|
PokerPages > Poker News > Poker News
Poker News - Poker News
Search News:
Texas Bill to Legalize Texas Hold'em Poker Gets HearingThu, Apr 5th, 2007 @ 12:00am The House Committee for Licensing and Administrative Procedures heard testimony Tuesday to make Texas Hold'em poker games legal in Texas. House Bill 3186, filed by Representative Jose Menendez (D) of San Antonio, would allow live or electronic poker gambling at certain establishments as well as charitable poker for qualified groups. However, the bill does not address online poker playing. The bill tasks the Texas Lottery Commission to provide oversight of certain related activities including where poker tables would be allowed, such as at bars or race tracks. They would also oversee regulation of charitable poker events. A large motivation for the bill is that a percentage of the profits would go to the state. "I don't think we should have poker card rooms in every neighborhood bar or in every warehouse," Menendez said. "I think you should have it out in the open at certain locations where we can assure the public that they are safe and secure." Menendez said he hopes the money will go to charities and ease the burden on taxpayers. "At the end of the day, some of the conservative estimates are that the state could reap somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million a year," Menendez said. "This legislation could raise over a billion dollars over the next biennium for state coffers while bringing the game out of legal limbo and into the light," said Mike Lavigne, treasurer of the Texas Poker Political Action Committee, a grassroots organization created to encourage legal, safe and accessible poker in Texas. However, there has been no fiscal analysis of the bill yet by legislative researchers. If the bill becomes law, then Texas would become (along with California and Montana) a safe, regulated environment for poker wagering, remarked Michael Bolcerek, president of the National Poker Players Alliance. Existing Texas law allows gambling on card games if it is done in private, such as at home; if no one receives economic benefit from the game other than personal winnings; and if the risk of winning or losing is the same for all who participate, according to the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Poker enthusiasts say businesses illegally organize games now, and that all types of people are playing, from grandmothers to lawyers to religious leaders. Establishments with liquor licenses would be prime spots for poker wagering because those businesses will have gone through the vetting process required for alcohol sales, noted Lavigne. Sexually oriented businesses would not be allowed to host games under an updated version of the bill expected to be introduced, Lavigne said. Penalties for illegal games would be toughened, he added. Supporters of the bill say Texas Hold'em poker it is a game of skill, while opponents argue it is a game of chance and should remain illegal. Conservatives are also expected to oppose the bill. Poker professionals and Texas natives Lewis and Clonie Gowen said underground games are not safe for players. "I think it's time that we step up here as Texans and make it safer for people that are going to play," said Gowen. "Like it or not, thousands and thousands of people are playing poker every day," said poker professional Michele Lewis quoted Gambling 911. "It's a matter of whether or not the government wants to protect those players, and basically, do they want a cut?" Read Related Article:
More Poker News Articles
World Series of Poker: Ante Up for Africa The Ante Up for Africa Charity Tournament is one of the biggest poker charity events of the year. This charity tournament supports the refugees from the Sudan region of Darfur. After nine hours of play, Alexander (Alex) Bolotin was crowned the champion of the Ante Up for Africa tournament and won $177,730 for his first place finish.
World Series of Poker Event 56: Matt Hawrilenko Takes Down Bracelet and $1 Million The $5,000 Six Handed No Limit Hold'em event was the last event to be held at the World Series of Poker 2009 before the famous Main Event starts. Event number 56 saw 928 players register for their chance to win the last bracelet to be offered this summer. The next bracelet of the Series will not be awarded until November when the Main Event final table wraps up. Adding to the excitement of this event, there was a total prize pool of over $4.3 million, and the winner of the event was guaranteed to come out a millionaire.
World Series of Poker Event 54: Tony Veckey Wins Event 54 sold out in a hurry as 2,818 people gobbled up all of the seats for the last low buy-in No Limit Hold''m tournament of the World Series of Poker. This was a new event added to satisfy the enormous public demand for this level of event. $1,500 from each of the entrants produced a prize pool of $3,846,570, with payouts down to 297.
World Series of Poker Event 52: German Jorg Peisert Wins Jorg Peisert from Dusseldorf, Germany won the inaugural Triple Chance No Limit Hold'em event at this year's World Series of Poker. Peisert outlasted 853 other players who put up $3000 to play in this No Limit Hold'em event. The total prize pool was $2,357,040 and 81 players took home a cut. 81st place took home $5,892, but the lion's share, $506,800, went to Peisert. On the final day, Peisert started in 6th chip position and worked his way up to a chip juggernaut, eliminating players and collecting chips along the way. Notable players who cashed in this tournament include, Eric 'Rizen' Lynch (12th), An 'The Boss' Tran, Mike 'The Mad Genius of Poker' Caro (23rd), and Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari (24th).
World Series of Poker Event 53: New Orleans Resident David Halpern Wins David Halpern from New Orleans, LA won the $1500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or Better Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Halpern outlasted 467 other players to win $159,048 for winning the tournament. Halpern has already cashed once this year (Pot Limit Omaha), but this is his first WSOP bracelet. The $657,455 prize pool was spread out amongst 48 players who cashed. Halpern battled William Kohler for over three hour heads-up. Battled is a strong word, as both players seemed enamored of each other and even went to dinner together during the break. They traded the chip lead back and forth until Kohler seized it for good. Other notable players who cashed includes Chad Brown (4th), Matt Savage (5th), Andy Bloch (23rd), and Norman Chad (32rd).
World Series of Poker event 49: David Bach Wins $50K HORSE Event The 2009 $50,000 HORSE event attracted 95 of the world's best poker players. The number of entrants decreased from the previous year which attracted 148 entrants. As play began, player's speculated as to the reason why the numbers decreased so dramatically. Was it the economy? Was it Scotty Nguyen's drunken tirade last year? Many believed that it was ESPN's unfortunate decision to not televise this year's final table. Even though the field decreased, the players still had a full five days of play. 87 players would be eliminated on the way to a star studded final table. After 20 hours of play, David Bach was proclaimed the winner of the 2009 $50,000 HORSE event. He took home the bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial trophy, and the $1,276,806 first place prize.
World Series of Poker Event 55: Abe Mosseri Wins First WSOP Bracelet Abraham Mosseri from New York City won the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Lowball (Limit) event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Mosseri outlasted 257 other players to win $165,513 and the accompanying gold bracelet. This is Mosseri's first WSOP bracelet and third cash. This was his 2nd final table of this year's Series. Mosseri and others amassed a prize pool of $593,400. Only 24 players got a piece of it though. Mosseri ended Day 1 in 13th place with 39,100 in chips. By the end of Day 2, Mosseri was the chip leader with 447,000. Mosseri maintained his chip lead through most of the day. It would come down to him and Masayoshi Tanaka, who started the day with second most chips. Tanaka had the lead as heads up began, but it was meant to be for Mosseri who played aggressively and caught cards at the right time to eventually eliminate Tanaka. Notables at today's final table included three time bracelet winner John Juanda (4th), Blair Rodman (5th) and Nam Le (9th). Daniel Negreanu cashed in 16th and Hasan Habib finished in 18th.
World Series of Poker Event 51: Carsten Joh Wins Sold Out NLHE Event Carsten Joh defeated a sellout crowd to win his first bracelet in the penultimate $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event of 2009. Joh beat Andrew Chen heads up to bring home Germany's first bracelet of the Series. The event began with a largely amateur crowd, and the big names that made it to Day 2 quickly found themselves on the sidelines. Men Nguyen, Tony Cousineau, and Matt Brady outlasted most of the field but failed to make it to Day 3.
World Series of Poker Event 50: Greg 'FBT' Mueller Wins 2nd '09 Bracelet The $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout should put to rest any questions about the skill required to play Limit. By the time the event was down to two players, it was a heads up match between the owners of the last two Limit bracelets awarded at the WSOP. Greg 'FBT' Mueller defeated Marc Naalden to win his second bracelet of the year, making him the fourth person to claim more than one in 2009. Naalden now has 1st and 2nd place finishes in Limit tournaments this year. He also cashed in a Mixed Hold'em event.
World Series of Poker Event 48: Brandon 'any2cantu' Cantu Wins After finishing runner-up at a final table a week ago, Brandon Cantu got a second chance to win a second bracelet in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split event. This time, Cantu closed the deal in a tough heads up match with Lee Watkinson and picked up the WSOP gold. Brandon 'any2cantu', known for his creative and sometimes loose style of play, was as shocked as everyone else when he turned over Aces more than ten times on Day 2. "This is the hottest streak I've ever been on in my life," he told Phil Hellmuth, who was eliminated in 14th place. By the time the field was narrowed to 25 players, Brandon had nearly 25% of the chips in play. |
 Online Poker »
  100% Sign up bonus up to $600 at Full Tilt Poker   WSOP thrills-Without going to Vegas Play in Freeplay WSOP events now!  Double up your 1st $50 deposit And play in the Sunday Million !  100 WSOP Seat Giveway-on NOW! & Main Event, Event 54 satellites Poker News »
Blog Coverage
Top News
World Series of Poker Event 56: Matt...
World Series of Poker: Ante Up for... World Series of Poker Event 54: Tony... Top Tournaments
|
.gif&contenttype=gif "Pokervibez")
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