PocketFiver wins PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- High-volume player "shaundeeb" kept up his impressive 2008 results in early May with a victory in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up for $102,000. Nick "fu_15" Maimone took home $48,400 upon winning the $200 Sunday rebuy, while "jlewis10748" earned $48k for his win in the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan tournament. Also coming up big were PocketFivers "mattboom" and "acesdreams." "Mattboom" made $23,600 for placing first in the Bodog $100k Guaranteed, and "acesdreams" chased for almost $100k in the PokerStars Sunday Million tournament, placing second. The poker discussion forum on PocketFives.com has been buzzing all week!

This week's online poker rankings update shows Chad "M8kingmoves" Batista re-taking the overall PLB lead among PocketFives.com members, and remaining on top as the world's #1 online tournament player. Chad currently has the second-longest reign atop the P5's rankings, following poker legend Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy. Andy "BKiCe" Seth had a huge rankings boost this week - jumping 24 spots to #34 in the world following his victory in the PokerStars $100 rebuy for $31k on May 10th. Long-time P5'er Matt "mattg1983" Graham is up 18 to #67 this week following his 2nd place finish in the Full Tilt $1k Monday tournament for $57,000.

This week, the PocketFives.com Podcast welcomes Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative Spokesperson Jeff Sandman. The Initiative "promotes the freedom of individuals to gamble online with the proper safeguards to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of financial transactions," according to its website, and is one of the main voices for proponents of online poker. Its endorsers include the Remote Gambling Association and eCOGRA.

On the future of the internet gambling industry in the United States, Sandman commented, "There will be more progress in Congress to advance the legislation. I'm optimistic that there will be further developments to decriminalize and legalize internet gambling. Whether it happens this year or next year, I'm a bit uncertain. The election year has made the Congressional calendar shorter. However, I think that there will be further developments in the House and hopefully in the Senate." Congressman Barney Frank and Congressman Ron Paul have introduced legislation that would prohibit the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve from enforcing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The bill has already gained 11 co-sponsors since mid-April.