By now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that the iPhone 4 sucks. You’ve heard countless complaints from friends, seen countless stories on the news and on the internet, and Apple has even held press conferences where Steve Jobs tries to convince the world that the phone does not, in fact, suck. So what does the bad iPhone mean for mobile casino gamblers?

It means a lot, actually. If you’re talking on the phone to a friend or playing Farmville and you lose your connection due to that terrible antenna, it’s annoying. You have to call your friend back, log back onto Farmville or whatever. But what if you’re logged into a mobile casino playing in an online poker tournament? That would be much worse.

If you’re playing online poker on an iPhone and suddenly lose reception, it could mean missing a hand. It could mean you miss something that someone else has done. It could mean getting booted from the poker tournament. None of these are good and they could cost you money.

So what is Apple’s response for the antenna problem? They are offering free rubber cases. I guess that way, when you throw your phone across the room, it won’t break. That’s a small consolation for an online poker player who just missed a hand during a poker tournament and lost money.

So what do I suggest? Well, maybe you shouldn’t buy the new iPhone. If you do, though, you should follow all of the Apple rules of how to hold the stupid phone. If you’re playing poker at a mobile casino, you should find a spot where you know you have good reception, hold the phone the Apple way, and hope for the best. That’s really all you can do for now. Here’s hoping Apple solves the antenna problem in the near future.

Something wicked this way comes… On December 1^st, the United States must come in full compliance with the regulations set forth in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA for short. Meanwhile, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is scrambling behind the scenes to slow the coming storm of vague laws aimed at bureaucratizing the illegality of online gambling.

The patron saint of online gambling (or is he?) Barney Frank introduced HR 2266 which would delay the effects of the UIGEA by one year. This would in theory give lawmakers enough time to consider a better way to tax and regulate online gambling. Unfortunately, despite garnering much support from 48 cosponsors to the bill, there are apparently “other issues” going on with the government and the economy that are somehow “more important” than the delay of the UIGEA. So it doesn’t look like help will arrive in time.

John Pappas, executive director of the PPA spoke to Poker News Daily and had this to say, “The reality is that our country is facing a lot of challenges. From a poker player’s perspective, the UIGEA may be the top priority, but it’s not the top priority of Congress. Until Barney Frank can solve the issues facing his Committee, ours is not going to take precedence.”

The PPA is apparently pursuing all avenues in search of a delay to the harmful anti-online gambling legislation. One of the considered weapons in their arsenal is the Administrative Procedure Act “allows for individuals and organizations like the PPA to weigh in with the Department of the Treasury and ask for a delay of a proposed rule.”

Also working in favor of online gambling supporters is the amount of money the government stands to gain by taxing and regulating online gambling. However, this same issue may work against them. The Obama administration and Democratic Congress have so many issues on the table like health care reform and thinking of ways to distract the American people from understanding the financial implications of passing government controlled health care that passage of anything seems like a tall order at this time.

“We are working with Barney Frank and others for a non-legislative solution to clarifying or delaying the UIGEA regulations. Given everything on the Chairman’s plate, one thing off of it is a good thing. We’re hoping to see a delay.”

Marking the first time South Carolina has been ahead of the curve on just about anything, a South Carolina court recently ruled that poker is a game of skill and therefore in the eyes of the law should not be painted with the same brush as other gambling activities like slot machines or roulette. The Poker Players association, who counts almost 10,000 of its members South Carolina residents, marked a solid victory in the eyes of the PPA and poker players all over the nation.

The executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, John Pappas said, “Poker is not a crime in South Carolina or anywhere else, and we are grateful to the court for compiling the overwhelming evidence that proves this case and protects the rights of players,” he said, “ This ruling is fully consistent with the declarations of other judges and juries across the country that Texas Hold’em is clearly a game of predominant skill and adults who play should not be criminalized.”

The ruling comes as a result of an appeal to a conviction of five players who were arrested during a police raid on a poker room. Defense cited poker as a game of skill which does not fall under the umbrella of gambling. The court ruled that the evidence proving poker as a game of skill was overwhelming and found the laws to be unclear and overly broad.

South Carolina State Director of the Poker Players Alliance said, “All poker players are well aware that the game is based on making the correct, informed decisions, not just mere chance, and games of predominant skill should not be classified in the same league as slot machines or lotteries,”

“We’re very pleased that the judge considered the overwhelming evidence and came to the same conclusion. This is a well deserved legal victory for the players, the American game of poker, and for common sense under the law.”

While such a thing is good news for the online poker industry as a whole, it isn’t telling the world anything it doesn’t know already. Further, beneath the surface of this is something more disturbing. The fact that the government has gotten so big that people cheer when they are told it is legal for them to play a game illustrates this. Instead of being enraged that the government is infringing on our rights by criminalizing games, we praise them when they say it’s Ok.

It’s a kind of Stockholm Syndrome that we’ve developed in this nation. The government has had its foot on so many of our rights that we have fallen in love with our captors and praise them when they let us do what free men and women should already be able to do. And the only time they let us do it is when it benefits the government itself. Gambling is bad, unless it is taxed and the government makes money. Prostitution is bad, unless it is taxed and the government makes money. The government says who we can and can’t marry, what sex acts we can perform in the privacy of our bedroom, how much alcohol can be in our alcoholic beverages, how fast we can drive, and pretty soon it will control our health care. You name it, the government controls it. So is this a victory for online and offline poker players? Or is it a sad reminder of how far we have come from a free society, to a nanny state?

This time of year is traditionally slow in the online casino business, so casinos are offering a lot of promotions. Land-based casinos right now are having a lot of high-profile shows to bring in the crowds. Online casinos can’t get Crosby, Stills and Nash to play at their casino, so they go with a lot of game-based promotions. Titan Poker has a couple good ones going on right now.

Today, September 25, online poker site Titan Poker is hosting the $20,000 Double Stack Freezeout at 3:45 EST. The entry fee is a little high at $300, but the high prices often bring better competition if you can afford to join the table. The online tournament is No Limit Texas Hold ‘em.

I know what you’re thinking: I don’t have the money to enter that tournament. I was a dumb bully in school who spent all of my time giving people noogies instead of studying and as a result, I’m a 45-year-old man stocking shelves at Save-a-Lot. Don’t worry. For those who don’t want to pay the $300, you can play your way in by winning satellites that have entry fees of only $64.

But what if you’re not a member of Titan Poker? Well, now is a great time to join, because you’ll get free stuff just for that. For new members, once you make your first deposit you will receive five free tokens to use in any of the weekly New Depositor Freeroll Satellites. There is no entry fee for those satellites, which are held every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Players in those satellites compete for a spot in the monthly $20,000 New Depositors Freeroll, which has no buy-in and has a guaranteed prize pool of, you guessed it, $20,000.

So if you want to enter the Double Stack Freezeout or are not a member and want to join for a shot at the New Depositor Freeroll, visit Titan Poker today.

The World Championship of Online Poker has come to an end and online poker wiz Yevgeniy Timoshenko walked away from the main event a winner. As if winning weren’t a big enough honor, Timoshenko might need a new wallet to hold the $1,715,200 in winnings he took home, which by the way is the second largest pot he’s ever scored.

The event was so big in fact, that online poker players from 140 different countries participated. Timoshenko beat out 2,144 poker fanatics to bring home the crown. The tournament featured a month of high stakes tournaments with the main event yielding the highest prize pool of all in a game of No Limit Texas Hold’em with the stakes set at $5,200. The huge turnout contributed to a gargantuan $51,652,800 prize pool, so big that the runner up walked away with over a million bucks.

Timoshenko wasn’t done cleaning up the chips just yet. While he was winning the World Championship of Online Poker, he won the Monday 1k on Full Tilt, winning another $75,000.

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t bother gambling when there isn’t an obscene amount of money at stake. I think it’s because I’m so filthy rich that wagering small amounts is beneath me. It’s the same reason I drive a Lexus, even though it’s a boring car, and bathe in Perrier. The finer things in life are more expensive and who doesn’t want to enjoy the finer things in life? Some people like to play poker tournaments with $50 buy-ins, but 50 bucks isn’t an entry fee. That’s what I tip that nice man who shines my shoes.

Titan Poker understands people like me, which is why today they are hosting the $40,000 High Roller Monday poker tournament. The tournament has a $500 entry fee, which I consider the minimum for weeding out the riffraff. After all, if some guy with a Philosophy degree working at the Gap can sit at your poker table with you, it’s not really a classy tournament, is it?

High Roller Monday is a 10-hand No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament and the high entry fee should keep the number of players low, meaning you have better odds of winning and the tournament won’t last as long. It also means you can talk about your summer home in Connecticut without worrying about offending some college student who smells like humus.

If you are a high roller and want to play some good online poker, visit Titan Poker today. If you think it’s unfair that poor people can’t participate in the tournament, take off your Che Guevara beret and T-shirt and get a job, hippie.

Want to play in the Poker Cup Australia but can’t afford the trip to Melbourne? Don’t worry. Titan Poker online casino will hook you up. Titan Poker is hosting a satellite tournament to the Poker Cup Australia, cleverly titled the “Poker Cup Australia Super Sat.” Any member who pays the $25 fee can enter. The winner of the tournament not only wins the cash pool, but also earns a trip to Melbourne, Australia for the main event in late September along with free airfare and spending money.

When not sitting at the poker table, the lucky winner will have plenty of time to ride shotgun in Paul Hogan’s Subaru*, go scuba diving along the Great Barrier Reef, drink a few Fosters (Australian for “beer”), and pet a native kangaroo**.

It is a great way for people to play their way into the big online poker tournament who could not otherwise attend. Titan Poker’s satellite tournament is basically a play-in game for the Poker Cup Australia. For those who are uninterested in satellite tournaments and would rather compete for a guaranteed prize pool, Titan Poker also offers High Roller Monday, where players compete for a guaranteed prize pool of $40,000.

To participate in the Poker Cup Australia Super Sat, visit Titan Poker today.

* Paul Hogan is not really part of the promotion and would probably feel threatened if you climbed in his car. In addition, we’re not even sure if he really drives a Subaru.

** Kangaroos, though cute, are extremely dangerous animals and should only be engaged with the supervision of a trained professional. Even then, you are taking a big risk.

If they thought small time they probably wouldn’t call themselves Titan Poker. The online casino has no less than three different jackpot promotions going on, with big prizes available to the winners.

The Maui Jackpot Sit n Go tournament has tables for ten and has a buy-in of $5 + $1. Players who can mount a good winning streak receive an extra reward. If a player wins five consecutive sit n go online poker tournaments they take home a $15,000 jackpot in addition to their regular winnings. A player finishing in the top two spots in 5 tournaments in a row earns a $200 prize along with the regular earnings.

The Rio Jackpot Sit n Go tournament has a prize pool of $25,000. It is played at 6-player tables with a buy-in of $20 + $3.50. A player wins the 25K jackpot if they win six tournaments in a row. A $300 prize is given to anyone who finishes in the top two for six consecutive tournaments.

Dirty Dozen Jackpot Sit n Go is the other online poker jackpot tournament being offered by Titan Poker. It features two 12-player tables and the buy-in is $2 + $.040. Anyone who wins four consecutive tournaments receives a jackpot of $2,000 in addition to the regular winnings.

The jackpots offered are very enticing, especially to the more streaky players. Online poker players can usually only take home the pot when they win. Receiving a jackpot bonus for winning four to six consecutive tournaments would make it a pretty profitable day. To play in any of the sit n go online poker tournaments, visit Titan Poker today.

Mummy’s Gold online casino has been running competitive tournaments all month long, but with some of their tournaments over, players who have not joined in may feel like they have lost out. Don’t worry. There is still plenty of exciting tournament action to be had.

The Multi-Play Poker contest will run from August 17 to August 23. The contest features the Party Poker muti-hand video poker games designed by Microgaming. The tournament has a total prize pool of $1,000 and can be joined in 10 Play or 100 Play formats.

For those who think poker is too complicated, having to remember all of those suits and different terms like “full house” and “flush,” don’t worry. Mummy’s Gold online casino also offers tournaments in games that require little to no skill. Yes, folks, I’m talking about roulette and slots, games where a chimpanzee and a human would have an equal opportunity of winning. Now, that I’m on the subject, if a chimp hits the jackpot, does it have to file a tax return?…

Roulette Rally is the popular Mummy’s Gold online roulette tournament that began August 3 and runs until August 23. The roulette tournament features four Microgaming titles: American Roulette, European Roulette, French Roulette and Roulette Royale, which is a progressive jackpot game. French Roulette for a brief time was known as Freedom Roulette, but the name was changed back to French Roulette after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy.

For people, or chimpanzees, who feel that picking a number and color is too complicated, there is an even easier way to gamble available. Mummy’s Gold online casino is also offering the Bonus Slots Bonanza, which runs from August 24 to August 30. The online slot tournament features several of Microgaming’s popular slots, including Chocolate Factory, which is sure to satisfy your inner Oompa-Loompa, and Porky Payout, which, to my knowledge, has nothing to do with the Obama administration’s “stimulus” bill.

All in all, there are plenty of options out there for fans of online casino tournaments, whether you’re a human, chimpanzee, or Vermicious Knid. Oh, and I don’t mean to denigrate anyone who enjoys playing online slots or roulette by implying that they would have no strategic advantage over a chimp. I enjoy both games myself. Also, chimps are pretty smart animals.