|
PokerPages > Poker News > Poker News
Poker News - Poker News
Search News:
Poker is New Cause for Harvard Law School ProfFri, Nov 2nd, 2007 @ 12:00am Charles Nesson, the Harvard Law School professor who is best known for defending the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers and for helping parents sue chemical companies in the case popularized by film "A Civil Action", has his sites set on a new cause: poker. "I'd like to legitimate poker as an educational instrument," Nesson said in an interview with the Boston Herald. "It's a great way to learn and practice the skills of seeing what things look like from another person's point of view." Local to Massachusetts, Nesson wants to loosen the state limits on small-scale poker tournaments. He's still angry that an annual student-run charity tournament was canceled last spring because organizers did not know they needed a permit. He's also lobbying Congress to overturn or amend the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that blocks financial institutions from handling gambling transactions for US residents, in a highly criticized attempt to ban online gambling. He has formed the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society with some of his students to promote poker as a fun learning tool and to redefine it as a game of skill, rather than a game of chance (click here for related article). "Obviously the distinction is that in games of chance, you're not using your brain," he said. "You may be entertaining yourself but you're not really engaging in a developmental activity, whereas (in) games of skill you develop skill. You learn to be smart, you learn to win." NESSON's FAMOUS CASES The Boston Herald noted that Nesson rose to fame by defending Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 leaked to the media the "Pentagon Papers," secret documents that indicated the government deceived the public about whether the Vietnam War could be won. Ellsberg faced up to 115 years in prison, but the charges were dismissed because of government misconduct against him. Later, attorney Jan Schlichtmann persuaded Nesson, an expert in evidence, to join his legal fight against chemical companies whose alleged polluting was suspected of causing leukemia among children in Woburn Massachusetts. Jonathan Harr's book, "A Civil Action," documented the case and was later turned into a film starring John Travolta. POKER CLUB FORMED About a month ago, Nesson and several dozen students formed the poker society. Besides the legal arguments, they want to promote what they say are academic aspects of poker. They are planning academic seminars on poker for youngsters. Andrew Woods is a third-year Harvard Law student who is head of the founding chapter. They created a Web site and are helping organize chapters at Yale, Brown, Penn State, Stanford and other universities. Woods said he is starting a fundraising effort to help his poker society expand to hundreds of campuses. Nesson and Woods were on Capitol Hill last week, joining the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) n pressing Congress to consider several new bills that would exempt poker from UIGEA (click here for related article). The PPA estimates there are between 15 million and 23 million U.S. Internet poker players. Read Related Articles:
More Poker News Articles
PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.
Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.
Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.
Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27 Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.
Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.
Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.
Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon? Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.
Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts.
11 Remain in WPT Festa al Lago Main Event The fourth day of the Festa al Lago WPT $15,000 Championship began with 37 players, just ten eliminations away from the money. Though action was painfully slow at times, it hit break-neck speed before the end of the night, leaving only 11 players standing heading into Day 5. Click here for Day 4 photos and chip counts. |
 Online Poker »
Poker News »
Blog Coverage
Top News
PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland...
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World... Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the... Top Tournaments
|
Discuss this article in our forum
Print this article
All Poker and free play poker content ©2009 Advanced Global Applications, LLC. All rights reserved.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, visit either: National Council on Problem Gambling or Gamblers Anonymous International Service