Poker News – Fast-fold poker is popular on just about every online poker site in the world. Could these games now be in jeopardy in the United States? At the end of April 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) made a decision to issue a patent to the Rational Group for fast-fold poker. The Rational Group is the parent company to both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, the latter being the first in the world to offer fast-fold poker. As initially reported by Pokerfuse, on May 20, 2014 the USPTO will issue Patent Number 8,727,850 listed as…

Card Player – There are currently two bills on the table that could bring online poker to California and obviously, PokerStars wants in. California has a population of 38 million, roughly 14 times that of Nevada. With a state by state patchwork of online poker legislation in the works, the Golden State is one of the most sought after markets in the country. The site has reportedly entered negotiations with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, who operate the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon. While the Morongos may be the best way to get PokerStars’ foot in the…

A new study commissioned by Poker Stars shows huge jump in popularity for both Asian and European poker since the mid-2000s. Over those past several years, China, South Korea, Russia, and countries of the former Soviet Union are identified as having the highest rates of growth compared to other regions around the world. Outside of Asian and European poker growth, Texas Hold’em has also seen a jump in popularity in other regions, although at a lesser rate. South America (particularly Brazil and Peru), along with New Zealand, are producing high participation rates in the game of poker than other countries,…

The parent company of the PokerStars gambling website, thwarted thus far in its efforts to buy one Atlantic City casino, on Wednesday announced a deal in which it will partner with another one to offer Internet gambling in the state once it becomes legal later this year. The Rational Group is joining with Resorts Casino Hotel as its online gambling partner, pending approval from state casino regulators. But Wednesday’s announcement raised another big question: whether PokerStars plans to continue its court fight to try to buy The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, in which it thus far has been rebuffed. An…

From NBC The world’s largest online poker website is appealing a judge’s ruling that cost it the right to buy an Atlantic City casino. The PokerStars website’s parent company, The Rational Group, had a deal to buy The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel – and had already paid $11 million of that to keep it afloat during the winter. But a judge last month let the Atlantic Club out of that deal, ruling that a deadline for Rational to obtain preliminary approval from state authorities to own a casino had passed. The Rational Group appealed that ruling this week. “This is…

From ABC News After paying an $11 million advance to a struggling Atlantic City casino it intended to buy, the parent company of the world’s largest online poker website was left with nothing for its troubles Friday when a judge ruled the casino had the right to scrap the deal. Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten said The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel could terminate the contract it signed with The Rational Group, the British parent company of PokerStars, when the company failed to get New Jersey’s preliminary approval by April 26 to own a casino. The judge said the contract clearly…