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Big prizes, new perks for Nguyen Challenge

PokerListings.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:48:10 +0100

With an estimated prize pool of more than $2.5 million, some big-name pros making the trip to play and key changes to the structure, it should be an excellent event.

"Our local players and poker pros from all over the country look forward
to this tournament each year," says David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, which operates Cherokee Casinos.

"And we've listened to what they've been saying and made some changes we feel are really positive. We've moved the tournament to our second floor grand ballroom allowing for more live cash games in the poker room, and we've shortened the length of the tournament but added more events each day."

The tournament runs through Nov. 10 and includes an additional event to each day this year, bringing the total to 31 events. Those events are as follows:

Date	Time	Tournament	Buy-in
Oct. 30	7 p.m.	Jack & Jill	$125+$25
Oct. 31	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Oct. 31	3 p.m.	*Omaha 8-or-Better	$200+$30
Oct. 31	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$125+$25
Nov. 1	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 1	3 p.m.	Mega Supersatellite	$300+$40
Nov. 1	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$200+$30
Nov. 2	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$500+$50
Nov. 2	3 p.m.	Mega Supersatellite	$300+$40
Nov. 2	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$125+$25
Nov. 3	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 3	3 p.m.	*H.O.R.S.E.	$500+$50
Nov. 3	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$200+$30
Nov. 4	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 4	3 p.m.	*Pot-Limit Omaha	$500+$50
Nov. 4	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$125+$25
Nov. 5	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 5	3 p.m.	*6-Handed NLHE	$200+$30
Nov. 5	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$125+$25
Nov. 6	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 6	3 p.m.	*Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 6	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$200+$30
Nov. 7	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$500+$50
Nov. 7	3 p.m.	Mega Supersatellite	$300+$40
Nov. 7	7 p.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$300+$40
Nov. 8	11 a.m.	*No-Limit Hold'em	$1,000+$80
Nov. 8	3 p.m.	Mega Supersatellite	$300+$40
Nov. 8	7 p.m.	Mega Supersatellite	$300+$40
Nov. 9	11 a.m.	Main Event Day 1	$3,000+ $150
Nov. 9	3 p.m.	Ladies NLHE	$125+$25
Nov. 10	11 a.m.	Main Event Day 2	--

Nguyen is fondly referred to as "The Prince of Poker." He arrived in the United States from Vietnam when he was just 14 years old. After living in Chicago for a while he made the jump to California.

It was there he picked up poker, to his own and his bank account's benefit.

Nguyen now lives in Las Vegas and is a former World Series of Poker Main Event Champion. He also won the $50k buy-in H.O.R.S.E event at the 2008 WSOP, largely considered the tournament that determines the world's most skilled card player.

Nguyen's total tournament career earnings amount to nearly $10 million, and in the process of making that, he has become one of the most talented and well-liked pros in the game.

"God has given me that talent, you know what I mean?" Nguyen told online gaming publication Bodog Nation. "And that's why I am who I am now. You know what I mean? I call some cards. I call some flops. It's crazy. And I call people's hands, and people look at me like, 'Wow.' It's unbelievable you know? And sometimes I just amaze myself.

"But it's not like I would walk around and act all bad and all that. You would never see me do something like that you know? I'm like a model for young kids these days. They want to look up to some pro with class. They don't want to see someone with millions of dollars and talking like nobody. I don't do those things, you know what I mean? Scotty stays Scotty Nguyen, you know, baby?"

You can bet Scotty will be making the rounds kissing babies and shaking hands at the tournament named after him. You can also bet he'll be attempting to take down last year's champion T.J. Cloutier in the process.

Players who want to get in on the action can receive discounted hotel rates at the resort with the block code "Scot1008." Rates for players are $79 during the week and $99 Friday and Saturday night. The resort also offers additional rooms at Cherokee Casino Inn.

For more information, visit www.CherokeeCasino.com and check for updates on all the play at pokerlistings.com.

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Bar Poker League expands to Netherlands

PokerListings.com — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:29:19 +0100

The World Poker Store entered into an agreement with Play It Simpel, the creator of the popular poker reality TV show Poker Kampioen Van Nederland, in which the existing Play It Simpel poker league in the Netherlands will become The Bar Poker League.

"Our agreement with Play It Simpel is a springboard to rapid growth for The Bar Poker League in Europe," said Chuck Chastain, World Poker Store CEO.

The Play It Simpel league has been running Texas Hold'em tournaments throughout the Netherlands since early 2008. It has grown to more than 200 venues and 200,000 registered players during that time.

Contestants in the Play It Simpel league play for a chance to appear on the reality TV show and be crowned the poker champion of the Netherlands.

The conversion to The Bar Poker League will take place in February 2009. The reality TV show will continue in the Netherlands, plus the agreement will also see Play It Simpel create a poker reality TV show from The Bar Poker League running in Germany.

The show will follow a similar format, where league members play for the opportunity to appear in a reality TV show and be crowned the Poker Champion of Germany.

"Adding an established and rapidly growing league in the Netherlands and a TV show to our German league, which begins play next month, will establish The Bar Poker League as the preeminent league in all of Europe," Chastain said.

The World Poker Store has offices in St. Paul, Minn.; Fort Myers, Fla., Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Shenzhen, China. It brings free Texas Hold'em games to people around the world.

The WPS also boasts the support of several pro poker players on its advisory board, including Marcel Luske, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Patrik Antonius, Hoyt Corkins and Liz Lieu.

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Indiana WSOPC event features huge brand-new room

PokerListings.com — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:51:56 +0100

The multiday binge of all things cards is being held in the facility's newly remodeled World Series of Poker Room, with 10 events being played in all. There are also daily satellites, cash tournaments and megasatellites to be played through to October 12.

Winners of events played so far include Tue Phan, Paul Han, Heather Murry, Chris McMillian, Joel Shulruf and Justin Wallace.

Daily $280 buy-in cash tournaments and single-table satellites for all remaining events are running from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. until Oct. 11.

The $230 Super Satellites also start every day at 3 p.m. until October 11, with an extra to be played at 12 p.m. on the final day. For every $5,250 generated in the prize pool, one seat into the Circuit Championship Main Event worth 5,000 big ones is up for grabs.

The $5k No Limit Texas Hold'em Championship main event kicks off on October 12 in what is one of the largest poker rooms between Las Vegas and Atlantic City. It should be a hard test for even the best circuit players.

Last year's winner Carlos Uz took home a first-place prize of more than $200k from the $688,401 prize-pool in addition to the WSOPC ring and a seat in the WSOP Main Event. A father of eight, Uz lived in Vegas for years but never found much of a poker groove until the win in Indiana.

"I lived in Las Vegas for 13 years but I didn't play that much because I had a big company and I didn't really have the time," Uz told PokerListings.com after the win.

"I did play occasionally, however, and I always loved poker. My best friend was a big poker player in Vegas but I didn't seriously play until just this year. This is like the first big tournament that I actually made it this far."

The payouts at the final table looked like this:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Carlos Uz	$223,042
2nd	Marc Fratter	$117,028
3rd	Vito Casullo	$68,840
4th	Terry Ogle	$55,072
5th	Chris Moore	$41,304
6th	Chris Viox	$34,420
7th	James Lindsay	$27,536
8th	Tom Schneider	$20,652
9th	Thomas Hover	$13,768

Uz, who actually checked out of the hospital against his doctor's advice to play in the event, did not finish in the money at the 2008 WSOP. But maybe this year's winner will.

Players who want to register in the events should visit the World Series of Poker Room or call the poker hotline at 1-800-660-9744 for more information.

For those interested in checking out how the tournament plays out, PokerListings will have its usual, high-quality team on the scene to bring you live updates, photos and more. Check it out in the Live Tournaments section.

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RedKings Poker signs Hungarian

PokerListings.com — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:25:13 +0100

Toth was born in a small town near Budapest. He's been playing online poker with great success at RedKings, and capitalized on his experience with a cash in the ((PokerStars.com)) European Poker Tour Grand Final last year.

He finished in 45th place in the Grand Final to collect more than $53,000 for his efforts.

According to RedKings Poker, he was chosen for the poker site's team because of his impressive poker style, enthusiasm and ambitious nature.

This makes the third member for Team RedKings. The poker site started out with Jesper Hoog, a Swedish poker pro, on the team and also recently added Finnish player Toni Ojala.

The three will make their first appearance together as a team at the upcoming EPT Budapest event. The €4,000 buy-in main event will take place Oct. 28 through Nov. 1 at the Las Vegas Casino in Budapest, Hungary.

"Hungary is fast becoming a respected poker nation, and it is fitting that Csaba, as the new member of Team RedKings, will get to play his first tournament on home soil," said a RedKings spokesperson.

"We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Csaba and [with] many more new talented players in the future."

In Budapest, poker fans will be able to spot the Team RedKings players at the felt by their RedKings clothing. The players will also be supported by representatives from RedKings Poker while they toil away at the poker tables.

RedKings representatives will also be on hand to scout for more talent to add to their team. They'll be on the lookout for players who they believe will also complement and enhance the image of their poker room.

If you'd like to take on members of Team RedKings at live events or at the virtual felt, head to RedKings Poker and see what the site has to offer you.

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Ziigmund gets called out

PokerListings.com — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:28:42 +0100

Especially when you're playing online with the same players every day at nosebleed stakes, getting to know your opponents, and trusting your reads are the most important thing a player can do. In this hand lolzcapaneo did exactly that to earn himself a pot just shy of $200,000.

This is actually an interesting hand in that lolzcapaneo literally can beat nothing but a bluff. He is not believing Ziigmund and is willing to pull the trigger on his read. I've never played with Ziigmund, and maybe this is an easy read based play, but from where I see it, lolzcapaneo might have actually read Ziigmunds soul here.

Full Tilt Poker: Game : 8439917469 - TABLE : RailHeaven (6 max) - $500/$1000 - No Limit Hold'em - Sat Oct 11th 2008 - 4:58am ET

(Click here to watch the hand instead of reading it)

Table Setup
Seat 1 Genius28 ($292,452)
Seat 2 lolzcapaneo ($128,120)
Seat 4 John Juanda ($66,500)
Seat 5 Ziigmund ($175,190.80)
Seat 6 lady marmelade ($56,249)
lady marmelade posts the small blind of $500
Genius28 posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #5

Preflop
lolzcapaneo has 15 seconds left to act
lolzcapaneo raises to $3,500
John Juanda folds
Ziigmund has 15 seconds left to act
Ziigmund calls $3,500
lady marmelade calls $3,000
Genius28 folds

Flop [#Ks#Kh#8c]
lady marmelade checks
lolzcapaneo has 15 seconds left to act
lolzcapaneo bets $8,000
Ziigmund has 15 seconds left to act
Ziigmund has requested TIME
Ziigmund raises to $21,300
lady marmelade folds
lolzcapaneo has 15 seconds left to act
lolzcapaneo calls $13,300

Turn [#Ks#Kh#8c] [#Kc]
lolzcapaneo has 15 seconds left to act
lolzcapaneo bets $32,500
Ziigmund calls $32,500

River [Ks#Kh#8c#Kc] [#2h]
lolzcapaneo has 15 seconds left to act
lolzcapaneo checks
Ziigmund has 15 seconds left to act
Ziigmund bets $40,000
lolzcapaneo has 15 seconds left to act
lolzcapaneo has requested TIME
lolzcapaneo calls $40,000

Showdown

Ziigmund shows [#Qs#Ts] three of a kind, Kings
lolzcapaneo shows [#3c#As] three of a kind, Kings
lolzcapaneo wins the pot ($199,097) with three of a kind, Kings

The more you look at this hand, the more you can see how lolzcapaneo is able to make the call. Ziigmund is a highly aggressive player, once he flat calls lolzcapaneo's raise preflolp, lolzcapaneo would put him on a range of hands that doesn't include any premiums or pocket pairs.

There is a chance that Ziigmund is mixing it up and has a real hand, but more often than not he's playing some sort of marginal hand, such as #Qs#10s. The flop is great for lolzcapaneo if he doesn't believe Ziig has a King. The flop bet was a C-Bet to gain some information. Once Ziig raises, lolzcapaneo apparently believed that Ziig was bluffing. lolzcapaneo calls and the third king hits the turn, lolzcapaneo now knows that there is a very good chance his Ace is good.

If his preflop read of Ziig's range was correct, the only thing lolzcapaneo has to be scared of is Ziig holding an 8 in his hand. The deuce on the river is a blank, and I honestly think that lolzcapaneo was right in making the call on the river. If he has a read that Ziigmund does not have a king, the only thing he loses to is an eight, or a better Ace.

I'm not saying I would, or could make this call, just that it's not quite as ridiculous as it may look.

Head over to our MarketPulse section to keep an eye on the action.

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APT lights the fuse for 2009

PokerListings.com — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:24:45 +0100

The $2,500 USD buy-in Manila main event is the first of four APT events planned to 2009, with the details of the final three being released sometime next week. The CEO of the APT, Chris Parker, is excited for next year:

"The APT has already held two major events this year - APT Philippines and APT Macau. After consultation with players, online partners, and sponsors, a comprehensive schedule is now being planned for 2009 to successfully meet the needs of all concerned. We are looking forward to enhancing poker's presence in Asia."

This year's APT Manila event attracted 316 players with a $1 million guaranteed prize-pool, Australian pro David Saab winning the first prize of $280,000. The second APT tournament this year was the even more popular APT Macau sporting a massive $1.5 million prize-pool.

The APT is planning for each event in next year's schedule to be bigger and better than before with more tournaments, more money, more players and more ways to get in to the action. Keep your eyes on your favorite online poker-room to satellite or step your way to the Far East.

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Feldman rules Poker Den endurance test

PokerListings.com — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:06:53 +0100

A contingent of 21 players put up at least $10,000 each and matched wits for 36 hours in front of the cameras for a show to be televised at a later date.

The game kicked off at 2 p.m. on Sept. 30 and finished up at 9 p.m. the next day. Nobody lasted for the entire duration, but Phil Laak did log a 23-hour session after showing up at 10 p.m. the first night.

In play to juice things up a bit throughout The Big Game III were the "Party Pots," a single hand selected each hour that had $1,000 thrown in by PartyPoker.

Neil Channing took down the first, worth $29,000, holding 6-5 against David Williams' 3-2. Channing would take down more than his fair share of Party Pots over the course of the game, helping him to cash out $6,450 in the black after buying in for a total of $60,000.

Televised poker always has its surprises, and the Poker Den's chief unexpected point came from Bodo Sbrzesny of Germany. Sbrzesny, who played in the game thanks to winning a cash game VIP rake race on PartyPoker, held his own and then some against his better-known competition.

The German newcomer more than doubled his buy-in and took down not one but two pots with 7-2 offsuit, better known as "The Hammer." That feat got the rest of the table to offer $200 each to anyone who won a pot with the Hammer.

When the game was done, two players stood head and shoulders above the rest of the field. The ever-telegenic Robert Williamson III grabbed the biggest net profit of the game's 21 participants, dragging in $63,675 more than his buy-ins. Andrew Feldman's take was only a few drops in the bucket less than Williamson's at $63,350, despite his getting stuck in traffic on his way to the game.

On the other end of the spectrum there was Sammy George. Despite jumping out of the gate and being up as much as $50,000 at one point, George dropped $78,425 - more than anyone else in the game.

Roland De Wolfe wasn't too far behind George, dropping a total of $50,000. He had a good shot at walking with a small profit toward the end of the game when he flopped a set of fives and got his money in on the turn, but Joshua Landis' open-ended straight draw came home on the river to claim the $55,000 pot.

Others who lost their cash in The Big Game III were 2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams, William Martin, Alex Roumeltiotis, Joel Nordkist and Ilios Kamatakis.

Poker Den: The Big Game III will be distributed worldwide after it airs on the U.K.'s Five channel next year.

Final Results:

Andrew Feldman: +$63,350
Robert Williamson III: +$63,675
Richard Wheatley: +$41,025
Phil Laak: +$22,325
Bodo Sbrzesny: +$22,850
Jennifer Tilly: +$12,550
Chris Smith: +20,000
Juha Helppi: +$15,775
Roberto Romanello: +$14,400
Ian Frazer: +$8,550
Neil Channing: +$6,450
Joshua Landis: +$2,524
Ilios Kamatakis: -$10,000
Barny Boatman: -$11,000
Joel Nordkist: -$15,800
Chris Parker: -$31,450
Alex Roumeltiotis: -$25,150
David Williams: -$40,000
William Martin: -$40,000
Roland De Wolfe: -$50,000
Sammy George: -$78,425

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McSweeney uncorks win at Irish Poker Festival

PokerListings.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:22:02 +0100

Despite the likes of Ladbrokes Poker pro Roy Brindley and Pot-Limit Omaha World Champion Marty Smyth being in the mix, it was Jimmy McSweeney from Cork, Ireland, who took home the win.

He had plenty of competition as well. Earlier in the week the capacity for the €550 main event of the Irish Poker Festival was raised from 625 to 750 when organizers realized how popular the event was going to be.

Ultimately they ended up accommodating 832 players, which is a record for a European ranking event.

"We're absolutely delighted with the turnout and would like to thank all the players who made this festival such a success," said Bryan Coleman, Ladbrokes Irish territory manager.

"Our heartiest congratulations go to Jimmy, who is a worthy champion, and we're sure we'll be hearing more of him in the future."

McSweeney has seen moderate success in other poker tournaments in Ireland as well. In 2006 he cashed in an Irish Classics event, and in 2007 he made the final tables of three events in the Irish Classic Poker Festival.

One of those final tables he turned into a win as well, for €8,450. That was his biggest win up until this Ladbrokes Irish Poker Festival main event, where he picked up €100,000 for his efforts.

It was a hard-fought win as it took three days for the tournament to work its way down to a winner. After long hours of poker, the eight who made it to the final table and their chip counts were:

Seat1: Jimmy McSweeney, 2,900,000
Seat 2: Steve Johnson, 900,000
Seat 3: Nick Heather, 1,700,000
Seat 4: Hugh Whelan, 700,000
Seat 5: Ian Smith, 720,000
Seat 6: Barry Hand, 1,000,000
Seat 7: Bo Ericshen, 2,200,000
Seat 8: Andrew Roberts, 2,600,000

Barry Hand was the first to leave an empty chair at the table. He raised McSweeney's $180,000 bet to $500,000. McSweeney pushed back with an all-in, and Hand called with A-K against McSweeney's pocket tens.

The flop brought an ace for Hand, but when a ten fell on the river, McSweeney scooped the chips, and Hand was out.

Steve Johnson was the next out after moving all-in from the button and getting called by both blinds. The other two players checked it down, and in the end the big blind showed a straight and Johnson mucked his hand.

Sixth place went to Ian Smith after he went head to head against Hugh Whelan. The two saw a flop of T-6-3, and Smith reraised all-in. Whelan called with top two pair and Smith showed A-J. An ace on the turn gave Smith some hope, but a five on the river sent him packing.

A short-stacked Nick Heather was the next to make a move. He pushed all-in over the top of McSweeney's opening raise. When McSweeney made the call, his A-J was ahead of Heather's Q-J. The board couldn't help Heather out, and he was done in fifth place.

Whelan had miraculously made the final table after recovering from having just one ante four tables out from the top eight players, but he couldn't turn that recovery into a win. Fourth place was where he stopped after his pocket threes ran into Andrew Roberts' pocket jacks and couldn't improve on the board.

Roberts was ready to play some more soon after, raising once again and getting a flat-call from McSweeney. However, Bo Ericshen raised all-in with $2,200,000 in chips, and Roberts decided to step aside as McSweeney made the call.

McSweeney flipped up pocket nines to top Ericshen's pocket eights. The board came Q-J-J-7-7 to give McSweeney the hand.

McSweeney was well in the lead when he and Roberts began heads-up play. Then it came down to McSweeney calling an all-in from Roberts with pocket sixes, and Roberts showed A-9.

The board came K-Q-Q-2-J, allowing McSweeney's pair to hold up and giving Roberts the second-place seat.

The payouts for the final table were as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Jimmy McSweeney	€100,000
2nd	Andrew Roberts	€65,000
3rd	Bo Ericshen	€35,000
4th	Hugh Whelan	€25,000
5th	Nick Heather	€20,000
6th	Ian Smith	€15,000
7th	Steve Johnson	€12,000
8th	Barry Hand	€10,000

The event was filmed for documentary broadcast on Irish terrestrial TV station TG4 and for subsequent distribution to networks around the world.

A Web stream of the footage will also be available at Ladbrokes Poker.

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Homam wins Women's World Open II

PokerListings.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:27:32 +0100

"I'm truly delighted to have won," Homam said. "My luggage got lost on the flight over to London, and I was down about that. When it was located and arrived, I felt I had a new lease on life. It sounds strange, but it gave me more confidence and made me feel much more comfortable at the table."

She needed that extra edge too. She's been playing poker for 20 years, both in tournaments and in cash games, but she was up against some skilled female opponents from around the world.

"I have been playing tournaments and cash games for many years now and I see all the debate in the poker world about all women's tournaments. The future is all about us ladies!" Homam said.

Among those who took part were PartyPoker Women's World Open I champion Bev Pace, Jen Mason, Late Night Poker finalist Maria Demetriou, former PartyPoker World Open winner Pippa Flanders and former European Ladies champion Jackie Meecham.

Erica Schoenberg was also on hand, along with Katharine Hartree, Mel Lofthouse, comedienne Lucy Porter, Michelle Orpe, Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker, Bronwyn Campbell, Shelley Rubenstein, Dutch pop star Maud Mulder, Polish television presenter Agnieszka Rylik and Christine Klecz.

The final table came down to the following players:

Seat 1: Soraya Homam, Germany
Seat 2: Eliza Burnett, United Kingdom
Seat 3: Michelle Orpe, United Kingdom
Seat 4: Kyla Kalmar, United Kingdom
Seat 5: May Maceiras, Spain
Seat 6: Stefanie Bergener, Germany

First out from the final table was Kyla Kalmar, wife of Jon Kalmar, a 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event final tablist. Michelle Orpe, a TV presenter and poker pro, went out behind Kalmar in fifth place.

Eliza Burnett, a journalist, picked up fourth place, while May Maceiras, a 28-year-old from Spain, finished in third place.

Initially Macerias was a favorite to win when she started out the final table running over the other players. According to PartyPoker, commentary on her use of position and exploiting the format was very complimentary.

Maceiras has already achieved moderate success, with victories at the Spanish Poker Championships and on the Spanish Poker Tour.

"Poker in Spain is still in its infancy," Maceiras said. "There is still such a long way to go, but I am proud of what I achieved here, and I hope it encourages others to follow in my path."

After Maceiras took her leave from the table, it was down to Stefanie Bergener, also a German pro poker player, against Homam. The balance of power shifted numerous times during heads-up play, but eventually it came down to Homam's A-K suited against Bergener's A-6 offsuit.

The A-K held up for the win, and Homam was $50,000 richer. Bergener received $22,000 for her second-place finish.

"I'm so happy with the result. I have had most of my success online, and this is great," Bergener said. "I promised my son 1% of my winnings to buy him a new BMX bike, so I have no problems there!"

The results of the final table were:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Soraya Homam	$50,000
2nd	Stefanie Bergener	$22,000
3rd	May Maceiras	$14,000
4th	Eliza Burnett	$10,000
5th	Michelle Orpe	$7,000
6th	Kyla Kalmar	$5,000

"The international flavor of the PartyPoker.com Women's World Open II final table just goes to show that this tournament is stronger than ever," said Eddie Hearn, head of online gaming at Matchroom Sport. "It is one of the most popular events in the eyes of international broadcasters."

A PartyPoker spokesman also noted that U.K. players dominated the final table in the Women's World Open I last year, while this year was a complete turnaround from that.

"Beverley Pace won last year, but there is no doubt that the ladies from Germany and Spain are now the pacesetters," the PartyPoker spokesman said. "It could also be true that the Spanish poker scene has found itself a Fernando Torres in the form of May Maceiras."

Related Article: PartyPoker Women's World Open starts Friday

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As the durrrr turns: Dwan spins up $720k

PokerListings.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:17:22 +0100

Case in point: another episode of the irresistible force vs. the immovable object yesterday, as two of the game's most aggressive - or some might say maniacal - high-stakes rivals squared off in another $500/$1,000 RailHeaven session at Full Tilt Poker.

The force: Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies. The object: Tom "durrrr" Dwan, with maybe the most interesting side note this time being it's Ziigmund on the heater, racking up over $1 million in Hold'em profit over the last week or so while durrrr slowly rebuilds from his $1 million Dwanswong late in September.

Or Ziigmund was on a heater it should say, as the online poker world seems to have rotated back to its natural state of affairs - Dwan raking in huge pots with good river cards, and Ziig spewing profanities in the chat box.

Dwan indeed bounced back in a big way yesterday, finishing up roughly $720k - pretty much wiping out his $1 million loss and throwing Ziigmund into a reported -$900k swong of his own.

A good portion of it came in this pot - the biggest online on Thursday - when a turn check by Ziig allowed durrrr to see a free card, fill his straight on the river and get paid off huge.

Hand history in the PL.com Hand Replayer here or text version below, as tracked by the PL.com MarketPulse software.

Game: 8419952352 TABLE: RailHeaven (six-max) $500/$1,000 - No-Limit Hold'em Thu. Oct. 9, 2008 - 7:04 p.m. (ET)

Table Setup

Seat 4 durrrr ($214,091)
Seat 5 Ziigmund ($200,000)
Seat 6 Genius28 ($132,597)
Ziigmund posts the small blind of $500
Genius28 posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #4

Pre-Flop

durrrr raises to $3,000
Ziigmund raises to $10,000
Genius28 folds
durrrr calls $7,000

Flop: [#8s#3d#9h]

Ziigmund bets $21,000
durrrr has 15 seconds left to act
durrrr calls $21,000

Turn: [#8s#3d#9h][#Ks]

world1969 sits down
Ziigmund checks
world1969 adds $50,000
durrrr has 15 seconds left to act
durrrr checks

River: [#8s#3d#9h#Ks][#7c]

Ziigmund bets $63,000
durrrr has 15 seconds left to act
durrrr raises to $183,091, and is all-in
Ziigmund has 15 seconds left to act
Ziigmund has requested TIME
world1969 is sitting out
Ziigmund calls $106,000, and is all-in
Uncalled bet of $14,091 returned to durrrr

Showdown

durrrr shows [#Jd#Td] a straight, jack-high
Ziigmund mucks
durrrr wins the pot ($400,999) with a straight, jack-high
Ziigmund is sitting out

Summary

Total pot $401,000 | Rake $1
Board: [#8s#3d#9h#Ks#7c]
Seat 4 durrrr (button) collected ($400,999)
Seat 5 Ziigmund (small blind) mucked
Seat 6 Genius28 (big blind) folded before the flop

Yesterday's win pushes Dwan's Hold'em profit for the year to date back up to a tidy $1.1 million and reestablishes him in the top three overall Hold'em moneymakers, along with Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond and David Benyamine.

No tears to shed for Ziigmund, however, as the bad day only pushed him back down to the nine spot, with a still none-too-shabby $740k profit himself.

Rest of the top 10 below, and see the full top 100 online Hold'em winners and losers today, this week, this month and this year here and here.

Top 10 Online Hold'em Moneymakers so far in 2008:

Rank	Player	Poker Room	Total
1.	OMGClayAiken	Full Tilt	$1,962,463
2.	David Benyamine	Full Tilt	$1,690,477
3.	durrrr	Full Tilt	$1,151,745
4.	Hoss_TBF	Full Tilt	$1,136,849
5.	PrtectYaNeck	Full Tilt	$1,000,589
6.	jimmie23	Full Tilt	$886,828
7.	aejones	Full Tilt	$815,725
8.	INTERNET POKERS	Full Tilt	$811,491
9.	Ziigmund	Full Tilt	$742,264
10.	present	Full Tilt	$726,527

Top 10 Online Hold'em Losses so far in 2008:

Rank	Player	Poker Room	Total
1.	patatino	Full Tilt	(-$1,494,920)
2.	Patrik Antonius	Full Tilt	(-$1,166,424)
3.	Matt Hawrilenko	Full Tilt	(-$745,849)
4.	whitelime	Full Tilt	(-$640,730)
5.	elmariachimacho	Full Tilt	(-$609,039)
6.	Cole South	Full Tilt	(-$511,419)
7.	TonyBliar	Full Tilt	(-$498,622)
8.	STAADY	Full Tilt	(-$459,681)
9.	just_the_nuts	Full Tilt	(-$457,077)
10.	OnTheRize	Full Tilt	(-$427,605)

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As the durrrr turns: Dwan spins up $720k

PokerListings.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:17:22 +0100

Dwan indeed bounced back in a big way yesterday, finishing up roughly $720k - pretty much wiping out his $1 million loss and throwing Ziigmund into a reported -$900k swong of his own.

A good portion of it came in this pot - the biggest online on Thursday - when a turn check by Ziig allowed durrrr to see a free card, fill his straight on the river and get paid off huge.

Hand history in the PL.com Hand Replayer here or text version below, as tracked by the PL.com MarketPulse software.

Game: 8419952352 TABLE: RailHeaven (six-max) $500/$1,000 - No-Limit Hold'em Thu. Oct. 9, 2008 - 7:04 p.m. (ET)

Table Setup

Seat 4 durrrr ($214,091)
Seat 5 Ziigmund ($200,000)
Seat 6 Genius28 ($132,597)
Ziigmund posts the small blind of $500
Genius28 posts the big blind of $1,000
The button is in seat #4

Pre-Flop

durrrr raises to $3,000
Ziigmund raises to $10,000
Genius28 folds
durrrr calls $7,000

Flop: [#8s#3d#9h]

Ziigmund bets $21,000
durrrr has 15 seconds left to act
durrrr calls $21,000

Turn: [#8s#3d#9h][#Ks]

world1969 sits down
Ziigmund checks
world1969 adds $50,000
durrrr has 15 seconds left to act
durrrr checks

River: [#8s#3d#9h#Ks][#7c]

Showdown

durrrr shows [#Jd#Td] a straight, jack-high
Ziigmund mucks
durrrr wins the pot ($400,999) with a straight, jack-high
Ziigmund is sitting out

Summary

Total pot $401,000 | Rake $1
Board: [#8s#3d#9h#Ks#7c]
Seat 4 durrrr (button) collected ($400,999)
Seat 5 Ziigmund (small blind) mucked
Seat 6 Genius28 (big blind) folded before the flop

No tears to shed for Ziigmund, however, as the bad day only pushed him back down to the nine spot, with a still none-too-shabby $740k profit himself.

Rest of the top 10 below, and see the full top 100 online Hold'em winners and losers today, this week, this month and this year here and here.

Top 10 Online Hold'em Moneymakers so far in 2008:

Rank	Player	Poker Room	Total
1.	OMGClayAiken	Full Tilt	$1,962,463
2.	David Benyamine	Full Tilt	$1,690,477
3.	durrrr	Full Tilt	$1,151,745
4.	Hoss_TBF	Full Tilt	$1,136,849
5.	PrtectYaNeck	Full Tilt	$1,000,589
6.	jimmie23	Full Tilt	$886,828
7.	aejones	Full Tilt	$815,725
8.	INTERNET POKERS	Full Tilt	$811,491
9.	Ziigmund	Full Tilt	$742,264
10.	present	Full Tilt	$726,527

Top 10 Online Hold'em Losses so far in 2008:

Rank	Player	Poker Room	Total
1.	patatino	Full Tilt	(-$1,494,920)
2.	Patrik Antonius	Full Tilt	(-$1,166,424)
3.	Matt Hawrilenko	Full Tilt	(-$745,849)
4.	whitelime	Full Tilt	(-$640,730)
5.	elmariachimacho	Full Tilt	(-$609,039)
6.	Cole South	Full Tilt	(-$511,419)
7.	TonyBliar	Full Tilt	(-$498,622)
8.	STAADY	Full Tilt	(-$459,681)
9.	just_the_nuts	Full Tilt	(-$457,077)
10.	OnTheRize	Full Tilt	(-$427,605)

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Deluge of pros forecast for WPT NAPC

PokerListings.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:37:45 +0100

Built on a cliff that looks right over Niagara's world-famous Horseshoe Falls, Fallsview Casino Resort is the largest gaming resort facility in Canada. To feel any closer to the falls you'd have to try your luck in a barrel. We say try the poker room instead.

It's the third time in as many years that the Canadian casino hosts the tournament, and all of the satellites should make for a volatile poker mix of amateurs and big-time pros.

"While many poker fans focus their attention on the big-name pro players like Daniel Negreanu, it's the satellite system with its low buy-ins that makes the WPT so exciting," said Greg Medulun, director of communications for Fallsview Casino Resort.

"We have amateur players who have been working on their poker skills online and in casino poker rooms for years winning satellite tournaments for as little as $70 and getting a shot at big-time professional poker against the giants of the poker world."

PartyPoker, for example, is offering $13,000 packages to the WPT NAPC, which cover the $10,000+$300 buy-in and also afford winners spending money and accommodation in Niagara Falls. In fact, the site holds daily qualifiers starting from just $1.

Satellites of this sort have already generated at least one winner in the WPT NAPC's short history. In 2006, Soren Turkewitsch of Oshawa, Canada entered a $90 satellite and marched on to win the whole show, which amounted to more than $1 million.

"A lot of things went my way," said Turkewitsch of the win in an interview. "I got lucky. The biggest thing was on the first day, I think I would have been out. I should have been out. Barry Greenstein had pocket aces and somebody came in for a raise, and they raised to about $2,200 and I pushed all-in for like $19,000 on the puck.

"Barry was sitting in the big blind with pocket aces and he called it, and then the original raiser called it with ace-king, and I had king-jack offsuit. And I just sucked out on them and tripled up."

That was the first time the event was ever played, and it paved the way for a great follow-up. Last year's WPT NAPC drew 504 players and a prize pool of $5,133,335, and organizers think they could exceed that this year.

"All we've heard from the players over the last two years is how much they love coming to Fallsview to play in the North American Poker Championship," says Medulun. "That means we're doing our job as the host property and it also means big fields and big prize purses."

Last season's WPT NAPC saw Scott "BigRiskky" Clements take down the $1,361,724 first-place prize by besting Jonathan Little in what was at the time one of the longest tables in WPT history.

In the final hand Jonathan Little raised $180,000 on the spot with Clements calling. The flop came #7s#5c#5h with a couple of checks. The turn brought out Little for a bet of $250k. Clements raised and Little came all-in over the top. Holding #Qd#5d, Clements insta-called with his trip fives and shortly thereafter knocked Little out in second.

Clements is from Mount Vernon, Wash. and last year's WPT NAPC was his second WPT title. The first was in the Canadian Open Championship in 2006. He also has two World Series of Poker bracelets, one in a 2006 $3k Omaha Hi-Lo tournament and the other in $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha in 2007. His total career tournament earnings amount to more than $3 million.

Considering all his luck in the Great White North, don't be surprised if you see Clements in on the action again this year.

Be sure to check out all the results from the WPT NAPC in the PokerListings' Live Tournaments section here.

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Denver resident wins HPT event

PokerListings.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:27:58 +0100

Ramadanis, 31, is a sound engineer in Denver who turned a $340 qualifier entry into a seat in the one of the Heartland Poker Tour's largest events this year. With 386 players turning up for the Texas Hold'em main event, the HPT Mile High Poker Open boasted a $582,600 prize pool.

Ramadanis pocketed $174,780 of that for the win. His largest cash in a poker tournament before that was $500.

"I told my girlfriend I'd buy her a car if I won," Ramadanis said. "She's my lucky charm. I guess now we'll have to go shopping."

Ramadanis' lucky charm was there to watch his entire run at the final table as well - perhaps earning that lucky-charm title and the car that goes with it.

Ramadanis entered the final table as the chip leader. It was smooth sailing from there as he hit a run of good cards and good flops to take him all the way to the win.

On one hand, Ramadanis flopped a set of sevens to knock out one of his nearest competitors, according to the HPT.

"Yeah, it was unreal," he said. "I just kept getting great flops. The set was huge, and a couple hands before that I won a big pot when I flopped a straight holding 9-6. It was a great night."

The rest of the final table played out as follows:

Place	Name	Prize
1st	Andreas Ramadanis	$174,780
2nd	Kyle Orvis	$87,390
3rd	David Bellacose	$52,434
4th	Chuck Plante	$40,782
5th	Jeff Wright	$34,956
6th	Tracy Wittbecker	$29,130
7th	Daniel Montoya	$19,692
8th	Trent Kite	$16,604
9th	Scott Holtzer	$11,943

The HPT will be packing in several events over the next month or so on its way to the championship event in Indiana in November.

The next stop will take place at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y., Oct. 10-20. Then it will be at the Greektown Casino in Detroit, Mich., Oct. 17-26; Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa, Nov. 2-9; and the Running Aces Card Club in Columbus, Minn. Nov. 9-17.

The year-end Championship Open will take place at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Ind., Nov. 12-24.

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bwin Poker begins Bulgarian invasion

PokerListings.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:33:25 +0100

"We are delighted to have colored one of the last blank areas of the European Union in with bwin colors," said Kevin O'Neal, bwin Poker press officer.

"Bulgarian customers have already been able to enjoy our products, only so far everything was in a foreign language for them. Now that the full customization for Bulgaria is completed, we are looking forward to appealing to a broader audience in this promising market."

The Bulgarian site was launched Oct. 2 and not only includes localization with the Bulgarian language, it offers localized betting options, local payment partners and editorial content customized for the Bulgarian market.

The addition of Bulgarian brings bwin Poker up to 22 different languages players can choose from on their site.

This will also make it much easier for Bulgarian poker players to take advantage of the special deals PokerListings.com has with bwin Poker. With deposit bonuses and monthly freerolls, there's plenty of extra cash for players to pocket.

Players who sign up at bwin Poker through a PokerListings link are eligible for an exclusive, fixed $500 bonus. When signing up, players will need to use the "POKLIST" bonus code and then clear 4,000 points in $90 days for the payout.

New players who sign up through PokerListings are also eligible for the private $2,000 monthly freerolls. Players who earn 50 points within three months of depositing at bwin Poker will earn a spot in the monthly freeroll.

The next freeroll is scheduled for Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. for players who qualified between July 1 and Oct. 16.

That's just what bwin Poker has to offer special for PokerListings players. There are also plenty of other promotions and events hosted by the poker site.

Head to bwin Poker to check out the latest trips to live events, big freerolls and more that the poker site has to offer.

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New features, $4m in promos spurring Party surge

PokerListings.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:03:04 +0100

But nothing brings the punters in like massive amounts of cash. Make it an extra $4 million in special promos, and it's amazing what it can do for your traffic numbers.

Celebrating the launch of their next-gen software with a $4 million promo binge - $2 million entirely in free cash draws - online godfather Party Poker is seeing players pile onto its new and improved felt.

Traffic is up a phenomenal 21% in October so far (to 5,200 players on average over each 24-hour period), as tracked by the PokerListings.com MarketPulse software.

Beyond the new features - including a new quick-seat function, live-action previews, customized images and enhanced multi-tabling - the two big promos driving the surge are clearly the $2m "Big Deal" and the $2m "King of the Table" tourney.

The Big Deal is one of Party Poker's biggest-ever promotions, and you don't need to do anything more than play at the tables and earn points to be eligible.

From Sept. 30-Nov. 1 there's a daily $10,000 draw which pays out 100 players cash prizes ranging from $25 to $500. A huge mega-jackpot draw will then take place on Nov. 1, which will give away an estimated $2 million in total cash to another 10,000 winners.

To get into the draws, just pick up PartyPoints on the poker tables any day through Oct. 31. Each PartyPoint gets you one ticket into the next day's daily-jackpot draw and one ticket into the mega-jackpot draw.

There's no limit to the number of tickets you can have, so the more points you earn, the better your chances in the draws.

Capping off the two-month promo binge is the $2 million King of the Table tourney, set for Nov. 30. With a guaranteed prize pool of $2 million, King of the Table is officially the largest tournament Party's ever organized.

Qualifying is ongoing, with satellites from as low as $1. Sign up through a PokerListings.com link and also be eligible for a $500 bonus and private monthly $2k freerolls.

For more info, visit the PL.com Party Poker review page here, and see the full online poker traffic report from the PokerListings.com MarketPulse section here.

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RedKings Poker Team adds Finnish champ Toni Ojala

PokerListings.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:11:23 +0100

Along with Swedish pro Jesper Hoog, Ojala will be representing the RedKings brand at tournaments across the globe, including theWSOP, WSOPE and PokerStars.com EPT.

RedKings recently announced it will be adding to that list the Aussie Millions and Gala Coral British Poker Tour, with still more big-name tournaments to be brought on throughout the year.

"We will be building Team RedKings for land based tournaments in two ways," said a RedKings spokesperson.

"Firstly, we will be seeking out and sponsoring up-and-coming young exciting professional poker players who we believe complement and enhance the image of our poker room. Secondly we will add to the team those players who make it through our full and extensive program of online qualifiers. Our RedKings team will benefit from us being at every land based major with full support and on the ground representatives."

RedKings Poker is one of the fastest-growing sites on the Ongame network and has recently started to heavily promote its live team.

"RedKings Poker has had many players at live poker tournaments since launching just 18 months ago but there has never been such an exciting marketing and sponsorship strategy like the one now in place," said the RedKings spokesperson.

To learn more about RedKings Poker, check out our exclusive room review.

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PokerStars.com APPT to debut in New Zealand

PokerListings.com — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:29:37 +0100

This time around the Asian Pacific Poker Tour sets its sights on that isolated pair of islands to the south of Australia better known as New Zealand. This marks the first time PokerStars has ventured into New Zealand and, in all likelihood, the biggest poker tournament ever held in the country.

APPT Auckland will, of course, take place in the largest city of New Zealand, known for its impressive Sky Tower, bustling night life, rugged coastline and temperate climate. The city is home to 1.3 million, and is one of the few cities in the world to have a harbor on the shores of two major oceans.

New Zealand is renowned for its geographic isolation, being situated 1,250 miles southeast of Australia. Many North Americans were introduced to the rugged beauty of New Zealand in the uber-successful Lord of the Rings movies, which were all filmed in the country.

APPT Auckland is truly a once-in-a-lifetime poker experience, and every player who comes will get a chance to experience at least some of the country's unique magnificence and culture. Winning money is also good, however, and there should be plenty of that up for grabs in the tournament.

#img: new-zealand-beach_25002.jpg: right:Location of the PokerStars party.#

As with all APPT events, you never know who might show up, but it stands to reason there will be at least a handful of Team PokerStars Pro on location. One wonders if famous New Zealanders like 2007 WPT Grand Final runner-up "Captain" Kirk Morrison and former Aussie Millions winner Lee Nelson will attempt to go for glory in their home country.

APPT Auckland will be considerably different from the last two APPT events, which constituted stops in Macau, China and most recently Seoul, South Korea.

It was Japan's Yoshihiro Tasaka who stole the show in South Korea and managed to beat heads-up adversary Hidenari Shiono. Tasaka took down $128,216 for his poker heroics. Some are already calling him Japan's answer to Chris Moneymaker.

#img: kirk-morrison_9330.jpg: left: Will New Zealand's all-time poker cash leader make an appearance?#

Tournament organizers are already estimating that Auckland will be one of the most popular stops on the APPT this year.

APPT Auckland sounded so impressive to PokerListings.com that we decided to fire up the PL.com-branded jet and send a team of reporters to see what the deal is with the "Paradise of the Pacific." Check our live tournaments section for live updates, photos, interviews and blogs from the prestigious tournament.

After Auckland the APPT will be sticking around the South Pacific, as Manila in the Philippines is the next stop on the tour. You can still qualify for the event, so check out some of the amazing satellites on PokerStars.

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SSIGI asks governor to end net gambling ban

PokerListings.com — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:17:58 +0100

"The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative calls on Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to support the regulation of Internet gambling as a way to protect Kentuckians and generate billions of dollars in new revenue, rather than seeking to prohibit the activity," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for SSIGI.

Beshear and other elements of the Kentucky government have moved to seize 141 online gambling site domain names from sites they believe are illegally doing business in Kentucky. According to the law, the state has the right to seize and forfeit "gambling mechanisms" associated with illegal online gambling.

In this case, they are considering the domain names of the Web sites to be a gambling mechanism.

Beshear has made the move in an effort to stop online gambling in the state under the guise of protecting his constituents.

SSIGI acknowledges that Beshear is right that Internet gambling is flourishing in an underground marketplace and that change is needed. However, SSIGI believes his solution is flawed.

"Prohibition has failed before and is not likely to stop Kentuckians or anyone in the U.S. from continuing to find a way to gamble online," Sandman said.

Instead, the SSIGI believes that Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has the right idea with his proposed bill to regulate Internet gambling rather than ban it. His plan advocates a more responsible approach to protect consumers as well as to capture billions of dollars to fund critical government programs.

"Based on pending legislation, the Investing in our Human Resources Act (H.R.6051), Kentuckians could receive an estimated $556 million over 10 years to fund critical programs from regulated Internet gambling revenues," Sandman said.

"The bill also includes provisions to encourage responsible Internet gambling behavior and an awareness of unsafe practices, something problem gambling advocates praise."

Sandman points out that the governor has shown great leadership in the past in protecting his state's residents' rights to gamble on horse racing and in casinos if they wish to opt for that form of entertainment. He has advocated allowing casinos to set up in Kentucky as well.

"He should extend that right to those constituents who seek the freedom to gamble online, whether on poker, sports or other games," Sandman said. "We encourage Gov. Beshear to reverse his position and support Internet gambling regulation as a sensible approach to protect the interests of his constituents."

The SSIGI's goal is to promote the freedom of individuals to gamble online with the proper safeguards to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of financial transactions.

More information about the SSIGI can be found at www.safeandsecureig.org.

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