According to a press release issued by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) which licenses a number of online poker rooms including Absolute Poker and UB Poker, the two sites that were brought down on April 15, 2011 will likely be liquidated, with any money from the sale of assets, like the software, used to repay players who have funds locked-up on the two online poker rooms.
Here is a look at the statement released by the KGC:
(MOHAWK TERRITORY OF KAHNAWAKE – October 27, 2011) – Since the actions taken by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “SDNY”) on April 15, 2011, the Commission has been in close and regular discussions with its licensee, Blanca Games Inc. (“Blanca”), operating as Absolute Poker and UB.com (“AP/UB”), to facilitate the reimbursement of both US and non-US players. The Commission has also received regular updates of discussions between AP/UB and the SDNY.
Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives, establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.
The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible.
To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay.
Obviously the DOJ has yet to approve this arrangement, but with a deadline looming (the deadline was set when UB and Absolute Poker made a deal with the DOJ similar to PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker which allowed them to regain control of their domain names) something had to be done, and it appears that we are witnessing the death throes of two of the longest-standing online poker rooms, Absolute Poker and UB Poker. Hopefully players will receive more than mere pennies on the dollar for their funds that are currently locked-up on the two sites.
Oct 29 2011
Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson 2011 Poker Hall of Fame inductees
written by: Steve Comments: Comments Off
In a tumultuous year in the poker world that has seen the reputations of some of the game’s greatest players tarnished, two of the games most highly respected representatives have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Linda Johnson known as “The First Lady of Poker” and Barry Greenstein known as the “Robin Hood of Poker” will make up the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2011.
The duo was voted in by a 35-person panel made up of the 18 living Hall of Fame members and a specially selected group of 17 members of the poker media. The induction ceremony will take place just prior to the WSOP Main Event concluding on November 8th.
Johnson, who won a WSOP bracelet back in 1997, is best known for her work behind the scenes in the industry. She has had a hand in establishing the World Poker Tour, Card Player Magazine, and the Tournament Directors Association, and is one of the most well-liked personalities in the poker world.
Greenstein has been a force in tournaments and cash games for decades now, and is one of the more philanthropically inclined poker players in the world, having donated millions of dollars to charities around the world (even when he is not flush with money).
According to the Associated Press the pair each gave a short statement after learning the good news with Johnson stating, “I feel lucky to have been involved in many facets of poker over the past 35 years… Being recognized by the industry is a tremendous honor.” Greenstein said in a statement that he was happy to be inducted alongside Johnson, whom he called “the most fervent ambassador for poker for as long as I can remember.”
It’s been a couple of months since we’ve heard much from Dan “Jungleman12″ Cates, the young online poker phenom who was at the top of his game until Black Friday. Cates was absolutely dominating Tom Dwan in the “Durrrr Challenge” series, but that went sour when Full Tilt Poker closed its doors to U.S. players. Since then, Cates has unfortunately become better known for his involvement with the Jose Macedo poker scandal than for his undisputed online cash game prowess.
Now, however, Cates has issued a challenge. Apparently aggravated by the negative media attention that’s been placed on online poker in the wake of Black Friday, Cates is hoping to add some positivity to the industry by inviting anyone with enough cash to play him heads-up at the Prague Poker Festival, with the match currently scheduled for December 6.
The match, which is set to be streamed with a 15-minute delay on ThePokerFarm.com, will come with a buy-in of no less than 100k Euro, as well as stakes of 200 Euro / 400 Euro. Hole cards will be displayed as part of the semi-live broadcast. No word yet on whether Cates has chosen a game type, though NLHE and PLO seem like safe bets.
In an interview with ThePokerFarm.com, Cates said the following:
“As someone who loves the game, I think the poker world deserves to know who the best poker player on the planet is. I’m confident that it’s me. If anyone has the nerve to take me on, let them come to Prague in December and sit down across from me at the table.”
There’s no question that Cates is good, but “best poker player on the planet” good? It seems likely that Cates will get more than one person to accept his challenge, though it remains to be seen whether Cates will select an Ivey, a Negreanu, a Dwan or an unknown as his challenger.
After several days of intense action, the European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event has come to a close, and Andrey Pateychuk of Russia was crowned the champion, winning an EPT trophy along with 680k Euro. The final table defined diversity, as all eight players represented a different country of origin. It also defined live poker talent, with each player’s resume easily being worth a major EPT victory.
The day lasted a total of 9 hours. Kevin MacPhee had his hopes of winning a second EPT Main Event when he was eliminated in 8th place on the 35th hand after being mostly eaten by the blinds. Rocco Palumbo of Italy hit the rail next when his K-Q offsuit failed to improve against Jan Bendik’s trip 5s.
Dimitar Danchev made a run at the chip leader position when his A-J suited topped Yorane Kerignard’s 3-3. Danchev completed trip aces on the flop, and Kerignard was sent to the cash cage on his way back to his native France.
Pateychuk then boosted his chip stack by eliminating Bendik in 5th place. Pateychuck’s J-J topped Bendick’s K-10 offsuit, and a garbage board lent Bendick no help. Next to hit the rail was Barny Boatman, whose 3-3 failed to improve on the board against Pateychuk’s Q-Q.
Three-handed action lasted for a while until Danchev’s A-9 drew Daniel Neilson all-in with A-5. The board was once again useless to both players, leaving Danchev with a chip stack that nearly matched Pateychuk’s.
Pateychuk and Danchev decided to strike a heads-up deal in which both players would receive 600k Euro, with an additional 80k Euro reserved for 1st place. On the final hand, the board showed 9s-4s-2h. Pateychuk pushed all-in with 6-7, and Danchev instantly called with 10-9. Danchev thought he had it all, but won until the 8 came on the turn. At this point, only a 5 or a 10 would secure the win for Pateychuk. The poker gods smiled on the Russian, and a 5 of hearts was delivered on the river.
After laying-off some 200 employees from their Dublin offices, a couple of the former Full Tilt Poker employees decided to trash the already struggling site on the 2+2 poker forum, airing what dirty laundry they could on the inner workings of Full Tilt. While nothing earth-shattering was revealed by the former employees, they did answer hundreds of questions, and basically universally agreed that the company was in dire straits, and that the deal with Groupe Bernard Tapie would likely never reach fruition.
News of the lay-offs first came in September, and employees were notified over a week ago that up to 200 of the 500 employees at a Full Tilt subsidiary would be eliminated according to the Irish Times. The subsidiary company provides software, information technology, management and customer support services for Full Tilt Poker according to the article.
Full Tilt Poker has been offline since the AGCC suspended their operating license on June 29th, after the company struggled to repay players in the aftermath of Black Friday –the AGCC later revoked Full Tilt Poker’s license in September. The former employees who spoke out on 2+2 stated that they couldn’t see how the site could last past January without the deal with Groupe Bernard Tapie being finalized in the near future.
Despite most people believing the posters on 2+2 were credible, the thread has since been taken down by the site.
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