Archive for March, 2010
It just goes to show that sometimes playing poker at home can pay off big time.
The winner of the World Poker Tour’s celebrity invitational is a boxer from West Virginia and part-time poker player who won his seat through the WPT’s subscription-based online poker room.
LeRon “Dream187” Washington is a 34-year-old from West Virginia. He walked away with $75,000 in cash and a seat at the World Poker Tour world championship, coming this April.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this day a long time.”
Washington earned his seat in a tournament on ClubWPT Janu 3. He beat 1,683 players to earn his seat at the invite-only Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles this week.
Other celebrities playing in the invitational included Jenny McCarthy, Teri Hatcher, and Hank Azaria. Some of the celebrity poker players in attendance included Chris Ferguson, Phil Laak, Howard Lederer, and Mike Matusow.
That tournament was held at the end of February. Washington was one of the six finalists who outlasted a field of 567 players to secure his place at the final table. He returned to the Commerce Casino on March 3 to play in the final round.
“I’ve been trying to get out there to show what I can do, but you have to earn it,” Washington said. “ClubWPT gave me the opportunity to make it happen and here I am.”
Despite overall increased consumer interest in online poker playing, PartyGaming.com reported more than $26 million in losses in 2009 on the poker side of the business.
Despite this huge loss of revenue, Partygaming.com executives are confident that 2010 will bring better days for poker.
“Whilst the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain,” said PartyGaming CEO Jim Ryan, “We remain focused on executing our stated strategy and are confident about the group’s prospects.”
PartyGaming.com runs PartyPoker.com and reported a drop from the $66.9 million in poker profits it reported in 2008. Total revenue for the site declined 6% to $446.2 million.
Party gaming executives blame part of the revenue loss on the $105 million settlement it was ordered to pay by the US Atty.’s office in April. The company avoided prosecution for providing Online Poker & Online Casinos for US Players prior to the full enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
Part of the settlement involved PartyGaming.com agreeing to stay out of the US Internet gambling market. The company hopes that if the UIGEA is lifted, it will be in a good position to move back into the U.S. market.
“We believe that at some point the U.S. will regulate online gaming and we want to be ready to take that opportunity,” Said Ryan. “We have a number of organizations who are willing to do business with us. It is our ticket back.”
Ever the rebel, the Virgin Group is considering moving into online gambling, according to eGamingReview Magazine.
As Virgin considers its move into more open markets, it is also considering a United States Online Casino. If true, Virgin would become the first European-based online gaming site to accept U.S. players since the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act was passed in 2006.
The UIGEA makes it illegal for any banking institution to allow transactions for U.S. residents to partake in certain internet gambling activities like poker, online casino games and sports betting.
While many online casinos have figured out way to allow U.S. players to participate, most overtly abide by the laws. Many states are currently discussing new laws that would regulate online gaming for their residents. According to eGamingReview Magazine Online, Virgin is considering several markets to move into, but considers the U.S. a viable option, regardless of the legislation.
“The company is weighing plans to enter regulating markets including France, Spain, and South Africa, as well as potentially either or both of the U.S. states in which the legislation of intrastate online gambling has been proposed, California and Florida, and is seeing commercial partners to fund marketing budgets in those countries.”
Both California and Florida legislatures are under discussions to legalize some aspects of online gaming.
