Ivey was the toast of the poker world on Saturday

We still have a week to go until the World Series of Poker gets underway, but it is already starting to feel like the big action is underway thanks to several big poker news stories this week.  Some were exciting, like Phil Laak’s attempt to break the endurance record and the opening of The Ivey Room at Aria, while others have many poker fans worried about poker’s legal standing after the June 1st Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)deadline.  If you need to catch upon the action,we’ve got the good, the bad and the ugly from the world of poker news:

Aria Hosts the Ivey League

The biggest party in Vegas this weekend was arguably the launch of The IveyRoom at CityCenter’s Aria Casino poker room on Saturday.  The $1 million freeroll event drew an elite invite-only field of celebrities, poker pros and, of course, Phil Ivey.  Ivey played his role as host to perfection, cutting the ceremonial ribbon and cheerfully chatting with everyone in the room.

BLUFF was on hand for the event and spoke with Ivey about the honor before the tournament got underway.  Later, Ivey took a break from the high stakes action running in his new poker room to play the tournament winner, Larry Litton, heads-up for an additional prize of $250,000.  Ivey quickly dispatched his opponent and promptly returned to the big game in The Ivey Room alongside the likes of Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Tim Phan, David Benyamine and Eli Elezra.

BLUFF Talks with Tokwiro COO Paul Leggett

A couple of weeks ago, Poker Table Ratings first broke the news that there was a security flaw in Cereus Poker Network’s software that made it possible to hack information ranging from hole cards to passwords.  In the time following that announcement, Cereus took several steps to remedy the problem, including implementing a new encryption system that implements Open SSL.  There were still a few kinks to iron out and questions to answer, so the company’s COO Paul Leggett sat down with BLUFF’s Editor-In-Chief Lance Bradley to discuss the matter.

Leggett speaks on everything from the current breach to potential repercussions from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) to the UB Poker cheating scandal.  ”I realize I’ve got some questions to answer to wrap that up,” said Leggett.

APPT Heads to Macau

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) hit the Asian gambling mecca of Macau this week for the second of five stops on the tour’s Season 4 schedule.  The final table played out on Sunday at the Grand Lisboa Casino and featured two American players, Albert Kim and Victorino Torres.  A grand total of 342 players took part in the $40,000HKD ($5,126) buy-in event and the winner will take home a top prize of $3,246,200 HKD ($416,000).  BLUFF will have the scoop on who was able to take down the final table later today.

Macau was not the only spot featuring tournament action this week either.  Team China won the inugural Word Team Poker (WTP) event and Fred Berger won the final WSOP Circuit Main Event of the 2009-2010 season in New Orleans.

Phil Laak Says He’s Got Stamina

It has been less than a year since Paul Zimbler broke the poker endurance record at the World Series of Poker Europe , but his record is already at risk.  Phil “The Unabomber” Laak has set his sights on the honor and announced this week that he will be vying to break that record with a marathon session at the Bellagio.

“I have played many enduro sessions of poker, but never anything of this magnitude,” Laak said.  He will begin playing on June 2nd and does not intend to stop until June 5th, when he has broken the 74-hour record held by Zimbler.  Laak is attempting to play for eighty solid hours and donate half of his winnings from his session to Camp Sunshine.

House Holds Hearing on HR 4796

The original hearing for Rep. Barney Frank’s online gambling legislation was postponed last month, but this week the House Ways and Means Committee did find time to discuss the issue as supporters on both sides of thedebate spoke out on the matter at a hearing on Wednesday.  A number of pro-online gaming organizations like the Poker Players Alliance commented on the hearing, which comes just two weeks before the June 1st UIGEA enforcement deadline.

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