President-elect Donald Trump (R) has spent the past few weeks putting together his cabinet and other roles within government, one of which happens to be an avid poker player. Billy Long (R-Missouri) is Trump’s pick to head the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after the incoming republican president takes office Jan. 20, 2025, four years after he was removed from the position following a defeat at the hands of Joe Biden (D).

Table Of Contents Dylan Smith was razor-focused on Day 5 of the 2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship with one thought in mind: to best his fifth-place finish in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown earlier this year. “It was disappointing coming in with the major chip lead and then going out fifth," he told PokerNews yesterday. “I feel very lucky to be able to potentially get redemption this quickly.

Table Of Contents The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) was back in Vegas for two weeks of poker at the Horseshoe Las Vegas where 18 WSOPC rings found their way onto as many fingers. The WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Las Vegas kicked off on November 21 with the $400 Race to a Ring event. The festival closed out with Eric Baldwin’s victory in the $3,300 High Roller event on December 3.

Cory Zeidman, who told PokerNews he wouldn’t plead guilty, entered a guilty plea on Thursday for his role in a $25 million sports betting fraud case. The longtime poker player pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud more than two years after his arrest. He issued a statement shortly after his 2022 indictment, quoting a German philosopher in the process. “In the words of (German philosopher Friedrich) Nietzsche, ‘Everything the state says is a lie and everything it has it has stolen.

Table Of Contents Eight months ago, Landon Tice and Dylan Smith stood smiling among a group of six players posing for a championship event final table photo in the back of the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood ballroom. Last night, they did the exact same thing. Tice and Smith both final-tabled April’s World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship, which played out the following month at the HyperX ESports Arena in Las Vegas.

Table Of Contents The historic $5 Million ClubWPT Gold Invitational Freeroll next weekend will feature hundreds of recreational players from around the world all competing for life-changing money at Wynn Las Vegas. But there will also be a good mix of pros, content creators, and non-poker personalities competing in the record-breaking event. Never before has the poker world seen a freeroll with a pot even close to as massive as what we’re all about to witness Dec.

Table Of Contents The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague shuffled up and dealt for the first time this afternoon, with the first starting flight of the €1,100 Eureka Main Event kicking off inside King’s Casino Prague in the Hilton. The festival, which runs until December 15, promises an action-packed schedule featuring the inaugural Live Spin & Go Championship. Still, there’s plenty of excitement away from the tables should you need to take a break from the poker grind and experience some of the delights the City of Spires offers.

Table Of Contents Paul Vogel may not have cashed in this week’s 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, but that hardly matters to the ClubWPT qualifier. After several years away from poker, the 57-year-old Merrick, New York resident was just happy to be back at the poker table. Vogel, who won a WSOP Circuit ring in 2010 before stepping back from poker to focus on raising his family of seven.

Jennifer Tilly, on Tuesday’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills episode, revealed some news about her wealth that her Hollywood — and poker fans — probably didn’t know. The actress and fan favorite on televised poker shows such as High Stakes Poker has made several appearances on Season 14 of the hit reality TV show, RHOBH. She isn’t the focal point of the season, and has joined the show as a “friend” of one of the Beverly Hills housewives.

Table Of Contents The official final table of six is set in the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship with 23-year-old Matthew Beinner leading the way as he looks for his first major poker title. Beinner will be joined on Day 5 by recent WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown runner-up Landon Tice, who is second in chips, along with Dylan Smith, Francis Anderson, Paul Domb and Florian Ribouchon.

Table Of Contents In early November, Resorts World played host to the 2024 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT). The festival proved to be a tremendous success with Nick Marchington ultimately winning the $5,000 NAPT Main Event for $765,200. In addition to plenty of no-limit hold’em action, the stop was filled with several high-profile mixed game tournaments as well as the Mixed Game Festival IX hosted by Robbie Strazynski’s Cardplayer Lifestyle.

Table Of Contents The PokerNews Online Championship may have concluded last week, but 888poker remains a thriving hub for online poker action. This past weekend, their flagship online tournament attracted more than a thousand entries, proving once again why it’s a must-play event for the Sunday grind. The $100,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event lived up to its reputation, drawing 1,059 entries and surpassing its guarantee with a final prize pool of $105,900.

Table Of Contents The most eventful day so far of the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood wrapped up Monday night with Darryll Fish leading the 16 remaining players as the 2018 Lucky Hearts Poker Open champion looks for a second WPT title. Fish will have his work cut out for him on Day 4 as he faces a table that includes Landon Tice and Dylan Smith, both of whom ran deep in this same venue earlier this year with final table finishes in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.

Table Of Contents Poker coach Faraz Jaka demonstrated his short-handed poker prowess last year as he won the $1,500 Shootout for his first bracelet and again this summer with a runner-up finish in the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship. The Jaka Coaching founder and former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year once again demonstrated his short-handed skillset by winning a Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open $10,000 Deep Stack for $313,495 after a grueling heads-up battle against Phillip Krnyaich that lasted several hours.

Table Of Contents In October, a one-outer from Vitalijs Polukejevs dashed Niall Campbell’s hopes of victory in the 2024 IPO Main Event. Despite the heartbreak, Campbell didn’t dwell on the loss for long. Just weeks later, he reinvested a small portion of his €28,900 winnings to journey from Ireland to the United Kingdom and enter the GUKPT Grand Final Main Event. The decision paid off handsomely, as Campbell topped a 395-entry field to secure the lion’s share of the £415,620 prize pool.

Table Of Contents After previously walking away from the 2024 Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event title on his own terms earlier this year, Nichan Khorchidian has now claimed victory at the 2024 Merit Poker Gatsby Gala Series Main Event. Battling through a competitive 614-entry field inside the stunning Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino, Khorchidian emerged triumphant, earning a career-best score of $307,700 and proving that this time, the trophy was his to take home.

The biggest live poker event of the year in South Africa and in the history of the SunBet Poker Tour (SPT) has come to an end. Mauritius based Saurabh Gulati has taken down the 504-entry strong 2024 SPT GrandWest Main Event after a three-way deal. He took home the biggest slice of the ZAR 6,350,400 ($351,395) prize pool and denied a home victory for several fierce local competitors at the GrandWest Casino outside of Cape Town on the southern cusp of the African continent.

Popular poker vlogger Brad Owen busted the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in sickening fashion as he ran pockets kings into aces. The “brutal cooler,” documented in the WPT live updates, took place on Day 2 inside of the money after starting the day short and battling back from under five big blinds. To make it even sicker, Owen’s opponent, Roman Korenev, flopped a set of aces as Owen turned a set of kings before failing to hit a miracle one-outer.

The $1,100 buy-in, $5,000,000 GTD WPT Prime Championship will take place from Dec. 8-14 at the Wynn Las Vegas as a part of the WPT World Championship Festival (Dec. 3-23). Last year, Calvin Anderson topped a field of 10,512 entrants – nearly double that of 2022 – to win the 2023 WPT Prime Championship for $1,386,280. The WPT Prime proved so successful that it won the Global Poker Award for Best Mid-Major Tour/Circuit.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise series is just days away, and poker players attending need to be made aware of a rule change that will impact the use of electronic devices at the table. Play begins in the Bahamas Dec. 6, and the series features 13 live gold bracelet events (plus two online), all to be live reported right here at PokerNews. The second annual festival at the Atlantis Paradise Island is highlighted by the record-setting $25,000 WSOP Super Main Event starting Dec.

Table Of Contents Last December, Dan Sepiol won $5.2 million in the $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship, one of the biggest tournaments in poker history. Now, 11 months later, he secured another seven-figure score, but not one that will make it onto Hendon Mob. On Thanksgiving Day, Sepiol won a daily fantasy football tournament for $1 million. The million-dollar victory didn’t come under festive circumstances, however. The 30-year-old spent the holiday on a flight from Las Vegas to Florida for the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, which is where he was when he clinched the huge score.

In November, the new poker documentary The Ultimate Stack was released for free on YouTube (check out our review of the film here). Leading up to it, the PokerNews Podcast helped promote the documentary by giving away a coveted seat into the $5,000,000 ClupWPT Gold Invitational Freeroll. To enter, viewers/listeners had to make sure they were signed up for ClubWPT Gold and then simply put “PokerNews” in the comment section on YouTube.

Table Of Contents A New Year is right around the corner and 888poker has wasted no time in releasing the details for its 2025 888poker LIVE and UK Poker League (UKPL) festivals. 888poker LIVE features five stops in 2025, with the UKPL’s second season six destination, including some new venues. 888poker has also informed PokerNews of a special promotion where you could be playing for an 888poker LIVE Ultimate Passport, worth $2,200, for free.

The second and final starting flight of the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood wrapped up on Saturday night with 247 players remaining and Spain’s Javier Zarco bagging the chip leader over big stacks Francis Anderson, Jessica Dawley and Al Norman. Day 1b drew 739 entrants, bringing the total number of runners to 1,435 for a prize pool of just under $4.

Table Of Contents Poker X has been relatively calm since the US presidential election a few weeks ago. Correction: “had” been calm. Tensions are heating up on the social media platform after Vanessa Kade criticized CoinPoker for hiring Benjamin “bencb789” Rolle as an ambassador. Kade referred to the online poker star as an “overt sexist,” and wrote that the site made a “disappointing hire.” Ryan Depaulo jumped in to bash his former ACR Poker peer to criticize her comments, and then things spiraled out of control.

Table Of Contents The last month has been an eventful one for Kristen Foxen, from winning her fifth World Series of Poker bracelet in an online event to being selected for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame alongside industry veteran Jeanne David. And all of this just four months after the biggest moment of the Canadian’s storied poker career that saw her finishing 13th in the WSOP Main Event, coming shy of being the second woman in history to make the final table of the prestigious event.

Table Of Contents The first of two starting flights in the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open in South Florida wrapped up with 238 players remaining and Frank Stepuchin leading the way as “Frank the Tank” looks for a second WPT title. Day 1a of the $3 million guaranteed event at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood drew 696 players and no shortage of local and nationwide crushers. PokerNews wrote about some of the early opening flight action, which you can read about here.

Before the Thanksgiving leftovers could be re-heated, the 2024 World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open got underway at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. And despite the overlap with the holiday weekend, the first flight had no trouble attracting top players from Florida and nationwide. Even though the tournament kicked off on Black Friday (no, not that Black Friday), there was no discount for the hundreds of players who made the trip to the South Florida property.

Table Of Contents The $1,100 buy-in, $5,000,000 GTD WPT Prime Championship will take place from Dec. 8-14 at the Wynn Las Vegas as a part of the WPT World Championship Festival (Dec. 3-23). Last year, Calvin Anderson topped a field of 10,512 entrants – nearly double that of 2022 – to win the 2023 WPT Prime Championship for $1,386,280. The WPT Prime proved so successful that it won the Global Poker Award for Best Mid-Major Tour/Circuit.

Poker private game high roller Dan Bilzerian has filed a lawsuit against his dad, Paul Bilzerian, over an “unlawful removal” from a cannabis company he co-founded, Ignite International Brands, Ltd. The elder Bilzerian is currently facing federal felony fraud charges for allegedly using Ignite to funnel money hidden from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from a 1990s eight-figure civil lawsuit. Paul Bilzerian, federal investigators claim, secretly controlled Ignite, and the poker playing son doesn’t seem to dispute those claims, court documents indicate.

Table Of Contents The GUKPT Grand Final in Luton has reached its business end, with the £1,500 High Roller dealing its final hand just as excitement for the £1,250 GUKPT Grand Final Main Event began to build at Grosvenor G Casino on Park Street West. Keith Johnson delivered another standout performance to claim his second major title of 2024, earning £46,420 after emerging victorious from the High Roller’s 104-entry field. Johnson navigated a fiercely competitive final table and triumphed over Mukhtar Ahmed in heads-up, claiming the lion’s share of the £149,760 prize pool and pushing his live tournament earnings past $300,000 for the year.

Table Of Contents Yesterday, Pokerstars announced a partnership with the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers. The deal will allow players on the PokerStars platform to win match tickets and signed Flyers memorabilia in a series of special online poker tournaments. Players can also win tickets and merch through a monthly sweepstakes hosted by PokerStars Casino. The merch and ticket tourneys will be available to players on the PokerStars client in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Table Of Contents The Venetian Las Vegas, which a few months ago debuted its new 50-table, 14,000 square foot poker room (the largest on the Las Vegas Strip), just wrapped up its latest DeepStack Showdown Series, which ran from October 11 through November 24. Through 79 events, the festival catered to a combined 8,997 entries and awarded $2,247,495 in prize money (not including satellites). They also forked over $31,665 in overlays.

Table Of Contents The brains behind Stretch Network always look for ways to enrich its customers’ playing experience, and they had done precisely that by launching two brand-new features for its online poker client. Players can now voluntarily reveal their hole cards at showdown and use bonus funds for cash game play. Show/Muck Comes to Stretch Network You can add another layer of strategy to your Stretch Network poker sessions by choosing to show your hole cards at showdown.

Table Of Contents The World Series of Poker Circuit festival at the Commerce Casino in California wrapped up proceedings yesterday. After two weeks and 18 ring events, the festival came to a close with its $1,700 Main Event crowning a winner. That winner was television producer and Canadian poker pro Matthew Salsberg, who took down the WSOP Circuit Commerce Main Event, earning $286,134 as well as pocketing the gold championship ring.

Table Of Contents Four elite competitors in their fields faced off in Las Vegas last week in Global Poker Table Talk Vegas, an event that paired Formula 1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. with Olympic legend Michael Phelps and poker superstar Antonio Esfandiari. The GP Table Talk Vegas on Tuesday, Nov. 19 inside PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino kicked off race week as one of severalcelebrity-packed events as the city hosted F1 for the second straight year.