September 27 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

It wouldn’t be a typical day around here if there wasn’t a story on Full Tilt Poker to report - even if it is just a rumor. We’ve got the latest buzz surrounding the company, and we’ll tell you what the Nevada Gaming Control Board has to say about Internet poker in the state, and more.

In Case You Missed It

On Monday, a champion was crowned at the PokerStars Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Melbourne. Lee Nelson emerged victorious, confirming his nickname – “Final Table.”

After 23 days and 62 events, the 2011 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker is officially over. If you missed any of the live coverage of the Main Event, or want the short and sweet version, check out our WCOOP recap.

Last week, the poker world was inundated with Full Tilt Poker news. In our latest Five Thoughts piece, we take a look everything related to Full Tilt Poker from last week.

Since the inception of the World Series of Poker November Nine, the success of the players during their “off months” is tracked closely. Does winning a major title in the off months correlate to a better run in November?

The days until the 2011 November Nine are dwindling and we’re always curious to find out how the members of the prestigious Final Table are spending their time. We recently talked to Martin Staszko to find out how he’s preparing for poker’s biggest stage.

The Rumor Mill Churns

Tuesday morning while perusing the Internet for the top poker news stories of the day, we stumbled upon a piece on HighStakesDB that made us stop – “Full Tilt Poker Has Been Sold?”

According to HighStakesDB, TwoPlusTwo Pokercast host Adam Schwartz tweeted earlier on Tuesday that the sale of Full Tilt Poker was allegedly complete.

Shortly thereafter, Schwartz posted in the FTP Discussion Thread on TwoPlusTwo.

“I was told by what I feel <and most of you would too btw> is a very reputable source. This person doesn’t want me to say their name. Obviously I wouldn’t have said it if someone sitting next to me in the $1/2 game told me. If some of you are unhappy that i tweeted it, what can I say, I felt it was worthy of some confidence.”

Schwartz is backing this story though, saying he heard from a trusted source, and replying to a tweet asking if he thought it was true, by saying, “I would be very surprised if it wasn’t. Someone very close to the negotiations would have had to lie to him.”

Is it true? We don’t know. We reached out to Full Tilt Poker and have heard nothing back (not that we were really holding our breath). As always, if we hear anything, you all will be the first to know.

HighStakesDB.com has more.

Gaming Control Board at Ease

On Monday, the Gaming Control Board in Nevada listened to public input regarding proposed gambling regulations – which also includes Internet poker. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, discussions were “peaceful.” Maybe it was the feng shui in the room, or Internet poker isn’t that touchy of a subject.

“I think we have a solid foundation for regulations,” said control board chairman Mark Lipparelli.

Anthony Cabot, a gaming attorney, suggested “the regulations carry some type of language that they could not be used for intrastate wagering until a federal ban on Internet gambling is lifted or there is a clarification from the U.S. Department of Justice.”

Cabot also asked that “gaming customer would have the ‘seamless ability’ to transfer gaming funds between a casino account and an interactive gaming account, if they were operated by the same company.”

Read more at LVRJ.com.

Added to the Schedule

PokerStars has added a deepstack event to the European Poker Tour Prague schedule. According to the PokerStars Blog, the “300 + “30 buy-in, “30,000 guarantee event that was added to the schedule will double as the Eureka Poker Tour Grand Final.

If you thought that Season 1 of the Eureka Poker Tour was looking to add another stop, Romania, you would have been correct, but tax issues stopped those plans.

Last season’s EPT Prague attracted 563 entrants, and in the end, Roberto Romanello emerged victorious and pocketed “640,000.

Read more on at PokerStarsBlog.com.

For the Sports Fans

On Tuesday, DraftDay.com was launched. DraftDay, a daily fantasy sports website, is the brainchild of poker pros Taylor Caby and Andrew Wiggins.

“Taylor and I started tossing around the idea of a fantasy sports website years ago, but the timing was never right,” said Wiggins. “After I won my MLB league last season, I took it as a sign that we needed to push the idea toward reality. DraftDay is a unique fantasy sports experience that you won’t find anywhere else. There’s no season long commitment and there’s always a draft available.”

DraftDay allows sports fans to test their fantasy sports skills and offers daily games for fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Buy-ins range from freerolls to $500.

“There is a social aspect to fantasy sports that you also find in poker. It’s competitive, stats driven and an adrenaline rush. It’s also a great way to make a hobby into something really profitable,” said Wiggins.

“There’s nothing better than sweating out a ballgame knowing one or two key plays can earn you money and bragging rights,” Caby said.

Read the press release for more.

PSA: Watch the WSOP

ESPN’s coverage of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event continues this week with Day-6 action. It all kicks off at 10 p.m. EDT with the final 142 players in the race for the final table. There’s also a feature on doppelgangers this week where pros like Jean-Robert Bellande, Daniel Negreanu, and Jason Mercier will tell you who they’ve been told they look like.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter – @LaneyLV

September 27 2011, Chad Holloway

In July, the 2011 World Series of Poker November Nine was set with one of the most unlikeliest of characters emerging as the chip leader: 35-year old Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic. A professional player by trade, Staszko became the first Czech player to ever make the final table, no doubt looking to accomplish the same feat as Jonathan Duhamel, and use the chip lead to claim victory.

Even though Staszko was an unknown player before his deep run in the Main Event, he actually had a successful 2011 WSOP up to that point. Before making the November Nine, Staszko had notched four cashes over the summer, all in low buy-in events. In fact, his best cash was a 39th-place finish in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event for $10,156. Needless to say, no matter where he finishes at the final table, it’ll be for the biggest cash of his career.

Staszko will begin the final table as the chip leader with 40,175,000, seated directly to the left of current WSOP Player of the Year leader, Ben Lamb. PokerNews recently sat down with Staszko to find out what he has been up to during the past couple of months, and what he has been doing to prepare for the biggest final table of his life. Because Staszko speaks little English, the following excerpt was translated by members of CZ.PokerNews.com.

What was the one hand that was most responsible for your deep run?

There were a lot of hands that helped me; it’s hard to choose just one. One important hand happened in the late stages. With ten tables left, I won a really big pot with on a ten-high board against Phil Collins and his . Thanks to that hand, I had a lot of chips and could play much better.

Also, there was a hand from Day 1 when I was three-bet by an opponent, and I called. I caught a pair with a draw, but because it didn’t hit, I had to play it as a set and bet all-in on the river. Fortunately my opponent folded his , but it took him ten minutes to decide.

It also helped that I won a lot of all-ins, when my better hands held.

After the final table was set, what did you do the rest of the night? Did you go out and celebrate?

I was really tired. During the whole last day, I ate only six bananas, so when the final table was set, I went to grab a meal with two beers, that’s all. I got plenty of calls, texts, and emails, so it took me awhile to answer, so I online-slept a bit.

How long did it take for the fact that you made the November Nine to sink in? Has it yet?

I don’t know if I realize it yet. It was my first WSOP. One or two weeks before it started, I was watching Days 5 and 6 from a previous Main Event and I thought it was impressive to be as far as they were, but in the end I was able to get even further. It is certainly a huge success for me and for Czech poker.

What have you been up to since the WSOP has been on hiatus?

I was on vacation in Sweden, then played the European Poker Tour in Barcelona. I also did a lot of interviews, and played some online poker.

What was the reaction of your family and friends?

Reactions were great, everybody congratulated me. I thank everyone for their support.

Who will you be bringing to Las Vegas in November to support you?

My parents, brother, and poker and chess friends will come to support me.

Do you feel any extra pressure to perform as the chip leader?

I’m not thinking about that right now. Because I’m the chip leader, there are bigger expectations then if I were a short stack, so the pressure might be bigger. On the opposite side, I have chips, so the risk of busting in the beginning is smaller and that’s my advantage, because players with shorter stacks will have to think properly if they want to risk it all.

What’s more important: money or the Main Event bracelet?

Bracelet of course. To be at the final table of Main Event is something huge, it may never happen again. I will try to play the best I can, and will give myself the best chance to win.

As part of making the November Nine, you’ve already taken home the ninth-place prize of $782,115. Have you made any big purchases with that money?

I haven’t bought anything big – yet.

Other than yourself, who do you feel has the best chance of taking down the title?

That’s a hard question because everyone has a decent chance to win. Second in chips is Eoghan O’Dea, so he’s probably got the best chance.

Who would you want to be heads-up with for the bracelet in November? Who would you least like to face?

Well, I would like to make it to heads-up at first, and then I would like to win, so I don’t care who my opponent is. All of them are great players, so I cannot wish to be in heads-up with somebody specific, because they’d probably beat me. I am not afraid of anyone. My opponents are solid players, but there is always a way to play against each of them and win.

What are you doing to prepare? Are you getting lessons or advice from anyone notable?

My friend is collecting information about other players. I haven’t started preparation yet. I believe I will start in October, but no famous player is helping me with an advice.

Does that include looking at your opponent’s weaknesses? Are you scavenging all the information you can get about your opponents?

It would be great to find some weak spots, but I think how they play in the final table of the Main Event at the WSOP will be completely different from any other tournaments, so it is hard to predict the way they will play. I also don’t know how my opponents will change their play, so I will have to adjust in November at the Final Table.

Did you have the chance to become close with any other November Niners?

No, I didn’t. In Barcelona I met few of them, but we just said “Hi” to each other. There was no time to make relationships. I believe we will meet each other in tournaments in the near future and hope our relationships will be good.

What other events are you going to play between now and November?

I’m not sure. Maybe since I haven’t started preparation yet, I will skip all international tournaments and stay to play some local tournaments.

Do you have your entrance music picked out yet, assuming the WSOP does it again this year?

No, I don’t. I like Queen, but maybe it would be good to choose something Czech. But I haven’t thought much about it yet.

Check out our interview with Staszko that was conducted the day after making the November Nine.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway