The International Poker Players Association Championship (IPPAC), one of the most extravagant poker tours in the world, will take place between November 29 and December 2 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

With a buy-in of $250,000 and a prizepool of $12,000,000, poker lovers will be lured into this money paradise. It is a High Roller meant to satisfy the poker players with a taste for fierce competition and for ultrahigh stakes. The prize-pool ‘mountain’ will be disputed among 48 players and the winner will go home with his own little money ‘mountain’ of $5 millions. The thrill of this event will be shared with the general public as the event will be televised.

To make this tour more approachable, progressive live satellites are available in Monte Carlo casinos or at Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles starting from $120. The second tour of these satellites has a buy-in of $1,000. Players have the opportunity to play at selected venues and to win the $5 million first-place prize by beating only 12 players.

13 of the 48 players are already on the list for the event: Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius, brothers Mizrachi Michael and Robert, Phil Ivey, world champions Huck Seed and Johnny Chan, WPT winners Gus Hansen (3 WPT) in search for liquidity after a hard month, Freddie Deeb, Tony G, Allen Cunningham (4 WSOP bracelets), John Hennigan and Bruno Fitoussi.

It has been a common practice among poker players to use a blank expression on their face during the game, professionally called the ‘poker face’, in order to not betray themselves on the hands they have or on the bluffs they make. A recent study, however, shows that if you want your opponent to fold or to make him/her more prone to mistakes, the best thing to do is to act friendly. Erik Schlicht, a cognitive scientist, carried out the study and found that the neutral ‘poker face’ may not be the best strategy.

The people involved in the study had to play Texas Hold’em against a computer that displayed facial expressions. Each time the computer raised it would also ‘put on’ a facial expression and what Schlicht found out from this experiment is that players folded more easily when a friendlier face was displayed instead of a numb one. He said: “What we found was that they thought longer when the computer screen showed a trustworthy face, and that they were more likely to fold”.

“Surprisingly, we find that threatening face information has little influence on wagering behavior, but faces relaying positive emotional characteristics impact peoples’ decisions. People took significantly longer and made more mistakes against emotionally positive opponents,” declared the study’s author. “According to these results, the best ‘poker face’ for bluffing may not be a neutral face, but rather a face that contains emotional correlates of trustworthiness.”

The purpose of his study is not to set up a new poker playing style but rather to see how people analyse risks or use opponent information in order to make decisions, especially in a competitive wagering situation. His results are quite surprising.

After being awarded two Oscars that have crowned his legendary success in Titanic and The Departed, the American actor and producer Leonardo DiCaprio will star in a movie about the online casinos. The idea of the movie was inspired by the success of international tournaments such as World Series of Poker or European Poker Tour and the growing attendance on the online casinos and poker rooms. The project was proposed to Paramount Studios and the filming will be made in Costa Rica.

Icing on the cake, the scenario of this new movie was entrusted to the well-known writers, Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The duo have already written the scenario for “Ocean’s Thriteen” and for the mythical “Rounders”, starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton. This time, the principal character will be embodied by the handsome hero of Titanic, also big fan of poker. Such a role in the world of games is familiar to the actor. In the “Rounders”, launched in 1998, DiCaprio has already played a passionate of poker in land casinos.

As in USA online poker sites are still illegal and forbidden, the action will be set in Costa Rica, a harbour for many online gambling operators. As for the plot and the title of the movie, the star of “Departed” hasn’t disclosed any information.

With his participation at the WSOP beside his friend Tobey Maguire, he earned the respect of the best poker payers in the world. Not long ago, we could see him at a Lakers match, wearing a hat branded “Doyle’s Room”. DiCaprio and Doyle Brunson co-produced “The 11th Hour”, a documentary about the state of the environment and what we have to do to restore the ecosystem.

The U.S. government has asked several banks to block transactions between online poker rooms and American players. $ 33 million were frozen, preventing nearly 24,000 players to collect their earnings from major poker sites like PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker. This aggressive initiative represents the most disturbing offensive in the “war” between the federal government and online poker rooms.

Under the UIGEA, which prohibits Americans from playing poker online, prosecutors of the Department of Justice have ordered several banks, including Citibank and Wells Fargo, to freeze all transactions between the operators and their clients. The interdiction concerns all the clients having requested the receipt of their earnings.

In a letter sent to banks, prosecutors have called the money duly earned by players as “property involved in transactions of money laundering and crimes of illegal gambling”.

According to several sources, the Court of the Southern District of New York has asked several banks to freeze the equivalent of $ 19 million. Wells Fargo received an order for seizure of $ 14 million, identified as coming from online gambling operators. The sources confirm that the decision affected 24.000 accounts and blocked $ 33 million altogether.

For now, the banks have obeyed the prosecutors’ injunction, but many legal gaps could create a complicated situation for the government. Indeed, several legal consultants intend to call on that the online poker operators are only the depositories of this money that don’t belong to them. Unlike sports betting, online poker is a transaction between two people on the principle of “peer-to-peer”. This argument is quite valid for cash games, but it couldn’t withstand as to poker tournaments. In all cases, it is impossible for banks to make such a subtle difference. And this can turn against US justice. Moreover, one thing is certain: if the government wants to mobilize the poker players, it just has to attack them where it hurts: in their wallets!

According to John Pappas, CEO of Poker Player Alliance (PPA), whose mission is to defend the poker players’ rights, the injunction to the banks is an “unprecedented action”. Pappas promises the organization he is leading will use all legal means for protecting the players’ accounts and their right to play online.

The new President of the USA Barack Obama has promised to listen to his compatriots. Therefore, the White House has been attentively considering the ways to let Americans speak, an endeavor carried out by a pool on a website. Regarding poker, the citizens have given a very plain response, listing the legalization of online poker as one of their main concerns.

Under the leadership of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the U.S. poker players, many of which are deprived of the game because of the UIGEA, got organised to coordinate their votes on one proposal.

Thus the proposal “to boost U.S. economy with legal online poker” found itself at the forefront of technological concerns listed in the “Citizens Briefing Book”, on a new site dedicated to the claims of American citizens.

This website, set up in the early days of Obama administration, has allowed 125,000 users to vote for 44,000 ideas suggested by the President and his team. The pool collected 1,400,000 votes, each vote matching 10 points. The proposal on legalization of online poker has collected 46,000 points, a total which is the 11th largest overall.

A surprising result after all, but not for John Pappas, the Executive Director of the PPA: “Poker players from all over the country have spoken with one voice to protect the game they love, and the White House has heard this message. We hope that the Administration will listen and act in response to this clear message sent through the Citizen’s Briefing Book: legalize online poker through a suitable regulation”.

The content of the proposal includes plain and unequivocal specifications. Most of the Americans who responded to this survey demand the right to legally play, without fear of prosecution; a reform of the law to exempt poker - a game of skill - from UIGEA. They have also spoken out for a law meant to “boost the economy by allowing American companies and American players earn money and pay taxes instead of sending the business offshore”.

A recent study by the lobbying group American Gaming Association has revealed that 2% of adults surveyed were playing online. These results are consistent with estimates of the PPA that between 10 and 15 million Americans regularly play on the internet. Still according to the PPA, the legalization of online poker could bring 3 billion dollars annually to the Administration.

In the poker world, things move fast. After the grand final of the European Poker Tour in Monte Carlo, another big marathon is expected to attract in Europe the best poker players around the world. This prestigious event is the WSOP Europe, a tournament scheduled for the end of September. The third season of the WSOP Europe will take place in England and will be hosted by the famous “Casino at the Empire”. The program and the official dates of the event has just been announced.

The much awaited tournament series run between September 17 and October 1st, the day of the Main Event finals. As for the location where the event is intended to take place, Casino at the empire was considered to be a perfect choice for gambling: “The Casino at the Empire soon became the reference point for poker in the United Kingdom. We look forward to attracting the best players in the world at the event this fall and by then we will continue to offer them the best playing conditions”, Michael Silberling, General Manager of the London Clubs International said.

There are four bracelet tournaments scheduled for the 2009 WSOPE and the contest is expected to be tight, as the race for a WSOP bracelet will draw once again some of the big names in the field. A mixed tournament, combining Pot Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha was added, which will make an even more thrilling action. This event is planned for September 21. The addition of a 4th event at the WSOP Europe was hailed by Jeffrey Pollack, the Vice president of Sports and Entertainment Marketing at Harrah’s Casino and Commissioner of the World Series of Poker, who commented: “Winning a bracelet is recognized as the supreme title and we are very excited to crown new champions at Casino Empire this year.”

Pre-registration for WSOPE is already available at the London Clubs International institutions, in London, or in Las Vegas, at the Rio casinos. It is also possible to register for this event during the WSOP, which will kick off this month, in Las Vegas.

The capital of bluff moved it quarters to Enghien-les-Bains. “The first poker tournament in Enghien, the first in Ille-de-France outside Paris, opened its gates this year in pergola baths. But before the main tournament with a minimum jackpot of 100.000 Euro, three satellites tournaments for qualification took place, attended by over four hundred players.
The departure was set from 100 to 150 Euro minimum in order to participate in these tournaments,” said Gregory Chochon, the poker marketing manager of Barriere group. This allows people who have a little less financial means, to participate and have a chance to enter he big tournament, where the “cellar” is of 1100 Euro.” Not to mention that the minimum jackpot is of 100.000 Euro.
The most chosen option was Texas Hold’em, currently the most played and most known, popularized by many television and Internet means. And the number 1 casino in France has made rather good things in the vast reception room of the spa, overlooking the lake by a large bay window. “It’s class, elegance!”, exclaims Franck Paris, the manager of a small transport company in the capital and still in contention after having had a nice “American airlines”, ie the strongest hand with two Ace. “This is not the same attendance as in Parisian circle games. There is really a mixture. There are all the social classes and all ages.”. just as the tournament started, the success was immediately there. The casino has proven to be full even from the first sessions. “The main tournament hosts 150 people in only one afternoon, including a fifty qualified through satellites,” said Mr Poker of Barierre Group. The hundred other players are the ones who can afford to invest directly 1100 Euro.
“After this unprecedented operation, the casino plans to organize three or four tournaments a year, not counting the six tables opened every day since last May.

The green carpet was placed at La Croisette. The Palm Beach Hotel hosts the finals of Partouche Poker Tour (PPT), the largest tournament ever held in France. Over the past ten months, 24.000 players competed in the four corners of France. Upon arrival, 350 qualified players disputed the victory to the international stars who paid the entrance fee of 8.500 Euro, as Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey or Patrick Bruel. A cheque for one million Euro will be given to the winner by the football player Eric Cantona, Ambassador of Partouche.
The jackpot is worthy of the famous American World Poker Tour. Broadcast on the Canal Plus since 2005, this series of tournaments triggered a global poker madness in France, which already has more than 300.000 active players. A martingale very appealing to the casino owners.
It was not until 2007 that they have been permitted to introduce to their establishments Texas Hold’em, a much more popular version of  poker game. “The results of four years of lobbying infernally with governments”, rejoices Patrick Partouche, the owner of this giant group, which really needs a vote of confidence.
Penalized by the request of identity checks strengthening, the prohibition of tobacco and the glumly haphazard, slot machines are grey mine. Partouche has therefore decided to bet on the PPT, a huge operation of commercial type intended to boost the attendance at its casinos.
Meanwhile, the group has hired 320 croupiers in order to run the daily poker rooms, where players compete among themselves, unlike the roulette or even black jack. The casino, which occupies the role of “evil”, is happy to collect 4 percent taxes. This fact can generate over one million Euro of additional turnover per month. “Above all, poker can attract a new clientele, the youngest, aged 18 to 35 years, on average”, states Paul-Erich Schulmann, the poker veteran of Lyon Vert casino. For the first time in 20 years, the activity at the table games had sprung to 40 percent.Partouche, which also organizes the very show-biz “As Tournament”, broadcast on Paris Premiere, is situated at only one step in advance of his rival Lucien Barriere,even if the later multiplies the tables and tryes to sell “weekend poker”. Barriere, a little hesitant, also plans to bring its formula tournament of PPT, with a final at Enghien-les-Bains at the end of 2009. But the poker activity is still far from being profitable for casinos. The purpose is mainly to impose its brand before the end of 2009 and to liberalize the market of french online games. A high-margin activity is the future of this profession.
Partouche has already purchased the software and designed the label of its poker site. He expects no more than a signal front the State in order to rise the stake.

Ever since the Monte Carlo casinos on the Riviera have been opened for the rich, and the history of Tombstone, Arizona has been changed because of the famous poker game, poker chips have been charged with a harmful chemical element - lead. An Oakland shutdown under the anti-toxics law adopted by vote, together with a nonprofit organization having some history in its environmental background, created a clean chip agreement with a major manufacturer and 21 casino owners in order to  remove the lead.
When manipulating the chips, the dealers and players are exposed to the lead, stated the researchers at the Centre for Environmental Health. This is also the case of pregnant women dealers or pregnant regular gamblers, which may expose their unborn babies to the risk of mental retardation, without knowing, stated the representatives of the group to the casino industry, during the whole year of negotiations.
GPI, or Gaming Partners International, also known as Paulson Gaming Supplies, approved this agreement. The above mentioned company is one of the main market leaders in poker chips manufacturing for 28 of the largest US casinos. Paulson manufactures these chips in Mexico, Bud Jones in Las vegas and Bourgogne et Grasset, France.
Several investigations from the Centre for Environmental Health revealed that the poker chips contain about 47 percent lead. By November 2008, the company agreed to manufacture the chips with an amount of maximum 0.005 percent of lead. The former poker chips are to remain in the casinos, but only under the conditions of the existance of warnings in the gambling buildings, together with the guidance to wash hands.
According to the statement number 65 in the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, all business are required to maintain the safe levels, or else to inform the public. In this situation, the Californian borders will be crossed regarding the effects of the mentioned agreement. The ones to have signed the agreement promised to obey nationwide, including Las Vegas, the well known gambling capital.
The healht group has already won statements from other production companies to discharge lead from several other objects as children’s jewelry, talcum powder, candy, plastics, bibs and lunch boxes. Some other nonprofit organizations have done their best to inform people about the risks in these common objects.
Lead is well known as being a hazarduous metal, having as seconday effects the physical retard and the delay in mental development. Several restrictions have been applied over the years on paint, gasoline, toys and plumbing. Some research links the exposure to the unborn babies to the low IQ development. The US Environmental Protection Agency and other government or international bodies listed lead as a carcinogen, or as causing the infertility for women, increase of the risk of vascular attacks, strokes and high blood pressure. Few californian casinos as California Commerce Club, Hustler Casino, Limelight Card Rooms, Golden West Casino,Phoenix Casino and Lounge, Village Club Card Room or Lucky Derby Casino, agreed to use vitrual lead-free chips. There is a full list of signers attached to the agreement.
Right now casinos continue in using the leaded poker chips, but they must post the warning : “Gaming chips used at this establishment contain lead, a chemical known to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling the chips.”.