Women’s Poker Club, the international women's only social group for poker, today announced that they are supporting the efforts of PokerStars.net to bring more women into poker. They are partnering with PokerStars.com to award all members an opportunity to play for their chance at winning a seat at the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure held on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

“Women should be thrilled that PokerStars is giving them additional opportunities and supporting women’s involvement in our favorite sport.” Said Maryann Morrison, President of Women’s Poker Club. "Women's participation in poker has been steadily increasing since Women's Poker Club was first formed in 2003. I am very pleased that Pokerstars, the largest poker site online, is publicly taking steps to help to increase awareness and support for women in poker."

Women’s Poker Club will be offering a freeroll tournament on Sunday, November 15th where one winner will be heading off to compete in the Bahamas in January. The PokerStars package includes airfare, three nights accommodation at Atlantis Resort, a $1000 buyin to the Ladies only event held on January 20, 2010 and a $250 spa package.

All interested women are invited to participate by joining Women’s Poker Club which is free to join. Signup at http://www.womenspokerclub.com.

Posted by Administrator at 11:00

Despite what Joan Rivers thinks, poker players have traditionally been among the most generous and compassionate people when it comes to donating time and money to worthy causes.

As Annie Duke and several other prominent poker players recently exhibited in the latest edition of Celebrity Apprentice, the poker community continues to raise awareness for important issues, donate money to a variety of charities and host charity poker tournaments in record numbers.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) – with official community relations partner Nevada Cancer Institute, the celebrity charity tournament Ante Up For Africa held annually during the WSOP, and the Bad Beat on Cancer donations collected during the Main Event of the WSOP – is equally committed to giving back.

In 2009, during the 40th Annual WSOP, several opportunities will exist for people to join efforts in raising money. They include:

o 1% of payouts – For the first time, the WSOP has set up in its payout program an opportunity for those cashing in the first 56 bracelet events to easily donate 1% of their winnings to Nevada Cancer Institute. Players simply need to let the payout clerk know their intent to leave 1% of their winnings to Nevada Cancer Institute, and the WSOP will arrange to transfer the funds to the Institute. All donations are tax-deductible and contributors will receive a letter from NVCI after their donations are received for accounting purposes.

o Ante Up For Africa – On July 2, 2009, the 3rd Annual Ante Up For Africa Charity-Celebrity poker tournament will be held at the Rio and televised on ESPN for the first time. The $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament is open to anyone 21 years or older. More than $1.2 million has been raised in the first two years of the event, as those cashing in the event have generously donated huge portions of their winnings to Ante Up For Africa to help raise funds for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Hosted by actor Don Cheadle and Annie Duke, the event draws big names from Hollywood, sports and poker and is always among the most exciting days of the WSOP. All donations are tax-deductible.

o Clothing With Heart – A special line of clothing made for women will be available at the WSOP retail outlets this year as well as online at www.wsopshop.com with proceeds being donated to Nevada Cancer Institute. Those who purchase the “Queens of Heart” merchandise, including hats and shirts, will not only be making a hip fashion statement, but contributing to a great cause as well.

o Aces Club – The exclusive VIP players lounge at the WSOP, dubbed the “Aces Club” is back in 2009 and as is custom, a large portion of the membership fee will be donated to the Nevada Cancer Institute. Memberships are selling fast and for those interested in joining should drop by the Club during the opening few days of the WSOP.

o Media Charity Tournament – On July 9, 2009 the annual Media Charity Poker tournament will be held for the media covering the WSOP. The media who reach the final table will all have donations made in their name to the Nevada Cancer Institute by the WSOP.

o Main Event – Bad Beat on Cancer, a national charitable organization dedicated to fighting cancer, along with Nevada Cancer Institute, Nevada’s premier cancer facility, will jointly benefit from players donating 1% of their winnings in the Main Event. All players, just like the 56 other bracelet events, will denote at payout their interest in contributing to the cause, and the payout clerk will handle processing the rest. All donations are tax-deductible.

The 2009 World Series of Poker will run from May 26 to July 15, 2009 at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Anyone age 21 or older is eligible to play. 57 gold bracelets will be contested, including 54 open events. Special Casino Employee’s, Ladies and Seniors events are also on the schedule with gold bracelets up for grabs. For more information, please visit www.worldseriesofpoker.com, www.nevadacancerinstitute.org, www.anteupforafrica.org or www.badbeatoncancer.org.

Posted by Administrator at 17:55

From Afghanistan to Zambia, the World Series of Poker® touched all corners of the world in 2008 and, as a result, managed to expand its global reach and award a staggering $190,644,177 in prize money.

A record 125 different countries (more than the last Winter Olympics - 80) had participants in the World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light or World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair in 2008, proving that unlike that other World Series, the “World” Series of Poker is truly a global game. Only soccer’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics attract more countries to their competition…and those events are held just once every four years.

“The results this year demonstrate the increasing global appeal of our events and the universal recognition that winning a World Series of Poker gold bracelet is the game’s ultimate achievement,” said World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

An increase in participating countries in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was just one of many increases this year. Here are some of the key metrics from the 39th World Series of Poker and the 2nd Annual World Series of Poker Europe:

o 125 – Number of different countries and territories with at least one participant in a WSOP event this year (up 44% from 87 in 2007)
o 1.94 – Television rating on ESPN for the two-hour telecast of WSOP Main Event on 11/11/08 (up 50% from 1.29 in 2007)
o 2.08 – Television rating for final hour of 11/11/08 Final Table telecast, marking the highest-rated WSOP program in more than four years (since 9/14/2004)
o 18% -- The increase in rating of the 2008 WSOP Final Table in comparison to the “Moneymaker” final table in 2003 (1.94 vs. 1.64)
o 38% -- The advantage in ratings the 2008 WSOP Final Table had over MLB’s 2008 regular season ratings average on ESPN (1.94 vs. 1.4)
o 49% -- The advantage in ratings the 2008 WSOP Final Table had over the NBA’s 2007-08 regular season ratings average on TNT and ESPN (1.94 vs. 1.3)
o 59,767 – Number of entrants in 2008 World Series of Poker bracelet events in 2008 (up 4,856 or nearly 9% from 54,911 in 2007)
o $190,644,177 – Total prize pool for 2008 WSOP and WSOPE (up 13% or $21,430,221 from 2007)
o 59 bracelet events – 55 in Las Vegas and 4 in London (up 1 from 58 in 2007)
o 40 – Number of bracelets won by entrants from the United States (68% of total bracelets awarded)
o 12 – The number of different countries winning bracelets in 2008 (Afghanistan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, U.S.)
o 4 – Number of bracelets won by players from Denmark, the second-most of any country (Peter Eastgate, Jesper Hougaard (2) and Theo Jorgensen)
o 1 – Bracelets won by the country Afghanistan, after Sherkhan Farnood from Kabul, Afghanistan became the first-ever by winning Event #2 at WSOPE
o $9,152,416 – 1st place prize won by Denmark’s Peter Eastgate for WSOP Main Event (up 11% or $902,416 from 2007)
o $64,431,779 – WSOP Main Event prize pool (up $4,646,825 or 8% from $59,784,954 in 2007)
o 6,844 – Number of WSOP Main Event entrants who each paid $10,000 to enter (up 8% from 6,358 in 2007)
o 50 – Number of U.S. states that had an entrant cash in the WSOP, the first time in history all 50 states were represented and had a cash
o 10 – Number of Canadian provinces that had an entrant cash in the WSOP, the first time in history all 10 Canadian provinces were represented and had a cash
o 59 – Number of different countries that had at least one entrant cash
o 35% -- Percentage of chip leaders entering the final table who went on to win the bracelet (20 of 57) (Head’s up and shootout tournaments do not have traditional final tables)
o 3,929 – Number of entrants in a preliminary event, the largest live non-Main Event tournament field in poker history (up 25% from previous record 3,151 in 2007)
o 1 -- Entrants from Zambia, the first time this landlocked country in southern Africa sent someone to the World Series of Poker.

The 39th annual World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light began May 30, 2008 and ran through July 15 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with 55 bracelet events. The Main Event, with four start dates to accommodate the large playing field, began on July 3 and took a 117-day break on July 15 and resumed on November 9 and 10, with a winner being declared on November 11. The second annual World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair took place in London, England from September 19 to October 3, 2008, with four bracelets being awarded.

Posted by Administrator at 12:10

Duane “Dewey” Tomko, a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, a two-time Main Event runner-up, and the holder of the longest consecutive Main Event participation record (35 years) will become poker’s newest Hall of Fame member.

Tomko will enter alongside Henry Orenstein, a Holocaust survivor who won the 1996 World Series of Poker Seven-Card Stud Championship and also cashed twice in the Main Event, including a final table finish at the 1995 World Series of Poker Main Event.

Orenstein perhaps is better known for his real occupation – an inventor – holding more than 100 patents, including those for Sesame Street toys, Snoopy toys, the Transformers and U.S. Patent 5,451,054, which gave Orenstein the exclusive right to detect and display hole cards in poker games.

It was this patent, known today as the “Hole Card Cam” or “Hole Cam” which made poker a made-for-TV attraction, creating an estimated 150,000 jobs worldwide, spurring the meteoric rise of poker and helping popularize the game to heights never before seen in its long history.

Orenstein and Tomko will be enshrined on Sunday, November 9 at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suites® Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during the finale of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event championship. ESPN will show portions of the ceremony during their November 11 telecast.

The enshrinement and WSOP final table play are open and free to the public. Seating is available on a first come, first serve basis.

The Poker Hall of Fame, established in 1979, was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004. Though the Hall of Fame is virtual in nature, its membership includes poker's most influential players and other important contributors to the game. With Orenstein and Tomko, there are 16 living members.

The main criteria for the Poker Hall of Fame is as follows:

o A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
o Played for high stakes
o Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
o Stood the test of time
o Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

The entire list of 37 Poker Hall of Fame members includes (alphabetical with year of induction in parenthesis):

o Tom Abdo (1982)
o Crandell Addington (2005)
o Bobby Baldwin (2003)
o Billy Baxter (2006)
o Lyle Berman (2002)
o Joe Bernstein (1983)
o Benny Binion (1990)
o Jack Binion (2005)
o Bill Boyd (1981)
o Doyle Brunson (1988)
o Johnny Chan (2002)
o T.J. Cloutier (2006)
o Nick “The Greek” Dandolos (1979)
o Barbara Enright (2007)
o Fred “Sarge” Ferris (1989)
o T “Blondie” Forbes (1980)
o Henry Green (1986)
o Murph Harrold (1984)
o Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth (2007)
o James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok (1979)
o Red Hodges (1985)
o Edmond Hoyle (1979)
o Berry Johnston (2004)
o Jack Keller (1993)
o Felton “Corky” McCorquodale (1979)
o Roger Moore (1997)
o Johnny Moss (1979)
o Henry Orenstein (2008)
o Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson (1987)
o Julius Oral “Little Man” Popwell (1996)
o Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston (1992)
o David “Chip” Reese (1991)
o Jack “Treetop” Straus (1988)
o Duane “Dewey” Tomko (2008)
o Stu “The Kid” Ungar (2001)
o Red Winn (1979)
o Sid Wyman (1979)

The Induction Ceremony to be Held as Part of Poker’s Biggest Night at Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater Prior To World Series of Poker® Main Event Final Table.

Posted by Administrator at 12:58