March 28 2012, Matthew Pitt

Day 2 of the PokerStars.it European Poker Tour Campione Main Event has come to an end after six, 75-minute levels were completed inside the vast Casino di Campione. At the start of play 325 players took their seats, each with high hopes of becoming an EPT champion, but that dream is over for all but 99 of them.

The dreams of stardom are well and truly alive for Balazs Botond, the overnight chip leader. He bagged up 646,000 in chips by the time the tournament director called an end to the day. Botond flew under the proverbial radar for the majority of the day, and when his monster stack was brought to the Live Reporting Team’s attention, we attempted to investigate how it was built.

“Were you involved in many big hands to build your stack?” he asked before adding, “We guess you’re running really hot, no?”

“Actually no,” came the reply before two of his opponents informed us, almost at the same time, “He’s just playing really well!”

“Yeah. I’m playing really well,” confirmed the PokerStars hoodie-sporting Hungarian.

Botond’s stack contains almost 150,000 more chips than his nearest rival – the dangerous Ronny Kaiser. The current EPT Tallin champion, Kaiser has been tearing up the high stakes pot-limit Omaha cash games on PokerStars over the past few weeks and his terrific form seems to have followed him into the live arena because he ended the day with 506,500 inchips.

Like Botond, Kaiser was not drawing much attention to himself until he was involved in a massive pot toward the latter stages of the day when his held against and to send two players to the rail and boost his stack past the 500,000-chip barrier.

After almost eight full seasons of the EPT with no double winner, it is almost impossible not to mention the possibility of someone becoming the first player to win two EPT main events. Almost without fail, at least one former champion makes a deep run and Campione is no different. There are eight players remaining in the field who have lifted that coveted trophy.

Along with the aforementioned Kaiser, the following players, in chip count order, will no doubt be referred to as the “potential first double EPT winner” on at least one occasion on Day 3. Keep an eye out for David Vamplew (412,900), Roberto Romanello (331,000), Liv Boeree (300,900), Nicolas Chouity (257,000), Rupert Elder (161,600), Martin Finger (122,400) and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (113,500). Imagine if all eight made it through to the final table!

A special mention has to go to Team PokerStars’ Liv Boeree who looked to be down and out within the first couple of levels of play. After a clash with Vamplew, who she was seated next to all day, she was left with just 8,000 chips with blinds at 500/1,000/100. She staged an epic comeback however, and when she sits down on Day 3, she will do so armed with almost exactly 100 big blinds!

End of Day 2 Chip Counts

Play resumes at 1400 CEST (0500 PDT) on Thursday and will continue until only 24 players remain. You can follow all of the action over on the PokerNews Live Reporting pages, and we will have a full recap of the action for you shortly after play ends.

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March 28 2012, Brett Collson

If you’re looking for the day’s biggest poker news, you’ve come to the right place. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’re bringing you the NFL’s sudden shift concerning its gambling ad policy, PokerStars signing a new pro from Italy, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Day 1b of the PokerStars.it European Poker Tour Campione Main Event came to a close on Tuesday. Former EPT Grand Final champion Nicolas Chouity was the chip leader, but many notables survived.

Once the European Poker Tour wraps up in Campione this week, the tour will head to Berlin, Germany. Lynn Gilmartin takes a look at some of the past experiences at EPT Berlin through the PokerNews Video Vault.

Many of poker’s best online players never get a chance to shine in the spotlight. We’re here to change that. In the inaugural edition of Online Chat, Thiago “@TheDecano” Nishijima talks about his large sum of money stuck on UB, and more.

Daniel Negreanu was back with his Weekly Rant on Wednesday. To hear him discuss his TwoPlusTwo ban and other topics, head over to The Muck.

While visiting The Muck, you can check out on the Final Four of the PokerNews Fan Bracket. Negreanu, Olivier Busquet, Phil Hellmuth and Jason Mercier have emerged from the original field of 64. Don’t forget to vote!

No Fun League?

It seems the National Football League has finally opened up to the idea of cashing in on advertising from brick-and-mortar casinos. The Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday that owners could vote as early as this week on allowing casinos to advertise in NFL stadiums, team publications and on club radio broadcasts.

The NFL has long been one of the biggest antagonists of gambling even though sports betting and fantasy football have played a major role in the league’s television ratings and revenue boosts over the years.

The league’s opposition to gambling also applied to poker. Last February, around 30 NFL players attended a charity poker tournament at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, but the NFL got wind of the tournament and forced the players to sit back and watch.

Even if the owners vote to approve casino advertising, there will be restrictions. It’s highly unlikely that companies will be able to use NFL logos, and all casinos with sports books will be prohibited from advertising.

“It’s an interesting situation, because that’s a great segment in which to develop relationships anyway,” New York Jets owner Woody Johnson told the New York Post. “But it’s also a delicate situation because you’d want to be sensitive to the league’s existing policy on gambling.”

Read more at the Post.

PokerStars’ New Loose Cannon

If you’re a fan of the PokerStars.net Big Game, you’ll probably recognize the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro. Massimiliano Martinez, who finished as the biggest winner among the “Loose Cannons” in the shows second season, has signed on to represent PokerStars at tournaments around the globe and online.

Most Loose Cannons entered the PokerStars Big Game with little experience playing against top competition, but Martinez already had a pair of impressive wins under his belt, including a victory in a side event at PokerStars EPT San Remo last May. His total winnings on the live circuit exceed $300,000.

Martinez ran over his table during the PokerStars Big Game, and even owned the great Phil Hellmuth on a number of occasions.

On Wednesday, PokerNews’ Sarah Grant caught up with Martinez in Campione, Italy, to talk about his new deal:

Duhamel Leads Global Poker Index Player of the Year

Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel continued to occupy the top spot in the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings this week. The award, which is presented by PokerNews, honors the player who has the strongest performance in live tournaments during the calendar year, according to the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.

The top five in the rankings stayed the same this week, with Duhamel holding a sizable lead over Erik Cajelais, Bruno Lopes, Noah Schwartz and Faraz Jaka, respectively. The only change in the top 10 was 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event champ Oliver Speidel, who jumped four spots to No. 7. Speidel recently finished seventh in the ANZPT Sydney Main Event for $41,262.

Here’s a look at the rest of the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings:

GPI Player of the Year Top 10

For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to EpicPoker.com.

Poker on a Boat

In the past two years, the World Poker Tour has expanded with numerous events in European countries. Now, it’s hitting international waters on a boat (cue T-Pain).

On Wednesday, the WPT announced a partnership with Cruise Authority and Royal Caribbean International to present the WPT Cruise. The first voyage runs from Sept. 30 through Oct. 7, 2012, and features port stops in popular Caribbean destinations including Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Royal Caribbean’s private beach in Haiti.

There won’t be a WPT tournament taking place on the 160,000-ton ship, but passengers will be able to compete in cash games, sit-and-go tournaments, ladies-only events and freeroll tournaments. All WPT Cruise passengers will receive a special welcome package containing WPT apparel and merchandise, poker lessons and a free three-month subscription to ClubWPT.com.

Guests will also have the chance meet WPT announcers Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, as well as the Royal Flush Girls.

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Push ‘em In

A new poker variant is making its debut on Betfair this week. Push ‘em is a game designed to create action at the cash-game tables as players are required to buy in for exactly five big blinds. The format doesn’t leave a lot of room for creativity, but action junkies will certainly get their fix.

All Push ‘em games are six-handed with limits running from $0.05/$0.10 up to $1/$2. If a player loses an all-in confrontation, he or she will be required to post five big blinds to stay at the table. For example, at a $1/2 game, the starting buy-in is $10. Players can’t buy in for anything more or less than five big blinds.

If you’re interested in playing Push ‘em, Martin Harris has written a great strategy guide over at betfair.com. Be sure to check it out.

How Do You Like Your Eggs Cooked?

Easter is coming up, so Laura Cornelius asked the poker pros in Campione how they like their eggs prepared.

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