Thursday, July 12, 2007
By The Associated Press
DAY: 6 (Officially known as Day 2B)
BIG NEWS: Jeff Norman of Encinitas, Calif., was the chip leader Wednesday with 315,000 after the first 3 1/2 hours of play. He was followed by Carl Olson of Seattle with 280,000 and Matt Keikoan of San Rafael, Calif., with 267,000.
STUD OF THE DAY: Poker pro and writer Chad Brown increased his stack to 95,000 during the first hour when he busted another player with a straight. With the board showing king, queen, nine and seven on the turn, Brown's opponent went all in with pocket aces. Brown, who had a jack and a 10, showed a king-high straight. The meaningless river card was a four, so Brown was able to win and eliminate a foe. Brown, who again cracked an opponent's aces with a straight about two hours into play, was in 11th place with 184,000 chips after about 3 1/2 hours. Brown is in 11th place in the 2007 Player Standings.
BUSTED OUT: Poker pros Steve Dannenmann, Allen Cunningham, Bill Gazes, Susie Isaacs, Phil Gordon, Vinnie Vinh.
POKER TALK: Blinding off: When a player shows up after the official starting time or leaves the table during play. Rick Tocchet, an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes who recently pleaded guilty to gambling charges and is on a leave of absence from the team, missed the first two hours of play Wednesday, losing chips each hand. The tactic frequently is used by former champ Phil Hellmuth, who tries to gain an edge over his opponents by making a grand entrance after the official starting time.
UP NEXT: Surviving players from Days 2A and 2B, are scheduled to come together Thursday, officially Day 3 of play, in what should be about a 10-hour session.
HE SAID WHAT?: "Is it legal to wear tank tops? There used to be a rule." - Daniel Negreanu, joking about a player who took off his shirt and stripped down to his tank top before receiving a massage at the feature table.
Labels: World Series Of Poker
Why isn't Charles Barkley listed at a million to one to win this week's American Century Championship and what gives with defending champion Jack Wagner not being recognized as the tournament favorite?
These are some of the issues that faced oddsmakers at Harveys Lake Tahoe Race & Sports Book in the month preceding the 54-hole celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
As the sole provider of tournament odds in the Stateline casino corridor, the book has also become responsible for supplying the odds for other Nevada casinos. That responsibility can be a burden.
"I'm definitely more nervous now that they are going out all over the state," said Dave Cudney, a race and sports book supervisor. "It's really hard when there isn't a track record. Luckily this tournament has been going on for a long time and many of the guys have played in it a lot."
Cudney prepares the odds by researching past performances and poring over the latest player handicap list provided by Golf Digest. After receiving input from other race and sports book personnel such as Steve Schorr and Frank King, Cudney's odds will be checked by Las Vegas Sports Consultants and oddsmakers at Caesars Palace.
"I'd feel better if it was San Francisco and New Orleans and the line was 7. It's a scary bet for us because we don't know (for sure). It's not an exact science. We're not 100 percent confident," said Schorr, Harveys' full service games manager.
"It's a fun event for us. It's not like we're putting it up to make a bunch of money. We do it because we support celebrity golf."
One of the more unusual aspects about the gaming side of the tournament is that the celebrities can bet on themselves or other players. Cudney, however, has never seen a celebrity bet against himself/herself in a player matchup.
As the 18th championship approaches, six-time champion Rick Rhoden at 6-5 is one again the favorite. Dan Quinn (2-1), Wagner (5-1) and Billy Joe Tolliver (5-1) are the other top contenders. For good reason. The quartet has combined to win 12 of the 17 titles.
Unlike other pro golf tournaments, the 81-player celebrity championship really has about 10 to 12 legitimate title contenders. That can be a plus for gamblers.
"If it wasn't for the liability of the casinos, we could make Barkley a million to one. No matter what, he isn't gonna win," Schorr said. "Those bets are souvenirs. In a normal golf match, there aren't too many souvenirs. In pro golf, most of them have somewhat of a chance, a lot more than Barkley ever would have."
The biggest swing in odds prior to the tournament belonged to Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo. Odds on Romo to win the tournament have dropped from 20-1 to 12-1.
"Rumors are flying around that he's really good and he's a new player. A few years ago, it was the same thing with Mark McGwire," Cudney said.
Although Romo shot an even-par round of 72 in the first stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open in May, he has yet to play in the ACC. Many players perform differently when cameras are on them and spectators are watching every shot.
Retired hockey player Mario Lemieux (40-1) is the longest shot to ever win the tournament when he won the title back in 1998.
While the odds on players to win the tournament are relatively harmless to the books, the head-to-head matchups can cause some problems. Savvy gamblers have been know to pinpoint a poor matchup.
Last year, the book tendered a matchup of actors - Ray Romano vs. Cheech Marin - and the Romano's 28-point victory sent some casino money up in smoke. The same thing happened in the matchup of Donald Trump and Dan Quayle. Quayle fired away at Trump, winning by a landslide - 31 points.
Years ago, a matchup between Barkley and Kevin Nealon became almost laughable when Nealon purposely hit some tee shots into Lake Tahoe.
As a result, the book has taken some precautions to avoid shaky matchups in the future. For this year's tournament, Cudney has enlisted in players he perceives as either title contenders or highly competitive.
"The limits are much lower. We wouldn't let someone bet $20,000 on a matchup," Schorr said.
While the tournament is a fun week for the fans, Cudney, Schorr and King won't be at ease. That nervousness is part of the reason they are in the gaming business.
"Overall, we're pretty confident or we wouldn't put up the lines," Schorr said.
Celebrity golf odds
Head-to-head matchups
Trent Dilfer -1.05
Ryan Longwell -1.25
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Al Del Greco -1.05
Chris Chandler -1.25
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Mario Lemieux -1.20
Pierre Larouche -1.10
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John Elway -1.25
Joe Theismann -1.05
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Jack Wagner -1.40
Grant Fuhr +1.10
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Ray Allen -1.15
Michael Jordan -1.15
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Steve Beuerlein Even
Drew Brees -1.30
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Global players will be gambling an estimated US$295-billion annually by 2010. In Canada, it is the biggest growth industry. And that begs the question -- should governments hold 'em, fold 'em, or raise the ante? Peter Nowak Financial Post
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Cranes dot the landscape of tiny Macau, the special administrative region of China and former Portuguese colony. The heavy machinery is dredging the waters of the South China Sea in a hurried land reclamation project, all in an effort to make way for a horde of new casinos. The border with mainland China, meanwhile, heaves with busloads of tourists who have made their way to Macau for one reason and one reason only: to gamble.
Macau is projected to surpass Las Vegas in overall gambling revenue this year, but it is only the tip of a global iceberg. Despite a U.S. crackdown on Internet-based gambling, the industry in general is powering ahead with no signs of slowing down.
Global consumer spending on all gambling -- including casinos, lotteries, horse races, book-making and Internet -- was estimated at US$244-billion in 2004 and is expected to grow to US$295-billion by 2010 with the introduction of new casinos. Merrill Lynch expects at least 50 new casinos will be built in Asia alone by 2012.
Total gambling revenue in the United States was US$78.6-billion in 2004, up 42% from US$45.1-billion in 1995, with expansion projected to continue indefinitely.
Statistics Canada says the growth of this country's gambling industry has far outpaced all other industries since 1992. Provincial governments last year pocketed $7.3-billion in profit on revenue from lotteries, video-lottery terminals and casinos of $12.9-billion -- a figure that has risen a staggering 79% from $2.7-billion in 1992.
In pure numbers, Canada now has 60 casinos and has seen explosive growth in the number of slot machines since 1999 -- to 47,878 from 31,537, or a 52% increase.
Internet gambling, meanwhile, is booming. The first gambling Web site launched in 2005 and there are now more than 2,000, according to the American Gaming Association. Global revenue was estimated at US$11.9-billion in 2005 and projected to double by 2010.
The industry was shocked when U.S. Congress passed surprise legislation a week ago banning banks and credit card companies from accepting bets from Internet gambling sites. President George W. Bush is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.
With more than half of all online bets originating in the United States, the legislation wreaked havoc on Internet gambling providers and associated companies by wiping away billions of market capitalization this week. Several Europe-based companies, including PartyGaming and 888 Holdings PLC, immediately ceased taking bets from U.S. residents, while firms that supply the software these sites run on -- including Toronto-based Cryptologic Inc. and Oakville, Ont.-based Parlay Entertainment -- saw their respective shares tumble about 25% and 35% over the course of the week.
The gambling industry -- both online providers and land-based casinos -- decried the legislation as backwards, short-sighted and religiously motivated, likening it to the alcohol Prohibition of the 1920s. They said there was no way to stop the spread of Internet gambling and the legislation would only serve to create a black market of more shady offshore operators and fewer legitimate businesses.
Industry experts say that if governments want to combat the perceived ills of gambling, there may be only one way to do it: with more gambling. In other words, the only way to fight fire is with fire.
"Or when the house is burning down, you can roast marshmallows," says Jason Azmier, senior policy analyst at the Calgary-based Canada West Foundation consultancy.
In a June 2005 report on gambling demand in Canada, Mr. Azmier wrote that trapping the "leakage" of gambling revenue to overseas or illegal operators has served as effective justification for expansion of legal lotteries and casinos. Continuing growth in demand and changing technology "will no doubt make compelling future arguments for expansion." After all, if the demand for gambling is there and it's growing, shouldn't Canada capitalize on it and keep the proceeds?
"It provides a compelling argument to say we need to have our own sources because people are going to gamble anyway," Mr. Azmier says. "We're better off controlling it, regulating it and providing the most healthy outcomes associated with it."
Most governments in the world have bought that argument and have helped fuel the massive expansion of industry and demand, says Eugene Christiansen of New York-based Christiansen Capital Advisors. Governments have also found that by spurring gambling development, they have unlocked an entirely new category of consumer spending, he says.
"If I started another hundred newspapers, I might not increase consumer spending on newspapers at all because the United States is fully supplied with newspapers and has been for some time," he says. "But there is substantial unsatisfied demand for casino gaming in the United States. That means every time a state legalizes casino gaming in some form, it stimulates new consumer spending."
Mr. Azmier agrees new casinos translate into new consumer spending. The money consumers spend at casinos comes from their savings rather than from other forms of entertainment spending, such as movies or non-gambling games. Whether that's good or bad, of course "is another debate," he says.
The rising demand and spending is what makes the move by Congress that much harder to swallow for industry players. The battle over whether gambling is immoral or not was over long ago, says Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage, Las Vegas's biggest casino operator.
"Government needs to think about legislating behaviour. Throughout history that's proven unsuccessful," he says. "Government shouldn't be in the position of fighting gambling to begin with. Government has throughout history been built on gambling."
The casinos were just as upset by the legislation as the online gambling operators. Up until about six months ago, the casinos -- represented by the AGA -- were against Internet gambling, but they changed their tune after an experiment by MGM and Kerzner International Ltd. on the Isle of Man last year. The two casinos set up betting sites on the British island, which allows regulated online gambling, to see if the software could stand up to official scrutiny. The sites were tested to see if minors and bettors outside the jurisdiction could bypass safeguards, and they passed with flying colours, Mr. Feldman says. The AGA then asked for an inquest by Congress into whether Internet gambling should be legalized, regulated and taxed in the United States.
The World Trade Organization has also weighed in on the issue, finding in 2004 that the U.S. government's aggressive efforts to curb Internet gambling was in violation of commercial service accords. The ruling was recently reversed, but the AGA has requested it be revisited.
The casinos don't see the Internet as competition, but rather as an opportunity for brand extension. The AGA says only about 45% of the big casinos' profits now come from gambling, as opposed to about 70% a decade ago. People are going to Las Vegas and Atlantic City in New Jersey more for the shows and other entertainment.
"Gambling is secondary," says AGA chief executive Frank Fahrenkopf. "Internet gamers are not the same customers. The [casinos] would view it as a new profit centre."
Mr. Feldman says MGM would "absolutely" launch an Internet betting site if it could, since the customer base is completely different from traditional casino clientele.
"We've not yet met the customer who would say, 'I've got poker nights on Wednesday nights, so I'm not going to go to Las Vegas this weekend.'"
But the removal of the United States -- which at around US$4-billion in betting makes it the world's biggest Internet gambling market -- does major damage to any business plan for doing so.
"Having this unavailable to customers really diminishes the business opportunity," he says.
Other governments, however, are moving in the opposite direction. Despite the Chinese government officially "opposing" gambling, Macau has over the past four years become the undisputed Las Vegas of Asia. Canadian-educated region chief executive Edmund Ho in 2002 ended Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho's (no relation) 40-year monopoly by opening up casino licences for bidding, spurring a wave of foreign investment and development. The result is that overall gambling revenue is projected to this year surpass Las Vegas's take of about US$6-billion. And that's before at least another 10 casinos are slated to open in Macau by 2009. China is also rumoured to be in the process of launching an online lottery.
Singapore last year lifted a ban on gambling in an effort to compete with Macau, and multi-billion-dollar bids for casino licences are under way. Japan is also looking to build its first casino by 2012 and plans to introduce legislation in 2008.
In Canada, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and its Atlantic counterpart both introduced Internet gambling in 2004. Residents of those provinces can bet on sports, pick Lotto 6/49 numbers and play keno online.
"It's a convenience channel for us," says Rhonda Garvey, director of e-business for BCLC. "E-commerce is very much a part of British Columbians' lives and the natural opportunity for us was to give them the ability to buy their favourite lottery games online."
Other provinces have yet to follow suit, but Mr. Azmier says it may not be long. Gambling revenue growth in Canada has slowed in recent years after an early surge in the 1990s, climbing only about 7% over the past four years. The industry in its current state has reached a plateau, he says.
"Perhaps it is more accurate to say the current gambling industry has matured to the limits of its regulatory boundaries. There are new technologies (the Internet, cellphones), new markets (First Nations' casinos, international gamblers), and yet-to-be-explored opportunities (interactive gambling) that suggest a very large potential for gambling revenue growth," he wrote in his report.
Some provinces, including Ontario, have placed a moratorium on casino and Internet gambling development. As in the United States, there is still considerable public will against more gambling, which could impede future growth in Canada, Mr. Azmier says.
"You have a very sensitive public policy issue there," he says. "It's not entirely clear that these arguments will prove to be effective in saying we need to have legalized expansion of gambling."
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Beating odds as football prophet Vegas man, 74, hits it big, as contests grow in Las Vegas
You could say that the 74-year-old Las Vegas man who earned one of the biggest prizes ever in the history of football handicapping contests came by his prognostication acumen honestly. Well, sort of.
Gary Garramone, the winner of more than $246,000 in the Las Vegas Hilton's football SuperContest last season, has a resume as a longtime handicapper and gambler -- which also happens to include a conviction for a federal gambling rap in Philadelphia about 30 years ago.
"Hey, it's a matter of public record," conceded Garramone, who said he moved to Vegas in the 1970s after his accountant suggested a change of scenery might simplify his life, considering his chosen avocation.
Last football season, Garramone made the score of a lifetime when he successfully selected 61 percent of the required NFL games (52-32-1) to win the Hilton contest, the most prestigious in a slew of events all over Las Vegas.
Actually, Garramone tied with two other entrants but wound up winning on a tiebreaker rule that the casino noticed several days after the first-place money had been divided three ways. The other two winners each received, and got to keep, $131,520.
"The Hilton took it real good, they were gentlemen about it," Garramone said. "They swallowed it because they realized it was their mistake."
Football handicapping contests have been an autumn staple in Las Vegas for more than a decade with the Hilton's considered the granddaddy of them all.
For that one, participants ante $1,500 apiece at the beginning of the season and are required to select the winners of five NFL games against the point spread each week. This year, the contest has a record 505 entrants, a 23 percent increase over last year's 411 hopefuls. The top 20 finishers will cash in with the winner expected to get $303,000.
"The popularity of tournaments with big prizes, like the poker tournaments, has seemed to really excite people," said Jay Kornegay, a veteran of the casino sports wagering business who runs the Hilton's sports and race book.
The Station casinos, a chain of mostly midrange gambling halls that cater to Vegas locals, have a contest for which the entry fee is $1,000. And there are a bunch of others, some charging as little as $25, and even a handful that are free, attracting thousands of would-be Jimmy the Greeks.
Kornegay said it looks a lot easier than it is.
"When you look at it, you have to go 3-and-2 every week to be in contention," Kornegay said. "But that means staying away from those 1-4 and 0-5 weeks."
Russ Culver used to be a fixture on the Las Vegas sports wagering scene, helping run the sports book at the swanky Mirage Hotel & Casino. He also won the 1999 Hilton contest and pocketed about $137,000 when there were 229 entrants. Culver said he won an additional $66,000 that year in other gridiron pick 'em competitions, mostly because he zeroed in on a surprise team.
"The biggest factor that year was Dick Vermeil and the St. Louis Rams," said Culver, who left the glitz of Las Vegas and now lives in Indiana. "Everyone said they were a terrible team. Well, they had been a terrible team, but they weren't going to be in 1999.
"Vermeil did with that team what [Bengals coach] Marvin Lewis did in Cincinnati and [Chargers coach] Marty Schottenheimer did in San Diego last year. And every year, there will be a St. Louis Rams, or a Green Bay Packers going the other way, but [bettors] are slow to change."
Nevada and more Football handicapping contests -- big brother to the garden variety office football pool -- are offered legally only in Nevada. However, out-of-towners still can participate. In the Hilton contest, for instance, non-Nevada residents can enter with the aid of a local proxy who, according to Kornegay, is required to show up weekly to make the five selections.
Bill Brennan, a former resident of Buffalo, N.Y., who now lives in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, is one of those contest players who has an out-of-town partner, his former accountant back home. They split the entrance fee and the handicapping chores.
Every Thursday, they go through that week's NFL games and come up with their favorites. Last year, Brennan said, they hit about 58 percent of their picks and finished around 40th -- in the top 10 percent but not good enough to make any money.
As an amateur, Brennan said he keeps track of what the professional football handicappers have to say about injuries and lineup changes but doesn't put too much stock on the touts' selections.
"I know 15 to 20 handicappers in the Hilton contest," Brennan said, "and believe me, if you're a serious sports person, you're as knowledgeable as any of them."
The business of football handicapping has gotten a bit of notoriety lately with the October release of the Al Pacino-Matthew McConaughey movie Two for the Money. Expert football picker McConaughey plays the protege of Pacino, a fast-talking football handicapper with a high-pressure telephone tout service.
In real life, the Hilton contest has served as a career launch pad into the handicapping industry for some.
"It's a fair-and-square contest, and everyone is picking against the same line," said Culver, who along with partner Keith Glantz still sets a football point spread that's used by several major newspapers. "The results are authenticated, and if you have a great year, that's something that can be marketed."
Try it once, for free For Vegas visitors who simply want to dabble in football handicapping, there are contests that allow folks to participate for just a week, and the one offered at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is free. There, contestants are required to pick every NFL game against the spread. The winner earns $2,000 and other top-10 finishers get cash, free slot machine play and concert tickets. Not surprisingly since the contest is free, about 1,000 people play each week making odds of winning long.
Meanwhile, Gary Garramone -- last year's Hilton winner -- is back despite the long-shot chances of repeating. He said he's participated in what amounts to the Super Bowl of football handicapping ever since it started and had cashed in a few times, but certainly nothing came close to the record jackpot he hit last year.
"Yeah, a record," said Garramone, who's been analyzing point spreads most of his life. "It only took me 74 years to do it."
Handicapping acumen gives St. Bernard man shot at a million
Sunday, December 18, 2005 By Bob Fortus Staff writer Times Picayune
Like many New Orleans-area people whose lives were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, Bill Gonsoulin Jr. could use an extra $1 million or so.
Because of his handicapping skill, he has a chance to get it.
On a trip to Arkansas this month to look at a trailer, the 68-year-old retired New Orleans firefighter decided to make a side trip to Louisiana Downs for the annual handicapping contest held during the Fair Grounds season.
The decision paid off.
Besides winning the $14,000 first prize, Gonsoulin qualified for a national handicapping contest in late January in Las Vegas. The winner's prize in that event is $225,000. Also, because Gonsoulin qualified at a Churchill Downs-operated meet, he's eligible for a $1 million bonus from Churchill Downs.
New Orleans resident Bryan Wagner finished second in the Louisiana Downs contest and qualified for the national event.
Gonsoulin's house in St. Bernard took six feet of water and was 60 percent destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. He plans to tear it down. His five children, who lived within two blocks of him, also lost their homes, and a granddaughter lost her home.
Picking a long shot in the Louisiana Champions Day Quarter Horse Juvenile put Gonsoulin en route to Las Vegas. Gonsoulin picked Chicks Can Streak, who paid $94.60 to win.
"I've been playing horses a long time," Gonsoulin said. "In any game you play, you learn the tricks of the trade. In quarter horses, I look at previous odds, if they were in contention, how far they got beat."
The contest was based on five mandatory races at Louisiana Downs, and 10 other races at Calder and Aqueduct, or Louisiana Downs. Players had to wager $2 to win and place on their selections, and the winner was the player with the highest total. Gonsoulin said his total was about $156.
He will be making his second appearance in the national event. His wife, Judith, also reached the national event twice.
He said information gained from watching races is the most important element of handicapping.
"If you watch the races and see what actually goes on, you can't read that in the racing form," he said.
He said he has been to at least 140 racetracks.
"You can only name 10 to 15 in this country that I haven't been to," he said.
BARGAIN 2-YEAR-OLD: Hyte Regency, a handsome 2-year-old colt bought for $65,000 in April by trainer Jeff Trosclair for owner J. Mack Robinson at a sale in Ocala, Fla., has Trosclair excited.
"He's the best 2-year-old I've ever had, potentially the best horse," said Trosclair, a former Bill Mott assistant who has been on his own as a trainer since the early 1990s. "That chapter has yet to be written."
A gray son of Diligence, Hyte Regency already has covered his purchase price. He has won two of five starts, including the $125,000 Harrah's Juvenile in October at Louisiana Downs. In his last race, he finished third, four lengths behind winner Private Vow, in the $200,000 Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs.
Trosclair, who said he was using that race as a gauge to see if Hyte Regency belongs in that level of competition, intends to run him next Jan. 14 in the $250,000, Grade III Risen Star, the only Kentucky Derby stakes prep at the Fair Grounds at Louisiana Downs meeting.
It's possible to acquire a high-class horse for a modest price.
Afleet Alex, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner who likely will win the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old of 2005, sold for $75,000 as a 2-year-old. So did Funny Cide, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003.
"I think that's a comfortable range to buy horses," Trosclair said. "You don't have as much to recover."
He said he looks for athletes at sales, and Hyte Regency, who ran one of the fastest quarter-mile workouts at the sale, fits that description.
"I wondered what the hell did they (others) see that they didn't like that I didn't see," Trosclair said.
FAST START: Veteran jockey Roman Chapa, who came into the weekend with 24 victories, is leading the jockeys' standings at the Fair Grounds at Louisiana Downs meeting.
"My riding is getting a lot more mature now," said Chapa, a 34-year-old native of Charlotte, Texas. "Riding for Steve (Asmussen) is a big plus. My agent (Bobby Kelly) has a lot to do with it, too."
Chapa, who was a rodeo bull rider before he became a jockey, has won riding titles at Sam Houston and Retama Park, and he led the standings at the 2004 Breeders' Cup meeting at Lone Star Park.
Chapa didn't ride last Sunday because of a bruised kidney. While walking out of a barn that morning, he was kicked in the lower back.
"I got kicked on my good side, where I have the good kidney," he said. He's missing the other kidney -- which was removed after he was injured in a spill in 1999 at Retama.
Asmussen, with 20 victories, leads the trainers' standings. He said he had success with Chapa in Texas in the past 12 to 18 months.
"His win percentage for me has always been extremely high," Asmussen said of Chapa. "That's a big plus for me. Another plus for me, (his) weight is not an issue."
OFF ON CHRISTMAS: There won't be racing next Sunday, Christmas Day. The track will be running Dec. 28, the only Wednesday card this season.
Monday, November 07, 2005
WSOP CHAMP SIGNS UP WITH POKERSTARS
Aussie hero promoting online poker site
Joe Hachem, the 2005 World Series of Poker champion, has signed an agreement with PokerStars, the world's largest tournament poker site. Hachem, who won the record $7.5 million top prize at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas in July, will represent PokerStars as a sponsored player and ambassador.
The signing of Hachem gives PokerStars a triple crown. Currently, 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker and 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer both serve exclusively as PokerStars representatives. The addition of Hachem means that PokerStars has locked up the last three world poker champions. In addition, Tom McEvoy, 1983 WSOP Champion and renowned poker author, is also a part of Team PokerStars.
Joseph Hachem, age 39, was born in Lebanon. He emigrated to Australia as a child, and now lives in Melbourne with his wife and four children. Hachem worked as a mortgage broker and chiropractor before taking poker seriously, first as a hobby and then as a semi-professional. He has played actively at Pokerstars since 2001. In the past four years, Hachem has entered hundreds of poker tournaments at Pokerstars and has played many thousands of hands.
While former champions Moneymaker and Raymer won their way into the WSOP directly through PokerStars, Hachem's road to fame and fortune was paved by a close friend. Hachem decided to attend the 2005 WSOP when a fellow Australian won his seat at PokerStars.com. Hachem paid a $1,000 entry into his first event at this year's WSOP and walked away $28,000 richer with a 10th place finish overall. Hachem's wife then encouraged him to enter the world's most prestigious poker tournament, the $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold'em at the Rio Hotel and Casino. Hachem blitzed through an all-time record field of 5,618 players and won the largest prize in poker history.
"Joining Team PokerStars is a natural decision for me," said Hachem at a press conference held recently in New York City's Times Square district. "PokerStars.com is the site where I really picked up on the intricacies of tournament poker. The wide selection of tournaments and games is so great that I become a skilled player within a relatively short time-frame. The truth is -- I never would have even have come to the World Series of Poker if my Aussie friend not qualified online at the site. PokerStars is the gateway to making poker dreams come true and becoming a world champion."
Since Hachem's victory, he has become an international celebrity. Hachem appeared as a guest on The Jay Leno show and has been featured in hundreds of media outlets throughout the world. During his year-long reign as the champion, Hachem plans to continue playing in major poker tournaments, making public appearances, and sharing his unique personal story with journalists. At least one thing will not change for Hachem, he says he will continue playing and developing his skills at PokerStars.
"This entire experience has been a dream come true for me," said Hachem. "To join Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer is a real honor. I hope that my association with PokerStars will encourage others out there to pursue their goals in life, whatever they might be. It sure worked out for me."
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
October 12, 2005
Michael Friedman
Running a Major Poker Tournament is Hard Work
Without a doubt, playing poker is a tough business. The long hours and mental strain can wreak havoc on the minds of even the best in the game, but poker players aren't the only ones on the floor who are trying to beat the energy-draining environment. Consider what it takes for a tournament director to work his or her magic. More specifically, a tournament director for one of the biggest, most lavish casinos in the United States who has to run a 12-day tournament series that includes a televised World Poker Tour main event. Some say playing poker is tough, but they've never had this job.
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa tournament director Tab Duchateau is the perfect image of cool. Starting his career in the poker industry at Resorts
Buy $20 and get up to $500 free!
Casino a little over 12 years ago, Tab immediately knew that poker could offer him new opportunities and a possible change in careers. "Someone said that Resorts was opening up a poker room and hiring people to deal full-time off the bat. I didn't know much about poker at the time but I knew I wanted a nice salary. So I went over there. They taught us by hiring dealers from California, because poker was still relatively new to New Jersey.
As time flew by on various casino floors, Tab's experience grew. He bided his time and waited patiently for the chance to become a tournament director in a rapidly growing division of the gaming industry. "To tell you the truth, I got a bit tired of the everyday, same people, same thing. Tournaments aren't that way, especially with the unhappy people. You lose in a big tournament and you leave and the remaining players are happy because they are still in. It kind of provides a balance. Instead of having a bunch of unhappy people at your table, everyone really wants to be there."
Fast forward to the recent Borgata Poker Open. Over 4,000 players, double last year's number of players, made the pilgrimage to the Borgata and laid down their hard-earned dollars in hopes of earning big cash and a beautiful gold diamond-encrusted championship bracelet. According to Tab, things have changed dramatically from when he started as a tournament director.
"When I started, there were 40 players playing mostly Stud. We had a $20 entry fee and a $10 vig on it. Those $30 tournaments had first prizes between $400 and $500. These days there is no more Stud. It's a dinosaur in the industry. That's why we went to all No Limit tournaments this year for the Open. No one really wants to know who the stud champion is. Everyone wants to know who the new No Limit millionaire is."
With changes in the game have come changes in job responsibility. "It used to be that you stood at a table and you just ran the tournament. Now it's all encompassing. You are heavily involved in orchestrating the whole event. For an event like the 2005 Borgata Poker Open, we started meetings the day after last year's tournament finished. We want to figure out what went right and what went wrong for the next tournament. We wanted players this year to feel that the tournament was worth their entry fees. There is nothing worse than someone saying they just paid $1,000 to play an event and they didn't feel like they got their money's worth."
This year's event structure was a big focus for the Borgata's poker team because many players left bigger events like the World Series of Poker feeling much like the famous poker-playing bad guy from the movie Rounders after he had taken a big beating, "Just like a young man coming in for a quickie. I feel so unsatisfied."
According to Duchateau, the staff knew they needed to make a change if they wanted more action at the events. "Stan Strickland, my boss, and I discussed the tournament structure and decided to make it a player's event. We wanted to make it more of a fair tournament structure and bring in more players. Give the players a lot of chips and give them a lot of time. Really let the skills of the players shine. Let the best players win the tournaments. It doesn't always work out that way, but at least more advanced players have the chance to make some headway with this kind of structure."
This approach was one of the major reasons for the success of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open. Not only did players have a great chance to make the money, but they also enjoyed one of the most luxurious and player-friendly venues on the planet. "The great thing about working for the Borgata is that an event like the Borgata Poker Open won't make any money. But we do it, because we want everyone to experience the Borgata. It's great publicity for the company as a whole. The Borgata is always thinking first-class and they give us a lot of leeway in running the event. This is an expensive venture for us, but the Borgata has always been very poker oriented and they have been behind us from the start."
Even with the support of the Borgata, the tournament series is a difficult undertaking, especially for the tournament director. "For us, it's a 12-day, 38-event tournament series when you include the super-satellites. That makes things a bit tougher. We are constantly on the go. From the time we arrive in the ballroom to the time we leave, it's been a 24-hour a day process for us. There are both day and night events so there is no down-time. It's difficult orchestrating the sheer number of events, but somehow we get the job done."
According to Duchateau, there is one key rule to finding success in an event series like the Open. "The most crucial element would be that there wasn't a mistake made during the series that eliminates a player. We did our jobs and they eliminated themselves. The players' destinies were in their own hands."
With the conclusion of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open, it has become evident that poker is here to stay. With the largest field in the history of Atlantic City (WPT main event), the Borgata and its tournament director are ready to meet the growing needs of today's poker hungry masses.
When asked about his feelings on the success of the 2005 Borgata Poker Open and the future of the game Duchateau replied with a big grin, "Any time you take a small amount of money and turn it into a million dollars, people will come. Here we have a $65 tournament that could actually cost a player $15, if they won a voucher, and they could win entry into the WPT main event. You could take $15 and make a million. As long as this is going on, I don't think poker will ever go away. As long as the little guy with a little bit of money and a dream is around, it will continue to grow."
Ed Note: You can't play in your underwear at Borgata, but you can at Pokerroom.com
Monday, September 12, 2005
BY ANN GIVENS
STAFF WRITER
September 12, 2005, 1:57 PM EDT
Five men were arrested and charged with taking part in a $4 million-a-year gambling ring that ran between New Hyde Park and Costa Rica, police and prosecutors said today.
Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon said the investigation into the 2003 fireboming of Roseanne's Cards Galore in New Hyde Park lead investigators to the ring. No one has been arrested in the firebombing, and Dillon would not say whether that crime is connected to the gambling ring.
Carmine Graziano, of 3984 Carrel Blvd., Oceanside, Carmine Morreale, of 1453 Joyce Lane, Seaford and Joseph Torelli, of 257 Kingsland Ave., the Bronx, were all charged with enterprise corruption, first-degree promoting gambling, first-degree posession of gambling records and fifth-degree conspiracy. Scott Rothman, of 1430 72nd Street, Brooklyn, and Ernest Torres, of 500 North Newbridge Road, Levittown, were charged with enterprise corruption, promoiting gambling and conspiracy.
They are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before Nassau County Court Judge Tochard LaPera.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
HELLMUTH'S HOLD 'EM
Let's make a deal? That's not my style
With about six players left in the $5,000 buy-in championship event at Harrah's ''Carnavale of Poker'' in January 2000, 1999 Card Player magazine ''Player of the Year'' Hieu ''Tony'' Ma whispered to me, ``Phil, how sweet is it for you that this Frenchman keeps moving all-in pre-flop. You're going to bust him for sure!''
At the time I smiled and nodded at Tony; I too believed that Angelo ''The Frenchman'' Besnainou's chips were mine to win. I love to play against a ''slider'' (someone who moves all his chips into the middle, regardless of blind size), because once they do slide it all in, they can't fold when I eventually pick up a powerful hand behind them.
So when the tournament came down to Farzad ''Freddy'' Bonyadi, the Frenchman and me, and the two of them asked me to make a deal (deals are common in all tournaments near the end), I told the Frenchman, ``No deal.''
His proposal was that we would take about $200,000 apiece off the top (I had more chips and stood to receive $250,000), and play for $100,000 for first, rather than for the scheduled $400,000 for first, $200,000 for second and $100,000 for third.
From the ''I want the title'' perspective, I said no to the deal for three reasons: First, I knew that if I played for all the money, I would stay hyper-focused. Second, I feel that some players give away more tells when playing for it all, owing to the extreme money pressure that that presents, thus enhancing my already good ''read'' on my shorthanded opponents. Third, big pressure often forces big mistakes, from almost any player.
At this point, I had about $440,000 in chips and a lot of momentum. I was just starting to take control of the tournament when the Frenchman moved all-in for about the 25th time at the final table. I looked down at Ad-Qd and decided to call his $222,000 bet. Bonyadi proceeded to fold, and our hands were turned face up. The Frenchman had Ac-6h, about what I expected, and I knew that I was about a 2 ½-to-1 favorite to win the pot. The flop was A-5-5, which was not a bad flop for me, because it put no six on the board, but of course I would have preferred a queen on the flop to lock it up for me. Besnainou would need a six to win or a king to tie. The turn card was his miracle six, but I figured that a queen would be coming on the river -- for me to win as I should have, mathematically speaking. The river proved to be a seven, though, and I lost the $460,000 pot.
Two hands after I lost with that Ad-Qd, the Frenchman slid all-in and I called him for about $200,000 with A-10. He had K-J (I was a 3-to-2 favorite), and the flop came down J-Q-6, but then an ace came off on the turn to give me a big lead in the hand, and a lot of hope.
At this point Besnainou would need a king or a 10 to win (the deck still held two kings and three 10s), and he was an 8-to-1 underdog. Some days the river runs swiftly in no-limit Hold 'Em, and an unwanted 10 came off -- to give me two pair and him an ace-high straight, with a final board of J-Q-6-A-10. By the way, this was one of those weird hands that are fun to watch, but difficult to be involved in, where there was a different leader on every street.
I had him before the flop, he had me on the flop, I had him on fourth street, and he had me on the river.
Being eliminated by two ''bad beats'' in short order seems to be the classic situation where I (the Poker Brat!) throw a temper tantrum, or at least berate my opponent a little bit, but not this time. I just said ''nice hand,'' wished the players good luck, collected my money and left. In other words, I did what I was supposed to do all those other times in the past when I was eliminated from poker tournaments; I acted like a champion -- with class -- and went home.
Phil Hellmuth is a nine-time World Series of Poker champion and the author of Play Poker like the Pros and Bad Beats and Lucky Draws (both published by HarperCollins). His column appears Sundays in Tropical Life.
IRS wants to be sure it's a winner at poker
Game's popularity leads agency to seek new withholding rules for tourney events.
As gambling in general and poker in particular spread across the land, here's some advice for neophytes: Not only do you gotta know when to hold 'em and fold 'em, you gotta know how to put it all on your tax return.
Gambling winnings are taxable income. But gambling losses, as many people don't know, aren't necessarily deductible. And the widely held assumption that you simply subtract your losses from your winnings and report only the net income, if any, is not the way it works.
In fact, the taxation of gambling -- or "gaming," as the Internal Revenue Service calls it -- is structured in an unusual "heads the government wins, tails the taxpayer loses" way. Because of that, a person who loses as much as he wins sometimes can end up owing higher taxes.
One of the few things going in the gambler's favor, at least until recently, is the difficulty the IRS has in tracking that income. Now the agency wants to change that.
"It's time to take a look at poker, which has become very, very popular, and see what sort of guidance we need to be starting here," said IRS Chief Counsel Donald L. Korb.
The first step, he said, will be to work out an improved system of withholding rules covering poker tournaments.
How it works now
Right now, the agency's reporting rules are not designed with poker in mind.
In general, IRS rules specify that the payer of your winnings must send you a Form W-2G only if you win $600 ($1,200 from bingo and slot machines, and $1,500 from keno) or more and your winnings are at least 300 times the amount of the wager.
In addition, if you win more than $5,000, the payer may be required to withhold 25 percent of the total -- and if you don't give your Social Security number to the payer, withholding is 28 percent. The IRS needs to decide, among other things, where poker tournaments fit in this scheme.
The current rules work well for horse racing, lotteries and similar high-payoff games, but "I can't imagine an instance where you would get (a W-2G) from poker," said New York accountant Jeffrey Kelson.
Because the payer doesn't report the income doesn't mean the gambler doesn't have to. Kelson said he has found the IRS increasingly doing "root canal" audits in which the taxpayer is required to account for every bank deposit. This and other tactics enable the IRS "to stumble over your gambling winnings," he said.
So if you win and want to avoid trouble, you'd better include the money on your return.
In 2002, the most recent year for which figures are available, 1.5 million taxpayers reported total winnings of $18.7 billion, while 906,000 taxpayers reported $11.8 billion in losses.
IRS rules require you to report both -- not the net after subtracting your losses or other costs, but all of it. You put the winnings on a specific line on the front of Form 1040 -- it was line 21, "other income," for 2004 returns -- and that results in your total winnings being included in your gross income, and ultimately your adjusted gross income. You enter your losses separately as a miscellaneous deduction on Schedule A.
Limits apply
This arrangement has several unhappy consequences.
First, if you don't itemize deductions, you pay tax on all the winnings and get no offsetting write-off from your losses. This can hurt relatively low-income people who would normally take the standard deduction.
Second, if you do itemize, you can deduct losses or other costs only up to your winnings. If you lost more than you won, you get no tax help. You can write off associated costs, such as admission to gambling establishments, food and lodging, but they are subject to the same limit.
Third, even if you do itemize and have enough losses to wipe out the tax on winnings, those winnings may serve to inflate your adjusted gross income because the winnings get added in early in your calculations but the losses do not figure in until later.
Finally, gambling losses are subject to IRS challenge, just as any deduction is. While the payer may report your winnings, it is not likely to report your losses. So keep good records.
