August 06 2012, Brett Collson

We’ve written all about the effect PokerStars is having on former players at Full Tilt Poker. But who else was affected greatly by last week’s deal? We’ll cover that story and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

How did Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov get his start in poker? Find out that and more in the latest edition of Seat Open.

Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Cyprus Main Event concluded on Monday. With just 53 players remaining, Sam El Sayed leads the way.

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

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

It’s been a while, but Daniel Negreanu finally released another Weekly Rant on Monday. For Daniel’s take on the PokerStars/FTP deal, the conclusion of the WSOP, and more, check out The Muck.

Poker’s Savior

When PokerStars completed a deal to purchase Full Tilt Poker’s assets last week, thousands of poker players around the world rejoiced upon learning that they would be refunded the money in their accounts. But there were more people affected by the announcement than just the players.

The Irish Examiner reports that 200 employees at Full Tilt Poker’s Dublin headquarters had their jobs saved when the deal went through. Pocket Kings, Full Tilt Poker’s parent company, had laid off more than 450 staffers after the company had its operating license removed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission last year. The employees kept on by Pocket Kings will be retained by PokerStars to help re-launch Full Tilt Poker as a separate brand in the coming months.

“It’s too early to begin disclosing many details about our strategic plans for Full Tilt, but our first order of business is to re-open the site, pay back all of the players and begin rebuilding Full Tilt’s reputation,” said Eric Hollreiser, head of corporate communications for PokerStars. “Going forward, we will operate Full Tilt as a separate brand, giving players another leading and trusted platform to enjoy the game.”

Hollreiser said in a statement last week that Full Tilt Poker’s headquarters will remain in Dublin, but regulatory oversight will be transferred to the Isle of Man.

Read more at the Irish Examiner.

Poker Players in the Mainstream

If you don’t follow Michael Phelps on Twitter, you missed some amusing tweets over the weekend. After clinching his record-setting 18th and 19th career medals in London, Phelps sent thanks to several of his Twitter followers, many of which were poker players.

USA Today even ranked the “top 15 members of the most decorated Olympic Twitter list of all-time.” Making the list were President Barack Obama, professional skateboarder and snowboarder Shaun White, former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, and poker pros Matt Stout, Josh Brikis, Jen Harman and Christian Harder. Here’s a look at some of his tweets.

Check out the full list at USAToday.com.

Bodog Pulling Out of 20 Countries

Bodog Poker players from 20 nations will no longer be allowed to play on the site effective Sept. 1, 2012.

In the past week, Bodog’s customer support team has sent emails to the affected players advising them to empty their accounts by Aug. 31. According to a company spokesperson, Bodog will be pulling out of the following nations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

The decision is part of Bodog’s plan to concentrate on its strengths and weaknesses in the market. The brand recently sold the Bodog Poker Network to its Asia-facing arm, Bodog88, seeking to benefit from the gaming industry’s massive growth in Asia.

“The Bodog brand is known for its high level of customer service & spreading ourselves too thinly to try and cover a huge amount of smaller markets was proving logistically difficult,” Bodog said in a statement on Monday. “Bodog.co.uk will concentrate on growing existing markets.”

Read more right here at PokerNews.com.

Poker Loses Another Champ

Norman Boulus, a former World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Augusta, Ga., passed away on Sunday after losing a battle with pneumonia. He was 77.

Boulos was an entrepreneur who won the $1,500 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo event at the 1990 WSOP. Boulos bested a final table that included Johnny Moss, Mike Sexton and Huck Seed to collect $108,600. His only other cash at the WSOP came in the 1999 $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, where he took 10th place for $6,375.

Boulos touched the lives of many kids over the years. He owned and operated a video game hall called Norman’s Electric Galaxy in Augusta which kept many area kids out of trouble, according to his family.

Boulos’ death comes more than a week after another former WSOP champ, Ryan Young, was killed in a car accident.

To read more about Boulos, check out the story at the Augusta Chronicle.

WPT Regional Series Hits Florida

While the World Poker Tour is going strong in Cyprus, the WPT Regional Series is close to crowning a winner in Florida. The STAX Poker Lounge Summer Heat Series Main Event kicked off on Friday with a $440 buy-in tournament that attracted 944 entrants, all of which were playing for a top prize of $90,501.

After two starting days, only 191 players advanced to Day 2 with the top 90 spots getting paid. The money bubble burst on Sunday afternoon, and when the day came to a close only 14 players were alive going into Monday’s final day.

Here’s a look at the players still in contention going into Day 3:

Follow the progress of the WPT Regional event in Florida at the Stax Poker Twitter page.

Golf is Just Not Her Thing

PokerNews hostess Lynn Gilmartin travels to some of the world’s most exotic destinations to cover poker tournaments. But as you’ll see in her recent video from Cyprus, she doesn’t hit the golf courses very often.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today!

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August 06 2012, PokerNews Staff

It is Monday morning and that can only mean one thing; it is time for the PartyPoker Weekly. In this latest edition we update you on the ongoing Summer Superstar promotion, bring you snippets of Kara Scott’s blog and much more.

Become A Summer Superstar On PartyPoker

The Summer Superstars promotion kicks off Monday and runs all the way through to Aug. 19. Someone walk away with a share of $5,000 every day and even a package to a World Poker Tour event!

Every day you play on PartyPoker the PartyPoints your collect will secure your seat to one of three fantastic freerolls.

• Collect one point and qualify for the Summer Superstar Bronze freeroll that has a prize pool of $1,000.
• Collect 10 points and qualify for the Summer Superstar Silver freeroll that has a prize pool of $1,500.
• Collect 25 points and qualify for the Summer Superstar Gold freeroll that has a prize pool of $2,500.

Make it to the money in these freerolls and you will not only be walking away with free cash prizes but you will also earn precious leaderboard points too. The higher up the Summer Superstars leader boards you finish, the better your eventual prizes will be!

Each freeroll (Bronze, Silver and Gold) will have its own Summer Superstars leaderboard that pays out the top 250 finishers. Prizes range from $5 and go all the way up to $5,000 in cash with WPT packages on offer the eventual winners of each leaderboard.

Visit PartyPoker Now!

Boost Your Bankroll With PartyPoker

Every week you can boost your bankroll with a share of $5,000 thanks to the Bankroll Booster promotion. The $5,000 guaranteed freeroll runs every Sunday at 14:30 EDT and you can grab a seat into it absolutely free of charge!

To help yourself to a free seat, simply make a deposit using the bonus code “BOOSTER” and you will immediately be rewarded with a seat in the next available $5,000 Bankroll Booster Freeroll! But if you are not in a position to make a deposit into your PartyPoker account you can earn or win your way into the freeroll very easily.

If you earn just five PartyPoints during the week you will be eligible for seat. It’s very easy to achieve, because PartyPoker awards two PartyPoints per $1 in rake or $1 in tournament fees! There are also daily freeroll qualifiers available, one costs just a single PartyPoint to enter and they run three times per day. The other is a twice daily freeroll for new cash game players.

Get involved now and win a share of $5,000.

Visit PartyPoker Now!

Kara Scott On A New Chapter Of Her Life

Kara Scott has opened a new chapter in her life recently as she has decided to pack her bags once again and find a new place to call home. The PartyPoker sponsored pro has decided to settle in Italy for the time being and as a result she has taken up learning Italian.

In her latest blog Kara talks about how the move has gone so far, the bevvy of ladies she has been socializing with and plenty more besides. Check out Kara’s exclusive PartyPoker blog to find out what she has been up to.

Visit PartyPoker Now!

Help Yourself To A Free $50 Bankroll Thanks To PokerNews!

Thanks to the special relationship between PokerNews and PartyPoker you can help yourself to a free $50 bankroll! That is correct, $50 absolutely free.

All you need to do is follow the simple steps below, and $50 is all yours to keep!

• Download the PartyPoker software through PokerNews
• Create a new PartyPoker account and enter the bonus code “PN50FREE”
• Fill in the registration form in the PartyPoker cashier
• Return to PokerNews and fill in our small registration form
• Check your email inbox for a confirmation email from free50@pokernews.com

Once you have received the confirmation email, $20 will be placed in your PartyPoker account. You must earn at least 40 PartyPoints before you will be able to withdraw the free $20. If you do not earn 40 PartyPoints within 60 days, the initial $20, or whatever remains of it, will be forfeited. PartyPoints are earned at a rate of two PartyPoints per $1 in rake or tournament fees, so earning 40 within 60 days is easy.

Once you have earned 40 PartyPoints a further $30 will be deposited into your account bringing the total free cash amount to $50. You must then generate 160 points before you can cash out any of the $30 and must do so within 120 days otherwise the $30, or the remainder of it will be forfeited.

Visit PartyPoker Now!

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If you experience any problems with this or any of our promotions, please contact our Ticketed Promo Support System.

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