Author Jennifer Newell's poker week in review for Oct. 28-Nov. 3.

Our consolidation of the week's news is quick and to the point — seven stories, to be exact — for the week ending Nov. 3. Let's go.

No. 1 — New Jersey Approves 54 Companies for Internet Gaming

On Friday of last week, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement announced that 54 companies were given approval to begin their work with casino licensees and permit holders with relation to the state's offering of Internet gambling. Those companies received permission to enter into agreements with gaming companies to provide ancillary services or vendor services at or after the Nov. 26 launch date.

Among the list of companies approved, All Vegas Poker owner Pokertrip Enterprises was one of the companies authorized to "provide goods or services ancillary to gaming activity." Geocomply, Xyverify, Player Verify, and Aristotle International were among the names, as well. And as for vendor registrants, the companies included Kalixa USA, Skrill USA, Paysafecard.com, and Interactive Communications.

No. 2 — Delaware Launches Limited Internet Gaming

As promised, the Delaware Lottery launched online gaming on Oct. 31 for residents of the state. However, it was not a hard launch as some predicted. The soft launch was restricted to a select pool of players chosen from those who participated in play-money games since they became available in August. Those players were invited to play the train-run games for the first week. According to Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk, the soft launch was an opportunity to "monitor the flow of transactions and money."

The site will then open to all players located within the state of Delaware on Nov. 8. With gaming partners Scientific Games and 888 Holdings ready, it is unlikely that there will be major issues with the launch, simply because of the companies' experience in the Internet gaming industry.

No. 3 — Lock Poker Leaves Revolution Amidst War of Words

Lock Poker announced on Oct. 29 that the online poker site was parting ways with Revolution Gaming Network and launching its own independent website. A site representative promised a new cashier along with the new software, and most features would migrate "seamlessly" to the new platform, according to Pokerfuse.

Immediately, Revolution began redirecting players to a skin called Pure Poker, promising that Lock Poker funds would be redeemed if players simply stayed with Revolution, specifically Pure Poker. Revolution then told Pokerfuse that it put Lock on notice "that they will be held liable" for damages resulting from "false and misleading information."

Lock responded with a letter to Pokerfuse stating that Revolution is attempting to "take Lock players and damage Lock's business via a deceptive and misleading practice." The site took issue with numerous instances of downtime, service failures, and a breach of contract.

No. 4 — PartyPoker Revises Policy After Player Protests

Segregated tables, or protected tables, were part of a policy instituted by PartyPoker in early 2013 to remove regular players from many tables offered to recreational players. It was an attempt to keep experienced players from taking advantage of amateurs and encouraging the latter to play for longer periods of time on the site without losing their money to the pros. Players protested since its implementation, but it wasn't until some players discovered that cheating was occurring at segregated tables. Allegedly, Hungarian and Romanian players were creating a plethora of new accounts in order to take advantage of segregated tables, then close those accounts when they became classified as winning players.

Players scheduled a protest that involved sitting out of as many tables as possible on Nov. 1, but poker director Jeffrey Haas got involved in the poker forums before that date to say that PartyPoker was investigating the accusations, as well as the protected-tables policy in general. And one day before the scheduled protest, Haas released a statement noting that "the limited tables that lie at the heart of this conflict will be removed. Not because the intention behind them has changed, but because the feature no longer serves a valid purpose if it is abused and manipulated."

No. 5 — Hendon Mob Signs with Full Tilt

The Rational Group announced last week that Full Tilt Poker would be partnering with The Hendon Mob as of Nov. 1. The agreement involves The Hendon Mob promoting Full Tilt Poker and offering members the chance to play in exclusive leagues and tournaments on that site, as well as PokerStars.

Zokay Entertainment founder Alex Dreyfus commented to Pokerfuse regarding the deal, as Zokay recently acquired The Hendon Mob: "Seeing Full Tilt working with The Hendon Mob again is part of the revival of the FTP brand that has taken place over the last year. Our players will once again enjoy playing on Full Tilt and can profit from the promotions on PokerStars too."

No. 6 — PartyPoker Execs Divest for New Jersey

Bwin.party issued a press release regarding company founder Ruth Parasol DeLeon and divorcing husband James DeLeon. They agreed to divest approximately 117 million shares of the company per a request from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which is in the process of considering bwin.party's application for an Internet gaming license in the state to work with the Borgata in Atlantic City. The couple must provide a transactional waiver when the process is complete in order to be considered for their New Jersey license.

According to US Poker, the shares will be placed into separate trusts and sold over the next 36 months, either in private or in the open market. If the trusts cannot complete the process in 24 months, bwin.party will take over and facilitate the sale.

No. 7 — No U.S. Patent for Rush Poker

Pokerfuse reported last week that the United States Patent Office issued a final rejection of Full Tilt's Rush Poker. When the Rational Group purchased the assets of Full Tilt Poker, one of those assets was its Rush Poker patent, which was pending at the time in the United States. The Rational Group pursued said patent but was ultimately rejected.

While Full Tilt Poker can still offer Rush Poker and PokerStars its own Zoom Poker version, the company has no legal basis upon which to take legal action if any other website copies their fast-fold poker format in the United States market. PokerStars has yet to receive any type of licensing in the United States, however, but is pursuing a license to operate in New Jersey.