More about online poker on Somuchpoker: The Biggest Losing Players in Online Poker History: 8 Dates That Shaped the History of Online P. The Winning Poker Network reached for all-time highs with its currently-running $8 Million Guaranteed Venom tournament. The $8 million in promised prize money gives this edition of the Venom the distinction of offering the largest guaranteed prize pool of any U.S. Online poker tournament in history. The scandal was widely considered to be the biggest in the history of online poker. Back in 1994 online poker began its meteoric rise to fame. The island nation of Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free. The first virtual poker hand was dealt over the Internet on January 1, 1998 when the very first online poker site was launched, Planet Poker. Planet Poker was founded by poker pro, author, and legend.

While much of the online poker news of 2014 was promising, it also left a lot to be desired. Although polls and surveys tend to indicate popular support for online gambling, moneyed self-interests have apparently found ways to buy support where it counts, namely in the US Congress. As is often the case in politics, there's no guarantee the outcomes will have much to do with reason or fairness, despite both scholarly and law enforcement opinions siding with responsible adults having the freedom to make their own decisions about their entertainment. That's why it's important to make your opinions known to those who will ultimately make the decisions.

In New Jersey, online gambling revenues were 27% better in December of 2014 than in November, and a breath-taking 93% better than December of 2013. Numbers like that should make other states sit up straight and listen to the possibilities for important tax revenues. Caesars Interactive Entertainment's New Jersey's World Series of Poker site did it's part by teaming with 888Poker in an agreement to pool players, resulting in a noticeable 50% increase in player traffic, enough to shoot WSOP and 888Poker past PartyPoker and Borgata as the top New Jersey sites.

California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer introduced bill AB167 that would make online poker legal in California. Its provisions are comprehensive, covering everything from player age to all aspects of licensing. It also does not explicitly prohibit interstate player pooling.

Although US Senator Lindsey Graham grilled Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch concerning her positions on online gambling, she held her ground with the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying she most likely would not reverse the Justice Department's previous decision that the Wire Act isn't applicable to online casino games.

In more plus column news, Delaware and Nevada took steps to share poker player pools, while Republican Representative John Payne introduced bill HB649 to legalize online gambling in the Pennsylvania. Payne's reasoning included both the sensibility of using regulation to make the online gambling experience of responsible adults as safe as possible, and the fact that state coffers would benefit significantly.

Not to be outdone, brick-and-mortar casino operator Sheldon Adelson apparently greased the right palms to have what's being called the 'Restoring America's Wire Act' (or RAWA) bill positioned for a first hearing in March. This bill would reverse the ruling of the Justice Department that created an opportunity for online legal betting in 2011. The hearing took place on March 26th.

Witnesses used in support of the bill used mostly outdated arguments that have been refuted numerous times by studies from academic institutions. Witnesses used to oppose support for the bill emphasized state's rights and pointed out how states that have already passed legislation are regulating and monitoring online gambling very effectively, with the benefits over prohibition abundantly evident. Future hearings will continue to explore the pros and cons.

In humorous related news, anti-online gambling Senator Lindsey Graham admitted to having never sent email in all his life, causing many to wonder how someone with such lack of modern technology experience could be trusted to make sensible decisions about online gambling.

All in all, it's been an interesting year already for online poker, to say the least. Stay tuned to PokerSites.com for all the latest news and developments throughout the year. We want you to be the first to know when important decisions are handed down that could affect both your game and your freedom.

$8 Million Guaranteed Venom continues this week

The Winning Poker Network reached for all-time highs with its currently-running $8 Million Guaranteed Venom tournament. The $8 million in promised prize money gives this edition of the Venom the distinction of offering the largest guaranteed prize pool of any U.S. online poker tournament in history.

The $2,650 buy-in tournament continues this weekend, with the final two of four Day 1 flights playing out on WPN. Day 1A and Day 1B both wrapped up over the weekend, with a total of 1,431 entries registering for the two flights combined.

That attendance puts the player-contributed prize pool at the $3,577,500 mark, with still two flights to go. Day 1C plays out on Jan. 29, while Day 1D offers the final chance to enter the Venom on Jan. 31.

Day 1D will likely produce the biggest turnout of any of the four opening flights. With the prize money already almost halfway to the guarantee, this edition of the Venom stands a good chance of far surpassing the $8 million mark.

Putting the $8 Million Guaranteed Venom in perspective

The current edition of The Venom marks the fifth time WPN has offered the $2,650 buy-in tournament. All of the previous four offered at least $5 million guaranteed, making all five chapters of the Venom among the largest guarantee online tournaments in the history of online poker in the U.S.

The winner of the $8 Million Guaranteed Venom will come away with at least a $1 million first-place prize. The winner’s purse could go well over that mark, however.

Americas Cardroom Team Pro Michael Loncar sees the escalating prize pools offered on WPN as a sign of further growth for U.S. online poker in the 2020s.

“This indicates that online poker is only growing and that we can only expect to see even BIGGER prize pools over the next decade!” Loncar wrote in an email interview with Poker.org. “America’s Cardroom has been growing every year and I definitely expect that trend to continue as more people are realizing they’re only a click away from being able to play multiple tournaments from the comfort of their own home.”

WPN’s The Venom at a glance

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Can The Venom reach the $10 million mark?

WPN introduced The Venom in July 2019, guaranteeing $5 million. The most ambitious tournament ever put on by the network at the time, it shattered expectations with 2,552 entries, a $6,382,000 final prize pool, and a $1,050,559 winner’s prize.

Each of the following two editions of the Venom reached for an even higher guarantee. Both the December 2019 Venom ($6 million guaranteed) and the August 2020 Venom ($7 million guaranteed) stood as the biggest guarantees ever offered at WPN at the time.

October 2020 saw WPN run a progressive knockout version of the Venom. The Venom PKO Main Event played out as the biggest PKO tournament in online poker history, with the prize pool going well past the guarantee and hitting $6,777,500 by the tournament’s end.

The August 2020 Venom smashed expectations again, with the final prize pool ending up at $9,680,000. Can the current edition of the Venom become the first-ever U.S. online poker tournament to eclipse the $10 million prize pool mark?

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit the $10 million mark,” Americas Cardroom Team Pro Ebony Kenney said. “I’d be ecstatic actually.”

Biggest Pot In Online Poker History

The Venom setting the bar for U.S.-facing online poker tournaments

Biggest Prize In Online Poker History

WPN operates as an international online poker network, with three skins (Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker, True Poker) allowing access to U.S. players.

All five editions of the Venom offered some of the largest guaranteed prize pools ever seen in the US. If the current edition of The Venom surpassed the $10 million prize pool mark, that would put well above the biggest prize pools ever offered anywhere in the world.

World Star Poker online, free

Successful recent online tournaments in the U.S. include the WSOP Online Bracelet Events $1,000 NLH Championship, which produced a $2,019,700 prize pool.

The U.S. side of the 2020 World Series of Poker Main Event ran on WSOP.com for the first time this past December. The prestigious $10,000 buy-in tournament drew 705 players, with the prize pool finishing at $6,780,000.