By Roy Brindley

Bodog.com has announced a partnership to become Card Player Magazine’s poker odds provider and have announced their line on who will capture the 2004 Player of the Year honours.

Rob Gillespie, president of Bodog.com Sports Casino Poker said:  “We are extremely happy to make this announcement as Card Player Magazine is the most widely and respected publication in the poker market and Bodog is the most trusted name in online poker and sports wagering.

The new partnership means people can see Bodog’s odds for a number of WPT events and proposition wagers within Card Player as well as their site.

Currently in the book Daniel Negreanu is listed at 5/9 to take ‘Player of the Year’ ahead of John Juanda at 2/1.  David Pham and Barry Greenstein follow at 8/1 and 9/1 respectively.

Meanwhile, issue four of Card Player Europe, edited by Jessie May, goes on sale this week.  Circulation for the magazine, a direct relation of its US counterpart, is reported as ‘pleasing.’

Market leader, the established Poker Europa Magazine, seemingly continues to flourish despite the recent departure of its deputy editor Phil Shaw, who has joined another relative newcomer to the European gaming publication market, Inside Edge.

Today Pokernews provided users with couple of fresh news and valuable strategy articles by Rolf "Ace" Slotboom.

News:

Intercasino won honourable award of Casino Player Magazine. It was recognized as the best Casino.

InterCasino wins 2004 best online casino award

Top player Annie Duke will participate in inaugural DD Tournament Poker No Limit Texas Hold'em Gala Event.

Annie Duke at DD Tournament Poker No Limit Holdem Gala Event

Strategy:

Rolf "Ace" Slotboom writes two new articles from "Ace" speaks live and "Ace" speaks Online series:

"Ace" Speaks Online (2): Multitabling - Yes or No?

"Ace" Speaks Live (2): Moving in in tournaments

Visit Pokernews everyday and you will recieve most interesting news and poker strategy articles!

Pokernews.com stopped PokerChamps $10 give away promotion. Many players recieved $10 for free but did not use it for playing. Now another promotion is introduced.

$25 extra on first sign up of any amount.

For more details, please visit PokerChamps review.

Online poker news website Pokernews.com introduced a new feature. From now on visitors will be able to post their comments to all the news. Posted comment goes directly to poker forum.

Express your opinion but without spam and affiliate codes :) They are moderated by Tony G. himself.

Hollywood, November 15th, 2004 - Some of Hollywood's biggest stars and professional poker players attended the virtual software premiere at the HollywoodPoker.com launch party this past Tuesday. The official release of this new cutting-edge gaming experience marks a new chapter in the poker craze that is sweeping the nation. HollywoodPoker.com delivers the excitement of big poker games, combined with the convenience of the Internet - with a celebrity twist! Starting this week James Woods and Vince Van Patten will be online exclusively at HollywoodPoker.com playing real money games against poker players everywhere. Stay tuned - we have all kinds of exciting things coming up, including your chance to attend an exclusive Hollywood Oscars party!

HollywoodPoker.com’s new online poker software features stunning graphics, real-time player chats and interaction, fast action and advanced security features - all without having to download any software to your computer.  This makes it perfect for playing at home, at the office, on your laptop at a Wi-Fi hotspot, or anywhere else with an Internet connection!

“Everyone in Hollywood is playing poker these days,” says two-time Oscar nominee James Woods. "Some of the best acting I’ve done has been at the poker table,” he laughs. “It's not easy to keep your emotions in check when the stakes are high and you're staring down other big-name players. ”

“Poker is back in a big way,” declares World Poker Tour television commentator and actor Vince Van Patten.  “It’s moving out of the backrooms and casinos and into the living rooms of America.  I always say the best way to learn poker is just to jump in and start playing.  Free online games provide players with valuable poker experience without worrying about losing money."

HollywoodPoker.com Games

Experienced players will love the selection of games: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud and 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo. With the ability to play multiple tables at one time, easy-to-use advanced software, daily, weekly and monthly player point promotions, exciting multi-table tournaments, Celebrity Bounties and much more, your online gaming experiences at HollywoodPoker.com are sure to be memorable! Thousands of players are already playing online right now.  Chat with them in real time or in the Green Room.  Fast action, great customer service and safe and reliable security aren’t just for VIPs – at HollywoodPoker.com every player is a star.

Poker friends in different cities can now get together to play anytime.  Hold your next poker party online at HollywoodPoker.com.  Send them an invitation to play at a private table reserved exclusively for your group - free!

Never played Poker before?  You can still meet the Stars!

Even people who have never played poker before will feel at home at HollywoodPoker.com.  Featuring step-by-step tutorials, rules for different poker variations and a huge poker glossary - you can play like a pro even if you're not.  It's always free to join HollywoodPoker.com and there are lots of free tables and games to get you started. Join the thriving Poker Community forums to discuss topics of interest and get tips and advice.  Poker is fun and exciting – there’s no better place to learn than HollywoodPoker.com.

LAS VEGAS, November 17, 2004 – The Harrah’s Foundation has pledged $1 million to the endowment of the Philip G. Satre Chair in Gaming Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET) announced.

“During his 25-year career with Harrah’s, Phil has had a profound and enduring impact on this company and our industry,” said Gary Loveman, Harrah’s president and chief executive officer. “His vision helped casino gaming grow from its roots in Nevada into a nationwide industry, enjoyed and accepted by tens of millions of Americans. And his leadership propelled Harrah’s from a small casino company into the world’s largest gaming corporation. This endowment is an appropriate, enduring way to recognize his remarkable legacy.”

The Satre Chair will be held by William R. Eadington, Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at UNR.

“Like Phil, Bill Eadington has been a pioneer in the evolution of the gaming industry,” said Mike Reed, dean of UNR’s College of Business Administration. “Over the past 35 years, his research and analysis have greatly advanced our understanding of gambling, and have helped legitimize casino gaming as an accepted form of entertainment. The endowment of the Satre Chair will allow Bill and his team to further advance their invaluable work, and cement the University’s reputation as the world’s leader in gaming studies.”

Additional individual contributions to the Satre Chair endowment fund were made by: Claudine Williams, chairman of the board of Harrah’s Las Vegas; Steve Wynn, chairman and CEO, Wynn Resorts, Ltd.; Chuck Mathewson, through the Charles N. Mathewson Foundation; Jack Binion, founder of Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp.; Steve Bollenbach, president and CEO of Hilton Hotels Corp. and chairman of Caesars Entertainment, Inc.; Barron Hilton, chairman of Hilton Hotels; 19 members of Harrah’s senior management team and members of Harrah’s board of directors.

Corporate contributions were made by International Game Technology, Boyd Gaming Corp., Caesars Entertainment, Deutsche Bank Securities, Latham & Watkins, LLP, Mandalay Resort Group, MGM Mirage, Station Casinos, Inc., Southern Wine & Spirits, Tracy Locke and TBC Public Relations.

Chat about poker, a new forum for the dedicated discussion of poker online has been launched.

Many forums deal with the subject of poker in a very generalised way.  Chat about poker is dedicated to online poker players only.  Users are invited to submit articles they have written themselves which are then open to discussion in the forum, users are also free to send in their own book or website reviews if they are considered useful to the online poker playing community.

Chat about poker promises to "help old and new players alike" through their growing forum.  Although UK based, the forum attracts international players willing to offer free advice on everything online poker related.

Some poker news for today!

One of the biggest entertainment monsters Virgin Inc. are looking for association with poker. A company intend to inquire one of the American or Brittish casino operators. Read more:

Virgin to enter Casino market?

Foxwoods Casino is preparing to launch a huge advertising campaign with toilet images. "Royal Flush" is not only one of the most popular poker terms, but also indicated how good is to... Anyway, read for themselves!

Foxwoods on the box

Kafelnikov, the former top player of tennis now will earn for a living from gambling. He is from Russia, where a lot of people play poker; Russian players also are known from variuos tournaments. They will have a great support from Yefgeny now.

Read this: Kafelnikov gives up tennis for poker

Ultimatebet.com are preparing for huge advertising campaign as gambling laws will become not so tight in Great Britain.

Read this: UltimatePoker to up their UK stakes with massive advertising campaign

The biggest poker room in Europe organizes its own Million tournament. Americans still ignore it.

Read this: Ladbrokespoker.com Poker Million has $1.25 million added

One of the most popular online poker website OnlinePokerReview.com started a news section. News will be renewed every week. Mostly it will cover variuos online poker tournaments from PartyPoker, PacificPoker and PokerChamps.

OnlinePokerReview.com provides original and unbiased online poker room reviews. This page is masterminded by Tommy R.   

Season One of the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR (PPT) is jampacked with a stellar line-up of All-Star players, 134 of which turned out for the Tour's inaugural competition on November 9-10 at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Many of the game's favorites played a hand in the elite competition, but only six prevailed. Chris Bigler, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Harrington, John Juanda, Casey Kastle, and Ron Rose will advance to the PPT Final Table on Nov. 19 where only one will capture the very first PPT victory.

Launched by WPT Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WPTE), the creator of the WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT), the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR reflects the evolution of poker as a sport. Whereas anyone can play on the WPT, only the game's professional elite that qualify will compete on the PPT. The PPT is unique because players can earn PPT Tour Cards throughout the WPT season and begin free-roll tournament play immediately. To be eligible to play on the PROFESSIONAL POKER TOUR, players must have proven themselves in past poker competition: By winning or making a Final Table at a WPT event or a WPT Championship, by scoring as a top 10 point leader in WPT Player-of-the-Year rankings, by winning or placing highly in the $10K buy-in event at the World Series of Poker, by securing a spot on either CardPlayer Magazine's Card Player of the Year Top 10 list or Poker Europa's Top 10, or by being a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

THESE ARE THE PLAYERS WHO MADE THE FIRST PPT FINAL TABLE:

Chris Bigler- From Fislisbach, Switzerland, Bigler was a business-man until he discovered his true calling-poker-just six years ago on a trip to Vegas. He has already made it to more than one World Poker Tour Final Table, including placing fifth at the Bellagios' World Poker Classic in Season One.

Jennifer Harman: To many, Harman is not just the best female player on the planet, but one of the best payers, period. She is the only woman who can claim two World Series titles, and is a regular at the biggest poker game in the world at Las Vegas' Bellagio. Harman was recently featured on WPT "Ladies Night," the WPT Final Table of the Ultimate Poker Classic.

Daniel Harrington: A former attorney who currently resides in Santa Monica, CA, Harrington began playing poker more than a decade ago mainly for the excitement and enjoyment of the game. Harrington has gone from winning state chess championships to winning a World Series title and placing in the money at several final tables.

John Juanda: A thirty-something poker player originally from Indonesia, Juanda is called a "class act" by fellow poker pros and amateurs including celebrities, who appreciate his cool demeanor at the table. He won his first of three World Series titles in 2002. Juanda became instantly famous when he placed second in the first-ever WORLD POKER TOUR tournament: the 2002 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic. In both 2001 and 2002, Juanda was runner-up to Card Player Magazine's Tournament Player-of-the-Year.

Casey Kastle: A Slovenian American from Chicago, Kastle is the man who spearheaded the efforts to make poker tournaments non-smoking. Kastle first got involved with the game of poker by helping a church group host a charity casino night where he volunteered to deal at a blackjack table. When the event concluded, Kastle played in a $2-$4 poker game which kicked off his love of poker. Kastle placed tenth in last season's LA Poker Classic.

Ron Rose: This retired executive calls the Northwest home, though he and the WPT's own Mike Sexton, have a common link--they both went to the same high school in Dayton, Ohio. Rose is an accomplished tournament player and successful businessman who once held a seat on the stock exchange. The father of three, Rose captured first place in WPT's Battle of the Champions that aired on Super Bowl Sunday in 2004.

Source: World Poker Tour

Phil Ivey and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson were battling it out for first place on the second day of the Monte Carlo Millions, "the world's most exclusive poker tournament".

The first-ever poker tournament in the Principality of Monaco, it is being held at the Sporting d'Hiver in Monte-Carlo from November 6-13. The field boasts twenty-seven WSOP gold bracelet holders, seven World Poker Tour Championship titles, and nearly 20% of the 2004 Top 100 Money List which determines the biggest winners of the year.

Ivey was ahead with $404,500 in chips, Ferguson was second with $281,500, Vincent Napolitano third with $246,500.

Some of the biggest names in poker were struggling to get to the final table. Among them were Joe Beevers (19th), Ross Boatman (22nd), Tony Bloom (24th), Mel Judah (26th), Tony G (46th), Scotty Ngyuen (64th), Dave Devilfish Ulliott (65th), Layne Flack (71st) and Howard Lederer
(76th).

Source: Pokernews.com

As far as you know, Gus Hansen is top player who opened online poker room called Pokerchamps.  This room is much discussed both in blogs and in forums, but still not everybody know about it.

If you want to readunbiased news about this, please, chechk this out:

Pokernews.com:

Gus Hansen Opens Online Poker Room Pokerchamps.Com

Gus Hansen launches PokerChamps

Online poker room gives players a chance to share

Prleap.com

Gus Hansen Opens Online Poker website Pokerchamps.Com

Do you know poker star Gus Hansen? He opened a online poker room called PokerChamps.

Nice graphics, new room, everything is interesting. Still crashes, but who does not? The biggest online poker room PartyPoker also crashes some times :)

I have read about this new in Pokernews.com.