May 21 2012, Brett Collson

We’re only six days away from the exciting start of the 2012 World Series of Poker, but there’s still plenty going on around the world of poker. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’re bringing you another record for PokerStars, bwin.party settling a back tax issue with Spain, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The $25,000 World Poker Tour World Championship kicked off on Saturday. After two days of play, Michael Mizrachi led the way.

How did the Sunday Majors play out on PokerStars? Who took down the biggest score? Find out in the Sunday Briefing.

Which rookies should you be keeping an eye on at this summer’s WSOP? We’re here to tell you. In the latest edition of the 2012 WSOP Rookie Roundup, we take a look at Dominik Nitsche.

The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker Main Event kicked off on Sunday. For a close look at the action, check out our Day 15 SCOOP recap.

Looking for photos to use during the the entire World Series of Poker? PokerNews is the Official Photographer of the WSOP for the second straight year.

How has Terrence Chan’s life changed since he started fighting professionally? Find out that and more in the latest edition of Seat Open.

Did you miss Sunday’s World Poker Tour coverage on FSN? Read our WPT recap to get caught up.

Bwin.Party Pays Off Back Taxes in Spain

Online gaming giant bwin.party has announced that it will comply with Spain’s demand for back taxes in order to receive an online gambling license in the new regulated market set to open next month.

The company released a report on Monday stating that it has agreed to pay up to “33.6 million to the Spanish tax authority to settle up for two laws that previously were not applied to offshore online gaming. After completing a tax self-assessment, bwin.party determined it was liable for “25.6m in tax payments and “8 million in interest and surcharges.

As reported by PokerNews last week, the Spanish tax ministry is seeking retroactive taxes from license applicants that offered online betting to Spanish customers since 2008. Bwin.party was one of around 60 companies that reportedly applied for a Spanish license and was facing one of the largest back tax figures among the applicants.

“Together with a number of other operators we have today completed a tax self-assessment in accordance with the Spanish Tax Authority’s requirements and as a result are making a payment of “25.6m plus surcharges and interest of up to “8m,” the company said in Monday’s report. “Having taken these steps, we believe we have now fulfilled all requirements and look forward to receiving our license and entering the Spanish market.”

The first Spanish gaming licenses are expected to be issued early next month. PokerStars, 888, William Hill, Betfair and Ladbrokes are among the operators interested in the new market. PokerStars is rumored to owe as much as “200 million in back taxes.

Once approved for a license, operators can begin offering online gambling services under a “dot-es” domain.

Read the full report at bwinparty.com.

PokerStars Breaks More Records

Once again, PokerStars has bested its own record for awesomeness.

The world’s leading online poker site announced Monday that the 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) has set a new milestone as the richest online poker tournament series ever. When the final two SCOOP events reach their conclusion on Monday, more than $65 million will have been paid out across 40 events (120 tournaments). The previous record of $64,230,010 was set during the 2010 SCOOP.

The 2012 SCOOP also bested the previous record for highest participation ever in a PokerStars ‘Championship of Online Poker’ series with a total of 526,154 entries, easily exceeding the previous record of 461,936 in the 2010 SCOOP. The all-time record holder for highest participation is the PokerStars MicroMillions series, which brought in 1,294,883 entries during its inaugural festival in March.

The 2012 SCOOP marks are astonishing considering PokerStars lost its biggest market when it was forced to exit the U.S. in April 2011. Read more about the SCOOP statistics at PokerStars.com.

Judge Delays Black Friday Defendant Sentence

According to Pokerati.com, the sentencing for Black Friday principal Brent Buckley has hit a snag because of a court order filed by District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.

Buckley, the co-founder of Absolute Poker who was indicted by the Department of Justice on April 15, 2011, pleaded guilty last December to violation of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and bank fraud. Under the plea agreement, Buckley was expected to spend up to 18 months behind bars, well below the maximum prison sentence of 30 years he faced for the original charges.

Kaplan, however, has indicated that the court will consider taking harsher action against Beckley on the ground of “aggravating circumstance.” Kaplan’s order states that Buckley “deliberately and unlawfully conspired to circumvent, and circumvented, governing laws of the United States in order to conduct or facilitate an unlawful business or businesses involving billions of dollars from which those businesses gained many millions of dollars.”

Buckley’s sentencing hearing was scheduled for Monday but has been pushed back to June 28. Read Pokerati.com for more.

Richard Evans WIns UKIPT Dublin

A winner has been determined at the “700+”70 PokerStars UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) Dublin Main Event. After five days of work, Richard Evans outlasted a field of 597 players at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin to win his first UKIPT crown and a top prize of “75,500.

Graeme Crozier entered the final table with the chip lead, but the U.K. amateur was unable to parlay his big stack into a title. Crozier busted in sixth place when his finished second best to the of Stephen McGrath after the chips went in on a flop.

Padraig O’Neill and Vincent Buis were the next to hit the rail, respectively, leaving Seamus Birt, McGrath and Evans three-handed. The men decided on a three-way chop, with each getting “60,000 and the winner receiving an additional “15,500. Evans disposed of Birt a short while later, leaving him heads up against McGrath for the title.

On the final hand of the match, McGrath limped from the small blind and Evans checked to see a flop of . Evans check-called a 300,000 bet and the hit the turn. Evan checked again, and McGrath moved all-in for 1,350,000. Evans called instantly with for top paid and an open-ender, which was ahead of McGrath’s for a second pair, a flush draw and a gutshot. The landed on the river, giving Evans the title and the top prize of “75,500.

For detailed updates from UKIPT Dublin Main Event final table, visit the PokerStars Blog.

Mad Marvin Joins PartyPoker

Well, it didn’t take Marvin Rettenmaier long to find a new home. Just weeks after parting ways with Titan Poker, the man known as “Mad Marvin” became the newest member of Team PartyPoker during the World Poker Tour World Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas over the weekend.

Rettenmaier has emerged into one of Europe’s biggest poker stars after cashing for nearly $1.7 million in live tournaments since 2009. The 25-year-old joins Tony G, Mike Sexton, Kara Scott and fellow German Bodo Sbrzesny on PartyPoker’s short roster of sponsored pros.

“It is great to have Marvin on board. I have always said he is a player of true character,” Tony G said about his new teammate. “He has the Germanic mathematical game and he has “heart, he is winning, he gets drunk, he loses his passport –he is also running good.”

For more, read our story at PokerNews.com.

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May 21 2012, Chad Holloway

On Sunday, the World Poker Tour Season X on Fox Sports Network continued with Part II of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. The $10,000 Main Event, which originally took place at the Bellagio from Dec. 6 through 11, 2011, attracted 413 players and created a prize pool of $4,006,100, with $821,612 reserved for first place.

In Part I, the early stages of the tournament were highlighted as well as the first two eliminations from the stacked final table. The first to go was actually last year’s champion, Antonio Esfandiari. On Hand #10 of the final table, action folded to James Dempsey on the button and he put in a big raise. Esfandiari called off from the small blind and was in great shape to double.

Showdown

Unfortunately for him, the board would run out to give Dempsey a pair of fours and the win. With that, Esfandiari’s title defense came to an end in sixth place for $119,418.

Just two hands later, Soi Nguyen opened for 120,000 with and Vitor Coelho committed his last 260,000 with . Vanessa Selbst then came along with and both active players checked down every street as the board ran out . Coelho, who had made the final table of the WPT stop before the Five Diamond, finished in fifth place for $159,224.

Here’s how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:

WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Final Table

Nguyen Gets Value on Nut Flush: Nguyen was under the gun and opened for 120,000 with , and Selbst opted to defend from the big blind with the . The flop gave Selbst a pair of queens, but she checked to Nguyen, who bet 175,000 with the nut-flush draw. Selbst made the call and then checked the turn. Nguyen set the trap by checking the , leading to the river. Selbst checked her straight and Nguyen came to life with a bet of 325,000. Selbst thought about it, glanced at her opponent, and then made the call. With that, Nguyen collected the 1,310,000 pot while Selbst released a long sigh.

Nguyen-ing: “We all learned together as kids, myself, Nam Le and Nam’s brothers,” Nguyen explained in a feature after the hand on how he learned to play the game. “We actually had to buy a book in the beginning because none of us knew the exact rules to it, and then I went on got married and had a kid, and decided to take the career path, and Nam just went down the poker road and blew up in 2006. I always thought to myself, ‘Wow, I’ve played with him before and taken a couple pots down from him. So hopefully someday, when the time is right financially, that I’m gonna take my stab at it.’ Lo and behold I made the final table.”

Five Questions: In the latest edition of Five Questions, Kimberly Lansing sat down with Daniel Negreanu and talked about a variety of topics including tournaments and his favorite WPT moment. In regards to the latter, Negreanu stated his favorite moment was when he won the Borgata “because it was such a tough field. Very compeititve, and because [he] thought everyone wanted it so bad.” It was also his first $1-million win.

When asked what he would be doing if he wasn’t playing poker, Negreanu responded: “If I quit playing poker, I would probably do some writing, because I’ve always enjoyed it. Do some Bikram yoga, and on the weekends be drinking at the club. You know, not much different than I’m doing right now. I’m kind of living the life I wanted for the most part.”

One for Lucky Chewy: With the blinds at 30,000/60,000 and a 10,000 ante, Nguyen opened for 120,000 with and was met with a three-bet to 400,000 by Andrew Lichtenberger, who held in the big blind. Nguyen made the call and it was heads up to the flop. Lichtenberger was first to act and led out for 525,000, which was enough to win as Nguyen released his hand.

Interestingly, Lichtenberger had taken eighth in the Five Diamond the year before for $67,570.

Double for Selbst: Action folded to Dempsey on the button and he opened for 125,000 with . Lichtenberger was in the small blind and three-bet to 425,000 with , prompting Selbst to move all-in for her last 1,135,000 from the big with . Lichtenberger unenthusiastically made the call and it was off to the races.

As the cards laid, Selbst had a 48 percent chance of winning the hand, but that fell to 40 percent on the flop. “An eight would work as well,” Selbst pointed out. While that was true, it was the on the turn that made her a 78 percent favorite. Lichtenberger was looking for either a three or club on the river to eliminate his tough competitor, but it was not meant to be as the peeled off.

Andrew Lichtenberger Eliminated in Fourth Place: After squeezing out on the button, Nguyen came in with a raise to 160,000 and was immediately met with a three-bet to 450,000 by Dempsey, who held , in the small blind. Lichtenberger was next to act in the big and proceeded to move all-in for 2.75 million with .

Nguyen shot back in his chair and seemed frustrated by the predicament; nonetheless, he made the call while Dempsey quickly got out of the way. Nguyen, who was an 89 percent favorite to win the hand, went to his rail for a celebratory high five while Lichtenberger and Dempsey discussed the situation as well as Russel Brand’s biography. “What can I do,” Lichtenberger said. “Might as well lighten the mood.”

It did seem like a quiet and laid-back atmosphere as the board ran out . Lichtenberger gave Selbst a hug, shook Nguyen’s hand and then made his exit in fourth place for $218,933.

“It’s definitely a learning experience, always,” Lichtenberger told sideline reported Matt Savage in his post-elimination interview when asked about making the transition from online play to live. “There’s so many things different about it like, you know, sitting across from someone and being able to look them in the eye. It’s just a whole different game really. Yeah, I feel I adapted pretty well to it.”

Tune in Next Week: Part III of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic is set to air on Sunday, May 27, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action right here on PokerNews.

Past Foxwoods World Poker Finals Champions

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*Picture courtesy of World Poker Tour.

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