What’s New in the World of Poker

A lot of things are happening in the world of poker. Tournaments are happening here and there, new applications are being introduced. You can’t get enough of new things from poker. Here’s a rundown of your hottest Online poker news.

WPT Championship in the Bellagio

This week started Season 8 of the World Poker Tour Championships which ends on April 25. While previous seasons were witness to big turnouts, the current run marked a low attendance. Upon final registration, only a total of 195 were listed. This is a big drop from Season 5 that had a total of 639 registered players.

Several reasons may be attributed to this. With the WPT’s $25K buy-in, the dwindling economy is surely one obstacle that some players face. The recent trouble with European flights due to the Iceland ash is also one reason that prevented some 30 players from Europe from flying in. But according to some sources, the major reason that this year’s turnout isn’t that great is because of WPT’s failure to partner with online sites. A number of other tournaments have this and it’s what has made their events very successful.

WPT retorted that though they would love to accept players from these online sites, they are not able to. Because of the law forbidding U.S. banks to collect and receive money from online gambling sites, WPT’s financial firm cannot accept money from these sites. WPT is currently trying to work it out with the Nevada Gaming Commission but they are still waiting for answers.

Even with the small turnout, the game goes on. And as of Day 2, 98 players have qualified for the next round. $1,530,537 awaits the first placer while 18 other places will be filled from a band of $4.7 million.

Facebook App for WPT Texas Holdem Poker

On a lighter note, WPT just recently introduced the WPT Texas Holdem Poker Facebook Application. Facebook users can now play this game with their friends online and what’s best is they can play this for free. They can also customize it by creating their own avatar. Among the prizes that users can win from playing at Facebook is a passage to the WTP Bootcamp Battle. This will be a 7-night poker event on Sea Cruise where they will be able to play alongside poker professionals.

World Team Poker

Announced just March of last year, World Team Poker aims to bring poker to a whole new level. It will consist of teams from different countries competing with each other. There’s also a new thing being introduced with this tournament. This will be coaching and substitutions. With the Inaugural event coming this May 19th, different teams have been set up. Just recently, Team USA was introduced with Doyle Brunson and Phil Helmuth as co-captains. Allen Cunningham, Annie Duke, Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow and Erik Seidel will comprise the team.

This is surely one poker event to look forward to. With the other Online poker news and other exciting new things being launched and being offered in poker, you can’t help but just be glued in.