Pitbull Poker shuts down
Pitbull Poker has seemingly closed its doors for business.
Players can visit the website but are unable to login to the poker client, and sources say the owners in Costa Rica were seen moving out computers in the middle of the night.
Pitbull was originally launched under WSOP.com, a domain registered by former Binions employee Federico Schiavio, who wrote poker software entirely in Flash for his website. Pitbull may have used that software.
Recently Pitbull Poker had been accused of having "superuser" accounts, similar to the Absolute Poker scandal, in which one player can see everyone else's hole cards.
Suspicious moves come about when a player calls a bet on the river with a high card to win, checking or folding when beaten, folding a high pocket pair when against a higher, etc. Checking hand histories can bring up other quirks.
Pitbull had also stopped sending hand histories and responding to emails.
Bob Stupak, Poker Player, Leaves Las Vegas
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Bob Stupak1942-2009
Bob Stupak, the Polish Maverick, lived his life like he played poker, with an aggressive style that was bigger than life and the poker game. He was a World Series of Poker Champion, 1989-Deuce to Seven Low Ball, and continued to play major poker tournaments until a few months before his death last week at 67 from leukemia. He also built the tallest occupied tower west of the Mississippi, the Stratosphere, where 1,149 feet below, you might find him playing in a low stakes poker game in his Las Vegas casino poker room.
I've taken many photos of Bob Stupak playing poker (I shot the 2004 photo on his Wikipedia page) over the years and have taken even more photos of the things he built. The Stratosphere Tower remains the most visible of his many accomplishments.
The former motorcycle racer crashed his Harley one sunny day in 1995 Las Vegas. A wreck so bad he was left in a coma near death for weeks with severe head injuries. But this was Bob Stupak, and of course he made a miraculous recovery and short months later was back to his WFO life and ramming and jamming the poker tables.
I remember the old Vegas World Casino with its "Plan 9 from Outer Space meets The Nightmare Before Christmas" decorating theme. Anyone that stopped at any service station in the Southwestern part of the country saw his VIP Vacation booklets that required incredible eyesight to read the fine print to receive the promised discounts at his outer-space Vegas World Casino. They later came under scrutiny as being not quite legal.
He was one of the tough guys that came to this desert outpost with a lot of guts and a dream that left an indelible presence on the city. Every time I see that concrete spire I'll think about the Polish guy that promised a million dollars to another guy to jump off his new casino building in a grand opening stunt, then charged the daredevil a $990,000 landing fee. I still laugh when I remember him b-slapping a news reporter and kissing another, all on camera and on the same day. I still have my stock certificate he issued to all eligible residents of Las Vegas in his tower project when he was running for some public office. He wasn't buying votes, he was just redistributing his losses.
Adios Bob, they most certainly broke the mold after they created you. I do hope you're someplace riding a custom Harley and passing out two-for-one coupons for the hereafter.
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Stratosphere Resort Las Vegas
photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Bob Stupak was the creator of Vegas Vicky sitting atop Girls of Glitter Gulch
Shulman Finds A Final Table Coach
Jeff Schulman announced recently that he has asked long time friend Phil Hellmuth to be his coach at the WSOP final table this year. There has been a lot of criticism about his decision to take on a coach in preparation for the final table. What would an accomplished player like Jeff Schulman need with a poker coach?
“I turned on the TV and I was watching Tiger Woods or something, and I realized — every single player has a coach,†said Shulman. “No matter how good or bad my game is, it can always get better.â€
Not only is this a great opportunity for Schulman to get some tips from one of the best Hold’em players in the world, it is also a great opportunity for Hellmuth to get some more airtime from the sidelines. So if you thought the Hellmuth exclusives would be over once he busted, think again because there will be more over the top commentary from the Poker Brat to come.
Timoshenko Wins WCOOP Main Event
The 2009 World Championship of Online Poker has come to a close, and Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent†Timoshenko took down the Main Event title. The buy in for the PokerStars WCOOP Main Event was $5,200 and it had 2,144 players enter at their chance to take down the title. The total prize pool for the event was $10,720,000 with a first place prize of $1,715,200.
Going into the final table, Dan “djk123†Kelly had the chip lead, but it didn’t take long for Timoshenko put the pressure on his opponents. Timoshenko lucked out when he faced Kelly’s pocket tens against his pocket kings. The flop gave Timoshenko a set which was enough to knock Kelly out in fourth place. Timoshenko became a dominating force when he knocked out “reddeevil†in third place. “Udon Wannit†wasn’t able to overcome and busted in second place for a cool $1,286,400.
Joe Sebok Joins UltimateBet Team
Joe Sebok, owner and creator of PokerRoad, has just signed on to be part of the UltimateBet team. Not only is he going to be a sponsored player on their roster, but he has taken a position within their company to be a media and operations consultant. Bringing Sebok on as a part of the company operations will enhance the site’s ability to create a site that caters to the wants and needs of the players.
After the cheating scandal that surrounded UltimteBet, Sebok took his time deciding on joining the company. For several months UlimateBet had been perusing Sebok to join their ranks, but Sebok took his time to consider what the company stood for. The company took the investigations seriously and sought to expose the cheaters which showed that they were determined to handle the situation. For Sebok, the willingness of the company to make a stance helped him to consider the offer. At last, Sebok decided that joining with UltimateBet would be a great opportunity on both sides.
PokerRoad fans need not fret over this new venture, as Sebok is adamant about keeping his attention on the quality of his company and site. The deal with UltimateBet doesn’t include a merge with PokerRoad, so fans can look forward to the great game content that they are used to.
Bellagio Poker Room Emerges From the Dark Ages
The Bellagio poker room in Las Vegas is one of the most famous poker rooms in the world, but it has been operating on less than modern day technology. The busy poker room attracts the high rollers, pros, and those that just want to sit down with the pros. With a room this prestigious, you would think that they would have an electronic list for players. Since its opening, the room has depended on good old fashion pen and paper to take down the names of players. This created quite a cumbersome experience for players during the busy seasons. There would be lines for people trying to get their names on the list, people would be pushing in the line to see if they were next, and often players would miss their seat because they had no idea where they were on the list.
To help with this chaos, the room has decided to put in Genesis Bravo electronic list management and comp tracking units. These units are already being used at most of the major poker rooms in Las Vegas, and will be a great addition to the Bellagio poker room.
Another change that will be taking place at the Bellagio is a new comp tracking system. Previously, poker room comps were left at the digression of the floor managers. To the delight of many of its players, the Bellagio will now be offering an hourly tracking system where hours will be logged and comps will be given based on the hours and limit played. Check with the Bellagio poker room for more information on comp rates.
Man Wins Borgata Open Ladies Event
Almost every cardroom/casino in the world puts on a special poker tournament geared towards female players. These events are designed to help introduce girls into the world of tournament poker and give them a ladies-only (in theory) atmosphere. However, many of these same cardrooms have had to remove any gender restrictions on these games, due to gender-discrimination complaints filed, oddly enough, by men. At best, these cardrooms can only politely request that men refrain from entering these special tournaments, but they cannot stop them from entering. As a result, a man ended up the “ladies-only†event at the Borgata Poker Open.
The guy, Abraham Korotki of New Jersey, decided to enter the tournament after quickly being eliminated in another Borgata Open event the same day. “I got tired of going home early,†said Korotki, who had just been knocked out of event No. 6 when he decided to register. “I hadn’t had enough poker time.â€
Korotki battled his way through a field of 269 female opponents before getting heads up with the chip lead against Nicole Rowe. A few hands later Korotki with his pocket tens got all-in against Rowe’s A-9, which held, giving Korotki the victory. For his efforts, Korotki netted $20,982 in prize money for first 1st place, which he accepted amongst dirty looks from spectators.
I don’t really know how to feel about the whole situation personally. I understand that it’s wrong to promote gender-discrimination in a poker tournament, I mean just imagine if a casino try to hold and enforce a “mens-only†event. But since the male poker population so heavily outnumbers the female portion, I got to believe that it should be ok to give girls a separate event of their own. Us guys obviously can’t complain about not having enough tournaments to enter, they’re everywhere, so why go and enter a “ladies-only†event? I would feel really uncomfortable at every table I sat at throughout the tournament and would then elevate my feelings to the level of complete scumbag if I actually won the tournament.
Oh well, enjoy your $20,000, Abraham.
15th Anniversary $500 Freeroll Poker Tournaments at Bodog!
photo courtesy bodog.com
Right now, Bodog is offering players the opportunity to win REAL money for FREE in their exciting $500 Freeroll Poker Tournaments! That's $1K in FREE money you can play for every day without any risk to your bankroll!
These online poker tournaments are scheduled to start at 2:40pm ET and 9:40pm ET daily. Buy-ins are FREE and there is no limit to how many of these tournaments you can play in.
Unlike most freeroll tournaments in online poker, players in these tournaments will not win tournament dollars. Instead, they win real money that can be used in any game or cashed out for profit.
These poker tournaments are easy to find at Bodog, just look under the "Scheduled Tournaments" tab in their poker software and remember to sign up early because the number of entrants is limited.
Players start with 1,000 chips and will be able to re-buy an additional 1,500 chips for USD$1 any time that their stack is below 1,000, before the first break. Players who go deep enough into the tournament will win a piece of the $500 prize pool that will be divided as per regular tournament payout structures.
The cash won can be used to pad your bankroll or if you're lucky enough it can be turned it into a Flight Club poker tournament trip. It can even be put it towards the buy-in for a seat at the World Series of Poker.
Don't wait another minute to have a shot at winning FREE cash! Head on over to Bodog's poker room and try your luck in these $500 Daily Freerolls!
WSOP on ESPN Tonight Features Phil Ivey
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Phil Ivey is 4/1 to win the 2009 ESPN Main Event
Tune in at 8 PM ET tonight for another two hours of original programming from the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event played over the summer at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas. This week expect to see a lot of Phil Ivey, poker's superstar and the man many consider to be the most talented playing the game today.
A slimmed down field is getting close to the money this week and stacks are becoming enormous as the remains of the 6,494 starting field tries to become one of the final 648 players that will receive some of the prize pool. Former Main Event champions remaining in the crowd are Bobby Baldwin, Dan Harrington, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Joseph Hachem, and defending 2008 champion Peter Eastgate. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips and 2008 third place finisher, Dennis Phillips, continue to play deeper into the event.
When the November Nine reconvenes in November they will decide which player goes home with $8.5 million and a very rare Main Event Championship Bracelet. Tune in tonight for more great poker from the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Additional photos after the jump.
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Lou Diamond Phillips remains in the hunt
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Joseph Hachem, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Peter Eastgate, 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Bobby Baldwin, 1978 WSOP Main Event Champion
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Chris Ferguson, 2000 WSOP Main Event Champion
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Dennis Phillips, 2008 WSOP Main Event November Nine
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Phil Hellmuth, 1989 WSOP Main Event Champion and holder of a record 11 WSOP Bracelets
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Dan Harrington, 1995 WSOP Main Event Champion
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Phil Ivey, 2009 WSOP Main Event crowd favorite
photo flipchip/lasvegasvegas.com
Phil Ivey tonight on ESPN at 8PM ET
Bicycle Casino Journal Entry: No-Limit Maniacs
Since I’ve recently gotten back into playing a lot of live poker, I figured I might as well blog about it here. Gee, what a concept. If you remember, last week I headed down to the Bike and played in one of their daily nighttime tournaments, only to find that I brought my online SNG brain with me, which resulted in some pretty dreadful early round play. Hoping to redeem myself, I slid back over to the cardroom today, this time entering in the Nooner tournament, a cheap, daily tournament that begins at 12pm. Well, unfortunately all that happened was my quickest tournament elimination ever.
My table was crazy. Everyone was raising pre-flop and three to four players would call. It didn’t matter how much you raised either, everyone was coming to the party. Then, the players would bet and call each other down to the river, and the winning hand would be something ridiculous like top pair with a weak kicker. This is after tons of raising and multiple opponents calling on every street.
Thinking that I could capitalize on the madness, I managed to get heads up on the flop with A-K against one of the looser players at the table. I flopped an Ace, he checked it to me, I bet, he called. The turn brought what appeared to be a blank, he checked, I bet, he called. The river now comes a runner-runner straight possibility, and he goes all-in. Did this guy really flat call me on the flop and turn while drawing to a runner-runner straight? I figured he missed his flush (there were two diamonds on the flop) and was just trying to maniac bluff me. I called, and sure enough he turned over the runner-runner straight for all our chips. This was only the fourth hand of a deep-stacked tournament.
Not all too pleased with the outcome, I headed over to play in the smallest no-limit cash game they offer at the Bike (an $80 buy-in nine-handed game) and took my seat. I was looking forward to some tight cash game play. Instead what I got was the loosest cash game I’ve ever played in. What is going on today?!?
Just to give you an idea of what was going down at this table, five out of the nine players would straddle the big blind, and 50% of the time someone would go all-in on the flop. Yet, no one was dominating the table. One guy would get it all in with top pair, get called by some lunatic with third pair, and double up. Then a few hands later the player who had just won that hand would get way too involved in another hand with bad cards and give it all back. Repeat for three hours straight.
It’s tough to sit back and wait for a hand when everyone else at the table is racking in huge pots with a single pair, but I knew all I needed was two pair or better to double up at any given moment. After about 20min, I flopped a set and got two players all-in. My set held up against one guy’s second pair (Seriously?) and another players missed flush draw, and I little more than doubled up. A few hands later I flopped a Queen high flush, and one opponent couldn’t wait to get it all-in on the flop. I called his all-in and he turned over pocket eights. Pocket eights, with neither of the eights being a spade and the board showing A-10-7, all spades. Yeah, pocket eights looks good enough in that spot to push all-in with. Doofus.
After that big win, the deck didn’t go cold for me pre-flop (lots of A-K, 10-10 type hands) but then I would whiff the flop heavily every time. I couldn’t even continuation bet my pre-flop raises because I knew I would get at least two callers and potentially an all-in raise. Frustrating to say the least. I ended up giving about 3/4th of my winnings back through pre-flop raises and was about to leave for the day when I looked down at K-K in early position. I wanted to thin the field so I raised five times the big blind instead of the standard three times…………five callers. Thankfully no Ace came on the flop and I eventually rivered a full house, netting me enough chips to post about a $160 profit for a little over three hours of play. Considering how heavy the swings were in that crazy game, I’ll take it.
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WSOP Info is your source to online poker news and information regarding the WSOP 2008. The World Series Of Poker is the largest Poker event in the world.
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