Famous Poker Player sells WSOP Bracelet on eBay

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 12:28 PM
Written by John W

Winning a World Series of Poker gold bracelet is the highest honor in poker. In fact, the true measure of any player's career is defined by how many WSOP bracelets they haul in. Of course, accolades and building a legacy goes out the window when you live at the craps table, and often find yourself in debt like T.J. Cloutier does.

The six-time WSOP gold bracelet winner recently decided that he needed money to pay the bills more than he needed his latest bracelet. Now, the gold bracelet that Cloutier won in the 2005 $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event is listed on eBay for $2,999. Of course it isn't Cloutier who is selling the bracelet, but rather an unidentified seller that bought one of poker's biggest prizes off of Cloutier.

On the description, the seller claims to have gotten the bracelet off of T.J. himself, and advertises that it has 13 round-cut diamonds and is 14K gold. To sweeten the deal, the seller is also offering free shipping on this item. The deal must not be sweet enough though because, with the auction set to end soon, nobody has bid on the bracelet yet.

But the bracelet could definitely be worth something as a collector's item to a rich player who makes a killing off of the top poker sites. After all, Cloutier had to battle through a field of 466 players to win the 2005 WSOP tournament, which included Todd Brunson, John Bonetti, and John Hennigan. Seeing as how Cloutier has only cashed once in the last few WSOP events, it will be tough for him to add that 7th bracelet.

What's really interesting about T.J. is that he has probably lost almost as much money gambling as he has made playing poker. And this is quite a feat to accomplish when you consider that Cloutier has earned over $9.4 million during his career!

Online Gambling Industry Helps Haiti

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Written by Daniel O

The massive 7.0 scale earthquake hit Haiti one week ago, on January 12. The world response continues to overwhelm with aid from all corners of the world reaching the people of Haiti in their efforts to recover.

The online gambling industry too is reaching out. Bodog founder Calvin Ayre has called out for the industry to help with the relief effort on his blog.

Ayre himself has sent GBP 10,000 to UK based Oxfam, according to his blog announcement. He added that his foundation will match online gambling's donations up to $1,000,000.

"I think the global online gaming community has a duty to do something," Ayre said.

Like the example he set himself, Ayre calls out to industry members saying: "Everyone making money has a duty to help."

Indeed, a great way to show leadership. Well done, Calvin.

Haiti Earthquake – How Can We All Help?

Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 10:46 AM
Written by Daniel O

Haiti is in ruins. Vast destruction. Rubble. Corpses under building blocks. Survivors' agony. Search for dead. Body counts.

With even the hospitals' status still unknown, it is certainly too early to guess the aftermath.

It is time to help.

UNICEF USA invites you to assist children affected by the eathquake in Haiti. CARE is rushing aid to the island. You too can help.