In the fourth quarter of 2007, bwin increased both its gross and net gaming revenues above the levels they had achieved before exiting the US market in late 2006 and the Turkish market in early 2007. Sports betting still represents a little more than 50% of bwin’s business, and the company’s strong fourth quarter performance was driven, in part, by an 18.8% increase in sports betting net revenues. Poker was also a strong performer for bwin in the
fourth quarter, posting a 16.6% increase in net gaming revenues. Sports betting was also the key performer year-over-year, showing a 22.4% increase in net revenues over 2006. The loss of the US and Turkish market was more apparent in poker-related net revenues for the year, which were down 22.2%.

Results, excluding discontinued US and Turkish operations, highlighted bwin’s ability to grow their business regionally post-UIGEA. Net gaming revenues were up 25.9% overall in 2007, with sports betting posting a 23.4% increase and poker growing by 49.7%.

Bwin was pleased with their results, stating, “Compared to its most important competitors, which report in USD or GBP, in 2007 bwin reported the strongest organic growth of net gaming revenues in a euro-based comparison. It also confirms the correctness of the Company’s strategy of investing in proprietary poker and sports betting platforms to safeguard future earning potential, and of cautious regional diversification.”

Bwin expects to post another record quarter in the first quarter of 2008. In their first 75 days of operation this year, bwin’s average daily gross gaming revenues showed an increase of 4.7% over the fourth quarter of 2007.

Bwin’s detailed results will be posted on April 17th and are expected to confirm their preliminary performance release. Also expected is some discussion relative to the potential financial ramifications for bwin in light of the recent decision by the German Federal Court of Justice affecting bwin’s operations there.

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The $185.7 million figure included $136 million in settlement fees that the firm paid to the US government, following the US’s seizure of NETeller funds in transit to and from American customers. That seizure took place in late January of 2007, just after the highly publicized arrests by US authorities of Canadian NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. Lawrence and Lefebvre were no longer connected with NETeller at the time of the arrests but the US crackdown
precipitated NETeller’s withdrawal from the American market.

Also contributing to NETeller’s rough 2007 was a total of $37 million in restructuring expenses connected to the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Canada to the Isle of Man, off Britain’s coast. The total of $185.7 million in losses wiped out the gains made in a solid 2006, when the firm reported total profits of more than $107 million.

NETeller reported some positive indicators, despite the overall rough news. Cash flow for the second half of 2007 was positive, and both European and Asia Pacific revenues were up during the year, by 28% and 44%, respectively. The two regions contributed most of the company’s $84 million in revenue during the year.

2008′s results already include one major charge and one major proceeds source. NETeller’s final payment to the US government — $38.25 million – was made on January 16, 2008 and will show up in next year’s numbers. That last payment will be offset to some extent by NETeller’s successful sale of its former Calgary, Alberta headquarters. The net proceeds from that sale are $33 million and will be receivable as of March 31, 2008. As of 2007 year end, NETeller maintained $80.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.

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Peters Tops Obrestad in PokerStars.net EPT Dublin Final — Annette Obrestad’s run to victory at the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour stop ran into an unexpected roadblock, and the roadblock’s name was Reuben Peters. The young American online qualifier came from
behind to prevent Obrestad from winning her second major title of the year after Obrestad held the lead at the start of heads-up play. Peters began the day as one of the shortest stacks at a final table also including European stars Thierry van den Berg and Trond Eidsvig, and when the day was complete had collected €532,620 for his comeback win. Obrestad’s runner-up showing was worth €297,800.

‘Jesus’ Ferguson Snares Third Circuit Ring — Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson became the first three-time WSOP Circuit champion in November when he held off local pro Dustin Fox in the main event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. Ferguson was a dominant player throughout the tourney and held a big lead as the final table began, while Fox chipped out early and became a serious threat while the other remaining players departed. The heads-up portion of the event set a record that can never be beaten — it lasted only one hand, when Ferguson, who flopped a set after starting with pockettens, cracked Fox’s pocket aces. Ferguson collected $203,649 for the win, with Fox taking home $119,333.

Assadourian Triumphs in PokerStars.net APPT Macau — Another form of history was made when the new PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour arrived in Macau — the hastily arranged event was the first-ever major poker tournament held in Mainland China. The winner here in the APPT Macau Main Event was young Australian pro Eric Assadourian, who came from behind to win the $368,640 first-place prize. Emad Tahtouh held a sizeable lead at the start of play but was reeled in early, finishing fifth, while Assadourian charged to the front and held off Bo Sehlstedt and David Paul Steicke for the win.

Duke Leads Poker World’s Testimony to Congress — America’s laws and policies regarding Internet gambling were the topic of a Congressional hearing in November and several big names from the poker world were on hand to testify. The hearing was called by John Conyers, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, and among those appearing on the pro-poker side of the slate was pro Annie Duke, as a spokesperson for the Poker Players Alliance, and her detailed testimony was supported by that of others, including New York University law school professor Joseph Weiler and Internet security expert Michael Colopy. The antis brought out there big guns as well, including Family Research Council head Tom McClusky and several legislators and prosecutors who have made attackng online gambling a focal point of their work. The hearing brought no resolution or action but offered a chance to get many of the most important arguments on the topic into the public record.

‘fkscreennames’ Takes FTOPS VI Main Event — Full Tilt’s FTOPS VI series (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) concluded its late fall run after doling out more than $11 million over its 14 events. The biggest of the 14 evens was, of course, the Main Event on FTOPS VI’s final day, a $500+35 event that drew 4,371 entrants and easily topped its $2 million pre-tourney guarantee. When the day’s action finally wrapped up, ‘fkscreennames’ was the victor, taking down a $385,937.45 payday, after holding a commanding lead entering heads-up action and holding off ‘southside1′ ($233,629.95) for the win.

New Jersey Man Slain in NYC Poker Robbery — One of New York City’s common underground poker games was the site of a botched robbery attempt in November that led to the death of one of the game’s players. Frank DeSena, 55, of New Jersey, died after being struck in the chest by a bullet that several local reports stated was discharged accidentally when one of the robbers dropped his weapon. NYC police have made two separate arrests in the case to date.

Carlos Uz Victorious at Caesars Indiana — The first major poker result of November came from the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Indiana, where Carlos Uz became the official winner after a late chop with Marc Fratter in the Circuit stop’s main event. Uz and Fratter split the proceeds for the final two spots almost evenly after dispatching the rest of a final table that also included 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom’Donkey Bomber’ Schneider. Uz finished with $165,000 in winning plus the winner’s gold-and-diamonds Circuit ring, while Fratter took home $175,034 and the $10,000 entry into the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

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David ‘Chip’ Reese Passes at Age 56 — The poker world was shocked and saddened early in the month when word spread of the unexpected death of cash-game legend Chip Reese at his Las Vegas home, following a brief
illness. The Dayton, OH native was a dominant player in the biggest games in Las Vegas for decades, preferring that to the mainstream fame afforded players who frequented the tourney circuit. Reese did play some major tournaments, however, winning (among other events) three WSOP bracelets, the third and final of which was the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the 2006 WSOP. The win, following a marathon heads-up duel against Andy Bloch, cemented Reese’s legacy as an expert in all forms of the game and will be viewed as his crowning achievement.

WTO Awards Antigua $21M Annual Compensation in Gaming Dispute — The years-long battle at the World Trade Organization between the United States and the small island nation of Antigua & Barbuda resulted in something of a split decision. While Antigua was guaranteed some form of compensation as a result of its victory in the case, the amount of the award was subject to arbitration and could fall anywhere in a widespread range: Antigua sought $3.44 billion annually while the U.S. openly suggested that $500,000 was a fair amount. Faced with impossible extremes, the WTO narrowed the scope of its judgment to the sole area specifically defined in the complaint — international access to Internet-based horseracing — and awarded Antigua an annual $21 million judgment. The judgment, if acted upon by Antigua, would take the form of the country being able to manufacture goods covered by U.S. copyrights and patents, royalty-free and without fear of reprisal through international courts.

Levy Takes PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Grand Finale — The opening season of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour concluded with a mid-December event in Sydney, Australia that drew a solid contingent of big names, including several of the most famous members of Team PokerStars. Fame was fleeting, perhaps; none of the biggest names made it to the final. Instead a new big name was created, that of Australia’s own Grant Levy, who became the first Aussie poker player to win a million-dollar first prize in his home country. Levy finally took down the win after a heads-up battle against Jeremiah Vinsant that lasted over 60 hands; Vinsant finally settled for $621,540 as the runner-up.

John Racener Claims Atlantic City Circuit Ring — The last World Series of Poker Circuit event of the 2007 calendar year was haled at Harrah’s Atlantic City, and the winner was John Racener, a 22-year-old who’s already made noise in several live stops on the tournament scene. Following two ’07 WSOP cashes and an 8th-place in a WPT event, Racener broke through here for the victory and a $379,392 payday, the largest of his career. Racener’s final challengers were Eric Buchman and Feming Chan, who finished in second and third, respectively.

Mattern Victorious at EPT Prague — It’s common enough for international Magic: The Gathering or StarCraft players to transfer their gaming success to major poker tourneys, but backgammon? The less common road to riches was taken by Arnaud Mattern, a French gammon champ who broke through in a big way at the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour stop in Prague. Mattern’s trip to the Czech Republic resulted in a €708,400 payday after he reeled in early leader Mikael Norinder, then came back from a deficit heads-up against Gino Alacqua for the win. It wasn’t the first poker success for Mattern, of course, even if it was his first EPT cash; Mattern also had a triumph in the 2005 Gutshot Poker Masters to his credit.

Philachack Captures New Orleans Circuit Event — The big news through the first two days of the early-December WSOP Circuit event in New Orleans was the dominating performance of Josh Arieh, who steamrolled player after player and entered the final table with a commanding chip lead. In the end, though, it was Andy Philachack who took down the Circuit win, pushing past Arieh into the lead as the seven other final-table players exited in turn. Philachack began heads-up action against Arieh with a 3:1 lead in chips and soon finished off the win, collecting $247,860. Arieh’s strong showing was worth $130,050.

EU Settles with U.S. in Online-Gambling Dispute — The WTO decision involving Antigua wasn’t the only battle over online-gaming facing the U.S. in that international trade venue. Several other countries also filed claims against the U.S. in the matter, including the European, which collectively represented most European nations and whose $100 billion claim dwarfed that of Antigua, which brought the original case. However, the EU reached an agreement with the U.S. doing away with the claim in exchange for trade relief in other markets, a controversial but expedient move which still has a few small legal catches pending. News of the settlement came down just days before the Antigua decision was announced; Canada and Japan settled their outstanding claims against the U.S. in a similar manner.

Tony G Wins Inaugural Moscow Millions — PokerNews’ own Tony ‘G’ Guoga claimed a piece of poker history in December by winning the inaugural Moscow Millions tournament, the largest-ever poker tournament held in Russia. Guoga won out over a strong but relatively unknown final table (excepting emerging Russian star Alex Kravchenko, who finished third), and then donated his $205,000 in first-place winnings for the benefit of Russian orphanages, not the first time Guoga has made such a grand gesture with tourney winnings.

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Absolute Poker ‘Security Breach’ Acknowledged — An interesting chapter in online poker history unfolded when amateur sleuthing by a dedicated group of high-stakes online players detected a severe statistical anomaly at Absolute Poker, suggesting that something was amiss
both in those games and in a curious tournament that ran on the site. Faced with a growing public outcry, Absolute investigated and eventually confirmed that a “high-ranking consultant” with access to critical components of the site’s software had arranged a technical means to view competitors’ hole cards, and had illegally collected at least several hundred thousand dollars from customers’ accounts through unfair play. Once the situation was uncovered, Absolute began the process of repaying the money taken illegitimately, as an audit of the site’s software and internal processes was ordered.

Julian Thew Wins in Baden — English poker pro Julian Thew promised his wife they’d be wealthy by his 40th birthday, but he waited as long as possible to make it happen. The 39-year-old Thew took down the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour stop in Baden, Austria, topping a 282-player field to win a first prize of €670,800, or over $1.3 million in U.S. currency. Thew reeled in early leader Vladimir Poleshchuk halfway through the final table and held off Denes Kalo and Poleshchuk for the win. Kalo pocketed €375,000 for his second-place effort and Poleshchuk’s strong run netted him €225,000 for third.

Doyle’s Room Returns to U.S. — Doyle’s Room, the namesake site of American poker legend and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson found itself in a difficult position early in the year, when its software provider announced that it was exiting the U.S. market. With not even lead time to fully develop its own software platform, Doyle’s Room was left with no choice but to exit the U.S. scene as well, selling its U.S. customer base to Full Tilt. However, Doyle’s Room made its return to the U.S. in October, with those accounts that had been transferred to Full Tilt now reopened for their customers’ convenience on the new Doyle’s Room site, now migrated to the Microgaming Network and available to U.S. players in 39 states.

‘ka$ino’ Awarded WCOOP Main Event Title — The final event in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker had a most curious outcome, with a two-week investigation by the site and the eventual disqualification of the original first-place finisher for reasons never officially released. This meant that the initial runner-up, ‘ka$ino’, became the champion of the event, collecting a huge $1.378 million payday that was the largest of the year in the online world. Other players saw a similar bump up in prize money due to the first winner’s disqualification, including Vanessa ‘LadyMaverick’ Rousso, who received an extra $250,000 and became the official runner-up, and Josh ‘nitbuster’ Arieh, who finished an adjusted fifth in the event.

Richard Lee Charged, Accepts Deal in Bookmaking Case — A story that took over a year to unfold was the saga of bookmaking charges brought against 2006 WSOP Main Event final tablist Richard Lee. Lee, a San Antonio resident, has his home raided only weeks after his sixth-place finish at the Rio, as San Antonio investigators alleged that he was the leader of a bookmaking operation that operated both throughout the San Antonio area an online. After a year of investigation, Lee was finally charged in the case, and accepted a plea deal that cost him most of his net worth — allegedly the fruit of his bookmaking labors, according to authorities — roughly $2.2 million in assets, all told. Other people charged in the investigation reached similar plea deals.

Travis Rice Conquers Aruba — One of the most popular tournaments not affiliated with a major tour is the UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic, which drew a strong 546-player field to the island paradise for 2007′s version of poker fun-’n'-sun. Aruba’s 18-year-old age limit also made it a big draw for international and online players not yet eligible to play in many American 21-and-older events. The winner here was Travis ‘TravestyFund’ Rice, who collected $800,000 in the biggest win of his career. The traditional outdoor final brought its own entertaining moments, lasting until Rice finished off runner-up James Mordue ($478,405) for the victory.

Dory Zayner Takes Inaugural PokerNews Cup Main Event — The first-ever PokerNews Cup took place in Melbourne, Australia, during October, drawing a deep, international pool of experienced stars and online qualifiers taking a shot at the big time. While one of the highlights was PokerNews.com’s own Editor-in-Chief, John Caldwell, winning a preliminary event, the biggest story out of Melbourne was the win in the main event by young Dory Zayner, who held off the more experienced Kenny Ng and 426 others to capture the PNC Main Event title and AU $300,000 in winnings. Ng took home AU $203,700 as the runner-up, as the Main Event alone distributed over $1.2 million in prize money.

U.S. Releases Proposed UIGEA Regulations — Implementation of the United States’ onerous Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will eventually fall to two federal agencies, the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury. On October 1st, after months of work, the two agencies released its proposed regulations for enforcement and implementation of the act, thus kicking off a period where public comment on the proposed rules was accepted. The UIGEA’s workability was immediately called into question after examination of some of the entries in the proposed regulations, even as legal challenges to the law’s ultimate enforcement remained in progress elsewhere in the American legal system.

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Mouawad Takes EPT London — Lebanon’s Joseph Mouawad captured his first major title in Septeber by winning the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour stop in London. Mouawad began the final table in second position behind young German star Florian Langmann at a table with other prominent European players such as Anthony Lellouche, Fredrik Haugen, Paul Mendes and Marcel Baran. Mouawad outmanuevered them all, surviving a fast-paced final table before finishing off Langmann, his final challenger. Mouawad won 611,520, while Langmann, the runner-up, collected 346,528.

Jordan Morgan Captures Tunica Circuit Gold — Players not traveling to London for the WSOP-E festivities still had plenty of other poker options in September, including a popular WSOP Circuit stop in Tunica, Mississippi. The September Tunica stop saw a breakthrough performance by Jordan Morgan, a feared online player who had also done well in several live events but until this event had fallen short of securing his first major live win. Morgan’s victory here was worth $213,288. Terry Hawkins took home $111,911 in runner-up money.

Thomas Bihl Wins First-Ever WSOP-Europe Event — In a bit of a tribute to the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the WSOP which has quickly become a favorite of top pros, the brand new World Series of Poker Europe launched with a 2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event that drew an impressive 105-player field. The eight players who made the final (Jennifer Harman, Gary Jones, Joe Beevers, Kirk Morrison, Thomas Bihl, Yuval Bronshtein, Alex Kravchenko and Chris Ferguson) had a combined nine WSOP bracelets among them, and the tenth would go to one of the few here without a previous bracelet to his credit, Thomas Bihl. Bihl took the first-ever WSOP event in grand fashion, finishing off Harman and Morrison, his last two challengers, for the 70,875 victory.

Alioto Claims Bracelet in WSOP-Europe Omaha — Event #2 at the brand new World Series of Poker Europe was 5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, a game which despite its American roots is even more popular on the other side of the Atlantic. Italian Dario Alioto triumphed in this event over a strong final table that included Andy Bloch and PokerNews’ own Tony ‘G’ Guoga, who finished in third after a see-saw battle. Alioto eventually claimed gold and 234,390 by finishing off Istvan Novak, who pocketed 137,280 by finishing second.

North Carolina Poker Raid Snags Gracz, Bell — Poker raids take place all the time, it seems, with busts of illicit games — or robberies of same — occuring on weekly basis. One of the most noteworthy raids of 2007 took place in September at a semi-private North Carolina club. The raid’s details were unexceptional, but it was noteworthy in that at least two well-known pro players were involed. Maciek ‘Michael’ Gracz, winner of the PartyPoker Million IV and a WSOP bracelet, was arrested as part of the raid, as was Chris Bell, a protégé of Gracz’s with three WSOP or WPT final tables to his credit. Both faced gambling charges connected with the raid.

Raymer Takes WCOOP Event #6 — Every event in PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker drew massive fields and huge prizes, but Event #6, $320 Pot-Limit Omaha was special in that it was taken down by 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg ‘FossilMan’ Raymer. Raymer, who won his WSOP chmapionship after winning his seat on the site and who has been one of the preeminent Team PokerStars members ever since, won his first WCOOP title here, collecting $168,362.40 for the victory.

Ziv Bachar Wins in Seoul — South Korea’s first-ever major poker event saw its winner come all the way from Israel to take the title. Ziv Bachar, a young Tel Aviv native, found riches in Seoul, South Korea, at the second-ever stop of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour. Bachar all but sealed the title after winning a huge all-in showdown against eventual third-place finisher Sid Kim, who was the leader at the time, then finished off Kim and runner-up Josef Berec to complete his run to victory. Bachar collected $139,872 for the win.

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Sander Lyloff Takes PokerStars.net EPT — Denmark’s Sander Lyloff made a big splash on the poker scene in August by taking down the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour event in Barcelona, Spain. Lyloff triumphed over a 543-player field stuffed with
top-flight international players to capture the €1,170,000 first-place prize, winning a longer-than-normal final day that began with 13 players after the previous day’s action couldn’t get down to the normal nine by the casino’s end of day. Lyloff was in second place behind Mika Paasonen as the last day’s action began, and stayed near the top throughout before taking down the win.

‘CrazyZachary’ Captures FTOPS V Main Event — The fifth edition of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS IV) continued to shatter participation marks, with the series final weekend including both a history-making two-day, high-buyin tourney that drew a crowd of the game’s biggest online names and the main event itself. That main event drew 4,578 players and generated an outstanding $2,289,000 purse. Coming out on top after a battle that stretched well into the following Monday was ‘CrazyZachary,’ whose hard-fought win was worth $395,905.44.

Bolcerek Leaves Top Post at PPA — Poker’s largest political/lobbying entity, the Poker Players Alliance, announced in August that it would be relocating to Washington D.C. to better handle it federal lobbying efforts. Concurrent with the organization’s move, the PPA’s President, Michael Bolcerek, announced that he would step aside from the organiation to pursure other projects closer to his West Coast home. Bolcerek’s post at the top of the PPA ladder was quickly filled by Mike Pappas, a veteran D.C. lobbyist who had joined PPA as a full-time member just weeks before, while former Senator Al D’Amato continued on his roles as Chairman and as the most public face of the PPA.

Dubai Buys into MGM’s City — One of the biggest ever developments planned for Las Vegas is MGM Grand’s CityCenter project, and in August, MGM announced that they were bringing a new partner into the fold. For $5.1 billion, Dubai World, a Dubai government-owned holding company, acquired both a 50% stake in the ongoing CityCenter project and a 9.5% share in MGM Grand itself, via a stock purchase plan. The huge CityCenter project moves forward and will change the Vegas skyline, slated for completion sometime in 2009.

Brett Parise Takes PokerStars.net APPT Manila — The new PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour debuted with an event in Manila, the Philippines, and the first-ever winner of an APPT main event was a 22-year-old college student from the U.S., Brett Parise. Parise secured his passport only two hours before his international flight was scheduled to depart, but made the last-minute effort worth it, taking $179,775 back to the U.S. after defeating another American, 45-year-old Ira Blumenthal, during heads-up action.

‘Bodog.com’ Domain Seized in Patent-Infringement Dispute — On one day in late August, unexpected connectivity problems were the first sign users had that something was amiss with the bodog.com domain, host of the online Bodog poker website. The reason for the lapse quickly became known, as Bodog had been hit with a default judgment for roughly $49 in a disputed and curious patent-infringement case, with the domain seized and turned over to the plaintiff, 1st Technology LLC as a result of the judgment. While legal developments continue to unfold in this matter, Bodog dealt with the unexpected down time by quickly shifting to a couple of new domains, first (on a temporary basis) to newbodog.com, and then to bodoglife.com, where the site resides today.

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Hellmuth Wins 11th Career WSOP Bracelet — Who would capture an 11th WSOP bracelet first? All three players with ten career titles made deep runs at bracelets in the opening weeks of the WSOP. But when the efforts of Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan in other events fell short, it left the door open for Phil
Hellmuth, Jr. to make history. Hellmuth won his 11th career bracelet in Event #15, $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Hellmuth emerged from a massive pack of 2,628 entrants to outlast Andy Philachack and seven others in a final seen by almost no one, for it was held inside the special Bluff tent created as a venue for televising a select number of finals designated as pay-per-view (via Internet) events. Nonetheless, word of Hellmuth’s triumph still spread through the Amazon Room and beyond and a special ceremony was quickly arranged. Hellmuth collected $637,254 in his record-setting triumph.

Antigua Asks for $3.44B from U.S. in WTO Trade Dispute — Early in June, the island nation of Antigua & Barbuda filed a claim for $3.44 billion in annual compensation from the U.S. as its rightful award for its successful case against the U.S. over ‘offshore’ access to the Internet gambling marke, specifically horseracing in this case. While some arbitration judgment was assured, once the U.S. abandoned its final appeal, the amount ultimately due was a matter of widely divergent opinions. The U.S. scoffed at Antigua’ claim and suggested that $500,000 might be appropriate, while other countries filed similar WTO claims as the deadline for filing passed. The largest of these was a $100 billion claim filed by the European Union, representing the interests of most European countries.

Freddy Deeb Takes $50K H.O.R.S.E. Championship — The biggest payday and most prestige at the WSOP outside the Main Event goes to the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, which returned for its second edition as Event #39 of the 2007 WSOP. 148 of poker’s biggest stars sought the title, including the late Chip Reese, who returned here to defend his crown from the inaugural 2006 event. The 2007 edition produced the most potent final table of the entire WSOP, consisting of Barry Greenstein, Amnon Filippi, Freddy Deeb, Thor Hansen, Kenny Tran, David Singer, Bruno Fitoussi and John Hanson. Deeb emerged the winner after overtaking final-table chip leader Filippi, collecting $2,276,832 and the special winner’s bracelet. Fitoussi emerged as the runner-up, cashing for $1,278,720.

Full Contact Poker Ceases Operations; Negreanu Joins PokerStars — The online poker sites hit hardest by the market impact of the UIGEA were moderately sized sites that catered extensively to the U.S. Among those was Full Contact Poker, which announced in June that it would cease the online-room portion of its operations and continue on as a discussion forum only, where it remained a major player. FCP announced the sale of its account base to PokerStars, and only a couple of days later, FCP spokesman Daniel Negreanu announced that he was making the move as well, joining the impressie lineup of Team PokerStars sponsored players and instantly becoming one of the site’s most recognizable endorsers.

PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour Announced — A new major poker tour serving the booming Asian Pacific Rim poker market was announced in June with PokerStars’ launch of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. The tour initially scheduled stops for Manila, The Phillipines, and Seoul, South Korea, along with a season-end championship in Sydney, Australia. The APPT would be boosted later in the year with the addition of an event in Macao, the first-ever major poker tournament held in Mainland China. The APPT events drew respectable entries at all venues and established a solid base for major poker tournaments in the region.

Schneider Becomes 2007 WSOP’s Only Double Winner — Winning two bracelets in the same World Series of Poker requires both exceptional skill and a great rush of cards. In 2007 the breakthrough performance was accomplished by veteran cash-game player Tom ‘Donkey Bomber’ Schneider, who won his first title early on in Event #5, $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha & 7 Card Stud (Hi/Lo), and followed that up by taking down Event #46, $1,000 7-Card Stud (Hi/Lo). In addition, Schneider held on to narrowly edge out Jeffrey Lisandro for 2007 WSOP Player of the Year honors.

Billirakis Snags ‘Youngest-Ever Winner’ Title ¬— With an age limit of 21 in place for all Nevada-based WSOP events, the record for youngest-ever bracelet winner has edged ever closer to that 21-year minimum. While Jeff Madsen had claimed the record in 2006 by winning the first of his two bracelets in that series, his mark lasted exactly one year: Steve Billirakis, aged 21 years and 10 days, set a new youthful standard by winning the very first event of the 2007 WSOP, the $5,000 ‘Mixed Event’ tourney. Billirakis outlasted Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller to collect the $536,287 winner’s prize in an auspicious WSOP debut.

NETeller’s Lawrence Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charges — The NETeller saga marched on throughout the year. Shortly after the company itself announced a plan to repay U.S. customers whose funds had been frozen for months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that NETeller co-founder John Lawrence had pled guilty to one count of conspiracy regarding the facilitation of money transfers between U.S. residents and offshore gambling sites, primarily bookmakers. Lawrence agreed to be partially responsible for the $100 million the U.S. was believed to be seeking in the case.

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Yang Wins 2007 WSOP Main Event — Jerry Yang’s triumph in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event was a true rags-to-riches tale. Yang, an immigrant refugee who scraped his way to a better life after arriving in the U.S.,
won a seat to the ME in another casino tournament and made it pay off in the biggest way possible, for $8.25 million. Yang was one of the shortest stacks at the start of the ME final table but put on a brash display of aggressive poker, quickly surging into the lead and picking off opponents one by one. The last to fall was Canadian Tuam Lam, who cashed for $4,840,981 as the runner-up. South African Raymond Rahme finished third ($3,048,025) and emerging Russian star Alex Kravchenko, who had won a bracelet earlier in the Series, took fourth ($1,852,721) in perhaps the most international Main Event final table the WSOP had ever seen.

Mizrachi Claims $10K PLO World Championship — Robert Mizrachi became the first of the poker-playing Mizrachi brothers to snare a WSOP winner’s bracele when he captured Event #50, World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha. Mizrachi topped one of the best final tables of the entire WSOP, which also included Doyle Brunson making a run at tying Phil Hellmuth’s recently set mark of 11 career WSOP bracelets. Brunson’s run fell short, though, as did those of Patrik Antonius and Marco Traniello. In the end it was Mizrachi who surged to the win and $768,889 in prize money, finishing off Rene Mouritsen ($464,877) for the title. Antonius ended up third and start-of-day chip leader Tommy Ly took fourth.

Edler Scores Bracelet in $5K Short-Handed Final — Among the breakthrough performances at the 2007 WSOP was the win by Bill ‘The Stunning One’ Edler. Edler, a well respected poker-circuit veteran and among the most well liked of all tourney players, put together a remarkable year in 2007, the keystone of which was his triumph in Event #45, $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Short-Handed). Edler came from being one of the short stacks entering the six-player final to overtake early leaders Alex Bolotin and Erik Friberg, finally claiming the $904,672 win; Bolotin and Friberg finished in second and third, respectively. Edler’s win immediately drew enthusiastic raves from fellow players, glad for the long-time pro’s breakthrough success.

NETeller Funds Distribution Begins — Finally, after a wait of more than six months, U.S.-based NETeller customers were able to access and withdraw their account balances that had been frozen by the U.S. in its crackdown against the popular e-waller service. No other options besides withdrawal were available. U.S. customers were able only to choose between an electronic file transfer to an existing and pre-registered bank account or a withdrawal by paper check, and as July ended and August began, the vast majority of the frozen funds were reclaimed by U.S. owners. The final total that was repaid bounced up and down, but was ultimaely reported to be about $136 million. A few weeks earlier, NETeller co-founder John David Lefebvre had followed his one-time partner Steven Lawrence in accepting a plea deal offered by the U.S., on one count of criminal conspiracy connected to earlier NETeller operations.

Billavara Triumphs Over Huge $1,500 NLHE Field — Throughout the 2007 WSOP, the $1,500 and $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em freezeout events poved popular like no other, save the Main Event itself. Each time one of these went off, the Amazon Room and the adjacent Poker Pavilion were stuffed to (and sometimes beyond) capacity. Event #49, the last $1,500 NLHE event, was no exception, setting a record for a non-Main Event tourney with its 3,151 entrants. Three days later, Chandrasekhar Billavara emerged from the chaos with the title and $722,914 in winnings. The huge fields these moderately prices events garnered drew the attention of Harrah’s and WSOP brass, who added more of these events to the ’08 WSOP schedule.

Laak, Eslami Score One for Humans in Man-Machine Poker Championship — Conducted as part of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in Vancouver, Canada, the first ever Man-Machine Poker Championship took place in late July. Representing the humans were pros Phil Laak and Ali Eslami, who went on to eke out a narrow victory in four matches over two days against Polaris, a poker-playing software program developed at the University of Alberta. The game was heads-up limit hold’em, perhaps the simplest form of poker for which to conduct a ‘logic tree’ of potential decisions, and the program — the current result of years of work by U. of Alberta artificial-intelligence researchers — put up a solid battle before losing in a narrow decision.

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Lou Esposito Takes New Orleans Circuit Event — The final WSOP Circuit event on the schedule before the poker world focused its energy on Las Vegas occurred during the fourth week in May, and the WSOP-C New Orleans main eent drew 346 runners and generated a $1.6 million
purse, the largest in Louisiana poker history. When the dust settled after three days of play, Lou Esposito emerged as the champ, collecting $516,801, a WSOP Main Event entry, and the diamond-encrusted ring for the win. Clint Schaefer finished as the runner-up, with David Fox in third and Phil Gordon in fourth.

U.S. Withdraws from WTO GATS Pact — The years-long battle in the World Trade Organization between the United States and other countries seeking equitable cross-border treatment regarding online gambling took a twist in May that few onlookers had foreseen: The U.S., after losing all judgments and appeals in the case with Antigua & Barbuda, announced that it was, in a very real sense, taking its ball and going home. The U.S. announced that rather than comply with the WTO’s strong indications that its market — specifically horseracing, but applicable to all online gaming in the greater sense — should be open to online, international competition. The U.S. said ‘no way,’ and announced that it was withdrawing from that section of its commitments as outlined in the WTO-negotiated General Agreement on Tariffs and Services (GATS) that it had signed in 1994. The WTO mess continued to garner headlines throughout the year.

Cory Carroll Wins WSOP-C Caesars Palace — Canadian online poker star Cory ‘ugotpzd’ Carroll broke through on the live tournament scene in May by capturing the Circuit ring at WSOP-C Caesars Palace, one of two Circuit events in the month. Carroll already had significant online wins to his record, but topped Justin Pechie to win the $506,176 first-place prize at a tough final table that also included David ‘The Dragon’ Pham and Chad Brown.

‘John_McClane17′ Captures FTOPS IV Main Event — Full Tilt’s FTOPS IV series in May included ten events and generated a total prize pool of nearly $6 million, of which just shy of $1.9 million was awarded in the series’ main event. That tourney was won by the anonymous and somewhat mysterious ‘John_McClane17,’ who had little online history prior to the event but came through to claim the winner’s share, some $336,217.95. Meanwhile, FTOPS IV continued the site’s record of producing ever larger and richer online poker-tournament series.

DoJ Seizes Citadel Commerce Funds — While NETeller was the largest online-payment processor to have funds seized by the U.S.’s Department of Justice during 2007. In May, e-wallet firm Citadel Commerce (MyCitadel), acknowledged that it had roughly $9 million seized by the USDoJ; Citadel, like NETeller earlier in the year, drew the attention of the U.S. for supplying transaction support to bookmaking sites, and, also like NETeller, it soon exited the U.S. market. As summer neared, the exodus from the U.S. of many e-wallet services left online poker players scrambling for new ways to fund their favorite sites.

‘Ante Up for Africa’ Fundraiser Announced — Poker does ‘good works,’ too, as epitomized by the ‘Ante Up for Africa’ charity fundraiser announced by Harrah’s in May. Co-hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke, the fundraiser would be scheduled for the off day immediately before the start of the WSOP Main Event, and drew dozens of big name players, Hollywood celebrities and pro athletes. The event generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid for the war-torn Darfur regions of Sudan and Chad. The fundraiser has already been announced as a returning part of the 2008 WSOP schedule.

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