Frank and Paul Still Fighting for Poker Carve Out

Earlier this week it was announced that Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) would be introducing a modified version of the System Protection Act, the legislation aimed at eliminating online poker, among other forms of online gambling, from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The System Protection Act of 2008, H.R. 6879, is now scheduled for mark up on Tuesday. When originally introduced as H.R. 5767 by Frank and Ron Paul (R-Texas) the proposed bill was defeated in the House Committee on Financial Services.

Poker Players Alliance Capturing Audiences at Conventions

For some it might have been Barrack Obama’s speech or the fighting words from Sarah Palin, but for many others apparently the highlight of convention season may have just been some poker.

The Poker Players Alliance took full advantage of the gathering of both Democrats and Replubicans to hold two charity poker tournaments, one at each convention. The events raised $140,000 for the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

The event held at the Democratic National Convention featured celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Seth Meyers, Sarah Silverman and Montel Williams. Poker pros Andy Bloch and Victor Ramdin also attended. Affleck emerged victorious from the 180-person event.

“Our events were tremendously successful and they could not have been done without the cooperation and assistance of our PPA members in Denver and Minneapolis. We raised over $140,000 for paralyzed veterans and brought a unique and fun event to both the Democratic and Republican Conventions,” said former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, chairman of the PPA.  “PPA is honored to have held this event to demonstrate the poker community’s deep support for our veterans who fight for our freedoms and rights every day.”

Borgata Poker Open Preliminary Events Recap

The biggest series of tournaments on the East Coast wrapped up this week and if numbers are any indication of the health of the poker market in Atlantic City, things are looking good. Here are the winners and numbers from Event #4 - #11. The names include a double winner and a World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour title holder.

Event 4 ($1500 No Limit Hold’em) 416 entries - $624,000 Prize Pool - Winner: Avdo Djokovic $178,588
Event 5 ($300 Ladies No Limit Hold’em) 283 entries - $84,900 Prize Pool - Winner: Esther Fedorkevich $25,470
Event 6 ($300 Limit Hold’em) 291 entries - $87,300 Prize Pool - Winner: Howard Wolper $26,190
Event 7 ($400 Limit Hold’em) 483 entries - $193,200 Prize Pool - Winner: John Gale $55,293
Event 8 ($300 Seven-card Stud) 169 entries - $50,700 Prize Pool - Winner: Francis Pinchot $17,238
Event 9 ($500 Limit Hold’em) 471 entries - $235,500 Prize Pool - Winner: Howard Wolper $67,400
Event 10 - $2500 No Limit Hold’em 307 entries - $767,500 Prize Pool - Winner: Manelic Minaya $222,575
Event 11 - $500 + $60 No Limit Hold’em 520 entries - $260,000 Prize Pool - Winner: Adam Chipiuk $74,074

The Borgata Poker Open World Poker Tour championship event begins Sunday.

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