Party Gaming was forced to leave the U.S. market as they are a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange and have to answer to their shareholders, who would be allowed to take action against Party Gaming if Party gaming suffered severe penalties by refusing to leave the volatile U.S. market.

In an interview with Forbes, the CEO of Party Gaming, Mitch Garber had this to say, “These discussions are progressing constructively and I remain confident that we will reach a resolution in 2008. It’s very hard to predict. There;s some fluidity to it. We’re in the midst of a process and our attorneys tell us it is moving in the right direction and at the right speed.”

Party Gaming would like to operate in the U.S. market but will not be able to until the UIGEA, which is facing a large dose of negative pressure, is overturned. Until then, only private companies like Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars will be competing for the US consumer’s attention.

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The law punishes offenders as if they were guilty of possessing child pornography or grand theft auto, punishments that seem overly excessive to many in the state, who do not see how playing online poker can possibly be as serious of a crime.

The judge did not agree with Rousso’s arguments and so the ban that makes playing online poker a class c felony will remain. State attorneys are pleased with the decision, but Rousso remains optimistic, as he said, “Even though it was a loss today, I still think some good things will come of it.”

The Poker Players Alliance had organized a rally to show their support of Rousso’s efforts. Approximately fifty people, including professional poker players Barry Greenstein and Andy Bloch attended the rally, as did a number of media outlets.

Lee Rousso may have lost this fight, but he will continue his battle against Washington’s ban on online poker.

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Once again the World Poker Tour will be looking for a new hostess as Layla Kayleigh has decided not to return for a second season. This will mark the fourth season in a row where the WPT will look for a new hostess. Kayleigh made an announcement on her MySpace page that personal reasons caused her to walk away from the WPT, including a desire to travel less.

When speaking on Kayleigh’s departure a WPT spokesman said, “Layla Kayleigh brought great edge, wit, and personality to the WPT as hostess in Season VI and we sincerely wish her well as she continues to explore her TV career. We are currently casing for the Season VII TV hostess role and look forward to introducing the new hostess to everyone soon.”

Kayleigh is also the current hostess for MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew and also appears in one section of Attack of the Show on G4. Speculation suggests that the new hostess will be Kimberly Lansing, who is currently the online video host for the WPT.

The WPT hasn’t been able to retain a hostess for more than one season since Shana Hiatt left after the third season of the WPT. She was succeeded by Sabina Gadecki who did Season IV and Courtney Friel who hosted Season V. With the departure of Kayleigh, the Season VI host, the WPT is hoping more than ever to find a hostess who will stay on.

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Every Hand Revealed, the poker book written by Gus Hansen, has been released and is now available for purchase. In the book Gus Hansen chronicles his adventures at the 2007 Aussie Millions tournament, covering the important hands and how he played them in his road to the title and the $1.2 million first prize.

The book reveals great insights into how the famous Gus Hansen operates throughout a tournament. Gus explains what went through his mind on each hand he scribes. He also delves into his state of mind after the hand was completed, whether he was pleased with the way he played the hand or if he was disgusted with his play. The title of Every Hand Revealed is accurate, as Gus takes a look at every hand he played that had an impact on the tournament, so he does not chronicle hands he folded with no action or other such insignificant hands.

Gus Hansen likes to write about how his play is actually a lot different than his reputation suggests. Gus actually thinks of himself as a a fairly tight player while his reputation is that of a loose cannon who will play anything and make it work. The book holds several situations where he used his reputation to his advantage.

Gus Hansen’s Every Hand Revealed is an entertaining read and also helps get poker players thinking about what they might do in certain situations, so it also has some educational value for the aspiring poker player.

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Poker players in Denmark received good news when the Danish Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments against a law banning poker in private clubs. On December 18th of last year Denmark’s second highest court, the Landsretten, ruled that it was illegal for private clubs to put on poker tournaments as it would violate current anti-gambling laws. When the ruling passed down private clubs were frequently offering poker tournaments for their patrons, who were avid poker supporters.

Frederik Hostrup and the Danish Poker Federation appealed the Landsretten’s decision and the Supreme Court decided to hear the case. The Supreme Court will usually only hear cases when they disagree with the ruling made by the lower court, so this is a great sign for Danish poker players. Speaking about the Supreme Court’s decision, Hostrup said, “I am certain we will reach another result than the one we received in the Landsretten. This is a good day for Danish poker. It can make a big difference for everyone who loves poker.”

According to Danish law now that the Supreme Court has taken on the case the laws will revert to their previous status where tournament poker was legal in clubs, and the rules will remain such until the Supreme Court makes their ruling, one way or the other.

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Not all players will be required to foot the $25,000 buy-in, as Full Tilt Poker will be offering a few satellites into the game, including $500 + $35 qualifiers that will be held on the Thursday and Friday preceding the event, both qualifiers starting at 3:00 PM EST.

The tournament will be capped at 64 players, and no player will receive a bye in any round. For example, if more than 32 players register for the tournament but the field doesn’t reach the 64 player cap, then the players who registered after the first 32 slots were filled will receive a refund and only the first 32 to sign-up will play. A side effect of this rule is that players will be encouraged to sign-up early in order to guarantee they will be playing.

The event will be officially hosted by Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, who won the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship. Other Full Tilt Poker pros who have confirmed that they will participate are Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, and Howard Lederer. Key hands will be recorded throughout the tournament, as will some of the more intriguing matchups. Phil Gordon and Ali Nejad will provide commentary on some of these recorded moments once the tournament has concluded.

The $25K Heads-Up tournament will start at 3:00 PM EST on Saturday, May 24. If you have $25,000 you can buyin directly before all seats are taken, or you can try to win your way into the event through one of the qualifiers for a fraction of the cost.

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In the 888.com World Poker Crown event, poker players from around the world competed with all their might to capture the $1 million first prize. Play began online and continued until the tournament was down to just ten players. Then, the players headed for Barcelona, Spain to finish the game. In the end it was Jack Hinchey, a pump and electric motor service manager from Canada who captured the victory.

The final table was broadcast over the internet once the final eight players were determined, leaving two players to go home without the fanfare of the cameras to follow them out. Canadian Michael Leah fell in tenth place and was quickly followed by Italian Pini Roberto. The live broadcast of the final eight began, with the field consisting of three Canadians, three Dutchmen, a German, and a Pole.

An elimination occurred as soon as the cameras started, with Candian Mark Castonguay exiting in eight place amid the confusion of the setup. Castonguay would take home $30,000.

The German, Mark Roessler, would fall thanks to a horrendous bad beat. Jack Hinchey and Roessler saw a flop of [Js][9h][2d]. Roessler bet with his [Jc][8c], and the bet is followed by Hinchey raising with just [Kc][3d] for king-high. Roessler goes all-in and Hinchey calls. The [Qh] falls on the turn and then the [10c] on the river gives Hinchey the runner-runner straight to knock out the German in seventh place. Roessler would collect $60,000 for his efforts.

Dutchman Bert van Doesburg finished in sixth place after losing a race to Hinchey. The Dutchman pushed all-in preflop with [Kd][9s] and Hinchey called with [5s][5c]. No help came for van Doesburg on the board of [10c][8d][3c][10h][Qs]. Bert van Doesburg would head home after earning $90,000.

Bart Wetsteijn of the Netherlands exited after he picked up pocket kings and decided to slow play them. The flop came down [5c][3s][2s], giving a straight to Jack Hinchey’s [Ad][4d]. Hinchey bet and Wetsteijn moved all-in, prompting a quick call by Hinchey. The [3d] fell on the turn, followed by the [Js] on the river, and Bart Wetsteijn left in fifth place richer by $120,000.

The last Dutchman at the table, Arjan Van Bavel fell when his pocket nines could beat Hinchey’s pocket queens. Van Bavel shoved all-in over Hinchey’s bet on a flop of [10s][8h][6h] and Hinchey made the call to show Van Bavel the bad news. Van Bavel didn’t hit any of his outs on the [2s] turn and the [Js] river, sending him to the exits in fourth place having earned $180,000.

Piotr Stanislaw of Poland would be Hinchey’s next victim. Hinchey raised preflop with [Ac][10c] and Stanislaw moved all-in with a dominated [Ah][5s]. The board ran out [Ah][10s]7d][6c][6s], giving no help to Stanislaw, who earned $210,000 for his third place finish.

Heads-Up play then commenced between the two Canadians, Jack Hinchey and Michael Lawson with Hinchey holding a 4.5:1 chip lead. In the last hand of the tournament, Lawson moved all-in with pocket tens on a flop of [Kh][Jh][6h]. Hinchey called with [Kc][Qs] and after the [Js] fell on the turn and the [Ks] fell on the river Hinchey became the official champion.

Michael Lawson earned $397,000 for his runner-up performance while Hinchey would leave with $1 million.

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A bill that would establish three casinos in the state of Massachusetts was recently voted down, partly due to a provision contained within the bill that would have outlawed online poker, presumably to protect the profits of the casinos the bill would license. There are now indications that the bill may return, but without the portion banning online gambling.

When the bill had come before the Massachusetts House in its original form, many of the representatives had concerns over the portion banning online gambling. A committee vote withheld their approval of the bill thanks to the abstention of a key committee member who had tried and failed to remove the clause against online gambling. Now that the controversial clause has been removed there is a good chance that the bill will meet with more success when it is reintroduced in its changed form.

The bill is favored by the governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, who has been fighting ardently against the Massachusetts Speaker of the House, Salvatore DiMasi to pass the bill. The impetus behind the bill’s comeback may be due in part to DiMasi’s fall from grace, as he is fighting for his political life after some recent ethical concern were raised against him.

Currently Massachusetts is devoid of casinos, with the nearest gambling venue being the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Governor Patrick hopes that by licensing casino Massachusetts will increase their revenue and be able to provide property tax relief.

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Washingon’s ban on online poker makes it a class c felony to play poker online. In comparison, a person would have to get 5 DUIs or steal 9 cars to earn a punishment similar to the one meted out for playing online poker. The penalty is also the same as the ones used for people who threaten the governor, torture animals, or possess child pornography. Having online poker as a class c felony seems excessive to most people, including Dino Rossi, who narrowly lost Washington’s last governor’s race to Christine Gregoire, who signed the online poker ban into law.

The rally has already received support from poker players Barry Greenstein and Andy Bloch, both pledging to attend the rally. The rally will take place in Kent, Washington, at the following address:

Maleng Regional Justice Center

401 4th Ave N

Kent, WA, 98032

The rally will take place on May 15th and run from 10:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.

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Justin Bonomo was once caught multi-accounting, where he would enter himself into the same poker tournament multiple times under different screennames. The controversy only grew when he attempted to make a public apology, but his career has since recovered.

In addition to his hefty winnings from playing online, Justin Bonomo has won more than $1 million in live tournament play, proving he has the skills to win both online and offline.

Bodog also announced that they were not renewing their deal with professional poker player Josh Arieh. Arieh’s deal ended at the end of April, and both Bodog and Arieh agreed to go their own ways. Arieh’s most notable highlight was finishing in third place at the 2004 WSOP Main Event. Arieh also has two WSOP bracelets to his name.

Bodog and Arieh parted on very good terms, with both parties having only good things to say about each other. The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, the company that runs Bodog’s North American operations, issued a statement through their spokesperson who said, “Bodog and Josh have mutually decided to part ways at the end of April. Josh had a great run as a member of Team Bodog over the past four years that included finishing third at the 2004 WSOP Main Event, winning his second WSOP bracelet in 2005 and a number of final table appearances in high-profile tournaments. We sincerely enjoyed our association with Josh and appreciate all that he brought to Team Bodog. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors, both at and away from the poker table.”

Josh has stated that he isn’t sure what he will do yet, but that he does have a few ideas shooting around. He has also stated that he expects to have his own website, www.josharieh.com, ready and online before the start of the World Series of Poker. The main attraction of the website will be Josh’s blog, which he says will cover just about anything and everything. When speaking about his leaving Bodog, Josh stated his appreciation for Bodog and all the opportunities they offered him, but also said that the time had come for him and Bodog to let each other go.

Bodog’s pro poker team now consists of the recently added Justin Bonomo, Evelyn Ng, David Williams, and Jean-Robert Bellande.

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