Playing high stakes poker in a house game is legal in most US States. But not in North Carolina, where authorities made it clear last week raiding a poker game and arresting eight people who were playing poker for money. The question as to whether the game was a tournament or cash game has yet to be revealed, but either way director of Alcohol Law Enforcement John Ledford stated: “After receiving multiple complaints from members of the public regarding the illegal games our agents promptly investigated”.

Nominees for the 2010 Poker Hall of Fame admissions are underway. Until now 181 players have been nominated for Poker Hall of Fame. The two players who earn the most votes automatically will earn their place in the Hall, but if in 2009 Mike Sexton was given poker immortality for having a 75% portion of the vote, this year only 50% is required. Names will be accepted through August 31st and Harrah’s will release the names of the top 10 candidates the next day. The top 10 nominees will be publically named and then a nomination committee will review the picks: “We’ll have a good batch of candidates to mull over and see who gets in”, said World Series of Poker Communications Director Seth Palansky. Finally, in mid-September the 16 living Hall of Famers and a select board will decide who is worthy of enter into the Poker Hall of Fame.

The 2010 World Championship of Online Poker is coming. Thousands of players will compete across 62 individual events in 21 days for millions of dollars in prize money starting on Sunday September 5th through September 26-27th. Since 2002 the Championship of Online Poker is the biggest and richest online poker tournament event ever staged. It’s the series where the best players in the world come together to do battle for millions of dollars and the title of World Champion.

In an attempt to begin legalising internet gambling, two U.S. Senators, democratic Ron Wyden and republican Judd Gregg, on February 23 introduced the “Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act”, a bill that could make online gambling a regulated activity. In this scenario, operators will be charged a 2% licensing fee on their monthly receipts or on all player purchases. Moreover, Gregg and Wyden's tax proposal provides for a 50% penalty on all deposits in the event a company should fail to pay this 2% fee, effectively rendering all wagers placed there illegal and unauthorized. This audacious bill may very well be a concrete step towards the legalisation of online gambling in the United States.

As reported by gaming statistics, the latest gambling figures from Chile have shown revenue growth. The country's monthly winning increased to $ 24.8 million in 2009 (a growth of $ 14.86 million in twelve months). Total earnings of $ 224 million are reckoned for the entire year. Currently there are some 57 online gaming sites available to players in Chile, but many more gaming sites are in the works, given the expanding market for online poker and web casinos.