Online casinos and poker

Costa Rica, US Reach WTO-Related Agreement

Costa Rica has reached a settlement with the US regarding Costa Rica’s outstanding claim as an affected party in the WTO judgment received by Antigua and Barbuda against the US. Antigua’s WTO judgment ($21M annually) concerned access to certain online-gambling markets, and Costa Rica was one of several countries that filed as an affected party in that matter. The new settlement, as reported in several Costa Rican outlets and made by Costa Rican Comercio Exterior minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz, maintains the US’s restrictions toward online gambling but opens up other WTO markets and opportunities to Costa Rica. Though of debatable real value, the
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new opportunities for Costa Rica will be in research and development, warehousing, testing and technical analysis and certain postal and courier services.

Continuing IGREA Hearings to be Scheduled for April

A recent release by the Safe and Secure Gambling Initiative states that Congressman Barney Frank (D-CT) will again hold hearings in April, as part of his effort to build support for his proposed Internet Gambling and Regulation Enforcement Act (IGREA). Frank downplayed the importance of the hearings in a comment made for SSGI. Frank noted that the banking industry faces enormous challenges at the moment, such as the housing and mortgage crises, “The banks have a lot of other things to worry about right now,” said Frank. “I do not think poker should be one of them.”

McDermott Formally Introduces IGRTEA

Congressman James McDermott (D-WA) formally introduced his Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 (IGRTEA). McDermott’s measure has been viewed as a supporting measure to Frank’s IGREA proposal, and has as of yet garnered less active support in Congress. Among the provisions of McDermott’s proposed bill: A 2% licensing fee on all online gambling companies offering their services to the US market, and a requirement forthese companies to provide annual profit/loss statements to U.S. customers.

In what some are interpreting as a monopoly grab for the country’s gambling market, the Canadian horseracing industry is pressuring the government to pass UIGEA-like legislation in an attempt to ban Internet gaming. Last week, Canadian Liberal MP Roy Cullen, whose area of representation includes Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack, announced that he plans to introduce a bill that would prohibit banks and credit-card companies from processing transactions associated with Internet gambling companies. Also last week, the Minister of Justice’s director of communications confirmed that the government is considering augmenting its criminal code relative to online gambling. “Following recent concerns surrounding Internet
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gambling in Canada, the Minister of Justice has asked his officials to examine whether the enforcement of the Criminal Code provisions could be assisted with other measures.”

To some extent, the Canadian track owners are just pushing for the same virtual monopoly that US track owners were able to secure with the passage of the UIGEA. Horse racing was one of the few carveouts in the sweeping legislation supported by Representative Bob Goodlatte, who received $37,000 from the National Thoroughbred Horseracing Association.

The Canadian horse tracks do have a legitimate concern in that they have lost business over the years to online gaming. And while the horse tracks pay taxes and provide local jobs, the vast majority of the online industry contributes little to the local or national economies. “They take a lower commission on the bet because they don’t have infrastructure costs and pay purses. How many jobs are they creating here? None,” Jane Holmes, vice-president of corporate affairs for Woodbine Entertainment Group said. “If we tried to do what they’re doing, we would lose our licenses. It provides them with an unfair competitive advantage.” But if this is the problem, is UIGEA-like legislation the solution?

Michael Lipton, a Toronto lawyer specializing in gaming law, points out that the US is still hard pressed to implement any meaningful enforcement of the UIGEA, stating, “They are completely bogged down on how to block this system.” The recent comments by the American Banking Association on the proposed UIGEA rules appear to support Lipton’s remarks. Lipton instead sees a much more tenable solution through government regulation, whereby the industry could be held accountable, provide tax revenues, and develop into an internationally competitive trade resource for Canada. Instead of developing a trade resource, however, UIGEA-like legislation would likely represent a trade liability for Canada. Canada is a World Trade Organization member and legislation that is deemed discriminatory to foreign online gaming competitors would likely open them to sanctions like those triggered by Antigua’s WTO case against the US.

Somewhere in the crosshairs of this debate is the sovereign territory of the Kahnawake, located near Montreal, which plays host to over 400 online gambling sites. The Kahnawake have always contended that their operations are not governed by Canadian or provincial law, and would not be effected by any law Canada may pass in the future. Responding to inquiries about the potential for a legal showdown with Canada over the Mohawk Nation’s online operations, Joe Delaronde, spokesperson for the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake said, “It would be very unwise of the government. This operation is taking place in our jurisdiction. If they really want to come to some sort of resolution on this, the best idea would be to contact our grand chief and talk about it. We’re very open to discussion.” In every respect, Canada’s potential legislative reach will mirror the limitations of the US’s UIGEA legislation, which acknowledges its inability to alter state or Indian territorial law relative to gambling.

If all the horseracing industry wants is a level playing field, why go to such great lengths to eliminate the competition? These lengths potentially involve a law that will be hard to enforce, conceding potential tax revenue, international trade liabilities, and a tussle with an indigenous sovereign nation. If they want it level, give them level and regulate online gambling just as Canada regulates its horseracing industry. It’s just a thought, but one we hope MP Roy Cullen might consider before taking Canada down the UIGEA path.

Huge numbers again marked the biggest Sunday online events, with the biggest tourneys at Full Tilt, PokerStars and PartyPoker all easily exceeding their pre-event guarantees. The biggest payday from the night’s action went not to the winner at Stars, ‘StudMaverick,’ but to the winner at Full Tilt’s once-a-month $1 Million Guarantee, where ‘GulahPapyrus’ came from behind to win over $206,000.

PokerStars Sunday Million

The massive recent turnouts for the Sunday Million at PokerStars continued again last evening. This most recent edition drew 7,520 entrants and generated a $1.504 million prize pool, with 1,080 players cashing and first scheduled at

$212,064. ’spank01′ grabbed the lead as this tourney’s final table came together; spank01 had amassed nearly $18 million in chips, with ‘Tiwo’ and ‘BluStarZ16′ the closest pursuers.

First blood at the final table came in its first minute of play, when Tiwo and ‘mariaras’ got the chips in; Tiwo had the best of it with to mariaras’s , and the board changed nothing. Tiwo, though, found pocket nines less lucky against ‘StudMaverick’s pocket queens a short while later, and then exited in eighth after running into ‘Pier85’s , finding no help when the board brought .

Pier85 picked up the next knockout as well, sending a short-stacked ‘MagicCoin’ to the rail in seventh. The chips went in before the flop and Pier85’s made a boat with the board’s help, easily topping MagicCoin’s . Next to fall was ‘goonertone7′, who was also all in before the flop and also against Pier85. goonertone7’s hand looked strong against Pier85’s , until the board ran out to give Pier85 the flush.

Pier85 remained the most active player at the table but ran into worse luck after that, and bowed out in fifth after losing most of his chips to ‘macthemac87′. Pier85’s final hand saw him all in with , which lost a race against StudMaverick’s when the board arrived .

At this point the final four players examined possible chop numbers but decided to play on. BluStarZ16 nixed the deal, likely looking to knock out a short-stacked spank01 first. BluStarZ16 made good on his efforts by calling, with a modest , spank01’s all-in push with . BluStarZ16’s hopes came true when the board delivered a friendly , for two pair and the knockout.

At this point the last three haggled for a bit but eventually agreed to a chop by Stars’ chip-count formula, leaving $30,000 for the winner. StudMaverick had the lead at the time and came out with the largest share in the deal, and then finished off BluStarZ16 soon after. In that hand, the chips went in pre-flop with BluStarZ16 showing to StudMaverick’s , and the board gave StudMaverick a winning straight.

StudMaverick entered heads-up action against macthemac67 with a 7:1 edge and was never seriously threatened. The end came when macthemac67 pushed pre-flop with and StudMaverick made the call with . The board rolled out , giving StudMaverick the flush and the win.

Final Results:

*1. StudMaverick — $171,445
*2. macthemac67 — $117,783
*3. BluStarz16 — $104,819
4. spank01 — $60,160
5. Pier85 — $45,120
6. goonertone7 — $33,088
7. MagicCoin — $23,312
8. Tiwo — $13,536
9. mariaras — $8,873.60

* — three-way deal for remaining prize money; $30,000 to eventual winner

Full Tilt $1 Million Guarantee

Full Tilt’s monthly ‘$1 Million Guarantee’ tourney with its higher $500+35 buy-in drew another nice turnout, with 2,252 players on hand. The prize purse reached $1,126,000; 351 spots paid and first place would collect $206,564.70. ‘aaalvin’ held the early lead at this final table, his nearly three million in chips almost twice that of his nearest competitors.

aaalvin also picked up the first final-table knockout, his easily besting ‘Tadadonk’s when the flop brought the for the set. Eight hands later, ‘tkap243′ bowed out when his was no good against ‘Catenaccio’s pocket kings, with the board offering . After an extended stretch of seven-way play, however, Catenaccio would be next to his depart when his lost a race against ‘Fidget65’s . The board on that hand came , to send Catenaccio to the rail in seventh.

Sixth was decided soon after, when ‘JBT449’s proved no match for aaalvin’s waiting , the board bringing . Five-way play again extended for a considerable stretch, before ‘SkewpTroop’ hit the rail. SkewpTroop was down to virtually zero after dropping a big pot to Fidget65, and threw in the last of his chips behind , only to see ‘GulahPapyrus’ show . The board came for the knockout.

Fidget65’s own run came to an end after a open-ended straight draw went unfilled. Fidget65 moved in on a flop, holding , and aaalvin made the call with . The turn and river came and and the field was down to three. aaalvin continued his run by sending ‘heyfreddy’ to the rail in third; in that hand, aaalvin’s held up easily over heyfreddy’s as the board delivered .

This left aaalvin and GulahPapyrus to battle for the deepest money. GulahPapyrus doubled through to take a commanding lead with A- against aaalvin’s Q-5; the all-diamond flop included a five to pair aaalvin but the river brought GulahPapyrus one more diamond for the flush. Both players remained aggressive, and the end came when aaalvin pushed with and GulahPapyrus called with . The final board came , and GulahPapyrus walked away over $206,000 richer.

Final Results:

1. aaalvin — $206,564.70
2. GulahPapyrus — $126,787.60
3. heyfreddy — $82,986.20
4. Fidget65 — $66,208.80
5. SkewpTroop — $50,107
6. JBT449 — $36,032
7. Catenaccio — $26,461
8. tkap423 — $20,718.40
9. Tadadonk — $15,764

PartyPoker $300,000 Guaranteed

A healthy 1,735 players were on hand for yesterday’s $300,000 Guaranteed at PartyPoker, generating a total prize pool of $347,600 and easily eclipsing the event’s guarantee. First place here was scheduled to be $67,665, barring any final-table deals. After doubling through just outside the final table against ‘Jennifer2113′, ‘NLJFF’ arrived at the last ten seats with nearly two million in chips and a sizable lead.

Exiting in tenth from the final table was ‘btigris’, who was all-in pre-flop with but ran into ‘The_2_0ezx’s pocket kings and found no help on a board. ‘AAAKK99′ finished in ninth after his last stand with was no good against ‘LordLuckbox’s , with the board running out . ‘lutkatutka’ then finished off a short-stacked ‘Jennifer2113′ and only seven players remained.

Next, ‘gizzer11′ pinned his hopes on , top-pair/top-kicker after an flop, but lutkatutka showed for the set; after the board finished , the field was down to six. lutkatutka made it three in a row when his easily held up over ‘KitDeLuca’s , the board running out .

‘FaceAndi’ was knocked down to barely a big blind’s worth of chips after losing an A-K vs. 10-10 race against LordLuckbox, but won three straight showdowns, doubling or tripling through each time, to move back into the hunt. The last of those came against NLJFF, who then bowed out when his couldn’t catch against LordLuckbox’s waiting pocket deuces.

FaceAndi’s run back into contention ended in fourth place, when he called a pre-flop all-in from The_2_0ezx. The race was on when The_2_0ezx showed to FaceAndi’s , and the board missed FaceAndi and narrowed the race to three. Those three were closely bunched in chip count and soon agreed to a deal, with The_2_0ezx the official winner.

Final Results:

**1. The_2_0ezx — $43,400
**2. lutkatutka — $43,100
**3. LordLuckbox — $42,063.50
4. FaceAndi — $18,391
5. NLJFF — $14,921
6. KitDeLuca — $11,451
7. gizzer11 — $8,848.50
8. Jennifer2113 — $6,072.50
9. AAAKK99 — $4,511
10. btigris — $2,949.50

** — three-way deal for remaining prize money

It all started back on January 6, 2007 when Series 1 of the PokerProForAYear began. After a total of six series, 12 massive freerolls and over 50 League events, the PokerProForAYear League came to a dramatic conclusion on Monday January 7 at the Crown Casino, when the ten finalists took their seats at the PokerProForAYear Final. After nearly six hours of intense competition, Luke Abolins from the UK emerged victorious and claimed first prize.

The PokerProForAYear Final began just before 13:00 at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. Currently hosting the 2008 Aussie Millions, the Crown Poker Room was

filled with eager poker players and spectators, all curious to see the outcome of this massive competition. The room was filled with nervous energy as the final ten players sat down and the cards started flying.
Photos courtesy of Eagle Image - Dave Goudie.

The players at the final table were:
Seat 1 - Jo Abolins
Seat 2 - Massimo Di Marco
Seat 3 - Martin Page
Seat 4 - Robert Ritchie
Seat 5 - Luke Abolins
Seat 6 - Robert Price
Seat 7 - Ilja Smid
Seat 8 - Kairit Leibold
Seat 9 - Andrew Ritchie
Seat 10 - Carlo Carione

The first elimination came after just under an hour and a half of play, at the 200/400 level with 50 ante. With Ilja in the big blind, action folded to Massimo, who called. The two Roberts also called and Ilja checked his option. On a flop of Massimo checked and Robert Ritchie bet 500, followed by Robert Price, who raised to 2000. Massimo then moved all in and only Robert Price called. Massimo showed against Robert’s . The turn brought a and the river was , ending Massimo’s tournament.

Around 20 minutes later, Robert Ritchie moved all in for 3900 and thought his would hold up. Luke moved all in and tabled . The community cards fell and , busting Robert in ninth place.

Close to an hour later, Martin Page looked down to see and went all-in for 4,475. Ilja made the call with . The flop came , giving Ilja a comfortable lead. The on the turn, followed by on the river sealed the deal and left Martin in eighth place.

With blinds at 400/800, with a 100 ante, Robert Price raised to 1800 and Ilja, who had lost a string of hands, moved all-in for 175 holding . Andrew then moved all-in for 8,150 and Robert folded. The community cards showed and whilst Ilja felt confident with the straight on the river, Andrew made the flush with .

The next elimination occurred just after 17:00, when Robert Price, holding , moved all-in with an impressive 14,350 and was called by the Italian Carlo Carione. Holding , Carlo was the favourite heading into the flop. The community cards showed and , sending Robert to the rail.

Four minutes later, Kairit went all-in with and Andrew called all-in for 5,025, showing . The flop showed , giving Kairit top pair. The turn brought a and river was the , giving Kairit the win with a pair of aces.

As had been the trend for most of the day, Kairit then moved all-in pre flop for 9,875 holding and was called by Carlo, holding . The community cards landed and , sending Kairit to the rail in fourth.

And then there were three.

At around 18:00, Jo Abolins in the small blind went all-in for 11,600 holding and was quickly called by brother Luke, showing . The flop produced , giving Luke the high card. Both the turn and river didn’t help Jo (), who finished third and claimed her prize of $1,000 worth of online tournaments at Pacific Poker.

Luke Abolins and Carlo Carione entered heads-up play with roughly the same amount of chips (47,500 and 54,500 respectively). After two hands and with blinds now sitting at 1,500/3,000 with 500 ante, Luke raised 6,000 from the small blind and Carlo jumped all-in for another 12,100 in chips. Luke called and players produced their cards. Carlo, showing , was just ahead of Luke, who tabled . The flop of didn’t help Luke, although the on the turn most certainly did. The river brought an inconsequential , ending Carlo’s tournament in second place and leaving Luke ‘Resteal’ Abolins as the newly crowned PokerProForAYear.

Luke receives a package that includes buy-ins to four major tournaments in 2008, including flights, accommodation and expenses. The major tournaments are expected to include the Aussie Millions, World Series, 888 UK Poker Open (London) and the 888 Canadian Heads-up Challenge.

For finishing second, Carlo wins entry to the 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event, which begins January 14 at the fantastic Crown Casino, including flights, accommodation and expenses.

It certainly was a massive and lucrative competition, with players sharing in over $150,000 in prizes. “We were excited to send the PokerProForAYear finalists to Australia to battle it out for the Champion. It was a great series and it was good to see that the final table lived up to the excitement. Crown was a great venue and I would like to thank them and PokerNews.com for their support”, says Gareth Edwards from 888.com. “Luke was a worthy winner and we look forward to him representing 888.com at events around the world this year.”

Luke was thankful and still in shock after his massive win. After all the photos and fanfare, Luke celebrated with a well earned beer.

Resorts’ poker room is easy to overlook. After all, with all of the large poker action at the Taj, and the fairly large room also next door at Bally’s; it’s easy to see how the small Resorts room might be overlooked. Even so, they had one of the first poker rooms in Atlantic City and some of the earliest poker tournaments. Now, after a long hiatus of being dark, they’re back with tournaments twice a week and daily low-limit and low-stakes no-limit action.

When I visited on Saturday afternoon, they had one game going – a $2/$4 limit hold’em game. It was full so I waited at an empty table, talking with a fascinating older dealer who was waiting to start a $1/$2 no-limit game. He entertained me
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for nearly 20 minutes with stories about poker games in the 1970s in Florida. I was then called to the limit game.

I played limit hold’em for about an hour, winning $15. Half of the table was women who had never or only rarely played. The other half were men who weren’t much more experienced. It was the type of game with a lot of laughing, a lot of calling, and expressions of surprise if anyone raised. It was just the type of game for a limit hold’em duffer like me!

The room was well run – though a few things bothered me. There was smoking right next to the open front of the room – so it was impossible to avoid smoke coming into the room. I found that annoying and easily remedied just by having a smoke-free zone within ten feet of the entranceway of the poker room. Alas, when I left the room I smelled like cigarette smoke.

I didn’t care for the policy of dealers sharing their tips – as they did in this room. I prefer to be able to toke an individual dealer for skillful and quick work. Resorts has no say in this, however. Apparently, this is the law in New Jersey for any room with 15 or fewer tables. Curiously, though there was no financial incentive to be so, the dealers were as good as I’ve found them – skillful at dealing the game, funny when appropriate, and unobtrusive when there was action in the game. I’m not sure why the best dealers I found in Atlantic City (and perhaps in any card room I’ve been to) happened to be at the smallest and least prestigious room I’ve visited, but there you have it.

The house rakes the standard 10% of each pot with a $4 maximum. There is no bad-beat jackpot. Players earn $.50 an hour in comps if they have a player’s club card – which is easy and free to obtain.

I was lucky during my one hour of limit play. On my fifth hand I was dealt aces. I played them strictly by the book, raising the blind, and then coming out for a bet on each of the next three successive betting rounds. I got five callers before the flop, three after the flop, two on the turn and two on the river. They all laughed when I turned them over and raked in the largest pot of my session. That’s what I like: fun players who can enjoy the game even when someone else wins the pot!

The game was entertaining – made so by a dealer who kept the action lively and the players lighthearted. I’d come back to Resorts for low-limit action in the future. If I had a friend or two who had never played before, this is the place I’d take them in Atlantic City to introduce them to the game. Win or lose, I’m sure they’d leave with a fun memory.

Here’s a close call in stud at the poker table that you’ve probably faced many times. It’s the kind of difficult decision you should be lucky enough to frequently make.

You are dealt three cards of the same suit, the exposed one an ace. One or two of your suit are exposed elsewhere. One player, showing a high card, raises the bring-in and one or two other players call. You call too, looking for the flush. On fourth street, sure enough, you get your fourth suited card. You play your flush draw conventionally, checking and then calling the initial bettor. The other players fold. It’s heads up going into fifth street.

On fifth street you get the fifth suited card, giving you a
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flush. Your opponent does not show a pair. He just has his premium card from third street. You are still high on board with your ace. No other aces have been played. You suspect your opponent has a premium pair – perhaps two pair.

Here’s the question. Do you bet your flush or check it?

Each action has its merits. You have an unusually strong hand on fifth street – an ace-high flush against a probable pair. You’re certainly in the lead and likely to stay there throughout the hand. You clearly would like your opponent to call you on fifth street and thereafter. A check might induce your opponent to continue to bet and to lull him into thinking, incorrectly, that you don’t yet have a flush. Your bet on fifth street might convince your opponent that you caught a flush. He would then probably fold, depriving you of money on sixth street and the river. So perhaps a check is best.

On the other hand, your check might be followed by his check, causing you to lose a bet. And it might look suspicious – especially to a good opponent who might expect you to bet an exposed three-flush on fifth street whether or not you made a flush. He might check behind your bet and then fold on sixth street when you bet, convinced that you caught your flush.

Pennsylvania-based Lightning Poker, Inc., one of the two largest makers of electronic poker tables for use in live-action casinos, has been awarded a patent for one specific element of its products.

Patent #7,306,516, for an ‘Electronic Game Table’, specifically deals with the center monitor of Lightning Poker’s devices, which display the multiple community cards available during any given hand of poker. The patent was awarded on Dec. 11, 2007 and announced on Wednesday. Brian Haveson, Lightning Gaming’s CEO, stated, “This patent protects a critical feature of our automated poker tables, the center monitor, which is a key component to the player experience.” The patent joins others already
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garnered or applied for by Lightning regarding elements of its electronic products.

The 10-seat Lightning Poker tables continue to be distributed under an agreement signed last year with leading casino-equipment supplier Shuffle Master, Inc. The automated Lightning Poker tables offer both Texas Hold’em and Omaha programming options and are available for play in several casinos in the U.S., along with installations in Canada, Australia, Macau, Germany, Australia, Bulgaria, Romania and Lebanon among other countries. Lighning also recently announced its acquisition of Poker Automation, formerly the third largest maker of automated, live-play electronic poker tables.

Look out, fellas, and step aside, a new player is in town and her name is Lauren Failla, head of the High Heels Poker Tour.

One only needs to speak to Lauren, hearing the enthusiasm in her voice, to know she’s excited and driven in her push to bring more women into live poker. Lauren took her passion for poker and launched the ladies-only High Heels tour in June of 2007, including a website at highheelspokertour.com. The club’s annual fee of $30 makes one a member and brings notices of upcoming events, hotel discounts, giveaways, eligibility for free seat drawings, specials, and perks of the High Heels tour, such as private receptions and hospitality rooms.

Based in Florida and
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spreading across the Gulf and East Coasts, HHPT is moving into the big time with several upcoming events. Tunica, Mississippi’s Gold Strike Casino will host its first HHPT event on January 6, 2008 as part of the WSOP Circuit stop. A second event on February 24, 2008 at Harrah’s Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, Iowa is also on the upcoming schedule, with more to surely follow with other Harrah’s properties. The Harrah’s staff has made some changes at Lauren’s urging to make the event more enticing to the lady players. This year the starting stack will be 10,000 chips with 40-minute rounds.

A new affiliation with the WSOP Academy offered HHPT members the opportunity to win their way to the ‘Ladies Only’ poker camp January 25-26 at Caesars Palace. All one had to do was join the HHPT to become eligible for the drawing. The winner was drawn New Year’s Day and is being announced here: Congratulations to Paula Ettline of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If you didn’t win, here’s an added bonus: all members will receive a $150 discount on their entry to the event, from the original cost of $1,699.

Another great way to win a seat in the WSOP 2008 is getting underway. Several poker rooms are beginning to host ’step tournaments’ or qualifiers to advance to a main event taking place in March. The main event will be hosted at the Seminole Casino in Hollywood Florida on March 1st with a direct buy-in of $450, with $125 satellites available at seeral Florida locations: Seminole Casino Hollywood, Seminole Casino Brighton, The Isle Casino and Racing at Pompano Park, Miami Jai-Alai, Flagler Magic City Poker Room, Club 52 Melbourne Greyhound Dog Track, Naples Fort Myers Greyhound Dog Track, and Daytona Greyhound Dog Track. Total attendance and prize pools will determine the number of World Series seats to be given away.

Given Lauren’s enthusiasm and dedication, this new ladies tour just might have staying power. Certainly, HHPT will have its growing pains, but it joins a group of organizations catering to the growing women’s market. Nor is this all from the HHPT, as several new announcements and affiliations are planned for the coming months.

Dubai World has increased its stake in MGM Mirage by five million shares, which it purchased from the Lincy Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Kirk Kerkorian. The acquisition by the investment arm of the Dubai government brought its holdings to 19.5 million shares or 6.5% of MGM Mirage stock.

Dubai World and MGM Mirage entered into a joint venture back in August relative to the development and ownership of MGM Mirage’s Las Vegas CityCenter. As part of that deal, Dubai World was slated to purchase 14.2 million shares of MGM Mirage stock. In October,
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Dubai World tendered an offer for the shares at $84 but was unable to get more than 350,000 shares under the offer. According to a recent SEC filing, the purchase price of the Lincy shares was $84.80. The SEC filing also stated that pending regulatory approval, Dubai World would be seeking to designate a member of MGM Mirage’s Board of Directors.

Harrah’s Buy-Out Imminent

On Christmas Eve, Harrah’s Entertainment issued a press release announcing that it had cleared the last regulatory hurdle associated with its proposed acquisition by private equity firms Apollo Global Management, L.P. and TPG Capital. While the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) is still finalizing its review, they notified Harrah’s that they had sufficient information to give the go-ahead for the buyout. Harrah’s operates a number of casinos on Indian lands which fall under the regulatory purview of the NIGC, an independent federal regulatory agency of the United States. The Nevada Gaming Commission had given its blessing to the deal late last month leaving the NIGC as the last regulatory hoop for the Harrah’s acquisition. Harrah’s has been targeting early 2008 for completion of the sale; analysts now believe the sale could become final before the end of the month.

Another heavy month of tournament action saw major results come in from the United States, Europe and the Asian Pacific Rim. Annette Obrestad and Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson were two of the biggest names to go very deep in November events, while elsewhere, American poker players turned a bit political during a traditional election month. November brought us plenty of news worth reading, with these stories among the most important:

Peters Tops Obrestad in PokerStars.net EPT Dublin Final — Annette Obrestad’s run to victory at the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour stop ran into an unexpected roadblock, and the roadblock’s name was Reuben Peters. The young American online qualifier came from
Pokerstars
behind to prevent Obrestad from winning her second major title of the year after Obrestad held the lead at the start of heads-up play. Peters began the day as one of the shortest stacks at a final table also including European stars Thierry van den Berg and Trond Eidsvig, and when the day was complete had collected €532,620 for his comeback win. Obrestad’s runner-up showing was worth €297,800.

‘Jesus’ Ferguson Snares Third Circuit Ring — Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson became the first three-time WSOP Circuit champion in November when he held off local pro Dustin Fox in the main event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. Ferguson was a dominant player throughout the tourney and held a big lead as the final table began, while Fox chipped out early and became a serious threat while the other remaining players departed. The heads-up portion of the event set a record that can never be beaten — it lasted only one hand, when Ferguson, who flopped a set after starting with pockettens, cracked Fox’s pocket aces. Ferguson collected $203,649 for the win, with Fox taking home $119,333.

Assadourian Triumphs in PokerStars.net APPT Macau — Another form of history was made when the new PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour arrived in Macau — the hastily arranged event was the first-ever major poker tournament held in Mainland China. The winner here in the APPT Macau Main Event was young Australian pro Eric Assadourian, who came from behind to win the $368,640 first-place prize. Emad Tahtouh held a sizeable lead at the start of play but was reeled in early, finishing fifth, while Assadourian charged to the front and held off Bo Sehlstedt and David Paul Steicke for the win.

Duke Leads Poker World’s Testimony to Congress — America’s laws and policies regarding Internet gambling were the topic of a Congressional hearing in November and several big names from the poker world were on hand to testify. The hearing was called by John Conyers, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, and among those appearing on the pro-poker side of the slate was pro Annie Duke, as a spokesperson for the Poker Players Alliance, and her detailed testimony was supported by that of others, including New York University law school professor Joseph Weiler and Internet security expert Michael Colopy. The antis brought out there big guns as well, including Family Research Council head Tom McClusky and several legislators and prosecutors who have made attackng online gambling a focal point of their work. The hearing brought no resolution or action but offered a chance to get many of the most important arguments on the topic into the public record.

‘fkscreennames’ Takes FTOPS VI Main Event — Full Tilt’s FTOPS VI series (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) concluded its late fall run after doling out more than $11 million over its 14 events. The biggest of the 14 evens was, of course, the Main Event on FTOPS VI’s final day, a $500+35 event that drew 4,371 entrants and easily topped its $2 million pre-tourney guarantee. When the day’s action finally wrapped up, ‘fkscreennames’ was the victor, taking down a $385,937.45 payday, after holding a commanding lead entering heads-up action and holding off ’southside1′ ($233,629.95) for the win.

New Jersey Man Slain in NYC Poker Robbery — One of New York City’s common underground poker games was the site of a botched robbery attempt in November that led to the death of one of the game’s players. Frank DeSena, 55, of New Jersey, died after being struck in the chest by a bullet that several local reports stated was discharged accidentally when one of the robbers dropped his weapon. NYC police have made two separate arrests in the case to date.

Carlos Uz Victorious at Caesars Indiana — The first major poker result of November came from the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Indiana, where Carlos Uz became the official winner after a late chop with Marc Fratter in the Circuit stop’s main event. Uz and Fratter split the proceeds for the final two spots almost evenly after dispatching the rest of a final table that also included 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom’Donkey Bomber’ Schneider. Uz finished with $165,000 in winning plus the winner’s gold-and-diamonds Circuit ring, while Fratter took home $175,034 and the $10,000 entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event.