Tampa Bay Downs
February 29, 2008
Tampa Bay Downs is an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Tampa, Florida. It opened in 1926 under the name Tampa Downs. The first of many names, the racetrack was well known as Florida Downs. The founding operation was headed by Ohio investor Harvey Mayers and Kentucky Colonel Matt J. Winn. In 1943, the United States Army took over the track for use as a training facility.
On February 12, 1981, Julie Krone, then an apprentice jockey and now a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, got her first career victory here.
In 1983 the track began running periodic Arabian horse races.
Palm Beach Princess
February 29, 2008
The Palm Beach Princess is a gambling ship that sails out of the Port of Palm Beach twice daily for a cruise to nowhere. The ship was originally a 5,171GRT 50-car passenger ferry. She was built by Wärtsila in Helsinki, Finland in 1964 for the Finland SS Co. as their first motor passenger ship under the name Ilmatar. Read more
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa
February 29, 2008
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa is a gaming complex and four-diamond hotel that opened in Tampa, Florida in 2004. It is a 24 hour venue, with a nightclub that is open until 6 AM.
Phil Ivey
February 29, 2008
Phil Ivey (born February 1, 1976 in Riverside, California) is an American professional poker player.Ivey was born in Riverside, California and moved with his family across the country to Roselle, New Jersey as a three-month old. He crafted his game playing skills amongst his co-workers at a New Brunswick, New Jersey telemarketing firm in the late 1990s. One of his nicknames, “No Home Jerome”, stems from the ID card he secured to practice in Atlantic City in his teenage years.
Despite now focusing more on cash games than tournaments, his tournament accomplishments include winning three bracelets at the 2002 World Series of Poker, tying Phil Hellmuth Jr and Ted Forrest for the most wins in a single year.
Ivey also has bracelets in Pot Limit Omaha from 2000 and 2005. In 2000, he was the first player to beat Amarillo Slim heads-up. In addition to his five World Series Bracelets, Ivey has shown great success in the WSOP Main Event. He placed in the top 25 three times from 2002 to 2005, with the fields growing exponentially each year. Ivey finished 23rd in 2002, 10th in 2003, and 20th in 2005.
Ivey has also reached numerous final tables on the World Poker Tour, but has yet to win an event. Coincidentally, he has lost several of these WPT events by being eliminated while holding the same starting hand each time, an ace-queen. Phil has made seven WPT final tables, his best finish being 2nd at the World Poker Open, in Season One of the World Poker Tour. He has won nearly 1.3 million dollars from those final table appearances.
Ivey made his debut on the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, September 2006. He came to the final table of nine as the chipleader, but he eventually came in second to Bjørn-Erik Glenne from Norway.
In 2006, Ivey was enticed to London to participate in The London All Star Challenge of the inaugural European Poker Masters. Not only Europe’s first ever independent poker tour, the EPM boasted the best line-up of players ever seen in Europe. As one of the favorites, Ivey made it to the final table to finish 7th, and collected just shy of $15,000.
On 20 November 2005, Ivey won the $1,000,000 first prize at the Monte Carlo Millions tournament. Just one day after winning $1 Million, Ivey took home another $600,000 for finishing first at “The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo”. The other six men consisted of (in reverse finishing order) Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson, Dave Ulliott, and John Juanda.
As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8,000,000.
Phil Ivey Wins the 2008 WPT L.A. Poker Classic
February 29, 2008
Phil Ivey – Phil Hellmuth – Nam Le – A World Poker Tour final table – And a $1,596,100 first-place prize set the scene at the Commerce Casino. Who could ask for a better situation than having two of the best know players in poker face off well having a well rounded table in Nam Le, Charles Moore, Quinn Do and Scott Montgomery.
Poker fans expected fireworks from this final table and were not disappointed, the chip stacks looked like this at the start of the final table
Seat 1: Quinn Do - 1,450,000
Seat 2: Nam Le - 1,180,000
Seat 3: Phil Hellmuth - 2,380,000
Seat 4: Phil Ivey - 4,100,000
Seat 5: Charles Moore - 1,510,000
Seat 6: Scott Montgomery - 2,680,000
The World Poker Tour’s premiere stop in Los Angeles for the LA Poker Classic is nearing an end
February 29, 2008
The WPT LA Poker Classic in nearing an end. Day 5 of the Championship Event wrapped up on Wednesday and from the original 665 players, we are down to 6. A lot of pro players and many other wanna-bes shelled out the $10K buy-in, looking to become the WPT LA Poker Classic winner.
Poker fans can expect fireworks from this final table as it features pro players Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Nam Le. Both Ivey & Hellmuth are still searching for their first WPT title but Nam Le was already crowned a World Poker Tour champion back at the 2006 Bay-101 Shooting Star tournament.
Here are the official chip counts heading into the final table:
Seat 1. Quinn Do - 1,450,000
Seat 2. Nam Le - 1,180,000
Seat 3. Phil Hellmuth - 2,380,000
Seat 4. Phil Ivey - 4,100,000
Seat 5. Charles Moore - 1,510,000
Seat 6. Scott Montgomery - 2,680,000
Casinos feel U.S. downturn as gamblers pinch nickels
February 28, 2008
NEW YORK: Casinos, generally seen as recession-proof, are beginning to feel the pain of the slowing U.S. economy.
The gambling industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, as more U.S. states allowed casinos and existing gaming parlors expanded. Casino gambling revenue, the amount lost by players, doubled between 1995 and 2006 to $32 billion, according to the American Gaming Association.
But with the U.S. economy slowing, there are signs that Americans, especially patrons of local casinos, are not in a betting mood.
Poker Player Shot During San Antonio Game Robbery
February 28, 2008
Three masked men fired shots and then burst into the back door of a San Antonio Texas home where a poker game was being held. In the course of robbing the game of approximately $3000 and the players’ wallets, a player was shot twice in the chest. San Antonio television station KSAT reported that the game was “high stakes,” but also reported that the game was a $300 buy-in.
Charles Lineberry, 49, was taken to University Hospital where he was in critical condition. The San Antonio native and father of one has grossed over $170,000 in tournaments in the last three years, with two of the cashes coming in WSOP events. In one of his online profiles, Lineberry wrote that if he could change anything in the world of poker, he would “legalize poker in Texas.”
