Doyle’s $50,000 Bounty - Wednesday at 9:30pm ET

Doyle’s Bounty is your weekly chance to chat, hunt and win against our special guests and poker pros.

We welcome Brunson 10 Pro Amit “Amak316″ Makhija to his first appearance as a Bounty. He is joined by Mike “The Mad Genius” Caro and Hoyt “Mr. All In” Corkins. Each one of them has a $1,000 price on their head. If you can take out more than one of our pros, you’ll be rewarded like a legend with a $10,000 bonus for knocking out two and a staggering $50,000 for taking out all three bounties.
You practically play for free because at the end of the tournament, first time players get their $27.50 buy-in back - win or lose!

Doyle’s Cash Games
Join Doyle Brunson, Mike Caro and friends on the cash tables at DoylesRoom. Doyle is hosting $5/$10 and $10/$20 NLH cash games. Anyone is welcome to sit in and play some cards and chat with the game’s greatest legend and other pros and legends in the making.

Join Doyle’s Poker Room.

The exhilaration of playing real money poker is a feeling difficult to match, but taking a sports car from 0-60 mph in well under six seconds does come close. If you’ve never felt this kind of acceleration, you soon could, as we’re giving all US and Canadian PokerStars players the chance to win a brand new Porsche - for FREE!

To be in with a chance of winning one of the world’s most prestigious sports cars, all you need to do is make a real money deposit to PokerStars.com between September 28 and October 17 using the code: WINCAR.

You will then receive a ticket* to play in our ‘Win a Porsche’ tournament on October 18 where the winner will be awarded a Porsche, and the next 99 top finishers will share $30,000!

Good Luck Playing
The PokerStars Team

Poker Hispano Tour

Spice up your game with a trip to Latin America’s latest and greatest poker event. Win a $3,000 Poker Hispano Tour prize package and you’ll find yourself competing for a whopping $150,000 guaranteed prize pool at the inaugural main event in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Play in our weekly Super Satellites beginning September 20th @ 4pm ET for $200+15 to win one of at least four guaranteed Poker Hispano Tour prize packages.

Each prize package is valued at $3,000 and includes a $1,500 entry to the $150K Guaranteed Main Event and an additional $1,500 for travel and expenses.

The Poker Hispano Tour Main Event takes place in San Jose, Costa Rica on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 4:00 pm local time.

Take advantage of our affordable qualifiers every Thursday through Sunday and satellite your way for as little as $1 or 300 AbsolutePoints.

Terms and Conditions

* Players must be at least 18 years old to participate.
* The Poker Hispano Tour is a must play event. The $1,500 entry to the main event may be transferred to another CEREUS network player, but is not redeemable for cash.
* Package winners will be required to wear AP branded gear at the event, as directed by Absolute Poker and/or by any one or more of its parents, principals, subsidiaries, affiliates, related parties, employees, contractors, directors, officers, representatives, suppliers, customers, and attorneys.

$60,000 Added to Guaranteed Tournament Funds

From Thursday to Saturday the following Guarantees will receive $2,500 in added funds. These tournaments are:

- DAILY $10K GUARANTEED!! (1:30 PM ET)
- $17,500 GUARANTEED!! - R&A (3 PM ET) – Thurs & Fri
- $15,000 GUARANTEED BOUNTY!! (3PM ET) – Sat
- DAILY $17.5K GUARANTEED!! (7:30 PM ET)
- DAILY $20K GUARANTEED!! - R&A (9 PM ET)
Also Sunday’s tournaments will receive the following ADDED boost:

- $5,000 added to the $50,000 GUARANTEED!!
- $25,000 added to the $250,000 GUARANTEED!!
* 50% Reload Bonus to a max of $300
* Triple Gold Cards at Ring Game tables

Triple Gold Cards will continue to run from now until 5PM ET on Sept 27th

Thank you once again.

Play in the MiniFTOPS XIII Main Event on Sunday, September 20th and you could win a share of $500,000 in guaranteed prize money and become our next MiniFTOPS Main Event champion.

Continue playing more than one table at a time during Take 2 to receive up to $50 and double Full Tilt Points. It’s not too late to take part. Start today and you could still earn up to $25 cash and double Full Tilt Points.

Earn 3x Full Tilt Points by playing Triple Points Happy Hour ring games and tournaments in September. For dates and times, go to My Promotions in the Cashier and click on Happy Hour.
Take a shot at $1 million in guaranteed cash prize tournament on Sunday, September 20th at 18:00 ET with the $1,000,000 Monthly Guarantee.

Aggression isn’t always the best way to handle a big pocket pair in the early stages of a tournament.

100% First Deposit Bonus and $500.00 Welcome Freeroll

First-time USA poker players can get up to $650.00 on their first real money purchase in the Poker Room. Once you make your first deposit, you will automatically receive free entry into a Welcome Freeroll. The $500.00 in prizes is just a taste of what great new bonus offers they have running.

$5 Million in Tournament Prizes Monthly
The open USA poker room is flooded with players and new prizes. You can play for a guaranteed $5,000,000.00 in cash prize monthly. There’s also at least one $250,000.00 guaranteed tournament each month and a $100,000.00 tournament each week.

Sign up and play poker now!

New August Slotland Deposit Codes:

Friday & Saturday, August 7-8
10-20-25 BONUSES!

Get up to a 25% bonus on your deposit! Promotion details here.

Sunday, August 9
10% PLUS BONUSES!
Get up to a 50% bonus on your deposits! Promotion details here.

August 7-9
WIN FREE $$$ AT SLOTLAND!
Each deposit earns 1 ticket to a random drawing for $25 bonuses; $500 or more in deposits during the promotional weekend AUTOMATICALLY WINS $50 bonus! Promotion details here.

Click here to claim your Slotland Bonus.

Just in, DoylesRoom.com is sending players to the inaugural $1,000,000 English Poker Open. It runs from September 15th to 17th, 2009, and with a maximum 270 players in the tournament, it’s already attracting some of poker’s best. DoylesRoom wants to put as many of its players as possible in the tourney. They’re guaranteeing a $7,000 prize package every week that feature the$5,000 + $300 USD English Poker Open main event buy-in, $1,700 for travel and accommodations, and so much more.

According to a story that appeared on Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is cracking down on its riders’ internet usage. Now, viewing pornography or gambling online will result in a $300 fine.

Fox 13’s Arikka Von broke the story, which appeared last week. When asked why UTA management implemented the new rules, Von explained, “UTA says it’s not because they had a bunch of complaints. The old ordinances are just that: old, at least 10 years old, so they have some new policies that include some of the new services like free WiFi.” On a national scale, online poker players have faced the same difficulties interpreting age-old laws like the Wire Act, which was enacted in 1961, nearly 50 years ago. The Wire Act, although passed before the advent of the internet, has been largely extended by the U.S. Department of Justice to include many forms of internet gambling.

Von noted, “A train ticket gets you free internet once you agree to the Terms of Service. That means no online gambling or viewing pornography. The UTA now has a new ordinance that fines passengers for illegal or offensive internet use on the train. The first violation is $300. Do it again and it could cost you $500.” The UTA is one of a growing number of transit systems to include internet onboard. American Airlines recently debuted Gogo Inflight Internet on cross-country trips. The service is available for a fee.

Enforcement of the UTA’s ban on internet gambling and pornography is done by the organization’s police force. Fox 13 noted, “These are real police officers,” and explained, “An officer will always try to educate first and foremost. Riders say they’ve never seen anyone watching porn on the train.” UTA has enacted a full appeals process if riders feel they were targeted unfairly. A representative of the transit system admitted that identifying what is acceptable and what is not can be a complicated process: “The definition can be very difficult to pin down for everyone.”

Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Executive Director Joe Brennan told Poker News Daily, “I’m surprised that they’re going to waste anyone’s time enforcing internet gambling. I’m also disturbed with the constant association with pornography. Our opponents try to make that linkage constantly between gambling and pornography. All you have to do is look at the acceptance of all things gambling. There is no comparison between the two activities.” The term “internet gambling” is mentioned in the Fox 13 story just once, while references to pornography pervade the rest of the two and a half minute piece.

With regards to enforcement of the UTA’s guidelines through law enforcement personnel roving the trains, Brennan commented, “They’ll have police officers looking over the shoulders of riders. This announcement is someone grandstanding politically. The claim on internet gambling is dubious. The claim on pornography is also misguided.” Brennan added that viewing pornography is typically done in private, not in the middle of a commuter train in a major metropolitan area.

According to text found on the UTA’s website, the internet service provided by the transit system filters content automatically: “UTA’s service providers use content-filtering software that attempts to restrict access to offensive sites; however, no content-filtering software is totally effective. Please use the same precautions you would use accessing any public wireless network.” The service is available for riders age 18 and over.

iMEGA is fresh off filing a lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS), which attempted to force the censorship of 200 internet gambling domains by its residents. The DPS served notice to 11 of the world’s largest internet service providers (ISPs) calling for the blockage. However, after iMEGA’s suit, it rescinded its notice.

In recent weeks, Poker News Daily has featured exclusive news regarding the controversy surrounding the United States Government’s seizure of over $30 million in online poker player funds.  Many regular players are now concerned that their own bank accounts might be flagged and that the checks they receive might not clear.

Paul Leggett, Chief Operating Officer of Tokwiro Enterprises (the parent company of both Ultimate Bet and  Absolute Poker) spoke exclusively with Poker News Daily and explained how cashouts have been handled at the CEREUS Network sites: “Recently, one of our check provider’s bank accounts was frozen and it’s not known when the funds will be released.  The provider’s legal team and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) are working on this matter.  Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet immediately refunded players the amount of their withdrawal along with a bonus for the inconvenience.”

Leggett added, “Customer service is extremely important in online poker, especially when it involves players’ financial transactions.  Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet recognize this and both sites continue to offer players the largest variety of easy-to-use deposit and withdrawal options.”

A staff member native to the United States working for Poker News Daily received a check from Absolute Poker for an amount between $500 and $750 last week.  The check came from a bank outside of the United States and was immediately cashed and cleared within 24 hours.

Reports have been coming in from U.S. online poker players who have received checks during the last two weeks.  For many, it seems that checks received after June 7th are clearing without issue.  Others have resorted to other means of withdrawing funds from Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars in the form of direct money wires.  For many, these incur additional fees, but offer a quick means of secure payment.  The bank wire method was suggested by the PokerStars Payment Services in a form e-mail sent to many players complaining of the longer turnaround time for checks:

“Hello,

Due to a recent processing issue, we are currently experiencing a backlog of paper check cashout requests. This means that a number of paper check transactions, yours included, have unfortunately experienced a delay.

While you should still receive the cheque within our stipulated 15 business day timeframe, may we suggest that you may wish to consider a bank wire transfer cashout as an alternative.

We have recently lowered the minimum cashout value for this payment method to $1,000 … the payment will be sent by wire to be credited directly to your account in 3-5 business days….

Should you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

PokerStars Payment Services”

Extra fees for bank wire services can be between $35 and $50, so it’s suggested that you seek additional details before receiving a wire.  As posted on various forums, wire requests sent in on June 9th were processed by sites on June 10th and received by players on June 16th.

The opinions keep coming in from many of the world’s top online poker players.  Michael Pearson, better known as “Vizer02,” weighed in on the situation: “The seizure of the funds by the Department of Justice is definitely a scary situation.  Last year when the Government stopped some processor’s payments, I had to wait six weeks to receive my cashout, which was very frustrating.  News like this can hurt the poker economy since casual players will be less inclined to play online poker because they are fearful of never being able to cashout.”

For now, poker players are highly encouraged to do their research into withdrawal methods and contact customer support for the poker room to ensure the transaction will go smoothly.

By POKER NEWS DAILY | Posted on June 19, 2009