Haley Hintze

by Haley Hintze
 
NORWEGIAN TAX AUTHORITIES SEEK ABSOLUTE POKER MONEY
Norwegian tax authorities filed a lien with American authorities for accounts frozen on Black Friday, hoping to recover $30 million. Since Absolute’s operating profits were channeled through Madeira Fjord AS, a Norwegian holding company, the revenue is taxable in what has been called by Norwegian business outlets “the largest tax fraud in Norway’s history.”

GUILTY PLEA FOR “BLACK FRIDAY” DEFENDANT RUBIN

by Haley Hintze

DUHAMEL HOME INVASION

 The saga of the late-night home invasion robbery of WSOP Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel turned ever stranger with the arrest of former Duhamel girlfriend Bianca Rojas-Latraverse and three Montreal-area men in connection with the case. According to evidence presented at the arraignment, Rojas-Latraverse, 20, orchestrated the break-in in which Duhamel was beaten and briefly hospitalized, which was physically carried out by two of the three others since arrested. Taken in the robbery were over $100,000 worth of euros and Canadian currency, a special PokerStars Rolex watch commemorating Duhamel’s WSOP win—which has since been recovered—and the platinum-and-diamonds WSOP winner’s bracelet, which remains missing. This is proof positive that, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”  

by Haley Hintze

DUHAMEL BEATEN IN HOME INVASION

2010 WSOP champion Jonathan Duhamel suffered minor injuries after being assaulted in a home invasion robbery. Duhamel, a Canadian who lives in the Montreal borough of Boucherville, answered a late-night doorbell only to be pushed back inside his home by his attackers. Among the items taken were his prized championship bracelet from his 2010 World Series poker victory and a Rolex Submariner watch given to him by his sponsor PokerStars to mark his feat. Both items were engraved with his name and the date of his triumph. Duhamel, who was hospitalized briefly for treatment of his injuries before being released, said: “I won’t deny that these two items have a value much larger than money to me, and I hope with all my heart that we will be able to recover them in the near future.” Duhamel won $8.9 million for his 2010 title and isn’t the only WSOP winner to face a later assault, as 2004 winner Greg Raymer once fended off a pair of armed robbers who attacked him outside a hotel room at the Bellagio.

by Haley Hintze

POKER NEWS SPIDEY SETTLES POKER LAWSUIT FOR $80,000

 “Spider-Man” star Tobey Maguire and veteran TV-poker commentator Gabe Kaplan are among those settling actions brought by victims of a convicted fraudster who participated in the stars’ high-stakes Hollywood games. Maguire settled for $80,000 and Kaplan for $26,900 to resolve claims brought by bankruptcy lawyer Howard Ehrenberg, who sought to recover hundreds of thousands lost by imprisoned swindler Bradley Ruderman in the games.

by Haley Hintze

Santoro Best at Foxwoods

 New Yorker Daniel Santoro secured the largest cash of his career in wrapping up the World Poker Finals title as November began. Santoro’s triumph at Foxwoods was worth $449,910 and came at the expense of Marylander Christian Harder, who fell after an hours-long duel with Santoro. Third place in the 189-player tourney went to Robert Carbone, who collected $166,271, while fourth-place Steven Brackesy took home $129,816

FOX GRABS BRACELET IN CANNES

 New York’s Elio Fox won October’s preeminent poker title, capturing gold in the WSOP Europe main event in Cannes, France. Fox triumphed over 591 others and claimed over $1.92 million (€ 1,400,000) for the win, besting UK pro Chris Moorman for the title. Fox’s win caps a breakout 2011 in which he also won the Bellagio Cup VII. Moorman’s runnerup showing was worth €800,000, while Germany’s Moritz Kranich took third (€400,000). Other finalists included Shawn Buchanan and Jake Cody, while other WSPOE bracelet winners not already mentioned here included Michael Mizrachi, Philippe Boucher, and Tristan Wade.

by Haley Hintze

POKER HALL OF FAME NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Caesars Entertainment officials announced ten finalists for possible 2011 induction into the Poker Hall of Fame. Either one or two nominees will be selected from a list including Barry Greenstein, Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Linda Johnson, John Juanda, Marcel Luske, Jack McClelland, Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen and Huck Seed.

by Debbie Burkhead
 
Win a $10,000 WSOP Seat at South Point. South Point Casino has launched the first-ever casino based online poker room. Starting November 12 one player per week will win a $10,000 seat into the main event at the WSOP. Win a qualifying event online to receive an invitation to play at the final table at South Point in Las Vegas.

Full Tilt’s Alderney License Yanked, Company Sold to French Investors

Among a handful of important news items surrounding embattled online poker giant Full Tilt Poker was the decision by UK regulatory agency Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) to withdraw licensure of Full Tilt and several of its subsidiary firms. In its decision, the AGCC asserted that “FTP had fundamentally misled AGCC about their operational integrity by continuously reporting as liquid funds balances that had been covertly seized or restrained by US authorities, or that were otherwise not actually available to the operator. Serious breaches of AGCC regulations include false reporting, unauthorized provision of credit, and failure to report material events.”

by Haley Hintze
 
WAXMAN SOARS AT WPT PARIS

 Floridian Matthew Waxman’s trip to Paris for the World Poker Tour Paris stop ended in the biggest payday of his career. Waxman triumphed over a 312-player field at the celebrated Aviation Club de France to win $729,886, sealing the win when he dodged runner-up Hugo Lemaire’s flush draw. Lemaire was France’s last hope for a home-country winner, though like Waxman, his secondplace payday of $442,645 was the largest of his career. Third place and $299,834 went to fellow Frenchman Frederic Magen, while Byron Kaverman, Mikko Sundell and Martin Jacobson also made the to-be-televised finale.