Chiu Takes World Poker Tour Championship --  The centerpiece of the Bellagio Five Star series, the World Poker Tour Championship, saw a lightning-fast beginning to the final table and an unexpected end… when David Chiu came from far behind to reel in runaway chip leader Gus Hansen and capture the $3,389,140 first-place money.  Hansen began the six-player final with a healthy lead and put away the other four contenders within the first 22 hands, a record for speedy play in a WPT final.  Cory Carroll and Tommy Le were among those to fall to Hansen’s rush.  However, when heads-up play began the tide began to turn, despite Hansen’s initial 23 million to 4.4 million lead in chips over Chiu.  Over the course of the next 58 hands, Chiu first doubled through and then collected three huge pots, the last of which sealed the unlikely win.  Hansen, who settled for $1,714,800 as the runner-up, was denied in his quest to become the WPT’s first four-time winner; he’s already the only player with three WPT titles to his name.

Frank, Paul Issue Warning Over UIGEA Regs --  Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul were among the politicians who authored a letter to the heads of the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve, advising them to stop moving forward with plans to craft implementation rules for the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.  While the letter itself has no legal standing, it warned that efforts to overturn the UIGEA were actively moving forward and that the bill was untenable in its current state.

PPA Turns a Million –-  Almost since its inception, the Poker Players Alliance has listed as one of its primary goals its aim to reach a million members, a plateau which the grassroots lobbying organization accomplished last week.  The question then becomes, what’s next?  While the PPA is increasingly garnering mainstream coverage, its attempts to effect legislative changes have produced encouraging movement but, as of yet, few concrete results.  Here’s hoping things go better for the second million members….

PokerStars Adds Vicky Coren to Lineup --  Leading online poker room PokerStars added another popular player to its lineup of pro endorsers with the signing of personable British pro Victoria Coren.  Coren, a young face but veteran player of the UK poker scene, made her Stars debut at the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final.  It was a mixed debut for the well-known player/journalist, who reported in a piece in London’s Observer she was fondled by a rich Italian at the cashier’s cage in the Monte Carlo casino while wearing a new gown adorned with a "PokerStars" logo patch.

Bogus “Doyle’s Room” Phishing E-mail Targets Players --  More and more frequently, online poker players are being targeted by email “phishing” scams, in part because of their willingness to conduct real-money e-commerce.  The latest poker room whose brand name was sullied by a scammer’s thieving efforts was Doyle’s Room.  Many of the site’s members received a bogus email reporting that their account had been locked, and when a link inside was clicked, had viruses downloaded to their computers.  Doyle’s Room quickly warned customers of the scam, but how the mailing list was stolen or obtained has not yet been explained.