PokerStars UKIPT Season 2 Schedule Announced

Nine cities will play hosts to tournaments as part of Season 2 of the PokerStars U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour, more commonly called the UKIPT. The first cycle of the tour is wrapping up now in London in conjunction with the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) stop in the British capital.

Newly minted PokerStars pro Liv Boeree, who parted ways with UB.com before the start of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas, will play a major role promoting and participating in the second season of the UKIPT when it gets underway in December. Boeree commented in a press release distributed by PokerStars on Friday, “I can’t wait to play the UKIPT this year as a Team PokerStars Pro. The first stop in Galway is sure to have a stellar field and a huge prize pool, so it would be great to kick off the season with a win there!”

The €1,000 + 100 UKIPT Galway poker tournament begins on December 2nd and will crown a champion three days later. The prize pool is guaranteed to be €250,000 and the field is capped at 400 entrants. If a trip to Galway sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend, then head to the Radisson Hotel in the Irish city and take your spot.

Two new venues will be featured as part of Season 2. The first is actually the fourth stop on the UKIPT, Cork, Ireland. The host casino has not yet been determined for UKIPT Cork, which will take place from May 19th to 22nd of next year. The tournament is slated to have a buy-in of €500 + 60 along with a €100,000 guaranteed prize pool. If you’re unfamiliar with Cork, it’s the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island’s third most populous city.

One month following UKIPT Cork, the tournament series will come to Newcastle for the first time. The Aspers Casino will play host to the event, which comes with a price tag of £500 + 50. UKIPT Newcastle will take place from June 16th to 20th and is capped at 400 runners.

Enough with the suspense! It’s time to unveil the Season 2 schedule for the PokerStars-backed UKIPT:

UKIPT Galway
Radisson Hotel
€1,000 + 100 buy-in
December 2nd to 5th, 2010
€250,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Nottingham
Dusk Till Dawn
£500 + 60 buy-in
February 11th to 14th, 2011
£200,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Manchester
G Casino
£500 + 50 buy-in
March 10th to 14th, 2011
£200,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Cork
Venue TBD
€500 + 60 buy-in
May 19th to 22nd, 2011
€100,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Newcastle
Aspers Casino
£500 + 50 buy-in
June 16th to 20th, 2011
£100,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Brighton
Rendezvous Casino
£500 + 50 buy-in
July 14th to 18th, 2011
£100,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Edinburgh
The Corn Exchange
£500 + 50 buy-in
August 11th to 15th, 2011
£200,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT Dublin
Venue TBD
€500 + 60 buy-in
September 8th to 11th, 2011
€250,000 Guaranteed

UKIPT/EPT London
Metropole
Dates, Buy-In, and Guarantee TBD

In addition to the UKIPT and EPT, PokerStars also puts on events as part of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Russian Poker Tour (RPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), and Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), among others. Visit PokerStars for full details and to qualify for UKIPT Season 2 events.

PokerStars Announces Schedule for APPT Cebu

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room and sponsor of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), has announced the return of a stop in Cebu, Philippines for its fourth season. The series will take place at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa for a five-day Main Event from November 12 to 16, along with a string of side events.

“We’re delighted to be taking the APPT back to the Philippines, and Cebu in particular,” said Jeffrey Haas, President of the APPT. “The Tour has gone from strength to strength in its relatively short life and fields are growing all the time. Last year’s event in Cebu was a definite highlight and offered further evidence of the continued passion for poker in the Asia Pacific region.”

The tour had a hugely successful debut in Cebu last year, drawing 319 players for the 100,000 Pesos (approximately $2,165 USD) Main Event to create a prize pool of more than $630,000. The tournament was won by Korea’s Dong-bin Han, who collected $156,722 and became only the second Asia-based player to win an APPT Main Event. The 37-year-old bested a tough field that included PokerStars Team Pros Bryan Huang, Tae Jun Noh, Raymond Wu, Tony Hachem, and Celina Lin.

Lin, who won the Red Dragon event at the Macau Poker Cup in July 2009, is excited to return to Cebu for another year: “The five-star resort, with wonderful beaches, spas, and restaurants, is one of the most idyllic places I’ve ever played poker. Cebu is a beautiful destination and the poker tournament itself was also fierce and fun. It will be even better this time!”

The APPT has already held the first three legs of Season 4. APPT Manila took place in the Philippines in March and was followed by APPT Macau at Casino Grand Lisboa in May. APPT Auckland in New Zealand panned out earlier this month. The APPT Grand Final in Sydney, Australia will take place at the Star City Casino from December 7 to 12.

APPT Cebu kicks off Wednesday, November 11 with a PHP 5,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Here’s a look at the full 2010 PokerStars APPT Cebu Cup Schedule (buy-ins in Philippine Pesos):

Wednesday, November 11: PHP 5,000 Cebu Cup Day 1A (PHP 1,000,000 Guarantee)
Thursday, November 12: PHP 5,000 Cebu Cup Day 1B
Friday, November 12: PHP 100,000 APPT Main Event Day 1A
Friday, November 12: PHP 20,000 No Limit Hold’em
Saturday, November 13: PHP 100,000 APPT Main Event Day 1B
Saturday, November 13: PHP 20,000 No Limit Hold’em KO Bounty
Saturday, November 13: PHP 5,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em
Sunday, November 14: PHP 10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
Sunday, November 14: PHP 30,000 Pot Limit Omaha
Monday, November 15: PHP 40,000 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed
Monday, November 15: PHP 200,000 High Roller Event (Two-Day)
Tuesday, November 16: PHP 20,000 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack

Visit PokerStars for full details.

The Sunday Scoop: Marchese Nearly King

The NAPT Venetian winner outlasted 1,336 players before finally falling short to Wolf_holdem in heads-up play.

Fortunately for Marchese the pair decided to chop and Wolf_holdem only took down $52,264 for the outright win while Marchese still earned $44,000.

Marchese was the most notable player to go deep in a Full Tilt tournament on Sunday but the real highlight was the amount of cash that was awarded.

The Full Tilt $750k Guaranteed was upped to $1 million this week and 2,082 players bought into the contest. Eventually justgoforbroke walked away with first place and $150,130 although there was a four-way chop in place.

The Sunday Brawl drew 2,637 players to create a prizepool of $527,400. dmon188 finished first and took the biggest chunk of the prizepool worth $99,963.

Meanwhile all of PokerStars regular Sunday tournaments were replaced by World Championship of Online Poker events.

Three WCOOP winners were crowned on Sunday including most notably online player RaiseOnce who outlasted 31 players in the prestigious Event 39 $25,000 buy-in high roller heads-up event.

RaiseOnce made it further than established stars such as Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Sorel Mizzi to eventually take down a first place prize of $348,750. Not bad for winning a few heads-up matches.

Australian Money_1985 won Event 41 $215 No-Limit Hold’em for a haul of $282,798. Lex “RaSZi” Veldhuis notably came in 19th place just missing out on the final table.

Event 38, a smaller two-day $530 No-Limit Hold’em heads-up contest, also wrapped up yesterday with SixthSenSe19 the ultimate survivor for $100,000. Scott “BigRiskky” Clements came in seventh place for $18,600.

Finally on UB Poker a total of 924 players bought into the $200k Guaranteed to create a small overlay. LVZARDOS won first place for $40,000 while Adam “ROOTHLUS” Levy came in 13th place, narrowly missing out on the final table fun.

NZ Hip Hop Mogul Crowned APPT Champ

The 40-year-old music mogul pushed past a field of 218 players at SKYCITY Auckland to collect the NZD $170,000 first-place prize.

"This is awesome, you know," Leaoasavaii said. "This is the ultimate competition for us in New Zealand. We look forward to this every year. SKYCITY is an awesome place, you know. We come here regularly just to play and work on our craft."

Leaoasavaii beat Aussie PokerStars Qualifier Tom Grigg heads up and a final table that included two other players each from Australia and New Zealand.

"There are some really good poker players in New Zealand," Leaoasavaii said "We just don't get the opportunity to travel as much as everybody else."

A total of 92 players qualified for the event on PokerStars and the 218 entrants created a NZD $654,000 prize pool.

Below are the payouts from the final table.

1 Danny 'Brotha D' Leaoasavaii $170,000

2 Tom Grigg, PokerStars Qualifier $107,900

3 Srdjan Mitrovic $60,500

4 Danny Silk $49,050

5 Tamas Lendvai $40,900

6 Ropati Toleafoa $34,300

7 Santi Soriano Ramos $27,800

8 Noah Vogelman $21,250

9 Leo Boxell $16,350

Internet Gambling Payment Processor Daniel Tzvetkoff Released on Bail

In breaking news from New York, Intabill head Daniel Tzvetkoff has been released on bail, according to the Courier-Mail newspaper in Australia. In April, he was arrested in Las Vegas on charges money laundering, gambling conspiracy, and bank fraud as part of his role with the internet gaming payment processor.

According to the Aussie news outlet, “The young Gold Coast entrepreneur was set free after a closed hearing before a federal magistrate.” He filed a plea in the case in late August in the legal action brought on by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The news broke on the same day in which former Full Tilt Poker employee Jason “JDN” Newitt allegedly was subpoenaed to appear the Southern District of New York. The nature of his subpoena is not known, but may be related to his lawsuit against his former employer.

Much of the Southern District’s energy in the internet gambling industry has been focused on payment processors, who provide the financial link between online poker players and online poker sites. Tzvetkoff was originally denied bail in New York, according to the Courier-Mail, because a U.S. judge “feared he had hidden money to finance an escape from the U.S. once free.” The newspaper added that a trial is set for June 2011.

Last year, word broke that Kolyma Corporation AVV had filed a $52 million lawsuit against Intabill. The total purportedly consisted of $25 million owed to Full Tilt and PokerStars and $30 million owed to the CEREUS Network sites UB.com and Absolute Poker. The lawsuit was filed in Australia and, at one point, it was reported that Intabill took in as much as $1 million per day.

According to a Dow Jones Newswire report in April, rather than report what his financial transactions were for, Tzvetkoff told the bank they represented “repayments of short-term loans, transfer of funds to prepaid debit cards, and e-commerce purchases.” He was rumored to have owned a house in Sin City and was merely visiting. However, the trip and his past transgressions may cost him up to 75 years behind bars. The 27 year-old filed for bankruptcy in January following credit card charge back issues and the deteriorating global economy.

In another development on the legal front, the Courier-Mail notes that Douglas Rennick, a Canadian who ran into legal trouble for his role with the payment processor Account Services, will be sentenced this month. Account Services was linked to both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. The U.S. Government seized Account Services’ funds last year and, in July 2009, the company filed a motion for return of property. The Poker Players Alliance filed an amicus brief in the case, but Rennick was promptly indicted in August of last year.

On Newitt’s rumored appearance in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, posters on TwoPlusTwo were up in arms as to what the development could mean for the industry. According to TwoPlusTwo poster “Kevmath” and This Week in Poker, Newitt’s presence was due to “miscoded transactions taking place right after the UIGEA.”

Poker Players Alliance New Hampshire State Director Patrick “Skallagrim” Fleming opined on TwoPlusTwo, “This could just be an action against a processor and FTP may not be the target at all. Or they could be trying to tie FTP into some processor’s alleged violations by any number of possible theories of accomplice or conspiracy. Or all my guesses may be wrong.”

There was no mention of a trip to the Southern District on Newitt’s Twitter feed. Tuesday saw him take his car over 5,000 miles on the way home from Chipotle and trade away Arian Foster in fantasy football. Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest legislative and legal headlines.

Online Gambling Traffic Up 40% in UK

Global information giant Nielsen Media Research recently published a study that showed that despite the global economic downturn, online gambling traffic in the United Kingdom was up 40% year over year.

While online poker has without a doubt been popular, it is actually online lottery sales that have been driving the growth.  Topping Nielsen’s list of online gambling sites in the UK was national lottery operator Camelot, which saw its number of unique visitors explode from 4.4 million to 9.4 million between July 2009 and July 2010, an increase of 114%.  According to the Camelot website, national lottery sales were £5.149 billion during the 2008/2009 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2009.  This represented an increase of 3.6% over the previous year.

Party Gaming sits in the eighth spot on Nielsen’s list.  PartyPoker, the company’s renowned poker arm, drew 870,000 more unique visitors than the previous year, an increase of 174%.  PartyCasino saw a similar growth rate, 186%, which translated to 1.2 million new visitors.

Despite these positive figures, having more visitors doesn’t necessarily mean more players.  PartyPoker reported a 12% increase in new real money player signups in 2009 (496,100), but a decrease of 12% in active player days.  The average number of players each day also fell 12%, while the yield per active player day dropped 18%.  The combined dip in active players and yield per player resulted in PartyPoker’s average daily net revenue sinking 28%.

PartyCasino’s figures were better, with active player days and daily average number of players dropping just 6%.  But with the average yield per player climbing by 20%, the average daily net revenue for the casino was up 12%.  PartyCasino turned a much smaller percent of its new visitors into real money customers than PartyPoker, with 103,000 testing their luck with real money.

PartyPoker currently ranks as the third largest online poker room/network in terms of cash game traffic, according to PokerScout.com.  With a seven-day average of 3,750 players, PartyPoker is just ahead of the iPoker Network, which has a seven-day average of 3,500 cash game players.  Neither site accepts customers from the United States.

Some of the more interesting facts that Nielsen uncovered were about the demographics of the UK’s online gambling population.  Almost half of online gamblers make a good living, earning at least £30,000 ($49,717) per year.  Women also make up almost half – 46% – of the online gambling population and many sites are taking greater strides in catering to the fairer sex.

Despite the strong female presence, they are not the ones fueling the gambling sites.  Nielsen’s Neil Beston said, “While the phenomenal growth in gambling sites over the last two years has been driven by men and women of all ages, it appears to be powered particularly by middle-aged men, the well-educated, and high-earning households.”  Beston added that this is a change from historical norms, which had senior citizens and lower income households contributing more to the online gambling economy.

While the gambling firms are likely happy about Nielsen’s findings, not everyone is jumping for joy.  Problem gambling support charity GamCare still has the same concerns that critics of online gambling have always had.  Adrian Scarfe, GamCare’s Clinical Training Director, told Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper, “The internet is readily available, it’s 24/7 and it’s right in the heart of a home. The vulnerable groups are those who are less risk-averse – young people and women, and no one knows if you’re drunk.”

Many online poker rooms, including PartyPoker and PokerStars, have links to GamCare on their websites.

Antanas “Tony G” Guoga – Poker Player Profile

Antanas Guoga, best known in the poker world as Tony G, is one of the most recognizable players in the world of poker. Known for his outlandish behaviour at the table, combined with natural ability, Tony G is one of the most successful Australian players in the world.

Born in Lithuania, Tony moved to Australia at the age of 11, settling in Melbourne. By the age of 18, Tony was playing poker. He immediately created a reputation as being an aggressive player and loudly berating his opponents, one he still deserves today.

The most infamous hand played by Tony G and watched around the world was at the Intercontinental Poker Championship, where Tony went all in pre-flop with As2s again Ralph Perry’s KcJs. After the cards were dealt Tony won the pot eliminating Ralph Perry from the tournament and Tony immediately let fly with insults. “C’mon Russian get out, it’s time to go” and “You’re a professional player and I can do this to you, you’re a terrible player” were just some of the insults heard at the table. Whilst the other players at the table were watching and trying not to laugh too hard, Ralph Perry wasn’t overly amused, but took it like a professional.

Aside from being famous for outbursts like the one against Perry, Tony’s accomplishments cannot be overlooked.

Tony currently sits second for most money won by an Australian player with over $4 million in winnings. What’s interesting about his winnings is he has never won for more than $1 million in a single tournament. His biggest win was $552,539 in May 2009 where he came 3rd in a €25,000 European High Roller Championship. He has had multiple wins in all forms of poker disciplines, from No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and Seven Card Stud. His highest first place was a win at the £5,000 Main Event at European Poker Championship for £260,000 ($456,822).

Tony is also a WPT champion, winning Event #2 of the Bad Boys of Poker Championship, when he outflopped Mike Matusow with Td8d against Matusow’s KsKh.

His World Series of Poker resume has yet to have a bracelet, but he has had 16 cashes for a total of $657,962 with his best result being a 3rd place in the £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event at the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007. On top of his 3rd place finish, he has had 3 more final tables.

These days, he plays the biggest events available on the poker circuit. He has also made appearances on the new PokerStars Big Game cash television show. He also recently won a gold bracelet for a win in an event at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas, which earned him $270,000.

Tony G has a large fan base, with his followers keeping up to date at his personal blog www.tonygpoker.com.

Hevad Khan, Gavin Griffin Out as PokerStars Sponsored Pros?

Given that the online poker community’s collective attention is focused on the ongoing PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), it comes as no surprise that the subject of players missing from the roster of Team PokerStars Pro surfaced on the forums. Among those pros reported as MIA were Hevad Khan, Gavin Griffin, and Peter Eastgate.

Griffin appears on the PokerStars.net website in a thumbnail for Team PokerStars USA. However, when the Team PokerStars USA roster is displayed, he is nowhere to be found. Griffin became poker’s first Triple Crown winner after taking down events on the World Poker Tour (WPT) and European Poker Tour (EPT) to go along with a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet.

His WSOP hardware came in 2004, when Griffin won a $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event for $270,000, besting a final table that included Gabriel Thaler and UB.com front man Phil Hellmuth. Three years later, Griffin was off to the races again, this time after winning the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final for $2.4 million. He defeated Canadian Marc Karam heads-up in a final eight that also featured Søren Kongsgaard, bracelet winner Steve Jelinek, and Irishman Andy Black.

Griffin rounded out the high-stakes live poker Triple Crown by taking down the WPT Borgata Winter Open in 2008 for $1.4 million. Griffin turned heads after the rare feat and posters on TwoPlusTwo questioned the logic of PokerStars apparently not coming to terms with the 29 year-old: “Not resigning Gavin was a mistake, imho. Triple Crown winner not good enough?” Another TwoPlusTwo member added, “The dude’s still got plenty of credentials. I’d imagine his contract came up and they couldn’t agree to a new one, rather than him just getting the boot.”

Khan, meanwhile, burst onto the scene following his lively antics during the 2007 WSOP Main Event. His actions prompted a player celebration rule dubbed the “Hevad Khan Rule” due to his ape-like victory dances throughout the tournament. Khan wound up finishing sixth in the 2007 Main Event for nearly $1 million.

In late 2008, Khan followed up his performance by winning the Caesars Palace Classic Championship Event for an even $1 million, besting a pro-heavy final table that included Michael Kamran, Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar, Adam “A_Junglen” Junglen, and two-time bracelet winner John “World” Hennigan. The following January, Khan won a $1,850 preliminary event during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $200,000.

According to the HendonMob database, Khan has not cashed in a major live poker event since June 2009. Griffin, meanwhile, has just two live cashes to his credit this year, including a final table in the California State Poker Championship in Los Angeles.

The lack of results led some to believe that Khan and Griffin were simply burnt out from the poker grind. To that end, one TwoPlusTwo poster charged, “Am I the only one who got the impression that they just weren’t ever that big into poker? Or at least didn’t seem like they wanted to be doing it professionally for ten or so years? I can’t really explain why, but just kinda how they came across to me.”

During the 2010 WSOP, PokerStars brought onboard David Williams and Vanessa Selbst. Williams, a former Bodog pro, was fresh off winning the WPT Championship at the Bellagio, while Selbst took down the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Mohegan Sun Main Event. The site boasts a high-powered group of former Main Event champions including Tom McEvoy (1983), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Joe Cada (2009).

Eastgate, who won the Main Event in 2008, may also be on the outs with PokerStars after announcing that he’s taking a break from poker. Eastgate is not on the Team PokerStars Pro roster, although, like Griffin, his image still appears in a thumbnail. An e-mail placed to PokerStars to clarify the pro situation was not returned as of press time.

PokerStars has increasingly diversified away from the United States, running live tournaments in Asia, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and Latin America.

Mac Poker Sites More Popular Than Ever

If you own a Mac, then your options for playing online poker on a Mac are growing quickly. Existing rooms are offering a variety of ways for you to fire up the virtual felts, ranging from a fully downloadable client similar to what your Windows counterparts use to a browser-based alternative. The latter – dubbed “Instant Play” by most sites – has become one of the most widely used ways for Mac online poker players to access the world’s top sites. It’s safe to say mac poker sites are more popular than ever.

Web-based clients have a lot of drawbacks, however. On Bodog, for example, only one cash game table can be opened at a time, cutting off Mac tournament players entirely and limiting the potential to “grind.” On UB.com and Absolute Poker, several features are lacking and, although the web-based client receives upgrades, its capabilities are capped. PartyPoker, which does not accept real money action from the United States, was one of the first sites to offer an “Instant Play” option.

Despite its limitations, web-play clients are convenient. Most of them are compatible with Safari and Firefox; just make sure you have the latest version of each browser installed on your Mac. Many Windows and Linux users have even employed “Instant Play” to avoid having to download any software. If you’re away from your home computer or are in a situation where downloading UB.com, for example, may be frowned upon, web-based interfaces provide an easy way to access major sites.

Two online poker rooms, however, have gone well above their counterparts and offered a fully functional downloadable client, the best solution that a Mac poker player can hope for. Surprisingly, the two sites to offer feature-packed downloads are the two largest in the industry and home to a variety of high-stakes pros.

PokerStars

PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site and is home to tens of thousands of cash game players at any given moment. PokerStars is where Main Event champions play, including Tom McEvoy (1984), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), Peter Eastgate (2008), and Joe Cada (2009), all of whom are sponsored site pros.

PokerStars offers some of the industry’s richest promotions and runs two major tournament series annually, the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) and World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). Total prize pools for these have topped $50 million in the past, making for life-changing paydays and challenging competition. PokerStars also sports one of the top customer service teams in the business.

Another reason to play on PokerStars is access to major live poker tournaments. PokerStars sponsors roving tournament series in North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, and the entire European continent. Its signature event is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, held each January in the Bahamas. It’s a prime opportunity for cold weather poker players to make their way to one of the globe’s top tropical destinations and, with a legal gambling age of 18, the event attracts a variety of young guns from North America.

For more information about Poker Stars, please read our Poker Stars Review.

Full Tilt Poker

Play with the pros – literally – at Full Tilt Poker. If you’re looking for the industry’s most recognized professionals, then look no further. Play alongside Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Huck Seed, Erick Lindgren, Phil Gordon, and others at the world’s second largest online poker site.

Full Tilt is a tournament player’s haven four times a year during the Full Tilt Online Poker Series, or FTOPS as it’s commonly called. The quarterly tournament extravaganza attracts the top players in the industry and features a variety of games including Hold’em, Omaha, HORSE, Stud, and Razz.

Full Tilt also is a Mecca for high-stakes players. With David Benyamine, Dwan, Ivey, and Antonius headlining much of the action, Full Tilt has also had players like Justin “Boosted J” Smith and Mike Matusow join its team to liven up the high-stakes scene. The only drawback to playing on Full Tilt Poker – and its fully downloadable Mac client – is a lax customer service team that falls well short of PokerStars’.

Nevertheless, if you’re a Mac online poker player, be sure to sign up for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Both happily accept players from the United States and host games that will fit your bankroll and budget around-the-clock.

For more information about Full Tilt Poker, please read our Full Tilt Poker Review.

Visit Apple.com for more information about Mac computers or to buy your Mac today.

Poker News in Brief: Aug. 9-15, 2010

As a result, there were a few stories that feel through the PokerListings news team's clutches. Fortunately, we've compiled them below in our weekly News in Brief feature.

This week, Katja Thater grabs some recognition, 888 awards a huge jackpot, P0ker H0 gets his own UB event and more.

888poker Pays Largest Jackpot Ever

One South Australian pub league poker player found Friday the 13th to be his lucky day thanks to 888poker. 

Anh-Tuan hit 888poker's largest Royal Jackpot in history at over $190,000 playing on a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold'em table he hit the Royal Flush of Spades.

"When we established the jackpot on 888poker we hoped for big wins for the players and we are excited to see our first 190,000-plus jackpot," Said Gareth Edwards, Director of Poker Strategy at 888.

"We congratulate Anh-Tuan on his victory and look forward to the next set of big winners and jackpots."

The progressive jackpot now starts again at $25,000 on 888's designated jackpot tables where players can choose to place a jackpot bet during play. 

Thater Presented Mixed Game Award

German Team PokerStars Pero Katja Thater was presented the EPT Award for Mixed Game Player of the Year during a break at EPT Tallinn this week.

Thater won the title after an eight-way tie at the end of the season was played out in an online final on PokerStars against competition including EPT Berlin runner-up Ilari Tahkokallio and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem.

The mixed-game Award recognizes achievement in some of the more obscure poker variants, such as Deuce to Seven, Badugi, Triple Stud and Eight Game.

Betfair Live!

Some 260 players descended upon Yalta in the Southern Ukraine for the latest event in the Betfair Live! Series this week.

The $820 No-Limit Hold'em main event saw a $206,804 prize pool pay 36 places with first worth $45,000. Kirill Telezhkin booked the win. 

The series continues later in the year in Portugal with dates and details coming soon.

Take Down a H0

Wisconsin bar owner, radio personality and Team UB Pro Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon is now hosting his own weekly poker tournament at UB.com.

Take Down a H0, a $50,000 Guaranteed No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack tournament, kicked off this Saturday and will run every Saturday at 3:05 p.m. ET on UB.

The event includes a weekly $300 bounty on Kroon's head.

Poker in the Park Tournaments

The Poker in the Park 2010 festival has teamed up with some of the UK's leading poker leagues to put together a two-day tournament schedule set for this September..

The fourth annual poker festival, going off in London Sept. 2-3, will now play host to a series of poker league-sponsored tournaments under the canvas of its Poker Domes.

"Right from the very first Poker in the Park, it was our intention to support the game at its grassroots level and we're delighted this year to be partnering with so many familiar leagues, as well as welcoming some new faces to the table," said event organizer Michael Caselli.

For the full schedule and more information check out Poker in the Park.

ANZPT Gold Coast Heats Up

Darko Balaban maintained the chip lead throughout the day until a massive pot played out on the second last hand.

After getting it all in with queens versus aces earlier in the day and finding a way to survive, Nicholas Wong found himself all in again and behind, but managed to suck out again, rake the biggest pot of the tournament and grab the overnight chip lead.

The Hong Kong native finished with 376,500 in chips and a host of respected pros on his heels, including fellow Hong Kong high roller David Steicke, reigning APPT Sydney champ Aaron Benton and the aforementioned Balaban.

Also in the hunt is Sydneysider John Maklouf, who has made three consecutive ANZPT final tables and will overtake Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem in the ANZPT Player of the Year race by cashing here.

The AUD$2,500 main event drew 287 players to the Conrad Jupiters Casino Gold Coast creating a $717,250 prize pool that will pay 32 places.

$182,965 is reserved for the winner.

Action resumes Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Australia Eastern Standard time.

ANZPT Gold Coast a Record Breaker

All 140 seats and 10 alternate seats were sold early bringing the total field to 287 - Up from last year's 249.

That means a $717,250 prize pool that will pay 32 places with $182,965 reserved for the winner.

2010 Aussie Millions Champion Tyron Krost joined the field Thursday, as did PokerStars Team Australia Pro Tony Hachem, ANZPT Canberra champ and high-stakes cash game pro Jason Gray and 2009 Aussie Millions $100k winner David Steicke.

PokerStars Qualifier Darko Balaban finished at the top of the list of 63 survivors from the day.

They will join the 69 Day 1a survivors for Day 2 Friday at the The Jupiters Hotel and Casino poker room beginning at 11:30 a.m. Australia Eastern Standard with plans to make it into the money or play a full seven levels.

Lonesome Shark Week Continues on Poker After Dark

Six of poker’s most eligible bachelors took to the felts as part of Lonesome Shark week on the NBC franchise “Poker After Dark.” The series airs nightly on NBC at 2:05am ET and each player began with a stack of 20,000 in chips. The winner of the six-man sit and go will pocket $120,000, enough to trick out any man’s bachelor pad.

Newly minted PokerStars pro David Williams raised to 600 pre-flop with pocket aces and Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari 3bet to 1,700 with pocket queens. Williams made the call and the flop came 5-8-8, giving both players two pair. Esfandiari led out for 2,600 and Williams called, bringing a king on the turn. This time, Esfandiari check-called a bet of 4,200 and a ten hit on the river. Esfandiari checked, Williams continued firing, and Esfandiari got out of the way. The pot was worth 22,200.

Then, Williams bet 1,000 with Q-J and the board showing 10-J-6-8. Brad Booth, with 10-9 in the hole, called with second pair and the river was another eight. Both players checked and Williams won his second straight hand to move north of 30,000 in chips. Williams is a former “Poker After Dark” winner and joined PokerStars at the same time as Vanessa Selbst.

With four-way action and the board reading 8-J-7-4, Booth bet out 900 holding K-4 and Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren made the call with J-10 of hearts for top pair. Booth struck gold on the river, as another four hit to give him trips. He bet 1,600 and Lindgren mumbled, “You do bluff a lot,” before Booth asked if he wanted to see one of his cards. Lindgren picked the king and instantly called, shipping the small but entertaining pot worth 5,800 to Booth.

The group of six bachelors shared several interesting stories about why they might not be hitched. Lindgren, for example, told his tablemates, “I always tell my mom that I’m waiting for the right stripper.” Mike Matusow relayed a story about taking his girlfriend to Australia. Matusow flew first class and made his girlfriend camp out in coach because he didn’t realize you could trade a first class ticket in for two business class tickets. Matusow neither wanted to sit in coach nor pay to upgrade his girlfriend to the front of the plane.

Back on the felt, Williams raised to 800 pre-flop with 9-7 of clubs and Booth made the call with A-2 suited to hearts. The flop came 4-9-4, giving Williams nines-up, and he led out for 1,200. Booth called and the turn was a three. Williams once again fired, this time 1,700 in chips, and Booth once again called behind to bring a jack on the river. The action went check-check, sending the sizable 7,850-chip pot to Williams, who was sporting a Bodog logo since the show was taped prior to signing with the world’s largest online poker site.

In the final major pot of Monday night’s kickoff episode, Lindgren called the big blind pre-flop with K-10 and 2009 World Series of Poker November Niner James Akenhead raised to 900 with K-Q. Lindgren called and the flop came K-J-9, giving both players top pair. Lindgren check-called a bet of 1,400 with a worse kicker and an ace hit on the turn. Lindgren checked, Akenhead pushed out a bet of 2,700, and Lindgren deliberated before making a well-timed laydown. Akenhead, a former train conductor, was making his “Poker After Dark” debut and was largely quiet throughout Monday’s episode.

Lonesome Shark week continues nightly at 2:05am ET on NBC. Check your local listings for more details.

ANZPT Gold Coast Poised to Break Records

During the tour's first season, Conrad Jupiters Casino Gold Coast partnered with the Conrad Treasury Casino Brisbane 80 kilometres up the road, to jointly host ANZPT Queensland.

A total of 249 players made the event a huge success.

However, this season, Jupiters opened a 16-table poker room and decided to go it alone as host.

By all accounts, the move was a solid one.

Wednesday's first Day 1 flight of the AUD$2,500 main event saw 137 players hit the felt and Thursday's second is a virtual sellout with 146 of the150 seats already wrapped up.

In other words, a new player and prizepool record will be set for Queensland this week.

2009 Aussie Millions champ Stewart Scott, defending ANZPT Queensland champion Scott Kerr and New Zealand's first World Series of Poker bracelet winner Simon Watt all played Wednesday in a decidedly International field, including players from Australia, Argentina, Netherlands, Japan, New Caledonia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, USA, Brazil and Norway

After 8 levels of play PokerStars Qualifier Shivan Abdine grabbed the chip lead with Kerr not far off the pace.

Team PokerStars Pro Australia Tony Hachem, Bill Argyros, ANZPT Canberra Champion Jason Gray and 2010 Aussie Millions Champion Tyron Krost are all expected for the second Day 1 flight Thursday.

Tony G winds up Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and Roland de Wolfe

Michael Mizrachi Joins Deepstacks Live

One of the first members of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine to make a splash following the final table being determined in July is Full Tilt Poker pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

Mizrachi signed on with Deepstacks Live to teach three courses over the next three months, largely in events held in his home state of Florida. The Sunshine State recently saw its gambling limits eased on July 1st, potentially opening the door for major tournament series to be held within its borders. In addition to “The Grinder,” Florida is home to players like PokerStars pro Jason Mercier and Jason “Jaspuduf” Lee.

In a press release distributed last week by Deepstacks officials, Mizrachi detailed the impetus to joining the popular training outfit: “I had a lot of options after the WSOP, but DeepStacks Live was the right fit for how I play and how I want to teach others to play. They are the most innovative and hands-on training company. The other Team DeepStacks pros I’ll be teaching with include Hall of Famers and poker legends, guys who I’ve really respected for a long time, and joining their team was a no-brainer for me.”

DeepStacks CEO Chris Torina, who was instrumental in bringing “The Grinder” onboard, touted the arrival of Mizrachi to Deepstacks Live’s team of sponsored pros. Torina commented in the same release, “DeepStacks Live has the best instructors in the business. Adding ‘The Grinder’ just distances us even further from everyone else in the arena. He’s a true champion and it’s a boost to poker players all over the country that they’ll be able to learn from him.” Deepstacks Live has tweaked its courses with the opening of the Florida poker market in mind.

To say that Mizrachi turned in a historic 2010 WSOP would be an understatement. He won the $50,000 Player’s Championship, a tournament that recently aired on ESPN, and earned $1.6 million. He defeated Russian poker player Vladimir Shchemelev heads-up in the five-figure buy-in event and sent his brother, Robert Mizrachi, packing in fifth place.

“The Grinder” wasn’t done there, however, recording two more final tables in two $10,000 events en route to a 2010 WSOP November Nine birth. He finished sixth in the Seven Card Stud World Championship for $69,000 and landed in eighth in the Limit Hold’em World Championship for another $49,000. In the Main Event, Mizrachi is guaranteed a minimum of $811,000, with a top prize of $8.9 million on the line. His career WSOP earnings will top $3 million when the Main Event concludes.

Mizrachi’s only session with Deepstacks Live that has been announced so far will be held on September 10th at the Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The cash game session comes with a $495 price tag and will also feature online poker studs Matt “mattg1983” Graham and Tristan “Cre8ive” Wade. Topics will include bankroll management, game selection, advanced betting techniques, floating your opponent, playing in and out of position, and picking off bluffs.

The Deepstacks training team includes Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, recent World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup runner-up Justin “Boosted J” Smith, UB.com’s Adam “Roothlus” Levy, T.J. Cloutier, former WSOP Main Event champ Tom McEvoy, and former UB.com pro Liv Boeree. The Deepstacks Live crew has events coming up in Florida, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, New York, Alberta, British Columbia, and Australia.

When the 2010 WSOP Main Event resumes on November 6th, Mizrachi will hold the seventh largest stack at 14.4 million. The chip leader, Jonathan Duhamel, has 4.5 times that amount at 65.9 million. Mizrachi is the only bracelet winner to grace the final table.

Visit Deepstacks.com for full details.

Cohen Collects ANZPT Queenstown Title

Coming off a runner-up finish in the Red Dragon main event at the Macau Poker Cup, Team PokerStars Asia Pro Bryan Huang found himself at the final table joined by the likes of ANZPT Canberra champ Jason Gray and the man he beat heads-up there, John Maklouf, making his third-consecutive ANZPT final table.

But despite their impressive resumes, none could match wits with Melbourne's Cohen, who took the title after defeating Andrew Watson from Woolongong, Australia heads-up.

Cohen banked AUD$73,630 for the win.

In the meantime, Maklouf finished 8th, tightening the ANZPT Player of the Year Championship race.

He now sits only 10 points behind leader Tony Hachem, and with Andrew Scarf moving only 17 points behind, as well as both Vesko Zmukic and Michael Spilkin pushing up the rankings, it is sure to be a tight finish.

Next up for the ANZPT is a stop in Gold Coast a little over two weeks from now.

Royal flush signs off PokerStars ANZPT Day 2

ANZPT Queenstown Gets Rolling

Team PokerStars Pro Lee "Final Table" Nelson, APPT Sydney winner Aaron Benton and ANZPT Gold Coast champion Scott Kerr all came to play in Day 1a of the tournament, which is the only New Zealand-based event on the ANZPT.

A modest 38 players paid the NZD $2,500 entrance fee to play but after five levels of play the field had been cut down to 24.

Australian Michael Spilkin ran extremely well on Day 1a and finished as the overnight chip leader with 103,925 chips.

Day 1b of ANZPT begins today with Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem, Simon Watt and Jason Gray rumored to be among the field.

As part of an unusual schedule one of the previous flights for ANZPT Queenstown was actually played in Auckland over the weekend. On that day the field was narrowed down to 15 players, all of whom will be flying down to join Day 3 of ANZPT Queenstown.

ANZPT Queensland continues all this week with the final table scheduled for Sunday, July 24.

Aussie Millions Main Event Day 2 Airs on GSN

Coverage of the 2010 Aussie Millions on GSN rolled on Saturday night, with Paul Khoury and Grub Smith giving the call of Day 2 of the Main Event. A total of 746 players entered the AUD $10,000 buy-in tournament and the field had been slashed to 294. Full Tilt Poker sponsors the series and new episodes air on Saturdays at 9:00pm ET on GSN.

Antonis Kambouroglou raised to 4,200 pre-flop with a wired pair of jacks and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champion John Juanda moved all-in over the top for 42,500 with A-J. Kambouroglou quickly called and the board of 3-3-6-4-2 was no help to the Full Tilt pro, who was now free to enjoy all that Melbourne, Australia has to offer.

Also featured during Saturday’s coverage was Gus Hansen, who called a raise to 3,200 pre-flop from Arthur Basha with 8-5 of spades. Khoury noted, “That’s a very Gus hand.” Sure enough, the flop came 3-8-9, hitting Hansen with middle pair, and Basha bet out 6,600 with A-J. Hansen called and the turn was a deuce. Once again, Basha led out for 6,600 and once again, Hansen called behind. The river was a seven. Basha bet his usual 6,600 – this time into a pot of 50,000 – and Hansen called getting 9:1 on his money.

In search of her first Aussie Millions Main Event title was newly minted Full Tilt pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, who donned a Betfair logo during the Aussie Millions as part of her old sponsorship. Christopher Brammer raised to 5,500 pre-flop with Q-6 of spades and Obrestad came along with K-Q of clubs.

The flop came A-3-4 with two clubs and Obrestad called a bet of 8,000 from Brammer. The turn was the six of diamonds, pairing the Brit, who checked to Obrestad. “The Huntress” bet 16,000, Brammer raised to 40,000, and Obrestad got out of the way, leaving Smith to lament, “Everyone has come here to play. Even the big names get no respect.”

David Olson staked his claim for an Aussie Millions title after betting out 11,000 on a flop of 3-9-8 holding 10-9 of clubs for top pair. Brammer raised to 25,000 with a set of threes and Ben Savage curiously folded pocket tens. Olson moved all-in and Brammer called to see he was behind. However, a nine on the turn and 10 on the river gave Brammer a higher full house; Savage would have won the pot had he stayed in. Olson doubled up as the field entered Day 3 of the high-stakes poker tournament “Down Under.”

John Dalessandri raised to 25,000 pre-flop with pocket nines and Obrestad, holding A-K of hearts, isolated by moving all-in. Dalessandri promptly called all-in, his future in the prestigious event hanging in the balance. The door card was a nine, as the flop came Q-8-9, giving Dalessandri a set, but a jack on the turn gave Obrestad some hope with a straight draw. However, the river paired the board and Dalessandri scooped the pot.

Dalessandri would strike again, raising to 7,500 with K-J of spades, and Brammer asked for a count of his stack after peeking down at pocket aces. Brammer raised to 20,000 and Dalessandri just called to bring an action flop of K-J-5. Dalessandri slyly checked his top two pair and Brammer bet 25,000 with an overpair. Dalessandri moved all-in and Brammer called for his tournament life in the Aussie Millions Main Event. Upon seeing the two hands exposed, Obrestad exclaimed “Ouch” and the board ran out 7-6. Brammer was busto, another victim of cracked aces.

You can catch new one-hour episodes of the Aussie Millions on GSN on Saturdays at 9:00pm ET.

Filippo Candio – Poker Player Profile

Young Filippo Candio is following the footsteps of his countryman Dario Minieri, and not just because he favors striped sweaters. The 25-year-old stems from Cagliari, Italy, and his main strength is in tournament play – both online and live – since it is the only form of poker that is legally accepted in the European nation.

Candio was until recently a sponsored PokerStars pro and last year, he won the Italian Pro Championship in San Remo for €140,000.

His most impressive tournament series to date is the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), where he cashed in the massive Event #11, one of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em events that gathered huge fields because of their low buy-ins. Candio finished in 157th place and doubled his investment. Candio also made a very deep run into the 2010 WSOP Main Event, which will earn him a minimum of $206,000 at the time of writing. He was responsible for ending the tournament life of Matthew Berkey, among others.

According to the HendonMob database, Candio’s lifetime earnings came up to $250,000 before the 2010 WSOP Main Event, meaning that he will double them at the very least depending on where he finishes.

Candio has been sponsored by PokerStars for a few years, but changed his colors before the Main Event and was seen sporting Full Tilt patches during his deep run.

The young Candio has other interests besides poker, which include a love of cinema. On his Facebook page, Candio declares himself a fan of Disney Films and of Dreamworks Studio’s feature film “Kung Fu Panda.” He is also fond of music; his favorites range from the massively popular Lady Gaga to Italian songbirds like Lucio Battisti and Fabrizio de Andre. Also, don’t forget about his adoration for the music from the beloved Australian children’s show “Bananas in Pyjamas.”

Johnny Lodden – Poker Player Profile

While he may not be well known in the United States, Jorpeland, Norway’s Johnny Lodden has been a terror in the online world for several years and, most recently, in the European live poker arena. Lodden is one of the players vying for a cherished seat as a member of the “November Nine” in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

After crushing the online games on an array of sites – when the Prima Poker Network was around, he often played in some of the highest stakes online cash games, buying in for upwards of $40,000 – Lodden moved to PokerStars to ply his skills. At one point, he was considered one of the largest winners in online cash games before Full Tilt Poker opened up its schedule of high-stakes games backed by its stable of pros. As a PokerStars sponsored poker player, he has been a part of many of the European Poker Tour (EPT) stops over the past four years.

Lodden has earned eight cashes in EPT events, making the final table of the 2008 Budapest tournament. Because of his highly volatile playing style, he either will drive deep into tournaments or “flame out” prior to making significant money. Over his six-year tournament career, Lodden has earned slightly more than $617,000 in tournaments covering Belgium, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ireland, Australia, and the United States.

Wherever Lodden finishes in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, it will be his largest ever cash in a tournament. Prior to this year’s WSOP, his previous best was for his 11th place finish at the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2008. The minimum Lodden can earn for a 27th place finish is $317,161, which would be enough to return to batter players in the online – and live – worlds for quite some time to come.

Peter Eastgate to Retire from Poker?

In news that has stunned the poker community, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate has stated that he plans to retire from international high-stakes poker, at least for the time being.

In a blog on his sponsor site, PokerStars, Eastgate indicated that he lacked the desire to continue to pursue the lifestyle of a professional poker player. “When I started playing poker for a living, it was never my goal to spend the rest of my life as a professional poker player,” the 24 year old Eastgate states. “My goal was to become financially independent. I achieved that by winning the WSOP Main Event in 2008.”

Eastgate goes on to say that, while he has enjoyed the ride of being recognized as a former Main Event Champion, his heart may not be in the game anymore. “The period following (winning the WSOP Main Event) has taken me on a worldwide tour, where I have seen some amazing places and met many new people; it has been a great experience,” Eastgate writes in the statement on the PokerStars blog. “In the 20 months following my WSOP win, I feel that I have lost my motivation for playing high level poker along the way and I have decided that now is the time to find out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Where Eastgate becomes a bit cryptic as to his future is at the end of the statement: “What this (next chapter) will be, I do not yet know. I have decided to take a break from live tournament poker, and try to focus on Peter Eastgate, the person. I want to thank PokerStars, my friends and family for their support over the last 20 months and for their support in my decision to take a break from poker.”

Since his victory at the 2008 WSOP Main Event, where he won $9.15 million, Eastgate has been traveling the world and seemingly playing well. In 2009, he won a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em preliminary event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $343,000 and then went on a sizzling run in defense of his WSOP championship. In last year’s tournament, he finally succumbed in 78th place, arguably one of the best championship defenses of the past ten years.

In the past ten months, Eastgate has been around the world displaying his poker skills in such locales as London (where he finished second in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event), Tallinn, Estonia; Sydney, Australia; Deauville, France; his home court of Copenhagen, Denmark; and Las Vegas. According to the Hendon Mob database, he has won $1.54 million since his WSOP championship and currently sits sixth in lifetime earnings with $10.9 million.

Obviously, however, Eastgate has felt the call of other things outside of the poker world. In June, Poker News Daily reported that Eastgate would not attend any preliminary events at the WSOP, focusing his concentration on Denmark’s run in the 2010 World Cup and traveling to South Africa for the matches. He commented at the time, “I don’t have the motivation to play all the small events at the WSOP. That would be a waste of money. To me it’s not that important to win bracelet number two.” He also questioned the logic of some of the “young guns” in the game, most notably Tom “durrrr” Dwan, playing in the preliminary tournaments because of prop bets on winning bracelets.

Eastgate isn’t the first young poker pro to make the decision to step away from the felt for a while. Late last year, noted online pro Shaun Deeb announced that he would step away from the game, only to reappear at this year’s WSOP. Former EPT champion Michael “Timex” McDonald and online cash game wizard Jonas “Nebuchad” Danielsson announced a “retirement” of sorts from the game this year.

Comments on Eastgate’s decision has sent social media outlets and poker forums into a frenzy. On Twitter, none other than eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel noted, “Wow, 2008 WSOP champ Peter Eastgate quits poker… Interesting story, wish him all the best.” Noted French poker journalist Benjo DiMeo thought that Eastgate’s move was for the best when he Tweeted, “Now here is a smart kid.”

On the forums, Eastgate’s decision has been met with mostly good will. On PocketFives.com, poster “TpocketT” remarked, “Eastgate seemed like a very smart, thinking player. Gl to him, I think he’s basically done what most people set out to do when they become poker players – get rich and retire.” Another poster, “matze_widi,” agreed, stating, “I like that move, reevaluate your life… there are so many more fun things to do other then playing poker… and he obviously has no money issues.” But perhaps the final word on Eastgate’s decision – and potentially a look to the near future – was written by “wackyJaxon”:  “I would guess that he will be back, its just a temporary decision, gives him time and then can play when its ‘fun’ for him. Would take a small prop bet he enters a live tourney by end of next WSOP.” ?

Champ Camp Qualifier Begins WSOP Run

A 49-year-old former dealer from Australia, Roberts is hard to miss on Day 1b of the 2010 Main Event with her trademark Australian Bush hat and mosquito veil.

Roberts qualified through PokerListings' exclusive VIP Champion Camp freeroll on 888poker where she outlasted over 700 players to win a seat in the Main Event.

"I've been dreaming of sitting under these lights for so many years," said Roberts. "I was actually planning on 2011 Aussie Millions and hopefully satellite into the Main Event but I was instead able to qualify through PokerListings."

Despite running a king-high flush into an ace-high flush in the first level, Roberts was optimistic about her chances in the tournament.

"I'm calming down a bit," she said. "It takes awhile. This morning I was really, really nervous. Now I'm starting to watch the players and see how they are playing."

Roberts not only won her seat into the tournament but also received her accommodations and flight from PokerListings. She will also get to take part in a number of VIP experiences this summer including shopping sprees and spas.

When Roberts won the package she actually had option of taking the cash for the seat but the fact accommodations and travel were paid for proved too enticing.

"I couldn't miss the opportunity of coming out to the World Series of Poker," she said.

An avid poker fan, Roberts watches the game whenever she can including the WSOP, Aussie Millions or just random YouTube videos.

"I've always been fascinated by it," she said.

Roberts also took a moment to explain her unique choice of headwear.

"It's an Aussie thing to keep out all the flies," she said. "I suppose it's something that identifies who I am and gives me the added bonus that you can't see my face. It's sort of a joke amongst my friends and family."

Roberts and 31-year-old North Dakotan Ben Blair make up the entirety of the PokerListings' Champion Camp this year and will both attempt to parlay their freeroll tournament win into a deep run in this year's WSOP Main Event.

The 2010 WSOP continues through July 17. For comprehensive coverage of the WSOP tune in to PokerListings' Live Updates and News.

DoylesRoom Brunson 10 Candidate Dan Kelly Wins WSOP $25,000 Six-Max NLHE

In the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), six players came back on Saturday to determine a champion. Eliminated on Friday evening were favorites Carlos Mortensen (17th), Daniel Negreanu (11th), and Isaac Haxton (9th), but the final table still provided exciting action. Leading the tournament when six-handed play began was DoylesRoom Brunson 10 candidate Dan “djk123” Kelly, who held a nearly 2-1 lead over 2010 WSOP double bracelet winner Frank Kassela.

In what was the quickest final table at this year’s WSOP at 4.5 hours, Kelly was able to hold off the charge of some highly skilled pros. Eugene Katchalov was the first to depart and, while he wasn’t able to take the bracelet, Katchalov’s finish marked his fourth final table at this year’s WSOP. Eugene has banked over $500,000 for his performances over the last six weeks.

Another top player, Mikael Thuritz, was dismissed in fifth. After making the final table of the $50,000 Player’s Championship, Thuritz’s performance at this final table marked his third cash of his WSOP, with no cash lower than 13th place.

Kassela was dispatched from the final table in third place, ending what would have been a historic run at a third WSOP bracelet this year. With his finish, Kassela surged into the lead of the WSOP Player of the Year race. He currently sits with 285 points, 60 more than John Juanda and 75 more than Vladimir Shchemelev. Since only the Main Event remains, Juanda would have to finish at least third to tie Kassela; Shchemelev would have to finish second.

Canada’s Shawn Buchanan was the runner-up to Kelly, but he has to be happy with his performance at this year’s WSOP. His second place finish was his eighth cash of the year, tying him with Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler for the lead.

With the victory in Event #52, Kelly also has the chance at a very special reward. His sponsor, DoylesRoom, is currently running a battle featuring Kelly, David “Doc Sands” Sands, Faraz “The-Toilet” Jaka, and Michael “Martine23” Martin for the next position with the powerful Brunson 10. Whoever garners the most points in all events at the WSOP will take the seat alongside such notable young players as Amit “amak316” Makhija, Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark, and Chris “moorman1” Moorman:

1. Dan “djk123” Kelly (Potomac, MD) – $1,315,518
2. Shawn Buchanan (Abootsford, British Columbia) – $812,941
3. Frank Kassela (Rossville, TN) – $556,053
4. Jason Somerville (Stony Brook, NY) – $386,125
5. Mikael Thuritz (Las Vegas, NV) – $272,084
6. Eugene Katchalov (New York, NY) – $194,559

The highly popular Ante Up for Africa charity event also played out during action on Saturday. The non-bracelet event, created by Poker News Daily guest columnist Annie Duke, acclaimed actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein four years ago to raise awareness about the issues in Darfur, drew in 83 players, including several top pros and many celebrities. Players such as former Main Event champion Joe Hachem, Erik Seidel, Player’s Championship winner Michael Mizrachi, and Duke joined celebrities such as talk show host Montel Williams, boxing legend Evander Holyfield, Australian footballer Shane Warne, NFL great Jerome Bettis, and “Rounders” actor Matt Damon to raise money for the cause.

Seidel and Bettis both made the final table and went out in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The final duo that battled for the championship were Carbon Poker’s Shannon Elizabeth and top pro Phil Gordon, both veterans of the Bravo poker series “Celebrity Poker Showdown.” Gordon was able to defeat Elizabeth during heads-up play and then immediately turned around and donated his winnings back to Ante Up for Africa. All totaled, the charitable tournament raised over $275,000 to support the cause that Duke and Cheadle have brought to the poker world’s attention.

1. Phil Gordon (Henderson, NV) – $129,086
2. Shannon Elizabeth (Los Angeles, CA) – $79,776
3. Aleksey Filatov (Norwood, MA) – $55,843
4. Carter Phillips (Las Vegas, NV) – $40,676
5. Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV) – $29,926
6. Jerome Bettis (Roswell, GA) – $22,355
7. Barry Hartheimer (New York, NY) – $17,930
8. Kyle Carlston (Henderson, NV) – $14,945
9. Claire Renaut (London, United Kingdom) – $12,843

Although the Main Event begins tomorrow, there are still four tournaments in progress. In the final $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event, David Peters leads the field into Day 3. With 47 players remaining, the final nine will be the target late this evening and the final table will play out on Monday.

The final $10,000 World Championship event (#55), Pot Limit Omaha, will determine a champion today with a staunch final table. Ludovic Lacay leads an international field that includes second place pursuer Daniel Alaei and 2007 WSOP Main Event fourth place finisher Alexander Kravchenko.

Event #56, $2,500 No Limit Hold’em, will also play deep into the night to determine a final table. Corwin “mig.com” Mackey holds a 2-1 lead over Sweden’s Christian Jeppsson when play continues this afternoon. Other notable players on the leader board include Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Dan Shak, and Court Harrington.

Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 WSOP.

I’m Bluffing Matt Damon! - Day 37 WSOP Recap

Once again the casino was a a hub of activity as the WSOP played out with the $10k Main Event looming ever closer.

There was so much activity that the scheduled Tournament of Champions competition had to be postponed till tomorrow.

Here's how today's action went down.

Event 52 - $25k No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max

The final six players still in contention reconvened today to finish off what they started and when an incendiary final table had blazed its way to a conclusion, Daniel "djk123" Kelly was the man left holding the bracelet and the incredible $1,315,518 first prize money.

The 21 year old American defeated Shawn Buchanan heads-up to land the bracelet, and along the way he also saw off the challenge of Player of the Year contender, the double-braceleted Frank Kassela.

"I want to win more," a hungry Kelly said afterwards, who looks like he will now become the latest addition to the group of young players known as the "Brunson 10."

Event 54 - $1k No-Limit Hold'em

596 players were back in action for day 2 as the survivors of Day 1a and Day 1b met up to do battle.

A tough contest ensued and when they bagged and tagged the chips by the end of play, Sean Prendiville headed the chip counts with 47 players left.

They'll return to contend the bracelet tomorrow at 2.30 p.m..

Event 55 - $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship

The Pot-Limit Omaha Championship saw many stellar names left with hope of a last bracelet before the Main Event written all over their faces.

By the end, most of them had had that hope wiped clean off their visages - Devilfish, durrrr and Phil Hellmuth all crashing out.

However, Alex Kravchenko, Ludovic Lacay and Daniel Alaei are still some of the big names hunting the bracelet and the final nine players will return at 4.00 p.m. tomorrow to play to a finish.

Event 56 - $2.5k No-Limit Hold'e

The final event before the Main Event saw 1,941 hopefuls register for Day 1 in a bid to get out of it for the Series.

Only 507 made it through to Day 2 and by the time 10 levels had come and gone, this number had been reduced to 85.

They will return tomorrow at 3.00 p.m. and James Mackey is the man they will all be chasing.

Ante Up For Africa

Celebrities from all walks of life gathered together in the Rio today to show a little generosity, have a little fun and play a little poker.

Film stars like Matt Damon and Don Cheadle rubbed shoulders with the likes of retired NFL halfback Jerome Bettis and Australian cricketer Shane Warne - playing out a tournament filled with fun and laughter - and plenty of generous donations.

The final saw poker pro Phil Gordon facing off against Shannon Elizabeth, who straddles the poker and movie worlds, and she also straddled Gordon when he defeated her heads up.

Gordon was quick to donate his $130,641 winnings to the charity, commenting, "I wish the rest of my WSOP had gone the way this tournament went."

Full Tilt Poker Holding Rush Week Starting July 12th

From Monday, July 12th to Sunday, July 18th, Full Tilt Poker is holding Rush Week. Capitalizing on the popularity of its fast-paced Rush Poker, Full Tilt is dishing out up to $250 in cash per player along with entries into an exclusive $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.

In honor of Rush Week, which totes “Seven Days of Speed” as its tagline, several guaranteed tournaments on Full Tilt Poker will offer a Rush Poker structure. This means that as soon as a player’s action in a hand has ended, he or she is whisked off to another table with a new set of opponents to begin a brand new hand. The lack of downtime means constant decision-making and the potential to see 300 hands per hour. Rush Poker ring games first appeared on Full Tilt back in January. In April, Rush Poker tournaments were rolled out.

There are several ways to collect cash as part of Rush Week. Players who earn at least 10 Full Tilt Points (FTPs) per day from Rush Poker games on any four days during the promotion will bank $5. If they can perform the same feat on all seven days of Rush Week, they’ll earn $10. Players who amass 100 FTPs per day on any four days during Rush Week will collect $25, while those who can generate 100 FTPs per day on all seven days will earn $50.

Finally, Full Tilt Poker members who accrue 1,000 FTPs per day on any four days during the week will receive $125. Those who can rack up 1,000 FTPs per day on all seven days will take home the grand prize of $250. Players can only take home one cash prize, meaning that the awards for racking up FTPs during Rush Week are not cumulative.

Rush Week officially starts at 00:00 ET on July 12th and ends at 23:59 ET on July 18th. Only FTPs earned in Rush Poker cash games and tournaments are eligible for reaping rewards and bonuses earned as part of Full Tilt’s Rush Week. Happy Hours, while lucrative, don’t count for this promotion.

Similar to other Full Tilt Poker promotions, players must opt into Rush Week in order to qualify. To do so, log into the Full Tilt client and click on the “Cashier” button. Then, click on “My Promotions” and select “Rush Week.” If you’re curious as to where you stand, head back to the “Rush Week” landing page.

Qualifying for the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll is pretty simple. All you have to do is reach the final table of a Rush Poker tournament during the promotional period. Text found on Full Tilt Poker’s website highlights an important caveat to qualifying: “In Rush Poker Tournaments that do not play down to a final table, all players who win the top prize will be automatically entered into the $50,000 Rush Week Freeroll.”

The $50,000 freeroll is scheduled for Sunday, July 25th at 15:15 ET. Full Tilt has bumped up the number of Rush Poker tournaments on the docket during the week in order to allow plenty players to qualify for the freeroll. Players are automatically entered to the $50,000 freebie, eliminating the hassle of having to register manually.

Full Tilt happily accepts players from the United States and is the world’s second largest online poker site, trailing only PokerStars. Its fleet of sponsored pros includes 2009 World Series of Poker November Niner Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Chris Ferguson. Rush Poker is patent pending in the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Canada. Visit Full Tilt Poker today.

Ryan Welch Defeats Jon Eaton to Win WSOP Bracelet

In what could best be described as “the calm before the storm,” only one bracelet was awarded on Thursday night in action at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

In the $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em tournament, Event #51 on the WSOP schedule, 12 men returned on Thursday afternoon for their shot at a coveted gold and diamond WSOP bracelet. Jon Eaton held a roughly 600,000 chip lead over Frank Rusnak, with underrated pro Will “The Thrill” Failla lurking in third place. The players wasted little time once the cards hit the air, getting down to the final table in roughly 4½ hours.

Rusnak was one of the victims of the early carnage, doubling up Bradley Craig and losing a key hand to Failla to drop his chip stack into the danger zone. Rusnak, who has almost $600,000 in tournament earnings since his debut in 2007, was never able to get any traction from the start and got his final chips in with K-Q. He was called by Koen de Bakker, who had him dominated with his A-Q. The flop offered an appealing A-5-J rainbow arrangement, but delivered no 10 for Rusnak, dropping him from the tournament in 11th place.

Once the final table was established, one of the rarer occurrences during a WSOP final table occurred. Guillaume Darcourt, after an all-in bet from Tad Jurgens and an all-in over the top from Noel Scruggs, agonized over a decision that would either make his tournament or crush his dreams of a WSOP bracelet. After the careful deliberation, Darcourt made the call with pocket sevens, only to see Jurgens table pocket queens and Scruggs show his A-Q. The seven that popped on the flop sent a thunderous roar through the audience and delivered a rare bird at a WSOP final table, the double knockout. Jurgens started the hand with fewer chips and finished in ninth and Scruggs took the eighth place slot.

Over the next four hours, the remainder of the final table would be eliminated, bringing the action to a heads-up battle between Eaton and Ryan Welch, who diligently ground his way through the final table. On the final hand, with Eaton holding slightly fewer chips than Welch, the duo got their chips to the center of a 9-7-6-10-K board. Eaton bet out roughly 525,000 on the river to start, only to face an all-in reraise from Welch. Eaton struggled with the decision, reasoning out the hands that Welch could possibly hold before making the call. Welch immediately showed Q-J for the rivered nut straight and, once the chips were counted, became the latest WSOP champion.

1. Ryan Welch (Henderson, NV) – $559,371
2. Jon Eaton (Las Vegas, NV) – $344,830
3. Guillaume Darcourt (Paris, France) – $223,459
4. Will Faille (Smithtown, NY) – $163,532
5. Bradley Craig (Cleveland, OH) – $121,451
6. Sergey Lebedev (Troitsk, Russia) – $91,407
7. Tommy Vedes (Fort Mojave, AZ) – $69,647
8. Noel Scruggs (Del Mar, CA) – $53,694
9. Tad Jurgens (Tempe, AZ) – $41,842

Four other events were in play on Thursday, with two tournaments that will award bracelets on Friday. In Event #52, the $25,000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament, 18 players will come back on Friday afternoon from the original 191 starters. Bryn Kenney is the overnight chip leader stacked with 2.425 million, but there is danger lurking around every corner. Daniel Negreanu, who has had a quiet 2010 WSOP, is in sixth place, with 2010 double bracelet winner Frank Kassela ahead of him in fifth. Add in Sam Trickett, Isaac Haxton, Shawn Buchanan, Eugene Katchalov, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo, Carlos Mortensen, and Vadim Trincher, and the final table of this event should hold for exciting poker.

In the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout, Victory Poker pro Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little and Terrence “Unassigned” Chan lead a final table of eight. As with a Shootout tournament, all eight worked their way to the final table by defeating a full table of opponents over the first two days of play. Everyone will start with 450,000 in chips when the cards fly this afternoon.

The first Day 1 of the latest $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament drew a sizeable field of 2,340 players, potentially making this $1,000 event one of the largest of this year’s WSOP, depending on the second Day 1 gathering. The final table of this tournament will take place on Independence Day.

The $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha World Championship drew a starting field of 346, which was whittled down by over half to 171 by the end of Day 1. Australia’s Antonio Paino is the chip leader with 240,000, with several top pros mixed throughout the field. 2009 November Niner James Akenhead is in third, with Fabrice Soulier (sixth) and Ted Lawson (seventh) both in the top 10. Final table play in Event #55 will take place on Saturday.

Only one event will begin play on Friday, the $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event. It is also set to finish play on Sunday, prior to the start of the $10,000 World Championship event on Monday. Although there are tournaments in action over the next few days, it more than likely will be a preparation weekend for many of the top players as the WSOP moves into its final two weeks and its World Championship event.

Femi Fakinle Wins PokerStars UKIPT Killarney

The €1,100 buy-in Main Event of the PokerStars U.K. and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Killarney stop concluded over the weekend. PokerStars qualifier Femi Fakinle came out on top when the final cards were dealt, banking €63,000 and a £5,250 seat into the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Main Event in London.

A total of 253 players registered last Thursday and played seven one-hour levels on Day 1. Those in attendance included PokerStars pro Julian Thew, UKIPT Coventry winner Gilles Augustus, and UKIPT Nottingham winner Andrew Couldridge. On Friday, the money bubble burst just before Midnight local time when Dave McAndrews hit the skids at the hands of Vinny Gavin.

Fakinle qualified for the Killarney event after winning a €215 qualifier on PokerStars, which serves as the presenting sponsor of the UKIPT and is the world’s largest online poker site. He entered the eight-handed final table with a commanding chip lead and had nearly double the stack of his next closest competitor. UKIPT Manchester final table member Michael Hill was the first elimination from Killarney’s final table and was ousted within 15 minutes.

After five hours, heads-up play was set between two Irish poker enthusiasts: Fakinle and Aonghus Farrell. The latter held the chip lead initially, but in the final hand, Fakinle’s Q-J drew out on Farrell’s K-6. After Farrell flopped a king, Fakinle turned a queen and hit two pair on the river to claim the title and boost Ireland’s GDP by €63,000.

Besides the money, Fakinle was also looking forward to heading to Jolly Old England to compete in EPT London. He told PokerStars officials following the final cards being dealt, “I’m most excited about the fact I’ve won a seat to EPT London; the chance to play against some of the best players in the world is something I’m looking forward to.” The EPT London Main Event takes place from September 29th to October 4th. Last year’s Main Event in the British city marked the largest poker tournament ever held in the U.K. at 730 players.

Three countries were represented at the final table, which shook out as follows:

1. Femi Fakinle (Ireland) – €63,400
2. Aonghus Farrell (Ireland) – €39,200
3. Jens Schmukal (Germany) – €24,000
4. Peter Barrable (Ireland) – €17,700
5. Brian Downey (Ireland) – €14,600
6. David Rowley (United Kingdom) – €12,100
7. Philip Phu (United Kingdom) – €9,600
8. Michael Hill (United Kingdom) – €7,425

UKIPT officials will now take a two-week respite before heading to Brighton’s Rendezvous Casino on July 15th. The tournament also boasts an £1,100 buy-in and crowns a champion after five days of play. Stops in Edinburgh and Dublin will round out the current season of the UKIPT, which ends with the London event.

Killarney’s attendance of 253 marked the smallest turnout during the UKIPT’s first season thus far. The Galway event featured the second smallest turnout, attracting 259 players, and saw acclaimed pro Padraig Parkinson come out on top. The largest event held so far occurred in Nottingham, where 650 players bought in. In the end, Andrew Couldridge collected £80,000 for the win.

In addition to the UKIPT and EPT, PokerStars also sponsors the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT), Italian Poker Tour (IPT), and North American Poker Tour (NAPT).

Australian Productivity Commission Calls for Managed Liberalization of Online Poker