Full Tilt Poker Cashouts Begin Next Week Reportedly

Full Tilt Poker will begin processing US player cashouts the first week of May, Karak reported Friday on his blog and QuadJacks. He cites the source as a person close to Full Tilt. Earlier in the day Full Tilt posted a US-player FAQ which indicated there would be an update about cashouts next week.

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Merge Network Reportedly Considering Dropping Rakeback in Favor of VIP

Merge Network executives are reportedly seriously considering getting rid of rakeback and replacing it with a player rewards system similar to PokerStars's FPP/VPP system. Eric Morris of Bluff Magazine was the first person to report it while on the QuadJacks livestream Wednesday. Karak spoke with a Merge skin operator who was surprised the information had leaked out and said it was "not set in stone" and they were still discussing it.

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PokerStars Begins Processing US Player Cashouts

Wednesday PokerStars began notifying players in the United States that their balances are available for withdrawal. Three cashout options are offered: most players will utilize Direct Bank Transfer (the recommended method), or check, but wire transfer is also available with a $50,000 minimum. Direct Bank Transfers are available up to $49,999, take up to 3 days for procesing, and can take 5 business days to reach your bank account. Checks are available in amounts between $100 - $2500, once a day, and take about 15 business days to arrive. Players also had their Step and Tournament Tickets converted to real dollars at a 1-to-$1 rate.

UPDATE (April 28): PokerStars players have begun reporting that bank transfers have started hitting their bank accounts.

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Online Poker Newsbites: Cereus Limits Non-US Cashouts to $250 Per Week, List of Bank Accounts Restrained, Canadians Getting Paid on PokerStars

April 23rd newsbites:

• Cereus has restricted non-US cashouts to $250 per week. Canadian and European players have reported receiving UB cashouts within 48 hours in the last 2 days. Cereus reps have begun encouraging US players to play their games again.
• A restraining order lists the bank accounts that were frozen.
• A Canadian PokerStars player reported getting two cashouts by FedEx since Black Friday.
• Thursday AbsolutePoker finally released a statement, but it says nothing more than their lawyers are looking into things.
• Antigua and Barbuda are claiming that the seizures by the DOJ are illegal and protectionist.
• Melita Gaming Network poker room such as FatBetPoker and TrueMoneyGames posted: "We are sorry to inform you that we are unable to continue our gaming operations. Please go to the cashier and request a withdrawal of your funds now."
• WSEX has sent out emails asking their players to return for poker. This site still has unpaid cashouts from as far back as November 2009, however, and SportsbookReview.com still has 48 non-pay complaints totaling over $487,000.
• Long-time online gambling ally Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada) announced he is resigning effective May 3rd.
• Reason has a great article on how the UIGEA forced the PS, FTP, and Cereus to take the actions alleged.
• Friday, April 21st PokerScout posted post-Black Friday traffic stats .

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Black Friday Update: Cereus Sends Mixed Messages, High Stakes Poker and WSOP Will Stay

Black Friday update:

• Cereus players are getting popups upon sign-in saying that "real money activity" for US players has been suspended, but they continue to play.
• GSN has announced that High Stakes Poker will continue to air it's new episodes, but will reduce their number of airings.
• ESPN announced that coverage of the WSOP will be uninterrupted.
• As of Thursday afternoon the non-stop QuadJacksLive radio show has moved their livestream to justin.tv to better support the volume.
• The FBI is investigating whether PokerStars broke federal laws against campaign contributions from foreign companies.
• PokerStars had a 6-month plan to push regulation in Nevada that failed.
• A current PokerStars lobbyist previously worked for the Nevada Gaming Control Board and in May 2010 warned Nevada companies against doing business with sites offering gaming to Americans.
• Daniel Tzvetkoff, credited with bringing down Full Tilt and PokerStars, kept the names, bank details, and addresses for up to 500,000 customers and this is believed to be among the property seized by Feds.
• Tzvetkoff was only the latest of several payment processors who have been caught and struck deals.
• A blogger explained bank fraud as it pertains to poker.
• The tech industry is most concerned about just how easy it was for the DOJ to seize internet domains, and it's broader implications.
• The Libertarian Party issued a statement on the continued attacks on our personal freedom to play poker.
• John Stossel also speaks addresses the situation on his blog.
• Big Government says both Democrats and Republicans have advanced the war on poker.
• A political article criticizes government for prioritizing the wrong issues.
• Apparently to politicians in Washington online poker is more of a threat than the national debt.
• A site was setup where players with funds seized can add their amounts to the new running tally.
• The domain name agreements were only step one for players to recover their funds.
• Durrrr and Phil Galfond were making guarantees funds will be returned.
  

Highlights from Chris Krafcik and *TT* on QuadJacksLive, already running well over 100 hours straight:

• They brought up the old complaint of "Why do Bodog, Merge, Cake, Yatahay cashouts take a month, while FT, Stars, or Cereus took a week?" This was because the ones indicted were all using US processors. Going forward all sites will have to use foreign processing, but it will significantly lessen their risk and exposure. For years sportsbooks have used foreign processors, and while their cashouts will take 3 - 4 weeks, they never have seizures.
• PokerStars and Full Tilt had very little of their overall company funds seized.
• They spoke of the liklihood of any future regulations. The concensus was the current House, Senate, and the 2012 Congress will likely never pass any poker legislation. They also said that any state that attempted to legalize it themselves would quickly be halted by the DOJ.

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Stars/Tilt Player Funds To Be Returned, Domain Name Use Allowed

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have entered into agreements (PS, FTP, DOJ press release) with the Department of Justice to use their .com domains within the US to to repay customers and outside of the US for normal operations. The domains will not be returned to the companies however. The DOJ said they will enter into the same agreement with Cereus if it so chooses.

PokerStars issued a press release stating that players' money was safe and published a US-players' FAQ on their .com site.

Full Tilt's statement was angrier and focused on the difficulty of repaying US players:

But, unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future. As a result of the recent enforcement action, there exists no authorized U.S. payment channel through which to make refunds; Full Tilt Poker has no accounting of the millions of dollars of player funds that were seized by the government; and the government has not agreed to permit any of the seized player funds to be returned to the players.

The popup on their .co.uk site echoed that line:

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PokerStars Press Release: Your Money Safe

PokerStars issued a press release earlier today (bolding by Editor):

The company categorically denies the allegations brought by the US Department of Justice on 15th April 2011 and is taking all steps necessary to robustly defend itself, and the two named individuals. Meanwhile, the company has stopped offering real money poker services in the United States.

Returning US players' funds is a top priority for PokerStars and the company can now start the process of returning money to its former US customers. All PokerStars player deposits are completely safe. The Isle of Man's strict licensing laws (similar to other jurisdictions where PokerStars holds licenses) require all funds to be held in accounts that are segregated from company assets. PokerStars has always complied with this requirement and continues to do so. This money is readily available to meet withdrawal demands, indeed the company continues to comply with withdrawal requests from players based outside the US as normal. Outside the U.S., PokerStars continues to operate business as usual.

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Full Tilt Poker Statement: Difficulty Of Returning Player Funds

Full Tilt Poker released a statement earlier today (bolding by Editor):

Full Tilt Poker™ is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to regain the use of its worldwide domain name, www.fulltiltpoker.com.

Although players in the United States will not be permitted to engage in real-money play, the agreement expressly allows for real-money play outside of the United States.

In addition, the agreement represents an important first step towards returning funds to U.S. players because it allows Full Tilt Poker to utilize its domain to facilitate the withdrawal of player funds. But, unfortunately, there remain significant practical and legal impediments to returning funds to players in the immediate future. As a result of the recent enforcement action, there exists no authorized U.S. payment channel through which to make refunds; Full Tilt Poker has no accounting of the millions of dollars of player funds that were seized by the government; and the government has not agreed to permit any of the seized player funds to be returned to the players.

Finally, there are numerous legal and jurisdictional issues that must be considered before poker winnings can be paid out to players throughout the United States. While Full Tilt Poker continues to believe that online poker is not illegal under federal law or in 49 states, the indictment and civil forfeiture action filed last Friday require Full Tilt Poker to proceed with caution in this area.

Notwithstanding these issues, Full Tilt Poker is ready to work diligently with the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York to try and resolve these issues and to get players their money back as soon as possible.

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Black Friday Update: Funds Safe, Cereus May Leave US Too, Big Game and Million Dollar Challenge Cancelled

Black Friday updates for Tuesday, April 19th:

• Early rumors that the FBI would attempt to get Full Tilt & PokerStars shutdown worldwide were said to have almost no chance of happening, according to today's iGamingBusiness webinar Q&A.
• Cereus fired all US-based prop players, further fueling speculation that Cereus will also stop allowing US play very soon.
• The worldwide online poker market has shrunk by 23% in one week following the indictments of Full Tilt, PokerStars, & Cereus.
• Take some time to contact your federal and state representatives to express your positions over these indictments. There are a variety of ways to have your voice heard.
• Many lawmakers who received contributions from PokerStars will be returning them.
• FOX has cancelled both their PokerStars sponsored shows, The Big Game and Million Dollar Challenge.
• Bradley Franzen was arrested Friday, pleaded "not guilty," was released Monday on $200,000 bond, and had his travel restricted to NY, NJ & IL. Chad Elie was arrested Friday in Vegas, arraigned Tuesday in NY where he pleaded "not guilty," and was released on $250,000 bond. John Campos was arrested Friday, released Monday on $25,000 bond, and his passport was turned over.
• Both Chad Elie and John Campos are also tied to a large fraud case being prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission in Las Vegas.
• Online Poker Insiders believes the domain seizures were accomplished by means of a court order served on VeriSign, the US-based operator of the .com, .net, and several other top-level domains. Country-code top-level domains, like .eu and .uk, are not operated out of the United States.
• If you haven't already, stop by the QuadJacksLive non-stop audio Ustream. They have been going non-stop since Black Friday! Some great guests pop in that include pros, lawyers, industry professionals, and mainstream reporters.
• The 51-page indictment is also available in audio form, for those short on reading time.
• VictoryPoker, a skin on the Cake Network, has decided to voluntarily close the accounts of their US players and remain on the Cake network.
• Moneybookers and NETELLER each released statements that they will be unaffected.
• Monday saw wild trading action with the top publicly-traded European poker companies. At closing the Bwin.Party shares were up 34%, 888 Holdings up 24%, and Playtech up 11%.
• Rumors abound that “The Rat of the Century” Daniel Tzvetkoff has been stashed by Feds into a safe house.

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Black Friday Update: Cereus Opens .Eu Sites, Wynn & Fertitta End Deals, Sites Tell Players Money Safe...

Black Friday updates for Monday, April 18th:

• UB and AbsolutePoker have launched new versions of their websites, UBPoker.eu and AbsolutePoker.eu, following the lead of PokerStars.eu and FullTiltPoker.co.uk.
• Cereus sites have stopped taking new US players and doing deposits, cashouts, and transfers for them. US players with funds can still play games.
• PokerScout's Monday report shows just how drastic the effects have been, and also who is benefiting. PokerStars lost 25% of traffic compared to last week, Full Tilt 48%, and Cereus 39%. Merge Network has picked up 23%, Bodog 26%, and Cake 19%. One non-US site saw a double-digit gain: PKR at 21%.
• "Wynn Resorts, Limited announced Friday that it terminated its alliance with PokerStars, the online poker company. The decision was reached as a result of the indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York."
• Fertitta Interactive (founded by Station Casinos & Gold Nugget owners) spokeswoman said their deal with Full Tilt had now expired.
• In the civil suit that accompanied the indictment, the DOJ demanding forfeitures of $1.5 Billion from PokerStars, $1B from Full Tilt, and $500 Million from Cereus.
• A Cliff's notes version of the full Indictment was posted on 2+2.
• Nevada Senator and former US attorney Greg Brower issued a strong demand for a probe into $272,000 in campaign contributions PokerStars made to 68 mid-term election candidates.
• Multiple players from Full Tilt, PokerStars, and UB posted on 2+2 that they have been receiving phone calls from the sites promising their money is safe and will be released as soon as it is possible to do so.
• The PokerStars NAPT (North American Poker Tour) won't be airing on ESPN today as scheduled. An ESPN representative said "We are aware of the indictment only through what has been announced publicly. For the immediate future, we are efforting (sic) to remove related advertising and programming pending further review."
  

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Black Friday Update: Traffic Up For Everyone But PS, FTP, and Cereus; How To Access Your FTP Account...

Black Friday update:

• PokerScout reports that PokerStars traffic is down 18% from last Saturday, Full Tilt down 40%, and Cereus down 20%. US-centric site Bodog, not targeted by the indictments, is up 21%. Non-US sites are also up: iPoker by 10%, Party by 6% and OnGame by 3%.
• Full Tilt's software is no longer accessible but you can download a copy that will access your account from FullTiltPoker.co.uk
• UB.com and Absolute Poker (Cereus) report that they will continue allowing US players but deposits and withdrawals will be disabled until they resolve the situation.
• No sites other than Stars, FTP, and Cereus are affected and play continues.
• Read the full indictment.
• A report from Business Insider suggests that Daniel Tzvetkoff, of the Intabill payment-processing fraud, likely helped the government with their case. He was arrested last year, denied bail as a flight risk, but then granted bail.
• Full Tilt's Oxyx Cup series of 6 televised tournaments with buy-ins of $100,000 - $300,000, which was scheduled to begin May 11th, has been postponed indefinitely, and is likely to be cancelled.
• ESPN.com has removed its PokerStars-sponsored play money poker room and Inside Deal video content.
  

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PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker Cease Games For US Players

Full Tilt Poker issued a press release stating "Unfortunately, as a result of this action, Full Tilt Poker has decided that it must suspend “real money” play in the United States until this case is resolved."

PokerStars's site is up again at PokerStars.eu but a popup states that they've also ceased real-money gaming for US residents.

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PokerStars, Full Tilt, and UB.com Domains Siezed, Funds Siezed, and Criminal Charges Filed

The US government charged (press release, indictment) the principal owners of PokerStars, Full Tilt, and UB.com with financial and gambling offenses; seized five domain names; and issued orders to freeze 76 bank accounts in 14 countries used to process payments. Well known names in the poker community, such as PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg, Full Tilt's Ray Bitar, and Cereus's Scott Tom, are among the eleven people indicted. They aren't in the US and aren't among those arrested so far, however.

The indictment details how poker transactions were disguised as payments to other types of online merchants. Later, investments were made in banks to get them to process payments.

These actions are unusual because of their scope and their focus on poker companies. As a game of skill poker is only clearly illegal in a few US states, and poker companies generally haven't been targeted in the past.

Each of the web addresses seized now shows the following graphic:

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Online Poker Newsbites: How DC Online Poker Works, Bodog Anti-Shark Measures Fail...

Recent online poker newsbites:

• We learned how online poker in Washington DC will work: "There would be what’s called hotspots, where you have to have your own laptop, and you will have a serial number that will identify you. You can be from anywhere in the country, but you have to do it within the borders of D.C." Initially hotspots will only be in bars and hotels.
• Shortly after Bodog announced its anti-shark war against player-tracking PokerScout's Bodog player counts were back up.
• Countries that regulate online gambling maximize revenue with a 15% tax on gross profits, a rate lower then most countries levy, according to a study by H2 Gambling Capital.
• Terminal Poker, which can be played at Card Club Games, has added a mobile client (login) that works on iPhone and Android. Terminal Poker is similar to FTP's Rush Poker: as soon as you've finished your participation in a hand (e.g. folded) you're taken to a new hand on a new table.
• Forbes had a fascinating article about how PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg got Vegas mogul Steve Wynn to change his stance from anti- to pro-online poker and reach a deal with PokerStars. After the US government's actions to shut down online poker today, however, the deal is already off.
• Switch Poker, the first poker room for the iPhone, keeps on improving their product, adding Android support, Neteller, and P2P transfers.
• Some Canadians are suing Cake Poker claiming they were promised 20% of the company in return for their ideas.

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You Must Resubscribe To Our Newsletter To Keep Getting It

We're switching newsletter service providers so you must subscribe to the new list to keep on receiving our newsletter. We will import the old list to the new newsletter service provider, at which time you'd have to confirm your interest to keep on receiving the newsletter. If you wish to stay subscribed, however, it's best to do so now. As noted previously, we will also be changing our name to Online Poker Insiders. Subscribers to our feed won't need to change anything until we move from Blogger to our own hosting, which is still a ways off.

Action Poker Network Nearing Insolvency

The Action Poker Network (including ActionPoker, PayNoRake, TigerGaming, and the WagerProfits affiliate program that represents them) is having problems making payments. In mid-2010 the Action Poker Network started slowpaying big players (the classic precursor to poker rooms' insolvency) and affiliates; now they're slowpaying even small players. As a result traffic is drying up: the network is down to 38th on PokerScout's traffic rank. Some players on 2+2 reported success getting their funds after contacting the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Some affiliate watchdog groups have issued strong warnings or blacklisted the WagerProfits affiliate program. Attempts to contact the owners, ECOM Enterprise NV, have reportedly failed, as have those to get assistance from PlaySafe Holdings AS, their publicly-traded Norwegian parent company.

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Name Change: Fifth Street Journal To Online Poker Insiders

Fifth Street Journal will soon be changing its name to Online Poker Insiders, at OnlinePokerInsiders.com. Your old links will redirect to the new address. Our target audience will be online poker players, and we promise to try to make you more money; give you more, better information in less time; and keep you up to date with what's going on in the poker world.

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National Heads-Up Poker Championship, North American Poker Tour Air on US TV

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship will be airing at noon Sundays on NBC.

Update: cancelled due to Black Friday. The North American Poker Tour will air at varying times Monday evenings on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com:

• Monday, April 18th at 10:00 PM: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller Final Table
• Monday, April 18th at 11:00 PM: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout
• Monday April 25th at 10:00 PM: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout
• Monday April 25th at 11:00 PM: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Bounty Shootout Final Table
• Monday, May 2nd at 10:00 PM: Los Angeles Bounty Shootout
• Monday, May 2nd at 11:00 PM: Los Angeles Bounty Shootout
• Monday, May 9th at 9:00 PM: Los Angeles Bounty Shootout
• Monday, May 9th at 10:00 PM: Los Angeles Bounty Shootout Final Table
• Monday, May 9th at 11:00 PM: Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout
• Monday, May 16th at 9:00 PM: Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout
• Monday, May 16th at 10:00 PM: Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout Final Table
• Monday, May 16th at 11:00 PM: Mohegan Sun Main Event Final Table

Check our poker on TV schedule for the full list of shows running new episodes.

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Washington DC Allows Online Poker, Gambling: First US Jurisdiction To Do So

Washington D.C. has become the first U.S. jurisdiction to allow internet gambling, including online poker. Authorizing online gaming was a part of their 2011 budget and, after 30 days without objection from Congress, has now gone into effect. Only people within the borders of DC would be able to participate, however unlike many online gambling initiatives around the country you do not have to be a resident of DC to play. This means that people employed in DC, working in DC, or tourists will be able to play while in the nation's capital. The District has a little over 600,000 residents. All gaming services will be provided by Intralot. The launch date of games is not yet known. The DC Lottery Commission will oversee the setup of the network and determine what games are offered.

Vincent Gray, the Mayor of DC, weighed in with some details, "it would become a part of our lottery program and could generate additional resources for the District of Columbia as we continue to support ourselves." D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown, who authored the provision, also defended their right to offer online gaming saying, "There was really no clear law that said we could not do this." In more recent comments from Michael Brown he has detailed how the implementation will work: "There would be what’s called hotspots, where you have to have your own laptop, and you will have a serial number that will identify you. You can be from anywhere in the country, but you have to do it within the borders of D.C." Initially hotspots will only be in bars and hotels.

In December 2009 it was announced that lottery provider Intralot had purchased 35% of the California online gaming software company CyberArts to position themselves for just such an occasion.

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U-Poker Network Rakeback - Everleaf Platform

The U-Poker Network is a very small Italian network on the Everleaf Platform which doesn't share tables with any of the other Everleaf networks. It's one of the very most profitable poker sites in the world, however, and it's HM/PT compatible. We can bypass the cashier to move money directly for customers if necessary.

Update 7/1/11: See our current article for Everleaf Poker rakeback instead now.

To receive 40% RB there follow the link and make sure it says "Rakeback40" in the Special Bonus Code field on the second signup page. After you've completed signing up your nickname; I'll contact you if you aren't tracked correctly.

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Everleaf Rakeback

The Everleaf network was formed in July 2011 from the merger of three networks running on the Everleaf Platform, two of them Italian-centric ones with bad players. BKR Poker has all the tables and payment processors on the Everleaf Network (not all skins do). It is compatible with both major trackers.

BKR Poker (it stands for Black Room Poker) offers an exceptionally good rakeback deal: the percentage is high and it's of gross rake (most rooms deduct various expenses before paying you a percentage of net rake). To receive 40% gross RB on BKR Poker follow this link and make sure it says "Rakeback40" in the Special Bonus Code field on the second signup page. After you've completed signing up your nickname and I'll contact you to verify you're tracked correctly. Rakeback is paid into your account near the beginning of the month and you receive an email confirming the transfer.

For US players we recommend the Western Union payout method. You must make a Western Union deposit to cash out that way. We recommend you open a Euro account too: otherwise a currency-exchange fee will be taken out of your rakeback payments.

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Poker Druum Rakeback - U-Poker Network On The Everleaf Platform

Poker Druum is one of the most profitable sites in the world despite its small size: I have one customer who plays stakes up to 1000NL but finds Poker Druum to be his most profitable site, despite very little over 200NL running there. It's on the U-Poker Network, a heavily Italian network on the Everleaf Platform. It doesn't share tables with any of the other networks on the Everleaf Platform and is HM/PT compatible. We can bypass the cashier and deposit/withdraw directly for customers at this room if they want.

Update 7/1/11: I'm recommending BKR Poker instead now.

To receive 40% RB on Poker Druum follow the link and make sure it says "Rakeback40" in the Special Bonus Code field on the second signup page. After you've completed signing up your nickname; I'll contact you if you aren't tracked correctly.

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BKR Poker Rakeback - Everleaf Network

The Everleaf network was formed in July 2011 from the merger of three networks running on the Everleaf Platform, two of them Italian-centric ones with bad players. BKR Poker has all the tables and payment processors on the  Everleaf Network (not all skins do). It is compatible with both major trackers.

BKR Poker (it stands for Black Room Poker) offers an exceptionally good rakeback deal: the percentage is high and it's of gross rake (most rooms deduct various expenses before paying you a percentage of net rake). To receive 40% gross RB on BKR Poker follow this link and make sure it says "Rakeback40" in the Special Bonus Code field on the second signup page. After you've completed signing up your nickname; I'll contact you if you aren't tracked correctly.

We recommend cashing out with Western Union, as it's Everleaf's fastest method. You must make a Western Union deposit to cash out that way.

The 10 Most Profitable Online Poker Sites

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Zynga Acquires Team Behind Online Poker Statistics Site PokerTableRatings

Zygna, the company behind many top Facebook games such as Texas HoldEm Poker, has acquired the team behind top online poker statistics site Poker Table Ratings. Zygna isn't actually acquiring Poker Table Ratings, just the team behind it, and the site will continue to operate. The team is expected to develop new features for Zygna's poker games. Poker Table Ratings is the leading online poker statistics site, providing player information, hand histories, player-online alerts, and table selection tools. They've also made news by uncovering flawed encryption methods used by two poker networks over the last year (Cereus and Cake).

Source: TechCrunch

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Poker After Dark New For Next Three Weeks, Including PLO

Poker After Dark has new episodes running for the next three weeks, including some rare PLO on TV.

April 4, 50K-buyin tourney: Andrew Lichtenberger, Eric Baldwin, Melanie Weisner, Doyle Brunson, Annette Obrestad, Tom Dwan

April 11, 100K-buyin PLO part 1: Brandon Adams, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Brian Hastings, Phil Galfond

April 18, 100K-buyin PLO part 2: Brian Hastings, Jared Bleznick, Tom Dwan, Phil Galfond, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius

Check our poker on TV schedule for the full list of shows running new episodes.

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Full Tilt Poker Partners with Founders of Station Casinos

Full Tilt Poker and Fertitta Interactive are working together to secure federal legislation for online poker. Both companies have just announced a partnership which they arranged last year. Fertitta Interactive was founded last year by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, owners of Station Casinos Inc and the UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship. The deal is expected to include cross-marketing opportunities between UFC and Full Tilt. Until regulation is passed, the partnership will solely concentrate their combined resources on lobbying efforts. Once regulation is passed, the two companies will work together on an online poker site.

This news comes only a week after PokerStars and Wynn Resorts announced their silmiar partnership. However PokerStars/Wynn are lobbying for the Nevada state legislation, while Full Tilt's partnership is pursuing regulation on the federal level.

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