Uncharted but not unvaccined territory as WSOP approaches

It’s been over two years since a full, live World Series of Poker has taken place, and while the 2021 edition of the WSOP remains a full-go, it’s going to be a World Series like no other. A short while back, Caesars and the WSOP mandated that all visitors to this year’s series must be …

Players Behaving Badly, Part 3: Salman Behbehani Pinched in Ibiza for Drug Smuggling

An interesting tale comes to us in recent days from the Mediterranean Sea, where high-stakes pro Salman Behbehani was arrested for drug smuggling after flying to the Spanish island of Ibiza, a touristy resort destination. There are so many curious aspects to his tale it’s hard to know where to start. Behbehani, 33, was one …

World Series of Poker Might Head to Bally’s / Paris Casinos in 2022

As rumors go, this is a good one, coming from a well-placed but unconnected-to-poker source with little reason to make something up: The World Series of Poker may be headed for the Las Vegas Strip in 2022, to be split between adjoining Caesars properties, Bally’s and Paris. News of the presumptive change comes from a …

Welcome to the ‘Short Deck High Roller Bowl’ Europe

There’s an old poker saw about elite pros playing a different poker game than everyone else, but it’s somewhat rare to see the proof in the cards, so to speak. Yet that’s what’s happening to the Super High Roller Bowl as it announces its “Europe” series debut, to be held at the ritzy-ritzy Merit Royal …

Landon Tice v Bill Perkins: One-Sided Intangibles Decide It

I’m not a big fan of the heads-up duels that have again seem to become a flavor du jour in the poker world of late. It’s actually the second time around for heads-up duels to receive a ton of attention; the first wave occurred a few years, then ended abruptly when the infamous Durrrr Challenge …

Players Behaving Badly, Part 2: Blieden’s Song

Then there’s the legal tale of Dennis Blieden, the winner of the World Poker Tour’s 2019 LA World Poker Classic for a cool million dollars. The problem, though no one in the poker world knew it besides Blieden himself, was that the million dollars he won was just a drop in the bucket compared to …

Players Behaving Badly, Part 1: Brill Interviews Mike Postle’s Ex

Sometimes poker stories are difficult in unexpected ways. One of the most recent examples of this unfortunate truism was the video interview Veronica Brill conducted a week ago with Mike Postle’s former wife, Sabina Johnson. Brill interviewed Johnson way back on Mother’s Day in early May, and it took Brill another four weeks to publish …

The Las Vegas Poker Summer With a Hole in the Middle

While things are slowly returning to a more normal state of affairs, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its massive effect on live-poker events around the globe, it’ll be some time yet before the poker world returns to as it was pre-pandemic. Case in point: Las Vegas, Nevada, where it’ll be a busy summer, but perhaps …

The Online Gambling Return of Freddy the Fraudster

This one’s been gestating in your faithful scribe’s brainpan for a few weeks, and it’s going to hop around a bit in the getting there, but it’s a heck of an ongoing tale. It involves Fereidoun “Fred” Khalilian, who also fancies himself as “Prince” and “Khalifa”, and who has for many years tried to insert …

Mike Postle Files to Dismiss Libel Lawsuit, Endgame Issues Linger

On April 1, alleged poker cheat Mike Postle filed a voluntary dismissal motion in the Sacramento Superior Court where his $330 million defamation lawsuit was under consideration. The motion means Postle won’t be getting any of that money he might have dreamed of, though it’s not the end of the whole affair. There are still …