July 06 2012, Brett Collson

We’re only one day away from the start of the World Series of Poker Main Event. The question on everyone’s mind: How many players will put up the $10,000 buy-in? Well, we learned of one superstar athlete who’s participating this weekend. We’ll cover that story and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

How close is Konstatin Puchkov to making World Series of Poker history? We cover that story and more in our Day 40 WSOP recap.

Two WSOP final tables were put on hold late Thursday night. We take a look at the players returning to play for a bracelet in Friday’s What To Watch For.

How was the high-stakes action at the PokerStars tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week’s biggest winners and losers.

Antonio Esfandiari won the largest prize in poker history this week. “The Magician” is one of the subjects in Rich Ryan’s Five Thoughts piece.

Does poker involve more luck or skill? The PokerNews video team asked poker pros for their opinion on Thursday.

Looking for a fun, behind-the-scenes perspective of life at the WSOP? All Mucked Up has daily stories from inside the Rio, so check it out!

Luongo Antes Up

Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo has announced he will be playing in the World Series of Poker Main Event this weekend. The NHL netminder joins a number of sports superstars like Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion and Antonio Tarver to compete in poker’s most prestigious tournament.

Luongo, who guided the Canucks to the Stanley Cup finals in 2011, has been a poker enthusiast for a long time. In 2009, Luongo competed in the PokerStars.net NHL Charity Shootout during the WSOP. He, along with NHL stars Alex Ovechkin and Jeremy Roenick, got a chance to rub elbows with some of the best players in the poker world.

Last October, Luongo signed a controversial sponsorship deal with a government-owned British Columbia Lottery Corp. While some opponents argued that Luongo wasn’t serving as a role model for children, Luongo decided to represent Playnow.com at a number of gaming events, including the World Series of Poker, where his buy-in is paid for by the company.

“Businesses commonly partner with celebrities or sports figures to help strengthen their brand image,” a BCLC spokesperson said in a statement Thursday, according to the Vancouver Sun. “Roberto Luongo is a well-known celebrity in our marketplace, and a natural fit for this type of a marketing approach.

Luongo expressed his excitement about playing the Main Event via Twitter this week.

The Vancouver Sun has more.

Testing the Bluff

A study by Duke University has determined that poker players use a special region of their brain when executing a bluff at the poker table.

Scientists at the Duke Center for Interdisciplinary Decision Science studied how poker players bluff in different situations by hooking 20 people up to scanners and studying their neural reactions while they played a version of one-card poker. Researchers found that activity in a certain part of brain predicts whether the subject would bluff based on information that was unique to making decisions about who might be a worthy opponent. The test subjects played the game against another human and a computer.

The results could help scientists learn more about human emotions in the future.

“Often the brain is considered to have an entire ‘social network’ comprising a number of regions that help us interact with others in social contexts,” said Scott Huettel, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. “Our analyses looked at all of those regions and found that all but one responded in essentially the same way against the human and computer opponents.”

Read more at the Boston Herald.

Belgium’s Blacklist Grows

The Belgium Gambling Commission has updated its list of blacklisted online gambling operators. The latest additions include Bet365, www2.bwin.com, 7Red.com, Maaslandgames.be and SJbet.at.

In May, Belgium blacklisted 30 nonlicensed sites including Bwin, Betsson, Betfair, William Hill and 888. Under the Belgian Gambling Act, players are only allowed to play on licensed sites, and the nation’s four largest Internet service providers are in the process of barring unauthorized domains.

Among the sites granted licenses to operate in Belgium include PokerStars, Partouche, Unibet and Casino777. Meanwhile, PartyPoker.com and iPoker, two of the biggest online poker sites in the world, have called the Gambling Act “unenforceable” because it leaves issues of taxation unresolved.

Get Onnit

Interested in earning some free money during the World Series of Poker Main Event? Sarah Grant stops by the Onnit booth to talk about their product Alpha Brain and the Last Sticker Standing competition during the WSOP.

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July 05 2012, Brett Collson

The Nightly Turbo is running a little today. We apologize – our July 4th celebration in Las Vegas ended a little later than anticipated. In this edition, we’re covering the unfortunate incident involving Sam Trickett following his big score in the Big One for One Drop, the latest tour sponsored by PokerStars, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Two more bracelets were awarded at the World Series of Poker on Wednesday. Find out who won the hardware our Day 39 WSOP recap.

Which players were eyeing their second bracelet of the 2012 WSOP on Thursday? We cover that story and more in the PokerNews What To Watch For.

The Big One for One Drop was the richest tournament in poker history. It also provided some of the most memorable hands in recent memory. Chad Holloway takes a look at the biggest poker hands from the history event.

Jared Tendler is one of the most respected mindset coaches in poker today. This week, Tendler joined the Strategy With Kristy podcast to talk about motivation and other mental issues in poker.

Jason Mercier reclaimed the top spot in the Global Poker Index this week. Mickey Doft takes a look at the other big movers in the latest GRP rankings.

Looking for a fun, behind-the-scenes perspective of life at the WSOP? All Mucked Up has daily stories from inside the Rio, so check it out!

Trickett’s Bad Beat

Sam Trickett earned more than $10 million for his runner-up finish in the Big One for One Drop on Tuesday. But his after-party celebrations were spoiled when he and his girlfriend, Natasha Sandhu, were assaulted by six men outside of a Las Vegas club.

Trickett posted via Twitter shortly after his $10.1 million score that he was going to drink until his “organs hurt.” Hours later, Trickett was accosted by six strangers who beat him up and spat on Sandhu. Trickett was left with several bruises on his face and a gash across his nose.

Sandhu, Tickett’s girlfiend of seven years, added her own account of the situation and thanked her followers for their support.

Read more at UK.PokerNews.com.

Vamos PokerStars!

On Wednesday, PokerStars continued its expansion around the globe by becoming the new sponsor of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP), considered the most prestigious poker stop in Brazil.

Under PokerStars’ guidance, the BSOP will have a slick new look and feel as the live tournament design will be enhanced. The first PokerStars-sponsored BSOP event will take place in São Paulo from July 26 through 31 in Parque Anhembi. The BSOP has addition stops in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza and Balneário Camboriú.

“Incredible news! It will be great to travel all over Brazil playing in the outstanding BSOP circuit,” said Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari. “This is a truly unique opportunity to see the growing poker scene all over the country.”

“Now we count on a community of 49 million players in the world,” added BSOP CEO Igor Trafane. “Besides the number of participants, we’ll increase the technical level of the circuit, with more Brazilian players and possibly foreign players”, he analyzes. The news is also supported by the Brazilian Poker Confederation (CBTH).”

Read more at the PokerStars Blog.

Zynga Interested in Ongame?

Now that Shuffle Master has pulled out of its deal to purchase the Ongame Network, sources have told eGaming Review that social gaming giant Zynga is the frontrunner to buy the online poker network from bwin.party.

EGR reports that Zynga visited the Ongame headquarters last week and made a verbal offer to purchase Ongame. A handful of potential buyers are reportedly in the mix, but Zynga appears poised to fire the winning bid ahead of legalized online gaming in the U.S.

In March, Zynga launched proprietary platform at Zynga.com where users can find their favorite games without logging into Facebook, where Zynga’s games were previously hosted. The extension from Facebook gives Zynga more financial independence and paves the way for the company to employ a real-money gaming platform.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said in March that real-money online gaming would be a “natural fit” for the company.

You can find more on this story at eGaming Review, but beware of the paywall.

Add Some Run Good

In need of some comfortable poker apparel to wear at the tables? Run Good Gear has just what you’re looking for.

Run Good Gear is the latest apparel company to enter the poker market, providing players with stylish, comfortable, and a bit of luck-filled clothing. The newly-launched store offers materials and styles meant to make sure the player stays comfortable and warm in the poker room. If you’ve spent any time playing in the Rio during the World Series of Poker, you know staying warm is key!

Run Good Gear has also created a team of young grinders to represent the brand. The roster includes AP Phaurat, Kyle Cartwright, David Nicholson, Huy Ngyuen and Justin Gardenhire.

Check out the full apparel line at RunGoodGear.com.

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The Straddle: Week 5

What were poker players doing on July 4th? Kristy Arnett takes a look at that and more in the latest edition of The Straddle.

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