Full Tilt Poker was quick to issue a general statement that it was – under no reasonable interpretation – involved in a Ponzi scheme. Of course, Full Tilt Poker is busy lining up new investors, and trying to get its license from the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC). Of course, the AGCC has given Full Tilt an extension of the suspension, rather than fully revoking their license. If the latter happens, Full Tilt could argue that it was AGCC that prevented them from paying back its players.

To be continued, and we will be tracking this one closely….

The lawsuit alleges that Maguire and his buddies played in "controlled games" at five-star locales like the Four Seasons hotel and luxurious private homes in Beverly Hills, and that one woman in particular—identified as Molly Bloom—arranged for the food, booze and other amenities offered to the players, as well as kept track of everyone's winnings and losses. Maguire's response states that he did not know whether or not the games were so-called controlled games, or whether the venues he played at were licensed to host games (per California gambling law, it's illegal to operate any controlled game without the appropriate license).

What’s the key argument for letting Americans bet on their favorite card game?

Poker is predominately a game of skill, proponents say, in which players compete with each other, not the house. Chance is only a distant factor – perhaps 12 percent over many hands, according to one study – at least for those considered skilled.

The bill’s advocates say players may get cards by a random deal, but the best of them are able to beat the inherent odds by using math, bluffing and reading their opponents, betting astutely, and knowing when to fold. They equate the game with Scrabble in that age-old debate over skill versus chance in many games.

The Justice Department, at least for now, isn’t buying it. In April, it indicted three giant poker websites in other countries under the 2006 law. (Poker itself is legal; it is the money side that isn’t.)

The bill is being put to Congress during a time when crackdowns happen on the Full Tilt Poker online operation – last week the US attorney in Manhattan, NYC, filed fraud charges against Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker, alleging that these companies have been in violation of a US law that bans companies from knowingly accepting payments from US customers and US banks that relate to illegal online gambling. Allegations are of massive fraud and money laundering for billions of US dollars. Following the allegations, five egambling licenses of Full Tilt Poker in Alderney (UK) were suspended. As a result, Full Tilt Poker's operations appear to have halted in Europe. Money owed to US players by Full Tilt Poker will allegedly be returned to these players following a acquisition of Full Tilt Poker's parent company Pocket Kings by a group of European investors. Europe-based Poker operators that had withdrawn earlier (2006) from the US, and had stopped accepting US-based players – such as Titan Poker and 888, are expected to pick up play from Full Tilt Poker.

Fernando Brito from Portugal is the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Player of the Year after picking up the gong last night at Pacha nightclub, Madrid during the EPT Grand Finalfinal table.

The 52-year-old businessman topped the POY table after scoring:

6th – EPT London main event
1st – four €1,000 NL Turbo Random Bounty events 
2nd – one €1,000 NL Turbo Random Bounty events
1st – back-to-back €10,000 buy in events 
5th – €10,000 buy in San Remo
37th – EPT Madrid Grand Final

He said upon receiving his award, “We can only sing victory when it’s achieved, so I didn’t believe I had won until yesterday when I cashed in the Grand Final Main Event. I am very thankful to my family and friends – I couldn’t have done this without them. Now I’m going to try to do it again next season!”

The other award winners on the night were:

EPT Omaha Player of the Year: Dario Alioto
EPT Mixed Game Player of the Year: Matthew Ashton
EPT Heads-Up Player of the Year: Diogo Veiga 
EPT Country of the Year: Ireland
EPT Online Qualifier of the Year: Martin Jacobson
EPT Achievement of the Year: Max Heinzelmann 
EPT Players’ Choice Award: Max Heinzelmann

From http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/11329-european-poker-tour-award-winners-announced

The latest Washington Supreme Court ruling on online poker actually reiterates the fact that online poker is banned in the state; immediately,  two more online poker rooms have decided to take the next train out.

Last year’s Poker Players Alliance backed attempts to overturn existing laws that make online poker and gambling illegal in the state proved to be fruitless. The Supreme Court upheld all previous laws in the statute books that anybody in Washington State found gambling online would be charged with a Felony C crime – one of the harshest anti-gambling laws in the United States.

Soon after this ruling, which looked to be the end of the road for gambling proponent groups, Poker Stars announced that it was leaving the state and blocking all players from Washington from playing at its site. Soon after that, Full Tilt Poker made a similar announcement, although Washington players who can prove to have an out-of-state address will be accepted to the state.

This week, however, it was announced that two more online poker sites are leaving the Washington cyber region, namely Matchbook.com and VIP Sports. Both have stated that they will be ceasing all operations in the state, effective immediately.

At each event, there will be a Pro-Am tournament, followed by a charity and then the main event.

The Pro-Am will have a $1,500 buy-in and each of the final nine players in that event will receive a temporary tour card to earn their spot into the $20,000 rake-free main event. 

Here's a look at the schedule released on Thursday:

Event 1: August 12-19, 2011

• Pro-Am: August 12-15
• Charity: August 14
• Main event: August 16-19

Event 2: September 30-October 7, 2011

• Pro-Am: September 30-October 3
• Charity: October 2
• Main event: October 4-7

Event 3: December 1-10, 2011

• Pro-Am: December 1-5
• Charity: December 4
• Main event: December 6-10

Event 4: January 20-27, 2011

• Pro-Am: January 20-23
• Charity: January 22
• Main event: January 24-27

Championship: January 29-30, 2012

The league's championship will feature the top 27 players in the league standings. It will be a $1 million freeroll event.

Each of the four events will feature a different format of no-limit hold 'em. There will be a six-handed and heads-up action, as well as a "special multi-format tournament". Details are still being discussed, but Annie Duke is excited that things are finally coming to pass:

"We decided to vary the format of our events to showcase and challenge the skill of the best live tournament players in the world," said Duke. "Our Pro-Am events will create opportunities for break-out stars to shine."

Less than five months remain before the start of this league at the Palms – we should be able to see how this league fares beginning in August. Probably the next thing we'll hear about are the players who earned their seats and at that point, we can start to gauge which players are buying-in and hopefully, where on TV the action will be broadcast.