Stories of the Week (March 1 – 7): Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money

Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner

#5 – Isildur1 Update: The mystery Swede’s stats for the week…

#4 – Poker Legislation: Another state looks to legalize online gambling, and Barney Frank’s crusade gains support…

#3 – LA Poker Classic and the Heads Up Championship: Two big tournaments in the poker world this week…

#2 – Poker: An Olympic Sport? The International Federation of poker issues a statement…

#1 – Robbery at the EPT Berlin: Nobody was seriously injured in a strange story out of Berlin…

#5 – Isildur1 Update

Unless she (what makes you so sure that Isildur1 isn’t a she?) goes on a heater, she’s in danger of losing automatic inclusion in the top stories of the week. Since March 1, she’s only up $33,148.75 – a paltry sum for a full week’s worth of grinding.

She did, however, net $416k on March 6, which would equal $104m a year if repeated five days a week for fifty weeks. $104m a year averaged over an 8 hour work day is $52k/hour.

And, while I’m sworn to secrecy regarding her exact identity, Izzy said it’s fine if I publish this picture:

#4 – Poker Legislation

Iowa took a step towards legalizing intrastate online poker. A group of legislators led by Republican Doug Struyk are officially considering the proposal, which could raise $11.5m in revenue for the state.

In Washington, moderate Congressman Charles Wilson (D-OH) became the 66^th co-sponsor of Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling, Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which would legalize and regulate online gambling in the US.

#3 – LA Poker Classic and the Heads Up Championship

Andras Koroknai won the LA Poker Classic for $1.8m at the Commerce Casino. Koroknai entered heads up play with a 10 to 1 chip lead, and eliminated Raymond Dolan on the first hand when the two got all in preflop, Koroknai’s Q8 to Dolan’s Q4.

As of press time, the final four at the National Heads Up Championship is set. Erik Seidel defeated Peter Eastgate in the quarterfinals, and will face Scotty Nguyen, who defeated Jason Mercier. On the other side of the bracket, Annie Duke faces Dennis Phillips, after the two eliminated Jerry Yang and Doyle Brunson, respectively.

#2 – Poker: An Olympic Sport?

The International Poker Federation responded to rumors about its inclusion in the International Mind Sports Association. It had been reported that the IMSA had accepted poker as a “game of skill” alongside other games such as chess and bridge. The International Olympic Committee recognizes the IMSA, and the news would have been akin to the IOC recognizing poker as a game of skill.

IFP president Anthony Holden issued a statement saying that while inclusion in the IMSA is a goal of the IFT, “…despite very encouraging signs, however, we are not there yet.”

In response to rumors that the International Mind Sports Association will be accepting the International Poker Federation in April.

While inclusion into the IMSA wouldn’t guarantee the eventual status of poker as an Olympic sport, it would presumably lend weight to the legal argument that poker is a game of school.

#1 – EPT Berlin Robbery

After initial reports that 6 gunmen armed with assault rifles and hand grenades had stolen a million dollars at the European Poker Tour Berlin event, an official statement was released:

“Nobody was seriously injured. Four armed men were involved in the robbery which targeted the tournament registration desk outside the tournament area.

No shots were fired and the suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened. The police investigation so far has shown that the suspects had a handgun and a machete. Contrary to tabloid reports, no Kalashnikov assault rifles or hand grenades were used. The suspects did not enter the tournament area and the money taken was substantially less than what has been reported.”

Video footage of the robbery shows separate incidents of those airport style poles with ropes (for organizing queues) being used as weapons. This, coupled with the machete and the amateur feel to the whole thing, has led police to release the following image of the suspects. Nothing ever changes.