Below we've summarized the most important poker news stories of 2006. All news items are available through the monthly news archives.
Joe Hachem wins WPT's biggest event at the Bellagio
December 21, 2006 - Melbourne, Australia poker ace Joseph Hachem added a World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship win to his c.v. this week and in the process pocketed a winner's check for almost $US2.2 million at the Bellagio Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. His winnings include a $25 000 seat sponsorship in the WPT World Championship.
Doyle Brunson: We Texans don't like this kind of trickery
October 15, 2006 - U.S. poker legend Doyle Brunson was strongly critical of the content and manner in which the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was enacted this week, and promised to keep his DoylesRoom.com site open.
PokerStars remains committed to US players
October 13, 2006 - After carefully studying the U.S. situation the world's second largest online poker company, PokerStars.com announced today (Thursday) that it would continue to accept business from American players.
Partygaming founders lose GBP1.8 million in just a few days
October 5, 2006 - The four founders of online poker giant Party Gaming became the poster children for instant mega-wealth when the company went public in London not long ago. Their shares were valued in the billions as Party Gaming entered the FTSE 100 index with a value in excess of GBP 4.5 billion.
Gambling industry in turmoil after Senate passes bill
October 2, 2006 - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist last night (Friday) carried out his promise to attach his anti-online gambling measure to any "must pass" legislation available, regardless of relevancy.
Jamie Gold sued for half his WSoP winnings
August 22, 2006 - The current 2006 World Series of Poker main event winner, Jamie Gold will not be enjoying his $12 million first prize just yet; a law suit claiming half of the giant bonanza has been filed in Las Vegas, and WSOP host Harrahs Entertainment has been restrained by court order from paying out until the case is heard on September 1.
Jamie Gold wins 2006 World Series of Poker
August 11, 2006 - The predictions that this year's WSOP main event final table would be a humdinger were right on target; from the beginning on Thursday just after 2pm Vegas time there was aggressive play, especially from chip leader Jamie Gold who dominated the game with a major advantage in chips. In the early hours of Friday morning the 36-year-old TV producer beat Paul Wasicka's pair of Tens with a pair of Queens and became the new World Champion.
Phil Hellmuth becomes third player with 10 WSoP bracelets
July 27, 2006 - After a few disappointments where being at a WSOP final table has not resulted in a winner's bracelet, this week Phil Hellmuth joined poker greats Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan as the holder of 10 World Series of Poker winner's bracelets.
BetonSports CEO David Carruthers detained in US
July 17, 2006 - The week's news was off to a flying start Monday as reports appeared in the Telegraph that the high profile CEO of BetonSports, David Carruthers had been detained by US federal officials whilst in transit through the States on his way to Costa Rica. Carruthers is a British citizen and was traveling from the UK with his wife at the time.
Chip Reese makes poker history; wins 2006 WSoP HORSE event
July 16, 2006 - The World Series of Poker event that has grabbed the headlines this week was undoubtedly the H.O.R.S.E. tournament (see previous InfoPowa bulletins) where the creme de la creme of players in several variations of the game paid $50 000 a pop entry fees for a crack at the $1.7 million first prize, or a share in the $6.8 million prize pool.
Anti gambling bill moves to Senate after House approval
July 11, 2006 - In a rushed, crowded schedule that left little room for debate, the merged Goodlatte/Leach Bill HR 4411 survived various amendments designed to defeat its carve-outs on horse racing, lotteries and fantasy sports and was passed 317 to 93 today (Tuesday).
Washington State bans online poker
May 6, 2006 - The state of Washington quietly passed a bill that makes playing online poker illegal. The bill, SB 6613, will officially take effect on June 7th, 2006. From then on the mere act of playing poker on the Internet in Washington State could get you in prison for 10 years, the maximum penalty associated with a Class C Felony.
PokerStars is preparing for an IPO in London
April 18, 2006 - PokerStars, the second biggest poker room ranking only behind PartyGaming, is seeking a listing on the London Stock Exchange. The company is currently negotiating with a number of investment banks to aid with the listing. The value of PokerStars is estimated at more than $2 billion dollar.
EU goes to court to break down national gambling monopolies
March 17, 2006 - The European Union has announced it intends to start legal action against six member states later this month in an effort to break down their national gambling monopolies.
Calvin Ayre's private mansion raided by Costa Rican officials
March 11, 2006 - The private mansion of Calvin Ayre, CEO and founder of Bodog, was raided by over 60 police officers and other officials on Friday evening. According to Mr. Ayre, who coincidentally appeared on the cover of Forbes earlier this week, no arrests were made but computers and documents were seized.
PartyGaming launches fully integrated gaming platform
February 26, 2006 - PartyGaming has launched it's fully integrated gaming platform that allows players to play in PartyPoker and PartyCasino from one single account. The launch was combined with a new release of the PartyPoker software, with substantial usability improvements.
UltimateBet licensor Excapsa floats on London AIM
February 19, 2006 - Excapsa Software Inc, the poker software firm that powers UltimateBet, successfully floated on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM) this week at a placing price of 110p per share. The company raised £22.4 million (net proceeds), and now has a market value of £214.2 million.
Travel Channel and World Poker Tour make up
February 5, 2006 - The Travel Channel and WPT Enterprises have resolved their dispute regarding the Professional Poker Tour. The Professional Poker Tour will now air on the Travel Channel after completion of World Poker Tour's Season IV. WPT Enterprises originally had plans to sell the Professional Poker Tour to ESPN, but the Travel Channel claimed WPT Enterprises had no authority to sign such a deal.
PokerShare sues UltimateBet for £100 million ($177,049.83)
January 22, 2006 - One of the poker headlines that captured a lot of attention last year, was the unilateral closing of PokerShare by it's licensor Excapsa in November, 2005. The poker site was very popular among players because it offered it's players a 40 percent share of it's profits. According to Lawrie Holmes from the Sunday Express, PokerShare is now filing a £100 million lawsuit against Excapa's largest licensee UltimateBet, directly threatening UltimateBet's plans for a £200 million flotation later this year.
Men 'The Master' Nguyen is CardPlayer's Player of the Year
January 8, 2006 - For the 4th time in less than a decade Men "The Master" Nguyen became CardPlayer's Player of the Year after the final player of the year points for 2005 were counted. Second place was for John Phan and Allen Cunningham took third. Men Nguyen also won CardPlayer's Player of the Year award in 1997, 2001 and 2003.
PokerStars up for sale according to The Times
January 8, 2006 - If you have some dead money in your savings account and are looking for a nice investment you might want to spend it on PokerStars. The world's second largest poker room, which is controlled by the Israeli Scheinberg family, is reportedly up for sale for a "bargain" price of $2 billion dollars, according to The Times.