With well over three million poker players, the International Poker Network is the world's largest independent poker network. It is operated by GTECH G2 and managed by GTECH G2 St Minver, one of the four igaming companies acquired by lottery industry giant GTECH to form its interactive gaming division.

One of the world's most recognized brands, Virgin Poker has been part of the IPN since 2005. Attracting players from around the world, Virgin Poker offers seven different poker games including multi-table and Sit&Go tournaments and is also the host of the annual Virgin Poker Festival.

"Having a blue-chip client like Virgin renew their commitment with us is a terrific endorsement of the investment we have made in our product and, together with our partners, our success in building further liquidity on the IPN," said Atul Bali, CEO, GTECH G2.

Simon Burridge, Chief Executive of Virgin Games, says "Virgin Games is very happy to extend our partnership. Since our launch in 2005 we have seen good growth in the UK poker market and we look forward to continued progress, moving forward with GTECH G2 and the IPN´"

The IPN recently awarded a Bad Beat jackpot of nearly half a million dollars and hosts a €100,000 Guaranteed Freeroll Tournament every Sunday. At any given time there are nearly 10,000 players on the network playing at more than 1500 tables.

"There are many advantages in a large network like ours," said Tony Ure, Head of IPN, GTECH G2. "With so many players, there's a table for every kind of player and they're always busy. Our liquidity allows us to provide big jackpots and to host €10,000, €100,000 and even €1,000,000 guaranteed free rolls."

World Poker Tour

Mandalay Media Inc. stated on Friday that it submitted a revised proposal to WPT Enterprises Inc.’s board to buy its World Poker Tour assets for $36.5 million in cash and stock.

The revised proposal is to acquire WPT for $36.5 million, consisting of $28.5 million in cash, $5 million in Mandalay Media stock and perpetual revenue participation rights, guaranteed to be at least $3 million. The estimated value to shareholders per share is $1.77, including the guaranteed portion of the revenue participation rights, and as adjusted for the actual share count at closing.

WPT Enterprises announced in August that Peerless, a WPT customer, would buy its assets, including the World Poker Tour franchise, for for what equated to $12 million. The new proposal represents a premium of approximately 61% over the closing price of WPT`s common stock on October 26, 2009 and a premium of approximately 28% over the implied value at closing of WPT`s pending asset sale with Peerless Media Ltd.

The hearing is being held to look into the impact of proposals to expand casino gaming throughout the Commonwealth.

"Sadly, while the game of poker has evolved, the way politicians think about it has not," said Randy Castonguay, Massachusetts state director of the PPA. "As this Committee discusses the pros and cons of regulating expanded gaming in our Commonwealth, it would also be appropriate to consider the existing Internet poker play that is occurring today without any state oversight or control. Regulation of Internet poker is not expansion of gambling, it is simply the responsible government response to an industry that exists today."

Licensing and regulation of online poker would result in several benefits to Massachusetts residents, the first and most important of which is implementing state-based consumer protections which do not exist today. A regulated marketplace will also help the state combat underage access to online poker as well as identify and provide services to problem gamblers. Finally, licensing and regulation would provide significant state tax revenue – conservative estimates show $40 million annually for Massachusetts.

"We are advocating regulation of Internet poker, not Internet craps or roulette. And as every member of this Committee knows, unlike craps and roulette, poker is a game of skill that has been played in the home since Americans have been playing it. Regulating poker on the Internet is simply recognition of the game's 21st Century place in American culture," continued Castonguay.

$1 Million Tournament

Online poker players have a chance to win their share of one million dollars every month in a new tournament series staged by a leading poker room.

The inaugural $1,000,000 Guaranteed Prize Tournament will be staged on September 13, 2009 at 18:00 GMT, with a buy-in of $500 + $35. Poker players can also win their seat in qualifier satellites, with buy-ins as low as $1 + $0.10.

Titan Poker stages a highly popular $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Tournament every Sunday night, however on September 13, the focus will turn instead to the $1,000,000 Guaranteed. Many players have already guaranteed their seats at the hugely anticipated million-dollar event.

Titan Poker stages innovative and exciting promotions and tournaments, and awards seats to the major poker tournaments around the world, including the World Series of Poker, the Asian Poker Tour, the Aussie Millions, the ECPokerTour, and the Irish Open.

If you are looking to enjoy the very best in

ECOOP-V

ECOOP V will be run from Monday, 23rd November 2009 through to Sunday, 6th December 2009, and offers a mouth-watering guaranteed prize pool worth $4,600,000 in prize money.

Poker Plex players will have the chance to participate in 14 amazing events, spread over 14 days, with a wide variety of all the popular games in addition to the wonderful prizes.

The guaranteed prize pool for each poker event ranges from $50,000 all the way up to $1,500,000 for the Main Event on Sunday, December 6, 2009.

The first 13 events are No Limit and Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, PL Omaha Hi/Lo and Limit 7 Card Stud with the Main Event being a No Limit Hold'em event.

This year's ECOOP V tournament promises to surpass all previous highs, in excitement and rewards, and is one not to be missed by anyone who loves to bluff, bet or check their way to the final table.

New players and seasoned pros alike can book their seats at Poker Plex now and grab a share of the action. Super Satellites begin on September 21st, 2009 so join in and be part of the best online poker action of the year. Make 2009 a sensational poker year!

For a complete breakdown of the tournament schedule, and the super satellites see the Poker Plex website at www.pokerplex.com.

Previous ECOOP tournaments.

The inaugural ECOOP tournament series took place in November 2007 and offered a $2.5 million guaranteed prize pool. May 2008 saw the second tournament upping this to a $3.5 million prize pool, followed swiftly by a record breaking $4 million in December 2008.

This year's ECOOP promises to be the best yet, with a staggering $4.5 million guaranteed prize pool and is once again taking the tournament to new and exciting heights attracting players worldwide.

Poker Plex Rake Race

This October Poker Plex will be running not one, but two Rake Races open to all players for a total of $20,000.

All players have to do to be eligible is to play online poker in any of the Tournaments or on any of the Tables.

The Tournament Fee Race for $5,000 and will be based on the amount of Tournament Fee's an individual player generates between October 1st and October 31st.

The top 30 players will all be in the money!

The Ring Table Race for $15,000 and will be based on the amount of Ring Table Rake an individual player generates between October 1st and October 31st.

The top 50 players will win great prizes, just for enjoying the thrill of playing poker online.

What is a Rake Race?

A rake race is a competition to see who can generate  the most rake, poker points, raked hands, or another specific requirement in a period of time, usually a month. Each poker player is competing against other poker players on a specific poker site or network.

In most cases a rake race will payout the top xxx number of players, with the top place finisher receiving a very significant part of the prize pool.

Who are Poker Plex?

Online poker site  Poker Plex  are owned by the company Plex Gaming Ltd. and is part of the iPoker Network which is run and maintained by Playtech, the largest none U.S. Poker Network in the world.  Technical Systems Testing (TST), a North American incorporated company has approved Poker Plex, and has verified the games as true and fair, and Fintradex Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of the company, processes all its financial transactions.

Aruba Poker Classic

With just days before the first hand of the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic is dealt, UltimateBet today announced that a record number of poker professionals will be playing in this year's Main Event in Aruba.

"This is one of my all-time favourite poker tournaments," said Annie Duke, UltimateBet's Cardroom Consultant and member of Team UB. "While the UB community is famous for gathering together at all sorts of other poker tournaments like the WSOP, Aruba is all about celebrating the successes of UltimateBet's online poker players. I can't wait to meet the people I play against online, party with old friends on the beach and make some new ones."

Over the last year, UltimateBet has secured some of the world's most respected poker players for its popular Team UB. To date, the group of online poker pros made up of those who have achieved incredible success online and in land-based events has skyrocketed to 16. Each member of the group has confirmed their attendance in the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic.

Slated to play are Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Joe Sebok, Adam Levy, Billy Kopp, Bryan Devonshire, Brandon Cantu, Debo34, Hollywood Dave, Liv Boeree, Matt Graham, Michael Binger, P0ker H0, Scott Ian, Shawn Rice and Tiffany Michelle.

The Aruba Poker Classic, UltimateBet's signature island poker tournament, heads into its 8th year at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. The weeklong poker experience runs from October 3rd through 10th and features a multi-million dollar prize pool.

Last year's Main Event was won by Matt Brady of Havertown, PA, who took home $1 million for his victory. It's rumored that the poker champion will show up to defend his title.

Players can still secure a $5,500 seat through an online satellite or buy directly into the event right up until the first hand is dealt. For more information on the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic, visit UltimateBet.com.

What surprised us while in Las Vegas was the growth in an already saturated environment that has an abundance of poker rooms.

The 35 million people who visit Las Vegas every year have more options than ever before. 53 card rooms with almost 700 tables make Las Vegas the metropolis based on the game choices and volume of play.

Being the envy of the rest of the Strip is Caesars Palace with 62 tables, making it the biggest room in Las Vegas.

Following closely behind is the Bellagio and The Venetian with 39 tables and Binion’s with 38 tables. Binion’s began hosting the World Series of Poker in 1970 and up until 2005 it was the largest poker room in Vegas.

Further down the list we have The Orleans with 35 tables, the Mirage with 30 and Wynn with 26.

The Green Valley Ranch and the MGM have 22 tables each and with the Red Rock currently at 20 tables.

Just to give you all the facts though, the undeniable king of poker is the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. With a total of 240 cash game tables and tournament tables make this poker room the biggest in the world.

 If you are looking to gain some much needed experience before heading to a European Poker Tour or a World Poker Tour event or a even the World Series of Poker, Las Vegas is the place to be.

The Strip is the ideal location as large buy-in tournaments with relatively small fields can be the steppingstone as you play against seasonal players with long blind levels and with the chances of finishing in the money extremely high.

Coming up with a shortlist is a very difficult task, but here are four poker rooms in Las Vegas that offer some good action right through the weekend.

You can start off the weekend by heading down to the Wynn Las Vegas and the $540 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. This tournament takes place every Friday at noon and it usually averages about three tables. Players start with $5,000 in chips with blinds starting at $25/$50 and go up every 45 minutes. This tournament will give you some high level action but won’t have you playing all day.

If you are looking to spend more time at the tables The Venetian is the place to be. Already with a poker room renowned for its “deep stack” tournaments, this $550 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event usually attracts four or five tables and starts at noon every Saturday. The blinds start at $25/$50 and increase every 40 minutes but with $10,000 in starting chips expect to see a lot of action.

On Sundays, you can head towards one of the most beautiful casinos on the strip, the Mirage where a $430 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event takes place at 5pm. Players receive $4,000 in chips to start with and blind levels increase every 30 minutes.

With pros like Daniel Negreanu and Jennifer Harman playing high stakes poker at any given time, the Bellagio is definitely worth checking out. There is a $540 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament running from Sunday through Thursday and starts at 2pm.  Players receive a lower $3,000 in chip stacks and the blind intervals change every 40 minutes.

Finally if you can afford it, there is a steep $1,080 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event every Friday and Saturday. It starts at 2pm with the blinds starting at $25/$50. Players receive $5,000 in chips with blind levels increasing every 40 minutes.

The combination of new players trying their luck, rounders and the presence of poker professionals make the Bellagio Poker Room a must try.

At the end of the day, win or lose, no matter which poker room you choose to visit while in Las Vegas one thing is for sure, you are going to have the time of your life.