Gossip Column: Jaime Staples Gets Engaged, PokerNews Sued For Copyright Infringement & More

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  • Attreyee Khasnabis November 23, 2018
  • 6 Minutes Read

Hey folks, hasn’t the 2018 World Poker Tour (WPT) India kept us awake with the exciting updates on turnouts and event runs! All this while the gossip mills have been running overtime, so let us get out with it!

First off, let’s start out with the good news. Last we heard of Canadian poker pro Jaime Staples, he was having a tough time losing weight for the Ultimate Sweat Challenge 2.0, but he has bounced back and in style. Just yesterday, Staples shared the news of his engagement to best friend-girlfriend-turned-fiancé Rebeccaa Hardisty and we are giddy with joy for the young lovers and wish them the very best for their future.

On the one hand we have young budding love, and on the other we have a bitter copyright infringement lawsuit. iBus Media Group, the parent company of PokerNews seems to have come under fire from a group of record labels and music publishers. Record labels like Capitol Records and Universal Music are claiming that PokerNews incorporated significant portions of their copyrighted works in numerous podcasts.

Just as PokerNews has this new legal trouble over copyright issues to deal with, shocking news comes in from Florida. A casino patron who was visiting the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino got into an agreement with a woman named Cassidy Reign Paris who posed as a masseuse and offered her services. It didn’t turn out to be good for the man in question since the woman duped him of $10,000 in cash and $6,100 in poker chips and disappeared!

Jaime Staples Gets Engaged

Jaime Staples is back in the new, but this time it isn’t for his poker skills or his ability to lose weight. This time Staples is participating in the ultimate challenge. A life-long challenge and probably the most beautiful challenge of all. HE GOT ENGAGED!

Jaime Staples & Rebeccaa Hardisty
Jaime Staples & Rebeccaa Hardisty

In a tweet posted yesterday, Staples wrote “The last 18 months have been the best of my life. I want to make sure that the next 50 years are the same. My best friend, partner in crime, and love of my life. I couldn’t be happier Rebeccaa Hardisty.

 

The photo of Staples proposing to Hardisty with the Eiffel Tower in the backdrop is very romantic indeed. We wish the happy couple many years of happiness and love!

PokerNews Sued For $6.9 Million Over Copyright Infringement

Legal trouble is brewing for iBus Media Group, the parent company of PokerNews. A group of record labels and music publishers is suing the company for copyright infringement, and if what we’re hearing is right, there are millions involved.

PokerNews

The record labels in question are Roc-A-Fella Records, Capitol Records, UMG recordings, PolyGram Publishing and Universal Music. Together, these companies have filed a lawsuit at a California court on November 16.

In their collective complaint they have alleged that PokerNews incorporated significant portions of their copyrights works and that “iBus Media does not have any license or other authorization from Plaintiffs to reproduce, distribute, adapt, or publicly perform in the United States, any of the Plaintiffs’ copyrights musical works.”

For those who’re not aware, iBus is a PokerStars majority-owned company. PokerNews has already released more than 500 episodes of the PokerNews podcast and it is these podcasts that the complainants are training their guns on. In fact the complaint mentions 315 examples of infringements and says that PokerNews has used 46 songs of artists like Gun ‘N’ Roses’ more than 300 times. According to the record companies, they notified iBus Media about the infringement three years back, but the company continued the copyright infringements.

Nevertheless, iBus Media continues to infringe. iBus Media’s infringement is therefore willful and deliberate,” states the complaint.

The complaint has specifically cited examples where media clips were used in different updates on the PokerNews Podcast, like use of The Number Song by DJ Shadow in 2008 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Day 2 update on PokerNews podcast.

What these record labels are seeking is a bill of $150,000 person, coming to a total of $6.9 Million. Ouch! That kind of money can certainly shake up even the largest online poker news brand. No wonder then that PokerNews is now reported to be taking steps to remove the infringing content.

‘Masseuse Bandit’ Cassidy Reign Paris Steals From Casino Patron

A 52-year-old gambler from New Jersey had no idea what was is store for him when he stepped into the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida recently.

Cassidy Reign Paris
Cassidy Reign Paris

The gambler met 30-year-old Cassidy Reign Paris on the casino floor and thinking of spending a night of promiscuity, he took her back to his hotel room. But it was not meant to be as Paris then robbed him for more than $65,000 in cash and valuables, following which she escaped from the room, leaving him bereft.

According to the police report, Paris had identified herself as a masseuse and offered her services. The man agreed and led Paris to his hotel room.

As per the official police report, “the man undressed, the two began to kiss, and Paris started complaining of chest pains. She went to the bathroom, and a short while later, exited the room entirely.”

The report further stated, “The man got up from his bed to discover that he was missing $10,000 in cash, $6,100 in poker chips, and a Patek Philippe watch valued at about $50,000.”

Paris was caught on casino surveillance exiting the hotel room and running through the casino to a getaway car in the parking garage. Fortunately for the New Jersey casino patron, the car’s license plate was tracked to a rental car company, which had equipped the car with GPS.

Thereafter the police tracked the car to a motel four miles away, and Paris was arrested, bringing an end to the adventures of the ‘Masseuse Bandit’.

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