Kostritsyn Captures 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event --  A young Russian player, Alexander Kostritsyn, captured the AU$1.65 million first prize after going on a rush at the final table.  Kostritsyn’s surge quickly took him from a low spot among the seven final tablists and into the lead past Michael Chrisanthopoulos, who had started the final with a commanding lead.  Kostritsyn’s final obstacle was the only "name" player at the table, eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel.  Kostritsyn finally trapped Seidel for the last of his chips after calling with top pair on the flop and leaving Seidel with overcards, which failed to connect on the turn or river.  Seidel won $1,000,000 for second, while Chrisanthopoulos collected $700,000 for third.

EGBA Files Formal Complaint with European Court over German Law --  The first formal legal challenge to a new German law banning all forms of online gambling excepting horseracing was made this week.  The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), comprised of eight major European online gambling firms, including PartyGaming, asked the European Court to "fast-track" its complaint against Germany over its discrimination against non-German-government gambling enterprises.  "The German Interstate Treaty is incompatible with EU law, and its adoption has left us with no other choice but to make a formal complaint to the EC," said Sigrid Ligné, the EGBA's Secretary General.  "We urge the Commission now to fast track our complaint and launch infringement proceedings against Germany."

Lee, Lee, He’s Our Man… --  The Poker Players Alliance coordinator for the state of Washington, Lee Rousso, was in the news briefly last year after attempting to have that state’s law making online gambling a felony overthrown last year.  Rousso was forced to abandon that attempt, but promised to take a more political tack, and made good on that promise when he recently announced his candidacy for Washington governor.

Rousso, a Renton, WA, lawyer, will run as a Democrat and seek to defeat sitting Governor Christine Gregoire.  Rousso’s one-plank candidacy consists of attempting to have the Washington law overturned, and he even promised in his announcement speech on a Seattle radio station that he would withdraw if Gov. Gregoire pledged to repeal the law.

Finnish "White Paper" Causes Hubbub --  A paper written by a Finnish law and economics professor, as a part of a Finnish government agency’s call for ideas, created a bit of a stir last week.  The paper by University of Joensuu professor Kalle Määttä suggested one heretofore unaired possibility for curbing problem and underaged online gambling: Simply declare all online bets null and void, and allow the losing party to recover his losses in full, whether from the other player(s), the online site(s), or even the payment-processing companies used to move funds into play.  Such a solution, of course, would raise an entire new wave of legal challenges and difficulties, and it is not part of any current Finnish legal proposal, contrary to some published reports.

Aussie Millions Player Suffers $30K Bad Beat… at Knifepoint --  Jason Potter learned a couple of hard lessons late Monday night after crashing out of the Aussie Millions Main Event.  Lesson #1: Taking large payouts in cash is not necessarily the best solution.
Lesson #2: Walking the streets of a large metropolitan area in the vicinity of a casino at 4:30 a.m. is seldom a great idea, especially with $30,000 in one’s pocket.
Potter’s desire for a late-night snack turned out to be very expensive indeed.  He was mugged while walking across a nearby bridge after returning from an all-night McDonald’s.  The mugger knocked Potter down from behind, then brandished a knife and pulled Potter’s cash from his pocket, all $30,000 of it, mostly in U.S. $100 bills and large Australian notes.  Authorities are investigating and checking surveillance tapes from the area.