October 31 2011, Brett Collson, Chad Holloway

Big news out of Las Vegas broke on Monday as MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming announced they will join with bwin.party to form an online poker site when legislation passes in the U.S. Also in this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you an exclusive report regarding Kim Kardashian’s divorce from Kris Humphries. Just kidding. We do, however, have news about PokerStars cracking down on players in the U.S., the tragic death of Alan Meltzer, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The days until the 2011 World Series of Poker 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 Anton Makiievskyi to find out how he’s preparing for poker’s biggest stage.

How did the Sunday Majors play out yesterday on PokerStars? Who took home the biggest win? Find out in the Sunday Briefing.

The World Poker Tour World Poker Finals at Foxwoods reached the “unofficial” final table on Sunday. Get all the details in our daily recap.

Last week, we learned about how Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen got his start in poker. This week, we find out more about his life as a pro in part two of our “Seat Open with…” series.

Alan Meltzer Passes Away

On Monday, the poker community was sad to learn that recreational high-stakes poker player Alan Meltzer had passed away. According to friend David “Viffer” Peat, Meltzer died at his home. “It was just his time,” Peat wrote via Twitter.

Meltzer was a wealthy music executive who made regular trips to Las Vegas to compete in some of the toughest cash games in the world. In 2009, Meltzer made an appearance on High Stakes Poker and played several pots against the likes of Tom Dwan, Phil Laak, Eli Elezra and Doyle Brunson. He played one memorable pot with Dwan and saw more than $500,000 end up in the middle.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Meltzer’s family and close friends. Here are a few reactions from the poker community after learning of Meltzer’s death:

PokerStars Cracks Down on U.S. Players

In April, PokerStars came to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that forced the site to stop taking bets from U.S. players. That decision prompted many Americans to leave the country to resume their poker careers. However, it appears some players have ignored the site’s new terms of service and have been playing from their homes in the States.

According to PokerStars VIP Manager Steve Day, several poker players in the U.S. have been logging in and playing real-money games by using Virtual Private Network (VPN), a method by which a player’s Internet connection is routed through another country to mask their IP address. Day joined the TwoPlusTwo Pokercast last week and said that some players have avoided detection of PokerStars security, but others have had their accounts suspended and funds frozen.

Day says that PokerStars is enforcing the use of VPN networks and, while he isn’t sure what the ultimate consequences will be, the penalties could be extremely severe.

“We’re not really sure what will happen (to the suspended accounts) yet,” said Day. “The accounts get frozen, and then we wait for guidance from the independent moderator who was appointed by the Department of Justice as to what to do with the funds in these accounts and the ability to play in the future.”

The PokerStars Terms of Service clearly states that real-money play is not allowed from the U.S. under any circumstances. It reads, “Players who attempt to play for real money from inside the US with the aid of VPNs or other technical workarounds will lose their playing privileges and/or funds in their account.”

Day recounted one example of a player who was trying to earn Supernova Elite status and was told by friends that it was safe to play on a VPN. The player then had his account suspended and his the status of his funds are now in question.

“Tell all your friends – it’s a mistake to try to do this,” Day added. “Many people are getting caught, and the consequences are severe. We have to enforce the rules.”

Listen to the full interview at TwoPlusTwo.

Scammer Cheats High-Stakes Players out of Millions

An alleged online poker scam caught the attention of the online poker community after multiple reports hit the wire on Monday. Two victims, one Austrian and one Swiss, revealed last week that they had been cheated by a London-based German player who installed a Trojan on their computer that allowed him to see their hole cards in future online matches.

A report from German site Hochgepokert.com indicates that the main suspect is Maximilian Ashkar, a high-stakes regular known by the online handle “mexx86.” Hochgepokert reports that Ashkar had scammed the aforementioned players of at least “350,000, and the minimum number of victims is estimated at two dozen.

Poker pro Bernhard Braumandl stated on TwoPlusTwo Monday that the alleged cheater “scammed our house for 100k+ alone, all together he made at least 2 million probably a lot more.” Braumandl claims that the Trojan was installed using a USB stick and took a matter of seconds to complete.

Braumandl also mentioned that Ashkar had attempted to befriend every well-known poker player on Facebook to target potential scams. “If he ever was near your laptop/pc since February this year there’s a high chance he scammed you as well,” Braumandl said.

More details can be found at Hochgepokert.com. We recommend you use Google Translate if needed.

888poker Launches Social Networking Features

With social media growing by the day worldwide, more and more online poker sites are infusing the interactive model into their software.

The latest is 888poker, which has introduced a new private games feature that allows players to create their own tournaments or game games. The feature, called 888poker Lounges, offers several options for private games. Players can set their own limits, format, prize structure and add unique new additional features such as PokerCam.

“Imagine the ability to play just your friends in a private game AND hear and see each other via webcam,” 888poker said in a press release.

Once a private game is set up, players can invite their friends and to join using email, Facebook and Twitter invite options.

More info on 888poker Lounges can be found at 888poker.com.

MGM and Boyd Gaming Stike Deal with Bwin.Party for Online Poker Venture

On Monday, MarketWatch announced that MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming joined forces with Bwin.Party to create a new company in anticipation of legalized online gambling in the U.S. The joint venture marks the latest in a long line of companies looking to join the race for a share of the online gambling market in the States.

MGM Chief Executive Jim Murren says that if online poker eventually becomes legalized in the U.S., MGM would be “very interested” in using Bwin’s software to develop sites for their properties.

“We know there are millions of U.S. citizens risking billions of dollars at unregulated, illegal sites,” Murren told MarketWatch. “And there is no way to enforce good behavior, and that has to change.”

Get more on the story here at PokerNews.com.

Trick or Treat

If this is your neighbor, we feel sorry for you. Happy Halloween!

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October 31 2011, Chad Holloway

If you’ve been watching the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event episodes on ESPN, you’ve no doubt gotten to know 21-year-old Anton Makiievskyi of Dnipropetrousk, Ukraine. This aspiring pro made waves on Days 7 and 8, ultimately making this year’s November Nine as the second shortest stack with 13,825,000.

This summer marked Makiievskyi’s first trip to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas where he became the first Ukrainian player to ever make the Main Event final table. That is not to say Ukrainians haven’t found success at the WSOP. In fact, four Ukrainians won bracelets this summer, with Makiievskyi hoping to claim the fifth.

Since making the November Nine, Makiievskyi has been keeping busy traveling and playing a few tournaments. However, aside from a 19th-place finish in the 2011 WSOP Europe Event #4: “3,200 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Shootout for “6,913, Makiievskyi has been more focused on getting some rest and relaxation in preparation for the biggest final table of his life.

PokerNews recently sat down with Makiievskyi to find out just what he’s been up to since July, including his preparations and plan for succeeding in this year’s November Nine.

On your way to the final table, was there a big hand that sticks out in your mind as a turning point in the tournament?

Actually, there are two hands. One, the hand with king-jack that was shown on television. For me, a more impressive hand was when I caught the queen on the river. I got all-in preflop with queens against . That hand is on the TV coverage on ESPN. There was an ace on the flop and I got my one outer on the river. It was a really, really good feeling. I can’t even described how I felt when I caught that. I was actually all-in, so I would have bust out if I lost that hand.

Speaking of the ESPN coverage, you’ve been on quite a bit recently. Are you happy with the way you’re being portrayed and how the show has been edited?

Yeah, it’s really nice. I like what the commentators say about me. I like the hands they’re showing. I’m wondering what will be on the Day 8 coverage, but up to Day 7, they’re OK.

What have you been up to since you’ve made the final table? Have you been traveling? Have you played any other tournaments?

I’ve traveled a little. I’ve played EPT, WPT, Partouche Poker Tour, WSOP Europe. Got only one cash, but the main goal was to travel, not to play. I don’t want to play a lot now. I’ve traveled a little, and I’m really happy that I did it.

When you made the final table, what was the reaction from your family and friends back in Ukraine?

Pretty impressive. It was really nice to hear all the congratulations and stuff. It was good, I cannot describe it.

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

There will be my friends who’ve got shares of me, and my family, my sister and my mother. I think it will be like seven to 10 friends and my sister and mother. There are some guys that I don’t know really well, but they say that they will come to try and support me. That’s all.

How much of your action do you have?

[Laughs] I’ve got a quarter.

You’ve already got ninth-place money locked up, have you made any big purchases with that so far?

I think that it’s not a good decision to make big purchases now because come November my bankroll could change so much that I’m not sure what purchases I’m able to do, you know. Now I can afford like a cheap car, but if I can get in second place or first place, I can buy a really expensive car. I think it will be better to decide after November.

Tell me your thoughts on the final table. Aside from yourself, who do you think has the best chance of taking down the title?

I’m not sure. Eoghan O’Dea, Phil Collins, Pius Heinz, and Ben Lamb. I think the best chance would be Pius and Ben. They’re most likely to win.

What are you doing to prepare for the final table?

I’ve been studying a little, watching videos of them. I have done nothing to prepare technically, but I just watch and try to take some notes. It’s hard to make some big notes. I think I will get much more information on them while we’re at the final table because of the hands being revealed online [via the live streaming].

When will you be in Vegas for the final table? Are you going out a little early?

I’m going to be there on Nov. 2.

What’s more important to you, the money or the bracelet?

They’re different things, but now I think money is more important. I would definitely take third place [money] if someone would propose me that now.

If you make it to heads-up play, who would you want to face off against?

I would like to see Badih Bounahra against me in heads-up, but I think it will be really epic if I get there against Ben Lamb. It’d be much more interesting.

Would you say Badih would be the easiest to defeat while Lamb would be the toughest?

Yeah, probably.

After making the final table, did you go out and celebrate? How long did it take to set in?

Yeah, we got to celebrate a little – drinking and out to a strip club. I was really tired, I wanted to sleep for three days. I was traveling a little to Lake Mead, and going to some shows in Las Vegas, because I just wanted to see Vegas a little. I’d been in Vegas for two weeks and I’d only been in the Rio. I got no chance to see the city. So just seeing the city with my friends.

To learn more on Makiievskyi, check out the following video, which was taken the day after he made the November Nine:

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Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway