Feds Freeze Online Poker Players' Winnings

(NEWSER) - The government's online poker ban isn't just hypocritical—given that state lotteries are "the nation's most aggressive promoters of gambling"—it's unfairly slandering a sport that requires great skill by labeling it mere gambling, George F. Will writes in the Washington Post. Professional poker player Howard Lederer—known as "The Professor"—believes lawmakers need to look at mathematicians' work on game theory, and realize that playing poker requires a brain-straining ability to calculate probabilities, use logic, and bluff. More»

Texan was game's first superstar

(NEWSER) - Amarillo Slim, a poker Hall of Famer who was instrumental in bringing the game into the national limelight, died Sunday at 83 of colon cancer, his son tells the Los Angeles Times . Slim, born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr., "brought poker out of the back alleys," says a historian of the game. "It was really Slim that became the face of poker for middle America." Born in Arkansas in 1928, Slim spent years as an illegal bookmaker and pool hustler—both in and out of the US Navy— before turning his attention to poker in the 60s. More»

Poker federation wants to change image into that of a 'mind sport'

(NEWSER) - The International Federation of Poker is making its biggest gamble yet—that poker can become a bigger game by getting rid of the gambling. “The fact is there are all these people who are attracted to poker but have stayed away from it because they didn’t want to risk money,” the president of the federation's US branch tells Forbes . After all, he notes, one of the most popular Facebook games is Zynga Poker, which has 60 million users, despite not using real money. More»

League to interview Yankees' Rodriguez about alleged gambling

(NEWSER) - Alex Rodriguez may have wagered more than he thought. The Yankees slugger is facing possible suspension over alleged involvement in high-stakes poker games, reports ESPN . The third baseman is accused of playing in at least two games—one at the Beverly Hills mansion of a record producer that included open cocaine use and the threat of violence when another poker player lost "more than a half-million dollars," according to a person who claims to have been in the game. (Details on that from Star, via Radar .) More»

Pros have drastically better return on investment

(NEWSER) - With the US cracking down on online poker , Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt has published a study demonstrating that it’s a game of skill, not a game of chance. That’s a major distinction, because games of chance are forbidden as gambling under state and federal laws, whereas games of skill aren’t, the Chicago Tribune explains. Levitt, a major poker aficionado, analyzed World Series players the same way investors analyze stocks, and discovered that top pros boast a drastically better return-on-investment. More»