While Full Tilt Poker is the primary hotbed for high-stakes online cash games, the action was kicked up a notch this week on PokerStars by the presence of the site’s most famous endorser. Daniel Negreanu has blogged a great deal about how much…

“The players, the players, the players…”

It’s what poker television is really about, isn’t it? The cast of characters that gathers around the table determines so much of the viewing experience, and with this pointed introductory…

PokerNews and Party Poker are excited to bring you this exclusive “Summer Step Up” tournament series. With $1,100 in freerolls. There are five steps beginning with Step A, a $1 buy-in, and culminating in a $1,000 freeroll.

Summer Steps…

Racener will take his seat at the final table in November with 19 million chips and he’ll have as good a chance as anyone to take down the $8.9 million first place prize.

“If I win this tournament I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said. “I know I won’t have to worry about anything for a long time.”

The 25-year-old from Port Richey, Florida, has been playing poker all of his adult life and even a bit before that.

When he was 16 years old he asked his mother to put $50 into an online poker site for him. She agreed and about two years later Racener had run that deposit up to over $30,000.

Despite his keen interest in poker, Racener took the time to go to college and graduated with an associate of arts degree from Florida Southern.

It didn’t take long before Racener was back on the online poker tables, however.

Racener celebrated his 21st birthday by making the final table of his first live tournament - the 2006 WSOPC Atlantic City Main Event.

He eventually finished third but that was good enough to net him $103,527.

The score jumpstarted his World Series of Poker Circuit career and he would go on to make some big cashes on the regional tour.

Just one year after placing third in the WSOPC Atlantic City event, Racener returned to win it all for $379,392.

As of 2010, Racener has over $2 million in combined online and live tournament earnings.

“I’ve been playing poker for seven years now so I’m feeling very confident heading into the final table,” said Racener.

Racener nearly missed out on the final table completely when he experienced an extremely rough final table bubble that saw him drop from 35 million chips all the way down to 19 million.

“The final table bubble probably went the worst for me, except for the guy that busted,” said Racener. “I got into some rough spots but I felt I made some good lay downs.

He will now have four months to analyze exactly what went wrong on Day 8 of the 2010 WSOP Main Event and what his play will be at the final table.

“I’m going to study all the players when it airs on TV,” he said. “I’m going to look them up online. I’ll have a really good feel for everyone by the final table.”

Racener, who was wearing a Full Tilt patch on Day 8 of the Main Event, emphasized he is open for business over the next four months and will consider most sponsorship and media offers that come his way.

“I feel like just by making the final nine, it’s going to give me opportunities to do great things,” said Racener. “I’m not going to turn anything down. I would never do that. I feel like it’s going to make things better for me.”

Whatever happens, Racener has already achieved the biggest score of his poker career and the $8.9 million first place prize is a distinct possibility.

“Maybe I’ll buy a really nice big house or something,” he said. “That would be fun.”

The 2010 WSOP Main Event final table begins Nov. 6, with a winner crowned on Nov. 8.

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Should it become law, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009 would establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework under which Internet gambling operators could obtain licenses authorizing them to accept bets and wagers from individuals in the United States.

The Act passed in the House Financial Services Committee by margin of 41-22 and must now go through both the full House and Senate before becoming law.

According to the Committee, the legislation comes in response to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which restricted the use of the payments system for Americans who gamble online.

The new act will require licensees to take appropriate safeguards to prevent fraud, money laundering, underage and compulsive gambling. 

It also contains protections to prevent minors from gambling online; prevents inappropriate online advertising targeted toward underage or compulsive gamblers; prohibits licensees from accepting bets or wagers from persons on the self excluded list of compulsive gamblers and persons delinquent with child support payments; prevents the use of a credit card to gamble online; requires that players set financial loss limits; strengthens regulatory requirements regarding integrity and fairness; bans violators of federal and state gambling laws from obtaining a license; and requires a substantial U.S. presence as a condition of obtaining a license.

PokerStars, the World’s largest online poker site, has come out quickly to applaud the Committee’s support of the bill.

“The bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman Barney Frank, offers a long overdue common sense approach to Internet gaming regulation in the United States,” reads a release.

“PokerStars wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Chairman Frank and the bill’s proponents. This bill represents the most significant US legislative accomplishment in the history of the Internet gaming industry.”

Although PokerStars has continued to allow U.S. Players on its site through the passage of the UIGEA, the company believes its activities in the U.S. are and at all times have been lawful and will not prevent the organization from obtaining a license should the bill become law.

“PokerStars maintains its strong support for H.R. 2267 and encourages the full House and ultimately the Senate to move quickly to secure passage during the current Congressional term,” said Paul Telford, PokerStars’ General Counsel.

“PokerStars, a pioneer in operating online poker under stringent regulatory frameworks, looks forward to working with incumbent and new operators in promoting a safe and healthy online poker industry in the United States, as it currently does under similar licensing models in Italy and France.”

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The software is almost a complete overhaul of the former user experience with over 100 new features including improved search functions, layout, 3D table graphics and an always visible cashier.

Catering to both beginners and advanced players the new 3D lobby is separated into a simple easy-to-navigate section or an advanced layout with customizable features like favorites.

Tournament players will be happy to know 888poker has added late registration and several time bank options.

888poker also introduced its new online store where players can spend their reward points on poker merchandise, iPods, trips, cars and clothes.

To celebrate the new software, 888poker is launching a series of new micro buy-in tournaments where entry is just eight cents. Players can win iPad, Kindles a Sony Home Cinema and entry into a special $15,000 poker freeroll.

The software upgrade is available in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Portuguese, Russian and Italian.

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The eventual timeline of how officially legalized online poker came about in the United States will include a spot for July 28, 2010, the first time a licensing and regulatory bill received a positive vote at the federal level.

The House…

In tonight’s Nightly Turbo we’ve got the scoop on Bruce Buffer showing off his poker skills at the Hustler Casino in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the World Series of Poker has launching a Facebook app, and more.

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