In news that has stunned the poker community, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate has stated that he plans to retire from international high-stakes poker, at least for the time being.In a blog on his sponsor site, PokerStars, Eastgate indicated that he lacked the desire to continue to pursue the lifestyle of a professional poker player. “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player,

Rumblings around the Amazon Room, site of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, have Liv Boeree and UB.com parting ways. However, Poker News Daily can independently confirm that the two sides are actively renegotiating Boeree’s contract. Boeree made waves in April after taking down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo Main Event for $1.7 million. She bested the largest European EPT field ever of 1,240 in the process and defeated Sweden’s

When Day 3 of the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event began, 25 players were still in contention for this World Series of Poker bracelet, many of them with multiple bracelets of their own, but when the final card was dealt early Tuesday morning, it was the most feared man in poker, Phil Ivey, who stood alone with his eighth World Series of Poker bracelet. Throughout the marathon Day 3, most people watching obviously saw Ivey making a run, but it never seemed like a lock. At one point,

Battling through a host of the finest women players in the game today, England’s Pippa Flanders defeated fellow countrywoman Helen Firth to emerge as the champion of the PartyPoker Women’s World Open IV last night.The $3,000 buy-in tournament featured 24 of the top female players in poker fighting their way through multiple heats over two days of play to work their way to the final table.

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) has introduced an updated version of HR 2268 dubbed the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act. HR 2268 was introduced last May and the new bill is numbered HR 4976.The measure currently has three co-sponsors and, according to information released by McDermott’s office, could funnel as much as $72 billion over a ten-year period into the struggling American economy. The updated version already has three co-sponsors: Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barney Frank (D-MA), and John Larson (D-CT).

Still reeling after taking a $1.6 million beatdown from Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond, high-stakes unknown Isildur1 got back on the horse and almost immediately turned things around by winning $535,000 from Patrik Antonius and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies.Most of that score came from Antonius, who is perhaps the only player running worse than the mystery Swede at the moment. Not content with the win, Isildur1 then sat down with his nemesis, Brian Hastings.

Forecasting future developments in poker is usually about as reliable as trying to predict a flop, turn, and river.  However, there’s far more than a 52-card deck’s worth of possibilities for players and industry personnel.  Whether the subject is card rooms, online poker, or major tournaments, 2010 promises to be a defining year for our game.  The upcoming year could very well be a definitive point in time, shaping poker for many years to come.  Here’s a look ahead at what to expect through the end of the year:

Microgaming, one of the world's foremost developers of online casino and poker software, announced Monday that it launched a new poker network exclusively for the Italian market.  Ladbrokes is Microgaming's first poker room partner in this venture.In early 2009, Italy's State Monopolies Autonomous Administration (AAMS) established new online gaming regulations that ring-fence the country's residents from the rest of the world when it comes to internet gambling.