MAGUIRE, KAPLAN NAMED IN PONZI-SCHEME CLAWBACK SUIT
 A high-stakes LA home game featuring Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire, veteran poker commentator Gabe Kaplan (originally of “Welcome Back, Kotter” fame), Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Dan Cassavetes and several prominent Hollywood businessmen is the center of a controversy involving former hedge-fund manager Bradley Ruderman’s ill-gotten gains—some of which he is alleged to have lost at the poker table.
 
The lawsuit, filed by a bankruptcy trustee on behalf of Ruderman’s victims, alleges that Ruderman used the stolen money to pay off losses to other participants in the game, and that these other players, including Maguire and Kaplan, should be compelled to return their winnings.
 
BARTON INTRODUCES INTERNET POKER BILL
A new “poker only” bill designed to regulate online play by Americans has been introduced in Congress by US Representative Joe Barton (R-TX). Barton’s bill joins measures previously introduced by Reps. James McDermott and Barney Frank on the Congressional slate. Barton’s measure has received the backing of the Poker Players Alliance and already features co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. Among the features of Barton’s bill are express requirements for obtaining an American license and the banning of credit-card payments, to avoid the specter of addicted gamblers playing on borrowed money.
 
NO MOVEMENT ON FULL TILT, AP REFUNDS
No news was decidedly bad news for frustrated online punters still waiting for signs of online-bankroll refunds from Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker (which also includes UB.com). Despite assurances from Department of Justice representatives that both sites were “able” to refund American players’ outstanding balances, both sites appear confronted by cash shortages threatening their viability and ongoing existence.
 
Full Tilt is rumored to be seeking external investment as it seeks a new future as a (largely) Euro-facing site, facing a shortfall of an estimated $50-$60 million in deposits reportedly credited to American players but never actually debited against their US bank accounts.
Absolute Poker’s future appears even bleaker despite a dribbling of some $500-max withdrawals haltingly issued to a smattering of non-American players in recent weeks. No Americans have received a payment  from either site as of the late June press date for this issue.
 
FS+G PURCHASES HEARTLAND POKER TOUR
Federated Sports + Gaming, parent company of the fledging Federated Poker League, has announced its acquisition of the Heartland Poker Tour. FS+G, the effort led by former WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and one-time UB spokesperson Annie Duke, picked up the regional HPT in a deal announced in mid-June. Heartland’s efforts have been focused in the Midwest and Mountain states, and their complete slate, often featuring $5,000 main-event buy-ins has also garnered some cable-television coverage.
 
NEEMAN BEST IN $1K BORGATA SUMMER OPEN PRELIM
New Jersey’s Hal Neeman took home $45,710 after capturing the $1,000 no-limit hold’em preliminary event in the 2011 Borgata Summer Open. The $1K buy-in event was the largest event on the Borgata’s summer slate, excepting the series’ championship event itself, which had just begun as of press time. Neeman triumphed over a 153-player field, with Jack Barnes second ($25,230) and Benedetto Bianco third ($14,099).
 
CALIFORNIA ONLINE POKER ASSOCIATION INKS PACT WITH PLAYTECH OFFSHOOT
Should an intrastate California online poker network ever come to fruition, industry veteran Playtech will likely have a hand in programming the site, through its Sciplay joint venture. Playtech brings a veteran internet-poker presence to the technical side of any forthcoming network, at one point ranking among the very largest networks in terms of number of skins (component sites) available for its players.
 
Veteran poker-industry writer/editor Haley Hintze is the author of an upcoming book on the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet online cheating scandals, to be released later this year.