UPDATE: Click on “read more” to see the latest statement from Ultimate Bet’s chief officer Paul Leggett about the Hellmuth hand and another hand that was mis-awarded.

I thought Phil Hellmuth lovers/haters out there would be interested in hearing what apparently is his first public response to a $5K-plus pot being shipped to him in error while playing $200-$400 limit hold’em heads-up recently on Ultimate Bet, the site he promotes.

Hellmuth’s response came during Sunday night’s “Ultimate Poker Show” on Rounders Radio. The other voices you’ll hear are the show’s hosts, pro player Annie Duke, who also promotes Ultimate Bet, and Mark Kroon.

Of course, UB and its sister site, Absolute Poker, were responsible for one of poker’s biggest stories of 2008 — a cheating scandal that resulted in $24M being returned to victims who played poker on the two sites.

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AND NOW, THE ‘REST OF THE STORY’ ABOUT MY FIRST VISIT TO THE NEW JUMER’S POKER ROOM IN ROCK ISLAND

This week’s LuckyDog Poker column reports on the opening of the new $150 million Jumer’s Casino & Hotel complex at I-280 and Illinois 92 in Rock Island, which brings back the “glory days” of poker in the Quad-Cities by offering players a second poker room in the metro area for the first time since 2002.

Here, then, is the “rest of the story” about my first visit to the new poker room in town. Included are additional comments from players, my impressions of the new poker room, and a report on how my first game in the room turned out.

Brian Wicks, manager at the new Jumer’s Casino poker room in Rock Island, heads a staff of four supervisors and 16 dealers for the room which launched Dec. 1. Six new 10-player tables with ultra-comfy chairs enhance the experience for players. Photo by Paul Colletti, The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus.

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The organization which speaks the loudest for poker players is shouting out about how to solve the issues involving online poker raised in the recent joint report by The Washington Post and TV’s 60 Minutes show.

In an ad campaign announced Monday, the Poker Players Alliance states that governmental regulation is the answer, not prohibition. The campaign is a response to the investigative report largely dealing with cheating scandals uncovered at two online poker sites, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.

The ads will appear in three publications in Washington, D.C., in an effort to drive home the need for legislation that would provide safe, regulated and taxed online poker.

Continue to the next page to read one ad’s content and a message from PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato.
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POKER AFTER DARK SEASON 5 SKED

NBC has just announced details of Season 5 of its popular Poker After Dark series, which launches early in the new year.

Among changes we’ll see will be several more cash-game episodes than there were this season. Watching the players winning and losing six-figure money was a hit in 2008, and the stakes are going even higher in 2009.

This NBC preview of the season also mentions the upcoming “Dream Match” episode featuring amateur Arnold Thimons of Pennsylvania, who blogged about his experience taping the show right here on LuckyDogPoker.com.

Look for “Arnold’s Antics” blog to return to LuckyDog Poker when Thimons’ “Dream Match” episodes air the week of March 23.

For more about Thimons and his brush with celebrity against poker’s elite, you also can check out my interview column from October.

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Looking for a late-winter getaway featuring gobs of top-level poker action? You won’t find a better spot than the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino, home of the world’s largest poker room.

In a news release today, the LAPC announced the addition of three $10K championship buy-in events to go along with their highly popular no-limit hold’em championship, a WPT event with an anticipated prize pool of $6 million.

If that’s a little steep for you, there are plenty of events in the $300 and $500 range to play during the 6-week tournament that stretches from Jan. 22 to March 2.

I’ve played in the LAPC stud tournament before (lots of fun), and it’s hard to beat the live games available during the tournament (or anytime, really).

Here’s the tournament schedule.

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Anyone who plays poker — especially online — should take a look at this transcript of today’s live chat session with Gilbert M. Gaul, the Washington Post investigative reporter who wrote this weekend’s report called “Inside Bet”, and Serge Ravitch, a professional online poker player who helped crack one of the game’s biggest scandals.

The transcript includes links to the Post’s main series and e-mail addresses for the reporter and player fielding the questions — both of whom promised to answer follow-up questions.

The series should bring some much-needed mainstream exposure to the issue of legalizing online poker — even if the news peg for the piece is the cheating scandals at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. Players want cheaters exposed, too, and this story should help convince many people that poker, America’s game, deserves regulation and protection in this country.

I missed the 60 Minutes telecast last night, done in partnership with the Post, because I was driving across northern Illinois (returning from a trip home to West Virginia) in all of that wind and snow. I’ll look it up on the Internet, though, hopeful that it was as well-presented as the Post series.

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NEWS RELEASE

LAS VEGAS – The Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino announces two new major poker projects signed at the legendary resort.

The property has partnered with Game Show Network to film the fifth season of High Stakes Poker in The Grand poker room Dec. 19-21. Also, the Golden Nugget signed a deal with the World Poker Tour to become the new Las Vegas home of their successful and popular WPT Boot Camp, starting with a two-day Tournament Camp Jan. 24-25, 2009.
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AMATEUR SHINES BRIGHT IN WSOP SPOTLIGHT

For nearly four months, Dennis Phillips was in the brightest poker spotlight imaginable as chip leader heading into final-table play of the super-hyped 2008 World Series main event.

The glare didn’t phase him.

The 53-year-old trucking company account manager in St. Louis bore his notoriety like a true champion. He led the way in generous charitable efforts among the nine finalists. He remained gracious despite agreeing to more than 200 interviews. And, although he finished third, no one partied bigger when the action ended last week.

My column on Phillips just prior to the final table captured the kind of person he is, but our conversation covered much additional detail about the man who was the highest-finishing American in the tournament.

I just posted the entire interview transcript so you’ll have an even better view of the man who became a terrific ambassador for the game.

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The numbers are in and, certainly compared to last year’s World Series final-table show, it appears the delayed 2008 showdown was a hit on TV.

Nearly 2.4 million viewers were tuned in to ESPN’s unprecedented same-day coverage Tuesday night to see Peter Eastgate of Denmark take the title.

The telecast earned a 1.9 rating, up 46% from 1.3 for the final showdown in 2007, and represents 1,905,000 homes and 2,364,000 viewers in the average minute. Those are increases of 53% in homes (from 1,249,000) and 52% among viewers (from 1,552,000), ESPN reported.

For the 2008 season’s schedule of 32 shows, averages were 0.9 rating, 919,000 homes and 1,126,000 people, up 13% among homes (from 815,000) and 15% among viewers (from 981,000).

You can expect some tweaking next year — 3-hour show instead of 2, summaries of action not shown but crucial to understanding table dynamics, etc. — but the numbers certainly indicate a delayed final-table telecast is in the cards again in 2009.

Here’s what WSOP Comish Jeffrey Pollack had to say…

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FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS

On the very day poker fans watched the most-anticipated World Series final table ever…

On the very day poker gurus at ESPN and Harrah’s and the WSOP hoped to attract new players to the game and spread some positive poker goodwill across the planet…

The Bush administration published rules for the UIGEA, which threatens a huge chunk of the game’s lifeblood and popularity. Not to mention people’s personal freedoms.

In a crazy one-day twist of events, the poker world on Tuesday went from crowning its new world champion to seeing the GOP-led effort to thwart and punish online poker take a significant foothold.

And, staying in character, the GOP — which pushed the ill-conceived UIGEA into law at the dead of midnight two years ago, attached to a must-pass port-security bill — got the law’s rules and procedures published just in the nick of time so they’ll take effect Jan. 19, one day before President Bush exits the White House. With everything else going on, how ridiculous is that?!

The fight may not be over yet, but online poker just took a nine count in the match and needs to come out battling in the next round.

Here’s an excellent recap of what happened Tuesday and what it means, written by Haley Hintze on pokernews.com.

And this solid report by Bob Pajich on cardplayer.com explains how key legislation favoring online poker will be reintroduced when the new 111th Congress takes over.

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