The Queens!

How old is she anyway?! It seems 90 days is just too long for our newest 24 year old potential poker debutante and ex-starlet to spend behind bars. Low-Hand has now hired Robert Shapiro as her new lawyer. The hotshot celebrity lawyer usually handles cases for clients facing substantially longer jail terms: 10 to 20 years longer than Lindsay’s.

He helped OJ out way back in 1995 and has since represented Christian Brando and the Kardashians.

Shapiro’s reason has nothing to do with Lindsay’s celebrity apparently; it is more to do with Shapiro being concerned by Lindsay’s bad, self-inflicted, situation and wanting to help after losing a son to a drug overdose in 2005.

Apparently Shapiro won’t be appealing any of crimes Low-Hand was sentenced for which makes sense because she really, REALLY messed up there: starting with a conviction for crimes surrounding a series of DUI arrests, then ‘forgetting’ to attend her court-mandated alcohol rehab classes and having “Fuc* u” written on one of her nails during the hearing. Shapiro is instead going to try and talk the judge into moving the starlet from jail to rehab.

While Lindsay’s crimes aren’t as serious as many of Shapiro’s past clients, getting and keeping her out of jail might be his biggest challenge yet, thanks to her blatant disregard for the law and flailing Prima donna attitude.

There are Hollywood celebrities all over the high-stakes poker events right now; they have flexi schedules and substantially more dosh than the rest of us, so it does make sense. The better ones rise above being amateurs and become poker celebrities in their own right. Here’s a list of the 10 best celebrity poker players:

•    Ben Affleck: starred in Daredevil and Armageddon, won the California State Poker Championship in June 2004, and took poker lessons from poker pros Amir Vahedi and Annie Duke.
•    Patrick Bruel: French singer and actor, won the WSOP bracelet in 1998 for the Limit Hold’em event.
•    Jennifer Tilley: Oscar nominated actress, starred in films such as The Fabulous Baker Boys and Bullets Over Broadway, outlasted 600 players and won the WSOP bracelet in 2005 in the Ladies’ No-limit Invitational Tournament.
•    Josh Malina: acted in Sports Night and The West Wing and is an avid poker player, now producing Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown.
•    Matt Damon: star of the poker film Rounders, regular at WSOP events, both he and Edward Norton were entered into the 1998 WSOP by Miramax Studios in order to promote Rounders- Doyle Brunson got Damon kicked out on the first day.
•    Tobey Maguire: star of the Spider Man franchise, won the first-ever Phil Hellmuth Invitational Poker Tournament in 2004- Andy Bellin remarked to Phil Hellmuth: "This kid could be a legitimate pro."
•    James Woods: star of the films Salvador and Another Day in Paradise, face of a poker site, has an IQ of 180 and finished 24th out of 692 in the 2006 L.A. Poker Classic.
•    Mimi Rogers: acted in Lost in Space and Austin Powers, ex-wife of Tom Cruise, took first place in an episode of Hollywood Home Game.
•    Wil Wheaton: starred in Stand by Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation, plays in big-money games, has been invited to play in the World Poker Tour Championship, member of Team Poker Stars.
•    Gabe Kaplan: acted in Welcome Back Kotter but also known as the initial “celebrity” poker player, first WSOP appearance was in 1978, finished 3rd at the World Poker Tour’s No Limit Hold’em event.

Both England and Algeria had BIG goalkeeper problems in their opening matches and many bettors were shocked when England finished their game against the US with a 1-1 tie after the odds being stacked heavily in the English side’s favour.

England should make it through to the next round with the other teams in Group C being Slovenia and tonight’s opponents, Algeria, but given this World Cup’s trend for victorious underdogs, it could be anyone’s game despite the odds being once again, heavily stacked in England’s favour.

The game kicks-off in Cape Town at 2:30 PM ET.

Here’s why we think poker, and especially online poker, has grown so rapidly over the last 10 years:

•    High Stakes Media Coverage
High-stakes poker tournaments throughout the US have been receiving increased media coverage. While ESPN and The Travel Channel are the main channels to cover such events, other channels are following suit. The BRAVO network has been airing weekly celebrity poker tournaments since 2003 and Fox Sports Net has begun airing their own “Late Night Poker” program.

•    Texas No Limit Hold’em ensures entertainment
The type of poker played in most of these televised tournaments is Texas No Limit Hold’em. This version of poker is more confrontational and high energy than other versions like 5-card draw or 7-card stud. Texas No Limit Hold’em is a version of poker that not only pleases the players but also the audience.

•    WSOP invites the man on the street to play
The World Series of Poker is arguably the most sought after tournament in the world. This tournament has a rich history as well as rich payouts. The 2003 World Series of Poker winner ended up being a 27-year-old accountant, aptly named Chris Moneymaker, securing poker’s reputation for being a rags-to-riches game. 

The entrance fee for the WSOP is $10,000 but several online poker services offer the opportunity for less financially advantaged players to win spots. PokerStars.com offers players the chance to play in satellite tournaments for $40. This is how Moneymaker earned his entry into the WSOP. When he made it into the 2003 WSOP it was his first “live” tournament and he went on to win the first prize of $2.5 million. This event led to the notion that online players are just as good as casino players, as well as the notion that anyone, no matter how (un)ranked they are, can win. 

•    The American Dream sells
In a country that created the concept of and believes in the “American Dream” the concept of a “nobody” making it really appealed to people. Thousands of “nobodies” tried to become poker “somebodies”. ESPN really emphasised this by repeatedly airing images of the critical moment when Moneymaker became a $2,5 millionaire. The internet also capitalised on this by offering online poker in a package that was instant and easy to use without players having to get in their cars and drive to land-based casinos.

                                  not so much

Along with the standard betting on Oscar Odds, come the much more interesting and novel side bets. Here are some of them:

Betting has been placed on the likelihood of a winner of a major award, Best Actress or Best Actor, shedding a tear. Last year there was a 4/1 payout and bettors in favour of the stiff upper lip ended up cleaning up when, despite Kate Winslett’s voice getting a little wobbly for a moment, she managed to keep the tears well contained.

In 2010 the focus seemed to be on the dresses worn by the female contingent. You could bet on the name/manufacturer of the dress worn by the Best Actress. The deceased Alexander McQueen was at the top with 7/4 to be the name worn by the winning leading lady.

The odds were in favour of Sandra Bullock winning Best Actress, but she wore McQueen to the SAG Awards so the question was would she dare to wear the same designer twice? Instyle Magazine predicted that Bullock would be best in Armani Prive. In the end she won the Oscar but wore a Marchesa gown.

More tears were betted on this year in the category of ‘Best Male Actor to cry during his acceptance speech’ at 3/1.

There was an 8/1 payout if anybody dropped their Oscar on stage during handover, and another one for any actor who was unfortunate enough to trip and fall. If any actor or actress said the words "Tiger Woods" in their speech, they were looking at 10/1. There was a 12/1 payout for anyone breaking the record for longest speech (held by Greer Garson at 5 minutes and 30 seconds), at a 12/1 payout.

Lastly, any nominated actress to be photographed in a Janet Jackson-style wardrobe malfunction would be paid off at 14/1 while a streaker appearing on stage during the ceremony (fully nude) would pay a solid 100/1.

It seems the events that go on in the imaginations of the Academy Award viewers and bettors are more exciting than the actual show.