Greg Merson has been awarded the Card Player of the Year Award for 2012 and ends the year with winnings of $9,755,180. 

This comes on top of taking two WSOP bracelets, including the Main Event.

Before this he pocketed $96,377 from playing in live tournaments and $220,199 from online games, with the screen name ‘gregy20723.’  2012 has been a special year for the 24 year old from Maryland, and Merson said of his success: “You know, I didn’t get much attention when I was playing online, so it was hard to justify my decision to play poker for a living to my friends and relatives. This is validation to myself, showing all of those people who said I wouldn’t make it that they were wrong.”

He started the year by cashing in at two WSOP events, taking 21^st place and a prize of $16,850 in the $3k Six Handed event, then 5^th place and $70,280 in the $2,500 Four Handed event.

Following this Merson took first place and a prize of $1,136,197 in the $10k Six Handed event.  This brought him 1,800 POY points and left him 27^th on the POY leaderboard.  Subsequently he entered the $10k Main Event and fought through to the final table, holding the third biggest chip stack, and continued on to take the title and winnings of $8,527,982.  This success earned him 3,300 POY points because of the huge 6,598 field and large buy-in, enabling him to take the title from Phil Helmuth.

His victory in the WSOP led him to comment on his previous struggles with drug addiction.  He said of his fight: “I’m just so lucky to even be alive. When I won [my first] bracelet I just started crying. To have a second chance at life and to do what I want to do — it’s amazing.”

For anyone seeking a fresh, new and modern way of competing in Texas Hold’em games, Lucian Depold, Dipl. Inf., launched pokereve.com early last December.

The site provides a fresh approach to playing online poker through its mobile devices.

A game is created in three stages:

1. Create a game on your mobile device at Pokereve’s lobby.
2. A generated code is then shared with friends, while one mobile device is setup as dealer.
3. When all players have joined the game using the code, play can begin.

All the cards are shown on displays, which cuts out the time spent on shuffling the cards and dealing them out. Pokereve does this for you in the blink of an eye. It is achieved immediately by the use of an exceptionally speedy Mersenne-Twister-algorithm, which is recognized for its capacity to build numbers randomly in high quality sequences.

This ability and quality should prove beneficial and appeal to players of Texas Hold’em home games, especially to those who compete in small groups of players. One major benefit is that players can compete in up to 70 per cent more hands than in a typical home game.

Pokereve will be made available to everyone and is free of charge, and will be compatible with just about all types of mobile devices. The devices included are Android, iOS, Symbian, Blackberry OS and Windows tablets and smart phones. Pokereve ensures compatibility as it runs in the browser of the various devices.

To be used, the device has to be connected to the internet. However, Pokereve is similar to a standard app, and has an optimized loading time and dynamic rendering that alters the size of the cards to fit in with the available size of the screen.

Pokereve decided to use a browser based method as a deliberate way of supporting a wide array of new and older devices.

Hopes that the US would pass federal online poker legislation in this year’s lame duck session have been dashed.

Summing up the progress made so far, John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance, described it as “disappointing.”

Pappas was referring to the online poker bill introduced by Senator Harry Reid, which failed last week and in effect means no new laws licensing and regulating online poker will be introduced this year. He commented: “It is an extremely disappointing end to a year where tremendous progress was made… I am most upset for the players, who have been calling on Congress for years to pass an internet poker law that protects consumers, restores their freedoms and raises revenue. While I don’t think these voices have fallen on deaf ears, I am discouraged that Congress could not coalesce around a solution in the wake of the ongoing fiscal crisis.”

Supporters of the Reid/Kyl bill believe Congress should have passed federal online poker legislation before considering intrastate legislation. They say it will be hard to implement standards of fairness and integrity in online gaming for all if individual states are allowed to pass their own laws. This is already happening, with Nevada having issued gaming licenses. The first sites should be seen operating early in the New Year.

David Krone, Senator Reid’s Chief of Staff, said the senator intends reintroducing the bill next year but that his eagerness for the bill had waned a little. Krone commented the bill would definitely be put forward but said Reid’s feeling was that it had lost momentum through losing some of the consensus that had grown around the bill. He said: “There will be a window next year, but I don’t see it going long.”

From 11th October to 24th October 2013, the seventh annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe will be held in Paris at the lakefront Casino Barrière d’Enghien-les-Bains.

Officials are expecting the location of the event to pull in the crowds. It is in a prosperous suburb of Paris and has its own train station just 10 minutes from the Gare du Nord (North Station). The Gare du Nord itself is connected to the Paris Metro (subway) and runs trains to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK, including the cross-channel service to London.

The Casino Barrière d’Enghien-les-Bains is the oldest casino in France but it has undergone extensive redevelopment. This includes a large convention facility in readiness for the event, plus a theatre to seat 500, where final tables will be televised. In addition, two hotels have been added to the complex.

In a statement, the Executive director of the WSOP, Ty Stewart, said: “Part of our vision for WSOP Europe is to mix poker and pleasure and to introduce players to some of the most exciting destinations in Europe.”

Although the final schedule has yet to be decided upon, it is believed to include seven World Series of Poker gold bracelet events, an array of satellite events, cash games and side events.

With an entry cost of EUR10, 000, the whole tournament will end with a No Limit Hold’em Event. The last two WSOP events were hosted in Cannes, with Phil Hellmuth winning a record 13th individual gold bracelet this year, while from 2007 to 2010 they were held in London.

Speaking of the bracelet winner, Stewart commented: “Barrière’s facilities in Enghien are amazing, and there are likely 12 million Parisians all trying to make sure Philippe Hellmuth doesn’t win another bracelet on French soil.”

California is to have a poker-only bill reintroduced by Senator Rod Wright.

It is almost identical to his bill that failed to find support in last August’s legislative session due to the lack of agreement between card rooms, racetracks and the Indian tribes.

Wright’s new bill could have a better chance of success because the California Online Poker Association (COPA) was disbanded a few months ago after failing to lobby successfully for online poker legislation. COPA had paid out over $1,000,000 on CalShark.com, a free-play poker site that would have become real-play if a poker bill had been passed into legislation. It has since been taken offline.

COPA had drawn up its own draft legislation for online poker, which prohibited horse racing interests in California from taking part in the state’s online poker scheme, but Wright’s re-worked bill allows for the licensing of racetracks and advance deposit wagering firms.

After the Christmas holidays, California’s legislature will meet again on 7th January. Snell and Wilmer have been following the attempts to legislate online poker and Harsh Parikh, a gaming attorney who works for the firm, said: “the bill is likely to run its normal course with probable hearings in March or April, 2013.”

The state of California has around 37 million residents and many industry insiders think it is the only state with enough players not to be dependent on forming alliances with other states, and thus able to strike out on its own.

Both Nevada and Delaware have passed online gaming laws. Nevada’s is for poker only but both states should have online sites operating in 2013, with Nevada being first to offer games in the early months of the year.

With its state senate having approved gaming regulations, New Jersey also intends to join the cause. Governor Chris Christie must sign the bill within 45 days for the bill to become law, which comprises a comprehensive list of casino games.

The Bodog Poker Network (BPN) is to launch the Anonymous Poker Series, the first network created in Asia for Asia.

Comprising of live and online events, it will run for the whole of 2013, with BPN’s newest B2B partners joining the network in January.

The yearlong series will offer a new set of qualifiers and build a mix of players such as online gaming operators, recreational players from around the world and specially invited poker heroes from 2013, who will work towards the ultimate goal of a $100,000 Grand Final in Manila in January 2014.

The BPN hope the event will show that its network is the best and the safest for professional and recreational players alike. “Operators who service sports bettors and casino players do not want their customers leaking money to non-depositing poker pros who are using sophisticated software in order to win. Our anonymous tables take this unfairness out of the equation, creating a much better experience for the leisure player,” said the Managing Director of BPN, Jonas Odman.

He also said that because the trust factor is the most important motive when Asian players choose an operator, BPN has designed its model to appeal specifically to the Asian market. He believes just as live dealing in casinos is preferred over RNG operators, its model will be the preferred option.

Operators who wish to qualify for the live events can do so at industry conferences, while players will be able to qualify online and at live events that will be held in Asia and Europe. Anyone who qualifies will be flown to Manila to enjoy his time in preparation for the Grand Final in January 2014.

More information on the live events will be published in the New Year, when players will also learn the criteria for qualifying to become one of the invited poker heroes of 2013.

The first ever World Poker Tour (WPT) National China has been won by Zheng Hua Lei at the MGM Grand Sanya Resort.

As the biggest tournament ever held in China, the $1,500 buy-in event attracted 542 competitors with big names such as Phil Helmuth, Johnny Chan, David Chiu, Sam Ravazi and David Steicke taking part.

Helmuth went out early on Day 1 and 42 players made it through to Day3. These included former WPT champion McLean Karr and 2012 APPT Melbourne champ, Ravazi. Players left the table in quick succession until 60 were left competing. After a deep run, Karr finished in 12th place and when the 11th place finisher left the table, the final table was set to go.

With the final action shown on the big screen, Ravazi was the only big name amongst a final table of local Chinese players. Losing the lead several times, he ended up in the final three players, but eventually lost out to Zheng Hua Lei to take third place.

Ravazi took home $48,101, which gives him just under $1,000,000 in live winnings. He finishes the year well after winning APPT Melbourne and takes the crown as Asian Poker Tour Player of the Year, which he won by taking three Main Event Final Tables in Cebu, Macau and Cambodia. However, special honours should go to Zheng Hua Lei for taking the crown at the inaugural WPT China as well as first prize, which was $192,406

Below are the results and payouts for the 2012 WPT National China:

• 1st: Zheng Hua Lei — ¥1,200,000 ($192.406)
• 2nd: You Jia Wang — ¥600,000 ($96.203)
• 3rd: Sam Ravazi — ¥300,000 ($48,101)
• 4th: Yue Cao — ¥200,000 ($32,067)
• 5th: Lei Xu — ¥150,000 ($24,050)
• 6th: Li Fu Lui — ¥120,000 ($19,240)
• 7th: Xue Yi Lin — ¥95,000 ($15,232)
• 8th: Zhi Yong Li — ¥80,000 ($12,827)
• 9th: Ji Wei Deng — ¥70,000 ($11,223)
• 10th: Jia He Li — ¥60,00 ($9,620)

It looks like the Reid/Kyl internet-gambling bill will fail to make it through the Senate’s Lame Duck Session by the end of the year.

Both senators introduced the bill at the start of the year and they will remain committed to its becoming law.

Another supporter of the bill, Reid’s Chief of Staff, David Krone said of the current position and the chances of it becoming law next year: “It is something next year we can investigate again, but for 2012, for this Congress we have run out of time. Our goal is definitely to try again next year but Senator Reid’s feeling is that after a while there comes a time when you’ve lost momentum, you’ve lost the consensus that you’ve built. There will be a window next year but I don’t see it going along.”

The Reid/Kyl bill would have shaken up and made radical changes to online gambling in the US federal arena but would have also adversely affected attempts by separate states to introduce their own intrastate gambling legislation. This is the main reason why all those states were against the Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening of UIGEA Act.

Opposition to the bill intensified when a draft of the law was leaked, with resistance coming from several quarters including lottery organisations and the National Governors Association.

If the bill is passed into law on the federal level, it will prohibit most other types of online gambling and make them illegal. It could possibly also overrule the decision made last Christmas by the Department of Justice that the Wire Act of 1961 is only applicable to sports betting and no other type of online gaming, which would have allowed individuals to introduce their own gaming laws.

Believed by many to be the best online poker player to have ever lived, Phil Ivey has returned to Full Tilt Poker.

He had a big falling out with them after the events of Black Friday and the closing down of online poker rooms that dealt with US based players. At that time, he left Full Tilt for its major rival PokerStars, which now owns it.

Over the years, Ivey has had many and various issues with Full Tilt Poker, leading to a volatile relationship. He must feel some loyalty to the site, having won more than $19,000,000 on it. However, he protested strongly on behalf of other players when Full Tilt delayed payments to them after Black Friday. In sympathy with players who could not afford to compete in last summer’s World Series of Poker tournament, he even said he would not be taking part.

Full Tilt continued to delay refunding its players and Ivey threatened the site with a £150,000,000 lawsuit. However, all charges were dropped when Full Tilt reached a three-way deal with the US Department of Justice, in which it agreed to refund all non-US players.  However, it must be pointed out here that American players are still waiting for millions of dollars owed them to be refunded by Full Tilt.

Having decided to return to Full Tilt, Ivey is playing under a new pseudonym, ‘Polarizing’. Since his return to both the fold and competing in high stake games last week, he has won at least $150,000.

Apart from this, Ivey is also deeply involved in his new endeavour, IveyPoker.com, his online poker-training site where he teaches poker-playing techniques.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) 2013 is to offer a variant of online poker called Open Face Chinese Poker, which is gaining popularity among players.

The PCA will be held at the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and it will run from 5th January to 14th January. Lee Jones said of Open Chinese Poker on the Two Plus Two Forums: “All the cool kids are playing it. It’s sufficiently popular that we’re going to have a seminar about it and a tournament ($2K+$150 buy-in) at the PCA.”

The only similarity between Open Face Chinese Poker and other poker variants is the ranking of poker hands. Groups of two to four players can compete, with the dealer button rotating as the game progresses. Players receive hands of 13 cards and then each attempt to build two five-card hands and a three-card hand.

Competitors must then organise their hands with the three-card hand in front, the weakest five-card hand in the middle and the strongest five-card hand at the end. The challenge of Open Face Chinese Poker is for players to build their hands not having seen all the 13 cards dealt to them.

Players will first be given a hand of five cards, which they have to organise as they wish as the basis for the three hands they will play during the game. When this is done, players are handed one card at a time that they must use to build the necessary three hands. They lose their bet if a player misses the ranking order. Once players have completed their hands, prizes are awarded in relation to the strength of the hands created. Specific hands played in the game also have special bonuses.

Jones had not expected Open Face Chinese Poker to be offered by PokerStars but said: “But then again, I never thought we’d offer Badugi.”