The World Series of Poker released the complete schedule for the 2015 WSOP tournament series and there are a lot of changes; a lot of positive changes in my opinion.

The 2015 WSOP schedule features 68 bracelet events, including 10 new tournament formats for players to choose from. The new events feature new formats, new price points, and the first of its kind online bracelet event at the World Series of Poker.

Before I get into the new additions and changes to the 2015 WSOP schedule, I want to touch upon a previously announced change; the completely revamped payout structure the WSOP is implementing for the 2015 Main Event.

Main Event payout structure

BIG:O;nline poker industry observers are keen to analyze and examine revenue numbers from the regulated states of New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada, but will not be able to do so for the latter at present.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board chooses not to release revenue totals unless there are at least three sites operating. With Ultimate Poker’s exit from the market in November, only WSOP.com and Real Gaming remain. December ipoker revenue figures will not be made available for public consumption.

What has been made available is Nevada Gaming Commission chairman Tony Alamo’s opinion on the current online poker marketplace in the Silver State. In a recent interview with Vegas, Inc., Alamo expressed regret about the intrastate ipoker model.

Q:For online gaming to work, you need liquidity,” Alamo said. “Liquidity means volume, lots of people playing. We do not have the population base to do it just within our state, or one or two smaller states, to make it viable.”;

Long before I learned how to be crap at poker, I was crap at pool. I played in a league every Tuesday night. One of the opposing teams was called The Top Club – a decrepit working man’s club.

In the home leg we got stuffed. They had this young girl playing for them and she beat our captain. We used to have this win/loss record book and someone placed a (W) next to his loss to signify a girl had beaten him.

In the away match, the girl was missing. I asked where she was and was told she didn’t play in their home matches.

“Why not?” I asked.

“I’ve missed…I’ve missed again,” I muttered in my mind.

The action checks around to Pete.

Rising to his feet; a big toothy grin on his mush, I get ready for the words I know are coming with the obviousness of a pair of boobs in a Dan Bilzerian selfie.

“POT!” He bellows.

There will be a noticeable change in the coverage at the 2015 World Series of Poker and where on the Internet the poker community finds that coverage, as the tournament series and PokerNews were unable to come to terms on a new contract to cover the 2015 WSOP, which means for the first time since 2007, PokerNews will not be the exclusive live reporting team at the WSOP.

PokerNews and the WSOP parting ways was a surprising development, as PokerNews has done a tremendous job covering the tournament over the years; a task that has more logistical problems than 1,000 unmarked boxes in a UPS warehouse.

Just as surprising was how it was announced, as PokerNews’s Matthew Parvis took to Twitter to inform the poker world.

That being said, maybe it’s not as surprising as it first appeared. Since the announcement that PokerNews was out as the exclusive live reporting team, several details of the deal between the WSOP and PokerNews have come to light, and it’s a far cry from how most people assumed the deal was structured.

We are a month into the new year and the biggest leap by a poker site within the top 10 in terms of places gained finds Bodog/Bovada landing in fourth place in player traffic after starting 2015 in seventh place.

Bodog currently averages 1,700 ring game players on its tables, a 21% increase over the 1,400 average on January 1. Remember in late 2011 when Bodog was widely criticized after announcing its anonymous tables concept and Recreational Poker Model? Those critics have disappeared.

Another large increase in player traffic in the last 30 days occurred at no. 2-ranked 888poker, who gained 12.5%. PokerScout.com reports that 888 currently enjoys a seven-day average of 2,700 players, up from 2,400 thirty days ago.

Rake hike rescinded

The newest Bitcoin-only poker site is set to enter the market on Sunday, February 1 as BitnPlay has announced a freeroll that will kick off at 20:00.

The prize pool consists of one Partner Token to the winner that is worth two Bitcoin and entitles the bearer to 100% rakeback for life. As of this writing, one Bitcoin is valued at $232, making the freeroll worth $464 to the player who manages to best the field.

A total of 200 Partner Tokens have been made available for purchase at BitnPlay, whose payment processing strategy is a bit different from what online poker players have been accustomed to over the years.

Players wishing to enter tournaments at the site will buy-in via their Bitcoin wallets. BitnPlay will hold no player funds other than those that are “part of a game’s prize pool at that specific time.”

Whenever the topic of a federal online gaming bill is broached the conversation inevitably shifts towards talk of a poker carveout, a prohibition of online gaming with an exemption for online poker.

This is a rallying cry for poker players who are quick to differentiate the game they love with regular old gambling, saying things like, “Forget all this online slots and online blackjack talk, we should be pushing for a poker carveout,” or, “Who cares if people can’t play slots, poker is different, it’s a game of skill.”

On its face it certainly seems like a convenient compromise. And it’s a compromise that virtually every poker player (including myself) would agree to in a heartbeat if it was offered. But it hasn’t been offered, and there are several problems with a poker-only approach that make it an unviable option.

Starting with the simple fact that…

New promotions created by online poker sites often fall somewhere between standard and amazingly creative, but a recently announced promo at Full Tilt is nothing short of a knockout.

A total of $60,000 is on the line in Full Tilt’s “Cash Knockout” promotion that offers payouts in three separate leaderboard races. But the leaderboard winners are not determined by player points racked up, as has been the industry norm. Instead, points are earned by knocking out opponents on ring game tables.

Players need to opt in to the promo that gets underway on Friday, February 6 and runs for 10 days through Sunday, February 15. Each player that you bust on the No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha ring game tables is good for one point. That includes action on the Rush Poker cash tables.

A knockout is counted when you leave a player with $0 in cash at the conclusion of a hand. But each player can knock out a particular opponent only once, even if they reload and end up hitting the canvas with $0 in cash again due to your winning hand.

Like many people on the edges of the heart of the poker industry, I didn’t know who Danielle ‘dmoongirl’ Andersen was until I watched the 2013 documentary Bet Raise Fold: The Story of Online Poker.

I related to her immediately. I had a picture of what an ordinary poker life looked like, and Danielle and her family jumped right into my frame. I relate to her in a lot of ways. I’m a parent, I love poker, and I have the same uncomfortable conversations with my mind regarding the balance between chasing my dreams and being there for my son.

Her move to Las Vegas was brave; her split with Ultimate Poker damaging, but from what I can see, this girl is a fighter. Each choice she makes turns out to be the right one. So she will rebound from the loss of a sponsor.

Life goes on.

Magic: The Gathering is a modern day gaming phenomenon. In 2011, the game was attracting an estimated 12 million players, and that number would have increased dramatically in recent times, especially with the growing presence online.

The game has also spawned a whole host of top notch professional poker players, with World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winners David Williams, Brock Parker, Justin Bonomo and Scott Seiver spending time playing Magic: The Gathering at quite a high level.

Q:A lot of people have moved from Magic to poker but I have a lot of friends from Magic that have gone into finance or technical fields but basically they’re mentally prepared to succeed in anything in life,” Williams told PokerListings during a 2013 interview on the subject.;

A 23-year old entrepreneur, Michael Kimble, wants to bring the two games closer together, and he needs your help to turn his idea into a tangible reality. The Michigan ideas man has launched a Kickstarter campaign to try and raise $10,000 to help him launch a range of poker chips that can be used in the Magic: The Gathering game.

U.S. online poker players who play at unregulated sites have taken a shine to the Winning Poker Network (WPN) in 2015, as player traffic has skyrocketed 58% since the new year arrived.

Cash game action at WPN sat at 300 in a seven-day average at the turn of the year, and has now jumped to 475 players, PokerScout.com reported. Led by top skin Americas Cardroom and another player favorite, Black Chip Poker, WPN has moved into a third place tie with the Chico Poker Network in the unregulated U.S. online poker market.

This year’s success follows massive growth in 2014 at Americas Cardroom, according to a recent press release.

“Month over month, our traffic increased dramatically in 2014, even during months when online poker tends to take a backseat to live poker,” said Michael Harris, an Americas Cardroom representative.

I am watching Good Morning TV. The two presenters are Susannah Reid and Charlotte Hawkins: one very attractive brunette, and one very attractive blonde. They are sitting on a large sofa, only they are almost sitting on each other’s lap.

I see short skirts and shapely legs. I know this because the person handling the camera exposes a full length of flesh every few seconds or so. There is a glass table in front of the girls; high enough to hide their modesty, and low enough to keep me interested. I don’t normally watch the news – it’s depressing.

This morning, it has my full attention.

I am not interested in the guests, nor am I interested in the news. I only peek upwards from my laptop to see if they are baring any flesh. I look across at my Dad, and I know he is probably thinking exactly the same thing as me.

Europe no longer has exclusive rights on poker awards banquets (the British Poker Awards and the European Poker Awards) as the inaugural American Poker Awards is scheduled to take place on February 27th in Los Angeles, California.

The American Poker Awards are the brainchild of Zokay Entertainment CEO Alex Dreyfus, whose activities were selected as one of PokerUpdate’s top news stories of 2014.

Dreyfus, who owns such poker brands as The Hendon Mob, the Global Poker Index, and the APA’s sister award show the European Poker Awards, launched a “Sportify Poker” marketing campaign in 2014, aimed at bringing the poker world together and creating a positive buzz around the industry. The APA’s, along with initiatives like the Global Poker Masters, are part of this campaign.

Nomination Panel

A look at player traffic in the regulated market in New Jersey finds that PokerScout has made a proper adjustment and is now listing traffic totals that reflect the recent partial merger between 888poker and WSOP.com.

As most are aware, those sites began combining player pools in select games in mid-January, resulting in enhanced action at the tables. As of this writing, the merger between 888’s All American Poker Network and WSOP.com averages 260 cash players.

That collaboration has allowed WSOP/888 NJ to outdistance player traffic at the Party Borgata Network by roughly a 3 to 2 margin. Party Borgata, made up of BorgataPoker.com and PartyPoker.com, currently enjoys a seven-day average of 170 ring game players.

PokerScout.com’s latest report indicates that WSOP/888 NJ manages to reach a daily peak in traffic “that is 25% higher than the pre-merger total.” But to keep things in perspective, off-peak player traffic may sometimes be less than previous numbers.

Last month, World Series of Poker officials announced that the Main Event would again pay $10 million to first place. This sparked controversy between players whether the event should pay $10 million to first or whether it should pay more players. Debate continued to the point where officials started listening and now the 2015 Main Event structure has been changed.

In a press release issued earlier today, officials announced that the Main Event will drop the $10 million guarantee for first place and instead they will pay 1,000 players. According to WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, “The dream of life-changing money is core to the DNA of the WSOP Main Event and we also want to make it easier to experience playing in poker’s Big Show. Our players understand numbers, and 2015 now presents the best odds ever to leave the Main Event a winner.”

More Players Paid and Potential for Final Table to Leave Millionaires

As part of the press release, WSOP revealed what the prize pool will look like next year provided that numbers remain the same. A total of 6,683 players entered the 2014 Main Event and if participation remained flat, first place would receive $8 million in 2015 with every player at the final table guaranteed at least $1 million.

In this week’s celebrity poker watch we start with Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. After tying the knot with the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, one would imagine that luck and Reynolds get along well, but according to recent press reports it’s not luck that makes him so fearsome at the poker table.

It’s because he’s crap.

Reynolds was speaking to reporters about his research into his latest movie: Mississippi Grind – a gambling movie that follows a pair of gamblers as they cut a route through the South on their way to a legendary poker game in New Orleans.

Both Reynolds and co-star Ben Mendelsohn journeyed deep into the heart of the South where they got involved in a series of poker games whilst researching their roles.

PokerStars is proud to announce their latest addition to Team PokerStars, the Limit Hold’em superbot Cepheus. Earlier this month, the world learned that Cepheus has solved the game of heads-up Limit Hold’em.

Always at the forefront of innovation in online poker, PokerStars has clearly understood that while poker is a game of skill, recent trends have shifted focus towards chance-based gaming. This has threatened overall profitability to the company, but change is on the horizon thanks to the researchers at the University of Alberta, who created Cepheus. Seizing the opportunity to capitalize on the fact that the University researchers are essentially broke college students, PokerStars reached out to the team and purchased full rights to their bot.

Wins are Guaranteed!

CEO Daniel Borezall explained the move, stating, “PokerStars has had a history of being the #1 online poker site in the world. In order to keep that top spot, it was imperative that we devised a plan that would generate guaranteed wins for the company. When it was announced that Cepheus had solved the game of heads-up Limit Hold’em, we knew it would be a perfect fit for our company.”

How does dinner for two up to $150, a one-night stay in a classic room at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and two free tickets to a spectacular show sound? A lovely night on the town, yes?

Online poker players in New Jersey have one more chance to win a Borgata Ultimate Entertainment Package that includes all of the above this Thursday, January 29. For a chance to win, just log on at BorgataPoker.com on Jan. 29 and find the ‘Promotions’ tab. From there, click on “Ultimate Entertainment Package” and register.

Winners are chosen via a random drawing. Registering is good for one free entry. After being notified as a grand prize winner, schedule your night of fun any night of your choice within 30 days.

Other ways to win

2015 has already seen three states introduce online poker/online gaming legislation, and several more states are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks and months.

In this series I’ll summarize the efforts underway in each state and put on my not-always-properly-tuned prognostication cap and take a shot at handicapping the chances of each of these states passing online gaming legislation, not only in 2015, but also in 2016 and beyond.

First up is California.

Overview of gaming in California