Phil Ivey, one of the biggest poker players in the world and one of the biggest endorsements of Full Tilt Poker, is now biting the hand that feeds him. Well, it’s not exactly like that, but he has turned on Full Tilt and has drawn a line in the sand, calling on them to make things right by their members.

Phil Ivey has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and is the second-ranked poker player in the world, behind only Erik Seidel. He appears in commercials for Full Tilt and regularly plays in live tournaments wearing Full Tilt gear, but he is now taking on his sponsor. Frustrated by the fact that American members haven’t been refunded their money, he has refused to play in the World Series of Poker this year or appear anywhere on their behalf.

Ivey says that he is embarrassed by the company and has had his name tarnished by association. Full Tilt Poker was one of the companies targeted by the Department of Justice on Black Friday. Like PokerStars, they reached a deal with the DOJ allowing them to reopen the domain to return money to American players. However, while PokerStars has announced that they have refunded all of the money, Full Tilt has not. Their latest response was to say that the money is “safe and secure and we are working to resolve the distribution of these funds.”

Ivey says that isn’t good enough. He is sitting out the World Series of Poker, saying that it is “not fair that I compete when others cannot.” He hopes that by taking on the company, he can help them quickly resolve the problem and pay the players. In addition to the name-calling, refusal to appear for Full Tilt and refusal to play in the WSOP, he is also suing Tiltware, the software provider for Full Tilt, on behalf of the players.“I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action,” he said.

The big news coming out of Italy right now is that the World Series of Poker is coming to town. The popular poker tournament, which is owned by Caesars Interactive Entertainment (formerly called Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment), has partnered with Microgame.

Not to be confused with software developer Microgaming, this company is a Montreal-based software developer that specializes in online poker. Their poker platform is the largest in the new Italian online gambling market. As a result of the long-term deal, the World Series of Poker will be advertised and marketed extensively in Italy with online tournaments and poker tournaments in brick and mortar casinos.

For online poker players already excited about the newly liberalized market in Italy, news of the World Series of Poker coming to the Boot is particularly exciting. The WSOP is the most recognized poker tournament in the world, partly because of co-opts the “World Series” name from the popular Major League Baseball postseason tournament. I heard of the WSOP before I even began following poker, partly because it plays such as pivotal role in the movie Rounders.

Mitch Garber, CEO of Caesars Interactive Entertainment, is excited about the partnership, calling the deal “a logical step in our European and global expansion strategy.” He referred to Microgame as the “clear leader in Italy” and the obvious choice for growing the World Series of Poker brand in the Italian market.

As part of the deal, Microgame will have exclusive rights to provide the World Series of Poker in Italy. They will hold WSOP tournaments for Italian players and will also have exclusive booking rights for pre-registering Italian players for the Main Event of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Visitors to online casinos and other online gambling sites increased during the month of July, according to comScore. The company, which measures all kinds of Internet statistics, stated that online gambling websites had 13.4 million unique visitors during the month of July. That is an 11 percent increase from June.

So what caused a sharp spike in interest in online gambling during the month of July? No online casino visitors were polled, but it’s a safe bet that it has something to do with a little event during July called the World Series of Poker.

According to Jeff Hackett, Senior Vice President of comScore Media Metrix, the World Series of Poker tournament prompted “millions to visit online gambling sites to test their card-playing skills.” It’s not hard to believe that the tournament, which is now thoroughly covered by the likes of ESPN, among other media sources, would lead to an increased interest in online poker.

Not surprisingly, online poker websites saw the largest gains during July. PokerStars saw an 8 percent increase, Full Tilt Poker saw a 14% increase and Ultimate Bet saw an incredible increase of 33 percent more unique visitors in the month of July.

It is not known how many of those online gambling visitors were from the United States, where the World Series of Poker is held (in Las Vegas). The U.S. federal government currently acts on a de facto online poker ban, thanks to UIGEA, even though no federal ban on online gambling exists.

comScore provides digital marketing intelligence by measuring a variety of statistics for websites, online advertising and online traffic. They use statistical research, analytics and survey tools for their research.

Poker experts are getting younger and younger. It used to be a man’s game that people didn’t expect to get mastered until you were in your thirties. Times are changing, though, primarily because of the Internet. Though in Las Vegas you have to be 21 to enter a casino, as is the case in Atlantic City and many casinos worldwide, players are starting so young that they are becoming experts at online poker well before they can even set foot inside a casino on the Vegas Strip.

It is a trend that has become so noticeable that it even caught the attention of ABC News. Last year, Joe Cada became the youngest player ever to win the World Series of Poker, earning the bracelet at the age of 22. So how did he manage to get so good at poker only a year after being allowed to enter a casino? At most online casinos, you only need to be 18. Cada says that he was able to play more than 2,000 hands per day at online poker rooms.

The ABC article cites a study by the Institute for Research and Gambling Disorders that estimates that over 70% of Americans between the ages of 14 and 19 have gambled online in the last year. Seventy percent? Is it just me or does that number seem impossibly high? I’m not sure if 70% of Americans that age have eaten ice cream in the last year! I’m not sure if 70% of Americans that age have heard a Lady Gaga song on the radio.

Of course, this estimate is coming from an institute that wants to make it look like there is a gambling problem in the country, so I wouldn’t take their statistics seriously. Whatever the real number is, though, teens have more access to the game of poker than ever before.

The article also talks about Blaine Brount, a 19-year-old student at the University of Illinois who spends his summer playing online poker as a “second job.” According to Brount, he’s not playing poker to see what happens, he is “trying to make a profit.” He uses money made from online poker to pay his bills and says that “if you’re smart about it and manage your money well, it absolutely can be a real job.”

I don’t recommend players look at online poker as a career or a way to pay the bills. Like professional sports, most simply aren’t good enough. No matter how much you practice in the batting cage, you probably won’t ever make it onto a Major League Baseball roster. Such is the case with poker. Certainly there are professional poker players and some people – including Cada – are good enough to do that for a living, but most aren’t.

However, this story does make one important thing very clear: Poker is a game of skill. You don’t hear about professional slots players or professional roulette players. That’s because they are games of chance that no one can do well enough to be profitable. With poker, though there is some chance involved, they are games primarily of skill and with enough skill, profits can certainly be made. Does that mean we should all encourage our teenage children to play online poker? Maybe not, but we should certainly remove the stigma that poker has in our society.

Rumors are rampant that PokerRoad President Joe Sebok is on the verge of signing a deal with a major online poker site, though details as to which one and when something official will be announced are not known. At this year’s World Series of Poker, Sebok recorded three in the money finishes, 56^th in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, 104^th in a $1,500 buy-in No Limit-Hold’em tournament for $3,300 and 36^th in a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold’em event for $4,800.

“There are always conversations going on. We maintain open communication lines with all of the sites continuously assessing the best fit for Joe. Joe is always looking at his options and he is excited about potential scenarios. We’re pleased that Joe has reached a point where he is considered a valuable asset to sponsors and their brand objectives.” said Sebok’s agent and 11Management President and CEO Matt Palmer.

Sebok has made a name for himself on the poker circuit as an accessible and media-friendly face. As President of PokerRoad, he regularly hosts a radio program with other regular hosts Gavin Smith, and Joe Stapleton. PokerRoad is a multi-media outlet, creating original radio and television programming.

Since professional play began for Sebok, he has accumulated winnings of over $1,700,000. Signing with a major online poker site will mean one more rung on the way to super-poker-stardom for this up and coming poker wiz.