Archive for the ‘PokerListings.com’ Category:
PokerStars, Full Tilt Domain Names Returned to Facilitate Refunds
Friday, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney charged the principals of three of online poker's biggest sites with bank fraud, illegal gambling and laundering billions of dollars.
In all, 11 defendants were charged, including PokerStars' Isai Scheinberg, Fill Tilt Poker's Ray Bitar and Absolute Poker's Scott Tom.
The Internet domain names used by PokerStars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were seized and began redirecting to a message from the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.
Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the office has entered into an agreement with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to allow players to register for refund requests directly with the sites.
"On April 15th, this Office and the FBI took specific legal action against 11 individuals who allegedly engaged not merely in the operation of illegal gambling businesses, but in massive wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering, despite repeated warnings and clear notice that their conduct was illegal in the United States," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
"No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player's deposited funds. In fact, this Office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players, as today’s agreements with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker demonstrate."
Under the terms of the agreements, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker will not allow U.S. residents to play or make deposits, but will regain use of the pokerstars.com and fulltiltpoker.com domain names to allow U.S. players to log on and withdraw funds.
The sites will once again be allowed to conduct international business outside the U.S. through the once-seized domain names as it pleases.
An independent monitor will be appointed to verify PokerStars’ and Full Tilt Poker’s compliance.
An offer has also been extended to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker.
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Regulators React to Online Poker Indictments
Friday, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney charged the principals of three of online poker's biggest sites with bank fraud, illegal gambling and laundering billions of dollars.
In all, 11 defendants were charged, including PokerStars' Isai Scheinberg, Fill Tilt Poker's Ray Bitar and and Absolute Poker's Scott Tom.
The Internet domain names used by PokerStars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were seized and now redirect to a message from the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.
Tuesday, The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which oversees the jurisdiction where Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet hold licenses, issued a statement saying it is reviewing the indictments.
"The KGC's principal concern is that players are not adversely affected by the actions taken by US authorities," the statement reads. "The KGC is presently engaged in discussions with its licensee concerning the status of player accounts. Upon completion of its review, the KGC will determine what steps may be required and will issue a further statement at that time."
In the meantime, the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, the sovereign jurisdiction located just outside Montreal, Quebec, Canada where the KGC is housed, says it is aware of the indictments and is working with the commission to review and analyze developments that may have "widespread implications."
“The actions are being taken primarily in the area of banking and payment processing – the actual gaming activities are secondary,” said Grand Chief Michael Ahríhron Delisle, Jr. “While charges have been announced, no one has been convicted of any wrongdoing.
“We need to remind the community that any and all licensees operating under the authority of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission are aware that they must obey the laws of the jurisdictions in which they operate."
Last year, the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake community received a dividend of $1.7 million from its licensing operations.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, where PokerStars calls the Isle of Man home, the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission has also issued a statement.
"The Commission is aware of documentation issued by authorities in the USA which makes allegations against PokerStars and some of its personnel," the statement reads.
"While we are discussing the matter on an ongoing basis with PokerStars and watching developments, we can confirm that PokerStars’ licensing status in the Isle of Man remains unchanged.
"We are aware that PokerStars have suspended the availability of cash-play games in the USA and we are currently endeavoring to ensure that any player who wishes to withdraw money from their account can do so."
Meanwhile, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, which oversees Full Tilt Poker, says it is aware of proceedings, will review the documentation and undertake its own investigation into the allegations.
"AGCC notes that its licensee, trading as Full Tilt Poker, denies all of the allegations," a statement released Wednesday reads. "Upon the grant of its licence Full Tilt Poker identified that it had obtained specific legal advice relating to its proposed activities. AGCC further notes the current public statements made by Full Tilt Poker to its customers and its recent decision to suspend “real money” play in the USA.
"AGCC is concerned that appropriation of Full Tilt Poker’s dotcom site is hampering and potentially adversely affecting its lawful operation elsewhere in the world."
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Harman’s SPCA Charity Event to be Televised
The event will go off Saturday, May 21st at the Peppermill Resort Casino in conjunction with the Nevada State Poker Championship and as many as 1,000 participants are expected.
For the first time, the event will also be included in the Heartland Poker Tour's fall line-up of televised programming available in over 100 million homes across America.
The event features a unique ten-player team format and also allows for individual player participation.
The buy-in is $200+$30 for individuals and $2,500 per team.
There will be prizes for the top 100 participants and top three teams, although all proceeds will go to benefit the Nevada SPCA.
Past contributions have allowed the SPCA to extend its community outreach program, build awareness around the no-kill movement, and expand its facility.
In 2008, the Nevada SPCA officially unveiled a Jennifer Harman Wing thanks to contributions from the event.
"The best thing about having a pet is experiencing their unconditional love," Harman said. "The Nevada SPCA ensures these once abandoned and abused animals are cared for, adopted, or live humanely in its no-kill shelter for the rest of their lives. Everyone who participates is actually saving a life, and that means so much to me."
For more information or to register visit http://www.jenniferharmancpt.com.
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Antonius Gets Revenge on Hansen
Last night Antonius got some measure of revenge against his Danish friend who took several hundred thousand from him over the weekend.
Antonius logged 126 hands last night including 66 of $300/$600 PLO and 60 of $3,000/$6,000 PLO Hi-Lo.
All of Antonius’ hands were against Hansen and in the end the Finn raked in a total of $137k.
Hansen tried to right the ship by logging another 173 hands of $300/$600 against anyone he could find but he still lost a total of $168k on the night.
The Great Dane is likely not worried as he’s still up over $4 million on Full Tilt this year. Whether he’ll be able to withdraw that money any time soon is definitely up for debate.
Meanwhile Antonius, who had a rough start to the year, is now within $100k of being even in 2011.
Although Antonius was the biggest winner, NoPasaran also had a dominant night pulling in $54k.
U.S. players were obviously still absent from Full Tilt Poker last night and there were some new faces at the top of the online poker charts.
Among the top players on PokerStars (which is also devoid of U.S. players) were K_0_S_T_Y_A (+$47k), 0Human0 (+$36k), vence0r (+$27k) and diemaus36o (+$21k).
Meanwhile the losers included scout326 (-$48k), FallAtYourFeet (-$40k), podnil (-$27k) and thecortster (-$26k). One of the few recognizable players was Vaga_Lion who lost $27k.
Many high stakes railbirds are starting to wonder if U.S. players like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Dan “jungleman12” Cates and Scott “URnotINdanger2” Palmer will be jumping a plane to Europe in the not-so-distant future.
For more information on the high-stakes games last night be sure to check our online poker stats section.
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PPA Calls For Action on Online Poker Indictments
Now that PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker have effectively shut out U.S. customers in response to the charges, the PPA has issued an action alert calling on its more than one million U.S. members to express their outrage over the U.S. Department of Justice’s actions.
“The DoJ’s action serves as a wake-up call to poker players across the country that the basic right to play online poker is in serious jeopardy,” said PPA Executive Director John Pappas.
“We simply cannot miss this opportunity to protect our rights as American citizens. Now is the time for poker players to speak up in defense of this great game through as many outlets possible.”
Through a special PPA Action Page, PPA members can access a variety of vehicles for immediate outreach including posting to the DoJ Facebook page, emailing President Barack Obama and Congress, contacting their local Representative and Senator, posting to the PPA Facebook page and sending a message on PPA’s Twitter.
As it shares the frustration of the millions of Americans unable to play online poker and access money frozen by the government as a result of the indicments, the PPA says it will "continue to fight for its members, for every American who plays poker, and for the continued freedom to play this great American pastime."
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WSOP Champ Gold Signs Sponsorship Deal
Gold, who has represented online poker rooms like Bodog and Aced in the past, has now signed a multi-year contract with PPNpoker, the flagship poker room of the Poker Pros Network.
"I have finally found a site I trust that accepts and supports both international and U.S. players," said Gold. "It has been years since I have been confident enough to play online and I'm very excited to finally have a home."
The PPNpoker team already includes Poker Hall of Famer TJ Cloutier, Young Phan, Stefan Mattsson, Josh Brikis, Jonathan Tamayo and others.
PPNpoker claims to be the place where the pros come to play you and makes the pro team accessible at all levels of play by allowing players to challenge a professional to a heads-up game for as little as $2 or as much as $2,000.
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Black Friday Brings Opportunities for Non-U.S. Players
Numerous European sites have boosted both their guaranteed prize pools and their bonuses in response to the DOJ’s lockdown, with 888 Poker, Titan Poker, PartyPoker, William Hill Poker and ChiliPoker taking the early lead.
888 doubles guarantees
888 Poker announced it has doubled the prize pools of its major guaranteed tournaments including the flagship Sunday Challenge, which has been increased to a $100,000 guarantee.
According to a release from the company, 888’s decision to leave the US market after the passing of the 2006 UIGEA has also moved it into a strategic position to move back into the market when it re-opens.
In particular it mentioned a recent approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission to work with Caesars Interactive, the online subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
Titan Poker bumps bonus, matches VIP levels
Titan Poker, the flagship room on the iPoker network and one of the largest poker sites in Europe, also announced a $2,000 “Black Friday, White Monday” freeroll to be played today at 20:00 GMT+1.
On top of the freeroll, Titan Poker raised its first-deposit bonus for new players to 200% match up to $1,000 and is adding over $100,000 to its guaranteed prize pools as “a sign of its stability in the wake of recent upheaval in the industry.”
If you have VIP status at PokerStars or Full Tilt, Titan will match that by starting you at the equivalent level once you sign up for an account and verify your existing status.
Other iPoker network sites including William Hill Poker and Chili Poker have likewise increased their new-player bonuses to 200% match up to $1,000.
ChiliPoker has even launched a new “Purple Day promotion," offering to buy loyalty points from players from the affected sites and match their VIP levels.
Party Poker unrolls new reload bonus, VIP upgrade
Former online giant PartyPoker is rolling out a few incentives for players to make the jump from Stars or Tilt and some perks to benefit its current players.
Every player who makes a deposit using bonus code 100PARTY will get a 100% reload bonus up to $100.
The number of daily WSOP qualifiers is also being increased and one WSOP package is guaranteed every day at 9:20 p.m. (CET)
Party is also offering to honor players' existing VIP accounts and a chance to upgrade to the "Palladium" rewards system where you can earn up to 50% rakeback.
Investors in the newly merged Bwin.party conglomerate also saw a nice boost after the Friday crackdown with stock prices jumping 35%.
888 Holdings stock prices jumped 15%.
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Hansen Rules U.S. Player-less Full Tilt
Hansen fired off over 5,000 hands this weekend playing fellow Team Full Tilt Pro Patrik Antonius, Englishman Gavin “gavz101” Cochrane and NoPasaran.
The Great Dane stuck mostly to 6-Max $300/$600 where Antonius lost $329k and harrington25 donated $169k.
In the early part of the weekend there were a handful of U.S. high stakes players still in the mix including Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky, Josh Arieh and Matt Hawrilenko but by Sunday it was a very different looking group of online poker pros.
For example last night the relatively unknown Wreed Platzack won $116k and was the only player to break the $100k mark. Kagome Kagome, who is rumored to be German, was the only well-known player to crack the top five earners.
Meanwhile Gus Hansen was the biggest overall winner this weekend with $700k in profit but it may be his last big score for some time. On the other hand his $4.3 million in profit on the site will be difficult to top with no U.S. players.
Well known sponsored players based in the U.S. such as Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu were obviously absent from online poker over the weekend.
Sauce123 (+$246k), NoPasaran (+$240k), Mr Boogerz (+$207k) and Wreed Platzak ($135k) were amongst the biggest winners this weekend.
Patrik Antonius was the biggest loser of the weekend and harrington25 was close behind.
Lance84 (-$159k), GooGie MonA (-$159k), Lay Key U (-$155k) and Josh Arieh (-$146k) also suffered serious setbacks this weekend.
There has been no word yet on what will come of the two durrrr Challenges that are currently taking place on Full Tilt or the SuperStar Showdown featuring Viktor “Isildur1” Blom on PokerStars.
For more information on the high stakes games from this weekend be sure to check our online poker stats section.
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The Sunday Scoop: Black Friday Fallout
However, those who predicted total doom following the announcement Friday that the Manhattan U.S. Attorney had charged the principals of three of online poker's biggest sites with bank fraud, illegal gambling and laundering billions of dollars, may have been surprised by the turnout for the day's biggest events.
The 20th edition of FTOPS kicked off on Full Tilt as planned with a $200+$16 No-Limit Hold'em Multi-Entry event carrying a $1 million guarantee.
A total of 6,953 entries ensured there would be no overlay and a $1,390,600 prizepool was created.
Danish Full Tilt pro Soren Kongsgaard made the final table and was part of a three-way chop at the top that left him with $172,616.79 when he finished third.
DQnk went on to win the title and $174,977.35 beating pokerfrance ($155,107.76) heads-up.
Over on PokerStars, the Sunday Million saw its guarantee pushed back down to $1 million.
But with 6,475 entries, that number was easily reached and a $1,295,000 prizepool was created.
After another chop at the top, guaicuru 07 took down the title and $121,830.20, beating tropicana111 ($94,772.87) heads-up.
Third-place finisher 1fishboon ($114,571.05) and third runner-up weygang ($101,709.71) also managed to walk away with six figures.
But while a recap of online poker's Sunday Majors is usually filled with tales of six-figure scores, this week's ends there.
The Sunday Warm-Up on PokerStars almost got there when a four-way chop saw to1R collect $90,424.77 for a second-place finish in an event that drew 3,737.
But the $747,400 prizepool created wasn't quite the same as the $926,800 up for grabs a week earlier and winner campeao200 earned just $69,000 in victory.
In the meantime, an event like Full Tilt's $200+$16 Sunday Mulligan that usually draws thousands, saw only 370 enter yesterday, making the prizepool just $74,000.
And over on PokerStars, with tournament's like the $215 Sunday 2nd Chance seeing its guarantee reduced to $125K, just 749 players got in on the action.
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Kanaan Able To Capture ANZPT Sydney Title
The AUD$2,200 ANZPT Sydney main event drew 393 players to the Star City Poker Room last week, creating an AUD$786,000 prizepool.
The star-studded field included 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, his brother and 2009 and 2010 ANZPT Player of the Year Tony Hachem, Aussie Millions champions David Gorr and Tyron Krost and APPT and ANZPT champion Grant Levy.
But none was better than 27-year old local Sydneysider Michael Kanaan this time around.
The online poker pro managed to book his first major score collecting the AUD$195,714 first-place prize after outlasting a final table that included Aussie online legend Jay "SEABEAST" Kinkade.
Next up for the ANZPT is the $2,500 ANZPT Gold Coast main event at Jupiters Casino May 17-22.
Here's how the final table finished up in Sydney:
1 Michael Kanaan $195,714
2 Luis Arrilucea $124,581
3 Andy Lee $69,168
4 John Karroobee $54,234
5 Alex Lee $43,230
6 Stevan Chew $35,370
7 AJ Bertenshaw $27,510
8 Mike Stecker $21,615
9 Jay Kinkade $15,720
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Peruvian Ferri Keeps LAPT Lima Title at Home
A total of 350 players from more than 30 different countries entered LAPT Lima at the Atlantic City Casino in Peru's largest city, creating a $774.000 prizepool that paid 48 spots.
But none could outlast local player Kemal Ferri.
Although he entered the final table in the bottom half of the final eight, Ferri persevered and knocked out the final three players to secure his first ever LAPT title and a $207,400 first-place prize.
Team PokerStars Online Pro Karlo Lopez made the final table, but could do no better than and eighth-place finish.
Next up for the LAPT is a stop in Argentina. The $2300+$200 LAPT Rosario main event will go off June 1-5.
Here's how the final table finished up at LAPT Lima:
1 Kemal Ferri $207,400
2 Raul Pino $120,000
3 Pablo Gonzales $73,540
4 Michel Barham $54,180
5 Samar Hodali $38,700
6 Leonardo Zepeda $30,960
7 Daniel Ospina $23,220
8 Karlo Lopez $15,480
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Poker News in Brief: April 11-17, 2011
But the poker world soldiers on, and, as always, the stories that slipped through the cracks get collected and placed in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.
This week, the Irish Open goes live, 888 doubles prizepools, records get broken in Macau and more.
888poker Doubles Guaranteed Prizepools
888poker continues to grow and has now doubled the prizepools in their major guaranteed tournaments just to keep up.
The site's Sunday Challenge now guarantees a prizepool of $100,000.
Other major tournaments on the site have also followed suit.
Sign up for an account at 888 Poker via our review page.
Irish Open Web Stream
Paddy Power Poker will host a live web stream broadcast of the Irish Open 2011 later this month.
Jessie May will anchor a broadcast that will feature live interviews, roving reporters and cameras in every corner, a dynamic news ticker, social media interactivity and a live feature table with running commentary.
The stream will be accessible at paddypowerpoker.com/irish-poker-open/live beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 22 and continue through the end of the final table April 25.
The €3,200+€300 event takes place April 22- 25 at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin, Ireland.
WPT Facebook Game Offers VIP Access
The WPT Texas Hold ‘Em Poker game on Facebook is giving fans the chance to win an All-Access VIP Pass and prize pack for two to the upcoming WPT World Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas May 14-20.
The package includes a one-night stay at the Bellagio, lunch with the Royal Flush Girls, two seats at the final table taping of the WPT World Championship; a meet-and-greet with Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten and Kimberly Lansing; a WPT Swag Bag; $1000 cash prize; bottle service; and a private booth for the winner and seven friends at the Bellagio’s The Bank Nightclub.
Those who purchase any poker chip package from April 11-25 will be entered in a draw to win.
WSOPC Back In Las Vegas
The World Series of Poker Circuit returned to Las Vegas and Caesars Palace this week to host 17 days of poker action.
The tournament series began April 14 and will run through April 30.
Events ranging from $70 to the three-day long $1,600 main event are all on offer.
This marks the sixth consecutive year Caesars Palace has hosted a WSOP Circuit stop.
Both the main event winner and the the player who accumulates the most points in the ten gold ring events at Caesars will win seats in the $1 million freeroll National Championship back at Caesars Palace next month.
Shaq Wins Macau Millions
The 2011 HKD $2,200 Macau Millions saw 1,329 entries this year, smashing the HKD $1,500,000 guarantee and becoming the first poker tournament in Asia to break the 1,000-entry mark.
Chinese Taipei's Hung-Sheng "Shaq" Lin took down the title and collected a HKD $400,000 first-place prize.
"This year the popularity of the Macau Millions is so much greater, particularly within the region," said PokerStars Director of Live Operations for Asia-Pacific Danny McDonagh.
"Poker is really taking off in Asia. It's a proud moment for our PokerStars Macau team and speaks volumes about Grand Lisboa's well deserved reputation for quality and success."
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PokerStars, Full Tilt Pull Out of U.S. Market
Friday, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney charged the principals of three of online poker's biggest sites with bank fraud, illegal gambling and laundering billions of dollars.
In all, 11 defendants were charged, including PokerStars' Isai Scheinberg, Fill Tilt Poker's Ray Bitar and Nelson Burtnick and Absolute Poker's Scott Tom.
The Internet domain names used by PokerStars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were seized and now redirect to a message from the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.
In response, PokerStars issued a statement through a pop-up on its poker client saying it has suspended real-money play in the United States.
"As you may have heard, we have had to suspend real money poker services to people based in the U.S. due to legal developments there," the statement reads.
"The developments are confined to the U.S. and do not have any impact on your ability to continue using our services. Please be assured player balances are safe. There is no cause for concern. For all customers outside the U.S. it is business as usual."
The statement goes on to say the PokerStars website has been moved to www.pokerstars.eu and its support email address is now support@pokerstars.eu.
Full Tilt Poker also released a statement saying it supports poker players and Bitar, the company's chief executive, but has been forced to pull out of the U.S. market.
"Full Tilt Poker is saddened by today’s charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick," the statement reads.
"Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online.
"Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law."
The statemet goes on to say Full Tilt Poker has decided to suspend real-money play in the United States until the case is resolved, but will continue to provide its services outside of the United States.
“I am surprised and disappointed by the government’s decision to bring these charges," said Mr. Bitar.
"I look forward to Mr. Burtnick’s and my exoneration.”
At press time, no public comments have been made by principals at Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet or the Cereus Poker Network.
For ongoing updates over the weekend, visit our Black Friday Bulletin Board.
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Weekly Freerolls: Fast and Furious
This week Cake Poker, PartyPoker, Absolute Poker, UB Poker and PokerStars are all running some potentially lucrative free-to-play tournaments.
PartyPoker is kicking everything off later today with one of its trademark $2,000 monthly freerolls while later in the day the action gets even hotter as Absolute Poker is hosting its $5k free tournament.
Just in case you miss the Absolute Poker freeroll, UB Poker has your CEREUS poker needs covered with another $5k freeroll on Sunday.
Of course the big Kahuna is PokerStars $15k freeroll on Sunday that awards $15k in Sunday Million tickets. If you earned 75 VPPs in March then you’re good to go.
If you're not a PL.com registered player on any of the following sites, click on the site's name in the list to sign up.
Cake Poker is running a $500 freeroll on Sunday for new and existing players.
Date: April 16 Value: $500 Qualify with: New deposit Qualify between: Any time before April 16 Sign up here PokerListings players have access to exclusive monthly $2,000 freerolls on PartyPoker. Date: April 16 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 100 Party Points Earned Qualify between: March 1-31 Sign up hereAbsolute Poker is running monthly $5,000 freerolls for PokerListings players.
Date: April 16 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in March Qualify between: Feb. 1-28 Sign up herePokerListings players get a shot at the UB Poker $5,000 exclusive monthly tournament.
Date: April 17 Value: $5,000 Qualify with: 100 raked hands in March Qualify between: March 1-31 Sign up herePoker770 is hosting an exclusive $1,000 freeroll for PL.com players.
Date: April 17 Value: $1,000 Qualify with: New deposit Qualify between: Any day before March 20 Sign up herePokerStars is running a massive $15,000 freeroll for Sunday Million tickets on April 17.
Date: April 17 Value: $15,000 Qualify with: 75 VPPs Qualify between: March 1-31 Sign up here888poker is running their weekly $500 freeroll for PokerListings players on April 19.
Date: April 19 Value: $500 Qualify with: Deposit and earn 2 FPP in the previous week. Sign up hereBetfair is now running a weekly freeroll for PokerListings players that takes place every Friday.
Date: April 22 Value: $304 Qualify with: Earn 10 player points in the previous week Sign up hereWilliam Hill is running an exclusive $2.5k freeroll for PokerListings players in the first week of May.
Date: May 7 Value: $2,500 Buy-in: 10 William Hill Points Sign up hereTitan Poker is running a monthly $2,000 freeroll for PokerListings players.
Date: May 12 Value: $2,000 Qualify with: 17 Titan points Sign up hereVisit www.pokerlistings.com
Major Online Poker Sites Charged with Fraud, Illegal Gambling, Money Laundering
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, a multi-billion dollar civil money laundering and forfeiture action has also been filed and the Internet domain names used by PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker have been seized.
In all, 11 defendants have been charged, including PokerStars' Isai Scheinberg, Fill Tilt Poker's Ray Bitar and Absolute Poker's Scott Tom.
"As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
"Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud.
"Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits."
Janice Fedarcyk, The FBI's Assistant Director-in-Charge, said the online poker sites lied, flauted the law and wagered they could circumvent U.S. law without repercussions.
"These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck," she said.
"They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost."
The indictment alleges the online poker companies continued to operate in the United States despite passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, used fraudulent methods to circumvent federal law and trick banking institutions into processing payments on their behalf, and enlisted "payment processors" to lie to banks about the nature of the financial transactions they were processing and disguise payments back to the them.
It goes on to allege PokerStars and Full Tilt approached the principals of a few small, local banks facing financial difficulties to engage in payment processing on their behalf in return for multi-million dollar investments in the banks.
The indictment and civil complaint seek at least $3 billion.
Some of the charges carry maximum penalties of up to 30 years in prison.
With many of the defendants named not living in the United States currently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is working with foreign law enforcement agencies and Interpol to secure their arrest and seize their criminal proceeds located abroad.
For ongoing updates over the weekend, visit our Black Friday Bulletin Board.
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PokerStars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker Founders Indicted
The founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were all named in the indictment and the FBI subsequently seized domains for each site.
Among the defendants named were Isai Scheinberg, Raymond Bitar, Scott Tom, Brent Beckly, Nelson Burtnick, Paul Tate, Bradley Franzen, Ira Rubin, Chad Elie and John Campos.
The defendants are being indicted on charges of bank fraud, money laundering and bank fraud.
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, had this to say in the indictment:
"As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits,” he said.
“Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits."
The U.S. government seized five domain names that were used to host online poker games including www.pokerstars.com, www.fulltilt.com and www.absolutepoker.com.
Restraining orders were also issued against more than 75 bank accounts used by poker companies for processing online payments.
The indictment represents the first serious charge laid against the major online poker rooms since the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act that was passed in 2006. The act essentially banned banks from processing online poker payments.
Since then most rooms have continued to operate in a legal gray area. Some, like PartyPoker, opted to leave the U.S. market altogether.
"These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk.
“They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost.”
The indictment seeks over $3 million in money laundering and forfeiture from the defendants.
At the time this article was published it was not clear who would represent the defendants in court.
You can read the entire indictment here.
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Hansen Returns to Winning Ways
Hansen was absolutely relentless recording a staggering 15,058 hands in seven days, mostly of $200/$400 and $300/$600 Pot-Limit Omaha.
For a change the 6-Max games were running on a regular basis on Full Tilt this week and players like FinnishNightmre, harrington25, UarePileous, Tom Dwan, David Oppenheim, POKERBLUFFS and trex313 were out in full force.
In total Hansen played 131 sessions this week and added $565k to his bankroll.
It was a striking contrast to the first week of April where Hansen lost $1 million in seven days.
Hansen is now up $3.6 million playing online poker in 2011 and easily the biggest winner of the year.
The last week also saw two slightly lesser known players grab the spotlight with huge scores. The recently dominant FakeSky took down $499k while Seb86 earned $412k.
Scott “URnotINdanger2” Palmer was also one of the top winners with $344k in profit. After a few rough weeks, Palmer is back on track with $472k in overall earnings.
Close behind Palmer was Durham-native Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky. Sulsky picked up $314k in 1,809 hands over the last week.
Meanwhile POKERBLUFFS had a catastrophic week losing some huge sessions against Gus Hansen and dropping a total of $463k.
The enigmatic Lance84 was the second biggest loser going $332k into the red.
Behind Lance84 was a familiar face in kagome kagome (formerly IHateJuice) who lost $321k. It’s been a miserable year for kagome kagome, down close to $2 million.
The woes of 2011 also continued for Tom “durrrr” Dwan. The poker prodigy originally from New Jersey lost $288k. It’s been a surprising year for durrrr fans as the High Stakes Poker star is down by $2.4 million, more than anyone else.
For more information on the high stakes games this week be sure to check our online poker stats section.
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Mercier Books Back-To-Back of His Own at NAPT Mohegan Bounty Shootout
Incredibly, one day after Vanessa Selbst succesfully repeated as NAPT Mohegan Sun main event champion, fellow Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier did the same in the $10,000+$300 NAPT Bounty Shootout.
Mercier, who has torn up the poker circuit to the tune of $5.3 million in earnings since becoming a pro in 2008, added another $246,600 in prize money with the historic win, joining Selbest as the only other player with two NAPT titles.
He collected $142,600 for winning the final shootout table; $40,000 for winning his preliminary table; $14,000 for collecting seven preliminary bounties; $30,000 for three final table bounties; and $20,000 for winning the overall bounty prize.
He also earned a seat in the next NAPT Bounty Shootout, the location of which has yet to be determined.
In poker's modern era, the notion of a repeat champion is almost unheard of.
But when Mercier beat newly minted Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov heads-up, leaving him with $68,000 in prize money, he became the second player to do so at Mohegan Sun in as many days.
While PokerStars now claims the longstanding PokerStars Caribbean Adventure as part of the North American Poker Tour, the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut and the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles were the only two original stops in the NAPT's first season last year.
In February, PokerStars and the NAPT pulled sponsorhip from its return to L.A. to avoid the ire of California gaming officials, leaving the Mohegan Sun as the only other stop on the NAPT.
This year's Mohegan Sun Bounty Shootout attracted 78 players, generating a $780,000 prizepool.
Here's how the final table finished up:
1 Jason Mercier $246,600
2 Eugene Katchalov $68,000
3 Michael Pesek $70,000
4 Jonathan Jaffe $54,000
5 Taylor von Kriegenbergh $44,000
6 Jimmie Guinther $42,000
7 Scott Blackman $44,000
8 Micah Raskin $46,000
9 Joe Sweeney $52,000
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ANZPT Draws Big in Sydney
The AUD$2,200 ANZPT Sydney main event was a near sell-out with 393 players getting in on the action over two starting days.
In total, an AUD$786,000 prizepool was created with $195,714 reserved for first.
The star studded field included 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Joe Hachem, his brother and 2009 and 2010 ANZPT Player of the Year Tony Hachem, Aussie Millions champions David Gorr and Tyron Krost and APPT and ANZPT champion Grant Levy.
Headed into Day 3 Saturday just 49 players remain, four spots from the money.
PokerStars Qualifier Josh Barrett is the current chipleader.
The event will play down to the final nine Saturday and a new ANZPT Sydney champ will be crowned Sunday.The Australia New Zealand Poker Tour drew quite a crowd to The Star City Poker Room in Sydney this week.
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Qualifier’s Corner: Register Now!
Every week we’re going give you a rundown of the best satellites our online poker partners are running.
The satellites will be low buy-in, high buy-in and everything in between. We’ll also highlight huge tournaments as well as Sit & Go step programs.
In addition we’ll also give you our PokerListings’ pick of the week, which will be a particularly value-packed satellite.
This week we’ll kick things off by taking a look at the various offers from 888poker, William Hill and Cake Poker.
888poker
888poker has a variety of ways to satellite into the 2011 WSOP including a seriously simple steps program. Their steps program includes MTTs, Sit & Goes and rebuy tournaments. To sign up go to our 888poker review.
Main Event Steps (Daily)
Step 1
Buy-in: $5.50
One in five players receives a ticket into Step 2.
Step 2
Buy-in: $25
One in five players receives a ticket into Step 3.
Step 3
Buy-in: $115
One in five players receives a ticket into the weekly satellite final.
Main Event Qualifier
Buy-in: $525
One $15,500 package to the 2011 WSOP awarded for every 24 players who enter the tournament. Runs every week.
William Hill Poker
To say William Hill Poker has a wide-assortment of WSOP qualifiers would be an understatement with an A and B Main Event qualifying schedule along with side event qualifiers and satellites into the PLO World Championship event. To sign up go to our William Hill Poker review.
Main Event Satellite Structure A
This structure culminates with a massive $535 WSOP Freezeout satellite that takes place every Sunday. The winner receives a WSOP package worth $13,000 that includes Main Event seat, flight and accommodations.
There are numerous feeders into the satellite final with Freezeouts, Rebuy and Add-on and Sit & Goes available. The various buy-ins include $11, $33, $53, $66, $88 and $106.
Main Event Satellite Structure B
The Will Hill Main Event satellite B structure finishes with a $215 buy-in Rebuy and Add-on tournament that takes place every Tuesday.
Once again every winner will receive a WSOP package worth $13,000 that includes your seat, flight and hotel accommodations.
There are a variety of ways to qualify for the final satellite with MTTs, Sit & Goes and rebuy events all represented. By-in levels include $8.80, $11, $13.20, $22, $23.50, $27.50, $47 and $112.50.
Cake Poker
Cake Poker has separated its WSOP satellites into two main categories with Multi-Table Tournament qualifiers and Sit & Go satellites. To sign up go to Cake Poker review.
MTT Schedule
Cake offers two types of MTT WSOP satellites: Rebuy and Add-on and the standard freezeout tournament.
Freezeout Qualifiers
Buy-in: $2.20
One ticket into the next level freezeout awarded for every $16.50 in the prizepool. Satellite runs daily.
Buy-in: $16.50
One ticket into the 2011 Semi Final per $90 in the prizepool. Satellite runs daily.
Buy-in: $90
One ticket into the Series 2011 Final is awarded per $490 in the prizepool. Satellite runs daily.
Buy-in: $490
One prize package to the 2011 WSOP awarded per $13,000 in the prizepool. Satellite runs every Sunday at 4 p.m.
Rebuy and Add-on Qualifiers
Buy-in: $1.10
One seat into the next level R&A seat awarded per $9.90 in the prizepool. Satellite runs daily.
Buy-in: $9.90
One seat into the 2011 Semi Final satellite per $90 in the prizepool. Satellite runs daily.
Cake Poker Sit & Go Satellites
Cake Poker is running Sit & Go steps this year with $2,500 Vegas Spree prize packages up for grabs.
Buy-in: $2
Prizepool includes two Step 2 seats
Buy-in: $5.56
Prizepool includes two Step 3 seats
Buy-in: $15.20
Prizepool includes two Step 4 seats
Buy-in: $41.52
Prizepool includes two Step 5 seats
Buy-in: $114.37
Prizepool includes two Step 6 seats
Buy-in: $316
Prizepool includes two Vegas Spree final seats
Buy-in: $873.33
Prizepool includes two Vegas Spree $2,500 packages.
Super Satellite of the Week: Full Tilt $1k Thursday
Although most of the huge WSOP satellites don’t start rolling until summer, Full Tilt is already offering some massive direct satellites.
Later tonight they’ll be hosting a $1k WSOP MTT satellite with five packages guaranteed. No fooling around: you win, you go to the 2011 WSOP.
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Selbst Goes Back-To-Back at NAPT Mohegan Sun
The Yale arts grad and Law School student turned Team PokerStars Pro outlasted a field of 387 players to claim the $450k first-place prize and become the first player with multiple NAPT titles.
"I have no words to describe how I feel right now," she said. "To be able to defend the title is amazing. They both meant tremendous things for different reasons, but this is really, really important to me."
Exactly one year and two days after claiming the inaugural NAPT Mohegan Sun crown, Selbst beat hedge fund manager and poker pro Dan Shak heads-up and a final table that included NAPT LA champ Joe Tehan and 21-year-old chip leader Tyler Kenney, the younger brother of PCA $100k and WSOP $25 Six-Max finalist Bryn Kenney.
"For some reason, Connecticut and poker agrees with me," she said.
"It's so incredible, I can't even describe it. Every time I leave law school to go and play a poker tournament, I have a joke that my friends expect me to win because I've literally just won every tournament that I've played in Connecticut the past two years."
Shak had better than 70% of the chips in play heads-up before Selbst flopped a set of kings to snatch a lead she would never relinquish.
After winning the title and $750k in 2010, Selbst went on to win the Partouche Poker Tour main event and collect more than $2.8 million in total earnings on the year.
Here's how the final table finished up this year:
1 Vanessa Selbst $450,000
2 Dan Shak $254,000
3 Tyler Kenney $170,000
4 Thomas Hoglund Jr. $120,000
5 Vincent Rubianes $90,000
6 Joe Tehan $70,000
7 Aaron Overton $50,000
8 Steve O'Dwyer $32,330
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Seidel Falls Heads-Up in WPT Hollywood Final
At a final table that included 2010 PCA High Roller champ William Reynolds holding the chip lead and Seidel, recent World Series of Poker Circuit winner Ali Eslami and 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year Tom Marchese all threatening, the relatively unknown Scarborough more than held his own.
He took the lead three-handed getting paid off with a big ace against Reynolds and eventually busted him third to take a 4:1 chip lead into heads-up with Seidel.
Seidel has been the hottest player in poker to start 2011, moving into the top spot on poker's all-time leading money winner's list with $4.3 million in earnings already, including two final table appearances at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the $100K High Rollers at the Aussie Millions, and the $5k Heads Up at the LAPC, plus wins in the Aussie Millions $250K Super High Roller, the $25k High Roller at the LAPC and the NBC National Heads-Up Championship.
However, the veteran pro was unable to collect his second WPT title, falling to Scarborough in just 12 hands.
After the win, Scarborough said he would donate $2,500 to the ALS Foundation for a Cure. The Hollywood Casino agreed to match it.
The $10k event began Saturday with just 97 players, well short of the 143 it drew last year.
Next up for the WPT is the first ever Seminole Hard Rock Showdown Apr. 27- May 2 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Here's how the WPT Hollywood Poker Open final table finished up:
1 Mike Scarborough $273,664
2 Erik Seidel $155,103
3 William Reynolds $110,788
4 Tom Marchese $77,551
5 Andy Whetstone $62,041
6 Ali Eslami $50,962
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Cates Dominates, Wins $192k
Cates, who plays as w00ki3z on PokerStars, played 1,185 hands on the site, switching between heads-up $100/$200 Pot-Limit Omaha and heads-up $50/$100 No-Limit Hold’em.
The majority of Cates’ hands were played against newcomer JayP-AA. Poker fans have been pegging JayP-AA as one of the up and coming stars of high stakes poker but Cates absolutely crushed him last night for nearly $200k.
Cates would go on to take nearly $20k from Isaac “luvtheWNBA” Haxton before finally finishing his night with $192k in profit.
Meanwhile the night did not get any better for JayP-AA, who went on to play Scott “urnotindangr” Palmer and lose thousands more.
JayP-AA finished his night down a staggering $381k and - after a red-hot start this month - is essentially even.
Right behind Cates in profit was the unlikely Erick Lindgren who won $121k on Full Tilt. Lindgren, who is known more as a live tournament pro, has been surprisingly consistent in high stakes online poker this year.
Lindgren is now up $170k in 2011 and on track to record his best year online since 2006.
Some of the other winners from last night included Gus Hansen (+$97k), gavz101 (+$75k), Arbianight (+$65k) and JonCage06 (+$64k).
JayP-AA had a catastrophic night but he had some skilled company as harrington25 (-$225k) and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond (-$113k) had less than ideal sessions.
PrttyBoySwag (-$65k) and Bttech86 (-$61k) rounded out the top five biggest losers on the evening.
Viktor “Isildur1” Blom also had a decent score last night but it wasn’t in the cash games. Instead Blom outlasted all 201 players in the PokerStars $25k Guaranteed $109 Rebuy to win $15k.
Blom will have to win a few more tournaments if he wants to make up for his cash game losses this year. He’s currently down $447k.
For more information on the high stakes games from last night be sure to check our online poker stats section.
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Cartwright Claims Third WSOPC Ring
23-year-old Tennessean Kyle Cartwright earned his third WSOPC gold ring in just the past three months taking down the 2011 Harrah’s St. Louis WSOPC main event.
The University of Memphis graduate earned a career-high $142,290 for the win just 100 days after winning two consecutive WSOPC gold rings at Harrah’s Tunica.
“I feel like I have a small advantage for some reason," he said. "I’m not sure how to explain it, but I think I do."
The $1,600 buy-in event drew 449 players creating a $646,762 prizepool, the largest in Missouri state history.
Not since 2009, when Dwyte Pilgrim recorded 12 cashes, seven final tables and a win in the championship event at Rincon, has a player been so dominant on the WSOPC.
Pilgrim when on to win a major title at WPT Borgata in 2010.
Cartwright held nearly a third of the chips in play to start the final table and wrapped things up in less than four hours.
The next stop on the World Series of Poker Circuit event schedule is Caesars Palace in Las Vegas April 14- 30.
Here's how the final table finished up in St. Louis:
1 Kyle Cartwright $142,290
2 Asheesh Boyapati $87,927
3 Ron Segni $64,249
4 Phil Stelzer $47,705
5 Troy Weber $35,973
6 Chris Viox $27,533
7 Mitch Franks $21,382
8 Steve Goff $16,842
9 Nick Jivkov $13,453
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Ziigmund on Comeback Trail?
Sahamies fired off 503 hands on Full Tilt and added $116k to his bankroll.
Ziigmund recorded most of his hands in a 6-Max $100/$200 PLO game that included harrington25, davin77, gavz101 and Scott “URnotINdanger2” Palmer.
The Finn won several huge pots including a $47k monster when he turned a set of aces.
The win was a long time coming for Sahamies who hasn’t been the same since going on multi-million dollar downswing last fall.
Sahamies lost $2 million on Full Tilt last year and last month he even appeared to give up his Full Tilt “Ziigmund” account in favor of his PokerStars “Ilari Fin” account just to change his fortune.
After last night’s session Ziigmund is only down $155k and could potentially get back into the black this week.
O Fortuna PLS was the biggest overall winner last night raking in $208k. The supposed German Limit specialist is up to over $1.1 million in online poker this year.
Close behind O Fortuna PLS was Full Tilt pro Matt Hawrilenko who took down $154k. Hawrilenko, who won a WSOP bracelet last summer, is having a banner year with $1.7 million in profit despite playing a relatively small amount of hands.
Rounding out the top five biggest winners were Josh Arieh and JayP-AA. Arieh, who used to a member of Team Bodog, won $113k. JayP-AA also won $113k. The upstart has been raising eyebrows all week with his aggressive play.
Meanwhile a miserable 2011 continued for Kagome Kagome (formerly IHateJuice) who lost $235k. Kagome Kagome has been unable to catch a break this year and is now down $1.8 million.
Some of the other notable players in the losing column last night included chipchip (-$192k), EazyPeazy (-$187k), Alex Luneau (-$171k) and Davin77 (-$163k).
For more information on the high stakes games from last night be sure to check our online poker stats section.
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Red Hot Seidel Threatens in WPT Hollywood Final Nine
The $10k event began Saturday with just 97 players, well short of the 143 it drew last year.
First place is worth $273,664.
By Monday evening the field was down to just nine players with Steve Barshak holding the overnight lead.
2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller champ William Reynolds sits right behind him, just ahead of Seidel.
A member of poker's Hall of Fame, Seidel moved into the top spot on poker's all-time leading money winner's list with $14.6 million in lifetime earnings after a blazing start to 2011.
He has already earned $4.3 million this year with two final table appearances at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the $100K High Rollers at the Aussie Millions, and the $5k Heads Up at the LAPC, plus wins in the Aussie Millions $250K Super High Roller, the $25k High Roller at the LAPC and the NBC National Heads-Up Championship.
Seidel has eight WSOP bracelets and a WPT title.
The rest of the final nine in Indiana includes recent World Series of Poker Circuit winner Ali Eslami, veteran pro Allen Kessler and 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year Tom Marchese.
They will play down to a TV final table of six Tuesday and crown a winner Wednesday.
Here's a look at the stacks coming into the 1 p.m. ET start:
1 Steve Barshak 601,000
2 William Reynolds 541,000
3 Erik Seidel 526,000
4 Mike Scarborough 467,000
5 Allen Kessler 226,000
6 Ali Eslami 204,000
7 Tom Marchese 182,500
8 Terry Jacobs 106,000
9 Andy Whetstone 83,500
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Selbst Leads in Repeat Bid at NAPT Mohegan Sun
The feldgling PokerStars North American Poker Tour returned to the Mohegan Sun in Uncansville, Connecticut this week with 387 players generating a $1.7 million prizepool in the $5k main event.
$450,000 is reserved for first.
After three days of play the field is now down to just 24 players with Selbst in the lead.
Well known pros Jacobo Fernandez, Adam Geyer, Steve O'Dwyer, Joe Tehan and Dan Shak all sit in the top ten.
Selbst kicked off a stellar 2010 with a $750,000 win at the first ever NAPT Mohegan Sun main event last April.
She went on to win the Partouche Poker Tour main event and collect more than $2.8 million in total earnings on the year.
The NAPT Mohegan Sun main event will play down to a final table of eight Tuesday and crown a winner Wednesday.
For more on the 2011 NAPT Mohegan Sun main event click through to PokerListings' NAPT Live Updates.
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SuperStar Showdown: Blom Pounds Palmer
Blom overwhelmed Scott “urnotindangr” Palmer on PokerStars last night, beating the elite pro for $66,607 in 2,500 hands.
Once again the pair played $50/$100 No-Limit Hold’em but it took just a few hands for Blom to erase the slim $5,000 lead Palmer picked up last Sunday.
Unlike previous sessions Blom took the lead early and held on for the entire session.
The Swedish poker prodigy did have his share of good fortune with several huge coolers throughout the session.
One of the biggest earlier hands saw Blom flop a full house against Palmer, who turned a straight. Suffice to say all the money went in the middle and Blom took it down.
About two hours into the session Blom also managed to flop a nut-flush against Palmer who flopped a queen-high flush. Once again all the money went in the middle and Isildur1 raked the pot.
After 1,750 hands Blom was leading by $78k and looking nearly unstoppable as the biggest hand of the session occurred.
Once again Blom got some help from the board as he turned a full house against Palmer who merely turned trips. Blom bet, Palmer raised and Blom re-raised.
Palmer called and a meaningless deuce peeled off deck. Blom didn’t fool around and immediately shoved for his last $8,250 creating a $47k pot.
Palmer eventually called only to see he was dead in the water. After scooping the pot, Blom was up to over $100k in profit.
In the final 500 hands Palmer fought hard to get even but simply couldn’t overcome his massive deficit.
Palmer narrowed the gap between them to $66k but that’s as close as he would come to beating Isildur1.
Both players offered a curt “gg” in the chatbox before heading off to search for more online poker action.
With the win Blom moves to 6-3 in the SuperStar Showdown if you count each individual session.
He has wins against Dan “jungleman12” Cates, Daniel Negreanu, Tony G, Eugene Katchalov, an online qualifier and now Scott Palmer.
He also has losses against Negreanu and Palmer. Isaac Haxton is the only player to beat him without also recording a loss.
PokerStars has yet to reveal a new challenger for Isildur1 but there’s a good chance the player will be announced in the coming week.
For more hands from the latest SuperStar Showdown be sure to check our online poker stats section.
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Selbst Eyes Repeat at NAPT Mohegan Sun
After lifting its name from a planned Los Angeles event in February, the NAPT returned to the Mohegan Sun in Uncansville, Connecticut this week - now the only stop on the tour outside of the longstanding PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the place where Selbst took home $750,000 and an NAPT title last April.
The $5,000 main event kicked off Saturday with 387 players generating a $1.7 million prizepool with $450,000 reserved for first.
After two days of play the field is now down to just 74 players with Selbst sitting sixth in chips heading into Day 3 Monday.
The current chip leader is American Aaron Overton while Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin, who won the event the NAPT pulled its name from in L.A., also sits in the top ten.
For more on the 2011 NAPT Mohegan Sun main event click through to PokerListings' NAPT Live Updates.
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The Sunday Scoop: diegoaiz Does It Again
The Argentine blew past a field of 8,273 to claim $243,396.43 and a second Sunday Million title. His first win came back in September 2008.
diegoaiz beat tonho32 ($177,869.50) heads up after LennanAlm ($124,095.00) took third.
PokerStars also played host to a guarantee smashing Sunday Warm-up that saw 4,634 create a $926,800.00 prize pool pushing way past the $750k promised.
narbe86 ($145,398.49) and RunThisTable ($107,972.20) finished one-two in that one.
However, the biggest tournament of the day was held over on Full Tilt.
The usual $750k Guaranteed was a $1.5 Million Guaranteed this week and drew some relatively big numbers.
Some 9,612 players registered, creating a $1,922,400 prize pool that paid 1,080 spots.
In the end, Mr Boogerz took the title and $307,584 first-place prize while Caio Brites ($211,464), Toty0611 ($149,947.20) and BeckReloaded ($109,576.80) all earned six figures.
Meanwhile, the online poker site's Sunday Brawl drew a repectable 2,676 with Exan13 taking home the $108,645.60 first-place prize.
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