The case against 8 year old Aashish Nanak from Chandigarh who won 22,912,500.38 Indian Rupees, (that’s a life changing $500,000 dollars!) playing an online poker game, started today in New Delhi.

Lawyers acting for the Nanak family are battling to secure the money that would allow the family of twelve to move out of their slum dwelling into a new home and a new life.

Aashish’s mother Mrs Nanak said “Aash has always loved the internet and computers he started his own web pages when he was only four years old, he is a very clever boy” Aashish has been playing online poker since he was six, but had been using computers since age three. He was introduced to the internet when his mother who cleans at a local hotel, had sat him in front of a cartoon playing on a computer screen to keep him quiet.

The hotel owners had noticed the boy accessing the internet but had thought nothing of it, they had even begun to ask the boys advice on how to advertise the hotel. Many hotel customers told press that the youngster was making enough money through a series of affiliate programs to pay his families rent. The Lawyers for the gambling website that cannot be named for legal reasons say that legally they do not have to pay out the winnings, as Aashish is under age and are accusing him of entered false details.

Aashish Nanak with a keyboard he found when he was 5

The Nanak’s lawyers are arguing that the registration details belong to Aahish’s uncle and that at no time was it stated that Aashish could not play in the games. They are also arguing that he had previously been paid smaller winnings into a legitimate online paypal account set-up for him by his uncle and that administration staff had confirmed that this was in fact within their guidelines.

They are also arguing that the boy was asked on several occasions on the poker forum if he was underage by website staff, who thought the age of the boy was amazing and had nicknamed him littlepokerwizard. When asked what kind of difference the money would make to the family, their lawyer said “Considering that the average wage in India is around 79,735.50 a year that is $1,740, the Nanak’s would be very well off indeed” The case continues

Raketherake we are not sure if this is true or not, so we will see if it pans out and follow the story up

Sources:

http://indiaimages.tumblr.com/post/441146677/8-year-indian-boy-wins-500-000

http://www.poker-shark.co.uk/poker_news/8_year_old_boy_wins_$500000_poker_tournament-151.html

http://calvinayre.com/online-gaming-news-article/slumpuppy-millionaire-8-year-old-wins-poker-tourney/2010/03/11/

The deadline for the enforcement of the UIGEA has been extended by the Federal Reserve and Department of Treaasury for a further six months, until June 1, 2010. The delay is due to the PPA’s petition in association with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the American Greyhound Track Operators Association. The petition for extension was made to enable legal and financial bodies to assess and clarify the UIGEA’s definitions and to develop policies and legislation to ensure compliance.

PPA spokesman, Chairman Alfonse D’Amato commented, “The PPA is extremely pleased with the decision by the Federal Reserve and Treasury to grant the six month extension.  This is a great victory for poker, but an even greater victory for advocates of good and fair public policy.  These additional months are critical to provide legislators time to clarify UIGEA and pass legislation to license and regulate poker early next year.  It is our hope that another extension would be granted should the deadline approach before these pieces of legislation can be passed.”

The UIGEA has raised concerns and requests for clarification amongst many PPA members due to its vague language. Although pleased with the delay, allowing all parties to clarify what the UIGEA means and how it is legislated and complied with, the PPA remains committed to passing legislation to license and regulate online poker.

“PPA is continuing its efforts to urge members of Congress to implement thoughtful and effective regulation of the online poker as opposed to outright prohibitions, which history has shown do not work,” said D’Amato. “We are thankful to our co-petitioners the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the American Greyhound Track Operators Association and for the dozens of members of Congress who voiced their support for this petition through letters to Secretary Geithner and Chairman Bernanke.  The PPA looks forward to working with regulators and legislators to pass legislation that protects consumers and the great game of poker.”

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100 Metres – A short sprint, play fast to earn the most number of poker VIP points in one day. The winners will receive the following:

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RTR

The authorities confirmed that three raids were conducted in Toronto itself and the fourth took place in the city of Pickering, Ontario. 9 men were charged with owning Gambling Houses while 38 others were charged for being involved in them. Two of the 38 arrested were juveniles while the 45 adults had some people aging from 19 to 88. Toronto Police Service and Durham Regional Police confiscated around $12,000 from those convicted and $23,000 in the form of chips, chairs, cards, poker tables and other gambling equipment and accessories.

There were a similar series of raids that were conducted on 10th, November, 2007 by the Toronto Police. Almost 60 men were arrested then of which 3 men were charged with possessing cocaine. The police believe that the recent arrests were just a mild reminder of the organized underground poker operation taking place in Canada and that there were millions that were being minted every day. The police also believe that the online Poker games are also to be held responsible for the popularizing of the game.

This was an event of 4 days with over 300 big names. BBC’s ‘Beppe di Marco’ is reportedly very happy with his win. After starting his career with a minor win at Albert Square, Greco has since worked on his skills, finally getting the big prize at such a prestigious event. The final of the competition will be held at November which is an eagerly awaited affair. Greco’s other prize after beating his two fellow poker players Hoss Parhizkar and Roberto Romanello is a Tutima watch.

Said tour manager Jonathan Raab, “Michael was a worthy winner. We look forward to him defending his title in Manchester.”
EastEnders was a show broadcast on BBC. Now Greco will be back on TV with this event being shown later in the year on Channel 4. This is arguably the height of his poker career.

Aptly called ‘Amarillo Slim’, this movie written by Christopher Wilkinson focuses on the life of the legendary gambler Amarillo Slim. It is an adaptation of “Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived”, which is, you guessed it, a book on the memoirs of Amarillo Slim. Christopher Wilkinson has previously been witnessed doing screenwriter magic on productions such as ‘Nixon’ and ‘Ali’. Braxton Pope is co-producing this movie with Nicolas Cage.

With this release slated to come out soon, speculations have already begun among poker fans the world over as to who would Doyle Brunson in this biopic. Current hot favorites are Woody Harrelson, Robert Duvall and Bruce Willis. Another rumor is that Milos Forman has been signed on to direct this major flick. We have seen Forman in action in past movies such as ‘Amadeus’, ‘Man on the Moon’, and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. Man on the Moon was itself a major biopic starring Jim Carrey as legendary comedian Andy Kaufman..

The film is supposed to include Amarillo Slim’s sometimes crazy, sometimes funny but always a treat to watch bets. This includes the time he beat the ping pong world champion 21-0 using coke bottles, when he rafted down an impossible river stretch and mostly the time he won the World Poker Championship, 1972. What might be a real treat for die-hard poker fans is to witness the birth of Texas no Limit hold ‘em by Slim along with Doyle Brunson. Whatever the story may be, this is sure to be a much awaited release.

UltimateBet is guaranteeing to pay out at least 50 Main Event prize packages on June 21st in our appropriately named 50-Seat Guaranteed Tournament. Each package includes a $10,000 World Series of Poker: Main Event seat and $2,000 for travel and accommodations. For those keeping score, that’s at least $600,000 in Main Event prize packages.

Our 50-Seat Guarantee gets underway on Saturday, June 21st at 5:30pm ET and there are a number of ways to secure your spot in the online poker tournament:
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* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah’s License Company, LLC (“Harrah’s”). Harrah’s does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with RakeTheRake or its products, services promotions or tournaments.

Through more acceptable forms of gambling, and acceptance in general, this view has begun to change, and behaviour that was once frowned upon, whilst maybe not outwardly encouraged, is perfectly acceptable in today’s societies in many countries around the world.

Of course there are still parts of the world where gambling is completely prohibited, but for many nations this is not always the case.

Take for example the lotteries of many countries. For example, the UK’s National Lottery is played twice weekly by millions, with advertisements on the television, in papers and magazines, it has marked a massive change in the way gambling is viewed in the UK. As soon as a rollover jackpot becomes active the queues in stores throughout the country come Wednesday, Friday or Saturday get busier.

The UK’s National Lottery has been running for well over 10 years, and in that time, players have raised £20 billion which have gone towards good causes such as restoration of the Mary Rose – an English Tudor carrack warship built in 1510 and capsized and sank in 1545 during a gun battle off the coast of Portsmouth with the French. Do the historians involved with the restoration project see gambling as Taboo? Without the wealth of lottery grants the project would never have had the money to be as forward as it is.

Couple the success of the National Lottery with the extraordinary growth of online gambling, it is becoming acceptable to gamble, providing a player knows their limits.

Gambling statistics published in the summer of 2007 by the Gambling Commission provide a snapshot of the extent of remote gambling in the UK, which consists of gambling on the PC, mobile phone and interactive TV.

The results indicated that out of 8000 people surveyed, 8.6% said they had participated in at least 1 form or remote gambling in the previous month, figures for the previous year showed a 1.2% rise on the 7.4% in 2006.

The survey also showed those most likely to take part in remote gambling were males between the ages of 18 to 34.

The growth in gambling in the UK is particularly evident within the online poker circuit. Online gambling in the UK has grown immensely in recent years, and this is not surprising with the growth in poker rooms on the Internet. It is very easy for people to create an account and start playing, be it in fake money games or real games for real money.

It is no longer necessary to venture out to a casino in order to try your hand at a game of poker, you can play in the comfort of your own home, at any time and for as long as you like – a factor that has undoubtedly played a part in the growth of the game.

But not everyone sees this as a good thing. Gambling has long been associated with addiction which in turn can lead to social problems and of course financial problems and the 24-7 availability of online gambling means the allure is always there.

Despite these worries, online gambling actually causes far less problems that the more traditional methods of gambling such as arcade slot machines and gambling on horse races in the bookmakers.

Gambling problems have existed for far longer than internet betting has been around, and blaming online gaming for society’s ills will not stop some people gambling irresponsibly.

For those that have a gambling problem, it must be recognised, however, that online gaming is one of the ways they can fuel their addiction, and it is important to be able to recognise the symptoms of addiction to gambling and what to do about it.

Whatever the pros and cons of online gaming, ultimately it boils down to individual responsibility and freedom of choice. Millions enjoy online poker responsibly, and are able to reap the benefits the game has to offer.

Like it or not, gambling, be it in online gaming rooms, at the local bookmakers or at a home poker night, is here to stay. At the end of the day it’s a matter of personal choice, and the flexibility in online gaming looks set to continue attracting players who enjoy the thrill of gaming in their own home.

Innovations like RakeTheRake and poker rakeback are helping players reap more of the benefits and will continue to encourage players to enjoy our fantastic game.

If you think that you do have a problem, or know of someone that has, see advice from Gamblers Anonymous.