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  • Germany’s Online Slots Face Growing Black Market as Regulated Market Struggles

    Germany’s Online Slots Face Growing Black Market as Regulated Market Struggles

  • New Hampshire Moves to Legalize Online Casino Gambling by 2026

    New Hampshire Moves to Legalize Online Casino Gambling by 2026

  • Rio Las Vegas Shakes Up Dealer Tip Policy, Sparking Controversy

    Rio Las Vegas Shakes Up Dealer Tip Policy, Sparking Controversy

  • Mississippi Senator Moves to Ban Online Sweepstakes Casinos with New Bill

    Mississippi Senator Moves to Ban Online Sweepstakes Casinos with New Bill

  • Macau Casinos Brace for Chinese New Year Tourism Boom

    Macau Casinos Brace for Chinese New Year Tourism Boom

  • Albania Hosts Million-Dollar Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament

    Albania Hosts Million-Dollar Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament

    Poker’s global expansion continues, and Albania is officially on the map. Arena Casino Tirana, a relatively new hotspot in the European poker circuit, is making waves with high-stakes tournaments that draw top players from around the world. The latest event? A massive Pot-Limit Omaha showdown, offering millions in prize money and showcasing the rising popularity of the four-card format.

    PLO Grand Slam Returns With Bigger Guarantees

    Pot-Limit Omaha has been gaining traction in recent years, and Arena Casino Tirana wasted no time capitalizing on the momentum. The venue launched the PLO Grand Slam under the Diamond Poker Series banner in 2024 with €3 million in guaranteed prize money. The success of that event led to an even bigger edition in early 2025, featuring €5 million in guarantees across the festival.

    The festival’s two main attractions? A €5,000 buy-in event with a €1,000,000 guarantee and a high-stakes €10,000 buy-in championship boasting a €2,000,000 prize pool. While the latter is still ongoing, the €5,000 opener wrapped up in style, delivering high drama and a six-figure payday for the champion.

    Tom Vogelsang Takes Home $245K

    Dutch poker pro Tom Vogelsang emerged victorious in the €5,000 opener, outlasting a field of 225 entries to claim $245,910. The tournament regular now has four major titles to his name, including a win in a Triton Poker $25,000 PLO event.

    For Vogelsang, this was his fifth-largest career score, adding to an already impressive resume. His biggest cash remains the $1.4 million runner-up finish in the Triton Poker Cyprus $100,000 event in 2022. With this latest victory, his total live earnings have climbed to nearly $3.9 million.

    Strong Competition and Familiar Faces at the Final Table

    The tournament saw its fair share of big names, with several well-known pros making deep runs. Among the notables who cashed were:

    • Robert Cowen (23rd place)
    • Ismael Bojang (22nd place)
    • Dario Alioto (21st place)
    • Fahredin Mustafov (18th place)

    Ronald Keijzer, a bracelet winner, finished eighth, taking home $30,135. Meanwhile, European Poker Tour champion and 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Hossein Ensan secured a sixth-place finish, earning $57,015.

    Ensan’s run ended in a dramatic fashion. Holding top pair and three live kickers, he moved all-in against Sean Rafael’s pocket aces. The turn gave Ensan two pair, seemingly putting him in control. But the river paired the board, handing Rafael a better two pair and the pot. Despite the heartbreak, Ensan’s career earnings now exceed $13.9 million.

    Sean Rafael Notches Career-Best Score

    Rafael continued his impressive showing but ultimately fell short, finishing as the runner-up. His $166,005 payday marked a personal best, surpassing his previous high of $115,000 from a third-place finish in the 2024 PokerGO Tour PLO Series.

    With so much money at stake, every decision mattered. And for Rafael, this deep run is further proof that he belongs among the elite in the PLO tournament scene.

    Final Table Payouts and POY Points

    The event wrapped up with the following payouts and Player of the Year (POY) points:

    Place Player Earnings POY Points
    1 Tom Vogelsang $245,910 768
    2 Sean Rafael $166,005 640
    3 Nino Pansier $114,240 512
    4 Youness Barakat $93,135 384
    5 Fabian Riebau-Schmithals $74,235 320
    6 Hossein Ensan $57,015 256
    7 Harry Casagrande $41,580 192
    8 Ronald Keijzer $30,135 128
    9 Andrew Ige $24,885 64

    The festival isn’t over yet, with the €10,000 championship still in full swing. With an even bigger prize pool on the line, expect more fireworks before the final cards are dealt in Tirana.

  • bestbet Jacksonville Winter Open Kickoff Shatters Expectations With 1,064 Entries

    bestbet Jacksonville Winter Open Kickoff Shatters Expectations With 1,064 Entries

  • Phil Hellmuth Hits the Poker Tables With His Son in Vegas

    Phil Hellmuth Hits the Poker Tables With His Son in Vegas

    Phil Hellmuth isn’t just stacking chips—he’s making memories. Last week, the poker legend found himself in familiar territory at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. But this time, the high-stakes action had a personal twist. His 34-year-old son, Phillip Hellmuth III, joined him for a series of tournaments, marking a special moment in their family history.

    A New Face in High-Stakes Poker

    While Phil Hellmuth has been a household name in poker for decades, his son has spent most of his career in banking. However, he’s been putting in serious hours at the tables lately—logging about 160 poker-playing days in the last 320, according to his father. That’s more than just a hobby.

    Phillip III entered three separate $5,000 buy-in events against some of the world’s top high rollers at Aria. It was a trial by fire, facing legends like Erik Seidel, Alex Foxen, and Jesse Lonis. The results? No cashes, but plenty of experience.

    “I staked Phillip for the three PokerGO studio tourneys,” Hellmuth Sr. shared. “I thought he would learn a lot, and he did.”

    Father-Son Moments at the Tables

    Poker has a way of bringing people together—or pitting them against each other. In one of the tournaments, the two Hellmuths found themselves seated at the same table.

    Phil Sr. couldn’t help but admire his son’s game. At one point, he praised a well-timed fold. But poker can be brutal, and in a twist of fate, both Hellmuths ended up busting out to the same opponent, John Riordan.

    That didn’t stop them from playing more. The duo later hit the Aria cash game tables for some $5-$10 no-limit hold’em action.

    • Phil shared a video of their earlier casino adventures, joking that he hoped cash games would be “a lot more profitable than blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.”
    • Later, he captured a heads-up hand where Phillip III took down a pot against his dad.

    Is Poker in Phillip’s Future?

    Phil Hellmuth’s career speaks for itself—17 WSOP bracelets and over $27.2 million in career earnings. But what about his son?

    For now, Phillip III isn’t a pro. His father made that clear. “He has many avenues open to him outside of poker,” Phil Sr. said. “But maybe by the next WSOP, he will be a pro.”

    It’s a familiar crossroads. When Phil was 34, he had already won six WSOP bracelets. He dropped out of the University of Wisconsin to chase his poker dreams, a move that ultimately made him one of the game’s most iconic figures.

    Could history repeat itself? Time will tell. But for now, Phil Sr. seems content just watching his son take on the game he loves.

    Hellmuth’s Own Poker Year Kicks Off

    While all eyes were on his son, Phil Hellmuth had a solid start to his own year. He secured his first tournament cash of 2024 with a 10th-place finish at the PokerGO Tour Kickoff Series, earning $14,400.

    He’s also been busy with business ventures, recently signing a poker ambassador deal with Rush Street Interactive. While he plays fewer tournaments these days, he remains a staple at the WSOP, where he still competes for bracelets every summer.

    In December, at the WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas, he cashed twice—finishing eighth in the $10,000 GGMillion$ Championship for $130,830 and min-cashing for $107,130 in the $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.

    Even after decades in poker, the fire still burns. And now, there’s another Hellmuth at the tables, learning the ropes.

  • Scott Stewart’s Bold Bluff Catcher Puts Him Neck-and-Neck with Eddie Pak in WPT World Championship

    Scott Stewart’s Bold Bluff Catcher Puts Him Neck-and-Neck with Eddie Pak in WPT World Championship

  • Sports Betting in Hawaii? Lawmakers Push for a Big Change

    Sports Betting in Hawaii? Lawmakers Push for a Big Change

    Hawaii has long been an outlier. While almost every other state has embraced some form of legalized gambling, the Aloha State has remained on the sidelines. No casinos, no sportsbooks, no lottery—just ocean views and strict gaming laws. But that could change soon.

    Several state lawmakers are making another push to bring sports betting and online gambling to the islands. Multiple bills have been introduced in the Hawaii Legislature, each with different approaches to legalizing gaming. Will 2024 finally be the year that Hawaii joins the betting scene?

    Bills Targeting Sports Betting and Fantasy Contests

    A pair of bills—HB1308 and SB1569—aim to legalize online sports betting and fantasy sports in Hawaii. Both would fall under the oversight of the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. If passed, these measures would tax gross receipts at 10%, ensuring that the state gets a cut of the action.

    State Sen. Kim Decoite (D) has also introduced SB1572, a bill that would establish the Hawaii State Sports Wagering Commission. The proposed commission would regulate sports betting with a slightly higher tax rate of 15%. One key difference? This bill does not include fantasy sports but would allow retail and online sportsbooks.

    Notably, Decoite’s bill would offer licenses only to operators that are already active in at least three other states. Unlike some jurisdictions that cap the number of licenses, SB1572 would have no minimum number of approved operators.

    Meanwhile, SB373 is also on the table. This measure focuses specifically on legalizing fantasy sports, a market that remains a legal gray area in the state.

    Online Gambling and Lottery Efforts

    The push for legalized gaming in Hawaii doesn’t stop at sports betting. Senate President Ron Kouchi (D) is championing SB1507, a bill that would create the Hawaii Lottery and Gaming Corporation. This proposed entity would oversee a variety of online gaming options, including:

    • Online lottery ticket sales
    • Poker and casino-style games
    • Sweepstakes gaming

    Interestingly, Kouchi’s bill does not include sports betting. However, it does pave the way for Hawaii to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which allows poker players from different states to pool their wagers and compete across borders. Given Hawaii’s relatively small population of 1.4 million, joining a shared liquidity market would be a game-changer for online poker.

    Why Now? The Economic Landscape

    Hawaii’s lawmakers have considered gambling before, but previous efforts stalled. What’s different this time?

    The state is currently projecting billion-dollar budget surpluses for the next four years, so the push for gambling isn’t being driven by immediate financial distress. But the long-term outlook isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Officials are keeping a close eye on several economic concerns:

    • Maui wildfire recovery: The devastating fires of 2023 left lasting impacts on residents, infrastructure, and government budgets.
    • Declining tax revenue: While tourism remains strong, state tax collections have been trending downward.
    • Rising costs: Inflation and increased government spending could create financial pressure down the road.
    • Shrinking population: Like many states, Hawaii is seeing a slow but steady decline in residents, which could impact future revenue streams.

    With these challenges on the horizon, some lawmakers see gambling as a way to bring in new revenue without raising taxes.

    The Odds of Passage

    While these bills have been introduced with optimism, their path to approval remains uncertain. Hawaii’s political landscape has historically been resistant to gambling expansion. Cultural concerns and a general preference for a tourism-based economy have kept gaming efforts at bay.

    Opposition groups argue that gambling could bring unwanted social consequences, including addiction and increased crime. Others worry about the potential impact on Hawaii’s unique culture and identity.

    Still, attitudes toward gambling are shifting nationwide. More than 35 states have already embraced legal sports betting, and major gaming operators are eager to enter new markets. With billions of dollars at stake, the conversation in Hawaii is far from over.

    Will this be the year Hawaii finally opens the door to legal sports betting and online gaming? That’s still up in the air, but one thing is certain—this debate isn’t going away anytime soon.