The race for legalized online poker is heating up in the U.S. in 2012. As several states consider bills to regulate and eventually implement an online gaming platform, operators are preparing to capitalize on an exciting and potentially lucrative new market.

Bwin.party digital entertainment figures to be one of the major players once the space opens up. Last October, the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling company joined forces with MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming to form an online poker venture in anticipation of legalized online gambling in the states, joining several rival companies with similar ambitions.

Bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan recently sat down with PokerNews to discuss the company’s plans once online poker is legalized in the U.S, how it can further use its acquisition of the World Poker Tour, and more.

Last week, we saw two of your partners comment about online poker legislation in the U.S. Keith Smart at Boyd Gaming said regulated U.S. e-gaming is further off than he had hoped. Jim Murren at MGM said he still believes that federal online poker will pass this year. What were your thoughts about those comments?

Well, I guess our perspective is really quite simple. For many years it was a question of if the U.S. government — either at a federal or state level — would regulate online gaming. We don’t think that’s the case anymore. We think it’s a question of when.

Why do we think that? Let’s take a look at some of the industry players in the United States. We saw Caesars make an announcement about acquiring a poker platform. We’ve seen the IGT and Entraction deal. We’ve seen the Fertitta Interactive and CyberArts deal. And as you probably know, we’ve been in the process of marketing Ongame Network, and all the interested parties in that particular asset have been coming from the United States.

You take that level of activity and combine it with various state efforts that have been initiated since the Dec. 23 DOJ opinion. We’ve seen five states introduce poker bills: New Jersey, Iowa, Hawaii, Mississippi and California. We’ve got Nevada which actually passed a law in December. And then we’ve had much conjecture that there very well could be a federal bill kicking around.

That’s a pretty impressive list of events that would lead one to believe that we’re likely going to see poker be legal in the U.S. in some way, shape or form. We can’t predict whether that’s going to be at a state level or federal level. Either are good. Certainly our preference would be for a federal solution. We think it’s all very positive for poker and for organizations like ourselves.

When bwin.party signed the deal with MGM and Boyd in October, did you have a prospective date that you wanted to have an online gaming platform up and running?

It’s very difficult for us to have determined a date because the launching in the market was going to be determined by a couple things. It was going to be determined by technical standards that we would have to integrate into our platform. We’ve seen that throughout Europe as markets have regulated. Italy had its own set of standards, as did France and Denmark. Those are a couple of the regulated markets that we have recently launched in. And just before the end of last year we got ready for the Spanish market. Each market had unique technical standards.

And then there will be a period where organizations are allowed to get their business affairs in order. That means getting a technical platform ready and going through a suitability review. I think a realistic perspective is that a 2013 launch is pretty sound. At the very least there will be a few states that will have it available at that point in time.

Do you think online poker can succeed at the intrastate level long term?

I think it’ll be a function of the size of the population in the state. I also think it’ll be a function of whether the states that do in fact regulate it allow for cross-state arrangements. Poker is a liquidity game, so the smaller the population the less exciting it will be for the consumer. But we think there are a number of states where it will be a very attractive proposition. Nevada is already there. And California is one of the most logical states to get something done. That’s about 38 million Americans right there. That’s a pretty compelling market.

With PokerStars and Full Tilt presumably out of the U.S. for the foreseeable future, do you feel PartyPoker is now the largest brand name in that market?

We did a brand awareness survey in California, Texas, and New York, and we went to the consumers and listed all of the existing U.S. and former U.S. poker brands. That included the likes of PokerStars, Full Tilt, PartyPoker, and World Poker Tour. Unsurprisingly, PokerStars and Full Tilt were No. 1 and No. 2 in terms of being the most recognized poker brands. What was fascinating to us was, despite not having advertised in the market for over five years, PartyPoker was No. 3. And not by a great gulf, either — the brand recognition was significant. No. 5 was the World Poker Tour. Poker Room was No. 8. So when we go into this market, we go in with some pretty strong assets, and nicely positioned.

If and when online poker is legalized in the U.S., do you think PartyPoker could regain the same brand power it had before it pulled out of the market in 2006?

We’re certainly going to have a lot more competitors — at least in the early phase, when there will be a scramble for market share. I think PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour are going to attract a very significant market share, but it remains to be seen what that will be.

It won’t be the 50 percent that PartyPoker once had. I don’t think that’s practical to expect given that fact that you’re going to have mainstream brands like MGM, like Boyd, and like Caesars with the World Series of Poker. It’s going to be a very new competitive set, but I think we can all be fairly confident that, given the brand strength that we’ve had, combined with our willingness to go in and spend aggressively in marketing, we’re going to have a very meaningful liquidity pool.

(WPT CEO) Steve Heller told us this month that ClubWPT would look into expanding its subscription site to offer real-money games if poker was legalized in the U.S. Would you consider combining your resources and major brand names to create a bwin.party/WPT superpower for real-money online poker?

That’s already been contemplated in the arrangements we have with MGM and Boyd Gaming. Specifically what we’ve done with those organizations is we’ve formed a joint venture, and the brands we’ll have in that joint venture are going to be PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour. It is absolutely in our strategic objective to take advantage of the World Poker Tour and its brand awareness in the U.S in the real-money gaming environment.

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker hired numerous pros before Black Friday to help build their brands, but PartyPoker has gone with a small team of high-profile players like Tony G, Mike Sexton and Kara Scott. Can you talk a little bit about that strategy?

Using professional poker players has long been the strategy for the industry. It’s not new, but I don’t know that it resonates the same way it once did. We have a select few poker players that we use. We have Kara and her big mass appeal, especially in the Canadian and U.S. market. Mike — How could you not use Mike and his connection to the World Poker Tour? If I take you back in history when PartyPoker was No. 1, Mike was an ambassador for Party, so there was a natural connection that existed between the two. And Tony’s important to us because he has that bad boy image that resonates within the community. And he’s viewed as being one of the most compelling poker players to follow. You either love him or you hate him, but everybody follows him.

Will that strategy expand when we get into the U.S.? I’m going to reserve that to the team that’s going to run that group. I have my own views as to how compelling it is to build a staple of professional poker players. What will resonate will be our product and our branding and making this much more of a social appeal to the consumer base — bringing maximum entertainment value. Whether that incorporates poker pros is a secondary objective.

The World Poker Tour was falling on hard times when you acquired the company in 2009. Are you pleased with the progress the tour has made since then?

I think Steve Heller, Adam Pliska and the team have done a phenomenal job. First and foremost, they’ve truly made the World Poker Tour a world event by expanding into the European marketplace and expanding the number of events. We have more televised events, and we’ve got more regional events which aren’t televised but they give the players who see the WPT on TV a chance to build their skills at a regional event.

What we have seen since we’ve taken over is a growth in the number of players buying into the events, which is great. The European connection has been fundamental in terms of Steve and Adam’s objective to take this thing around the globe. The TV viewership of the 10th season is up significantly from the prior years. If you go to a land-based event, Vince and Mike are now physically at the event — that wasn’t the case before. You’ve got the Royal Flush Girls who bring a bit of the bling and sex appeal to the event. So it is about entertainment.

We’ve also got a subscription business that has grown very nicely in the United States and the team is taking a look at the opportunities to take that particular model outside of the U.S. We’re building a very nice real-money poker business with the WPT brand in Europe and that seems to be growing at a really nice rate for us. And then the MGM/Boyd partnership has positioned us to exploit the WPT brand in the U.S. when it opens up for real-money poker.

What are some of your plans for bwin.party and the World Poker Tour in the near future?

Our plans are to continue to accentuate and invest in all of the items I just listed. It is about having events that are truly global so it is a world poker tour. It’s about producing entertaining content and getting the viewership and the number of players at land-based events up. It’s about exploiting the subscription model in the current market and other markets that we’re able to do so. And ultimately, when the U.S. market opens up for real-money poker, it’s about taking that brand into the U.S. along with the Party brand. We’ve got two very powerful brands that will seek to drive and grow in the U.S. and the real-money European market.

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photo: poker-leaders.com As the “Leap Month” of February comes to a close, one Canadian player who has leaped in his poker career winnings  this month is Montrealer Samuel Chartier. Samuel has spent the month travelling and playing poker in Europe mainly in France and Denmark at back to back European Poker Tours, the 2012 EPT Deauville in France and 2012 EPT Copenhagen in Denmark. The European Poker Tour, a tournament series organized and sponsored by PokerStars, has been good to Charest in the past having cashed in a total 10 events prior to February since 2008 at various EPT events with one victory at the 2011 PCA

Read more here:
Leap Month for Samuel Chartier with 3 EPT Cashes

On Wednesday, Federated Sports + Gaming announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a reorganization filing the company hopes will allow them to keep assets like Epic Poker and the Global Poker Index.

In a letter posted on the Federated Sports + Gaming website, Executive Chairman Jeffrey Pollack explained:

“There is no easy way to say this, but, at the end of the day yesterday, Federated Sports + Gaming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Our company needs a new start.

This reorganization filing is an important first step in that direction and our goal is to keep the Epic Poker League and all of our key initiatives – including the Global Poker Index, epicpoker.com, the Epic Poker game on Facebook, and the Heartland Poker Tour – moving forward with a continued spirit of innovation. We will most likely accomplish this by entering into an agreement with another firm that shares our passion and vision – a process we had been working toward prior to the filing.”

He went on to say:

“Everyone on our talented team – employees, contractors, and partners, alike – have put their hearts into this business and have worked tirelessly to help bring Epic Poker to life. The effort to reorganize under Chapter 11 is, in part, about honoring their work, honoring the generous support and participation of our league members, and fulfilling our collective vision to help elevate and further celebrate the game of poker.”

“The headline here is that we’re reorganizing, not liquidating,” Pollack told PokerNews in an exclusive interview. “We need a new start, and we’re going to hit the reset button and come at it again.”

As Pollack stated in the announcement, and which he reiterated in our interview, he imagines that reorganization will most likely come in the form of partnering with a firm to keep Epic Poker and all of its other initiatives alive; however, when asked if the firm in question was Pinnacle Entertainment, Pollack said, “All I can say is that we’re talking to a number of companies.”

Pollack was unable to discuss how FS+G found itself in its current position: “That is not something we can discuss at this time, but we’re going to focus on a transaction and move forward, and our goal is to stage Event 4 and our Championship as we originally planned. We’re just not sure yet when that will happen.”

Those sentiments were explained in a letter from commissioner Annie Duke that was sent to all league members explaining FS+G’s position. “I am writing to let you know that, at the end of the day yesterday, Federated Sports + Gaming filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization,” Duke explained in the letter. “This is not a liquidation filing and it is not the end of the Epic Poker League.”

Duke concluded by saying: “I do not know exactly when we will stage Event 4 and the Season One Championship, but, again, it is our intention to complete Season One. In the interim, please do not hesitate to call me at any time. If you have any questions or concerns, I am available to you personally.”

Event 4, which was originally scheduled to take place at the end of January or early February, was postponed due to player requests because it conflicted with other events, a fact Pollack confirmed while denying that any financial obstacles contributed to that decision.

In addition to moving forward with Event 4 and the Championship Event, the Global Poker Index, GPI Player of the Year, and the Heartland Poker Tour will remain unchanged. “It’s business as usual for GPI,” Pollack said. “It’s business as usual for Heartland Poker Tour. Our site is still going to be up and running. Our game is still going to be up and running, so those initiatives will continue to move forward.”

“We are moving forward with our key initiatives. We have a great relationship with the Hendon Mob. That relationship is continuing,” Duke added. “This is a reorganization, not a liquidation. We’re still continuing that partnership as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. We fully intend on publishing a new GPI every week, and a POY every week, those are very key initiatives that we’ve created here and we have no intention whatsoever of abandoning them.”

“While this isn’t our preferred outcome, and while there are some who have been critical of our efforts from the start, we know that a lot of what we’ve done is meaningful and valuable between the quality of our events, the nature of our TV shows, the Global Poker Index in USA Today, the quality of our website, and Facebook game,” Pollack concluded. “We’ve certainly set in motion some things that we think have worked very well. Do we need to do better going forward? Absolutely.”

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On Wednesday, Federated Sports + Gaming announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a reorganization filing that the company hopes will allow it to keep its assets like Epic Poker and the Global Poker Index.

In a letter posted on the Federated Sports + Gaming website, Executive Chairman Jeffrey Pollack explained:

“There is no easy way to say this, but, at the end of the day yesterday, Federated Sports + Gaming filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Our company needs a new start.

This reorganization filing is an important first step in that direction and our goal is to keep the Epic Poker League and all of our key initiatives – including the Global Poker Index, epicpoker.com, the Epic Poker game on Facebook, and the Heartland Poker Tour – moving forward with a continued spirit of innovation. We will most likely accomplish this by entering into an agreement with another firm that shares our passion and vision – a process we had been working toward prior to the filing.”

He went on to say:

“Everyone on our talented team – employees, contractors, and partners, alike – have put their hearts into this business and have worked tirelessly to help bring Epic Poker to life. The effort to reorganize under Chapter 11 is, in part, about honoring their work, honoring the generous support and participation of our league members, and fulfilling our collective vision to help elevate and further celebrate the game of poker.”

In addition, commissioner Annie Duke sent a letter to all league members explaining FS+G’s intention to finish Season One of the Epic Poker League. “I am writing to let you know that, at the end of the day yesterday, Federated Sports + Gaming filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization,” Duke explained in the letter. “This is not a liquidation filing and it is not the end of the Epic Poker League.”

Duke concluded by saying: “I do not know exactly when we will stage Event 4 and Season One Championship, but, again, it is our intention to complete Season 1. In the interim, please do not hesitate to call me at any time; if you have any questions or concerns, I am available to you personally.”

Stay up to date on all the latest news by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.

The newest addition to the PokerStars.it European Poker Tour is Campione, a tiny Italian municipality located within Switzerland on the edge of Lake Lugano, just 1km from the Italian border. For quite some time, Campione has been known as a European poker hot-spot, hosting a number of major poker tournaments. On March 26, it will add the PokerStars EPT to that list.

The Basics

• Language: Italian
• Currency: Swiss Franc (CHF) 1 USD = .89 CHF. The Euro is widely accepted. Please visit xe.com for current rates.
• Weather: Mild, around the mid 50s.
• Time: Central European Time zone.
• Banks: Most are open 8am – 2pm, Monday through Saturday.
• Visas: Europeans do not need a visa to visit Italy; North Americans and Australians can visit Italy without a visa for up to 90 days. Other citizens should consult their travel agent or nearest Italian embassy.
• Legal Gaming Age: 18 years and over

The EPT

Casino di Campione is the largest casino in all of Europe. It opened in 1933, but has since moved to a newer, modern building. Casino di Campione has became one of the territory’s major landmarks, as well as its biggest employer, considering Campione only has a population of just over 2,000 people, all housed in less than one square mile.

Casino di Campione


Piazzale Milano 2
22060

Campione d’Italia


Tel No: 0041.91.640.1111

Dress code: No sportswear, shorts or ripped jeans. Sneaker/trainers accepted. Poker players may wear sunglasses and caps only inside tournament area, not in the main casino. Jackets are required in the main casino, but not in the poker area.

Getting There

The easiest way to access Campione is by flying into Milan, which hosts direct flights from most European capital cities and many international cities. Milan has two airports, Malpensa Airport which is a 50-minute drive from Campione, and Linate Airport, a two-hour drive away. Alternatively, flying into Agno Airport in Lugano will leave you with just a 20-minute drive to Campione.

Taxis and private cars are widely available for the journey to Campione, but of course they come at quite a cost. According to the Casino’s website, the local bus service, F.N.M.A, runs every day from Milan (Piazza Cadorna, corner Via Paleocapa) at 3:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. It then returns from Campione to Milan at 7:00 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. every day. This journey takes approximately 70 minutes.

If you do decide to hire a car to drive to Campione, remember that a special coupon must be displayed on all cars when driving on Swiss motorways. This coupon is available at Swiss Customs posts and petrol stations.

Lastly, the train is always available to venture around Europe. Visit SBB to search for your itinerary.

Off the Felt

Campione’s positioning on Lake Lugano offers the natural pleasure of a stunning view. If you find yourself looking for more to do outside Europe’s largest casino, then exploring the nearby Swiss town of Lugano is a must. It’s 15-minutes drive away, on the other side of the lake.

Societa Navigazione del Lago di Lugano offers boat tours around Lake Lugano, which is a great way to visit some of the nearby towns.

Parco Civico (“City Park”) in Lugano is said to be one of the greatest parts in all of Switzerland, with the carefully kept landscape decorated by wildlife, it’s the perfect place to soak up some Vitamin D and stretch your legs while off the felt. It’s probably not warm enough at this time of year to take a swim, but there are plenty of cafes around for you to daydream the morning away over breakfast.

For a spectacular view over the lake and surrounding mountains, take a trip up Monte San Salvatore. If you’re not brave enough to tackle the mountain on foot, you can ride the “funiculaire” (uphill train) to the top for roughly 25 CHF with a return ticket.

For a peek of the stunning 360 degree view, check out this video:

As quoted by the owner of the video, “You need to have been up there in person, if you want to get an idea of its greatness and magnificence, and then that moment will become one of the most beautiful and unforgettable experiences in your whole life.” — C. C. Lorenz Hirschfeld.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Then head over to Museo del Cioccolato Alprose for an indulgent splurge into everyone’s favorite cocoa treat, along with a chocolate-coated history lesson, all from inside the factory of the largest chocolate-manufacturing company in Switzerland. Your friends and family will surely be hoping for a take-home sample from a country that’s famous for it’s chocolate, so this is the perfect place to pick up some souvenirs.

Lastly, with Campione being an Italian town, there’s no shortage of incredible meals that are all worth every extra pound gained. While in Lugano, however, drop into Bottegone del Vino, a favorite for the locals with a menu that changes daily, written beautifully in chalk on the wall. Don’t arrive starving, though. The restaurant is quite small, yet exceptionally busy and doesn’t take reservations, so be prepared to wait for your table. The wait time is the perfect opportunity to stand at the bar and sample some local wines.

Download | EPT Tournament Structure | EPT Tournament Rules

The PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on hand in Campione to deliver all of the EPT action. Whether you’re there with us, or railing from afar, follow @PokerNews_Live on Twitter so we can keep you updated!

On Wednesday, PokerStars announced a new tournament series designed for recreational and micro players. The inaugural MicroMillions tournament series will run from March 15 through 25, 2012, offering $5 million in guarantees across 100 events with buy-ins starting at just 11 cents.

Events will run around the clock during the 11-day series, which will culminate with a $22 MicroMillions Main Event with a $1 million prize pool on Sunday, March 25. Every day, players will have the opportunity to compete in a $1 tournament with up to $100,000 in guarantees, plus a selection of $2, $3, $4, $5, $8 and $10 events.

Most of the events will be no-limit hold’em, but the series will also feature games like pot-limit Omaha, Omaha hi-low, draw, and stud. Players will be able to find formats such as turbos, rebuys, shootouts, knockouts, and big ante events.

“MicroMillions is one of the best things I’ve seen so far,” said Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis. “Back when I played penny and micro-stakes games, I was mesmerized by the big tournament series and always hoped to be able to play one day. MicroMillions actually offers players from those stakes the chance to be part of a great tournament series. I think it’s a very logical step with all the different online tournament festivals that PokerStars offers. I’m definitely going to play a lot of the events, just because I think it’s so awesome.”

For the full Micro Millions tournament schedule and online satellites into the events, visit PokerStars.com.

Stay tuned to PokerNews.com as more on this story unfolds, and follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

The final 18 players returned to action for Day 5 of the 2012 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino on Tuesday to play down to the final table. When the final six remained, Sean Jazayeri was on top with 4.38 million in chips.

When the day began, Noah Schwartz was the man to catch, followed closely by Dan Kelly. Both went on to the final table, sitting third and fourth in chips, respectively.

Shahen Martirosian, the first player eliminated, left in 18th place. He was followed out the door by Nick Binger (17th), Daniel Idema (16th), Skip Wilson (15th) and A.J. Jejelowo (14th). After that batch of players fell to the rail, Elvis Huynh headed out the door in 13th, Joe Hachem in 12th, Jason DeWitt in 11th and Sorel Mizzi in 10th to set the final nine-handed table.

Former WPT champion Hachem went out in Level 26 with the blinds at 20,000/40,000/5,000. According to the WPT Live Updates Team, Hachem moved all-in from the button for his last 710,000 and Sean Jazayeri called from the big blind with . Hachem was just barely outdone holding . After the board ran out , Hachem was eliminated and earned a $60,610 payday.

When the final nine-handed table began, Jason Somerville held the chip lead. He wound up losing that lead to Kelly on the 12th hand of the final table, but hung on to make the official WPT televised final table.

Falling in ninth place for $79,060 was Stephen Chidwick. During Level 27 with the blinds up to 25,000/50,000/5,000, Chidwick was all-in with against Jason Burt’s . No help came for Chidwick, who was eliminated.

Falling in eighth place was David Pham. During the same level that Chidwick went out, Jazayeri raised to 100,000 from middle position. Pham three-bet to 350,000 from the big blind and action fell back on Jazayeri. He four-bet and made it 950,000 to go. Pham took some time and then moved all-in for approximately 2.1 million. Jazayeri snap-called with . Pham turned over to reveal the cooler. The flop, turn and river ran out and Pham was eliminated. He earned $110,680 for his finish.

With seven people left, it was time for the official final-table bubble. Allen Carter has had some great success on the WPT, including a win at the 2009 WPT Southern Poker Championship for $1 million and a third-place finish in the 2011 version of the same event for $218,471. This time around, he’d have to settle for a seventh-place finish because he became the final-table bubble boy.

In Level 28 with the blinds at 30,000/60,000/10,000, David “Doc” Sands raised from the button to 120,000. Carter reraised all-in from the big blind for about 1.2 million. Sands made the call and rolled over . Carter was at risk holding . After no help on the board, Carter’s chips were added to Sands’ stack. For his finish, Carter collected $155,480 in prize money.

2012 WPT L.A. Poker Classic Final Table Chip Counts

The final table will commence on Wednesday at 1600 PST (0000 GMT) and will last until a winner is crowned. First place is worth nearly $1.4 million, but each player has already secured at least $202,910. It’s still anybody’s game, and you won’t want to miss finding out who walked away with the title. Be sure to check back here on PokerNews for the final table recap.

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It was a busy day in the world of poker, so we’re here to get you caught up on all of the biggest stories around the globe. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’re covering the guilty plea by a Black Friday payment processor, federal indictments handed to Calvin Ayre and three others, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The 2012 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic played down to 18 players on Day 4. Noah Schwartz bagged the most chips as play concluded but Dan Kelly, Stephen Chidwick, Jason DeWitt and Jason Somerville were lurking.

Phil Ivey was the bubble boy of the aforementioned L.A. Poker Classic. Rich Ryan takes a look at the community’s reaction in his latest Five Thoughts piece.

Poker After Dark is set to return to television on March 5. Chad Holloway caught up with Poker PROductions’ Mori Eskandani to talk about the show’s relaunch, as well as the possible return of the National Heads Up Poker Championship.

Matt Glantz has been very vocal about the downfall of Full Tilt Poker. Glantz joined the PokerNews Podcast this week to discuss his recent blog about the FTP shareholders, the pending deal between FTP and Groupe Bernard Tapie, and more.

Black Friday Principal Pleads Guilty

Ryan Lang, one of the 11 men indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on Black Friday, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.

Lang, 36, was accused of facilitating the illegal transfer of funds from online poker sites to players in the U.S. Lang operated as a payment processor out of Canada from 2007 to 2010, assisting financial brokers who made false statements to the banks to trick them into processing payments. He was charged with money laundering and fraud, among other things.

Lang apologized in court for the crimes, which carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.

Calvin Ayre Indicted; Bodog.com Seized

One day after the Bodog.com domain name was seized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bodog brand founder Calvin Ayre was indicted by the federal government on charges of operating an illegal gambling business and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Federal prosecutors claim that Ayre and three other men — James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney supervised an illegal gambling business from June 2005 to January 2012 in violation of Maryland law. According to the indictment, Bodog used payment processors in Switzerland, England, Malta, and Canada, and then directed the processors to send at least $100 million by wire and by check to gamblers in Maryland.

The company is also under indictment after its domain name was seized. Bodog.com was no longer operational after the U.S.-facing business was rebranded to Bovada.lv last December, and CalvinAyre.com reports that other Bodog Brand properties won’t be affected by the seizure of the inactive domain.

For more, read the story here at PokerNews.com.

Gambling Firms Blocked From Offering Games in Holland

According to numerous reports, the Dutch Supreme Court has ordered online gaming operators like Ladbrokes and Betfair to implement software that blocks residents in Holland from accessing their sites.

The ruling is the latest in a long battle between online gambling firms and the Dutch government. Currently, the Dutch Lotto is the only organization with a license to run online gambling in the state. The government has attempted to block foreign companies from offering their services in Holland since 2003 to keep them out of the market.

The ruling took 10 years because the Dutch Supreme Court waited for a judgment from the European Court of Justice, which declared in 2010 that the country is within its rights to ban foreign operators as long as the ban is aimed at reducing fraud and discouraging people from gambling.

NL.PokerNews has more.

WPT National Returns

The World Poker Tour made its way to Vejle, Denmark, on Tuesday for the €1,650 buy-in National Event. The tournament, held at the Casino Munkebjerg Vejle, is comparable to a $1,650 buy-in WPT Regional Event in the U.S.

Among the players taking part on Day 1a were Theo Jorgensen, Sander Lylloff, and Alexander “AlexKP” Petersen. Also in the field was award-winning poker commentator Jesse May, who qualified for a WPT for the first time in 12 years. Naturally, Tony G. had some fun with May’s accomplishment on his blog.

The World Poker Tour will also be hosting WPT National events in Mauritius and France this year and expects to announce partnerships with a number of additional venues soon. Winners do not qualify for a WPT title, Player of the Year points or a WPT World Championship buy-in, but the affordable buy-ins allow players to compete for big prizes against some of the top players around Europe.

For more information on the first WPT National Event, visit the World Poker Tour website.

Online Poker Traffic Rankings

On Monday, PokerScout.com released its online poker traffic rankings for the previous week. The tracking site reported a slight drop of 0.7 percent, marking the third straight week of losses on networks around the globe.

PokerStars continued its stranglehold over the competition, boasting a seven-day average of 25,800 cash game players last week. That numbers dwarfed the averages of PartyPoker (4,650) and the iPoker Network (4,100), which came in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. 888poker landed at No. 4, and the Ongame Network moved up a notch to fifth place, passing PokerStars.it.

One of the big stories this month has been the Everleaf Gaming’s exit from the U.S., and the network has since seen a sizable falloff in traffic. Everleaf’s traffic slid another 6 percent last week after it dropped 16 percent the week before. Last week, Everleaf released an official statement confirming that player funds were seized by U.S. authorities.

As for year-over-year traffic numbers, online poker has seen a worldwide decline of 30 percent since this time last year. Along with obvious decline at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, the International Poker Network (down 45 percent), PKR (down 26 percent) and the Ongame Network (down 23 percent) have seen a significant decline.

The biggest climbers over the past year are the Merge Gaming Network (up 76 percent), 888poker (up 75 percent) and Bodog (up 60 percent).

The full report can be found at PokerScout.com.

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The week kicked off with some big news about poker on television, namely that Poker After Dark would be returning to the air. Beginning on March 5, NBC Sports Network, previously known as Versus, will air five 24 unaired episodes over five weeks, including four weeks of a cash game and one week (six episodes) of a sit-n-go.

The announcement made waves in the poker world and inspired a lot of questions. PokerNews reached out to Mori Eskandani of POKER PROductions, the company behind shows like PAD and the NBC National Heads-Up Championship to find out more.

Can you confirm that Poker After Dark will be returning to NBC Sports Network in March?

It sure is, and obviously we’re all excited. It’s nice to have these shows stay on the networks and stay in the public eye, especially Poker After Dark, since it’s such a big franchise. So, yes, it is coming back to NBC Sports Network. They’ll start this March 5. They have a late-night block of games, so it’ll show at midnight for one hour, and just like before, you’ll see it Monday through Friday and then the Director’s Cut on Saturday.

Why did NBCSN decide to air these now?

This didn’t go away, it was only taken off in September, so it hasn’t been a year since it’s been off television. There are so many dark clouds right now over poker. I certainly don’t want to put my flashlight back over the dark clouds, but I’m sure sooner or later networks shying away will be lifted and it will be business as usual.

The show is coming back without the sponsors, that’s one requirement they had. All we want to do is put our shows back on TV, and I think it’s good for the industry, for sure.

You say that the show will be back without the sponsor, which was Full Tilt Poker. Does this mean that the logos will be digitally removed from the table, players, etc.?

There will be no more branding on the table. No one sponsors the players except the players, so they’re pretty much stand-alones. If we talk about the show itself, any signage is gone.

What can viewers expect to see when PAD is back on the air?

The show is coming back, and all the HD shows are the ones they’re going to re-air. They’ll start off with a lot of reruns. They’re still trying to work out what is the best way of bringing back five weeks of unaired shows that were supposed to be on NBC last year.

We never got to see them, so they’re planning to see about bringing those episodes back. When is the best time? What basically creates the most viewership? They haven’t made up their minds for the new shows, but they will air.

So come March, reruns will be aired at first?

Yes, come March 5, if I’m not mistaken, it probably starts with the $100,000 Sit-n-Go that had John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Phil Galfond, Huck Seed, Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey, so it will start with that and the order will go with however they line it up. Obviously you’ll know every week what is coming the next week. Again, the new shows, which I’m sure all of us want to watch, they haven’t made up their minds as to the best plan of attack.

Are you able to tell us which players will be featured on the five weeks of the unaired cash game and one week of the sit-n-go?

All the big names that you know from Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Eli Elezra, David Oppenheim, Phil Hellmuth, Andy Bloch, Justin Smith, they’re all there, and Annette Obrestad — we’ve never seen her play cash game — but she’ll play the cash game.

When were these shows shot?

These were all shot in 2010, so it’s been a long while, but cash games never die. We all want to watch them no matter when they were shot. I’m just happy that NBC has given us the opportunity to bring the show back, that’s obviously important to us, and who knows what the future holds. Hopefully there will be many more Poker After Darks — new ones — shot and aired.

Are you saying that there is a possibility for new episodes of Poker After Dark if these reruns and unaired episodes are successful?

One thing is for sure, it can’t hurt if they’re successful. If a show goes off the air, that’s not good. It’s always been well received by the poker community. We always try to make entertaining groups of players, put the right lineup together, and we know the cash games are getting high accolades from the community. So people realize that. They understand the value of that, but once it’s off the air, it could be off their mind. Now that it’s coming back, they can go back and revisit.

Like I said, I don’t want to speculate, but I am always confident. I feel like in a year or so, we’re going to see a whole bunch of shows coming back, and hopefully even better than before.

Is there any hope of bringing back the NBC National Heads Up Championship?

Is there any hope? I would say there’s a 90 percent chance it will play in 2013. That’s a very fun event and I know it’s going to be sorely missed this year, but it’s coming back. All these shows are coming back, it’s just that things got murky out there, and like I said, all of a sudden there were dark clouds up there. I know it’s still there and all of us are hoping it’ll go away. I’m confident, I have a lot of faith in our justice system, and I think things will get worked out.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Mainly, I just want everyone to stay positive. I think poker’s not going anywhere, the game itself is so great that if we in the industry stay positive and give it the right light, it’ll come back. It generates a lot of money, generates a lot of excitement, and I just don’t see what has happened over the last year as a hurdle that can’t be overcome.

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On Monday February 27, 2012, the United States Department of Homeland Security seized the Bodog.com domain name.

The rest is here:
Bodog.com Domain Seized and founder Calvin Ayre Indicted