An unidentified woman won $1 million at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City this week, after playing the Three Card Poker 6 Card bonus jackpot game and qualifying for a promotion being run by the casino resort. What makes this win particularly impressive is the fact that the woman wagered only $20 before grabbing the big prize and becoming the second winner of the promotion.

The win was made through the promotion offered by Harrahs where players are paid out cash prizes if they manage to draw a royal flush. The sum of the prize depends on the make-up of the royal flush, and whether it is in clubs, spades, hearts or diamonds. The payout also depends on how much money is bet on the hand by the poker player.

Harrah’s top payout of $1 million was earmarked for a royal flush in diamonds – the exact hand landed by the woman, despite her very low wager.

Harrah’s Resort would not divulge the identity of the woman when approached, but did confirm that she had only been playing for two hours at the table before she hit the winning jackpot. The casino also said that the woman had notified them that she had only ever played Three Card Poker 6 twice in the past.

Harrahs’ promotion kicked off at the end of September and this marks the second time that the $1 million payout has been won since then. The first jackpot was won in October after another unidentified man wagered just $19. In November, 2011, a man from Virginia bagged $100,000.

Once again, rumors and speculation are flying in the online poker industry – this time surrounding the mysterious subpoena of former Full Tilt Poker employee, Jason Newitt. There was no information disclosed over the reason why Newitt was summoned by the Feds, although word will eventually break.

For those of don’t remember, Newitt (aka as JDN) at online poker sites, filed a suit against Full Tilt, Tiltware and Pocket Kings, claiming that he had received an unfair dismissal from the site and that his payments were “unfairly ceased”.

The Feds are staying mum on whether his subpoena has anything to do with the lawsuit he has going against Full Tilt Poker or online poker at all. The general feeling in the media is that whatever it is, it is probably not in the best interests of poker.

Over the past few years, the US Department of Justice has been persistent in its efforts to nab online gambling payment processors in a bid to enforce the controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). While the Feds would love to get their hands on online poker operators, these are usually located offshore and out of the DOJ’s jurisdiction. However, payment processors usually open accounts at US banks to pay poker fans their winnings, and become easy targets for Feds.

Steve “Chops” Preiss told Pokernewsdaily.com this week: “In general, subpoenas are not overly specific in nature. It’s no secret the DOJ has been investigating the online poker industry, and when J.D. Newitt sued Full Tilt Poker, he certainly opened himself up for some follow-up from the government. We simply won’t know if the subpoena is specifically targeting Full Tilt Poker or part of a larger and broader investigation of online poker until after the fact.”

The poker world learned with surprise this week that the Cereus Poker Network, which incorporates UB.com and Absolute Poker, and is one of our main sponsors with bad beat jackpots, has been purchased by Blanca Games. Both sites on the network have been involved in cheating scandals in the past, and it is hoped that the new acquisition will be a clean break from these problems.

Blanca Games has CEO Stuart Gordon at its helm, and is headquartered in Costa Rica. Stuart has been instrumental in creating groups such as Helix Gaming International and BingoMania.com.

Joe Sebok, sponsored professional player for UB.net, spoke to PND and said that he couldn’t be more excited about the news. “It’s a further break from the past and the former owners of Ultimate Bet, not to mention my own excitement about brining Blanca into the fold and beginning something new,” he said.

“Gordon has a proven track record and I think bringing him into the poker arena is only going to breathe some new excitement into our business,” he added.

Sebok said that the move would hopefully allow UB.com to bury its demons from the past. “I always knew that we needed to deal with the past, which we continue to do, but the really exciting period was always going to be growing the company and turning it into what we would like it to be. Soon, UB won’t be known for the scandals of the past, but rather for helping lead online poker into the future,” he predicted.

According to reports, the entire operation at Cereus Poker will remain unchanged, including sponsorship deals and management. In addition, Sebok said that “The player experience should not change one bit, except for all of the improvements that will come from us being bought by Blanca.”

“I think we are really going to be able to do many more exciting things now,” he said.