Calling the Clock is our weekly news roundup. This week we cover Antonio Esfandiari getting flushed, the Global Poker League team names and managers announced, and much more.

This week saw the very best of poker and the very worst.

I should be waxing lyrical about the Global Poker League, the announcement of the team names, and team managers, but that’s not where we begin. Unfortunately, the biggest news story of the week involves a man pissing in a container while playing on Day 2 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event.

Antonio Esfandiari, one of the most decorated and well-known celebrity poker players in the world, decided it would be perfectly acceptable to whip out his old boy and take a leak at the table.

Calling the Clock is our weekly news roundup. This week we cover Antonio Esfandiari getting flushed, the Global Poker League team names and managers announced, and much more.

This week saw the very best of poker and the very worst.

I should be waxing lyrical about the Global Poker League, the announcement of the team names, and team managers, but that’s not where we begin. Unfortunately, the biggest news story of the week involves a man pissing in a container while playing on Day 2 of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event.

Antonio Esfandiari, one of the most decorated and well-known celebrity poker players in the world, decided it would be perfectly acceptable to whip out his old boy and take a leak at the table.

Haden Ware, the indicted co-founder of defunct online gambling site World Sports Exchange (WSEX), has returned to US shores to face the music.

The Associated Press reported that Ware (pictured) appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday to plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with his role in running WSEX. Ware reportedly returned to the US from Antigua on Wednesday, the first time his feet had touched US soil since he was indicted in 2002.

The 40-year-old Ware admitted his guilt to US Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV, saying he “took wagers over the internet and over interstate lines.” Ware was released on $150k bail pending a sentencing hearing on May 9. Under a plea deal, Ware has agreed not to contest a sentence of less than one year, but Ware’s attorney Jim Henderson said he would push for a non-custodial sentence.

US authorities brought the first set of charges against WSEX a couple years after the company was founded in 1996. Ware and co-founder Steve Schillinger opted to remain in WSEX’s home base of Antigua, where Schillinger was found dead in 2013 of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Haden Ware, the indicted co-founder of defunct online gambling site World Sports Exchange (WSEX), has returned to US shores to face the music.

The Associated Press reported that Ware (pictured) appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday to plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with his role in running WSEX. Ware reportedly returned to the US from Antigua on Wednesday, the first time his feet had touched US soil since he was indicted in 2002.

The 40-year-old Ware admitted his guilt to US Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV, saying he “took wagers over the internet and over interstate lines.” Ware was released on $150k bail pending a sentencing hearing on May 9. Under a plea deal, Ware has agreed not to contest a sentence of less than one year, but Ware’s attorney Jim Henderson said he would push for a non-custodial sentence.

US authorities brought the first set of charges against WSEX a couple years after the company was founded in 1996. Ware and co-founder Steve Schillinger opted to remain in WSEX’s home base of Antigua, where Schillinger was found dead in 2013 of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.

3-barrels of pure value including Sam Trickett signing with an Indian poker company, Dusk Till Dawn and Casino Gran Madrid Join Bravo, and $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl announced.

In what must rank as one of the most unusual partnerships in recent times, Europe’s most winningest live tournament player, Sam Trickett, has signed the dotted line to become the brand ambassador of the Indian poker site Starpoker.in.

It’s a massive coup for the Indian poker market and one that has come right out of the blue. Trickett recently severed ties with Everest Poker after his one year contract came to an end. He started that relationship like a house on fire finishing runner-up in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event in Venice. Starpoker.in will be hoping for a similar start.

Trickett said he was ‘excited to represent the Indian poker industry’ and was looking forward to ‘promoting poker in India.’ Lina Wang, Marketing Director of Starpoker.in, has played a few hands with Trickett, both live and online, and said that she was ‘very proud to welcome him into the Starpoker.in fold.’

3-barrels of pure value including Sam Trickett signing with an Indian poker company, Dusk Till Dawn and Casino Gran Madrid Join Bravo, and $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl announced.

In what must rank as one of the most unusual partnerships in recent times, Europe’s most winningest live tournament player, Sam Trickett, has signed the dotted line to become the brand ambassador of the Indian poker site Starpoker.in.

It’s a massive coup for the Indian poker market and one that has come right out of the blue. Trickett recently severed ties with Everest Poker after his one year contract came to an end. He started that relationship like a house on fire finishing runner-up in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event in Venice. Starpoker.in will be hoping for a similar start.

Trickett said he was ‘excited to represent the Indian poker industry’ and was looking forward to ‘promoting poker in India.’ Lina Wang, Marketing Director of Starpoker.in, has played a few hands with Trickett, both live and online, and said that she was ‘very proud to welcome him into the Starpoker.in fold.’

Macau youths are becoming less interested in gambling, resulting in a decrease in attempts by underage gamblers to enter local casinos.

Portuguese news agency Lusa recently reported that Macau logged 236k instances of individuals under 21 years of age attempting to gain entry to local casinos last year. This represents a 28% decrease from the number of incidents recorded by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) in 2014.

Macau takes a dim view of underage gambling, authorizing fines of MOP 1k to 10k (US $125 – $1,250) for under-21s caught inside a casino, whether they’re there to gamble or work. Casino operators who allow under-21s onto the premises for whatever reason face fines of between MOP 10k and 500k.

In 2012, Macau upped the age of casino entry from 18 to 21 years in a bid to decrease the number of high school seniors who were transitioning straight into the workforce as casino dealers.

Amaya Gaming’s new sports betting brand has released an innovative new feature called Spin & Bet, and also created a book for the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and $25k High Roller.

They may be getting pelters when it comes to their customer service, but PokerStars’ innovation in game play is second to none.

PokerStars new sports betting brand, BetStars, has launched a new product called Spin & Bet. If that name sounds familiar then it is. Back in Sep 2015, PokerStars launched a lottery style hyper Sit n Go called Spin & Go. It’s become one of their most successful games. They will be hoping Spin & Bet curries the same favour.

How Does it Work?

India’s transport minister says attempts to legalize casinos in the country won’t happen on his watch.

This week, Transport minister Nitin Gadkari (pictured) told reporters that he was not at all down with talk of authorizing casinos. Apparently speaking on behalf of the ruling BJP party, Gadkari said “we oppose things like casinos and I will not give permission for that. People will also not tolerate such things.”

In October, the state of Maharashtra, which includes the country’s capital Mumbai, was ordered by the Bombay High Court to formally decide whether or not to authorize casino gambling within its borders. The ruling was sparked after a law student discovered that a 38-year-old statute had permitted casinos, but the state government had never notified the statute.

State officials have reportedly been told to get a move on in order to meet the Court’s six-month deadline, but Gadkari, Maharashtra’s former Public Works minister, is clearly advocating for a negative response. Gadkari suggested that the country’s nearly 1,300 islands might want to develop their tourism industry by opening “entertainment facilities” but “definitely not casinos.”

India’s transport minister says attempts to legalize casinos in the country won’t happen on his watch.

This week, Transport minister Nitin Gadkari (pictured) told reporters that he was not at all down with talk of authorizing casinos. Apparently speaking on behalf of the ruling BJP party, Gadkari said “we oppose things like casinos and I will not give permission for that. People will also not tolerate such things.”

In October, the state of Maharashtra, which includes the country’s capital Mumbai, was ordered by the Bombay High Court to formally decide whether or not to authorize casino gambling within its borders. The ruling was sparked after a law student discovered that a 38-year-old statute had permitted casinos, but the state government had never notified the statute.

State officials have reportedly been told to get a move on in order to meet the Court’s six-month deadline, but Gadkari, Maharashtra’s former Public Works minister, is clearly advocating for a negative response. Gadkari suggested that the country’s nearly 1,300 islands might want to develop their tourism industry by opening “entertainment facilities” but “definitely not casinos.”