Poker Blog & Poker Forum

The Aussie Millions is the only major global poker event held in Australia. It is hosted by Crown Casino in Melbourne. The poker tournament is held alongside another global sporting event which is the Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam Event. These two events were combined last year by the pairing of poker professional Gus Hansen and tennis professional Caroline Wozniacki. That affair is now over.

Two of the biggest events of the Aussie Millions are currently in progress. The first is the $10,600 buy in Main Event that will run from January 22 to January 28. One of the notable entries is Tom “Durrrr” Dwan. Dwan was closely associated with Full Tilt Poker. He has maintained a low profile ever since Full Tilt was hauled through the coals after Black Friday. Then Dwan had promised to part with a million dollars of his own money to pay the stranded Full Tilt players, should the online poker room default on its commitments. Full Tilt Poker has not yet paid its players, though it is in the process of striking a deal that would hopefully see the players getting their money. Dwan has therefore stated that he will wait another year to see how the saga unfolds, but has reiterated that his promise stands. On a happier note Dwan is in Australia with his girl friend. They were spotted in tourist hot spots like the Sydney Opera House (see picture). Dwan’s girl friend has apparently been Tweeting the not so personal details about their Australia trip.

Meanwhile the $100,000 Challenge for the high rollers is drawing to a close. At the time of writing five players remain. Gus Hansen is at the number five spot and will need to pull out something special to survive. His ex-girl friend Wozniacki is through to the quarter finals in her sport. Mikhail Smirnov is way ahead of the pack followed by Joe Hachem.

Maria Ho, the poker babe, has also entered the Aussie Millions Main Event. Maria has been the last woman standing in two major poker tournaments, WSOP and WSOPE. Can she repeat that feat in the Aussie Millions Main Event?

Annie Duke and Daniel Negreanu are in the news again but fortunately not together. The last time they appeared in the same news item it did not make good copy.

Annie Duke is now the Commissioner of the Epic Poker League, which is reportedly in the process of an acquisition deal with Pinnacle Entertainment. In an interview given to The Las Vegas Sun Annie was dismissive of the younger poker professionals. Annie said, “When somebody wins the Main Event, in general, they are known for a little while, and that’s kind of it. There are lots and lots of winners in the last five years, yet none of them have become huge stars and none of them have been able to generate the ratings that the original poker players did. The players falling into this class were named as Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Jonathan Duhamel and Pius Heinz. Incidentally Duhamel has had huge cashes in the big events at the PCA 2012. Annie said that if people from Middle America are asked who the best poker players are, the names that will be mentioned are Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow and Annie Duke. [...] Continue Reading…

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) is the first big event on the poker calendar for 2012. As usual it is being held at the luxurious Atlantis Resort & Casino on Paradise Island in The Bahamas. The $100,000 Super High Roller has just been completed and it was a fitting beginning to the New Year.
The final table of eight players was the most star studded one seen in a long time. The poker fans have been dreaming of such a table at the WSOP Main Event for years. At the top of the table was Galen Hall, the winner of the 2011 PCA Main Event, hoping to create history at the Atlantis with back to back wins. Jonathan Duhamel, having put aside the home robbery by his ex-girl friend, was in the second spot. The veteran Daniel Negreanu, the leader in the all time live tournament earnings, was in third spot. Viktor Blom was next. As Isildur 1, Blom has ruled online poker rooms, but has yet to make a mark in live tournaments, where he has only one cash to his name. He finished 16th at the 2011 WSOP Europe Main Event. Dan Shak was the last player with [...] Continue Reading…

The year 2011 did not end well for 2010 WSOP Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel. On December 21 his home in Longueuil, just outside of Montreal, was invaded by assailants. Duhamel was badly beaten and tied up. His WSOP bracelet, a high-end Rolex watch and an unspecified amount of cash were stolen.
Following tip offs from the public, two men and one woman were charged and a fourth man was arrested and questioned by the police. The men arrested were John Stephan Clark Lemay, Andre Perron and Anthony Bourque. However, the woman, who was the first to be arrested, was the most interesting person in the case. She was Duhamel’s ex-girlfriend, 20-year-old Bianca Rojas-Latraverse (in picture), who dated Duhamel a few months ago. She was with Duhamel during the 2011 WSOP Main Event. With her arrest it was confirmed that the attack was not random. Bianca was charged with five offences including conspiracy. Bianca was the only one of the four suspects Duhamel knew.
A few days ago Duhamel spoke to CJAD Radio about the attack. He said that the attackers had entered his home posing as parcel deliverymen and beat him up. Duhamel said, “I’ve played hockey all my [...] Continue Reading…

In a clarification, which has been described as a surprise Christmas present to the online gambling industry, the Department of Justice (DoJ) made its opinion known on two issues. The first was that henceforth the infamous Wire Act of 1961 would apply only to sports betting. The second was that states could license and regulate non-sports related intrastate online gambling. The legal opinion issued by the DoJ was in response to inquiries from New York and Illinois about online lottery sales and a letter written by Senate Majority Lead Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senator Jon Kyl, (R-Ariz.) asking for clarification on the legality of online gambling.
The letter from the DoJ was signed by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich. Weich acknowledged that the Department was altering its view on the Wire Act after its Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) reviewed the law. Earlier, the DoJ had maintained that the Wire Act covered all types of online gambling. Weich wrote, “Although the OLC conclusion differs from the Department’s previous interpretation of the Wire Act, it reflects the Department’s position in Congressional testimony at the time the Wire Act was passed in 1961.” It may be recalled that the DoJ had prosecuted [...] Continue Reading…