Table Of Contents Do you remember the online poker room Lock Poker and how it shut down, owing millions of dollars to players in the form of unsettled withdrawal requests? While the millions of dollars are still missing and unlikely to be returned, court documents suggest that the founder and CEO of Lock Poker finds herself on the hook for over $2.2 million in damages caused as a result of Lock’s parent company going bankrupt.

Table Of Contents Businessman and former King’s Resort owner Leon Tsoukernik awoke from a coma after collapsing at his residence in Chodová Planá, Czechia, earlier this week. Tsoukernik, 51, was hospitalized in critical condition on Monday following what has been reported as an overdose involving the sedative propofol, the same drug that killed pop star Michael Jackson. But after 40 hours in a coma, Tsoukernik woke up. “I just received word that Leon was able to wake up,” a confidential source from the businessman’s inner circle told Blesk.

Table Of Contents The Charleville Park Hotel in County Cork is where the poker action is at from January 24-26 because the Irish Poker Tour is in town for the weekend. The hotel hosts the 2025 edition of the Munster Poker Festival, which features a €200 buy-in Main Event with a €70,000 guaranteed prize pool. The inaugural Munster Poker Festival ran in June 2022 at The Firgrove Hotel in Mitchelstown. Back then, the Irish Poker Tour was still in its infancy, and the festival featured a trio of events: a €150 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, a €250 Munster Poker Cup, and a €100 NLHE side event.

Table Of Contents The Charleville Park Hotel in County Cork is where the poker action is at from January 24-26 because the Irish Poker Tour is in town for the weekend. The hotel hosts the 2025 edition of the Munster Poker Festival, which features a €200 buy-in Main Event with a €70,000 guaranteed prize pool. The inaugural Munster Poker Festival ran in June 2022 at The Firgrove Hotel in Mitchelstown. Back then, the Irish Poker Tour was still in its infancy, and the festival featured a trio of events: a €150 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, a €250 Munster Poker Cup, and a €100 NLHE side event.

A top US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) attorney was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for reportedly failing to report millions in poker winnings and diverting legal fees to pay for his personal poker debts. Tom Goldstein, who according to CNBC has appeared before the Supreme Court “more times than nearly any other attorney in private practice in modern times,” was charged in Maryland with tax evasion, falsifying tax returns, failing to pay taxes, and making false statements to two separate mortgage lenders.

Table Of Contents The Horseshoe Tunica is set to host another round of World Series of Poker Circuit events this January. The WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica kicks off on January 23 and will run for 11 days, closing out on February 3. Those 11 days feature 18 ring events as well as daily side events and satellites. Players will compete for WSOPC gold and at least $1.1 million in guaranteed prize pools, including the $500,000 that is guaranteed for the $1,700 Main Event alone.

Table Of Contents It is not a great time to be a fan of either of the Manchester-based Premier League clubs right now. Manchester City are a shadow of their former selves, while city neighbors Manchester United are hilariously 15th place in the table. Poker players from Manchester, however, are in a great spot because the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) heads to the Grosvenor Casino Bury New Road from January 29 for the 2025 edition of GUKPT Manchester.

Table Of Contents January is kicking off with some exciting firsts of the year for 888poker! The team is already making moves with the start of the 888poker LIVE Madrid Festival, while the 888poker UKPL Portsmouth event is set to shuffle up and deal on January 21. And if that’s not enough, tomorrow marks the start of the XL Winter Series, the platform’s inaugural major online tournament series of the year.

Table Of Contents A professional poker player with a violent criminal history is now being accused of scamming poker players from Las Vegas to Florida. Lenard Adams, aka “Lucky” in the poker world and the “Sweetheart Swindler” to police, was charged in 2017 with rape, fraud, intimidation, kidnapping, and theft in Indiana, according to CBS Chicago. He was alleged to have told women he was a neurosurgeon looking to buy children gifts for charity.

Table Of Contents Dozens of the world’s top online poker players descended on GGPoker over the weekend and bought into the GGMillion$ High Rollers event. Some 158 entries of $10,300 created a $1,580,000 prize pool that the top 20 finishers shared, and it was Aleksejs Ponakovs who came out on top, leaving a trail of superstars in his wake. A min-cash weighed in at $20,980, with the likes of Barak Wisbrod and Leon Sturm helping themselves to that particular sum.

Table Of Contents Kerryjane Craigie, PokerStars Ambassador and Director of Poker at the Hippodrome Casino, is embracing 2025 with a fresh outlook and exciting opportunities. Starting the year on a high note, she shares her enthusiasm for upcoming events, and celebrates the incredible milestones achieved by women in poker. Craigie reflects on the achievements of 2024 and looks ahead to making an even greater impact in the year to come. In this blog, she delves into her goals for 2025, upcoming events, and the continued mission to build a welcoming and vibrant poker community for all.

Table Of Contents The real court system, not the Court of Public Opinion, was correct in finding football star Orenthal James “OJ” Simpson, who died last year, not-guilty of murder in 1995, so says a guest on the Mania Podcast, hosted by Daniel Negreanu and Amanda Negreanu. Alex Tomé, a friend of Mrs. Negreanu since childhood, has researched the double murder case that was dubbed “The Trial of the Century” for over 20 years.

Table Of Contents Pamela Belote set a new record for the World Series of Poker Circuit with her victory in the Ladies Event on Sunday. Belote previously held seven WSOPC rings and the women’s joint record for most rings along with La Sengphet. With her win on Sunday, Belote now stands alone with eight rings, more than any other female player. Belote is a regular on the WSOP Circuit, even final tabling two other events at the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Durant just last week alone.

Table Of Contents Former King’s Resort owner and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Leon Tsoukernik is reportedly fighting for his life following a suspected overdose. Reports indicate that this overdose came as a result of the sedative propofol, the same drug that claimed the life of music icon Michael Jackson in 2009. Tsoukernik, who last year sold his estimated €400 million stake in the casino he founded, is said to be in critical condition after collapsing at his home in Czechia on Monday.

Table Of Contents Reaching the final table of a poker tournament does not guarantee you success. However, combining a big stack with a sprinkling of run-good and some solid play often yields results. That is precisely what “Momentum288” did in the latest instalment of the 888poker$100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event. They reached the eight-handed final table as the overall leader and emerged victoriously after a two-hour battle at 888poker’s virtual felt.

Table Of Contents The three New Year Series No-Limit Hold’em Main Events concluded at PokerStars on January 13, and it was Ole “wizowizo” Schemion who emerged with the largest prize of the festival. Schemion took down the $5,200 New Year Series Main Event for $224,424, defeating Brazilian Renan “Internett93o” Bruschi heads-up. The $5,200 Main Event drew in 230 entrants who created a $1,150,000 prize pool. Day 1 ended with only 15 players in contention for the title.

Table Of Contents High Stakes Poker Season 14’s opener featured a barrage of coolers and a gross river card that cost Jared Bleznick a $450,000 pot. The sports card hobbyist and poker star was among seven players in the $200/$400 no-limit hold’em cash game, which aired Monday night on PokerGO. Things started off wonderfully for Bleznick, who earned an early double with pocket aces, but it ended with a brutal bad beat.

Phil Hellmuth has become a brand ambassador of BetRivers, the name behind the newest online poker site in Pennsylvania. The 17-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner has been sporting a BetRivers hat in live tournaments the past couple of months. But now the presumed deal is official, PokerNews has confirmed. BetRivers Poker, the sixth licensed poker site in PA, is owned by Rush Street International (RSI), a gaming company Hellmuth’s had a stake in for years.

Table Of Contents A staggering $8 million is guaranteed to be won during the New Spring Series Lunar Edition online at WPT Global. The festival runs from January 19 through February 10 during which time 30 numbered events and hundreds of side events adorn a schedule that has to be seen to be believed. Want to know more about the WPT Global $8 million guaranteed New Spring Series Lunar Edition? Continue reading to discover the highlights.

Table Of Contents The 2025 Free Poker Network (FPN) Desert Dash-for-Cash National Championship in Las Vegas reached its finale tonight with the Desert Dash-For-Cash Championship Main Event as Marion Massmann won $25,000 and brought another title to Billy’s Bar & Grill in Vergas, Minnesota. Massmann won her seat in July 2024 in an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of a poker raid in Minnesota. It was fitting that her run came as FPN celebrates an anniversary of its own.

Table Of Contents PokerGO is just one day away from launching the first episode of High Stakes Poker Season 14, a season that features some of the most entertaining players in the game, including Phil Hellmuth, Jared Bleznick, and Alan Keating. The season begins Monday, January 13 at 5 p.m. PT with Episode 1. There will be a new episode weekly at the same time on PokerGO for 14 weeks running until April 28.

Table Of Contents The $200 Tag Team Championship at the 2025 Free Poker Network (FPN) Desert Dash-for-Cash National Championship reached its conclusion with the father and son team of Brett and Austin Emerick of Indiana taking home $1,000 and the coveted Tag Team Belts. The Greazy Pickle representatives also won entry into Sunday’s Desert Dash-For-Cash Championship Main Event, where participants will spar for a piece of the $100,000 cash prize and $10,000 in Mystery Bounties.

Table Of Contents It was a fitting ending to the 2024 PokerGO Tour season for Jeremy Ausmus, who won the PGT Championship $1 million freeroll on Saturday, one day after officially securing the PGT Player of the Year award. The two-day tournament at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas paid its champion $500,000. Nick Schulman, a potential Poker Hall of Fame inductee this summer, as is Ausmus, finished in second place out of 50 players and received $200,000.

On January 2, Midwest poker player Chris Roth passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 42. Born May 21, 1982, Roth graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was well-known within the Wisconsin poker community, especially as an Omaha hi-lo player. He had amassed $402,340 in lifetime tournament earnings dating back to 2006 according to The Hendon Mob, which put him 34th on the Wisconsin all-time money list at the time of his passing.

Table Of Contents Jeremy Ausmus used another strong World Series of Poker (WSOP) performance to pull away from the competition in the PokerGO Tour Player of the Year race. The six-time bracelet winner added another notch on his poker resume, one that just might help him soon reach the Poker Hall of Fame. Daniel Negreanu was his closest competitor in the PGT Player of the Year race. But it wasn’t all that close.

Table Of Contents The World Series of Poker Circuit’s second festival of the year will be hosted by the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. As the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Durant gets underway in Oklahoma, across the country in Lincoln, California, the Thunder Valley casino is prepping for the next festival. The team there is getting ready to kick-off the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley with a $400 Seniors Event on January 16.

Table Of Contents The 2025 Free Poker Network (FPN) Desert Dash-for-Cash National Championship is in swing at the Golden Nugget in North Las Vegas and saw a one-day tournament play out Thursday in the form of $200 WPT Passport. Craig Ashley of Office Bar in Illinois battled through the final table to win a $5,000 WPT passport, $200 in cash and entry into Sunday’s Championship event. The $200 WPT Passport, which awarded a $5,000 passport to any 2025 WPT stop, drew 89 entrants and offered $200 cash and Championship event entry to players who made the final table.

Table Of Contents The Asian Poker Tour (APT) has unveiled its highly anticipated 2025 season schedule, promising an unforgettable year for players and fans alike. This season brings exciting changes, including the debut of the APT Championship (APTC)—a groundbreaking series finale offering the largest prize pool guarantee in APT history. Kicking off the action is the APT Manila Classic, running from February 7 to 16 at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria.

Table Of Contents The 2024 PokerGO Tour season has just one remaining event, and it’s a $1 million guaranteed freeroll that takes place on Friday. Shannon Shorr wrapped up the “regular” season with a $290,000 win for taking down Event #6 of the PokerGO Tour Last Chance Series in Las Vegas on Thursday, a $10,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, his second win of the series. He defeated 116 entrants, capping it off by dominating a final table that was stacked with high roller regulars such as Stephen Chidwick and Sean Winter.

Table Of Contents Yunkyu Song can start his World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year title defense Feb. 18 in Cambodia, the site of the first Season 23 event. The schedule is now out for the first portion of the upcoming season, including both the WPT Prime Tour and Main Tour. Action begins Feb. 14 in Cambodia, a country located in Southeast Asia, with both Prime and Main Tour events to kick things off.

In 2024, Poker Hall of Famer and 1983 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Tom McEvoy released the 15th book of his career. However, what was different this time was that it was his first non-strategy book. Poker Pioneer, written with the help of Brad Smith (PR Director for the Casino Collectibles Association), is McEvoy’s autobiography, and it delivers on several fronts. In fact, it deserves a spot on your poker bookshelf right there with Phil Hellmuth’s Poker Brat and Mike Sexton’s Life’s a Gamble, especially if you’re a lover of poker history.

The wildfires around Los Angeles has caused devastation to the area, impacting the lives of thousands of people, including two prominent entertainers within the poker community. Actor James Woods, in a video on CNN, broke down in tears describing the fire that left his Pacific Palisades home in shambles. Jennifer Tilly, actress and poker player, along with her significant other Phil Laak, shared on Instagram that the couple left home to avoid the fires while staying at Commerce Casino.

Table Of Contents This past weekend, Minnesota’s Canterbury Park hosted a $400 NLH Monster Stack Event, which attracted 1,116 entrants and offered up a $368,280 prize pool. That made it the venue’s largest-ever standalone tournament, which was quite the accomplishment given it’s one of the Midwest’s longest-running cardrooms. The prize pool, paid out to the top 126 finishers, was originally slated to pay $61,000 to first place with the runner-up slated to receive $41,280.

Table Of Contents After over a dozen years as one of the most recognizable faces of Team Winamax has announced her departure. Gaëlle Baumann joined the roster five months before the 2012 WSOP, famous for her narrowly missing out on the November Nine, and departs almost 13 years later on good terms with “only good memories”. “I am very happy to have lived this whole adventure,” she told Winamax. “I only have good memories of all these years.

Table Of Contents The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) is returning to Oklahoma’s Hard Rock Casino Tulsa this month for Mission RunGood: Tulsa, a stop that will feature 11 ring events over six days of tournament poker action. The RGPS Tulsa stop, running Jan. 21-26, will culminate with an $800 buy-in Main Event with a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool attached. PokerNews will be on-site to live report the Main Event action in Tulsa.

Table Of Contents The World Poker Tour (WPT) has officially announced that Yunkyu Song is the Season 22 Player of the Year. With that in mind, Bin Weng is no longer the reigning champion. Weng had an unforgettable year of poker in 2023 that included a WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown title and fourth place finish at WPT Choctaw. He couldn’t replicate that success in 2024, however, leaving the door open for some other crushers to take the reins, none of whom could defeat Song.

Table Of Contents Online poker players in the US and Canada have an exciting series to look forward to this month. The PokerStars North America Winter Series kicks off next week on Jan. 17 and runs through Feb. 3. Players in Ontario (Canada), Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania can all get in on the juicy action with at least $4.5 million in prize money being awarded across the three PokerStars North America sites.

A-list actor Timothée Chalamet may play a poker player in 2019’s A Rainy Day in New York, but the 29-year-old also has poker chops in real life. That much was revealed during the 2025 Golden Globes, where Chalamet was nominated for Best Performance by a Male actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown. The French-American actor believably depicted the legendary folk rock musician in a biopic that documented a tumultuous cultural shift in the mid-1960s but lost out to Adrien Brody for his performance as László Tóth in The Brutalist.

Table Of Contents The Irish Poker Tour’s first event of 2025 is over. The Galway Poker Festival has crowned 18 champions, including one in the massive €700 buy-in Main Event. Over 3,000 players descended on The Galmont Hotel in Galway between January 1-6, helping to smash every guarantee the Irish Poker Tour placed on its tournaments. Some 694 players bought into the €700 Galway Poker Festival Main Event, resulting in a €418,570 prize pool.

Table Of Contents The Casino de Marrakech at the luxurious Es Saadi Marrakech Resort in Morocco again plays host to the World Series of Poker International Circuit between January 10-19. During the ten-day poker extravaganza, 12 coveted WSOPC rings will be won, including one in the eagerly-anticipated WSOPC Marrakech Main Event. January 10 sees the first of 12 WSOPC ring-awarding events shuffle up and deal, the No-Limit Hold’em Opener. It features a trio of starting flights, each costing the equivalent of €400, and crowns its champion on January 12 during Day 2.