Online Poker News

WSOP champ Jonathan Duhamel claims he was bound, beaten, and threatened with his life during a robbery at his home outside Montreal. Just hours after surviving the ordeal, Duhamel blogged on his website that he feels that he is fortunate to still be alive.

The first Canadian WSOP main event winner stated he was robbed when 2 men broke into his Boucherville home Wednesday December 22nd.

Duhamel said he has sustained several bumps and bruises but did not suffer any life threatening injuries. Police are looking at the case as a robbery. Cash, a 2010 WSOP Main Event bracelet, and a custom Pokerstars Rolex were taken from the home. The jewelry may prove difficult to sell as the bracelet is extremely rare and both items engraved with Duhamel’s name.

Montreal police detectives are currently working on the case and ask that anyone with information to contact them directly.

Duhamel has become globally recognized in 2010 winning Nearly 9 million dollars during the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. An avid Montreal Canadians fan, John donated $100,000 to the teams Children’s Foundation Charity. This was the largest single donation that the charity had ever received.

In January 2011, Duhamel beat out some of the world’s best players, winning the high-roller event during the EPT, taking home over $270,000 pushing his lifetime tournament cashes to over $9,500,000.

Popularity: 2% [?]

5Dimes is far from the most popular or best known of all the sports betting sites in the world, but they are known for posting early lines, have no problem doing business with both big and small fish, offer more lines than other sites their size, don’t take much juice, and are well-reviewed in terms of customer support.

 5dimes Depositing Methods
Western Union (fees covered on deposits of $250
Moneygram (fees covered on deposits of $250
Netspend Gift Cards
Visa
Goldpay
5dimes Withdrawing Methods
Money Order (One free per 31 days)
FedEx Cheque (One free per 31 days)
MoneygramBank Wire (One free per 31 days
Moneygram
Goldpay

5dimes Customer Base
5dimes goes out of their way to mix a balance of the regular gaming public and the big name bettors. For starters, their five cent overnight lines make it attractive for bettors of all calibers.

 How to Place a Bet at 5dimes
5Dimes makes it easy to place a bet, a good sign for a sports bettor’s paradise. Some reviewers refer to 5dimes betting process as “quick and dirty,” and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You just have to log in, read their well-designed menus, and place a bet. You could teach a five year old to make a bet at 5dimes, though I wouldn’t recommend it for obvious reasons.

5dimes Bet Variety
5Dimes does in fact have a wide variety of bets, but you should look into the fine print before choosing this site based just on its big game variety. There are plenty of bets to be had above and beyond the standard and generic betting lines. What they don’t get exactly right is the ability to bet on things like reality TV outcomes, entertainment success, and exotic financial bets. Don’t expect much outside of sports bets at 5dimes and you won’t be disappointed

5Dimes offer points spreads on basically each and every American college football and college basketball games, even obscure contests like Lamar University vs. McNeese State. I dare you to find lines on those obscure events, especially lines posted that early.

5dimes Bonus Program
Admittedly, 5dimes bonus program is more than a little convoluted. Think of it this way—at least 5dimes is giving you options rather than making you take whatever bonus you can get.
There are three basic deposit bonus options to pick from: a reduced amount of juice, a cash back program, and a straight up bonus program. That bonus program helps you earn between 20-50% free-play for the sportsbook, depending entirely on the deposit method you choose and the amount you play. That bonus is good for a 50% match. 5dimes has reload bonuses aplenty, usually a 20% match depending on your method of deposit and as long as you deposit at least $250 and only as much as $2500.
As for the 5dimes cash back system? You can earn 15% cash back on all of your sportsbook losses two times every year. You have to request those cash back offers a maximum of two times per year, once just before the American Super Bowl and once just before the American NFL pre-season starts its schedule.
Now, about that reduced juice option—that will appeal to people who bet larger amounts. This program won’t give you access to the more lucrative bonuses and rebates, but you will save cash simply by paying less for the bets you were already going to make anyway.
Your choice of these bonuses may leave you a little confused, but have no fear. Customer support is there to help 24/7.

Other 5dimes Promotions
You can earn as much as 20% cash back on your overall losses as long as you’re subscribed to the program itself. You also get an extra 10% on your winnings with Exotic bets at major horse tracks
There’s a 30% Super Saver Reward, an unknown Refer a Friend Bonus, and a number of special daily promotions:
Tuesdays mean you get reversed commission on Pai Gow in the bonus casino.
Wednesdays give you expanded payouts in roulette in the bonus casino.
On Thursdays, enjoy 100x craps in the bonus casino, while Fridays pay out 2/1 blackjack at the same Bonus Casino time.
Saturdays are great for video poker players, who can play Deuces Wild at a 100.76% payout in the casino, and Sundays offer video poker game Jokers Wild a 100.64% expectation machine in their casino.

5dimes Customer Service
5dimes is well known for some of the best and fastest customer support of any sports betting site. They have a long list of toll-free phone numbers for different countries, all listed for easy access from the front page. Even better, you can live chat with customer service for a few hours each day, and as always you can contact customer support via e-mail questions.

5dimes Website Design
Okay, so 5dimes isn’t going to win any beauty contests for sportsbooks online, but the goal of the site is to provide a very simple interface for betting, not to impress with graphics and flashy animations.

Take a look at their landing page for example—not exactly dead but certainly not attractive. Not a cool flash graphic or scrolling image to be found, but you get the absolute bare necessities along with weekly news about the sites and upcoming games. This more than makes up for the relatively weak design.

5Dimes leads the industry in early lines, which show up about eight in the morning. 5Dimes also gets high marks for customer service. However, the bonus structure is very confusing with hundreds of bonus options to pick from. The ability to wager in American currency means most people will have to pay money exchange fees. There are pluses and minuses about 5dimes, but if you like early lines and good customer service, check them out.

Our friends over at Killtherake.com are usually are offering 5-Dime bonus codes for 1st depositors. Enzo occasionally gives out his sportsbetting picks for free. I went 6-3 for this month with him (Dec. 2011).

Popularity: 2% [?]

Joe Barton informed the online poker community recently that he believed his bill to permit and regulate online poker possessed the votes to pass the House floor. Congressman Barton explained that it is merely dependent on getting the legislation in place to get a vote. He expects the vote to occur next summer.

That is encouraging, yet it does raise one question: Assuming support for the bill is in fact that strong, how does it just have 25 co-sponsors?

There are actually 435 voting members, so 218 votes are required to pass a bill. 25 co-sponsors in addition to Barton are roughly 12% of what’s needed.

HR 2366, was designed by Barton at the end of June having 11 initial co-sponsors. This has slowly increased to its present total of 25 by the end of August, which means it has not acquired any additional support during the last 4 months. In that period, internet poker has been talked over 2X in the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, which Barton is a fellow member. Nevertheless, nobody else has placed their name on his bill.

In contrast, Barney Frank’s Online gambling licensing and regulations bill managed Seventy co-sponsors this past year, however nobody believed it obtained anywhere near the votes to pass.

“As an organization, we have not really pressed very much for co-sponsorship since summer,” explained John Pappas, executive director of the PPA (Poker Players Alliance) that delivered the thought of launching the bill to Barton. “Rep. Barton would prefer to add a Republican and a Democrat instead of add 5-6 Democrats.”

Although the bill was created by a Republican, the 25 co-sponsors include to 19 Democrats and 6 Republicans. “I believe there are plenty of Republicans that will ultimately vote for the bill, yet are much less willing to put their names on to be a co-sponsor unless forced to vote on it,” Pappas stated.

Undoubtedly, the bill doesn’t require a great deal of co-sponsors provided that it has influential people operating behind the scenes. The reason for co-sponsors is usually to display to House leadership that a bill ought to be addressed.

It’s rational that internet poker is a matter that a lot of reps would not pursue, yet would likely vote for when asked – especially a bill that allows poker and beefs up restrictions towards other kinds of internet gambling like casino games and sport betting.

Whilst online poker players would like to also believe in Barton’s affirmation, it is better to stay cautious and hope for the best outcome for online poker players.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Online gamblers in the US can still rake in the big bonuses, even as the US government tries to shut the industry down., as poker sites like Blackchip Poker and online casinos like 5 Dimes welcome new players from the US through their doors with big, inviting welcome bonuses.

The current Blackchip poker code, open to US players, is a 150% match on your first deposit, as opposed to the standard 100%. This means that to get the $750 maximum bonus, you don’t need to deposit $750, only $500.

And if you think that looks appealing, at 5 Dimes the bonuses are exponentially higher. The welcome bonus at this site may only be 50%, but you get it three times, not just once, on your first 3 deposits. And the potential maximum is increased tenfold, with $2,000 available from the first deposit, $1,000 from the second deposit and $2,000 again from the third deposit.

Popularity: 7% [?]