The Nightly Turbo: Is Your Poker Face Working, the Hard Rock Poker Lounge on the Move, and More
You might not want to sit so stone-faced at the poker table from now on because there might be another "poker face" that's more effective. After we tell you that, you can take your poker face and test them out at the Hard Rock's new poker room because it's on the move. That's not all we've got for you today, so keep reading to get the scoop.
In Case You Missed It
Now that Barney Frank's bill is out of the House Financial Services Committee poker players are discussing the legalization of Internet gambling. We take a look at what's next for the bill.
The Full Tilt Online Poker Series XVII begins tomorrow. Check out the schedule here.
What can you expect on the newly redesigned World Series of Poker Circuit? Don Peters takes a look at just that in this story.
The nosebleeds onFull Tilt Poker have picked up plenty of action this week. The Online Railbird Report brings you the ups and downs of some of the game's best.
Smile
When someone says "show me your poker face," most of you will probably sit there stone-faced with no smile, no nothing. Well, though that may have been the popular look for the last, well for forever, you may want to change it up a bit.
A new study coming out of Harvard, MIT, and the California Institute of Technology finds that if you're bluffing, it might be better to look excited, almost like you're holding the nuts. Basically, act trustworthy, even though you're robbing them blind. The study finds that untrustworthy faces or acting like you have nothing will lead to your opponents acting more aggressively.
For the short version check this out. Want the whole study? PlosOne.com can help you out.
Packing Up and Moving
The Hard Rock Poker Lounge wanted to be more than just a poker room. The Hard Rock spent who knows how many millions creating this rock and roll inspired room, complete with its own bar, iPod chargers at the tables and promotions like Trash Talk Tuesdays. But you may have noticed that it was never exactly packed with people. That's not to say it's a bad room — the PokerNews crew loved it — but maybe the location wasn't exactly right.
All that is about to change. After the Detox Poker Series August 13 through 22, the HRPL is moving to Hells Bells, the area inside the Hard Rock between The Joint and Wasted Space, more trafficked place that the current location for sure. The new room will be smaller as well, with only six to eight tables making the cut. So, be sure to get to the Hard Rock next week to take part of the Detox Series and send the room off in style.
VegasChatter.com has more.
Oh No You Don't
MichaelJacksonCasino.com has apparently been registered since 2002 and active since 2006. Last week, however, TMZ reported that the Michael Jackson estate owner was not happy about this domain or the use of MJ's likeness without permission. The domain name has been registered on GoDaddy.com since 2005 and it is GoDaddy that is being sued for $100 million by Howard Mann, who allegedly owns the rights to some of the photos being used on the site. The name of the actual owner of the site is a mystery. The domain is registered to a company called Corp. Hostarica, an offshore hosting company in Costa Rica. Mann hopes that by suing GoDaddy, the company will reveal the true identity of the domain owner.
"While we have not seen the lawsuit, if we are named, Go Daddy plans to vigorously defend itself," a GoDaddy rep commented. "When customers are involved in a legal dispute, Go Daddy complies with court orders."
Read more here.
Strip Poker
During the London Poker Festival in September, a charity poker tournament will be held. It's not like most charity poker tournaments you may be used to, however, this one is a strip poker tournament. The tournament will be played at Stringfellows, the legendary gentleman's club in London's Covent Garden on September 21, and players will be raising money for various cancer awareness charities.
Worried about what the dude to your left will look like without a shirt on? Don't. Each player will be assigned a Stringfellows dancer to do the undressing on the player's behalf.
Sound like your thing? Find out more at BritishPokerFestival.com
Is 888 Next?
After the PartyPoker and Bwin deal that will create the largest publicly traded Internet gambling company in the world, it seems that other sites are already expressing interest in banding together. One of the sites that has been getting offers is 888.
The pressure is on for other companies to make deals or risk losing out in the industry. "This puts us in a position in which we are one of the best assets in the field — we got a few phone calls immediately from various people. Everybody in the industry is looking and saying 'who is the best one to merge with if we need to'," Chief Executive Gigi Levy said in an interview with Reuters.
A few months ago, 888 did strike a deal with Microgaming to enter the Italian market.
"The pressure is now on for others to pursue consolidation or risk being left further behind. For 888 consolidation looks imperative and, given the bottom line performance, the group could be pursuing this from a sole position of weakness," Nick Bartram, KBC Peel Hunt analyst said.
Find out more here.
