2010 December 23, Elaine Chaivarlis

With as cold as it is outside and everything and everyone going into hibernation, we figured we’d better do the same thing. It’s the last Nightly Turbo of the year, but don’t get discouraged, we’re putting up the top ten stories of the year starting tomorrow to refresh your memory. We’d like to thank you for reading and coming back day after day. We do this all for you — really. Enough of that, we don’t want you so teary eyed that you start thinking the four of spades is the ace of clubs. What’s perfect is that we’re leaving you with a photo of a pretty lady who knows how to win, the nominees of the World Poker Tour Magazine awards, and more. See you next year, same time, same place!

In Case You Missed It

Is the continuation bet in your arsenal of poker tricks? It should be, and PartyPoker pro Bodo Sbrzesny tells you why in our latest strategy article.

Every week, Lynn Gilmartin makes us jealous with her photos and stories from her trips — and this week is no different. Check out Around the World with Lynn for a sneak peek at season four of the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour.

Were you railing the PokerStars 1/4 Million last night, but had to go to sleep and didn’t get to see the winner? We’ve got the results of that and more of the week’s tournaments in the Midweek Briefing.

Do you listen to the Matt & Matt Show every week but want to know more about the guys behind the show? Well, here’s your chance. Read Getting to Know Matt Parvis and Matt Brown of the Matt & Matt Show to find out more.

Felicidades!

Last woman standing at the 2009 World Series of Poker, 888 ambassador Leo Margets took down the Full Tilt Poker Masters Series at the Grand Casino in Barcelona last week. She took home €100,000 for the win in which she beat beat 31 of Spain’s best players who had qualified for the event.

The tournament was a three-day event that covered a range of poker disciplines including deepstack, shootout, and turbo tournaments.

Check out the press release for more.

WPT Magazine Awards

World Poker Tour Magazine is holding a reader’s choice award (which is a little different from Bluff Magazine’s — the one Gloria Balding is nominated in – go vote). So, the categories are Favorite British Player, Best International Player, Best Poker Personality, Best Online Player, Best UK Cardroom, Best International Cardroom, Best Online Room, Best Online Forum, Moment of 2010, and Outstanding Contribution to Poker.

We’d go through the nominees, but that would make this way too long. Voting is currently open and will remain open through February 1, 2011, with the results being announced in the March issue of World Poker Tour Magazine.

Go vote at WPTMag.co.uk.

Reserve Not Met

Last week in the Nightly Turbo, we told you about 1991 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Brad Daugherty who was selling his bracelet on eBay. Well, that auction has ended, and if there was a lucky buyer, we’d tell you who it was. The undisclosed reserve on the bracelet was not met; therefore, the last bidder, who was going to shell out $30,100 for the 14k gold bracelet won’t be doing so.

Raise it Up

Some of the biggest online gambling companies in the world are headquartered in Gibraltar. It sounds random when you think about it, but a one percent gaming tax up to a maximum €500,000 charge is quite the incentive. However, all that will change come January 2011.

With the new year comes a corporation tax hike of 10 percent. Gibraltar is trying to keep its tax regime in line with EU regulations on fair competition. Some companies on the island are currently paying the 10 percent tax, but some of the companies that have been on the island longer are paying the lower tax rate.

“We’ve known about this for some time, and we’ve factored it in,” Partygaming spokesperson John Shepherd said. “The tax is still going to be very low.” He also doesn’t think the tax hike would deter other companies from setting up operations in Gibraltar.

The Telegraph has more.

Happy Holidays!

And because there’s nothing like a good light show….

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Just a minimum deposit is required of new players to qualify for our final $2,770 Freeroll of 2010 with Poker770 next week.

2010 December 23, Lynn Gilmartin

The PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour season four schedule has been released so, naturally, I’m excited. I’m about to show you why it’s almost impossible to not have fun at LAPT events with some highlights from 2010. Unless of course some Argentine slaps his slow roll on the felt in front of you as he runs circles around the table screaming with joy over hitting his one outer on the river to end your Main Event early. That would suck a little.

The bright side? Not only do you get to stare at stunning girls all day like LAPT Hostess Luli Fernandez (in the photo with me above, just chilling on a beach in Brazil, as you do on the LAPT) linger around the poker room all day, but there are so many amazing places to explore, just waiting for you outside the poker room.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – February 16-20, 2011

Season three took us to the Brazilian island of Florianopolis. It was a slight tease being on the beach in the middle of winter, but we still had such a fantastic experience. This year, the LAPT is returning to one of Brazil’s most proud cities, Sao Paulo; and best of all, not only is it going to be in the peak of their summer, but you know what they (Kristy Arnett) say about Brazilian women – they simply win at life. Feast your eyes on the below video from this year’s LAPT Welcome Party in Brazil, and you’ll see why.

Viña del Mar, Chile – March 17-20, 2011

Chile was a new addition to the LAPT season three schedule, however, after the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Viña del Mar in late February, just a couple of weeks prior to the March event, the LAPT stop was cancelled. Twelve-months later, the still-new LAPT stop returns to the schedule and we will head to Chile’s beach-resort town to pump our well needed tourism dollars into the bounced-back, stunner of a city.

Lima, Perú – April 12-17, 2011

I was lucky enough to escape the WSOP madness for one week this year, and head south to cover the LAPT in Lima, Peru, and this year we will return in April. It was here that headlines were created when Jose “Nacho” Barbero won his second LAPT title in back-to-back events. The event was held in the quaint town of Miraflores, offering us some brilliant nights out at the clubs in Larco Mar, and gorgeous surrounds which you can see in the following video courtesy of PokerStars.tv.

Rosario, Argentina – June 1-5, 2011

Not many tour operators bother competing with the World Series of Poker. I like to think of those six weeks as the Bermuda Triangle of major poker event scheduling; but PokerStars did it with success this year, and they’re certainly not stopping. Season four will take us to South America’s largest casino in Rosario, Argentina, the Grand Final destination of season three. Being the first week of June means the beginning of winter in South America – the perfect time to start hitting up the popular cities rather than the beach towns. I’ll let this video paint the picture of the fantastic week we had this year in Rosario.

Bogotá, Colombia – August 3-7, 2011

Returning to loved cities is one thing, but breaking new ground is what really gets me excited, and Columbia, the home of the most amazing coffee in the world, is just that. Bogotá is Columbia’s largest city, labeled the “Athens of South America.” If my crazy trip to Greece with five girlfriends a few years back is anything to go by, then I’m bursting at the seams with excitement to get there! It’s said to be a roller-coaster of a city, high in the Andes at an elevation of 8,646 feet. All cities have contrasts, but few have them like Bogotá, as described in this interesting passage by goway.com.

“Nestled high in the Andes at 8,646 ft, Santafé de Bogotá is a city of contrasts. It’s a city of high-rise buildings standing next to colonial churches; a city of universities, theaters and shantytowns. It is a mixture of influences, Spanish and English and Indian; a city of great wealth and material well being and abject poverty. It is a city of wild traffic and calm oases reflecting a bygone day. It is a modern city with futuristic architecture, graffiti and congestion; restaurants, bookstores and street vendors peddling emeralds, thieves, beggars, street people and drug dealers wrapped around the inner core of the old city.”

The LAPT Grand Final destination is still to be confirmed, so in lieu of this unknown city, I’ll leave you with a perfect taste of Latin America: with a friendly game of football.

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There is still time to play in our final $15,000 Sunday Million Freeroll on PokerStars in the current series, but hurry as you have to qualify this month.