Posts Tagged ‘poker stars’

Poker Stars Passes Increased Rake Fees onto Unhappy Players in France

Monday, July 12th, 2010

I don't know what this says in French, but something tells me it isn't about higher rake fees...

I don't know what this says in French, but something tells me it isn't about higher rake fees...

Here’s a message for all you lawmakers out there contemplating drawing up laws to regulate online gambling. Write a law to actually regulate online betting activity, not hinder it. Sure, taxation and regulation tend to go hand-in-hand. But when the taxation policy does not make it worthwhile for operators to do business, then it kind of defeats the purpose does it not?

In the UK, where strict regulatory laws have driven out several top-shelf online betting operators in the last few years, in France, some operators are choosing to pass increases in taxation onto the players themselves. More specifically, the popular online poker room, Poker Stars has dumped a 2% increase in rake charges on French players, as a result of new regulatory laws – which for all intensive purposes – are supposed to liberalize online gambling in France.

Beginning earlier this month, the French government gave an open invitation to offshore betting operators seeking to do business with French citizens – and Poker Stars was one of them. The only catch was that the operators would be required to pay more in taxes than what they were generally accustomed to in other regulatory jurisdictions.

Instead of sucking up the loss, Poker Stars has decided to make the players pay. Mind you, these are the same players who helped make Poker Stars become one of the most popular online poker rooms in the world. Needless to say, players from France are up in arms about the decision to raise the rake charge up to 7.7% (the percentage amount of the pot that is deducted and paid to Poker Stars every hand), and have formed a coup d’etat of sorts.

Taking advantage of the rule called a “sit out”, French players have successfully managed to impose a boycott on Poker Stars. Permitting seated players to “sit out” a hand at a table, the rule is now being exploited to the point where some entire tables are being “sat out” by players. Taking note of the uprising, Poker Stars defended its decision, stating they have been losing money themselves as a result of raised taxes. However, you and me and all the players at Poker Stars know that’s absolute BS.

I guess then it comes down to how greedy does Poker Stars want to be? Whether the staged sit-outs will be enough to get the world’s most popular online poker room to rethink increased rake fees for French poker players remains to be seen.

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Poker Stars Holding Online Qualifiers for The Big Game to Air on Fox

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Get in on the Big Game at Poker Stars and Win a $100K Buy-in

Get in on the Big Game at Poker Stars and Win a $100K Buy-in

Leading U.S. facing online poker room, Poker Stars, has revealed plans to launch a new high stakes cash poker game – Big Game – to be filmed and aired by the Fox Television network the Summer of 2010. In other words, whether you like Fox or not, if you’re a fan of poker, this is one television series you’re not going to want to miss.

Better yet, if you’re a fan of online poker, this is one game you will not want to pass up getting in on. The way Big Game works is that the top cash game players at Poker Stars will get to compete in head’s up, high stakes action against the biggest names in the professional poker world. So yes, that means you will need to be at the top of your game if you want to make it to the Big Game.

Through June 15 (just in time before the UIGEA potentially goes into effect), players from both Canada and the US will be eligible to compete in online qualifier tournaments, which in turn, will lead to the Big Game Final Round qualifiers. Anyone who finishes in the Top 200 will then be eligible to submit an audition video to be used for casting purposes. Since this is television we are talking about here, personality weighs in with playing skills!

Every episode of Big Game will feature a new Final Round online qualifier, who from this point on will be referred to as the Loose Cannon. He or she will be the lone non-professional sitting at a table playing with blinds set at $200/$400 and competing for hundreds of thousands of dollars with the best of the best professional players in the poker world. Poker Stars will give each Loose Cannon $100,000 to cover the buy-in, and any money made over the $100K amount will be theirs to keep.

To make things more fair, or should I say interesting, the Loose Cannon will be permitted to play with their own cash on top of the $100K buy-in. Considering the bankrolls of the competition, this will likely prove to a be a helpful bonus. Of course, anyone who makes it this far playing online satellite tournaments at Poker Stars should have some spending cash under their belt – or at least be able to find an investor.

For more information on Poker Stars, including welcome bonus information, read the OCS Poker Stars Review.

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Posted in Games, Tournaments, online poker | 1 Comment »

Poker Heist in Germany no Oceans Eleven, But Full of Excitement all the Same

Monday, March 8th, 2010

If you watched the evening news last night, there’s a good chance you heard about the high stakes poker heist that went down in Germany, in which live television cameras caught the caper going down – or at least the immediate repercussions thereof. If you didn’t see it, basically, think of your standard World Poker Tour camera shot, the sound of people screaming and stuff breaking, a set board crashing down behind the players at the table, the camera going into handheld “shaky” mode, and everybody running for cover.

It truly was like something out of Ocean’s Eleven, minus the….how do you say…professionalism? As if there is anything professional about robbery. But to be honest, the German poker heist was probably more real life than any blockbuster movie fantasy. Apparently, the crooks did not read “Robbing for Dummies”. Heck, the footage capturing all the poker tableside action speaks for itself.

Another video shows the perps running from behind a counter where the money was apparently being held, and wielding a small machete at a supersized security guard, who in turn, resorted to throwing random objects at the thieves and managing to successfully capture one of them. However, either the captured perp had all the money in his backpack, or his fellow robbers have something of a conscious, for one of them returned, threatening the security guard with a metal stand. That was enough to back the security guard down – who, apparently, was the only person with an ounce of bravery in the whole casino – and the thieves went on their merry way. It was a sloppy mess to say the least.

Granted, they did get away with approximately 300,000 Euros. Authorities, however, expressed confidence that with all of the evidence left behind, it is very likely the bandits will be brought to justice. Currently, they are still on the run.

Who knew poker could be so fun? Wouldn’t you know it, but the tournament, which had a 1 Million top prize award, was eventually won by an online qualifier at Poker Stars. Kevin MacPhee, a 29-year old home player from Idaho, took out his revenge in head’s up play on the Finnish player, IIari Tahkokallio, who ironically won head’s up against MacPhee last year at the London Open.

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Poker Stars in the News: Upcoming Tournament Could be Largest to Date; 9/11 Cop Wins Million Dollar Challenge

Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Visit Poker Stars to Join the World Record Poker Tournament for $1

Visit Poker Stars to Join the World Record Poker Tournament for $1

The leading U.S. facing online poker room, and the most popular poker room at that, Poker Stars, has been in the news of late, shooting the final episode for the first season of the “Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge”, and getting geared up for what could possibly be the largest online poker tournament to date – that is the Guinness World Record for largest poker tournament.

The news that technically shouldn’t be news to begin with, has to do with the results of the final table at the Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge, which is scheduled to be aired on FOX December 27, 2009. However, due to a leak provided to the New York Post, the final results have already been published for the whole world to see. What makes the outcome of this event especially newsworthy is that the winner is a retired NYC detective who was one of the first officers on the scene at Ground Zero on 9/11.

Officer Mike Kosowski, who was originally an alternate to compete in the tournament after placing fourth in a Poker Stars online qualifier satellite tournament, ended up getting to compete in the final event after all show four players were knocked out in the first round. After winning a consolation sit ‘n go, Kosowski went on to face three other show winners at the final table, beating them out to compete in head’s up play against noted poker professional, Daniel Negreanu.

Besides the fact that an underdog won the Poker Stars Million Dollar Challenge, what’s so great about this particular tournament is that it was won by a national hero. Not only was Kosowski one of the first emergency personnel on the scene at Ground Zero, while helping evacuate civilians, Kosowski was thrown ten feet in the air after the South World Trade tower collapsed, consequently receiving burns on his head and neck.

Retiring shortly after the trauma of 9/11, Kosowski turned to online poker to help him occupy his time (encouraged to do so by his wife, who was cheering him on all the while at the final table). As it turns out, the decision to join Poker Stars has been another “life changer” for Kosowski, who says he is still on an emotional high and wondering if he is living a dream. As mentioned, the taped action at the final table with Kosowski will air on FOX Sunday, December 27th, beginning at 5 pm.

Now, onto other Poker Stars  news and events, which for all the online poker players out there, is what it’s all bout, right? Also taking place December 27th (beginning at 2:45 EST) will be the start of a $300,000 guaranteed prize pool poker tournament, which could end up being the largest online poker tournament to date if enough players sign up. In fact, the whole point of the tournament is beat Poker Stars current world record of 65,000 players. Currently, there are nearly 50,000 registered players.

Not only are there three days still to go for 15,000 more players to sign up, satellite tournaments are taking place round the clock. Furthermore, the buy-in is just $1, which is as cheap as a non-freeroll poker tournament can get. With the top prize valued at $50,000, and the top 30,000 finishers guaranteed cash winnings, that is one investment worth the risk. If you’ve never participated in an online poker tournament before, this is a great, cost-effective opportunity to get a taste of what an online poker tournament is like. Visit Poker Stars to open a free account now. Read the OCS Poker Stars Review for more information.

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