Recent Poker News Dump

Here are some interesting poker news stories from the past week. WSOP Main Event Rematches Set A made-for-TV heads-up match between Chris Moneymaker and Sammy Farha will take place this July. The last time the two played heads-up was with the 2003 WSOP Main Event title on the line. Of course, Moneymaker emerged victorious. That win was broadcast all across America and helped trigger the poker boom. online poker 468x60 In July, Farha and Moneymaker will play a best-of-three heads-up match. The first match will start with the same chip stacks they had at the start of their heads-up battle eight years ago: Moneymaker with 5.5 million in chips and Farha with 2.9 million. In the second match, the starting stacks will be reversed. If a third match is necessary, the two will start with equal chip stacks. There are two more Main Event rematches taking place. The second one features a replay of the 1989 Main Event during which Phil Hellmuth prevented Johnny Chan from winning a third straight Main Event. Only one match will take place between these combined 21-time bracelet winners. They will start with even chip stacks. The third match will be determined by a fan vote. There are four choices that can be voted on at WSOP's Facebook page: 1988 rematch between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel 2004 rematch between Greg Raymer and David Williams 2006 rematch between Jamie Gold and Paul Wasicka 2010 rematch between Jonathan Duhamel and John Racener These heads-up matches will air on ESPN on July 26th. Poker Pros to Fight in Kickboxing Match In a rare bit of news that involves poker players actually doing something physical, it was announced last week that top European pros Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (France) and Lex "RaSZi" Veldhius (Netherlands) will fight each other in a kickboxing match sometime before the WSOP. The fight is apparently taking place as a result of a side bet. Grospellier and Veldhius became friends back in their days as top Starcraft players. After turning to poker where he found a great deal of success, ElkY urged Veldhius to give it a try and helped start his career by transferring him $10 online. Veldhius turned that into one of the most impressive bankrolls for a high-stakes online cash game player. It is unclear how much money the two have wagered on the fight or where it will take place. Grospellier and Veldhius match-up well from a body-size standpoint; both men are lean and fairly tall. Veldhius has reportedly been training for a long while. The consensus is that he is the favorite in the fight. Online Poker May Be Legal in Washington D.C. According to the Wall Street Journal, online poker may now be legal in Washington D.C. where a city council ruling to allow the district's lottery to operate an online poker website can no longer be objected by Congress. No such poker site exists in Washington D.C. yet. The lottery hopes to have a poker system available for a test run in certain locations, such as hotels, by the end of the year. Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas said he does not believe D.C. is a large enough market to create a viable online poker business. Just 600,000 people live in the U.S. capital. He did however say that legal online poker in D.C. could help expedite legislation at the federal level. The Washington D.C. budget provision also allows the lottery to run a fantasy sports website. It is unclear if the Department of Justice intends to stand by idly as D.C. rolls out these new forms of online wagering. Party Poker's Card Rush Instant Win Promotion Party Poker is in the middle of awarding 1.8 million prize cards to its real-money players. For the month of April, or until the 1.8 million prize cards run out, players will earn a prize card for every 15 Party Points they collect. Each card awards a prize ranging from $1 to $5,000 and/or entry to a freeroll. Each player receives their first card after just 5 Party Points, so head over to the third largest online poker room today to see how much you can win instantly!