Posts Tagged ‘Australia’
Phil Hellmuth Dancing with the Stars Rumors Build
A cryptic Tweet from Phil Hellmuth’s agent regarding the upcoming year has many in the poker world scurrying to figure out what the “Poker Brat’s” moves will be in 2011.
Brian Balsbaugh, the top man at Poker Royalty and the agent for the 11-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, accelerated the speculation on Thursday with a chirp on Twitter. “If you think @Phil_Hellmuth is great TV, you’re gonna love 2011,” was the simple statement from Balsbaugh. This has led to speculation that Hellmuth may be stepping into more mainstream television programming than he has previously.
Hellmuth himself spurred the discussion when, on the same day as Balsbaugh’s announcement, he chimed in over Twitter with his own mysterious Tweet. “Amazing 24 hours for me,” the former UB.com pro stated on Thursday. “Multiple great things, but cannot Tweet about it yet… 1 cool thing: going to week long VIP parties at Super Bowl!”
Part of the speculation is that Hellmuth may land on one of the biggest reality shows on American television, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Hellmuth gushed about the possibility in December over his Twitter account: “OMG! Phil Hellmuth (me!) on ‘Dancing with the Stars!’ Outrageous! Might make a fool out of myself on worldwide television one more time.” If Hellmuth is headed to the dance floor to battle for the Disco Ball trophy, rumors around the television industry indicate that he may have a tougher time than he imagines.
Although ABC has not yet announced a start date for the 2011 version of the show, the list of potential competitors for “Dancing With The Stars” is daunting in both star power and dancing ability. Online television blogs, including Telewatcher.com and Sportales.com, have listed several celebrities who are and may be under consideration for the show. One of the names at the top of the list is actress Courtney Cox. The former “Friends” star is currently on the popular ABC sitcom “Cougar Town” and, if her taping has finished for the year, she would likely be available for the program.
Another person thought to be a member of the next “Dancing with the Stars” cast is comedian Tina Fey. The former “Saturday Night Live” head writer and current star of the Emmy winning comedy “30 Rock” could be stepping out of her comfort zone with such a move; it is not known whether her parent network, NBC, would allow her to perform on the show. It would be quite a score for ABC if it were able to get Fey on the cast.
Australian model Elle Macpherson is also rumored to be a member of the next “Dancing with the Stars” cast. Although best known for her modeling career, Macpherson has also made successful forays into acting (she hosts the British version of “America’s Next Top Model”) and business. Others who may be a part of the next cast include actors Vince Vaughn and Rob Lowe.
The producers of “Dancing With The Stars” have made it known that they would like to cast Lindsay Lohan in the next season, but there have been no replies from the Lohan camp. A website for the show is encouraging fans to nominate potential contestants, with teenybopper pop star Justin Bieber, soap star Colleen Zenk of “As the World Turns” and former World Wrestling Entertainment diva Maria Kanellis as the favorites.
The possibility of Hellmuth appearing on the reality show “Survivor” is, for the near future, nixed. The new season of “Survivor” will begin airing on February 16th and was taped in Nicaragua in August and September of last year. As the poker world saw when Jean-Robert Bellande appeared on the show, this would have required Hellmuth to miss WSOP Europe, which he did not do. It is possible – depending on the taping schedule of a late 2011 version of the show – that Hellmuth could take a “Survivor” shot.
Thirsty Poker Player
Isildur1 hits G spot to beat Tony G out of $44,280 – on yer bike!
Aussie poker player necks 42 beers at the table
PokerStars ANZPT Season 3 Taking Shape
The third season of the PokerStars-backed Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour, or ANZPT for short, is taking shape. A total of eight events are on the docket, starting in February with a trip to Adelaide for an AUD $2,400 buy-in tournament from the 2nd to 6th. The event’s field is capped at 200 runners.
From Adelaide, the ANZPT crew will travel to the Burswood Casino for ANZPT Perth from March 23rd to 27th. The stop features an AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event that, like the Adelaide event, is capped at 300 players. Following the sojourn to Perth, PokerStars officials will pack their belongings and head to Sydney, where the Star City Casino will host another AUD $2,500 buy-in Main Event. The Sydney stop is capped at a healthy 500 entrants. You can catch the marquee tournament starting on April 13th; it will crown a champion four days later.
The fourth stop on the ANZPT Season 3 schedule is at the Jupiters Hotel and Casino for ANZPT Gold Coast. The AUD $2,500 buy-in event takes place between May 17th and 22nd and will reach capacity when 350 players have punched their tickets. Following the Gold Coast festivities, ANZPT Canberra will play out at Casino Canberra. The tournament takes place from June 10th to 13th and is the smallest event capacity-wise at 240 players.
Three other ANZPT events are on the books for Season 3. However, PokerStars has not yet announced a buy-in or dates for ANZPT Queenstown, ANZPT Melbourne, or ANZPT Darwin. What is known is that the trio of tournaments will take place at the SkyCity Queenstown, Crown Melbourne, and SkyCity Darwin, respectively.
The first stop in Adelaide features a 13-day festival of poker that includes 16 events starting on January 25th. The richest tournament on the docket is not the Main Event, but rather the AUD $4,000 buy-in Big Stakes Event, which will pan out on February 6th. The series features several strict regulations, including one regarding betting and raising. Text found on the ANZPT website explains, “Adelaide Casino is very strict regarding string bets/raises – it is recommend that players announce the amount of the raise or release all of the chips in hand over the line in one single motion.”
If you have an iPod, leave it at home because the popular Apple device will not be allowed at ANZPT Adelaide due to government regulations. In addition, according to PokerStars, “If you act out of turn and the intervening player bets more, you forfeit your out of turn bet if you fold.”
In October, Danny “Brotha D” Leaoasavaii came away with the win in Darwin, the final stop of the second season of the ANZPT, and picked up AUD $57,000. ANZPT Season 2 Player of the Year Tony Hachem finished 10th in the tournament, adding another AUD $5,000 to his poker bankroll, and Billy “The Croc” Argyros also made the final table.
For winning the ANZPT Player of the Year title, Hachem took home entry into four PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) events as well as either the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event or the Aussie Millions Main Event. Hachem logged 252 Player of the Year points during Season 2 and edged out John Maklouf, who accrued 233. Amazingly, the top 51 players on the ANZPT Season 2 Player of the Year leaderboard hailed from Australia.
Here is the preliminary schedule for Season 3:
ANZPT Adelaide: Adelaide Casino
AUD $2,400 buy-in
February 2nd to 6th
ANZPT Perth: Burswood Casino
AUD $2,500 buy-in
March 23rd to 27th
ANZPT Sydney: Star City Casino
AUD $2,200 buy-in
April 13th to 17th
ANZPT Gold Coast: Jupiters Hotel & Casino
AUD $2,500 buy-in
May 17th to 22nd
ANZPT Canberra: Casino Canberra
AUD $2,200 buy-in
June 10th to 13th
ANZPT Queenstown: SkyCity Queenstown
TBD
ANZPT Melbourne: Crown Melbourne
TBD
ANZPT Darwin: SkyCity Darwin
TBD
Visit PokerStars for more details.
PokerStars Gears Up For ANZPT 3
The second season wrapped up last week following Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis' victory at the Grand Final in Sydney, Australia, when he got the best of a star-studded final table that included Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th).
Now organizers have confirmed the third season of the PokerStars.net ANZPT will kick off in Adelaide, Australia Feb. 2-6.
Season 2 saw eight events across Australia and New Zealand with a combined prize pool of $4,318,979.
But Season 3 promises to be even bigger with return trips to Adelaide, Perth, Sydney (twice), Canberra, Queenstown, Gold Coast, Melbourne and whispers that more locations will be announced as the tour rolls on.
Once again, there will be a Player of the Year competition rewarding the highest points-scoring player over the entire ANZPT with a sponsorship package to four Asia Pacific Poker Tour events, and either the Aussie Millions Main Event or the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.
Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem has won the title two years running.
As always, PokerStars is planning a series of online poker satellites into the events.
More information can be found on the ANZPT website.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
2011 World Series of Poker Begins May 31st
According to a press release sent on Wednesday afternoon, the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will begin on May 31st, one day after the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, and run for 50 days. The final table of the Main Event will be determined on July 19th, at which point the $10,000 buy-in tournament will once again be paused until November.
Despite constant rumors to the contrary, the 2011 WSOP will be held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go ahead and quote the press release for you: “The event, as has been its norm since 2005, will continue to be held in the Convention Center of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.” Caesars Entertainment has been rumored to be shopping the Rio, located on Flamingo Boulevard off the famed Las Vegas Strip, but so far no deals have come to fruition.
The only tournament whose dates were laid out this week was the Main Event, which will begin on July 7th and include four starting days. In 2010, Jonathan Duhamel became its first Canadian Main Event champ ever after defeating John Racener heads-up. Three-handed, Duhamel was gifted 80% of the chips in play after Joseph Cheong 6bet all-in before the flop with A-7 when Duhamel held pocket queens. The pocket pair held, Duhamel doubled up, and Cheong was ousted several hands later.
The dates for the preliminary events have not yet been announced, but a full schedule will likely come to life in January. The 2010 version played out at the Rio between May 28th and July 17th, with heads-up play in the Main Event beginning on November 8th. The slate contained 57 tournaments including an all-new $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship won by Full Tilt Poker pro Michael Mizrachi.
Other 2010 bracelet winners included British pro Praz Bansi, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Tex Barch, Dutch Boyd, Gavin Smith, WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kassela, and Phil Ivey, who collected bracelet number eight. Ivey took down a $3,000 buy-in HORSE event for $329,000, outlasting a final table that included math whiz Bill Chen, John Juanda, Jeffrey Lisandro, David Baker, and PokerStars pro Chad Brown.
One of the highlights from last year for Poker News Daily was following the high-stakes bracelet bets of Tom Dwan, who nearly won a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, but fell heads-up to Australian Simon Watt. Dwan reportedly had millions of dollars in bracelet bets on the line, but ultimately came up short. Consequently, Mike Matusow told Watt following his win, “Thank you for saving us all millions of dollars! How does it feel to be every high-stakes gambler’s hero? They’re gonna, like, put you on the wall in Bobby’s Room.” Dwan took home $381,000.
In an important change from 2010, the 2011 WSOP will feature “hard stop times.” After 10 levels of play on any given day, the action will automatically come to a halt. The same WSOP press release explained that the number of players remaining in the tournament when 10 levels were completed was irrelevant: “Once 10 levels have been completed, remaining players will have their chips bagged and tagged and return the next day to continue on in the tournament. Regardless of how many players remain in a tournament, hard stop times will be enforced after 10 levels of play.”
We’ll have the latest WSOP headlines for you right here on Poker News Daily.
Tags: 2010, 2011, Australia, canadian, full tilt poker, gamble, Phil Ivey, poker player, pokerstars, Tom Dwan, tournament, vegas, WSOP
December 17th – Weekly News Update
Welcome back to another edition of our Weekly News Update. I’m your host, Sean Gibson, and we’ll be talking about the biggest headlines for the week. Let’s get to the news!
On Thursday morning, Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that the bill introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid legalizing and regulating online poker is dead. A move to add the bill’s language to the tax relief act debated in Congress this week failed to come to fruition.
Pappas told Poker News Daily that a highly charged debate over the tax bill was largely to blame:
“When the tax package fell through and things became much more political for it – not related to our bill – it became clear that another controversial addition to the tax bill could sink it.”
Reid’s bill would have opened the online poker market in the United States to current operators like Caesars Entertainment, which owns the rights to the annual World Series of Poker. Pappas added that hope is not lost:
“The online poker bill that was floating around needs some improvement, so the PPA wants to go back to Senator Reid [in 2011] and talk about how we can improve on his current draft. There’s going to be a renewed focus in the Senate and we’ll be taking some of the legislation in a different direction so that’s it not focused on the Financial Services Committee, where we have a known opponent.”
Party Gaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit, who admitted to violating the Wire Act of Nineteen Sixty-One two years ago, was sentenced to one year of probation by a New York court on Thursday, according to Forbes. He has also coughed up three hundred million dollars and agreed to cooperate in an ongoing Federal investigation.
U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff determined Dikshit’s fate on Thursday and the possibility of two years behind bars hung in the balance. In the end, Rakoff told the court, “I am persuaded that no jail time is appropriate here.”
Dikshit’s admission marked one of the first times that online poker has ever been associated with the Wire Act, which has traditionally applied to sports betting. In October Two Thousand Nine, Dikshit sold his remaining shares in Party Gaming for around two hundred million British Pounds, which amounted to a twenty eight percent stake.
Party Gaming vacated the U.S. market in 2006 after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The publicly traded company has since inked a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Government and forked over a one hundred five million dollar fine.
Last week, PokerStars announced that the mysterious high-stakes phenom Isildur1 had signed on to become the latest member of Team PokerStars Pro. At the same time, a new promotion, the SuperStar Showdown, was launched, allowing all comers to take on Isildur1 in a nosebleed stakes heads-up match. On Tuesday, Isildur1?s first opponent was revealed.
This Sunday at Six PM Eastern Time, Isaac Haxton will put one hundred fifty thousand dollars on the line as he takes on Isildur1 at four tables of Fifty / One Hundred No Limit Hold’em. Haxton is well known throughout the poker community and, in addition to his cash game success, has put together an impressive record on the live tournament circuit.
The matches will last either twenty five hundred hands or until one of the players goes bust, whichever happens first, and the winner is the player who ends up with the most money. Anyone who is willing to pony up fifteen hundred big blinds can issue a challenge to Isildur1 by e-mailing PokerStars.
Full Tilt Poker pro Jonathan “xMONSTERxDONGx” Karamalikis bested a field of two hundred eighty nine players to win the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Grand Final in Sydney, Australia last weekend. The twenty two year old online superstar from Adelaide earned four hundred fifty nine thousand Australian Dollars, his biggest score ever.
The star-studded final table included Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, live poker Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe, and former APPT champion Eddy Sabat. Negreanu, who took a short stack to the final table, was the first to exit after running top pair into de Wolfe’s set of threes. His ninth place finish earned him thirty-six thousand Australian Dollars. By the way, De Wolfe finished in eighth place.
Staying with the live tournament circuit, PokerStars announced details on Thursday for Season Four of the Latin American Poker Tour. The fourth LAPT season will begin in February and has five events on the schedule so far, including stops in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.
The new LAPT Player of the Year awards will recognize excellent performances throughout the season. The awards, much like the PokerStars European Poker Tour awards, will be handed out at the end of the season based on results in not only Main Events, but also most of the side events. The EPT gives trophies yearly to the top overall player as well as the top Omaha player, Mixed Games player, heads-up player, and qualifier. There is also an award given to the country that performs the best during the season.
The first stop of Season Four will be in Sao Paulo. Here’s a look at the schedule so far:
February 16-20: Sao Paulo, Brazil (R$5,000 buy-in)
March 17-20: Vina Del Mar, Chile ($1,100 buy-in)
April 12-17: Lima, Peru ($2,500 buy-in)
June 1-5: Rosario, Argentina ($2,500 buy-in)
August 3-7: Bogota, Colombia ($1,100 buy-in)
Thanks for tuning in to the Poker News Daily Weekly Update and be sure to check back with us every day for the latest in poker news.
Shane Warne Interview with Poker News Daily
Former cricket star Shane Warne has taken his competitive edge to the poker felts recently and is a sponsored pro of 888. He was the life of the party during this year’s World Series of Poker and sat down with Poker News Daily to discuss his newfound passion.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. How did you get into poker originally?
Shane Warne: I played with friends and teammates. It’s a great way to socialize with friends.
PND: Are there any aspects of cricket that carry over into poker?
Shane Warne: The strategy of setting someone up for a play for their wicket and taking all of their chips are very similar.
PND: Who or what has been most influential on your growth as a poker player?
Shane Warne: I get some great advice from 2005 WSOP Main Event champion and good friend Joe Hachem.
PND: Talk about how you became involved with 888.
Shane Warne: I really enjoy the fun and social part of poker. I have a social game with my friends every couple of weeks. I felt 888 represented the fun and social aspects of the game of poker the best. I have been with 888 since early 2007 and it has been a great experience. They are a great organization and a group of people I am more than happy to represent.
PND: You’re known for being a car aficionado. What is the next major car purchase you’re looking to make?
Shane Warne: I think I would like to buy a classic such as a 1966 Fastback Mustang.
PND: You’ve played poker across the world. What place is your favorite and why?
Shane Warne: I enjoy going to Las Vegas. No one knows me, which is great. When I’m walking with Joe Hachem, someone will interrupt and ask me to take a picture of them with Joe. I say, “No worries mate” and I find it all quite amusing.
PND: Tell us how you got started in cricket originally.
Shane Warne: I have enjoyed the game since I was young. During the 1983/1984 season, I played for the University of Melbourne Cricket Club in then the Victorian Cricket Association under 16 Dowling Shield competition. The following season, I joined the St. Kilda Cricket Club near my home of Black Rock. I played in the lower elevens and over a number of seasons progressed to the first eleven. I was then chosen to train at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide.
PND: What was the highlight of your cricket career?
Shane Warne: While there have been many deliveries and wickets over the years that have meant a lot to me for different reasons, it is impossible to go past the “Gatting Ball” back in 1993, as it literally changed my life.
PND: What has been the highlight of your poker career?
Shane Warne: I played in the High Roller event in Melbourne at the Crown Casino a couple of months ago and came in third for $40,000. The winner got $150,000 and I should have won. I got all of my chips in with pocket 10s against pocket eights and the guy hit an eight on the river. I was unlucky.
PND: What advice do you have for aspiring cricket players?
Shane Warne: Work hard and have fun.
Visit 888 for more details.
Jonathan Karamalikis Win PokerStars APPT Grand Final in Sydney
Full Tilt Poker pro Jonathan “xMONSTERxDONGx” Karamalikis bested a field of 289 players to win the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Grand Final in Sydney, Australia over the weekend. The 22 year old online superstar from Adelaide, Australia earned AUD $459,510, his biggest score ever, and outlasted one of the toughest final tables ever played on the APPT.
The star-studded final table included Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreanu, live poker Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe, and former APPT champion Eddy Sabat. Negreanu, who took a short stack to the final table, was the first to exit after running top pair into de Wolfe’s set of threes. His ninth place finished earned him AUD $36,415.
However, de Wolfe’s newfound chips didn’t take him far, as the London pro lost a few pots and then moved his short stack all-in pre-flop with A-9 only to be called by the A-Q of Karamalikis. The best hand held up, sending de Wolfe out in eighth place with $50,285. After Manuel Hansimikali was eliminated in seventh place, Karamalikis busted yet another pro at the table, sending Sabat out in sixth. Karamalikis four-bet all-in pre-flop with pocket nines and was called by Sabat, who revealed A-K. The Q-Q-6-3-Q board was no help to Sabat, who collected $79,765.
Hours later, Karamalikis found himself heads-up with fellow Aussie Benjamin McLean for the APPT Grand Final crown. McLean had a slight lead when heads-up play began, but Karamalikis quickly took control and never looked back. In the most pivotal pot of the match, Karamalikis made the nut flush with his Ks-Ts and got three streets of value from McLean, who had A-K for top pair. McLean then moved his remaining chips in pre-flop with A-6 suited against the pocket fives of Karamalikis and was unable to improve, sending the pot and the title to the 22 year old.
“This is obviously the biggest (tournament) I’ve ever won, by far,” Karamalikis said after the victory. “It’s quite a prestigious title, so I’m really glad to have it under my belt.”
With the victory, Karamalikis became the fourth consecutive Aussie to win the APPT Grand Final. He also moved into the top 10 of Australia’s all-time money list with over $1 million in live tournament earnings. Joe Hachem ($10,962,046), Antanas “Tony G” Guoga ($4,385,948), and Mel Judah ($3,238,391) are the top three Aussie money winners.
Here’s a look at the final table results from Sydney (all prizes listed in AUD):
1. Jonathan Karamalikis – $459,510
2. Ben McLean – $294,780
3. Tom Rafferty – $164,730
4. Peco Stojanovski – $121,380
5. Antoine Amourette – $97,970
6. Eddy Sabat – $79,765
7. Manuel Hansimikali – $65,025
8. Roland de Wolfe – $50,285
9. Daniel Negreanu – $36,415
The 2010 APPT Grand Final saw a significant drop in attendance from 2009, when Aaron Benton best a field of 389 players to win the title. Despite the 100-player slide, the event was deemed a success by tournament staff. “It’s been an amazing series and an exciting time for me and the poker staff at Star City,” said Debra Rillo, Star City Hotel and Casino Poker Manager. “We’ve had some of the biggest names in poker grace our felts this fortnight. Many thanks to all our local, interstate, and international guests and players. I am proud to say that I was a part of this event. Roll on 2011!”
Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle May Return to Amazing Race
On Sunday, the 17th season of the CBS reality series “Amazing Race” came to a close with Nat and Kat becoming the first all-female team to prevail. The duo crossed the finish line in Los Angeles to scoop the $1 million first place prize and, after the credits had rolled, a sneak preview of Season 18 was shown.
The next season of the Emmy Award winning “Amazing Race,” dubbed “Unfinished Business,” will see teams from past cycles that didn’t win compete one more time for the $1 million grand prize. A montage of “favorite teams” was shown and included poker players Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho, who competed as part of Season 15.
Ho and Michelle were ousted in the Netherlands, where high winds on a makeshift golf course and an overly heavy high striker resulted in the only all-female team left standing being eliminated in sixth place. On whether the duo would consider returning for “Unfinished Business,” Michelle told Poker News Daily, “The ‘Amazing Race’ was the adventure of a lifetime. Clearly with how we were eliminated from our season, we’ll always feel like we have some unfinished business and would jump at the chance to do it again.”
About 20 teams were shown in the preview, whereas only 11 or 12 typically take to the “Amazing Race” course. Those who appeared included cowboys Jet and Cord (the runners-up during Season 16), Brooke and Claire (the runners-up from Season 18), and Margie and Luke, a mother and deaf son who finished third in Season 14. Several reality television websites have speculated as to who the teams that will compete as part of “Unfinished Business” will be. One site offered up the following list of 11:
Ronald and Christina: Father and daughter from Season 12
Kynt and Vyxsin: Dating Goth couple from Season 12
Amanda and Kris: Dating couple from Season 14
Jaime and Cara: Former NFL cheerleaders from Season 14
Kisha and Jen: Sisters from Season 14
Margie and Luke: Mother and deaf son from Season 14
Mel and Mike: Father and son from Season 14
Flight Time and Big Easy: Harlem Globetrotters from Season 15
Zev and Justin: Friends from Season 15
Jet and Cord: Cowboys from Season 16
Gary and Mallory: Father and former Miss Kentucky from Season 17
According to an article that appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Amanda and Kris, Margie and Luke, and Mel and Mike will all return. Complicating the matter is an Australian news site that reported teams scuttling around Oceanworld three weeks ago on November 22nd. During that time, Michelle reported via Twitter that she was enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday and participating in a Heartland Poker Tour event in the United States.
Whether the aforementioned list of 11 represents the final group is not yet known. The “Unfinished Business” cycle of “Amazing Race” will be shown in high-definition on CBS, with the kickoff episode airing on Sunday, February 20th. It marks the first installment of “Amazing Race” to air in high-def.
Other poker players who have appeared on reality television series include UB.com pro Annie Duke, who finished as the runner-up to Joan Rivers in the second cycle of “Celebrity Apprentice,” and Jean-Robert Bellande, who participated in “Survivor: China.” Rumors have persisted that a poker player will appear in the upcoming 22nd cycle of “Survivor,” although an official cast list has not yet been revealed. The finale of “Survivor: Nicaragua,” the 21st running of the CBS program, airs on Sunday night.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest.
The Sunday Grind: NBA Jammin’
Karamalikis Wins, Negreanu Ninth at APPT Grand Final
"This is obviously the biggest (tournament) I've ever won, by far," Karamalikis said. "It's quite a prestigious title, so I'm really glad to have it under my belt."
The 22-year-old from Adelaide, Australia collected the AUD$459,510 first-place prize outlasting major stars like Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu (9th), WSOP, WPT and EPT Triple Crown winner Roland de Wolfe (8th), and 2008 APPT Macau Champ Eddy Sabat (6th)
Karamalikis became the fourth consecutive Aussie to win the APPT Grand Final and is now in the top ten on Australia's all-time money winners list.
The APPT Sydney Grand Final drew 289 players creating a AUD$1,734,000 prize pool.
Here's how the final table finished up.
1 Jonathan Karamalikis AUD$459,510
2 Benjamin McLean AUD$294,780
3 Tom Rafferty AUD$164,730
4 Peco Stojanovski AUD$121,380
5 Antoine Amourette AUD$97,970
6 Eddy Sabat AUD$79,765
7 Manuel Hansimikali AUD$65,025
8 Roland de Wolfe AUD$50,285
9 Daniel Negreanu AUD$36,415
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
2010 PokerStars.net APPT Sydney Day 4: Karamalikis Shows ‘Em Who’s Boss!
Unleashed Poker Offers Special Holiday Promotions
Unleashed Poker is looking to hand out presents to all their players this holiday season. Players on the site will have the opportunity to earn numerous prizes as part of Unleashed Poker’s Christmas Giveaways. From now until December 21st, players can pick up exclusive Unleashed Poker swag along with high-end electronic prizes. For those partial to Apple products, iPod Shuffles, iPod Touches, and iPads will be given away. These gifts will be handed out to players who are in action on the Unleashed Poker tables.
Players on the virtual felt at Unleashed Poker will earn Frequent Player Points (FPPs) until December 21st; during this time, the points can be used for the Christmas Giveaway prizes. Unleashed Poker will give out one FPP for each dollar raked at the table. Each prize has an associated FPP level.
The grand prize, however, is something poker players enjoy any time of the year: cold, hard cash. Unleashed Poker will be holding its first ever Christmas Tournament on December 21st, which will have a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool. Players can use their FPPs to enter the tournament (if they fall short of an Apple product) and it is expected that the tournament will give players one last shot to their bank accounts for the holidays.
Unleashed Poker is a card-carrying member of the Cake Poker Network. As such, there are five days left to go in the Turbo Gold Card promotion, where players can pick up valuable Gold Cards for playing on the cash game tables at Unleashed Poker. Gold Cards will be hitting the tables at increased intervals throughout the day, allowing players to pick them up simply for being seated. These Gold Cards afford players special entry into tournaments, can be converted into cash, or can be used in the Unleashed Exchange program, where players can swap cards for special events.
Another promotion for Gold Cards is the Match and Win program. Players who have built a healthy supply of Gold Cards can earn money by turning them into Unleashed Poker. Varying in denomination from $10 to $25,000 in cash rewards, this program should help players pay some of the holiday credit card bills come January.
For those looking for some relief from the cold, Unleashed Poker sending a squadron of players to participate in the Aussie Millions in January. Held at the Crown Casino in sunny Melbourne, the Aussie Millions is the first major event on the poker tournament circuit of the year and usually draws some of the biggest names in the game. Unleashed Poker will be offering satellites to the event, giving players the opportunity to get into a prestigious Main Event on the cheap.
Daily satellites starting at $1.10 are running for the Aussie Millions promotions, which will move players into the quarterfinals. Unleashed Poker offers two tracks in the quarterfinals, a $7.70 rebuy tournament and a $11 freezeout event that will send players to the weekly Sunday semifinals. If players can pass through the semifinals, they will be playing on December 19th for a seat in the Aussie Millions.
The winners of the seats during the Aussie Millions Finals will be getting perhaps the best Christmas present of all. Unleashed Poker will be giving out a $14,000 prize package to the winners, which includes a player’s buy-in to the Aussie Millions Main Event, a 10-night stay at the Crown Promenade Hotel in Melbourne, and $2,500 to help with travel to Australia. It would be a great way to cap off the Christmas season for several fortunate players.
So while the weather outside may be frightful, Unleashed Poker is giving players a reason to stay inside and play poker throughout December. To get into the action, visit Unleashed Poker.
Shane Warne, 888poker Giving Away $5k
The 2010/11 Poker Ashes Series will coincide with each match of the legendary series of cricket test matches.
The $1,000 guaranteed tournaments are only available to 888poker members in the U.K. and Australia and will take place Nov. 27, Dec. 4, Dec. 18, Dec. 26 and Jan. 11 at 20:00 GMT.
It costs just $.01 to buy-in and registration opens 48 hours before the start time.
The Ashes began in 1882 and quickly became one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket. England won the last edition of the series 2-1.
To learn more check our 888poker room review here.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
Lock Poker Integrates Sharkscope
Lock Poker announced this week the launch of its new Player Dashboard with stats from Sharkscope integrated directly into its client. The site will now allow players to view their own stats, search for opponents’ stats, and shop at the Lock Poker store all while playing poker in real-time.
“One of our mandates as a company is to provide a superior online poker experience,” said Jennifer Larson, CEO of Lock Poker. “We are determined to take this industry by storm and innovate in every possible way we can. The player comes first at Lock and that will always drive our business development.”
Lock’s new Dashboard has never been seen before in online poker. While some rooms like PartyPoker and Ladbrokes recently introduced anonymous heads-up tables to allow a player’s identity and statistics to remain secret, Lock has taken a different approach in making opponents’ stats available right at a person’s fingertips. Other sites, such as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have prohibited Sharkscope while their client is in use.
Online poker legend Eric “Rizen” Lynch, who was hired by Lock Poker as its VP of Product Development in 2009, posted the official Lock/Sharkscope press release on his blog, saying, “I’m really excited about this partnership and what we can do with it going forward.”
Lock Poker has prided itself on being innovative in this ever-changing industry ever since opening its doors in 2008. The site made a name for itself in March 2009 by introducing the Bluff Online Poker Challenge, which pitted several of online poker’s top tournament players in a one-month bankroll-building challenge. Lynch, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, Jeff “yellowsub” Williams, Ari “Bodog Ari” Engel, Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet, Brett “gank” Jungblut, Brandon Cantu, and Maria Ho were among the participants, but the competition was ultimately won by Brian “SNo0oWMAN” Hawkins in a landslide.
Sharkscope, meanwhile, has become a mainstay in online poker since it began tracking and analyzing online tournaments in 2004. The site has nearly half a billion tournaments in its database and estimates that well over 20% of all online poker players use its services. Despite constant resistance from some of the major poker sites, Sharkscope remains one of the most popular software tools in online poker today and even recently started tracking live poker results.
“SharkScope is delighted to be working with Lock Poker in a groundbreaking partnership that brings our years of expertise in the display and analysis of poker statistics directly to Lock Poker players,” SharkScope’s CEO said. “Players will be able to track their tournaments results, examine their statistics in great detail, and find new ways of increasing their profits, all directly on the Lock Poker site.”
Lock Poker is part of the Merge Gaming Network, which currently ranks 23rd in the world in cash game traffic according to PokerScout.com. The Australia-based site averaged 830 ring game players over the past seven days with a peak of 1,422. Other sites on the Merge Gaming Network include RPM Poker, Aced, and Carbon Poker, which signed actress and poker player Shannon Elizabeth to be the face of its site in June. The Merge Gaming Network accepts players from all over the world, including the United States.
Tags: 2008, 2009, aced, analysis, Australia, bodog, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament
Carbon Poker Launches Mac Client
Mac poker players can ring in the holiday season a little earlier this year. On Wednesday, Carbon Poker will unveil a fully downloadable Mac client. In addition to Carbon Poker, the Mac software will debut across the USA-friendly Merge Gaming Network.
The Mac client has been being beta tested to this point and will now be available for public consumption tomorrow night. Interested players can download the Mac version from Carbon Poker’s website or from other skins of the Merge Gaming Network. There are only a handful of sites that offer fully functional Mac clients, including Full Tilt and PokerStars. Other sites like PartyPoker and Bodog offer web-based clients that have major limitations. However, they still allow Mac users to play online poker.
Atil Singh, Head of Acquisition at Carbon Poker, told Poker News Daily on the eve of the Mac client’s launch, “Having the ability to offer potential customers a Mac version of our software is quite significant. Numerous studies have shown that Apple’s market share in the U.S. has grown to over 10% in 2010 and will continue to grow rapidly moving forward. Our affiliates can now target an unsaturated market of potential Carbon Poker players. There has never been a better time to be Mac-friendly.”
Singh added that Mac players will be impressed with the features of the new Carbon Poker client that will be rolled out on Wednesday: “Beta testing on the new client has gone very well and some of the new features have been especially popular. Tournament lobbies now open in a separate window, full screen mode has been optimized for smoother play, and improvements have been made to the software’s performance on smaller computers and netbooks.”
To this point, Mac users have had to hunt down a program like Parallels or Boot Camp in order to load Windows-based software on their computers. Now, Mac players can download the Merge Gaming software right onto their machines, most likely leading to an increase in player counts. The rollout of the Mac software is scheduled for 7:00pm ET on Wednesday.
Merge Gaming officials have also been jumping for joy this week after Monday’s update to PokerScout.com, which tracks online poker room traffic. The Merge Gaming Network leapfrogged both Everest Poker and the Cake Poker Network to move to #22 worldwide in terms of cash game traffic. According to PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network boasts a seven-day running average of 820 real money ring game players, ahead of Everest Poker and the Cake Poker Network’s 810.
Besides Carbon Poker, other Merge Gaming Network rooms include Aced, Big Bet Poker, Overbet, PDC Poker, PokerHost, and RPM Poker. The Merge Gaming Network is based in Australia and hosts its game servers on the Kahnawake reservation in Canada.
In December, Carbon Poker is holding a $50,000 Grand Prix, which awards cash prizes to players who rack up VIP Points on its felts. The top 500 spots will pay out and a minimum prize of $10 is up for grabs. A total of $50,000 in cash will be dished out during the December promotion, with a top prize of $3,000.
Carbon Poker and the Merge Gaming Network happily accept players from the United States.
Tags: 2010, aced, Australia, bodog, cake poker, Canada, Online Poker, poker player, pokerstars, tournament, usa
Moneybookers Rebrands as Skrill
In a move that has many customers scratching their heads, the e-wallet service Moneybookers has rebranded as Skrill.
Visitors to the popular online e-wallet found an interesting announcement on the company’s website upon arriving last week. Under a banner that stated, “We simply thought it was time,” Moneybookers opened up its announcement by indicating how things have changed in life, such as how books have migrated to e-readers and how no one uses a phone book anymore. Following these examples, Moneybookers announced the change of the company’s name to Skrill.
The new name has several definitions in certain slang dictionaries, but the common usage seems to be that it is a term for money. For the powers that be at Moneybookers, though, the new name Skrill will best describe what their e-business does. “For us it means a safe and innovative way for consumers to pay for their online goods,” the statement on the website explains. “Skrill means flexibility. Skrill means choice. Skrill means reliability and peace of mind. Skrill makes you online safe. Wouldn’t it be great paying for all your online purchases directly from your PC, your iPad, or smart phone? Wherever you are, whatever you do, soon you will… with Skrill.”
The full changeover will take some time, according to the website, and both moneybookers.com and skrill.com will direct users of the e-wallet to the same site. The company explains, “This is a big change for Moneybookers and, in fact, the whole industry, so it won’t happen overnight. But you can still sign up with Moneybookers now to be ready for the future. You’ll get all the usual fantastic benefits and be first in line to upgrade to Skrill when it goes live.”
An e-mail to customers of Moneybookers was posted by a member of the TwoPlusTwo forums. Poster “guesswest” put the e-mail into a thread that explains what current users of the e-wallet can expect over the immediate future. “ For now, it won’t affect you at all,” the e-mail explained. “You will not need to make any technical changes at the minute and your key contacts at Moneybookers will remain the same. At some point within the next nine to 12 months, we’ll be asking you to update gateways with a new logo, but we will be sure to contact you with lots of notice to make this as straightforward as possible.”
“guesswest” assumes that the changeover from Moneybookers to Skrill is a move to take the company further into the online retail business and away from internet gambling. At this time, Moneybookers is prominently featured as a preferred method of payment for several online bookmakers and poker rooms. A quick visit to such sites as Betfair and Ladbrokes shows the site’s logo prominently featured as a method of payment for their services. At the Moneybookers site, other options for usage, such as eBay, Skype, eToro, and several role playing games, are featured.
Moneybookers has a long history as an e-wallet, dating back to its creation in 2002. The company is registered and administrated through the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom, giving the company regulation through the financial laws of the U.K. The company’s main competitors are such sites as PayPal and Neteller.
Most recently, Moneybookers was in the news after ending a “business relationship” with the notorious WikiLeaks, the website that published thousands of secret U.S. government documents regarding the war in Iraq. The company formerly processed donations for WikiLeaks, but ended that association following increased scrutiny from the Australian and U.S. governments.
APPT Crowns First Female Champ
Korean Young-shin Im took down the APPT Cebu main event for PHP 5,810,000 (approx. USD $132,500) after qualifying for the event through a $22 3x Turbo satellite on PokerStars.
The win marked Young-shin Im's fifth cash on the APPT in the last year and a half with her previous deepest run being a 15th-place finish in the 2009 APPT Macau main event.
Michael Fabiano from Australia finished runner-up after Young-shin Im's partner of ten years, Kim Gap Young, took third place.
Considering their relationship, precautions were taken to prevent collusion at the final table.
The APPT Cebu main event drew 236 players to the Shangri-La Mactan Resort in the Filipino Island paradise.
A total of 23 players also entered the PHP 200,000 High Roller event in Cebu. Russian Anton Pozdnyakov booked the win and PHP 1,605,000 (approx. USD $36,500) score there.
Here's how the APPT Cebu main event final finished up:
1 Young-shin Im PHP 5,810,000
2 Michael Fabiano PHP 3,660,000
3 Kim Gap Young PHP 2,045,000
4 Mikael Rosen PHP 1,560,000
5 Daren Yoon PHP 1,290,000
6 Basilios Diakokomninos PHP 1,025,000
7 Jukka Juvonen PHP 805,000
8 Richard En PHP 645,000
9 Raymond Lapitan PHP 485,480
Here's how the APPT Cebu High Roller final table finished:
1 Anton Pozdnyakov PHP 1,605,000
2 Jarred Graham PHP 963,000
3 Kut Fu Chow PHP 642,000
4 Melvin Matibag PHP 481,000
5 Justin Tazelaar PHP 320,920
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
2011 Aussie Millions with Full Tilt Poker
Play in the Southern Hemisphere’s largest poker tournament, the Aussie Millions 2011, courtesy of Full Tilt Poker.
The Aussie Millions is one the biggies in the World of Poker, held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia the Aussie Millions attracts the World’s top players to play their best poker for a chance of an estimated top prize of AUD$2m that’s a huge US$1,968,400! Top wages! (more…)
2010 PokerStars.net APPT Cebu Day 1a: Hinrichsen Tops the Board
Aussie Millions 2011 Schedule
The wonderful world of poker is preparing itself for the biggest poker
event in the Southern Hemisphere, the Annual Aussie Millions!!
The big online poker rooms are starting to announce their programme of satellites, and the size of their prize packages. First off the mark were Cake Poker and Doyles Room, as reported in our topical Cake Poker Review and Doyles Room Review. If previous years are anything to go by other online poker sites will be letting us know how to join them down under very very soon so watch this space for up to the minute reporting – as soon as we know, you’ll know!
So, here’s what you have been waiting for, the schedule for the Aussie Millions 2011:-
| Date | Time | Event | Tournament | Buy-in |
| Thursday 13th January | 7.10pm | 1 | Opening Event - No Limit Holdem Day 1 Flight 1 | $1,100 |
| Friday 14th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | Opening Event - No Limit Holdem Day 1 Flight 2 | $1,100 | ||
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.10pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Saturday 15th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | Opening Event - No Limit Holdem Day 1 Flight 3 (Re-Repechage) | $1,100 | ||
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 6.15am | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Sunday 16th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12:30:00 | Opening Event - No Limit Holdem Day 2 | |||
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 4.15pm | 2 | PokerPro No Limit Holdem Shootout | $550 | |
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Monday 17th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | 3 | Pot Limit Omaha (2 Day Event) | $1,100 | |
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Tuesday 18th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | 4 | No Limit Holdem Shootout (2 Day Event) | $1,100 | |
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 4.00pm | Pot Limit Omaha Day 2 | |||
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Wednesday 19th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | 5 | 8 Game Mixed Event (2 Day Event) | $1,100 | |
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 4.00pm | No Limit Holdem Shootout Day 2 | |||
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Thursday 20th January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | 6 | No Limit Holdem - 6 Handed (2 Day Event) | $1,100 | |
| 4.00pm | 8 Game Mixed Event Day 2 | |||
| 4.15pm | Phase 3 Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Friday 21st January | 10.15am | Phase 1 Satellite | $65 | |
| 12.30pm | 7 | No Limit Holdem - Rebuys (2 Day Event) | $1,150 /Rebuys | |
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 4.00pm | No Limit Holdem - 6 Handed Day 2 | |||
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Saturday 22nd January | 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | |
| 12.30pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 2.15pm | 8 | $100,000 Challenge (2 Day Event) | $100,500 | |
| 4.00pm | No Limit Holdem - Rebuys Day 2 | |||
| 4.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite - Main Event | $250 | ||
| Sunday 23rd January | 10.15am | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | |
| 12.30pm | 9 | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 1 Flight 1 | $10,600 | |
| 2.00pm | $100,000 Challenge Day 2 | |||
| 2.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | |||
| 4.15pm | 10 | No Limit Holdem Teams Event | $550 | |
| 6.15pm | Phase 3 Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| 10.15pm | Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| Monday 24th January | 10.15am | Last Chance Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | |
| 12.30pm | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 1 Flight 2 | $10,600 | ||
| 2.15pm | Last Chance Phase 2 Satellite | $250 | ||
| 4.00pm | High Stakes Cash Game | $200,000 Minimum | ||
| 6.15pm | Last Chance Supershot Satellite - Main Event | $1,150 | ||
| Tuesday 25th January | 12.30pm | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 1 Flight 3 | $10,600 | |
| 4.00pm | High Stakes Cash Game | $200,000 Minimum | ||
| 4.15pm | 11 | No Limit Holdem | $550 | |
| Wednesday 26th January | 12.30pm | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 2 | ||
| 12.45pm | 12 | Pot Limit Omaha | $5,300 | |
| 2.15pm | 13 | Australia Heads Up Championship - (32 Players Max | $10,500 | |
| 4.15pm | 14 | No Limit Holdem | $550 | |
| Thursday 27th January | 12.30pm | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 3 | ||
| 12.45pm | 15 | 8 Game Mixed Event | $10,500 | |
| 4.15pm | 16 | No Limit Holdem | $550 | |
| Friday 28th January | 12.30pm | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 4 | ||
| 12.45pm | 17 | No Limit Holdem 6 Handed | $2,200 | |
| 2.30pm | Australian Heads Up Championship - Finals | |||
| 4.15pm | 18 | No Limit Holdem | $550 | |
| Saturday 29th January | 12.30pm | Aussie Millions Main Event - Day 5 | ||
| 12.45pm | 19 | Feature Event - No Limit Holdem (Bounties) Day 1 | $1,650 | |
| 2.00pm | No Limit Holdem 6 Handed Day 2 | |||
| Sunday 30th January | 12.45pm | 20 | Turbo No Limit Holdem | $1,100 |
| 2.00pm | Feature Event - No Limit Holdem (Bounties) Day 2 | |||
| 9.00pm | Aussie Millions Farewell Party |
Negreanu does a cameo role, drinks with Hellmuth and Matusow and loses with 7-2 offsuit
Daniel Negreanu released his new blog entry recently. He speaks about his cameo role, wet nights at the clubs with some of the poker’s greatest and much more.
“I should be on a plane right now landing in Las Vegas soon, but I changed my flight one more day because I was out really late again last night and didn’t get enough sleep. I’ve been having a good time this month and life is good.”
That is how Daniel begins his blog. You can read between the lines that he is liking the booze quite much.
But of course Daniel writes about other things as well. He tells about his cameo role in a movie called Detention. It is directed by Joseph Kahn, who has made Britney Spears, Eminem and Rihanna music videos.
Daniel tells that Detention is a High School Comedy/Horror and how he laughed hard when he had read the script.
So, Daniel likes to booze up. Daniel tells about his late nights with Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow and Phil Laak.
Negreanu has been traveling a lot lately and naturally he played EPT London as well, but he didn’t play quite well. The High Roller Tournament in London was interesting for Daniel though, as you can read:
“I “played” the high roller but was totally spent by then. Nonetheless, I played a super crazy style and ended up getting unlucky in a pot that may have forced me to try and play my A game. It’s a silly hand, but I had 2-7 vs Erik Seidel on the turn where the board read K-2-6-7 and we got it all in. He had AK and called, and the river was a K otherwise I would have had a ridiculous chip lead in the tournament and may have actually settled down.”
In the future he is going to take a vacation/play poker in December in Australia. Daniel tells how excited he is as he likes the Australian “vibes” and the Australian people.
You can read the whole blog here.
You just read Poker News from HighStakesNews.com
Negreanu does a cameo role, drinks with Hellmuth and Matusow and loses with 7-2 offsuit
ANZPT Melbourne: Kozlov Comes Back
In fact, Kozlov was the second shortest stack on the 37-player money bubble and cracked revered Aussie online pro James 'Andy McLEOD' Obst aces at the final table to help spur him on to the AUD $195,700 win.
The heavily favored Obst, who was named PokerStars WCOOP Player of the Series last month, actually finished runner-up after coming into heads-up with a 5:1 chip lead.
A rising star in Australia, Obst is just 20 and will not be eligible to play in the 2011 WSOP.
Inaugural Poker Star Australian poker reality TV series winner Amanda De Cesare finished fourth in the all Aussie final.
ANZPT Melbourne drew 310 players to the Crown Poker Room for the AUD$2,700 main event.
Next up on the ANZPT is the eighth and final stop of Season 2 in Darwin, Northern Territory. The AUD$2,200 main event runs Oct. 25-30 at SkyCity Darwin.
Here's how the Melbourne final finished up:
1 Martin Koslov $195,700
2 James Obst $124,000
3 David Chilcott $68,950
4 Amanda De Cesare $53,855
5 Benjamin Savage $42,625
6 Kristina Jeney $34,875
7 Ted Nguyen $27,900
8 Rajkumar Ramakrishnan $22,090
Visit PokerListings.com
Sportingbet Releases Fiscal Year 2010 Results
Sportingbet PLC has reported to the London Stock Exchange and its shareholders a solid end-of-year report, showing increases across the board and settling legal issues with the U.S. government over the company’s business activities prior to 2006.
Sportingbet, which owns Paradise Poker, ended its 2010 fiscal year at the end of June. On October 6th, the company reported the results to its shareholders. Andrew McIver, the Group Chief Executive, commented, “This has been a year of significant progress on a number of fronts.”
When compared to the previous year’s results, Sportingbet has to be pleased with the numbers. The company took in £1.971 billion in wagers over the course of fiscal year 2010 compared to £1.577 billion over the same 2009 fiscal year span. This is a 25% increase year-to-year, with similar numbers reported in other areas.
Soccer’s 2010 World Cup was a watershed event for Sportingbet’s wagering customers. During the span of the month-long tournament in June in South Africa, Sportingbet pulled in over £50 million in wagers, helping the company to its financial success. Sportingbet’s net gaming revenues for the 2010 fiscal year eclipsed £207.5 million, a 26.8% increase over 2009’s £163.6 million.
Of critical importance to shareholders of Sportingbet was the company’s recent settlement of legal issues with the U.S. government. After the conclusion of the 2010 fiscal year, Sportingbet entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on September 19th, much like a competitor, Party Gaming, did earlier in the year.
The settlement designated that the company would pay $33 million over the next 18 months to settle any issues that the U.S. government had with Sportingbet’s activities in the United States prior to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006. The settlement could allow for Sportingbet to re-enter the U.S. market once regulation of the industry is passed in Congress.
“Regulation continues to be a significant issue for the industry, both as a risk and an opportunity,” McIver said during the announcement. “(The settlement) is an important milestone for the Group, as the agreement removes any uncertainty caused by its previous activities in the United States.”
To this point in the 2011 fiscal year, Sportingbet has continued its excellent performance. McIver reported. “While the economic outlook remains challenging, our spread of activities across the different economic cycles of Europe, Australia, and South America gives us confidence for a year of further success.”
Although the company does not accept U.S. players, Sportingbet continues to be at the forefront of the European online gaming scene. Through its variety of gaming options – including sports betting, casinos, and online poker – Sportingbet has been able to garner a gross margin of approximately 10.3%, which is tops in the industry. It also has a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the English Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the Sportingbet logo prominently placed on the team’s jerseys.
Win tickets to England’s autumn rugby internationals
Kyle Bowker Leads EPT London with 16 Players Remaining
A payday of ?900,000 is on the line for the winner of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) London Main Event, which is currently taking place in the British city. Sixteen runners remain at the time of writing, led by online poker pro Kyle “kwob20” Bowker, who owns a stack of 3.8 million.
Who is Bowker, you ask? The New Yorker has two PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) titles and is a former winner of the PartyPoker $500,000 Guaranteed. His breakthrough moment in the live arena came after he finished 37th in the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $247,000. In December 2009, Bowker played second fiddle to fellow young gun Chris “SLOPPYKLOD” Klodnicki in the Harrah’s Atlantic City WSOP Circuit Championship.
John O’Shea busted in 17th place from EPT London. The youngster called all-in pre-flop with A-J of spades and found himself up against the A-5 of Artur Wasek. O’Shea, who hails from nearby Ireland, hit top pair on an all-club flop, but Wasek held the ace of the suit to pick up the nut flush draw. The turn put a fourth club on board and gave Wasek the win; O’Shea picked up £21,000 for his deep run.
WSOP bracelet winner Chance “Chances Cards” Kornuth, who started the day as the chip leader in London, 4bet all-in pre-flop with J-9 of diamonds only to run into Bowker’s wired pair of kings. Neither player improved, so Kornuth hit the skids in 18th place for the same £21,000. Bowker surged to over four million chips after the hand, but fell back somewhat after dropping a pot with jacks versus queens against Tom Marchese.
Allen Bari was ousted on Sunday in 19th place. He ran pocket nines head on into Marchese’s wired pair of ladies and no help came on the flop, turn, or river. Marchese sits in third on the EPT London leaderboard at the time of writing with a stack of 2.5 million, but is still 1.3 million behind Bowker.
PokerStars pro Chad Brown finished in 23rd after 3betting all-in before the flop with J-10 of spades. Robert Nulli called with A-K and promptly flopped an ace to take a commanding lead. A running 4-Q sealed Brown’s face and the longtime veteran hit the exit of the Hilton Metropole in London.
The field of 16 players remaining includes former WSOP Europe Main Event winner John Juanda, a sponsored pro of Full Tilt Poker. Juanda last cashed in an EPT tournament one year ago, placing 40th in the 2009 EPT London Main Event. He’s fresh off a quartet of final tables at the 2010 WSOP, including a fourth place effort in the $50,000 Player’s Championship for well over $400,000. 2010 WSOP November Nine member Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi took down the latter event for his first bracelet.
Also still alive is 2005 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Hachem. The PokerStars pro, who is quite literally on the other side of the world from his home in Australia, is the low man on the totem pole with a stack of 530,000. Hachem’s last EPT cash came in 2008 at the Monte Carlo Grand Final.
Here’s how the field of 16 stacks up in EPT London:
1. Kyle Bowker – 3,800,000
2. Per Ummer – 3,077,000
3. Tom Marchese – 2,550,000
4. Rumit Somaiya – 1,973,000
5. Kayvan Payman – 1,700,000
6. Artur Wasek – 1,500,000
7. David Vamplew – 1,500,000
8. Thomas Bichon – 1,436,000
9. John Juanda – 1,385,000
10. Fernando Brito – 1,300,000
11. Steven Levy – 1,300,000
12. John Hall – 1,200,000
13. Robert Nulli – 830,000
14. Matt Perrins – 700,000
15. Jannick Wrang – 597,000
16. Joe Hachem – 530,000
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from EPT London.
Carlos Mortensen to Captain Spanish World Team Poker Squad
Inside sources at World Team Poker tell Poker News Daily that Team Spain, which did not participate in the first tournament back in May, has filed its roster. The captain of the squad will be former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen, who has banded together a team that brings great skills in all aspects of poker. Joining Mortensen on the roster will be the highly underrated Raul Paez, Santiago Terrazas, Oscar Blanco, Cayetano Garcia, and Leo Margets.
Mortensen has spent the last decade at the forefront of the poker world. Since his first cash in a tournament back in 1999, Mortensen has traveled the world as a player, with results that any top pro would be proud to own. At the WSOP in 2000, Mortensen cashed in his first event and, one year later, would become (at the time) only the sixth foreign-born player to win the Main Event. He has added a second bracelet by winning a $5,000 Limit Hold’em event in 2003.
Mortensen’s success hasn’t been limited to just his 21 cashes at the WSOP. He has won three tournaments on the World Poker Tour (WPT), including the 2007 WPT Championship. This win was a significant achievement, as it made Mortensen the only man to win both the WSOP Main Event and the WPT Championship. His victory at the Hollywood Poker Open earlier this year pushed Mortensen to the top of the heap in all-time money winnings on the WPT, passing Daniel Negreanu. For his career, Mortensen has almost $10 million in earnings with his wealth of championships.
Raul Paez has battled on poker tables around the world while establishing himself as one of the most underrated players in the game. His first tournament cash was in 2003 and, since that point, he has cashed in tournaments in the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, England, and the Bahamas. While he hasn’t won on the major tours, Paez has been able to garner six WSOP cashes, two cashes on the European Poker Tour (EPT), and a final table finish in 2006 on the WPT.
Santiago Tarrazas has been in the game just as long as Mortensen and Paez, with a great deal of success in his own right. Although he lacks a major title, Tarrazas has earned a cash in the WSOP Main Event in 2007 and, just last year, finished in third place at the EPT Barcelona Championship Event. Tarrazas has over $650,000 in career tournament earnings from his travels across Europe.
Oscar Blanco has been a terror on the Spanish poker circuit since coming to the felt in 2006. He was the best All-Around Player during the 2006 Campeonato de Espana and, later that year, took a title during the L.A. Poker Classic’s preliminary schedule. Most recently, Blanco was the runner-up at the Partouche Poker Tour’s stop in Madrid, earning slightly over $65,000 for that cash in July. Blanco’s career earnings pass the $400,000 mark and signify that he may be the “wild card” of the Spanish team, as opponents may not have any prior history with him.
Cayetano Garcia is the oldest player on the squad, but his years on the tables have provided him with excellent skills. Although his tournament results only date back to 2007, Garcia has made the most of his time with a championship on the Spanish Poker Tour in 2008 and a seventh place finish in 2009 at the WPT Spanish Championship. 2010 has been the best year of Cayetano’s short tournament poker career, with roughly $82,000 in cashes as a part of his $250,000-plus career earnings.
Since making her mark as the “Last Woman Standing” in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, 888 Poker’s Leo Margets has continued to impress fans and opponents with her success on the tables. She made the final table of this year’s Aussie Millions $2,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament and earned another cash in a similar tournament at the WSOP. Margets has over $476,000 in tournament earnings and continues to be in the hunt for her first major title.
In December, the latest World Team Poker event is expected to run, although a location and date have yet to be determined. Team Spain will face an uphill battle against teams from the United States, Australia, and Canada. In the inaugural World Team Poker event, Team China, led by captains Johnny Chan and David Chiu, took down the title.
Poker News in Brief: Sep. 27- Oct. 3, 2010
So busy, in fact, the PokerListings news team may have let a few stories slip through the cracks.
Fortunately, we've collected them all in our weekly Poker News in Brief feature below.
This week, UB gives away Anthrax tickets, Cake offers some fun in the sun, an Italian wins the latest PokerStars IPT stop and a whole lot more.
Irish Masters Last Chance
Paddy Power Poker is giving players one last chance to qualify for the Irish Winter Festival.
The site’s final group of online super satellites for the Irish Masters will guarantee a specific number of Irish Masters entries, including 20 packages up for grabs Oct. 10.
The IWF Last Chance Saloon will run through Oct. 21.
"The Last Chance Saloon satellites have always been a favorite for our players but now there's an even bigger incentive to get involved with an enormous 60 seats guaranteed over the 12 day period." said Paddy Power, Communications Manager for paddypowerpoker.com.
The Irish Winter Festival 2010 will take place in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin Oct. 22-25.
UB Anthrax Giveaway
UB has branded Anthrax frontman and Team UB pro Scott Ian’s tour bus and is giving away two tickets to every concert on the Anthrax tour through Oct. 21.
At 1 p.m. local time at each tour stop, UB will ask followers to throw a specific picture up on the UB Facebook wall. Fans will have 90 minutes to do so and a winner will be randomly selected to receive the tickets.
UB shwag is also up for grabs for the first three people to post a picture of themselves standing in front of the tour bus on each stop.
Titan Sending Winners to Vienna, Marrakech
Titan Poker is offering players the chance to win seats in the DeepStack Open Vienna 2010 and DeepStack Open Marrakech 2010.
Titan Poker is hosting an online qualifier satellites series to both events, with Stage 3 Sit & Go satellites starting from €0.22 + 0.02.
Packages include cash for flights, accommodations and buy-ins.
The DeepStack Open Vienna 2010 tournament will be held at the Montesino Casino in Vienna, Austria, Oct. 14-17, while the DeepStack Open Marrakech 2010 tournament will be held at the Casino de Marrakech in Morocco, Nov. 20-22.
UB Gets Low
October promises to be a boon for low-limit online poker players on UB.
Tagged as the Perfect Play, UB's month-long line-up of micro-stakes tourneys and contests is offering up to $100,000 in prizes to small stakes players.
There is a wide range of promos including a tournament leaderboard, deposit bonus; double loyalty rewards points on designated cash game tables and more.
For more information check out UB.
Cake Offers Punta Cana, Aussie Millions Seats
Cake Poker is running satellites for the Punta Cana Poker Classic and the 2011 Aussie Millions this month.
The $250,000 guaranteed Punta Cana Poker Classic is set for Nov. 10-14 in the Dominican Republic and Cake is offering the chance to win a $3,100 prize package, including the $1k buy-in, $1,000 in cash to help with travel expenses and four nights hotel accommodations at the Moon Palace Hotel and Casino,
Plus, Cake is also offering seats to the 2011 Aussie Millions held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia this January.
These $14,000 packages include the main event buy in, ten-nights at Crown Promenade and $2,500 for travel expenses.
"With the weather turning cooler, we're all thinking about getting away to warm places,” said Cake Card Room Manager Lee Jones “Punta Cana and Melbourne, Australia have great weather with fantastic poker action.”
For more information check out Cake Poker.
Italian Wins IPT Nova Gorica
A 23 year-old Italian took down the PokerStars Italian Poker Tour Nova Gorica main event Tuesday.
Luca Topazio, whose previous best cash was for €2k at a tournament in Sharm el Sheikh, got the better of the 384-player field to collect a €190,000 first-place prize.
He beat fellow Italian Luciano Prevedello Dellisanti heads-up, leaving Dellisanti with €120,000 for second.
Sixty-one players won their seats to the event on PokerStars and with 384 players total; the prize pool reached €744,960.
The next stop in the IPT’s second Season is in San Remo Oct. 13-19.
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