Online Poker News

888, one of the world’s most popular online gaming entertainment providers, was awarded Poker Operator of the Year at the seventh annual eGaming Review Operator Awards ceremony, which took place in London on November 30th.

The eGR Awards reward the top performing operators in the gaming industry and this year reflects the efforts made by 888poker which over the past year has introduced one click easy to use beginners lobby, crisp and engaging graphics including 3D, tool tips and tutorial videos, webcam table technology, team tournament options and private games that give players a unique social platform to play with old and new friends. 888 is one of the world’s most popular online gaming entertainment and solutions provider and it was founded in 1997; 888 has been at the forefront of the online gaming industry for over a decade.

To say that the WPT (World Poker Tour) is successful would be an understatement; it has been played across casinos since 2002. However it is strange but, many people have watched WPT broadcasts on television and seen WPT ads, but not too many people have heard of WPT Poker. WPT Poker is an online poker site operated by the World Poker Tour and it’s very popular. WPT Poker holds a license to operate an online poker room from the Gibraltar government and follows strict operating guidelines and rules.

Initially you must register following which you need to make your 1st deposit. Players automatically receive a 100% up to a $100 bonus when they make their 1st deposit. Naturally it follows that you should make your initial deposit $100. Just like every poker bonus, you’ll need to clear the WPT Poker sign-up bonus by earning loyalty points. To clear each $1 of the WPT Poker bonus you need to earn six points. Once you clear 10% of your sign-up bonus WPT Poker will release the money into your real money balance.

Sweeping aside 14 opponents Randy Lew went on to claim the prestigious 2011 Poker Stars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau Main Event on Sunday night. The Canadian finished the final table with chip counts of 750,000, not the highest one but yet claiming the title in the end and winning a cool 3,772,000 Hong Kong Dollars.

So of the 575 players who took to the felt at the Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino in Macau it was Lew who finally triumphed at the end of the gruelling tourney. Lew, known as an online super-grinder playing under the name “nanonoko”, can now add a major live title to his impressive resume as the 2011 APPT Macau Main Event becomes his first big triumph on the live felt.

News has reached us that the Genting Group who have bought the Fox Poker Club own the largest number of casinos in the UK with a total of 46. Their main casinos are the Maxims, Min and Circus brands though they also operate The Palm Beach Casino which was the home to the WPT London Main Event that Jake Cody won and the monthly £1,000 Big Game.

To many this will have come as a big surprise as the Fox Poker Club has had a strong affiliation with the 3D online poker site PKR and it has been possible to qualify for live tournaments such as London Calling at the Fox Poker Club via online satellites on PKR but it is highly unlikely that their affiliation will continue as Genting already have their own online poker site.

Great news for the fans of Phil Ivey, who is widely considered poker’s best player, has returned to the live tournament scene, months after the online poker site he represented was accused of financial crimes. He entered the Asian Pacific Poker Tour Macaumain event on Wednesday.

Phil who is an eight-time bracelet winner has been off the poker radar since April 15’s indictments against operators of the major offshore poker companies. In May he decided to sit out the entire 2011 World Series of Poker in response to the specific allegations against Full Tilt Poker. Ivey also took out a lawsuit against the online poker site in which he cited disappointment and embarrassment that players were not paid their account balances. Ivey was also seeking more than $150 million for “injunctive relief, declaratory relief and damages.

The lawsuit was later withdrawn by him following rumours which began circulating in June that European investors were seeking to purchase the site. Full Tilt Poker owes about $150 million to U.S. players and about the same to its foreign base, after allegedly becoming insolvent in the operation of a Ponzi scheme.