Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Tell us how you’re getting ready for the upcoming Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

McClelland: The Five Diamond starts the day after Thanksgiving. We’ve been doing it for nine years now, so we have it down. We close down the Fontana Lounge and fill it up with poker tables. I’m expecting around 300 players for the first tournament and somewhere between 300 and 500 for the Main Event.

PND: Talk about how the ongoing recession has affected poker at the Bellagio.

McClelland: It’s just like the rest of the world. The people that were playing $200/$400 are now playing $80/$160. The people playing $10/$20 are now playing $5/$10. No one wants to admit that they had anything bad happen, so they just play lower, which is especially tough on the Bellagio-style tournaments because ours have been geared more towards the high-end player. This is the player who is going to make a bigger buy-in and also go out and spend $100 or $200 on a nice dinner. We’ve had to reduce our buy-ins and things like that to get more foot traffic, but we’ve also had to keep the big stuff to preserve our credibility.

It’s difficult because of the economy and because of the internet law change in 2006. Now, if one of the big sites wants to send us $3 million and 200 players, we send it back and say thanks, but we can’t accept it. The internet has been driving the tournament players towards Europe, China, and the Middle East. We’re at a severe disadvantage.

PND: What noticeable effects have you seen of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)?

McClelland: It was passed at the end of 2006. We didn’t see an immediate drop-off and, for a year or so, everything was okay. Television still picks up the big tournaments and people still want to win the big ones. What the UIGEA did was take away from the preliminary events. For example, we’re giving away a $6,000 Rolex to the winners of some of our events. You can buy in for $500, win your share of the prize money, and also take home a $6,000 Rolex. That’s very enticing. It’s a combination of the current economy and the uncertainty of the future of the economy. If people have money, they’ll be more careful with it.

PND: Talk about an average day in the life of Jack McClelland.

McClelland: We go to the office and I have a tournament every day. We have meetings with different departments and people come up with new ideas for marketing and we have to sort through everything. We do a lot of stuff internationally with our property, so we make trips and advise them on how to do things. Las Vegas is very competitive and, with the current economy, the Bellagio is at a disadvantage because we cater to the higher buy-ins and the bigger players.

PND: How did you get started directing tournaments?

McClelland: In the early 1980s, I was playing 200 to 300 small buy-in tournaments a year. I was always complaining about how the tournaments are so badly run. My wife said, “If you’re such a genius, you should run them.” It worked out because I love the competition and the challenge of how to run an event. I’ve always been willing to adapt and my rules are more flowing than set in stone.

I have a wonderful staff. I hand-picked and hand-trained all of them. They worship the quicksand I walk on. They’re just a great group and I’m very proud of them. During the Bellagio Cup this year, I caught pneumonia. I maybe did 10 minutes of work on the television show and couldn’t make it. During the event, they just took the ball and ran with it. At most places, if your guy goes down, you’re going to have some rocky spots. In our case, our staff picked up the ball, ran with it, and scored a touchdown.

PND: What do you foresee as the future of poker tournaments?

McClelland: I believe that poker tournaments will be with us as long as we have the television exposure. If we lose television, it’s just going to revert back. The main thing that’s hurting the American poker industry is the internet law. In other countries around the world, you can play online, but not here. As much as our country needs the money, to pass up billions of dollars in revenue is criminal. If they change the law, I don’t know that we’ll get back up to 10,000 entries into a $10,000 buy-in event, but we’ll get our market share back. If they don’t change it, we’re just eroding.

A number of familiar faces made the trip to Portugal, including Team PokerStars players Chad Brown, Jason Mercier, and Katja Thater, as well as Shaun Deeb, Jason Lavallee, Andy Black, Ludovic Lacay, and Ross Boatman.  The event featured a €5,000 + €300 buy-in and promises a first place prize of €404,793, or roughly $600,000.  The Vilamoura stop is one of several new destinations on the EPT circuit and it has already outperformed one of the other additions to the tour, the August event in Kiev.

The final table is set to play out on Sunday and, at time of writing, there are still four eliminations to go on Saturday before play ends for the day.  Friday’s Day 3 proved to be a short one, as the field began with 69 players and stopped a little early once it was trimmed to 24.  Typically, play slows as the field nears the money bubble, with tables going hand-for-hand to avoid stalling.  At the Vilamoura event, play did not even make it to hand-for hand before Sergey Lebedev was knocked out in 49th place to burst the bubble.

Those who survived to Day 4 on Saturday included chip leader Anthony Lellouche, Team PokerStars Pros Jude Ainsworth of Ireland and Ruben Visser of the Netherlands, Jim “MrBigQueso” Collopy, Ryan “HITTHEPANDA” Franklin, and seven Portugese players, including Joao Barbosa.

Lellouche began the day in a familiar role, serving as the tournament’s chip leader with over 1.1 million chips.  He ended Day 2 second in chips and also logged some time as the chip leader earlier this season at the Warsaw stop.  It looked as though Lellouche would be in great position to make his fourth career EPT final table, but an aggressive play early in the day found him on the rail in 20th place.  After action on every street, Lellouche moved all-in on the river with the board reading J-8-2-Q-2 and Antonio Matias called, showing A-2 for rivered trips.  Lellouche held just 7-9 for a busted gutshot straight draw and was eliminated.

Matias amassed a huge chip lead as a result of the hand and only built on it as Day 4 progressed.  With just 12 players left, Matias holds 2.3 million chips, nearly a million more than his next closest competitor, Jeff Sarwer of Canada, who has almost 1.4 million chips.  There is a wide discrepancy between these two players and the rest of the field, as Claudio Coelho is third in chips with just 750,000.

Joining Lellouche on the rail today were Collopy, Barbosa, Visser, and Ainsworth.  The back-to-back eliminations of Visser and Ainsworth in 13th and 12th places, respectively, means there will be no PokerStars pros appearing at the Vilamoura final table, although PokerStars online qualifiers Santiago Terrazas and Pierre Neuville are still in contention for the title.

Play in Vilamoura will continue until the final eight-handed table is set.  Players will then have the night off before returning at 12:00pm local time to play down to the newest EPT champion.

The battle between Dwan and George featured a 7-2 bonus, similar to a promotion you’d find at some of the world’s largest online poker sites. If either Dwan or George scooped a pot with the worst starting hand in poker, they’d claim a $10,000 reward. Dwan, as expected, went all-out to claim it, including pushing for $400,000 on a board of J-A-6-3-3 with three hearts with just 7-2. George tanked for over five minutes before finally releasing A-6 for two pair. Dwan flipped over his bluff, raking the pot and the $10,000 bonus.

George commented after his nearly $1 million thumping, “The turning point was the bluff with the 7-2 when I had the two-pair, but I cannot call there for three times the pot. The game was in his favor, he was hitting cards and rivering cards, but I respect Tom a lot and always will. He’s one of the best in the world and I think he’s up there with Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius. I think when people see the show, they will have a different opinion of me from what they had before.” George was originally slated to appear on the sixth season of GSN’s “High Stakes Poker,” joining Dwan, Ivey, and Antonius, but was a no-show when taping commenced in Las Vegas.

Dwan and George bought in for $500,000 each and blinds began at $500/$1,000. Marigliano bested Dwan to the tune of $22,500, while Sahamies dropped $68,000 to his young opponent over 500 hands of Pot Limit Omaha. The action unfolded at the Les Ambassadeurs Club in Mayfair and featured pros such as Roland de Wolfe and European Poker Tour founder John Duthie turning out to catch a glimpse of the action.

In another key hand during Dwan’s match against George, the challenger was down 10:1 in chips, $900,000 to $90,000. George shoved all-in with 9-4 for bottom pair after the flop came 7-6-4, but ran into Dwan’s A-7. The hand boosted Dwan’s stack to nearly $1 million and ensured that George would be funding the youngster’s online bankroll for some time to come.

Early on, George ran A-K into Dwan’s pocket aces. George put in a raise pre-flop, Dwan bumped the action to $30,000, George re-raised to $113,000, Dwan shoved, and George made the call. The flop came 5-6-7, no help to George, but an eight on the turn left the possibility of a chopped pot if a four or a nine came off on the river. However, the final card was a 10 and George lost his initial $250,000 buy-in. Coverage on Matchroom Sport candidly noted, “[George] grabs the $250k behind him and off we go.” Neither player was allowed to leave the table until one was broke or 500 hands were completed.

In another pot, George held pocket kings and led out for $26,000 on a flop of 3-2-9 with two clubs. Dwan made the call with J-5 of clubs and the five of hearts fell on the turn. The action went check-check to the nine of clubs on the river, filling Dwan’s flush and also pairing the board. George bet $50,000 and Dwan moved all-in over the top. George debated for several minutes before folding. That hand gave Dwan a $357,000 lead; he’d more than double that by the time the 500 hands were up.

All told, Dwan won nearly $800,000 over the course of the Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Challenge, which will hit television airwaves next year.

A total of 57 events are on the docket for the festivities at the Rio in Las Vegas in 2010, the same number that panned out this year. In 2009, one open $1,000 buy-in event was held, the so-called “Stimulus Special.” The schedule leaked this week, however, includes six $1,000 buy-in open events, which, when combined with the Ladies’ and Seniors’ Championships, bring the grand total to eight.

Absent from the leaked schedule is the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship, which may instead come with a $10,000 price in 2010. Last year, David Bach defeated a field of 95 players in the $50,000 buy-in version to the tune of $1.2 million. The year before, Scotty Nguyen barreled through a 148 player field to come out on top in dubious fashion, as he was allegedly inebriated at the final table. The 2010 schedule instead features a yet-to-be-described $50,000 buy-in event called “The Player’s World Championship.” Some posters have speculated that this would take on the form of a seven or eight-game mix.

Following a trend that has appeared in events like the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) and PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), a high-stakes six-handed tournament may be on the docket for this year’s WSOP. The leaked schedule includes a $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event beginning on June 30th that would likely produce one of the most competitive fields of all-time.

Here is the schedule leaked to major online poker forums. Note that WSOP officials have released no official information; the 2009 slate of events was divulged in January:

Friday, May 28th
Event #1: Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $500

Friday, May 28th
Event #2: The Player’s World Championship
No Rebuy/Add-ons $50,000

Saturday, May 29th
Event #3: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Sunday, May 30th
Event #4: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Monday, May 31st
Event #5: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tuesday, June 1st
Event #7: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tuesday, June 1st
Event #6: No Limit Hold’em Shootout
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Wednesday, June 2nd
Event #8: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 3rd
Event #9 Pot Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 3rd
Event #10: World Championship Seven Card Stud
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Friday, June 4th
Event #11: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Friday, June 4th
Event #12 Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Saturday, June 5th
Event #13: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 5th
Event #14: 2-7 Draw Lowball
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Sunday, June 6th
Event #15: World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Monday, June 7th
Event #16: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tuesday, June 8th
Event #17: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Wednesday, June 9th
Event #18: Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,000

Wednesday, June 9th
Event #19: World Championship 2-7 Draw Lowball
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Thursday, June 10th
Event #20: Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 10th
Event #21: Seven Card Stud
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Friday, June 11th
Event #22: Ladies No Limit Hold’em World Championship
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Friday, June 11th
Event #23: Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Saturday, June 12th
Event #24: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 12th
Event #25: World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Monday, June 14th
Event #26: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Monday, June 14th
Event #27: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Tuesday, June 15th
Event #28: Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tuesday, June 15th
Event #29: World Championship Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Wednesday, June 16th
Event #30: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wednesday, June 16th
Event #31: H.O.R.S.E.
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, June 17th
Event #32: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Thursday, June 17th
Event #33: Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Friday, June 18th
Event #34: Seniors No Limit Hold’em Championship
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Friday, June 18th
Event #35: World Championship Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Saturday, June 19th
Event #36: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 19th
Event #37: H.O.R.S.E.
No Rebuy/Add-ons $3,000

Sunday, June 20th
Event #38: World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Monday, June 21st
Event #39: No Limit Hold’em Shootout
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Monday, June 21st
Event #40: Seven Card Razz
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Tuesday, June 22nd
Event #41: Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wednesday, June 23rd
Event #42: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Wednesday, June 23rd
Event #43: World Championship H.O.R.S.E.
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Thursday, June 24th
Event #44: Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No Limit)
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Friday, June 25th
Event #45: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Friday, June 25th
Event #46: Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Saturday, June 26th
Event #47: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Saturday, June 26th
Event #48: Mixed Event
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Monday, June 28th
Event #49: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Monday, June 28th
Event #50: Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $5,000

Tuesday, June 29th
Event #51: Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $3,000

Wednesday, June 30th
Event #52: No Limit Hold’em/Six-Handed
No Rebuy/Add-ons $25,000

Wednesday, June 30th
Event #53: Limit Hold’em Shootout
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,500

Thursday, July 1st
Event #54: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $1,000

Thursday, July 1st
Event #55: World Championship Pot Limit Omaha
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Friday, July 2nd
Event #56: No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $2,500

Monday, July 5th
Event #57: World Championship No Limit Hold’em
No Rebuy/Add-ons $10,000

Tom Schneider, who is the proud owner of two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and captured the Player of the Year award in 2007, believes that there is a dominant factor in the gentlemen engaged in this game. “I think a part of this game is ego for everyone,” Schneider told Poker News Daily. “Keeping it in check is important for good play and bankroll management, however. Good players and even great players are susceptible to go broke if they’re not careful.”

“Most all of us are guilty of playing higher than our bankroll would suggest,” Schneider continued. “I don’t know how deep these guys are, but I can’t imagine that both of them can continue to play for this kind of money for too long, especially if there aren’t some really bad players in the game.”

Many have suggested that the players in this high-stakes game are perhaps the best in the world, but Schneider respectfully disagrees. “I can’t comment on whether these players are better than the rest because I haven’t played with them,” Schneider admitted with a laugh. “Confidence is key in poker. If you have built your bankroll up enough to play at this level, one has to be incredibly confident. Having said that, one of the best poker players in the world might be playing in a $1/$2 game right now. He or she may never play higher because they don’t want to.”

“Is there really a best player in the world,” Schneider continued during our discussion. “I don’t think so. It is much like saying, ‘Is there a best artist in the world?’ Poker is too much art to have a best player. A list of great players could be written, but the word ‘best’ shouldn’t be used. No offense to Phil Ivey, but I wouldn’t use the term ‘amazing’ to describe him. Did he play better than anyone at the final table (at the WSOP Main Event)? I’m not sure.”

Joe Sebok, who drove deep in the 2009 WSOP Main Event (finishing 56th) and is a sponsored pro with UB.com, is one who admits to being amazed about the players and the high-stakes game that is occurring. “There’s no denying that they have sick skills,” Sebok stated, “They also have a certain amount of sick gamble in them. That’s a trait that you just can’t teach to people. These guys want to gamble as high as they possibly can, working the smallest edges imaginable. You have to take your hat off to that.”

Sebok coins a new term for the players that the online world is transfixed with. “They are a different breed, for sure,” he says. “A lot of factors all combine to create these ‘super gamblers.’ There is definitely a lot of ego involved.” When asked if he would be playing at these levels, Sebok laughed. “I think they are insane! I can’t imagine that I would ever play that high. I don’t think I would even want to if I had unlimited bankroll. I just don’t have it at that high of a level. As I’ve said before, it takes an innate sick amount of gamble and I don’t have it at that level.”

Two industry experts joined CNBC “Closing Bell” host Melissa Francis on Thursday, Andrew Parmentire of Height Analytics and David Katz, an Oppenheimer gaming analyst. The former began the discussion, which did not take in a debate form, but rather featured both parties agreeing that legalized internet gambling in the United States is inevitable. Parmentire explained, “Barney Frank has put a bill out there and the stars are lining up in a lot of ways. Harrah’s has shown that they have an online strategy, Congress and states are in desperate need for money, and $50 billion can offset a lot of social programs that Democrats are pushing these days.” The proposed health care initiative, for example, could come with a price tag approaching $1 trillion.

Katz told CNBC viewers, “Gambling in the U.S. has become a far more acceptable consumer product than it was five or ten years ago. That said, we really are much more focused on the publicly traded companies and that would be the brick-and-mortars like Harrah’s as well as the game providers and the technology companies that support those industries.” Katz added that Harrah’s has become a major proponent of licensing online gaming. The Las Vegas-based private company recently launched Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE), based on Montreal, to oversee its online brand, with former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber as its lead figure.

Harrah’s inked an agreement with 888, the parent company of Pacific Poker, to fill its online gaming needs. 888 is a publicly traded company in London, where it can be found under the same three-number acronym. Katz explained that with casinos slowly reaching their limits in the live space, the switch to the Web is inevitable: “If you go to the Bellagio, they have a couple of hundred seats to sit in, so there’s a physical constraint. If you look at the number of states out there that are considering legalizing gaming, they’re going down every year. There’s a finite opportunity for the brick-and-mortar guys to expand in the United States and at some point, they have to start thinking globally.”

The CNBC spot occurred about two weeks prior to December 1st, the date by which the financial services industry in the United States must fall into line with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the industry’s main lobbying voice, issued a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to postpone the date by one year while effective legislation can be crafted. However, the two government officials have not yet responded.

The UIGEA was passed during the waning moments of the 2006 Congressional session at the direction of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (D-TN). It was approved by a 3:1 margin in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate after being attached to the SAFE Port Act. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the UIGEA did not in and of itself make any sort of internet gambling activity illegal. Instead, the legality of an online activity depends on a player’s jurisdiction. Parmentire candidly explained, “There is a lot of anger as to how this happened in 2006.” The PPA has expanded its membership from 50,000 in 2006 to over 1.2 million today.

Concurrently with the Global Gaming Expo, 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Joe Cada, who represents the online poker room PokerStars, has spread goodwill by appearing on mainstream outlets like the “Late Show with David Letterman,” ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” and USA Today. Cada, an online poker pro, became the youngest winner of the $10,000 buy-in tournament ever at age 21, breaking Peter Eastgate’s record of 22 years-old set in 2008.

The LGA first became involved in the case following the sudden announcement that former Microgaming sites BetOnBet, Eurolinx, and Linx Casino were shutting their doors in the wake of the liquidation of the parent company, Linx Media Company. Shortly after Linx Media announced its intentions to liquidate, the Microgaming Network terminated its relationship with the company and instructed customers with money on the site to contact “the relevant liquidator” once that information became available.

In the wake of this announcement, a number of forum threads on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo cropped up discussing the avenues of recourse available to the players affected by the sudden shutdown. As Poker News Daily reported previously, the tone of these threads were pessimistic regarding the chances that players would be able to recoup their losses. One suggested course of action was to sue former Eurolinx manager and owner Jo Remme of Norway, but one poster, “ditou26,” warned that a private investigator told them that Remme was broke and would be financially incapable of reimbursing players even if successfully prosecuted.

There is still a chance that those behind the Eurolinx debacle will be caught and punished. Government officials in Malta are currently investigating the company, which was based in the small European Republic. The LGA posted an update on the pending investigation on its official website, informing interested parties that “the company Eurolinks Ltd is not and has never been a licensed operator with the LGA. The LGA also notifies that the sportsbooks of Alpine Malta Ltd (BetonBet and Eurolinx) are not and never were licensed by the LGA.” While those entities were not properly licensed, Alpine Malta Ltd possessed Class 1/4 and Class 3/4 licenses for BetOnBet, but the LGA posted reports that those licenses have since been suspended.

As part of the LGA investigation, it accepted complaints via e-mail from those whose money on BetOnBet was never returned. More information about how to contact the LGA to file a complaint can be found on its official website. However, when Poker News Daily sought an update on the investigation, sources said the investigation is no longer an LGA-run matter and has instead been passed on to the Malta police.

The source informed Poker News Daily that the LGA’s portion of the investigation has come to a close and it is waiting to hear the results of the police department’s inquiry before proceeding any further in the matter. The source also stated that the results of the police investigation will be made public and those who have inquired about the case will be filled in on the situation as soon as possible.

No details about either the LGA or police investigations were available at this time, but it appears that the Maltese government does not intend to drop the issue any time soon. Poker News Daily will continue to keep tabs on the investigation as it develops.

Barry Greenstein will once again raise money for charity during Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker,” which will feature tournament hostess Kara Scott conducting interviews from the floor and Gabe Kaplan flying solo in the booth sans A.J. Benza. Greenstein is set to utter the most feared three words in all of poker sometime during the sixth season, “bing, bang blaow,” for charity. He told Poker News Daily, “One of the problems with it is that it’s like trash talking. Normally, it’s not classy to beat someone in a big pot and then talk trash. Each of the last couple of years, with the ‘Math is idiotic,’ I beat Tom Dwan and drew out. With the ‘lol donkaments,’ I told Erick Lindgren ahead of time that I was going to do it.” For uttering popular phrases throughout the years, Greenstein has truly earned his nickname as the “Robin Hood of Poker.”

Besides “High Stakes Poker,” Daniel Negreanu has taken to the television airwaves for the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge,” which returns this Sunday following NFL football on Fox. Negreanu discussed how the show has been received so far: “We couldn’t be happier. It came in off ‘Face the Ace,’ which got bad ratings. ‘Million Dollar Challenge’ was one of the highest rated shows and did amazingly well. The time slot is perfect following football and the production quality is so much better. Everything has a game show feel.”

On the mind of “High Stakes Poker” newcomer Dennis Phillips was the win by fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Joe Cada in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Phillips finished third in the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament last year to the tune of $4.5 million; Cada’s win this year was worth $8.5 million. Phillips explained, “He was 21 and just won $8.5 million. He has a good head, talks well with the media, and wants to promote poker. We just need to make sure it goes the right way and he and I will be talking off and on.” PokerStars has produced several recent WSOP Main Event champions, including Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Cada (2009).

Phil Laak, who was an alternate for the sixth season of “High Stakes Poker” and wound up filming, told Poker News Daily about his experience at the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table, which unfolded at the Rio: “It was the second time in 10 years that I went to see it. I had never been in the Penn and Teller Theater in my life and I haven’t seen the show either.” Laak and Antonio Esfandiari instigated a number of prop bets during Season 5 of “High Stakes Poker,” one-off events that producer Mori Eskandani has apparently frowned upon during the show’s most recent installment.

Besides Phillips, another newcomer to the GSN poker series this time around is Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis, who final tabled the $40,000 buy-in tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP in 2009. Veldhuis told Poker News Daily how he stacks up against the talented competition: “I’ve played with these guys before, so I’m comfortable with them and I’m comfortable with my game. I just hope I can win some money because the show is a small sample. There’s going to be really high variance and I won’t have a lot of hands. It’s gambling, so in that respect, I think it’s higher stakes.”

Season 6 of “High Stakes Poker” will begin airing on Sunday, February 14th on GSN.

Loto-Québec has submitted a proposal to the province’s government “for an internet wagering initiative in partnership with British Columbia and the four Atlantic provinces, which already have limited online gaming,” according to the Canadian news outlet. Loto-Québec claims that Canadians are currently placating more than 2,000 offshore internet gambling outfits, sending nearly $700 million in wagers away from the country each year, a number that will likely top $1 billion in three years.

Quebec plays home to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), which is located on the Indian reservation of the same name outside of the city. Although the KGC is not currently linked to Loto-Québec’s endeavors, the organization’s Chairman, Dean Montour, told the Montreal Gazette, “The fact that Quebec is now entering the online gaming business in partnership with the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia is an indication that the industry is thriving and is gaining wider acceptance. For over 10 years, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has had a positive working relationship with online gaming regulators throughout the world and looks forward to sharing its knowledge and experience with the Régie des alcools des courses et des jeux.”

The KGC is fresh off completing the investigating surrounding Ultimate Bet, an online poker site that recently changed its name to UB.com. In a September report, the KGC continued to finger former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Russ Hamilton as the mastermind behind the scandal and noted that 31 other individuals were involved, but would not identify who they were. The KGC also issued over 100 screen names associated with the misgivings, a list that included “nvtease,” “Sleeplesss,” and the infamous “NioNio.”

Given the seemingly “Wild West” atmosphere of the internet, Canadian control of the online poker industry will likely bring a considerable amount of validity: “The integrity of the online games often is dubious, as it was for some lotteries and VLTs before Loto-Québec was mandated by the government to funnel them into controlled circuits and oversee them,” noted Loto-Québec President and CEO Alain Cousineau. Loto-Québec added $1.4 billion to the bottom line of the province during the last fiscal year.

Potentially adding to the pressure of Loto-Québec to legalize and regulate the internet version of the age-old card game is a move towards licensing in the United States, spearheaded by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA). Back in May, the lawmaker introduced HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which establishes a full framework for legalized internet gambling in the USA. The measure is up to 63 co-sponsors, including Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who signed on four days ago. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) expects HR 2267 to be marked up in the House Financial Services Committee, of which Frank is the Chair, in January. Other reports signal that markup is coming in December.

On December 1st, the financial services industry in the United States must fall into full compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed three years ago. The PPA and other organizations have been feverishly working to delay the compliance date by one year, but so far, pleas to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and the U.S. Congress have not been heeded.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the newly-created Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment (HIE), headed by former Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber, would be based in Montreal. Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack was originally slated to be HIE’s President, but recently parted ways with the Las Vegas-based gambling giant.

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Cada appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” on Tuesday night in a four-minute segment following actress Penelope Cruz. On his interview with the longtime CBS host, Cada told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “It was very exciting. I was probably more nervous to do that than the final table. It was cool to meet Dave. He’s a funny guy.” Letterman and Cada covered a substantial amount of ground during the terse interview, with topics ranging from Cada’s backers to his beginnings in the game.

Preparing for November’s resumption of the $10,000 buy-in tournament meant over 100 days of waiting for play to kick off. While several at the table sought coaching and some escaped on vacation, Cada relayed how he spent the downtime: “I just tried to remain focused and not think about the money. I wanted to play the best poker that I could and not play scared either.” As a result of his win, Cada will parlay his fame into continued involvement with the poker world. He noted, “I’ll continue to play poker and I’ll always play poker. We have a few big tournaments coming up, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas and the Five Diamond at the Bellagio. I’m going to continue to play big tournaments and play online.”

His parents, though initially gun shy about his poker endeavors, have ultimately come around to support the new millionaire. Cada revealed, “My family has been very supportive and my friends have been very supportive too. There have been a lot of people helping me through this and I’m very appreciative of all of that. I’ve been really busy, so I haven’t had too much time to talk to them yet.” His girlfriend served as his ambassador at the Rio during the Main Event final table, answering Cada’s phone and keeping him company throughout the off-day before heads-up play.

Cada is a heads-up online poker specialist and, holding better than a 2:1 chip lead when play was down to two against Maryland logger Darvin Moon, was considered to be favored by most. However, Moon put up a fight, leaving Cada to admit, “Darvin Moon did impress me with his heads-up play. He played really well and put me to a lot of tough decisions. He wanted to play very aggressively, which he did, and put me in a lot of tough spots. Darvin played excellent heads-up poker and took it to me for the beginning part of the match.”

Moon showed down monsters leading up to the nine-handed final table, developing an image as a rock in a table full of experienced poker players. Cada picked up on the same image, telling PocketFives.com Podcast Host David Huber, “Darvin came to the final table with an image that he didn’t bluff too much, barely at all. He always had a monster and tried to use that image to his advantage at the final table. He put in a lot of big raises and tried to put people in a lot of tough spots.”

While Moon turned up the tempo at the final table, poker pros Jeff Shulman and Team Full Tilt member Phil Ivey clamped down, playing mostly ABC poker. On the tightness of the two pros, Cada commented, “I was very surprised, especially when I saw the video. I was surprised that Shulman folded nines on the button when Ivey shipped. I was also surprised to see Ivey fold jacks when he got 3bet. Those hands surprised me and they were playing really tight throughout the 17 hours. Shulman opened up more as we got shorter-handed and I had 18 big blinds, which was my reason to ship with threes.”

Finally, after watching the WSOP Main Event unfold on ESPN, Cada relayed his thoughts on the network’s coverage, which will continue until at least April of 2018: “I wish they would have shown more hands that I was involved with, but they did a good job. There was a ton of footage, so it was hard to see a lot of the interesting hands. They didn’t show a few of my 4bets and there was a crucial hand against Darvin heads-up that I thought they were going to show where he 3bet and I 4bet with 10-3 and he ended up folding fours.”

Cada has looked and sounded professional throughout his various media appearances, coached in interviewing by PokerRoad’s Joe Stapleton and Top Set Management. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest Joe Cada interviews.