Remember Yevgniy Timoshenko, the barely 21 year old boy faced poker whiz who took home $2.1 million at the Five Star World Poker Classic at the Bellagio, Las Vegas in April?

Four months down the line, and the media is still enthralled by this wunderkind who has managed to clock up $3,159,215 in his very short career playing at live tournaments around the globe.

Nobody will forget the victory photographs of Timoshenko holding the stacks of cash above his head after his Bellagio win, and TV shows around the world broadcast – and then rebroadcast – his stunning victory over players that were eons more experienced than him.

In May, Card Player Magazine put Timoshenko on its cover and wrote a glowing article about his talents.

So where did it all begin?

Timoshenko admits that the first time he played social poker at the age of 15, he was hooked. He first became interested in the game after watching poker shows on TV, and he was soon playing free games online. Timoshenko says that he “caught the poker bug”, and he was soon playing at all times – including during and after school hours.

The turning point came after the Ukrainian born Timoshenko – who arrived with is parents to the United States at the age of 8 – enrolled in college. During his first semester, he spent three straight days playing online poker, honing his skills and testing his limits. In only 72 hours, Timoshenko made himself a cool $300,000 and it wasn’t surprising that soon afterwards he dropped out of college.

Since then, Timoshenko has been hard at work, playing the circuit, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the industry and trying to fit in the pressure and intensity of being a professional poker player at such a young age.

“It is a grind,” admits Timoshenko. “At the highest limits, the average observer cannot fathom what the players are thinking. There are so many different mind games, so many different variables and so many different pieces of information that the players are thinking about.”

His plans for the future include becoming a brand and eventually making enough money to only play poker as a hobby. Until then, we will be seeing much more of Yevgeniy Timoshenko on the green felt.

Players who made it to the much awaited Poker in the Park in Leicester Square this month and headed to the popular PKR Poker Dome, would have pleased to see a bevy of beauties waiting on hand to offer their massage services.

PKR.com announced this week that it had entered a formal partnership with one of the industry’s top professional poker massage therapists, Xhilatrate. The group, which specializes in providing touch treatment to poker players, has become the exclusive massage suppliers at all land based PKR tournaments and Public Relations functions.

PKR.com could not have chosen a more delightful or experienced group of girls. Players may have spotted them at a number of other tournaments in the industry around the globe, including at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) and the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour.

Xhilarate can boast some of the corporate world’s top clients, including Virgin, Sony Ericsson and even BBC!

The Marketing Manager of PKR Poker, Erika Schwartz praised the team and said: “Nothing quite compares to the glamour and style of the Xhilarate girls and their massages.”

“We believe they fit in perfectly with our image and will provide some much needed relief and refreshment to our players when playing away from the computer screens and on the live circuit,” she said.

Players at Poker in the Park could have enjoyed professional massages for just £1 a minute – and the price is certainly worth it!

These masseuses have been specially trained to incorporate different massage techniques from around the globe, but especially from the Far East, and they can deliver great services from the world of Shiatsu, Indian head massages and Ayurveda.

Players can enjoy the light touches of these young ladies as they play, because they have also been trained to offer their services in a way that does not disrupt the player’s concentration.

The massages are oil-free and are done, naturally, with the client fully clothed.

This is just another incentive to seek out PKR Poker tournaments around the world and enjoy the services of Xhilarate’s professional team.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) seems to be finally seeing some results for its intense lobbying efforts in Washington last month, after it was announced that New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez was introducing legislation to make online poker and games of skill legal in the United States.

The online poker bill, aka the Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, could bring in around $3 billion each year in annual revenue for the US government from US poker sites. The other appeal of the bill is that it calls for tough regulations to prevent underage gambling and protect problem gamblers.

The chairman of the Poker Players Alliance and himself a former Senator, Alfonse D’Amato said: “Today’s action by Senator Menendez is yet another powerful step towards protecting Internet freedom, protecting consumers and protecting online poker.”

“The PPA is pleased that Senator Menendez chose to introduce his bill to license and regulate Internet poker and include additional consumer protections,” he added. “His continued support for protecting the Internet freedoms of poker players specifically, and Americans generally, is greatly appreciated.”

The new bill calls for the mandatory implementation of the latest technologies to prevent all kinds of underage gambling. It also calls for the prevention, detection and treatment of problem gamblers and their families.

Menendez said that by pulling online poker “out of the shadows and into the light of the law”, the US government has the perfect opportunity to aid its ailing economy, and at the same time protect families.

“By bringing these games of skill into the mainstream, we can generate billions in revenue for businesses and the Treasury during these tough times. The safety benefits of the bill are particularly crucial,” said Menendez.

Menendez also noted that with proper regulation pertaining to online poker, the government could prevent minors from playing the game on the internet and crack down on predatory operations.

The bill will make provisions for 10% of all money deposited into a playing customer’s account to be split between Federal government and the local government of the state where the player is located in the United States.