Wait, poker is not gambling? That’s what we hear! In recent weeks, public radio stations, including New Hampshire’s NHPR, have been airing a broadcast of the storytelling program The Moth that includes a segment by Concord native Annie Duke, who was known as Annie Lederer when she was a student at Rundlett Junior High School. Duke, whose parents were teachers, her mother at Concord High, her father at St. Paul’s, is one of the world’s best poker players, as is her brother, Howard Lederer. For The Moth, Duke recounts the crisis of confidence she faced at the 2004 world series…

From LA Times Poker aficionados will descend on Las Vegas as the 44th World Series of Poker kicks off at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The first event, which began Wednesday, is a two-day No-Limit Hold ‘em tournament exclusively for casino employees. This year, the World Series of Poker, first held in 1970, will run until July 15 and will feature 62 events on 480 tables. Seemingly every major poker variation is present in the tournament, with buy-ins for the various events ranging from $500 to $111,111. Anyone 21 years or older can enter. Tens of thousands of poker enthusiasts…

From Poker Fuse At midday on Thursday, November 6, Full Tilt Poker was successfully relaunched under new management. As part of Rational Group’s settlement with the US Department of Justice, $186 million, the sum of all non-US player deposits prior to Full Tilt’s closure, was returned to poker players. It could be immediately withdrawn, transferred to PokerStars or—as the new FTP management hoped—left online and used to play on the relaunched site. To encourage players to stay, FTP was launched to much fanfare: “relaunch week” included freerolls, happy hours, and big cash bonuses for all. “The Professionals” graced the high…

From Vegas Inc Critics of online gaming say a new generation of problem gamblers is likely to emerge with Internet poker being so readily available. But two presenters at this week’s 15th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking at Caesars Palace say computer programs are being used to educate online gamblers and force them to think twice before making wagers they can’t afford. In a session on responsible gambling and new technologies, Mark Griffiths, a professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University in Great Britain, and Andreas Holmstrom, CEO of Sweden-based Playscan, discussed strategies to communicate with players…

From iGaming Business As part of his sponsorship deal with PokerStars, 2008 Olympic gold medallist and eleven-time Grand Slam tennis champion Rafael Nadal challenged 100 fans to a game of mobile online poker over the weekend. The Majorca-born tennis star will celebrate his 27th birthday on Monday and took part in the special PokerStars-sponsored competition during a break from his preparations to defend his French Open men’s singles title. “It’s no secret that I love the competition and that’s what I like about the game of poker,” said Nadal, who has won the world-famous Roland Garros tournament in each of…

From Poker News The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement will publish a draft of proposed Internet gambling regulations in the New Jersey Register on June 3, opening a 60-day period for public comment. In advance of the official publication, the draft regulations already are up on the Division’s website. Early reviews of the regulations indicate they look good from the players’ perspective. “There are a few things we’ll probably look into in the general comment period, but overall the regulations seem pretty fair,” said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. Two concerns of the PPA, according…