Veronica Brill, Todd Witteles agree to drop Mike Postle involuntary bankruptcy case

Whether or not alleged poker cheat and failed libel-suit litigant Mike Postle will ever be forced to pay the combined $55,000 in legal fees he owes former defendants Veronica Brill and Todd Witteles has become somewhat more doubtful after Brill and Witteles agreed to drop their own involuntary-bankruptcy petition against Postle. The California-based federal case …

Run It Once Online Poker Site, 2019-2022

Once in a while a well-meaning experiment just doesn’t work out. That’s the case with the Run It Once Poker online-poker site that RIO founder Phil Galfond launched in 2019, after a couple of years of plodding development. Galfond announced in recent days that the non-US site would be closing its doors to its small …

Global Poker Awards to Return in February 2022

One of the special functions of the poker world that went away as the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020 is set to return this February. The 2022 edition of the Global Poker Awards, honoring the best and brightest of the poker world in 2021, will be held on February 18, 2022, at the PokerGO …

Eli Elezra’s PHOF Election Highlights Issues with Current Hall Voting Process

If you tracked recent happenings regarding the Poker Hall of Fame, it was an interesting, intriguing year. The topline story is that Eli Elezra was the 2021 PHOF inductee. Elezra has been a finalist in several previous years, so seeing him get the nod this time around was unsurprising. It’s how Elezra received the honor …

2021 WSOP Main Event final table payouts stir controversy

We’re part way through the latest rendition of the World Series of Poker Main Event, and few things have changed. With a final turnout of 6,650 players, the Main Event exceeded expectations, including mine. I never thought it would get to 6,000, but the just-in-time relaxation of the United States’ international travel rules regarding COVID-19 …

The Three Seasons of the WSOP

It’s been a different sort of World Series of Poker in 2021 to date, as one would expect. Between the shift from early summer to mid-autumn, caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and all the other pandemic-related changes that one sees on a day-to-day basis, one never knows quite what to expect. There’s also one …

Thomas Hammers’ short-lived and ill-conceived Ladies Event raises only ‘martini’ money

Monday was a strange day at the 2021 World Series of Poker. Besides Phil Hellmuth’s inglorious F-bomb blowup at the final table of the Seven Card Championship going viral, there was another strange tale going on simultaneously. A middle-aged man from Minnesota, Thomas Hammers, entered the Ladies Event. There are direct reports on this as …

Week 1 at the 2021 WSOP: Long lines but festive mood

It’s taken nearly two and a half years, but a live-action World Series of Poker has returned at last. Action began on September 30 with the traditional Casino Employees event and the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. Since then, and through a few early days with challenging technical hurdles, the 2021 WSOP has already hit full stride. …

Mike Postle Seeks Dismissal of Involuntary-Bankruptcy Petition

It’s time again for the latest from the Mike Postle saga, where the accused poker cheat and failed libel-case litigant has finally filed a motion to dismiss the involuntary-bankruptcy petition filed against his a couple of months back by Veronica Brill and Todd Witteles. Brill and Witteles were the only two of the 12 defendants …

WSOP Mask Mandate Lifted… Partially

The situation involving the World Series of Poker’s plans for running the 2021 WSOP amid a still-raging COVID-19 pandemic remains fluid. Among the most recent developments is the WSOP’s recent announcement that masks will not be required to be worn at the poker tables by players who have been vaccinated and who are asymptomatic. As …