On this page we've listed summaries of the most important news events of March 2006
Burt Reynolds in new poker movie 'Deal'
March 31, 2006 - Burt Reynolds will star in a new poker movie called "Deal" along with Bret Harrison, who's playing the lead in Fox's new midseason comedy "The Loop". The film is written and directed by Gil Cates Jr., the son of the well-known Oscar producer Cates Sr.
Robert Varkonyi wins Extreme Poker Challenge
March 31, 2006 - Former World Series of Poker champion Robert Varkonyi has won the Extreme Poker Challenge, an event held in Kemi, Finland on top of the frozen arctic sea. Varkonyi was playing in just a T-shirt when he took the title with temperatures reaching as low as minus 10 °F (minus 23 °C).
PokerShare is back with a vengeance
March 31, 2006 - After settling a legal dispute with it's previous licensor Excapsa Software, PokerShare is now back with a vengeance on the Tain Network. PokerShare offers it's players a share in the company through the Poker Share Trust by simply playing and accumulating Share Points. The site is currently only open for previous PokerShare players until the beta program has been completed successfully.
New industry metric proves poker is continuing it's boom
March 25, 2006 - According to a new metric introduced by Planet Ace Gibraltar the live poker industry continues to grow rapidly. The new metric, called the PokerPages.com Industry Index (PPII), is an indicator for the popularity of live poker globally, in much the same way PokerPulse measures the growth of online poker.
Phil Hellmuth is the new host of the Celebrity Poker Showdown
March 24, 2006 - Phil Hellmuth is the new host of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, replacing "tiltboy" Phil Gordon. Phil Hellmuth is the best poker player in the world according to Phil Hellmuth. He's quite a character and it will be interesting to watch what value he can add to the show.
FirePay's Mitchell Garber appointed as new PartyGaming CEO
March 24, 2006 - PartyGaming has appointed Mitchell Garber as it's new chief executive officer in effect from April 19, 2006 to fill in the vacancy created by the resignation of Richard Segal a couple of weeks ago. Mitchell Garber is a qualified attorney and former CEO of the FireOne group (FirePay), a payment processor focusing almost exclusively on the online gambling market.
University of Minnesota student wins PartyPoker Million
March 21, 2006 - Michael Schneider, a 22-year old student from the University of Minnesota, won the PartyPoker Million this weekend, making him the youngest winner of this prestigious tournament in history.
Be a winner at the table and in the bedroom
March 19, 2006 - According to the legend the first Gold Rush millionaire wasn't a miner, but he sold pickaxes and shovels. The legend continues with modern-day entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on the poker boom by selling everything from poker chips to poker mouse pads. Just when we thought we saw it all Eric Wason enters the poker paraphernalia market with the "perfect gift for card-playing loved ones" : poker condoms.
888 Holdings poker revenues surge 179% to $109.8 million
March 17, 2006 - 888 Holdings, the company that owns the online poker room Pacific Poker and the online casino 888.com, reported a $65 million profit for 2005, an increase of 59%. Most impressive was the rise in net gaming revenue for poker - up 179% from $39.3 million to $109.8 million.
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.
Leach anti gambling bill approved by House committee
March 15, 2006 - The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (H4411) which was re-introduced recently by Rep. James Leach is approved by the House Financial Services Committee says Reuters. The bill now moves on to the House floor for further debates.
Baby Face Williams wins European Poker Tour grand finale
March 12, 2006 - The grand finale of the European Poker Tour (EPT) was won by Jeff Williams, a 19-year-old student from the University of Georgia. The tournament was the first major live poker event the college freshman attended. Williams took home the first prize of 900,000 ($1.07 million).
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.
The richest poker game ever
March 8, 2006 - In what is considered the largest head-to-head poker game of all time, self-made billionaire banker Andy Beal matched $20 million against a rotating cast made up of the best high-stakes poker players in the world, including Phil Ivey , Jennifer Harman, Todd Brunson, and Ted Forrest.
Ted Forrest is the new National Heads-Up Poker champ
March 7, 2006 - Ted Forrest is NBC's new National Heads-Up poker champion. In the early hours of Tuesday morning Ted Forrest beat former WSoP champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson taking home the trophy and the $500,000 first prize.
New poker reality show to air on Fox Sports Net
March 6, 2006 - Fox Sports Net will broadcast a new six-part poker reality show hosted by Bodog founder and CEO Calvin Ayre starting April 15th. The show, called "Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker", will be taped this week at the opulent Bodog Compound in Costa Rica.