Would you play a pair of Oscar Queens?

If you are one of those online poker players who will go all-in with a pair of Queens then I have good news for you – betting all your money on Dame Helen Mirren to walk away with the gold Oscar is a safe bet.

The 79th Academy Awards Ceremony will take place on February 25, 2007. This 'night of the stars' is not only an exciting time for movie fans, the paparazzi and red carpet enthusiasts, but also for online casino gamblers.

Immediately after the 2007 Academy Awards nominations were announced William Hill, one of the largest bookmakers in the UK, made Helen Mirren a 1/12 favourite to win the Best Actress award. This is the shortest odds they have ever offered at this early stage of the pre-Oscar build up.

With a Golden Globe, Bafta and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award already in her pocket for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the movie, The Queen, the odds do seem to be in her favour. This is not the first time that this British actress has played her Queen Card. She was first nominated for an Oscar as Queen Charlotte in The Madness of King George and she also won an Emmy for her role as the Virgin Queen in the TV drama Elizabeth I.

Many online poker players will tell you that Lady Luck could favour anyone especially with the stiff competition in the Best Actress category from other British actresses like Dame Judi Dench, Kate Winslet and ol' time American contender, Meryl Streep. With so much Brit talent involved, Hills expects a record turnover in the betting market.

While online casino bookmakers don’t have much to loose with their winning strategy of betting on entertainment events, time will only tell if Dame Helen Mirren’s golden pair of Queens will hold or fold.

For the love of Online Poker

In my single days, I always referred to Valentines Day as: “The unimaginative, consumerist-oriented and entirely arbitrary, manipulative & shallow interpretation of romance day.” Now that I’m older, and have finally found my suited pair, I’ve come to appreciate this day a little more. Don’t get my wrong I still don’t support the marketing aspect and as one person put it on Postsecret – the fact that "Hallmark stole all the romance from this day."

What I do treasure about Valentines Day is its history. It reminds me of poker and the current challenges the online industry is facing. We shouldn’t loose hope and should take the Valentines Day story below as inspiration that online Poker will overcome all the odds and we’ll be playing it happily ever after….

St. Valentine's Story....

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. Claudius wanted to have a big army and he expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. This made Claudius furious. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! Being a priest one of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing secret marriage ceremonies. One night, I was caught and thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh - because they know that love can't be beaten!

It’s Award Season… and the Best Poker Event goes to…

All the glitz and glamour, an evening of dazzling stars, and the most prestigious awards presented to Hollywood's kings and queens. It's award season in Hollywood and I think it's only fitting that we hand out a few Poker Awards of our own…

In the Category 'Best Poker Event' – the Oscar goes to…WSOP (World Series of Poker)

The World Series of Poker, or WSOP as most poker players know it, is the most successful poker event in history with not only the most players taking part but also the biggest prize pool. Televised on ESPN this poker tournament has expanded poker to an all-new level and winning WSOP is considered to be the ultimate achievement in any poker player's career.

And what would the Oscars be without the red-carpet hype? Well the World Series of Poker is not far behind in this department. Professional poker player Liz Lieu not only turns heads with her hourglass figure but also impresses with her poker skills – she came 5th in WSOP 2005. This poker diva, who always wears her signature diamond jewels, is as comfortable with the paparazzi, as any Hollywood starlet on Oscar night.


In the Category 'Best Poker Event' – the Golden Globe goes to… WPT (World Poker Tour)


The World Poker Tour (WPT) is a series of poker tournaments featuring most of the world's professional players. Like the Golden Globes it focuses on the American market and is televised to a world wide audience. The television show has led to a boom in the table game across American homes, in local casinos and online poker rooms.






In the Category 'Best Foreign Poker Event' – the People's Choice Award goes to – The Aussie Millions

The People's Choice Awards is an awards show recognising the people and the work of popular culture and it is one of the few to be based on the opinions of the general public. This is the main reason why we're awarding the poker players down under with this award. We're talking about all the cards, all the cash, all the cameras and the people's favorite poker experience at Melbourne's renowned casino for the Aussie Millions. Why the people love this rich poker event is that they can break away from the tables, step outside and soak up the summer sun, as Melbourne hosts both the 2007 Australian Tennis Open and the Ashes Cricket Series.


In the Category 'Most disappointing Poker event' the Razzie goes to – EPT Deauville

The Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies intended to complement the Academy Awards by dishonouring the worst acting, screenwriting, songwriting, directing, and films that the film industry had to offer. The European Poker Tour in Deauville wins hands free in this category after their sudden cancellation of the poker tournament; blaming the French authorities for their decision. At least EPT tried to make up for the disappointment by adding another leg of the Tour in Germany.

From Couch potato to WPT Champ

It’s the final episode of American Idol, the crowd goes wild while Simon Cowell wipes back a tear… I switch channels just in time to see Jeff Probst snuff out the torch of the skinny survivor with hairy armpits, making her the final jury member... I channel-hop again and this time the Bachelor hands his number one lady the final rose while she tries to hide the victorious look imprinted on her beautifully-made-up face… more channel hopping and Donald Trump fires the last apprentice in his boardroom.

My remote control gets stuck on the Travel Channel broadcasting the World Poker Tour, a series of 18 high stakes global tournaments, and I’m mesmerised for the next 6 hours until Victor Ramdin finally calls with his Ah Js hand. In that moment Ramdin not only secured the WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic 2006 title but also walked away with $1,331,889 first prize money and everlasting poker glory.

In the competitive world of high stakes poker, the WPT "final table" is comparable to the final episode of Idols or Survivor. The only difference is that anyone can enter the World Poker Tour, unlike reality programmes where a panel decides on the contestants. This is one of the main reasons why the World Poker Tour is so popular because for a buy-in a complete unknown has just as good a chance of winning as a poker pro.

This year you don't have to become a couch potato to see some World Poker Tour action. Why not join me and play in the WPT satellites where the winner gets a $12,500 package to WPF Foxwoods Main Satellite that includes buy-in, flights, accommodation and $500 spending money. The satellites are happening daily @ 19:00 EST & 22:00 EST and for only $12 you could win a seat to WPT Foxwoods happening at the Foxwoods Resort, Connecticut from 1 April – 4 April 2007.

So if you're not ready to give up being a bachelor, being fired by a man who combs over his hair, leaving your singing career in the hands of tone-death America or getting your torch snuffed because ‘the tribe has spoken', why not try a different kind of reality TV – becoming a poker pro. WPT Foxwoods will give you the chance to face-off against pokers stone-faced superstars and walk away as the next poker millionaire. After all – you'll get much more than just 15 minutes of fame.