When the former Trump Taj Mahal opens as the Hard Rock Atlantic City on Thursday, visitors are unlikely to recognize the casino’s past.
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It has been nearly five years since the EU Commission told Sweden that its gambling laws contravened EU law, but finally the country has bowed to the pressure and passed new laws that will liberalize the gaming market from Jan. 1, 2019. The only nationally regulated online poker operator in Sweden is Svenska Spel which […]
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Card Player’s 2018 WSOP coverage is sponsored by BetOnline Poker. Get a 100% bonus, up to $1,000, by joining now. The site offers great cash game action and a chance …
The EPT Barcelona is the biggest of PokerStars´ live European events; and, to encourage players to qualify online for the EPT Barcelona Main Event, the site is running a competition that will award a PSPC Platinum Pass to the qualifier who lasts longest – one of ten passes that will be given away during the event.
The Stars Group has closed its latest share offer after raising the funds it needs to buy Sky Betting & Gaming. With cash in place there should be nor further obstacles to the deal which will create the world’s largest online gambling company
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Chris Lawson hides in plain sight every day he sits down to deal. He doesn’t stand out, nor does he want to. A round face and graying hair populate Lawson’s primary features. The most distinguishable asset owned by the 44-year-old Texan is his deep drawl.
The full-time traveling dealer’s chest gets covered by more uniforms in a year than a minor league baseball player. The black and blue of Seminole Hard Rock followed by the blue polo of the Borgata turns into the white shirt and black vest of the World Series of Poker for two months every year.
It is likely that every player who enters a WSOP event this year has Lawson deal to them or at least a table in their section. He deals all the games and the largest buy-in events as part of his six days a week, 9-12 hour schedule.
Lawson earns a sizable portion of his living during these months. He and his wife, Amy, travel in an RV together cross-country for between 20 and 26 weeks a year and encounter thousands of players on the poker road. The pair sold their exterminating business in 2015 to give dealing a full-time shot after both worked at the WSOP for a summer.
The rare time off to work on his own game is of great value. Tournament series come in two-week stints and in between those rigorous trips, Lawson is a competitive player. Following the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in August, Lawson intended to hang around the panhandle between then and the Circuit stop at Coconut Creek, FL. Hurricane Maria pushed the Lawson RV north and they pulled into Biloxi, MS.
Eight days, four cashes, and one Circuit ring later, Lawson earned a seat to the $1 million guaranteed Global Casino Championship for winning the points title at the IP Casino. The seat is worth close to $8,000, and now Lawson waits until August 7 to play for the chance at six figures in a reasonable field of no more than 150.
“It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Lawson said on his freeroll seat. Lawson’s career earnings teeter near $130,000, less than half of the first-place prize at the GCC.
Congratulations poured in from the player and dealer community for Lawson’s accomplishment. Lawson’s craft is appreciated by players for being one of the best dealers in the U.S. When he joins their side of the felt, Lawson fits right in with his over-sized hoodie and hat that obscures any immediate recognition.
On his days off from the dealer string, Lawson is found inside the Pavilion grinding WSOP side events. That’s not all he’s doing to prepare. Lawson is studying his no-limit game for two hours per day using the tools enlisted by Chip Leader Coaching. The program welcomed Lawson as a student in January and he is enjoying the experience thus far.
“It has been great,” Lawson said. “My game has changed since I joined with them. It’s definitely a great experience and has definitely improved my game.
Lawson’s coach, Ryan Jones, finds Lawson to be a tremendous student thanks to his unique perspective of the game. Jones carries high expectations for Lawson although his pupil isn’t playing a high volume leading up to August.
“Chris is one of my more fine-turned students as in he didn’t have a ton of big leaks coming in,” Jones told USPoker.com. “I thought he played pretty well, just minor adjustments that needed to be made in certain departments. He listens and takes advice well. He has access to all the tools to combat what the regs in the GCC field will be doing.”
The studying available to Lawson surrounds him every time he jumps into the box. Lawson says he subliminally logs the sharp moves made by top pros. He specifically singled out the $100,000 High Roller, an event he dealt for the four-day entirety. The catalog retains for after he finishes a shift. As Lawson states, players are at the top of their game and needs to be on top of his, with millions hanging in the balance.
“I get to sit next to the best players in the world and watch them play. It’s definitely a great learning experience.”
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Playing the unique event is a sacrifice for Lawson who will have to miss the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open. Lawson modestly stated he has to work “that much harder” this summer to make up for the fiscal deficit.
Bad beats dealt on a daily basis frames Lawson’s mindset to be centered as the GCC approaches. It is a tournament, after all, and Lawson knows what can happen beyond the control he’s established for his game.
“It’s a great opportunity but it’s like any other tournament where you can play your best and it won’t work out,” Lawson said. “I’m definitely going to prepare as much as I can for it. It’s somewhat of a gambling game and it doesn’t always work out when you play your best.”
Lawson idles each day waiting for his chance to win hundreds of thousands as he pitches winning hands to new bracelet winners. When the time comes, Lawson is ready to play his best and accept the outcome. Min-cash or win, Lawson is back in his RV onto the next stop living his version of the American dream.
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A veteran poker pro and a poker-playing lawyer have resolved a Florida-based dispute stemming from a 2016 staking arrangement. According to a mid-June court document provided to Card Player by …
What started out as research about ‘luck’ for a new book turned into something more for Maria Konnikova. The Russian-born American writer and psychologist is now the newest ambassador for PokerStars.
Konnikova is a two-time New York Times best-selling author, a regular contributor to the New Yorker and host of the podcast, The Grift, about “con artists and the lives they ruin.”
It was a year ago when Konnikova made the conscious decision to enter the poker world. Her latest project will document her journey from novice player to one of elite status while looking at how poker skills translate to the real world.
For the project, Konnikova immersed herself into poker and game theory by playing and studying the game up to nine hours per day. She approached Erik Seidel for some coaching and set off to play poker as a full-time job for one year.
Konnikova has not only survived. She thrived. She has earned more than $200,000 in live tournament winnings including a first-place finish ina $ 1,500 NLH tournament at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. That win also earned her a Platinum Pass to the 2019 PokerStars Players Championship, making her the first woman to claim one.
Konnikova is not showing any signs of slowing down. This week, Konnikova was named PokerStars Ambassador.
Eric Hollreiser, Vice President of Corporate Communications at The Stars Group, said this about Konnikova:
I didn’t know – or frankly care – whether she would become a good enough player to turn pro. I knew from her past literary work that she’d be able to distill the essence of poker into life lessons in ways that would resonate with people. That was good enough for me. The fact that she’s now a competitive professional player is a testament to Maria and her work ethic. And it will also make her story even more compelling.
At a time when some of PokerStars’ biggest names have moved on from their relationship with the online poker site, PokerStars seems to be partnering with a new type of poker player – one with ties outside of poker.
Konnikova certainly fits that bill. As a prolific and well-respected writer, Konnikova has the ability to reach far and wide with her storytelling and tales from studying the game.
Konnikova said the following about joining PokerStars:
I never could have imagined poker becoming as big a part of my life as it has, and joining PokerStars as an official ambassador offers me an incredible opportunity to take my game to the next level and to represent a brand that I’ve come to admire greatly. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the people I have the pleasure of working with at PokerStars are some of the nicest, smartest, and most fun I know. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share my passion for poker with the world and, hopefully, bring many new players into the game.
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The question of whether poker is a game of skill or one of luck is a source of constant debate. Of course, the answer is that it requires a combination of both. Even the best players need luck, or at the very least not to get unlucky to win a tournament with huge player fields.
But how much of poker is skill and how much is luck? Konnikova weighs in.
“I think it’s far more skill than luck. Skill is essential. You will be destroyed without it in the long-term, even if you manage to survive for a bit. Luck, of course, is also a part of the equation: you have to be good and play well, but you also have to get lucky.”
The research that introduced Konnikova to the world of professional poker is for her new book “The Biggest Bluff.” It is due out in 2019.
It’s not so much a book about poker as it is a book about making the best decisions in the most difficult of times. “The Biggest Bluff isn’t about how to play poker. It’s about how to play the world.”
Konnikova, by the looks of things, has figured out how to play both.
Photo: Neil Stoddart
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The Netherlands is on the cusp of overhauling its state-controlled gambling industry. Lawmakers are preparing a draft legislation that will address issues such as addiction and differentiate between games of chance and games of skill. Here’s a brief overview of the proposed changes.
On Thursday, the former Revel Casino will begin its Atlantic City journey as Ocean Resort Casino. Here’s a look at the property’s history and future.
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