Europe in Pills: Thor Hansen On a Heater, Iceland Discusses Gambling Legislation
Although Germany's "tobi123456" is the one who is getting the most out of the 2015 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) with winnings for $654,000 after only 29 events, Norway's poker veteran Thor Hansen has driven his name under the spotlight after a couple of remarkable performances on PokerStars
In other news, Iceland started to discuss the legalization of online gambling in the country after a member of the national parliament spoke in favor of a regulated environment and the possibility to increase the State's revenue through the introduction of new gambling taxes.
Two Final Tables in One Day for Thor Hansen
With two WCOOP final tables in just one day, Hansen is showing everyone that he is in a great form and he is ready to use his poker skills to take down one of the WCOOP bracelets still up for grabs.
The 68-year-old player known as the "Norwegian Godfather of Poker" started his remarkable heater in WCOOP-26: $700 NL Hold'em [Sunday Million SE], $1.5M Guaranteed, where he outlasted 3,412 players and closed the tournament with a sixth-place finish worth $52,278.31.
With the Event 26 in the books, Hansen focused on beating the 137 players who joined the WCOOP-29: $700 7-Card Stud Championship, $50K Guaranteed. Once again, the Norwegian poker veteran managed to use his skills and vast poker experience to score another sixth-place finish and bring home a $4,129.65 prize.
Iceland Discusses Legalization of Online Gambling
For the third time in recent years, the Northern European Republic of Iceland is discussing the possibility to regulate all forms of online gambling.
Legislative talks started after Willum Þór Þórsson, a member of Iceland's Progressive Party, proposed to regulate the online gambling industry to keep it under control and to increase the State's revenue through the introduction of a new gambling tax.
According to Þór Þórsson and the 12 other members of the Parliament who have signed the proposal, the government should consider the possibility to treat online gambling games similarly to lotteries and slot machines, as by doing this it would "generate new revenues for the government and form a better basis for discussion regarding problems linked with compulsive gambling."
The proponents pointed out that the amount of Icelanders who play online is steadily growing, and the lack of specific norms on online gaming have created a "black hole" that is completely out of the national authorities' control.
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