POKER PLAYER WINS MONEY, GOES TO BROTHEL, GETS ROBBED

According to the Times of Malta, James Mercieca was leaving a casino in Gzira, up $500 for the night and feeling good about himself, when a woman called him from across a dark street. Mercieca went across to investigate and was led into a room where a second woman was waiting. Just as the second woman took down James' pants, and he thought he was in business, a man brandishing a big knife entered the room, the women took most-but not all-of Mercieca's winnings, and before he knew it, he was back on the street with about $40 on him.

Calling it "an unwise decision to have a look," Mercieca has since chalked the experience up to a hard lesson learned. A man, known only in the article as "Mr Debono" is currently in police custody as the knife wielding assailant.

JAMIEL 'JIMMY' CHAGRA 1944-2008

Convicted drug felon and high stakes gambler Jimmy Chagra died recently of cancer, according to the Associated Press. Chagra served decades in prison on various charges, and was implicated in the killing of a Federal Judge, a killing for which Charles Harrelson, the father of actor Woody Harrelson, was convicted. Chagra was a well-known figure in the gambling world in the 1970's who played at the highest stakes. Al Alvarez once noted in his book, The Biggest Game in Town, that Chagra would throw in $20,000 bets in hold'em games "just to liven up the game."

GIVING NEW MEANING TO THE TERM 'HIT ME, DEALER'

Essam Ahmed Eid, 53, a poker dealer at the Bellagio, recently concocted a scheme to augment his income which has now landed him in an Irish jail. Eid created a web site- formerly at hitmanforhire.net-offering to perform assassinations for hire. Eid's planned twist was then to extort money from both the victim and the person desiring the hit. Eid's bizarre scheme backfired when two contracted hits, one in California and one in Ireland, were quickly reported to authorities.

WEST VIRGINIA FIREMEN IN HOT WATER OVER POKER FUNDRAISERS

A volunteer fire department in rural Westmorland County in West Virginia are taking some heat this week over a series of fundraising poker tournaments that authorities say are illegal. The West Virginia Attorney General's office is seeking payment of more than $40,000 raised for the Seward Volunteer Fire Company in a series of poker tournaments held during the past year. When asked for comment by WJAC-TV, an NBC affiliate covering Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the Attorney General's office said that the games are illegal gambling and it is unlawful to profit from them.

AFTER SOME SPECULATION, GAME SHOW NETWORK RENEWS 'HIGH STAKES POKER'

The Game Show Network has confirmed that the popular poker cash-game program, High Stakes Poker, has been renewed for a fifth season. The show, one of the highest rated on the network, is expected to begin filming new episodes in September, according to a report quoting co-host A. J. Benza, who along with Gabe Kaplan will be returning for the newest run of shows.

The show's future was placed in doubt after a widelyreported, planned shift by GSN toward programming targeting a more youthful demographic. After what seems like a lot of thought, GSN has officially confirmed that the show will return, and Benza and Kaplan will crack wise for at least one more season.