If you’re looking to take advantage of the massive amount of free money that Carbon gives out each month, you should take a look at our monthly freerolls schedule:

Daily $200 freeroll @ 00:00 – NLHE, registration is open
Daily $200 freeroll @ 06:00 – NLHE, registration is open
Daily $200 freeroll @ 12:00 – PLO, registration is open
Daily $200 freeroll @ 18:00 – HORSE, registration is open
Daily $200 freeroll @ 20:00 – NLHE, registration is open

Last day of each month $750 @ 15:15 – NLHE, invitation for Earth VIP members
Last day of each month $1,500 @ 15:15 – NLHE, invitation for Wind VIP members
Last day of each month $2,000 @ 15:15 – NLHE, invitation for Fire VIP members
Last day of each month $2,500 @ 15:15 – NLHE, invitation for Water VIP members
Last day of each month $3,500 @ 15:15 – NLHE, invitation for Ether VIP members

Daily First Depositors’ Freeroll $500 @19:15 – NLHE, invitation to first depositors

Without further ado, the 64 entrants include:

• Jason Alexander
• Patrik Antonius
• Eric Baldwin
• David Benyamine
• Andy Bloch
• Liv Boeree
• James Bord
• Doyle Brunson
• Joe Cada
• Daniel Cates
• Johnny Chan
• Don Cheadle
• Nicolas Chouity
• Allen Cunningham
• Jonathan Duhamel
• Annie Duke
• Tom Dwan
• Peter Eastgate
• Eli Elezra
• Antonio Esfandiari
• Chris Ferguson
• Ted Forrest
• Phil Galfond
• Phil Gordon
• Barry Greenstein
• Bertrand Grospellier
• Joe Hachem
• Gus Hansen
• Jennifer Harman
• Phil Hellmuth
• Phil Ivey
• Faraz Jaka
• John Juanda
• Gabe Kaplan
• Frank Kassela
• Eugene Katchalov
• Phil Laak
• Howard Lederer
• Erick Lindgren
• Ayaz Mahmood
• Thomas Marchese
• Mike Matusow
• Jason Mercier
• Michael Mizrachi
• Sorel Mizzi
• Chris Moneymaker
• Daniel Negreanu
• Scotty Nguyen
• Annette Obrestad
• Dennis Phillips
• Dwyte Pilgrim
• John Racener
• Greg Raymer
• Vanessa Rousso
• Kara Scott
• Huck Seed
• Erik Seidel
• Vanessa Selbst
• Emmitt Smith
• Gavin Smith
• Jennifer Tilly
• Melburn Whitmire
• David Williams
• Justin Young

With all of (well, most of) these illustrious names, one hallowed Main Event champion remains snubbed: Jerry Yang.

A recent thread on the Two Plus Two Poker Forums satirized his absence after he reached out through a friend hoping to sway public opinion and start a revolution. Forum user “doublejoker” posted:

“He has played in this event the past 3 years, and beat some stiff competition last year to finish 5th(he beat Jennifer Harman Mike Matusow and Barry Greenstein). He was told this year that he will not be invited back. He has fared well in this event, has been a great ambassador for poker, has given back to the community, and really shouldnt have his spot taken away.  He said any support offered by he 2p2 community would be greatly appreciated.”

After Yang’s 2007 victory in the name of Christ was justifiable fluke with it taking him three years to follow-up with a live tourney cash (which was last year’s Heads-Up Poker Championship), my cynicism towards his relevancy is friendsies with the brutal honesty of forum user “mrrpb”:

“To be honest, I don’t think he’s owed anything by the poker community.”

Well, not cars plural–just one Jeep Cherokee in my driveway. OK, I lied again. I just slammed the door loudly after returning from Stop and Shop. Regardless, the news of Norm MacDonald replacing Gabe Kaplan is as egregious an error with directing as Marty McFly having two separate actresses play his girlfriend in Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II, or why there was no explanation given as to how Cory Matthews didn’t notice a new sister sitting on his couch during the second season of Boy Meets World.

GSN announced on Monday that Saturday Night Live (SNL) alum Norm MacDonald would be relieving Gabe Kaplan of his announcing duties on the seventh season of High Stakes Poker. Growing up, I couldn’t get enough of Norm’s dry humor through SNL’s prime. Arguably some of the greatest years of the show were when he was a sketch actor and the host of “Weekend Update”, as there has been nobody since to fill his shoes at the divine levels. That was in the mid-90s. It’s now 2011, and his relevance  has dwindled down to his annual 15 seconds of fame during ESPN’s World Series of Poker broadcasts. With Kaplan’s $855,658 in lifetime poker earnings, Norm adds about as much value to the show as a person getting their ticket number called to suit up and play because the home team’s quarterback tore his ACL.

I can’t help but think that in Gabe’s absence, the entire essence of the show will be lost. His poker knowledge, experience, and snappy wit and irreverence were holding the show together at the seams, in between big pots and even bigger players, bigger players of which aren’t even returning. While Norm will arrive with his own sense of humor, his on-air personality combined with what little knowledge he actually has of poker–outside of knowing that it’s not a good thing to consistently bust out on day one of the Main Event–will act as a catalyst to a severe drop in ratings. Remember where you read it.

The dissension caused in the token line-up of players will also help send the show off towards obscurity. There will be no Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies, Eli Elezra, or Gus Hansen due to sponsorship conflicts. There will be no Gabe Kaplan to offer insight AND colorful commentary. Instead, we have Norm MacDonald, who’s commentary will be as colorful as a color blind person starring at a rainbow. Instead, we have Kara Scott, who will be “providing illuminating behind-the-scenes reports, revealing player interviews and expert poker analysis.” She did such a stellar job last season asking six questions an episode to two separate players to collect a paycheck. I can’t wait to have my viewing experience illuminated.

GSN also released the official player list, including a few names that earlier speculation had missed:

• Mike Baxter
• Eric Boneta
• Doyle Brunson
• Johnny Chan
• Robert Croak
• Jon Duhamel
• Antonio Esfandiari
• Phil Galfond
• Barry Greenstein
• Bill Klein
• Phil Laak
• Jason Mercier
• Julian Movsesian
• Daniel Negreanu
• David Peat
• Bill Perkins
• Andrew Robl
• Phil Ruffin
• Vanessa Selbst
• Bob Voulgaris

Who in the hell are the the random bolded people peppered on this list accomplished players?

“A total of six new amateurs will also participate: Robert Croak, the creator of SillyBandz; Bill Klein, a retired businessman and philanthropist; billionaire entrepreneur Phil Ruffin, who owns the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, as well as many other successful ventures; Julian Movsesian, a life insurance executive whose company specializes in serving high-end clients; Bill Perkins, president of a private equity and venture capital firm; and Erik Boneta, a watch dealer and wholesaler who specializes in Rolex watches.”

Oh, random local Vegas gazillionaires asked by GSN to participate in order to fuel the mindlessly reckless pots absent due to the fact that many of the brightest minds in the game will not be appearing this season. Hey, at least I can see these nobodies in 3D!?!?!?! Give me a break.

Truly, what has happened to High Stakes Poker? I mean what, were Gilbert Gottfried, Rob Schneider, or Paula Poundstound too busy? I like Norm MacDonald…when I watch my SNL reruns and on the Bob Saget roast.  Kaplan has been a staple to poker coverage for decades, cementing his presence amongst the community. You take the woman out of the Mona Lisa painting and it’s just a stupid framing of mountains and roads. You take Kaplan out of High Stakes Poker and it’s just another stupid poker television show sponsored by a site trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience, in turn, segregating the people who appreciate why the show actually exists.

I guess if there is one plus to all of this, at least it’s not Ray Romano.

Harrah’s has released the schedule for the 42nd annual World Series of Poker, taking place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Two major differences have been implemented in the the 2011 Series:

1. Tournaments will now have hard stop times. Instead of days ending based upon how many players are left remaining in the field, the tournament will conclude daily after the tenth level of blinds at 12:45 a.m. For events starting at 5 p.m., the eighth level of blinds will close out the evening at 2 a.m.
2. Late registration will be open up through four levels of play (with the exception of the Main Event), or until all tourney seats have been sold.

Without further ado, the 2011 WSOP:

• Event #1: Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em — Tuesday, May 31st at 12:00pm
• Event #2: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship (256 Player Maximum) — Tuesday, May 31st at 5:00pm – $25,000
• Event #3: Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better – Wednesday, June 1st at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #4: No-Limit Hold’em — Thursday, June 2nd at 12:00pm – $5,000
• Event #5: Seven Card Stud — Thursday, June 2nd at 5:00pm – $1,500
• Event #6: Limit Hold’em — Friday, June 3rd at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #7: Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship — Friday, June 3rd at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #8: No-Limit Hold’em (Two Starting Days) — Saturday, June 4th at 12:00pm – $1,000
• Event #9: No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball — Saturday, June 4th at 5:00pm – $1,500
• Event #10: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed — Monday, June 6th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #11: Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better Championship — Monday, June 6th at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #12: Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em — Tuesday, June 7th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #13: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (2,000 Player Maximum) — Wednesday, June 8th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #14: Limit Hold’em — Wednesday, June 8th at 5:00pm – $3,000
• Event #15: Pot-Limit Hold’em — Thursday, June 9th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #16: No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship — Thursday, June 9th at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #17: H.O.R.S.E. — Friday, June 10th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #18: No-Limit Hold’em — Saturday, June 11th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #19: Limit Hold’em Six-Handed — Saturday, June 11th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #20: No-Limit Hold’em — Sunday, June 12th at 12:00pm –$1,000
• Event #21: Seven Card Stud Championship — Sunday, June 12th at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #22: Pot-Limit Omaha — Monday, June 13th at 12:00pm –$1,500
• Event #23: Eight-Game Mix — Monday, June 13th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #24: No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (2,000 Player Maximum) — Tuesday, June 14th at 12:00pm – $5,000
• Event #25: Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better — Tuesday, June 14th at 5:00pm – $1,500
• Event #26: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed — Wednesday, June 15th at 12:00pm – $2,500
• Event #27: Limit Hold’em Championship — Wednesday, June 15th at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #28: No-Limit Hold’em — Thursday, June 16th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #29: Ten-Game Mix Six-Handed — Thursday, June 16th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #30: Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship (50 or Older) — Friday, June 17th at 12:00pm – $1,000
• Event #31: Pot-Limit Omaha — Friday, June 17th at 5:00pm – $3,000
• Event #32: No-Limit Hold’em — Saturday, June 18th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #33: Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better Championship — Saturday, June 18th at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #34: No-Limit Hold’em — Sunday, June 19th at 12:00pm – $1,000
• Event #35: Pot-Limit Omaha Six-Handed — Monday, June 20th at 12:00pm – $5,000
• Event #36: No-Limit Hold’em — Tuesday, June 21st at 12:00pm – $2,500
• Event #37: H.O.R.S.E. Championship — Tuesday, June 21st at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #38: No-Limit Hold’em — Wednesday, June 22nd at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #39: Pot-Limit Hold’em/Omaha — Wednesday, June 22nd at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #40: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed — Thursday, June 23rd at 12:00pm – $5,000
• Event #41: Limit Hold’em Shootout — Friday, June 24th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #42: Pot-Limit Omaha Championship — Friday, June 24th at 5:00pm – $10,000
• Event #43: No-Limit Hold’em — Saturday, June 25th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #44: Seven Card Razz — Saturday, June 25th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #45: No-Limit Hold’em — Sunday, June 26th at 12:00pm – $1,000
• Event #46: No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Championship — Monday, June 27th at 12:00pm – $10,000
• Event #47: Omaha/Seven Card Stud High-Low Eight or Better — Monday, June 27th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #48: No-Limit Hold’em — Tuesday, June 28th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #49: Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball — Tuesday, June 28th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #50: Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em — Wednesday, June 29th at 5:00pm – $5,000
• Event #51: Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better — Thursday, June 30th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #52: Mixed Hold’em — Thursday, June 30th at 5:00pm – $2,500
• Event #53: Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship — Friday, July 1st at 12:00pm – $1,000
• Event #54: No-Limit Hold’em (Two Starting Days) — Saturday, July 2nd at 12:00pm – $1,000
• Event #55: Poker Player’s Championship — Saturday, July 2nd at 5:00pm – $50,000
• Event #56: No-Limit Hold’em — Tuesday, July 5th at 12:00pm – $1,500
• Event #57: Pot-Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better — Tuesday, July 5th at 5:00pm – $5,000
• Event #58: Main Event (Four Starting Days) — Thursday, July 7th at 12:00pm – $10,000

From February 17th to March 1st, the Circuit stops at the 60-table Poker Room at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, the largest and highest grossing casino in the state. The Kennel Club also becomes only the third non-Harrah’s branded casino to be anointed for a tour stop (the others being the IP Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi and the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma).

“I visited the Palm Beach Kennel Club last summer and had a wonderful time,” said 2007 WSOP Main Event champion Jerry Yang.  “The staff, the accommodations and the poker players were all top notch.”

Oh, hey–two thumbs up from Jerry Yang! You may remember him winning the 2007 WSOP Main Event and then immediately taking a nosedive and crashing into obscurity, a wreckage that has produced no major cashes for him since his victory. Yang recommending a casino to you its like me telling a pro baseball player how to swing a bat because I hit an infield home run back in 4th grade. I just found his inclusion in the official press release funny. Maybe I’m alone, but something tells me I’m not…

Regardless, from April 28th to May 9th, Harrah’s Chester plays home to the second fresh stop on the Circuit. The new 25-table poker room is ready to host its first big name tourney, with its inclusion on the circuit coinciding with recent Pennsylvania state laws which have legalized poker table games at slot casinos. Table game legalization in Pennsylvania came at the turn of the year, when in January, the casinos were given the green light to add poker, craps, and other tables games to their floors. In July, their christening came statewide, as thousands of new employees cut the proverbial tape at their grand opening.

The same can be said for Florida’s inclusion on the circuit. It was only back on July 1st that a new state law lifted the small-stakes limit cap of $100 and opened up their tables to high-stakes action. The same law also allowed the 23 state-sanctioned casinos to operate 24/7. Both announcements were a tremendous victory and a light at the end of the tunnel for the seemingly endless battle of the U.S. versus poker legislation.

From

Foxwoods Development Company, the tribe’s St. Louis-based business brain, is partnering with Goodson Gaming, a television and entertainment company run by Jonathan Goodson, producer of the hit gameshows The Price Is Right and Family Fued. Dubbed Velocity Gaming, the partnership is sure to pull out all the stops, and can certainly afford to.

In a recent statement regarding the business partnership, Foxwoods Development had the following to say: “Velocity Gaming brings together industry leaders in casino gaming, television game show production, and global lotteries in order to produce an unparalleled combination that will generate product awareness, drive incremental game play, and create new and exciting customer experiences in the interactive gaming world.”

“We’re going to pursue a license or licenses in those jurisdictions where internet gaming is fully legal, regulated and taxed,” said Gary Armentrout, Foxwoods Development’s president. “We’re proposing a unique business model combining a live TV game show with an internet gaming site, and cross-promoting both to drive customers to the TV show as well as to the gaming site. We are contributing our expertise in casino operations, games management and marketing in the same way Goodson is contributing expertise in television game show production.”

Goodson Gaming is part of Goodson and Gaming Solutions International, which for the past 25 year has been involved in television lottery productions in America and South Africa with incredible success. Lottery ticket buyers would be chosen at random to participate on the show, which yielded significance gains in state lotto sales. It’s a simple format which is sure to translate well onto the felt, but is it too little too late to secure a market?

The move is a dynamic attempt at wrangling in customer’s in trying economic times and amongst some stiff competition. Harrah’s recently began their own move online, and with the recent sprouting of card rooms in New York, Maryland, Pennsylanvia, and Delaware coupled with the immense attraction of Atlantic City, many consumers have been drawn away from the Connecticut casino. Once bitter rivals for local ground, Mohegan Sun, the other Connecticut residing casino and second largest in the nation, paired up with Foxwoods to battle for national territory last year in a campaign placing billboards on the New Jersey Turnpike. The ads prompted Pauly D to drop his pork roll and get in his tinted Lexus to come up for the weekend.

Much of the venture’s forward progress is dependent upon Frank’s poker legislation, and with the recent shift in the House of Representatives to the hoorah poker hating Republicans, their good intentions could end up simmering on the back burner for a very long time.

“We recognized the WSOP Circuit Events needed a shot in the arm, and we believe we’ve responded with steroids,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart.  “The new model is exactly what the WSOP is all about, giving poker players of all bankrolls the chance for compete for the kind of fame, fortune and respect that comes only with a WSOP bracelet and a national television audience.“

Things done changed, Like Notorious BIG once said, and this year, the WSOP Circuit is bigger and better than ever before. Additions and amendments include:

1. Cumulative points, similar to the system used to determine the WSOP Player of the Year, will be awarded to players in the money, with higher buy-ins receiving more points.
2. Four $10,000 WSOP Circuit Championships to be broken down into two hours of televised coverage for event.
3. Standardized structures and payouts, as well as affordable $1500 Main Events at WSOPC stops without a Regional Championship.
4. A season-ending $1,000,000 National Championship freeroll held at Caesars in Las Vegas, where 100 players will battle for fame, fortune, and a gold WSOP bracelet–the first to be awarded outside of a WSOP or WSOPE event. Players gain entry into this year’s inaugural tourney via the following:
   • Winning a $1500 WSOPC Main Event
   • Earning the title “Casino Champion” by earning the most points at a WSOPC
   • Making the final table of any of the $10,000 Championships
   • Finishing the season with enough points to be in the top 40 in the standings

As of now, 12 tour stops have been announced, with other destinations being revealed in the coming months.

• August 19 – August 31, 2010
  Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Iowa)
• October 2 – October 12, 2010
  Horseshoe Southern Indiana – Regional WSOP Circuit Championship
• October 15 – October 27, 2010
  Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago area)
• October 26 – October 31, 2010
  *Emerald Casino (South Africa)
• October 28 – November 10, 2010
  IP Casino Resort & Spa (Biloxi, MS)
• November 11 – November 23, 2010
  Harveys Lake Tahoe
• December 4 – December 22, 2010
  Harrah’s Atlantic City – Regional WSOP Circuit Championship
• January 27 – February 15, 2011
  Harrah’s Tunica
• March 2 – March 13, 2011
  Caesars Atlantic City
• March 11 – March 30, 2011
  Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego area) – Regional WSOP Circuit Championship
• March 31 – April 13, 2011
  Harrah’s St. Louis
• April 14 – April 30, 2011
  Caesars Palace
• May 9 – May 22, 2011
  Harrah’s New Orleans – Regional WSOP Circuit Championship

Making entries accessible for all levels of bankroll while maintaining a level of prestige in the process with championship events, this revamped format will undoubtedly help the exposure of the WSOPC. The return of WSOPC televised events, the first to receive air time since 2006, will help tremendously in bringing back luster and notoriety into the dying venture. With cheap entires bringing a considerably weaker breed of hopefuls out of the woodwork with a dollar and a dream, amounting to large fields with impressive payouts, pros will have all the incentive they need to make appearances at multiple events to cash in on the amateurs adorned in their official WSOP shirts and hats, eating their Jack Link’s Beef Jerky while wearing their Degree deodorant.

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Dublin, Ireland. October 2, 2009 – The CarbonPoker Bad Beat Jackpot has paid out yet again – for the second time in ten days. Lucky players have won more than $760,000 in this short period of time.

A Bad Beat Jackpot pays out when a player loses a showdown with a premium hand of Quad Sevens or better. This is the lowest qualifier in the industry and enables quite a bit of excitement on the Bad Beat Tables.

Early this morning, rangerjay1 earned $58, 456.93 as his Four Kings lost to callmeguys ($29,228.46) and his Royal Flush. These massive payouts came from a pot of $74.58. The seven remaining players at the table were also awarded $4,175.49 for being present during the momentous hand.

This came only ten days after baseball127 won $211,758.31 by losing with a straight flush.

CarbonPoker set the standard for Bad Beat Jackpots in February of 2009 as they paid out a world record setting $1.2 million. Well over $2.4 million has now been paid out.

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The Bad Beat Jackpot has been reseeded and continues to grow for the next winner. You can see the bonus increase in real time at CarbonPoker.com.
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For more information, please contact:
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