Richest Tourney Set for Macau; String Bet Rule Hurts Poker; Full Tilt Claims
Macau Pro Am Open richest poker event ever held
by Mark Mayer
Mark can be found at the excellent gaming website www.gamingtoday.com
GamingToday has learned of plans for a proposed Macau Pro Am Open for the spring of 2013, which would be the richest poker event ever held.
William Murray, an American businessman, told GT he represents one of five Chinese company industrialists sponsoring the event. He said the prize pool would be somewhere between $65 million and $100 million with a first prize of $25 million for the Main Event.
The first prize payoff for this year’s World Series of Poker, won by Germany’s Pius Heinz, was $8.72 million.
“The current goal is to have 500 participants with one-third coming from the Far East, one-third from the U.S., and one-third from other countries,” Murray said. “The subscription for the seats in the Far East has already been taken.”
Cutoff would be Dec. 15, 2011 for registration on a first come, first serve basis regardless of the player’s status in the poker industry.
An organizational meeting was held last March in Hong Kong, according to Murray, to set the infrastructure for the tournament. He did not give details, but indicated the group sponsoring the event is not affiliated with any hotel, casino, or any current organization, guild, or trade association.
Murray said current plans call for other events, ranging from Texas hold’em to baccarat, to precede the main event.
There will be a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million with $1 million to the winners, Murray said.
“This spectacular event will establish Macau as the poker tournament capital of the world and hopefully will bring the world’s top players there for cash and tournament contests,” Murray said. “Macau is already the baccarat capital of the world and now we are completing the other half of the puzzle, poker.”
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Poker’s String Bet Rule hurts the game
by Johnny Hale
Johnny can be found at the top gaming website www.gamingtoday.com
You folks already know I am from Oklahoma and that it’s a part of my name by act of the state legislature; I have been honored as being one of the “Favorite Son’s.”
So it is ok if I use the name Oklahoma Johnny, which puts me in the same club with Will Rogers, who once said “Neither man nor beast is safe when the legislature is in secession.”
Will went on to say, “We have enough laws on the books to last us for quite a spell.” With a public approval rating of less than 20% it would just be better if they would shut up and come on home for a while.
Now that I said all of that, the worst thing that has happened in the United States since the Revolutionary War is air conditioning.
Years ago when it got hot in Washington, D.C. the old boys and girls in Congress would get too hot to stay there and talk, change the laws and whatever!
Rogers also said, and I agree, “All I know is what I read in the newspapers!” They should just shut up, come home, sit under a Magnolia tree, cool off and drink a Mint Julep!
But with the advent of AC, hey, just stay in DC and legislate the year round. Think about it, would President Clinton have been interested in Monica if it were not for his office being air conditioned?
It would have been too hot for those carryings on!
OKJ’s Golden Rule!
Now some of you folks may be of the same opinion about the Poker Players Association and Poker Directors Organization.
In my opinion most of the rules of poker are not for the benefit of the game, but for the poker room and the casino. I’ll say more about that if you e-mail me at Oklajohnny@aol.com.
As for today’s column, here’s my opinion on the worst rule in poker – the String Bet Rule, which says you can’t call and then raise.
In over 70 years of playing poker, I have never seen this rule help the game of poker, only hurt it. The ones feeling it the most are the novices or unskilled poker players – causing arguments, delays and confusion.
Sure, I understand the defense of the rule – the poker player is trying to get a read on his opponent, pick up a tell as to how much he should bet. However, this is a car load of nonsense!
Only the novice gets called on this rule. He cuts his chips to make the raise, which everyone knows will be a raise. The person not only studies the other players, but most of the time just picks up half of his chips then reaches back to get the other stack to make the raise.
The dealer knows its a raise, the players all know it – only the novice doesn’t know the rule. If you watch poker on television just a little you will see how the expert players get their reads, tells or information.
They will study, select their bets, arrange their chips, count theirs and the opponents or ask him how many he has, etc. Then they will say raise and put the chips in or pick up a great pile in their hand.
Once done, they put their hand out into the betting area and drop the chips a few at a time. Because they have a large amount of chips in their hand they are permitted to put in a few or a lot into the pot to try to get all the information they can from their opponent before they complete their betting action.
Years ago Billie O (now playing in the big game upstairs) was the card room manager of many card rooms. He drew a line on the table in front of all the players. All the chips that the player had in his hand when he crossed that line had to be his bet.
OKJ Tip of the Week
Do not send a boy out to do a man’s work! When playing poker and you want to be called, send a boy out and just bet a little bit.
When you want to win the pot, send a man out and bet them more money than it is poker to call! Then you can take the money home and count it there!
Until next time STAY LUCKY !!!
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Full Tilt Attorney Believes Players may be Afraid to File Claim
By: Charles
Article courtesy of www.pokernewsreport.com
An attorney representing Full Tilt Poker has said that some players with large sums of money in their players’ accounts at Full Tilt may be hesitant to file claims for their money from the Department of Justice (DoJ) for fear of government action in relation to the funds.
Jeff Ifrah, a Washington DC-based lawyer who has represented CEO Ray Bitar and Full Tilt in numerous capacities recently, has urged U.S. authorities to facilitate and assist American players who will be reclaiming money that is currently frozen on Full Tilt.
“Players need some encouragement to submit their claims as some may be concerned about action from the IRS,” Ifrah told eGaming Review. “Unfortunately, there’s not an expert who can say to players ‘send me your claims and I will gather them all up.’”
In an agreement that was brokered last week between the DoJ and Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT), it was revealed that Full Tilt Poker will forfeit its assets to the DoJ, who will then sell Full Tilt’s assets to GBT for $80 million. The deal, which apparently still requires approval by Full Tilt shareholders, also calls for GBT to reimburse non-U.S. players, while the DoJ will be responsible for paying U.S. poker players. Exact details have not been solidified, but U.S. players will be required to file claims for compensation directly to the U.S. DoJ.
“The government will establish a fund to payback the U.S. players,” Ifrah said. “Obviously, there is going to remain a lot of questions [as to] how players are going to submit a request.”
Poker tax expert Ann-Margaret Johnston weighed in earlier this month on the possibility of Full Tilt poker players having to apply for reimbursement from the government for funds that the DoJ considers to be ill-gotten and in violation of the law.
“I think it’s awfully weird,” Johnston said. “I don’t like my check coming from the DoJ. They’ve made a stance that it’s illegal. The irony is the fact that they’re paying you out on something they’ve said is illegal.”
Another issue that is thought to be getting in the way of Full Tilt sale negotiations being finalized and player reimbursement to commence is the recent motions filed by Full Tilt board member and poker pro Chris Ferguson that lays claim to over $98 million seized by the government on behalf of Kolyma and Vantage, two companies run by Full Tilt. In the legal brief, Ferguson said the accounts “contain funds deposited by Full Tilt Poker players to be transferred to Vantage and/or Kolyma or funds deposited by Vantage and/or Kolyma that were in the process of being returned to Full Tilt Poker players.”
It is believed that the Full Tilt board will withdraw that claim for $98 million in seized funds, but it has, as of yet, not been withdrawn. However, Barry Boss, one of the named lawyers representing Full Tilt, is optimistic that it will happen. “It is ultimately contemplated that the claim will be withdrawn but there are some additional events which need to occur first, primarily a deal between FTP and GBT,” Boss said.
In any event, the DoJ reimbursing U.S. players will undoubtedly lead to a plethora of tax implications for players receiving funds. Without intending to strike fear in anybody, perhaps a last bit of advice from a poker tax expert should be heeded.
“You should always pay taxes on it [poker winnings] no matter what,” Johnston said. “The IRS could know about it if they want to know about it. It is not uncommon for the IRS and DoJ to share information.”
