October 12 2012, Brett Collson

Another day, another big story involving Full Tilt Poker. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’re covering the new rewards program coming to FTP, Howard Lederer rejoining the high-stakes cash games in Las Vegas, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Ludovic Lacay took down the 2012 European Poker Tour Sanremo Main Event on Thursday. Take a look at his path to victory in our EPT Sanremo recap.

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.

Despite what’s happened in the first five weeks of the NFL season, it’s important to stick to your guns when looking at the Week 6 betting lines. Rich Ryan explains in the latest Pigskin Diaries.

Staking is a very common practice among high-stakes poker players. Donnie Peters recently caught up with Jason Mercier to get an inside look at the world of backing.

Did you miss anything from the past week? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Lynn Gilmartin and Sarah Grant break down all the big stories in the PokerNews Weekly.

Full Tilt Poker Changes Rewards Program

With the relaunch of Full Tilt Poker less than one month away, Poker Room Manager Shyam Markus has unveiled information about a change in the site’s rewards program.

In a thread at TwoPlusTwo.com, Markus said Full Tilt Poker had begun working on a new rewards system well before PokerStars had purchased the company in July. The new system will combine aspects of Iron Man, Black Card, and affiliate-paid rakeback that the site used for years. It is expected to be introduced some time after the site reopens on Nov. 6.

“By the time the PokerStars deal came along, most of the major work on this new program was done, and it was just a matter of deciding whether or not to go with it,” Markus explained. “This was not a trivial decision, but in the end we decided that the benefits of having a unified program were worth the change. So when we relaunch on November 6th it will be without Iron Man, Black Card, or affiliate-paid rakeback.

“We aren’t quite ready to give all of the details of the new rewards program, but the general idea is that it will be available to everyone, and the main benefit of the program is weekly cash payments that are based on the number of Full Tilt Points earned that week. The program tops out at paying $2.50 for every 100 Full Tilt Points earned (which works out to 25 percent).”

Markus added that it will be a rewarding transition for Iron Man and Black Card players, saying, “long-term players of both promotions will likely get a leg-up in the new program from the start.”

For more information on the new rewards system, read the post at TwoPlusTwo.com.

The Return of Howard

When former Full Tilt Poker executive Howard Lederer sat down with PokerNews for The Lederer Files last month, he told Matthew Parvis that he planned on returning to the poker tables after a 16-month absence. “I’ve been a poker player for 30 years,” Lederer said about his imminent comeback.

Well, about a month later, he did make his return.

Following reports that Lederer had made appearances at Bellagio and Aria poker rooms this week, high-stakes regular “Crazy” Mike Thorpe tweeted a picture of Lederer playing in Bobby’s Room with the likes of Eli Elezra, Doyle Brunson, David Oppenheim, Huck Seed and Nick Schulman on Thursday. The group was reportedly playing $400/$800 mixed games in the private room while watching the vice presidential debate on television.

As you’d imagine, the reaction from the poker community has been hostile toward Lederer, who could be on the hook for more than $40 million in assets traceable to illegal activities while he was involved with Full Tilt Poker. While he’s sitting down at the largest cash games in Las Vegas, FTP customers in the U.S. are still waiting to be reimbursed by the Department of Justice.

Making Amends?

Over the past month, Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid have bickered over a bill that would permit regulated federal online poker in the U.S. Heller has accused Reid of attempting to push the bill through Congress preemptively while Heller and Sen. John Kyl were trying to coax Republican leaders into clearing the way for Internet poker legalization.

On Thursday, though, Heller said he is confident he and Reid will be able to move the bill through Congress after the upcoming election. Heller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the squabble with Reid was due to their opposing political allegiances. Heller, a republican, is running for a Nevada Senate seat against Democrat Shelley Berkley, whom Reid is backing.

“I have no doubt when this race is over, Senator Reid and I will sit down and say, ‘OK, we got this behind us now, let’s work together and get this done,’” Heller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And I have no doubt that it needs to get done by the end of the year. And I fully support working with Senator Reid in making that happen.”

The bill would seek to legalize online poker and establish a framework for it to be regulated on the federal level. Heller believes there is enough support in Congress to approve Internet poker because it is a game of skill, unlike other casino games where gamblers play against the house.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has more.

That Winning Feeling

On Thursday, Ludovic Lacay won the Season 9 European Poker Tour Sanremo Main Event, adding his name to an elite list of winners that includes Team PokerStars Pros Jason Mercier and Liv Boeree. How does it feel to be crowned champion in Sanremo? Mercier and Boeree sat down and reminisced.

That’s All From San Remo!

After EPT Sanremo wrapped up Thursday, Sarah Grant took a look back at the week’s highlights and revealed some footage that didn’t make the cutting room floor.

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October 11 2012, Donnie Peters, Chad Holloway

One week ago, the European Poker Tour Sanremo, the second stop on the Season 9 schedule, kicked off with 797 players each putting up “5,300 to battle it out for poker supremacy at the Main Event. It was a long seven days of play, but in the end Ludovic Lacay captured the title, the “744,910 first-place prize, and a brand-new Shamballa Jewels bracelet.

On Thursday, the final eight players returned to the Casino Sanremo to play down to a winner. The stacks were fairly deep, so there was plenty of play to be had, and it took more than three and a half hours for the first elimination to occur. It happened when Jason Lavallee called Ismael Bojang’s three-bet shove for 1,500,000.

Showdown
Lavallee:
Bojang:

It was a flip, but Bojang needed to improve. Unfortunately for him, the board ran out and the German was sent home in eighth place for “65,450. A couple of hours later, Adrian Piasecki joined him on the rail in seventh place when his failed to improve against the of Lacay when the board ran out .

The next to go was the sole American at the table, Micah Raskin, who opened from under the gun and called when Angelo Recchia three-bet from the cut-off. The flop fell and Raskin check-raised Recchia’s 250,000 continuation bet up to 500,000. Recchia then three-bet to 875,000, Raskin called, and the hit the turn. Raskin check-called a bet of 626,000, leaving himself just 330,000 behind, and the peeled off on the river. Raskin proceeded to check-call with for a full house, but it was no good as Recchia had rivered a bigger full house with . With that, Raskin took his leave in sixth place.

The Irishman Jason Tompkins was the next to go in fifth place after his couldn’t crack the of Artem Litvinov after the two got it all in preflop. A short time later, Lavalle opened to 250,000 from under the gun before Recchia moved all in for 3,495,000 from the button. Lacay was in the big blind and moved all-in over the top. The action was back on Lavallee and he made a quick and disciplined fold with ace-king.

Showdown
Recchia:
Lacay:

Jason Lavallee

The board ran out and the hope of having a home-grown champion came to an end as the last Italian in the field exited in fourth place for “225,000. After Litvinov was bounced in third place, Lacay and Lavallee, the two biggest stacks at the start of the day, engaged in heads-up play with the former holding a nearly 2-to-1 chip lead.

It was at that point the two struck a deal – Lacay locked up “644,910 while Lavallee guaranteed himself “538,089, which meant they were playing for “100,000 on the side. Once the numbers were settled, Lacay got to working chipping away at his opponent. In what would be the last hand, Lacay bet 175,000 on a flop, and Lavallee raised that up to 400,000. Lacay three-bet to 750,000, Lavallee called, and turn came the . Lacay came out firing with a big 1,400,000 bet, and Lavallee took his time before shoving for 4,905,000 chips. Lacay called very quickly and the cards were tabled:

Lacay: for top two pair.
Lavallee: for a flush draw.

The river brought the and Lacay became the EPT9 Sanremo champion!

EPT9 Sanremo Final Table Results

*Denotes a heads-up deal

EPT Sanremo “10,000 High Roller

The “10,000 High Roller also wrapped up on Thursday, and Benny Spindler collected another EPT trophy for his mantle.

Benny Spindler

This victory marks Spindler’s second EPT High Roller title, and third EPT title. He won the EPT Tallinn High Roller in 2011, and he also won the EPT London Main Event that same year. To claim this title, Spindler had to defeat a very tough final table and endure a five-hour heads-up match with second-place finisher Keven Stammen.

Spindler began the day second in chips to Joel Nordkvist, but the Swede wound up finishing in third place. When the final duel began, Spindler held the chip lead with 3.409 million in chips to Stammen’s 791,000.

After some battling back from Stammen, followed by a double up, the two were much closer to even and talks of a deal surfaced. After some jockeying of the numbers, the two agreed to do a deal where Spindler would take “223,000, Stammen would take “200,000, and then there was “30,000 left for the winner. Well, that winner wound up being Spindler to give him a total score of “253,000.

On the final hand, Stammen moved all in with the – a very good hand for heads-up play – but Spindler had picked up the mother of all hands with the . He even had Stammen’s suits dominated. The board ran out to eliminate Stammen and give Spindler the title.

For his win, Spindler earned “253,000, the gorgeous trophy and the Shamballa Jewells bracelet.

Final Table Results

Here’s Spindler’s winner interview with PokerNews’ Sarah Grant:

Video: http://www.pokernews.com/video/ept9-sanremo-benny-spindler-wins-the-high-roller-7276.htm

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