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Poker needs a shot in the arm. PokerStars provided a ray of hope for the future when they launched real money games in New Jersey on March 21. It’s been almost five years since Black Friday locked them out of the States. Unfortunately, any positive PR they hoped to get out of it evaporated when they announced hikes to their rake and their CEO, David Baazov, was indicted for insider trading. One step forwards…
Enter, stage left, Alex Dreyfus. Dreyfus has been working tirelessly to create new markets for poker, and his latest effort could be his best yet. The inaugural Global Poker League is set for launch in April and it just held its first live draft. It needed stars and they obliged. With Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu providing the analysis, and names of the calibre of Mustapha Kanit, Chris Moorman, Vanessa Selbst, Jake Cody, Mike McDonald, Martin Jacobson, Phil Galfond and Jason Mercier being drafted, the GPL has got a great chance of pushing poker back into the mainstream.
Liv Boeree is heading up the London Royals and she arguably came out on top of the draft, picking her boyfriend first before selecting a team that will strike fear into anyone who faces it in the dome.
The first matches are due to take place online in April and rumours are that the first live encounters will be in Vegas at the WSOP. Here’s hoping it goes off with a bang.
Dave Woods, PokerPlayer Editor
