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by Haley Hintze

 PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATOR INTRODUCES ONLINE GAMBLING MEASURE

 Pennsylvania State Representative Tina Davis has introduced a bill authorizing internet gaming, including poker, for the state’s residents. The bill, HB 1235, was immediately referred to the state’s Gaming Oversight Committee for evaluation. Eastern Pennsylvania, where Davis’s district is located, is an area of increased casino competition facing pressure from both New Jersey and Delaware, nearby states that have already approved forms of i-gaming. Davis’s measure would set an age limit of 21 and require the physical presence of both the players and prospective licensees, with license approval possible only for those entities already in possession of the state’s slot-machine licenses.

 OBAMA AMBASSADORIAL CANDIDATE WITHDRAWS FROM CONSIDERATION AFTER CONNECTION TO BUSTED NYC POKER GAMES PUBLICIZED

by David “THE MAVEN” Chicotsky

There are many things we must strive for if we want to do well on a consistent basis at the poker table. Very high up on that list is the ability to stay unpredictable. One way we’re able to do this is by changing up the size of our raises and re-raises. When we’re dealing with small numbers like 2 or 3 blinds - an increase or decrease of a blind or two is a substantial difference. It’s always key to focus on the things we can control in a poker tournament, and one of those things is our sizing.

 In general, it’s very common to see players raise to 3x during a tournament. So when we open raise for a min raise (2x) or a large open of let’s say 3.5x - it will draw more attention than a standard raise. When we’re at the poker table we have to do our due diligence with all the other players. Knowing what their standard open-raise amount is one of the many things we must categorize and use against our opponents. The closer we pay attention to our opponents, the more information we gather, and the more precise we can be with our decision-making.

by Wendeen H. Eolis

PokerStars' purchase agreement for the Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City has expired. In a public statement, this morning ,Michael Frawley, COO of Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel has confirmed that the purchase agreement is terminated.  Nevertheless, it is too early to jump to conclusions.
 
There is nothing said thus far to suggest that the two companies cannot re-cement an updated agreement. If necessary, PokerStars could update its completed application which has been submitted to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
 
When it comes to online poker, machinations, twists, turns, and outcomes unfathomable at one moment have been known to become stark reality the next.

PokerStars May Still be Valued in New Jersey

Governor Chris Christie, a proponent of a full court press to revive Atlantic City, faces massive pressure to find the means to recovery from Hurricane Sandy. PokerStars' promise to bring jobs, civic commitment and 40 million dollars to the project cannot so easily be dismissed.
 

Timing is crucial to maximizing poker profit – but probably not in ways that come immediately to mind. Let’s discuss that in today’s selfinterview.

Question 1: What does timing have to do with poker?

 When players say, “Bad timing,” or “Your timing was off,” they’re often responding politely to an opponent’s failed bluff, after calling with strong hands. They either mean to make that opponent feel better or they’re using a psychological ploy. It’s one intended to suggest that they wouldn’t have called, had their hand not been so powerful, thus inviting the foe to bluff again in the future. When you hear similar words when you’re caught bluffing, you should back away from bluffing that opponent.

 You also hear someone talk about their own bad timing – or yours – in the context of having a strong second-best hand or having made a flush on the river that loses. And there are other ways that the word “timing” is commonly used in poker.

 However, I’m not talking about that today. Let’s explore what I am talking about. Next question.

Question 2: I get it, you’re talking about the flow of the game, getting in sync with the action. You need timing there, right?

By Wendeen H. Eolis

While most of the country was glued to the movements of Boston area law enforcement agents immediately after the Boston Marathon bombings, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York had it sights set elsewhere on a sting against organized crime that was tied into a few game runners and players in high stakes poker games in New York. April has been a tough month for poker in New York City, more than once.
 

NY Poker Highlighted in Bust of Russian–Based Organized Crime Ring

 At the crack of dawn on April 16, 2013, federal agents were on the march to pick up their prey in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami and California, as well as New York. They moved in with plans to break the back of an internationally based gambling enterprise rooted inside the Russian Federation.

 The accusations made by the Government marry illegal gambling activities to organized crime and put some of New York’s best known nosebleed poker games in the hands of old school “Russian Mafia” with locally based operatives intertwined in their operations.  

 Arguably, the April 16^th bust shone the brightest light over high stakes poker games in the underground world of New York poker—ever.

An Editorial By Stanley R. Sludikoff, Publisher

 As many people know, I spent over 30 years in the United States Army Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. For roughly 50 years I have been a life member of the Reserve Officers Association. I keep up with military matters through publications sent to me by that organization. In a recent newsletter, an article revealed that the Command Surgeon for the US Army Central Command (includes Iraq and Afghanistan), Colonel Erin Edgar, along with researcher Doctor Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, have recommended that Energy Drinks be banned from sale from Army and Air Force installation stores, where they are currently the top selling cold beverages.

By Shari Geller
 
In an unsealed indictment filed in the US District Court for the Second District of New York, a notorious Russian businessman is alleged to be the ringleader of a massive criminal enterprise involving sports betting and illegal poker games that brought in some $50 million.  Poker pros Abe Mosseri, Bill Edler, Peter Feldman, Joe Mancuso, John Hanson, and Justin Smith were named in three of the twenty-seven counts of the 84-page indictment that reads like a movie script -- something like Rounders meets The Godfather.  But the star of this real-life crime drama is defendant Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, most notable for having been charged with, but ultimately never tried for, allegedly attempting to bribe figure skating judges at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City