Australian cricketing great Shane Warne will not be available for Hampshire's Twenty20 Cup campaign this summer - due to a poker tournament in Las Vegas.

"Now that I am retired from international cricket - in fact all cricket in Australia - I am gradually moving into other areas," Warne wrote in his column in the Times.

"There is a deal in the pipeline with a poker company that will involve playing in certain events through the year.

"I can fit what I do around the cricket."

Warne is no newcomer to poker. In 2006 he and Zac Goldsmith, the son of the billionaire Sir James and the editor of The Ecologist, set up a high-stakes charity tournament which attracted big names, raising more than $500,000.

And after retiring from international cricket 12 months ago, Warne, 38, is looking at other avenues besides cricket.

"The World Series takes place in Las Vegas at the same time as the Twenty20 Cup," he said.

"I definitely want to go to Las Vegas and I have not played Twenty20 for the past few seasons.

"It has always come at an ideal time to take a break.

"I am 38 and, after 20 or so years in the game, I need a rest at some point during a six-month campaign."

- - - - - - - - -

PartyPoker is offering the chance for eight players to attend the Rio carnival.

Until January 18, players who earn 20 PartyPoints in a day can win a seat to the next day's Rio Carnival tournament.

From those daily tournaments, ten players will qualify for the January 20 final.

Players who earn 50 PartyPoints in a day will also qualify for a seat in the next day's Rio Carnival tournament and 25 will qualify for the final.

Players who earn 750 points between January 12 and 18 will automatically get a seat in the final.

The top eight players in the final will receive an $8,000 prize package that includes five-night's accommodation for two in a four-star hotel, two tickets to one night of the famous Carnival parade, a professional translator, transfers in chauffeur-driven limo and a travel voucher worth $2,200 per couple.

- - - - - - - - -

The biggest cheating scandal in online poker history seems to have come to an end after Absolute Poker released a statement in response to the findings of a Kahnawake Gaming Commission report.

The report underlined Absolute's involvement in a security breach that allowed players on several accounts to see their opponent's hole cards.

Absolute Poker said: "When Absolute Poker notified the KGC of the security breach in our system, we had every expectation that the Commission would undertake a comprehensive and fair investigation.

"After reviewing the published report, we recognize the completeness and accuracy of the KGC conclusions, and we accept without reservation the KGC's findings and sanctions.

"Most importantly, we are pleased, after these many months, that Absolute Poker can finally put behind it a most distressing and regrettable experience for the Company, its employees, and its customers."

The Commission found that Absolute Poker had breached four sections of the Commissions regulations and were fined half a million dollars.

- - - - - - - - -

ON TV THIS WEEK:

- Full Tilt Poker Million Dollar Cash Game - the world's most famous poker faces play a high stakes cash game at the exclusive Fifty casino in London.

21:00 on Monday 14th January (Sky Sports 2)

01:00 on Tuesday 15th January (Sky Sports 2)

08:00 on Tuesday 15th January (Sky Sports 2)

12:30 on Tuesday 15th January (Sky Sports 2)

- Partypoker.Com Late Night Poker - the original poker series returns with 49 players competing for a $125,000 first prize. Commentary on the first heat comes from Vicky Coren and Barny Boatman.

00:05 on Tuesday 16th January (Channel Four)

- Mansion Poker Dome Challenge - 36 tables under one roof, a $1million top prize and just 15 seconds to make a decision. This is speed poker at its biggest.

22:15 on Tuesday 15th January (Sky Sports 2)

10:30 on Wednesday 16th January (Sky Sports 2)

15:00 on Wednesday 16th January (Sky Sports 2)

02:30 on Thursday 17th January (Sky Sports 2)

- Partypoker.Net: Women's World Open - the top women's poker tournament featuring 36 top female players from Europe and America competing for a piece of the $108,000 prize pool.

23:50 on Wednesday 16th January (Channel Five)

Angus MacKenzie / Eurosport