games of chance will be permitted in Italy in addition to sports betting and online poker tournaments, raising the profile of the market.

According to the Bwin announcement, the boards of both companies and its shareholders have agreed on principle terms for the acquisition of 100% of Gioco Digitale, but did state that although the acquisition was progressing, there could be no certainty that a final binding agreement on the transaction will be reached.

Through 10 episodes, the 2009 WSOP has earned an average rating of .75, which translates to 741,311 household impressions. That is up about 3 percent from 2008′s .73 rating through this time period, which translated to 704,826 household impressions, according to ESPN.

The real test will come with the "nearly live" World Series of Poker final to be played out and broadcast in November.

What should be a blockbuster event thanks to the "Tiger Woods of Poker" making the cut, Phil Ivey, is anything but.  So far, he’s a practical "no show" on the promo circuit.  Michele Clayborne, who oversees Team Full Tilt, has remained aloof and unavailable for comment. 

Gambling911.com’s own Tom Somach addressed the issue recently.

"The folks who run the World Series of Poker (WSOP) are asking, ‘Where is Phil?’, writes Somach.

"WSOP brass were thrilled Ivey made the "November Nine"-the nickname given to the nine final tablists who will resume play in November after a four-month break-because the envisioned a public relations bonanza for the WSOP.

"Well-known, easy-going and affable champ Ivey would give the WSOP Main Event a real shot in the arm-everyone would want to interview the handsome, intelligent and articulate pro.

"The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Letterman, Oprah, Larry King-they’d all want him, WSOP officials thought. It would be tremendous publicity for the WSOP, the Main Event and the game of poker. Perhaps the most publicity ever.

"But there’s just one problem. It hasn’t happened. Ivey has been scarcer on the media scene than a penguin in a desert."

In fact the last big news blast about Phil Ivey came from none other than Tom Somach’s report featured on Gamlbing911.com about his absence.  That was over a week ago.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher 

Leading online poker room PokerStars.com has announced that its virtual school at PokerStars.net has signed up to be the official sponsor of the all-women High Heels Poker Tour (HHPT).

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the HHPT was created in 2007 to empower women that had a desire to become world-class poker players. Its next event, a $125 no re-entry poker tournament, will take place in Dania, Florida, at the Dania Jai-Alai from four o’clock in the evening local time.

“PokerStars.net has all the attributes in an online partner that female players crave,” said Lauren Failla, Founder of the HHPT.

“An incredible variety of quick and entertaining games that range from low buy-in sit-and-go and cash games to serious tournament play all in an environment where women can learn the game, develop their skills and truly become champions.

‘With champions like Vanessa Rousso, Katja Thater and Vicky Coren, our players will have a whole new set of role models to emulate and challenge online and at the tables.”

The sponsorship deal includes support for the HHPT’s growing roster of tournaments including the stop at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel And Casino in Hollywood, Florida, early next month. In addition, the HHPT will be holding a grand finale $1,000 buy-in ladies event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January.  

Police in the small Utah city of Murray raided an Internet cafe on Sunday evening and arrested over 50 people on allegations that they were conducting and participating in illegal online gambling activities.

The Murray City Police Department revealed that it had conducted several undercover operations at The Fortune Cyber Cafe in the Salt Lake City suburb since spring in cooperation of the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office and stated that customers were playing various online slot games alongside poker and keno.

Following the raid, police formally charged six employees while issuing 45 others with citations. Ironically, the owner of the location was not arrested or charged.

This cafe was allegedly operating a scheme that saw customers purchase Internet time before being issued with a card that they could then insert into a computer. Winning players were then allowed to cash in these cards and take their spoils home with them as cash.

“[We want to] keep customers out of their business and let [customers] realise that if they do go to a business like this, they will be arrested for it,” Kenny Bass, Detective for the Murray City Police Department, told local television station Fox 13.