EPT Moscow Canceled

The Moscow leg of the European Poker Tour has been canceled. Season 6 of the EPT is to replace the Moscow leg with a €5,000 buy-in tournament in Kiev, Ukraine. The EPT Kiev will take place on August 18th.

The news comes on the back of the announcement which we reported on last week, here at Poker News Headlines, that Russia had declassified poker as sport following new legislation which forced casinos and poker halls to close.

$500 Freeroll Just 6 Days to Register

The second game in The Freeroll League is fast approaching! There are only 6 days left to register for this no-playing requirement $500 cash freeroll tournament on August 1st at 19:30 GMT

big4william won Freeroll 1 and walked away with over $200 in free cash along with 12 valuable Freeroll League points. 4 others cashed in the tournament so with only 32 players registered and the top 5 paid it was a great value freeroll for all concerned.

Freeroll 2 looks set to be even better value. We are expecting a low turn out for this tournament which means winning some cash is even easier! There are NO playing requirements for this freeroll. Simply follow these steps to be eligible:

- Join William Hill Poker Club
- Make your first deposit of at least $30
- Register for the freeroll 48hrs after creating your account

That’s all there is to it! Remember that William Hill Poker Club offer a huge $600 deposit bonus that is very easy to earn. Join today and we’ll see you in the freeroll on August 1st at 19:30 GMT.

WSOP 2009: November Nine Betting

Betfair have released a market for the WSOP main event final. The 2009 November Nine features Darvin Moon with 58,930,000 chips, Eric Buchman is 2nd in chips with 34,800,000, Steven Begleiter is 3rd in chips with 29,885,000, Jeff Shulman is 4th with 19,580,000 in chips, Joseph Cada is 5th with 13,215,000 in chips, Kevin Schaffel starts the final in 6th with 12,319,000 in chips, Phil Ivey is in 7th with 9,765,000 in chips, Antoine Saout enters the final table in 8th place with just 9,500,000 chips and James Akenhead is the short stack in 9th place with 6,800,000 in chips.

The current odds for the 2009 November Nine are as follows:

Darvin Moon – 3/1
Eric Buchman – 9/2
Jeff Shulman – 11/2
Steven Begleiter – 6/1
Phil Ivey – 7/1
Kevin Schaffel – 15/1
Joseph Cada – 15/1
James Akenhead – 17/1
Antoine Saout – 20/1

Poker No Longer a Sport in Russia

Russian authorities have declared that poker can no longer be considered as a sport in their country. The former classification allowed some former casinos to stay open as card halls after new gambling regulation went into effect last month. Now that loophole has been closed it will be much harder for Russians to play poker in their own country.

Vitaly Mutko, minister of sports, tourism and youth politics, said; “poker doesn’t exist as a sport.”

In a decree on the minstry’s website Prosecutor General Yury Chaika called on officers to “decisively сlamp down on illegal gambling activity, including that done on the Internet, through poker clubs, fruit machines, etc.”

Howard Stern Joins the PPA

Shock-jock radio host Howard Stern has made a surprising move by joining the Poker Players Alliance. The PPA, which boasts over one million members worldwide, has attracted the support of many high-profile celebrities and Stern is the latest to offer his support to the group.

Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of The Poker Players Alliance, said after appearing on Stern’s radio show; “I can’t think of a more fitting way to kick off National Poker Week than having my friend, Howard Stern, become a member of the PPA. I thank him for having me on his show this morning and for supporting the PPA’s efforts to protect the freedom of American citizens to play the great game of poker at the time and place of their choosing.

Playing Poker in the Recession: Ten Tips to Poker Wealth

Each time we turn on the television, read a newspaper or even surf the web we are warned that the global recession is set to get worse before it gets better. Job losses, repossessions and general doom and gloom are the order of the day and that climate is certain to have a knock-on effect to every industry, poker and gambling included.

Today we’re going to lift the financial doom and gloom by providing readers with our fool proof guide to playing poker in the recession and how to get the most from your deposits and buy ins.

PokerStars Smash New Poker World Record

PokerStars have made their way into the Guinness Book of World Records a couple of times in recent years. Now the biggest of online poker rooms is at it again!

‘Stars have smashed their own record for number of players in an online tournament. The old record stood at an amazing 35,000 players. That figure was crushed by the latest tournament designed to attract big player numbers; a $1 entry event with $100,000 added by PokerStars.

Asian Poker Tour Macau to star in Chinese Poker Film

AsianLogic, owners of the Asian Poker Tour, have announced an historic first for poker in Asia. The hotly anticipated Asian Poker Tour Macau Festival, taking place 12-23 August 2009 at the Galaxy Starworld, will be featured in a ground-breaking Chinese language poker movie. Many believe the film will have a similar impact on poker in Asia as the 1998 Hollywood film Rounders did in the western world

The movie is provisionally titled ‘Poker King’ and will be directed by famous Chinese language director Chan Hing-Kai and Janet Chun and, produced by Amy Chin and Chan Hing-Kai. It tells the story of two bitter poker rivals competing for world championship glory.

WSOP 2009: Main Event payouts, Eric Cloutier leads after Day 2a

Day 2a has just been completed at the WSOP 2009 main event and we’ve just been handed details of of the full payouts for this year. Unsurprisingly, due to the capacity turnout, the money is eye-wateringly large! Peter Eastgate picked up $8.5 million for his victory in last years event and this years winner can expect a similar pay day.

The top 63 players can expect to walk away with over $100,000 in winnings whilst players reaching the money stages will be pleased to know they will have doubled their buy-in with $21,365 on offer for the first paying place in 648th.

The top 9 players will win the following:

1 – $8,546,435
2 – $5,182,601
3 – $3,479,485
4 – $2,502,787
5 – $1,953,395
6 – $1,587,133
7 – $1,404,002
8 – $1,300,228
9 – $1,263,602

The top 5 players following Day 2a are:

Eric Cloutier – 384000 chips
Ed Perry – 370000 chips
Brandon Demes – 369800 chips
Jamie Brown – 360000 chips
Kyle Wilson – 335000 chips