Voting for 2nd Annual British Poker Awards Begins Monday 1st August

Poker in the Park, Europe’s biggest free poker festival, will culminate with The British Poker Awards this year. This is a high profile awards ceremony to honour the cream of British poker in a year when UK players have dominated on the international stage. Organisers have announced that the nominees in each category have been chosen and now it’s down to the British public to choose their favourite players when the voting begins online this Monday, 1st August.

Nominees have been chosen by a committee with representatives from Bluff Europe and PokerNews, as well as the “Voice of Poker” himself, Jesse May.

Categories include Best Cash Game Player, Best Tournament Player, Best Online Player, Best Mixed Game Player and Best PLO player, as well as Best Blogger, Best Social Media User and Best Poker League and more.

You can cast your votes by visiting British Poker Awards on Facebook or www.thebritishpokerawards.com.

“This isn’t about self-congratulatory back-slapping,” cautioned Philip Conneller, Editor of Bluff Europe. “It’s about honouring the players who have done us so proud on the world stage this year. It’s about applauding the bloggers and social media users who have kept us entertained through a challenging year in poker, and it’s about praising the poker leagues that tirelessly support the game on a grassroots level in the pubs and clubs of Great Britain.”

Swedish Sensation Isildur1 Gives First Interview to English-Speaking Magazine

As an anonymous force of nature known Isildur1, he terrorised the high stakes tables on Full Tilt Poker in late 2009, scattering the regulars in his wake and taking $5 million from Tom Dwan in a matter of days. Now, for the first time in an English-speaking magazine, Viktor Blom, the man behind the myth, talks exclusively in Bluff Europe’s August issue about the rise of Isildur1 and that epic match against Dwan. He also speaks frankly about his defeat at the hands of Brian Hastings and Cole South, how he felt about it, and what it’s like to lose $5 million in a matter of days.

Also a first: the interview will be available on the iPad from today, in advance of magazine or web publication, so if you can’t wait to read about Isildur’s epic rise and fall, visit the iTunes store and search for “Bluff Europe”. iPad readers can choose to download a single FREE edition from iTunes.

Blom graces the August cover with photo shoot taken by the legendary photographer Rankin. The issue also contains Rankin’s stunning portraits of other Team PokerStars pros, including Live Boeree, ElkY, Sandra Naujoks and Dario Minieri.

“Viktor is now a proud member of Team PokerStars and, although still notoriously publicity shy, is beginning to emerge from the shadows,” said Philip Conneller, Editor of Bluff Europe. “However, when Isildur1 first appeared a couple of years ago, he turned online poker on its head and it truly was an epic couple of months. At the time, we still didn’t know precisely who Isildur was, yet were desperate to talk to him and put him on the cover, so it’s very exciting that we’ve finally got him.”

Finnish Player Hits Record-breaking IPN Bad Beat Jackpot of $1,831,426

A player from Finland hit the Bad Beat Jackpot of $1,831,426 (€1,265,583) at Poker Heaven, one of the poker rooms on GTECH G2's International Poker Network. His share of the record-breaking jackpot was $640,696 (€442,954).

This sets a new IPN Bad Beat Jackpot world record, breaking the previous world record of approximately $1.2 million. The new Jackpot has already started at over $360,000 – remaining the largest Bad Beat Jackpot in online poker.

The player known as OmgoMgomGo, the loser of the hand (with Quad Kings) but the winner of the record breaking Bad Beat Jackpot, received $640,696 (€442,954). Hand winner with Quad Aces, 7Adelaida7, won $320,391 (€221,477). The other 7 players in the hand all received $45,766 each (€31,639) for participating in the hand.

OmgoMgomGo, who joined Poker Heaven earlier this year after seeing the great array of promotions available, was unsurprisingly delighted: “WOOOOOOOOW!! I had KK and all the money went in pre-flop. Once I hit my quads and saw the second Ace come on the river I was hoping that my opponent had hit their 1 outer! When I realised it had happened I was so happy, I still cannot believe it! The atmosphere at the table when it hit was great and I would like to thank all of the players and the Poker Heaven staff for their best wishes. As for what I am going to do with the cash, I am planning to buy a house, a car and will certainly be partying hard.”

William Scott, VP GTECH G2 said: “These are exciting times at IPN. We’ve raised the bar with a massive new world record and with our €2 Million investment into the IPN, we are committed to delivering even bigger promotions and tournaments to our players.”

The IPN, operated by GTECH G2, is Europe’s largest independent poker network. It has more than registered 4,000,000 players and has dealt more than two billion hands. It includes such popular poker sites as VirginPoker.com, PokerHeaven.com, MermaidPoker.com and the Sportingbet.com poker room ParadisePoker.com. A list of International Poker Network poker sites can be found at: http://www.ipnpoker.com/ipn_poker_rooms/area-52.html

Skill Gaming Added to Live Poker, Tuition and Entertainment at Europe's Biggest Poker Festival, Poker in the Park

Europe’s biggest poker festival, Poker in the Park, is adding skill gaming this year to complement the usual mix of live poker, tuition and entertainment. As well as staging an attempt to break the record for the biggest Mahjong tournament in Europe, Poker in the Park will be hosting chess, rummy and backgammon games and seminars.

RummyRoyal.com, the leading platform for online rummy games, will be sponsoring the rummy tent. A spokesperson said, “We’re really excited about Poker in the Park. As well as the element of luck that all card games have, the most important part of rummy is about skill. Like poker, rummy is a game that can be mastered with practise.”

Also for the first time this year, Poker in the Park will be embracing chess, with International Master Malcolm Pein taking part in an exhibition on the main stage, challenging multiple opponents at once, with prizes for anyone that manages to win or draw. There will also be speed chess with Grand Master Simon Williams, plus a giant chess set and games running around the clock.

Organiser Michael Caselli said, “Ultimately, we’re a poker festival, but there’s a lot of crossover between poker and these other skill games and it’s really fun to diversify. This year’s Poker in the Park is about offering an eclectic mix, with more entertainment and a wider variety of games.”

Liberty Bell Rings in New 'Grand Liberty' Casino Game at WinADayCasino.com -- Features Two Bonus Games and Lots of Free Spins

WinADayCasino.com has added another new slot to its unique collection of one of a kind casino games. The new slot machine Grand Liberty has two exciting bonus games to give players lots of extra free playing time. Its ‘wild west’ design and symbols like the Liberty Bell and Statue of Liberty are a tribute to America.

As usual WinADay will give all players some free money to try the new game. Everyone that logs on between July 18th and 24th will find an extra $12 in their account. Players who play Grand Liberty during the launch celebrations also have a chance at winning one of thirty cash prizes with a grand prize of $750.

WinADay creates all of its own games – that’s why they can’t be found at any other online casino. But they did get some help with the name for this one which was chosen through a contest on the casino’s Facebook community page. Hundreds of names were nominated but voters chose the name entered by a player known as “SHLOMIC” who won $500 for his winning suggestion.



Grand Liberty is a 5 reel video slot machine with 30 pay lines featuring two exciting bonus games. Players can bet from $0.02 to $5.00 per payline and win payouts up to 1000x (for five Liberty Bells). Three White Star symbols trigger ten free spins and three Gold Star symbols start the Pick Your Bonus game.

For the Bonus Game, the slot machine symbols are replaced by a grid of fifteen "Pick Me" cards. Players select cards which reveal bonuses up to 5x the bet until they find a Collect symbol which ends the bonus round.

During free spins triggered by three White Stars, the wild Statue of Liberty symbol expands onto the entire reel to substitute for all other symbols on a payline.

WinADayCasino.com is a no download casino with 26 one-of-a-kind online casino games - online slot machines, video poker, roulette and keno. WinADay went back to basics for its last new game, Fruitful 7s, inspired by traditional pub style fruit machines. Most of WinADay’s slots are tied to one progressive jackpot which was recently hit for nearly a quarter million dollars on the Vegas Mania slot machine. The jackpot was reset after that record-breaking win and is currently over $100,000.

Meet other slots players on the WinADay Facebook page!

If you've tried WinADay's new Grand Liberty online slot machine, please use the 'Post a Comment' box below to tell us what you thought of it!

Bigger Poker in the Park Moves to London's Hanover Square this September

Poker in the Park, Europe’s biggest poker festival will return to London on 2nd and 3rd September 2011 at the new venue of Hanover Square, a stone’s throw from Oxford Circus. Last year 20,000 poker fans flocked to Leicester Square to celebrate all things poker and rub shoulders with the likes of Liv Boeree, Devilfish, Neil Channing and Evander Holyfield.  The Gamblogger couldn't make it last year but is looking forward to seeing you there this September!

As well as live Sit n’ Go’s running around the clock, visitors can expect free strategy lectures from some of the world’s top players, live tuition, autograph signings and photos, heads-up tournaments on cutting edge electronic poker tables, cut price deals on the latest books and merchandise, surprise celebrity guests and more. This year the organisers say the event will be even bigger, with more marquees, two giant poker domes, activities and more big name brands.

For the first time ever, there will be a Main Stage, with acts to be confirmed soon. The Main Stage will also host the second annual British Poker Awards, a ceremony to honour the cream of British poker, in a year when UK players continued to dominate on the international stage. Visit www.pokerinthepark.com for more details.

Were you at Poker in the Park last year? Use the Comments box below to tell us about it!

IPN's €1 Million Bad Beat Jackpot Breaks World Record

The Bad Beat Jackpot at sites on the International Poker Network (IPN) has topped €1,000,000 ($1,500,000 and is now the biggest ever. It has broken all previous world records announced a few weeks ago. The IPN includes such popular poker sites as VirginPoker.com, PokerHeaven.com, MermaidPoker.com and the Sportingbet.com poker room ParadisePoker.com.

Players qualify by playing on designated Bad Beat Jackpot tables at participating poker rooms. When the Bad Beat jackpot hits, there must be at least four players sitting at the table for it to be valid. Winning a massive amount of money by losing a big hand is what the IPN Bad Beat Jackpot is all about. A player’s bad luck can turn into good fortune when they lose with a hand of Four of a Kind Tens, or better and win over €350,000.

Prosperity continues when the winner of the pot with the best hand also takes home €175,000. And if a player is dealt cards and then folds on the table where the jackpot hits, they still win big money - over €20,000!

The IPN, operated by GTECH G2, is Europe’s largest independent poker network. It has more than 4,000,000 players and has dealt more than two billion hands.

Poker Staking Site Launches Free Training System and Will Host $5000 Free Roll for Players with Best Report Cards

Badbeat.com invites online poker players to experience 'MyGame', their new poker training tools now available free to anyone.  At the end of the summer, they're hosting an invitation-only $5000 freeroll tournament for the players with the best Report Cards.

Badbeat.com’s unique training system includes a poker hands analysis tool that monitors play and suggests ways to improve. Once a player has played at least 500 cash games they receive a score card that grades them in various aspects of play. In this summer’s What’s Your Score? competition, top scoring players will be invited to participate in a special $5000 freeroll tournament.

To obtain a score and qualify for the freeroll, players must have signed up and played 500 real money cash games at one of Badbeat.com’s partner sites: PokerTime, Royal Vegas Poker, Red Hot Poker, Betsafe, PartyPoker, Poker Encore, TGF Poker, Betfair, PokerStars or Mansion. At the end of August, players with the highest scores will be invited to play in the $5000 freeroll tournament to be held in September.

Badbeat.com is a thought leader in the online poker industry. It is the world’s leading poker staking site and their new MyGame training tools were developed with the poker team that guides, trains and develops their sponsored players.

“Our system works. This is because we have based it on analysing and developing many winning pro players." said John Conroy, Badbeat Managing Director. “The $5000 we’re putting up for the freeroll is an extra incentive for players to try it out for themselves, and to make the absolute most of the help they get.”

MyGame is the best online poker training anywhere and it’s completely free. It builds players’ poker skills from the ground up using a unique "Play and Fix" approach. The system analyses actual game play, spots weaknesses and shows how to fix them.

Badbeat.com stakes many professional players, providing financial backing, mentoring and guidance to help them develop their game without risking their own finances. Badbeat.com sponsored players receive cutting-edge software tools and a structured development path with advanced learning aides, coupled with the knowledge, expertise and support from a pool of world class mentors and support staff. With the new MyGame online poker training facilities, many more poker players will benefit from their experience and advice.

GambleGang.com Launches the "Groupon of iGaming"

Starlight Networks LLC has launched the first ever group buying service dedicated solely to the igaming industry. GambleGang.com is similar to the group buying model used by Groupon, but is focused exclusively on online gaming. GambleGang.com's first group discount bonus doubles initial deposit bonuses at Microgaming casino Red Flush.

The GambleGang.com igaming group buy service has grown out of a large and successful gaming affiliate network. Gamble Gang will use its strengths in e-gaming marketing and relationships with casino, poker and sportsbetting sites to bring online gamblers the best possible group buying deals.

“Groupon and other group discount networks have proven that the group buying model works,” said GambleGang.com Founder. “I’m amazed that no one else is doing it for online casino and poker players and online sports bettors – but here we are, getting online gamblers great deals!”

Gamble Gang has its first group buying deal with Red Flush Casino, a Microgaming powered casino. Users can signup for a Special Group Discount Bonus through Gamble Gang at Red Flush Casino and receive a 200% match deposit bonus on their initial deposit bonus instead of the standard 100% bonus.

This is but a taste of the benefits Gamble Gang will bring to online gamblers worldwide through the power of its group buying model.