Every year, the $25,000 World Poker Tour World Championship attracts the most notable players in poker. This year was no disappointment as 103 of them showed up for Day 1 action. Last year, Scott Seiver bested the stout 220-player field to win $1,618,344.

At the end of the short day, Steve O’Dwyer was on top with 231,750 in chips, but he wasn’t too far ahead of Masa Kagawa in second place with 228,675. Just a handful of players hit the rail on Saturday thanks large in part to the extremely deep structure that the WPT World Championship has come to be known for.

O’Dwyer did some stack building during the third level of the day with the blinds at 150/300/25. According to the WPT Live Updates Team, a pot of over 10,000 in chips had brewed between O’Dwyer, Lee Markholt and another player on the flop. The unknown player and Markholt both checked to O’Dwyer, who bet 5,400. The first player called and then Markholt got out of the way.

The turn was the and completed a possible flush draw. The first player led into O’Dwyer for 12,400 and O’Dwyer called to see the place a fourth club out on the river. With the board now completed, O’Dwyer’s opponent checked. O’Dwyer wasn’t about to make things chip and set his opponent all-in for his last 40,000 or so. The player quickly folded his hand and O’Dwyer raked in the pot to put him around 140,000 in chips at that point.

Of those in attendance were former WPT champions Guillaume Darcourt, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Jonathan Little, John Hennigan, Nick Schulman, David Chiu and Daniel Negreanu. They were joined on the felt by Isaac Haxton, Hafiz Khan, Allen Kessler, Vanessa Rousso, John Juanda and Isaac Baron, just to name a few.

Negreanu went on to finish the day with 127,175 in chips. That’s more than the 100,000 he started with, but the road on Day 1 started out with a pretty big speed bump that resulted in Negreanu making an impressive fold to Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy.

In the first level of the day with the blinds at 100/200, the WPT Live Updates Team reported that Josephy raised to 500 and Daniel Santoro called on the button. Negreanu made the call from the small blind and the big blind called as well. All four players saw the flop come down and Negreanu checked. The big blind fired 1,300 and Josephy made the call. Santoro then raised to 5,500 and Negreanu made the powerful check-reraise to 14,000. The big blind folded, but Josephy had other intentions.

After first flatting the original bet, Josephy now pumped things up to 40,000 with a reraise. Santoro folded and Negreanu went into the tank. After taking his time and even apologizing to the table for taking so long, Negreanu eventually folded middle set with the face up for all to see. Josephy elected to show Negreanu just the , but Negreanu was certain he was beat. Later on Twitter, Josephy stated that he did indeed have pocket aces.

Of the few players that were eliminated on Day 1, you have Erik Seidel, Darren Elias, Heather Sue Mercer, Sean Jazayeri and Phil Laak. Unfortunately for them, this event is not a re-entry and they’ll be forced to have to wait until next season on the WPT.

WPT World Championship Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

With registration open until Level 12 of the event, players will still be able to buy-in up until approximately 1700 PDT (0100 BST) on Day 3. That gives plenty of time for this field to grow and it surely will. Some of the players you can expect to be entering late are Jason Mercier, Matt Waxman and Sam Trickett.

Day 1 only lasted four levels and action will resume for Day 2 on Sunday at 1200 PDT (2000 BST). Be sure to stay tuned for the daily recap right here on PokerNews.

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Did you miss any of the top poker news stories this week? Well you’ve come to the right place to get caught up. We’re covering the new-look bracelets at the World Series of Poker, the Season XI schedule on the World Poker Tour, and more.

Poker Tournaments

New WSOP Bling

The World Series of Poker has unveiled the new gold bracelets that will be awarded to each winner at this year’s WSOP and WSOP Europe.

Celebrity jeweler Jason Arasheben, also known as “Jason of Beverly Hills,” was selected to design this year’s gold bracelets. Each piece features a collection of round cut diamonds while the four card suits will feature rubies and black diamonds. The bracelet features over 160 grams of 14 karat gold and over 35 carats of flawless diamonds.

Arasheben has designed championship rings for the Los Angeles Lakers, plus custom jewelry for celebs like Rihanna, Justin Bieber, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Matt Kemp.

“Blinger is Better,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “Jason grasped the heritage of WSOP bracelets, but was only interested if he could take it up several notches. This is a trophy that truly embodies the promise of today’s WSOP – seemingly unthinkable dreams are dealt each year. I challenge anyone to keep a poker face when they see this bracelet in person.”

Get Ready for Season XI

The World Poker Tour unveiled the first part of its Season XI schedule on Wednesday. In addition to nearly a dozen stops in the regular WPT slate so far, there will be at least 13 tournaments on the WPT Regional and National schedule around the world.

Season XI kicks off in Cyprus on Aug. 4 for the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. The tour will then make stops in Pennsylvania, California, Paris, Malta, and many other destinations in the U.S. and Europe. The 11 Main Events on the schedule thus far feature buy-ins ranging from $3,500 to $10,300.

The WPT Championship kicked off at Bellagio this weekend. The season X finale features a $25,500 Main Event plus the $100,000 re-entry WPT Super High Roller, both of which will be televised by Fox Sports Net. Stay tuned to PokerNews.com for results for both events.

For more information on the Season XI schedule, read the article here at PokerNews.com.

Poker Business

TwoPlusTwo Returns

Last Saturday, the nightmare ended for forum fanatics when TwoPlusTwo went back online after a two-week hiatus. The site was shut down to address the security breach that took place on April 26.

In an interview with the TwoPlusTwo Pokercast last week, owner Mason Malmuth said that he had no choice but to shut down the forum immediately upon learning that a hacker had infiltrated the site. Malmuth added that the necessary precautions had to be made before he could allow members to return.

TwoPlusTwo users were met with the following message when the site went back online:

Welcome Back! As most of you know, we had a problem that meant the forums had to be taken down for a little over two weeks. In order to log into the forums you must reset your password. To do this – enter the e-mail address for your forum account into the Password Recovery Form and then follow the instructions that are mailed to you.

Let the trolling and photoshopping recommence!

Cleveland Rocks

Ohio’s first casino opened in Cleveland on Monday morning, nearly three years after voters approved the project by a 53 percent vote. The $350 million Horseshoe Casino Cleveland features a 30-table World Series of Poker-branded poker room which is expected to host a WSOP Circuit stop in the near future.

Caesars and Rock Ohio began developing the Horseshoe as a joint venture after Ohio voted to allow casinos in 2009. The casino will have 100,000 square feet of gaming floor to hold 2,100 slot machines, 63 table games, and the poker room. The casino is expected to employ about 1,600 people.

Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, developed by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, is the first of four casinos launching in the state by the end of next year. Toledo is launching the Hollywood Casino next week, and Cincinnati and Columbus set to open casinos by next year.

Read more at Gaming Today.

Mizrachi Signs Extension with Breeders’ Cup

DeepStacks Pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi has renewed his contract with the Breeders’ Cup through 2012. “The Grinder” will resume his role in helping to raise awareness of the Breeders’ Cup within the poker community.

The two-time World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour champ will take part in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and will actively encourage his fellow poker pros to participate in the $10,000 handicapping event. The Breeders’ Cup will take place Nov. 2 through 3 at Santa Anita Park outside of Los Angeles.

“Partnering with the Breeders’ Cup has been amazing” said Mizrachi. “I look forward to fine-tuning my handicapping skills as I prepare for the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. Check my Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates as I plan to visit a number of tracks throughout the summer.”

As part of his deal last year, Mizrachi hosted the inaugural DeepStacks Poker Tour Breeders’ Cup Celebrity Invitational, which attracted big names like Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, John Racener, David Williams and Karina Jett, as well as NBA players Brian Cardinal, Jermaine Taylor and Carl Landry. The second event will be held later this year.

Read more at Deepstacks.com.

Bwin.Party Gets Social

Social media is becoming the way of the Internet, and bwin.party isn’t far away from getting in on the action. The company says it is close to launching a social gaming platform that will see the worlds of real money gaming and social gaming converge.

“Our strategy to enter the social gaming market is almost complete and we plan to host an analyst briefing to present our strategy later this month when we will provide further details on how we will enter this exciting new business segment,” the company said in a statement this week.

“We believe that by leveraging our core assets, we can make a meaningful inroad into this fast growing and profitable market with relatively low levels of incremental investment.”

Bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan sees significant potential in the social gaming market. He told PokerNews earlier this year that the company’s main objective for growth is bringing more of a social appeal to the consumer base, which in turn would provide maximum entertainment value for customers.

“This represents a major opportunity for bwin.party and we have a number of initiatives already underway in this area that we expect to drive value for shareholders in the medium to long-term,” the company said.

Read more at bwinparty.com.

Poker Legislation

Illinois Joins Online Poker Race

Illinois made history in March by becoming the first state to offer online lottery tickets on the Internet. Now, legislation has been introduced that could ultimately allow the state to offer other forms of online gambling like poker.

On Tuesday, Senate President John Cullerton proposed an amendment to a bill that would create the division of Internet Gaming within the Illinois Lottery. Illinois officials estimate the state would gain hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue under the new legislation.

Cullerton says that the bill has to be approved by May 31 to qualify under legislation pending in the U.S. Senate.

Cullerton’s proposal comes nearly five months after the Department of Justice changed its position on the Wire Act of 1961. On Dec. 22, the DOJ released a response to Illinois and New York regarding the Wire Act’s effect on intrastate sales of lottery tickets via the Internet. In the memo, the DOJ found that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting.
Reuters has more.

Live Poker in North Carolina?

North Carolina lawmakers have begun deliberating whether to allow live-dealer card games at the state’s only brick-and-mortar casino.

State legislators this week approved a bill that would sanction the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino to offer Vegas-style card games like poker and blackjack. The bill passed by a vote of 33-14 and will now be passed along to the House.

Per North Carolina law, live-dealer games are illegal everywhere in the state. Harrah’s Cherokee only offers video machines, but the new legislation could bring up to 400 additional jobs to the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel. A percentage of the revenues from the casino would be sent to the North Carolina education department.

Read more at goerie.com.

Poker Players

Galfond’s Early Years

Phil Galfond’s introduction to poker certainly doesn’t compare to the exhilarating tales of most old-school gamblers, but the high-stakes wizard’s ascension to the nosebleed games should still be fascinating to most poker enthusiasts.

On Tuesday, Galfond shared his story in a blog entry titled My Poker (+other) Story. The 5,000-plus word entry includes Galfond’s first taste of online poker during college, his decision to drop out of school to become a poker pro, and the surprising relationships he’s built because of that decision.

Here’s a particularly funny excerpt from the blog:

I’m an introvert, so I enjoy my alone time. Actually, I need my alone time. I like people, sure, but too long in a crowded environment with no chance to get away is debilitating. I need my alone time to reset. My room was poker plus alone time – heaven.

My heaven was part of a three bedroom apartment. I shared it with two girls, one of whom was sure I was gay for the majority of that year. I think it was because I had a small poster on the outside of my door of a cat with a tiara that read “I’m a Princess” (I thought it was funny), and because she never saw me with a girl.

Galfond is a gifted writer and his story will hit home with a lot of poker grinders out there. You can find his blog at PhilGalfond.com.

Hollywood Celebs Dodge Poker Court Battle

The Hollywood A-listers linked to the legal troubles of former poker buddy Bradley Ruderman can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that the case has been settled out of court.

Howard Ehrenberg, the bankruptcy trustee seeking to recoup as much as $5.2 million for investors that had been conned by Ruderman, told Celebuzz.com that all 22 defendants involved in Ruderman’s Hollywood poker game have settled for a total of $1.75 million. Among the celebs being sued by Ehrenberg were actor Tobey Maguire, film director Nick Cassavettes, and former High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan.

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Alex Rodriguez were also rumored to be a part of the underground game but were not facing legal action. With all 22 settlements secured, details of the illegal high-stakes games will stay out of the court room.

Ruderman is serving a 10-year prison sentence for running a Ponzi scheme to pay off debts. Ruderman operated a wire-fraud and investment-adviser fraud scheme that lost investors $25 million, and then allegedly lost another $5.2 million in the high-stakes poker games trying to win the money back.

Celebuzz.com has more.

Daniel’s Weekly Rant

This week, Daniel Negreanu applauds the WSOP for some rule changes, rants about ballerina flats (hey, they’re comfortable – at least that’s what we hear), and goes on a tirade about Jeffrey Pollack.

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Each year when PokerNews compiles it’s World Series of Poker Rookie Roundup list, Harrison Gimbel’s name comes up. Since he stormed onto the scene in early 2010, it’s always been a question of whether or not this kid would finally be of age to take to the WSOP felt. It’s now 2012 and it’s finally time that Gimbel gets the chance to make a run at a coveted gold bracelet to add to his trophy case.

Gimbel’s name first came to be known when he made the final table of the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He entered the final table fourth in chips behind Ryan D’Angelo, Ty Reiman and Barry Shulman. When play got down to heads-up action, Gimbel was one of the two players remaining and pitted against Reiman for the title. After 46 hands of heads-up play, Gimbel’s defeated Reiman’s to give the 19 year old the title and the whopping first-place prize of $2.2 million.

Prior to his massive splash onto the poker scene, Gimbel was already a winner. In June 2009, he took down the Florida State Poker Championships for over $67,000. Since the 2010 PCA, Gimbel has been crushing the Florida poker scene where he was of legal age to play in live tournaments.

In April 2010, Gimbel took his talents overseas to Italy where he placed 39th in the European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event for “22,000. Several months later he won the Fall Poker Open Championship held in November at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for $330,000, confirming he was no one-hit wonder.

From there, Gimbel went on to have earnings of $99,525 in 2011 and $72,811 already in 2012. Out of those two years, Gimbel’s largest score came in November 2011 when he took third in the Rock and Roll Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida, for just over $76,000. He also cashed in the PCA Main Event and the World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open, both in 2012.

In total, Gimbel’s lifetime tournament earnings on the live felt total over $2.8 million and the youngster has the world at his fingertips when the 2012 WSOP rolls around.

Online, Gimbel used to play under the moniker “gibler321” on PokerStars and “this is punny” on Full Tilt Poker. Just from those two sites, Gimbel has won over $1.6 million in prize money. His largest online score came in December 2010 when he took second place in the Sunday Brawl for $88,107.31. He also has six other online scores over $40,000.

With his win at PCA, Gimbel became the youngest PCA Main Event champion, and though he may be young, Gimbel has put in the time playing millions of hands that will give him the experience he’ll need to thrive on the WSOP felt. The only question now is, how many final tables are we going to be covering him at?

PokerNews will be keeping a close eye on Gimbel in the coming months, so be sure to check our Live Reporting Page for the duration of the 2012 WSOP. Stay tuned for more rookies to look out for, as well.

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If you’ve played multi-table tournaments on PokerStars or Full Tilt Poker since 2009, there’s a good chance you’ve played a pot with Ami Barer. The fresh-faced poker pro has been one of the game’s most determined grinders in recent years, playing in tournaments ranging from the $1 rebuy to the $5,200 PokerStars SCOOP Main Event – and virtually everything in between.

Barer, a 21-year-old from Vancouver, will be playing in his first World Series of Poker this summer. It will be the first taste of poker’s summer camp for Barer, who has made a living playing online tournaments since he was in high school.

Unlike many of his peers who were forced to pack up and find a new home in order to resume their poker career after Black Friday, Barer kept his grinding station intact and continued crushing online tournaments like he had been during his career. And while that career may seem brief, his list of accomplishments rivals many of the most talented online tournament players on the planet.

In just three years playing under the moniker “UhhMee” on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, Barer has accumulated more than $3.6 million in online tournament cashes. His best result came in the 18th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), where he claimed his first gold jersey and a top prize of $122,000. He also has a fourth place finish in another FTOPS event for $82,500, and a fifth place result in a recent SCOOP event on PokerStars. Not to mention dozens of five-figure scores that would take us hours to catalog.

Most of Barer’s exploits have come on the virtual felts, but the youngster made several appearances at live events around the globe. He burst onto the live scene in 2009 with a 25th place finish at the “10,000 European Poker Tour Grand Final for $59,168. Barer gained some early attention in that event by finishing Day 1b as the chip leader and was among the leaders heading into Day 3, but an unsuccessful face-off with Ludovic Lacay on Day 4 left Barer hitting the rail short of his first live final table.

Barer hasn’t cashed in a live tournament in 15 months, but there won’t be much rust to shake off when the WSOP kicks off later this month. Barer has been grinding online non-stop since the beginning of May; in fact, between May 3 and May 16, the hold’em specialist racked up 135 cashes on PokerStars alone, making 14 final tables. That amounts to a final table every day.

Obviously, those numbers aren’t attainable in the live realm. Multi-tabling WSOP events isn’t advised unless you’ve wagered millions in bracelet bets like Tom Dwan. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if Barer can translate his high-volume approach to the slow, daily grind inside the Rio Convention Center. But since endurance and work ethic play huge factors in success at the WSOP, we’re expecting big things from the Vancouver pro this summer.

PokerNews will be keeping a close eye on Barer in the coming months, so be sure to check our Live Reporting Page for the duration of the 2012 WSOP. Stay tuned for more rookies to look out for, as well.

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What do Alex Rodriguez, Matt Damon and Gabe Kaplan have in common? And where is the World Poker Tour headed next year? Find out the answers to those questions and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Shaun Deeb won another PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker title on Tuesday. Get the details from his record fourth career SCOOP victory in our Day 10 recap.

The 2011-12 World Series of Poker Circuit is coming to a close. Which of the 17 stops were the best this season? Members of the PokerNews Live Reporting Team give their take.

Daniel Negreanu was back with his Weekly Rant on Wednesday. This week, Negreanu discusses the recent WSOP rule changes, the psychology of golf, and his true feelings for Jeffrey Pollack.

Hollywood Celebs Dodge Poker Court Battle

The Hollywood A-listers linked to the legal troubles of former poker buddy Bradley Ruderman can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that the case has been settled out of court.

Howard Ehrenberg, the bankruptcy trustee seeking to recoup as much as $5.2 million for investors that had been conned by Ruderman, told Celebuzz.com that all 22 defendants involved in Ruderman’s Hollywood poker game have settled for a total of $1.75 million. Among the celebs being sued by Ehrenberg were actor Tobey Maguire, film director Nick Cassavettes, and former High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan.

Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Alex Rodriguez were also rumored to be a part of the underground game but were not facing legal action. With all 22 settlements secured, details of the illegal high-stakes games will stay out of the court room.

Ruderman is serving a 10-year prison sentence for running a Ponzi scheme to pay off debts. Ruderman operated a wire-fraud and investment-adviser fraud scheme that lost investors $25 million, and then allegedly lost another $5.2 million in the high-stakes poker games trying to win the money back.

Celebuzz.com has more.

Get Ready for Season XI

The World Poker Tour unveiled the first portion of its Season XI schedule on Wednesday. In addition to nearly a dozen stops in the regular WPT slate so far, there will be at least 13 tournaments on the WPT Regional and National schedule around the globe.

Season XI kicks off in Cyprus on Aug. 4 for the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. The tour will then make stops in Pennsylvania, California, Paris, Malta, and many other destinations in the U.S. and Europe. The 11 Main Events on the schedule thus far feature buy-ins ranging from $3,500 to $10,300.

Before Season XI kicks off, the World Poker Tour is gearing up for the WPT Championship at Bellagio this weekend. The season X finale features a $25,500 Main Event plus the $100,000 re-entry WPT Super High Roller, both of which will be televised by Fox Sports Net.

For more information on the Season XI schedule, read the article here at PokerNews.com.

Bwin.Party Poker Revenues Slump

Bwin.party’s poker revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was down 3 percent to “52.2 million from last year’s “54 million, according to a statement released by the company on Wednesday.

“The poker market remains challenging across Europe,” said co-CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger. “While the number of unique players in our bingo business has started to grow again during the first quarter, this was not enough to reverse the impact of a drop in market share that took place in 2011.”

Average daily poker revenue increased by 1 percent over the previous quarter, but daily revenue fell by 4 percent from the prior year to “573,600. Average daily players dropped 15 percent year-on-year to 96,700, which the company blamed on “low value affiliates towards direct marketing”

Last week, bwin.party joined forces with an Indian Tribe to provide online poker services in California once the activity is legalized. The company has also applied for a Nevada gaming license with the Nevada Gaming Control Board following the state’s approval of online poker regulations.

“In the United States, we continue to ensure we are well-positioned should regulation take place at either a state or a federal level,” the company said in Wednesday’s statement. “In California, where we announced an agreement with United Auburn Indian Community last week, the debate over a bill to regulate intrastate online poker continues and we expect its first hearing later this month or early next.”

You can find the complete financial statement at bwinparty.com.

Duhamel Still Leading Global Poker Index Player of the Year

There were no changes in the top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings this week, meaning Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel maintained the top spot for the 12th consecutive 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.

Duhamel kept his lead over the rest of the world with 595.68 points, 61 points more than American pro Dan Smith, who climbed to No. 2 last week after a productive trip to Monaco for the 2012 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final. Andrew Badecker, Samuel Chartier and Bertrand Grospellier rounded out the top five in the rankings, respectively.

Faraz Jaka fell just shy of a return to the top 10. Jaka moved up 18 spots to No. 11 this week after a pair of cashes at Pokerstars IPT San Remo. Borge Dypvik (up 68 spots to No. 29), Scott Baumstein (up 51 spots to No. 35) and Igor Kurganov (up 48 spots to No. 43) were among the other big movers this week.

Here’s a look at 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.

Celebrating Greatness

Which female poker players have the credentials to join an elite group with the likes of Linda Johnson, Jen Harman, Cyndy Violette and Kathy Liebert? Well, it’s up to you to decide!

The 2012 Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WIPHOF) nominations have begun, and you can cast your selections online at the WIPHOF website. Candidates must be at least 35 years of age and an active industry leader for a minimum of 10 years. Last year’s inductees were Kristy Gazes, Margie Heintz and Phyllis Caro.

After the nomination process is finished, the induction ceremony will take place on Friday, August 31 at the Golden Nugget Casino Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas.

To make your nominations, visit womenspokerhalloffame.com.

Online Poker Traffic Report

Online poker traffic plunged by 8.2 percent last week, according to tracking site PokerScout.com. The decline was mostly because of the end of PokerStars’ 80 Billionth Hand promotion, which attracted as many as 80,000 real-money cash game players at a single time.

Not surprisingly, PokerStars took a 15 percent hit last week, but the world’s leading poker site continued its stranglehold on the competition. PokerStars has seen an 18 percent traffic increase since this time last year, an impressive feat in the wake of Black Friday. While PokerStars has thrived, No. 2 iPokerNetwork (down 6 percent) and No. 3 PartyPoker (down 20 percent) have seen falloffs since last May.

As for the year-over-year numbers worldwide, online poker traffic has declined by 18 percent over the past year. After the virtual extinction of Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, sites like 888poker (up 42 percent) and Winamax.fr (up 28 percent) have taken advantage by scooping up some of the available business.

Read the full report at PokerScout.com.

Durrrr Speak

This makes two days in a row with a Tom Dwan interview in The Nightly Turbo. But when “durrrr” speaks, the world listens. And his latest interview with the PartyPoker Blog is particularly amusing.

During the PartyPoker Premier League V in Vienna, Dwan chatted about the talents (or lack thereof) of several of his competitors, including Tony G, Erik Seidel, Bertrand Grospellier, Patrik Antonius and Luke Schwartz. We’re still anxiously awaiting a Dwan versus Schwartz heads-up-for-rolls match.

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On Wednesday, the World Poker Tour unveiled its 2012 schedules for Season XI, as well as the 2012 WPT Regional and National series.

“World Poker Tour is committed to extending its global reach,” WPT CEO Steve Heller said. “Not only will Season XI feature new stops in the US and abroad, but World Poker Tour is also widely expanding our Regional and National Series to deliver the WPT experience to as many players and fans as possible.”

There are 11 events scheduled so far, with buy-ins ranging from $3,500 to $10,300, and stops all around the world. The first stop on the Season XI schedule will take place from Aug. 4 through 9, 2012, at the Merit-Grand Casino in Cyprus.

After Cyprus, the tour heads to a new stop on the schedule, Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The inaugural WPT Parx Open Poker Classic runs from Aug. 10 through 15, 2012 and features a $3,500 buy-in with a re-entry option. On top of that, the classics, such as the Legends of Poker, Borgata Poker Open, and Five Diamond World Poker Classic are all still on the schedule.

2012 World Poker Tour Season XI

*Re-entry event

The WPT Regional and National schedule features 13 stops in 2012 with buy-ins ranging from $440 to $2,250. Stops are scheduled throughout the United States in Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Colorado. There are also international stops scheduled in Morocco, Spain, and Italy.

2012 WPT Regional and National Schedule

*Re-entry event

For full tournament details, you can visit WorldPokerTour.com.

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The 2012 World Series of Poker is just weeks away and thanks to PKR you could be jetting out to Las Vegas armed with a WSOP package worth $4,500!

The Race To The WSOP Has Begun!

The PKR Daily Dollar WSOP Rake Race is under way and will run all the way through June 10, 2012. In order to take part, new customers simply have to download PKR through PokerNews, enter the bonus code PNEWS800 and rake at least $2 on 20 separate days between now and the end of the promotion to be in with a shot of winning the $4,500 WSOP package. The player who generates the most rake will be heading to Las Vegas in July!

What Does Each Package Include?

Great question! The PokerNews player that generates the most rake will walk away with a $4,500 package that includes the following:

• $1,000 entry to WSOP Event #59
• $1,100 for six nights hotel accommodation
• $1,500 for flights and expenses
• Access to exclusive PKR WSOP experience events

Be sure to check out the full terms and conditions of this promotion before you start grinding!

Cash in on a Massive Bonus

On top of the chance to win a $4,500 WSOP package, PKR is also offering new customers a massive 120% match up to $800 first deposit bonus. All you have to do is enter the bonus code “PNEWS800″ and when you make your first deposit you will receive 120% of that amount as a bonus! Generate enough rake during this promotion and you could clear the full $800 bonus in time for the WSOP!

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

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Looking for the day’s biggest poker stories? You’ve come to the right place. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo we’re bringing you Phil Galfond’s latest blog, the official launch of PokerStars’ Zoom Poker, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Shaun Deeb has been crushing tournaments during the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker. Rich Ryan discussed that and more in his latest Five Thoughts piece.

Kurt Jewell has been a monster on the World Series of Poker Circuit since the 2010-2011 season. Jewell sat down with Chad Holloway to discuss his recent success.

Fifteen players won PokerStars SCOOP titles on Monday. Martin Harris and Mickey Doft break down all of the winners in the Day 9 SCOOP recap.

Galfond’s Early Years

Phil Galfond’s introduction to poker certainly doesn’t compare to the exhilarating tales of most old-school gamblers, but the high-stakes wizard’s ascension to the nosebleed games should still be fascinating to most poker enthusiasts.

On Tuesday, Galfond shared his story in a blog entry titled My Poker (+other) Story. The 5,000-plus word entry includes Galfond’s first taste of online poker during college, his decision to drop out of school to become a poker pro, and the surprising relationships he’s built because of that decision.

Here’s a particularly funny excerpt from the blog:

I’m an introvert, so I enjoy my alone time. Actually, I need my alone time. I like people, sure, but too long in a crowded environment with no chance to get away is debilitating. I need my alone time to reset. My room was poker plus alone time – heaven.

My heaven was part of a three bedroom apartment. I shared it with two girls, one of whom was sure I was gay for the majority of that year. I think it was because I had a small poster on the outside of my door of a cat with a tiara that read “I’m a Princess” (I thought it was funny), and because she never saw me with a girl.

Galfond is a gifted writer and his story will hit home with a lot of poker grinders out there. You can find his blog at PhilGalfond.com.

Zoom Poker Launches

PokerStars has officially launched Zoom Poker after a successful beta release that resulted in skyrocketing traffic numbers on the world’s leading online poker site.

PokerStars says it dealt more than 300 million hands of the fast-action Zoom Poker during the two month beta phase. Zoom was originally only available for low stakes no-limit hold’em, but it is now available in Omaha, Omaha hi/lo and five-card draw with stakes ranging up to $2.50/5.

“Zoom Poker offers people a different way to play poker,” said Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. “Recreational players, who want more constant action, will be able to fold instantly and wait for better hands, while pro grinders will be able to get in hundreds of more hands an hour and win more. On top of all that, it’s just so much fun to play!”

In addition, Zoom Poker Mobile has been released on the Android platform for players on PokerStars.com, PokerStars.eu and PokerStars.net. The new Android app also includes scrollable lobby menus to ease navigation, improved search, a new auto-rebuy function, and various other improvements.

For an in-depth look at Zoom Poker, check out Matthew Pitt’s review here at PokerNews.com.

Full Tilt Poker Staffers Decline Tapie’s Offer

According to Gaming Intelligence, Full Tilt Poker employees in Dublin have declined an offer from Groupe Bernard Tapie to join a new online poker venture in Paris.

One day after GBT’s deal with the U.S. Department of Justice fell through, Laurent Tapie emailed high-ranking FTP staff members with a job offer, according to a report by Diamond Flush Poker. In the email, Tapie laid out plans to write a new poker software platform and relaunch using a new brand.

Apparently, Tapie’s offer wasn’t tempting enough to lure key FTP employees from company headquarters in Ireland. Gaming Intelligence reports that the employees have been told that the deal with PokerStars is moving forward. PokerStars has remained mum about the deal other than to reiterate that discussions with the DOJ are ongoing.

Read the full story at Gaming Intelligence (paywall warning).

Mizrachi Signs Extension with Breeders’ Cup

DeepStacks Pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi has renewed his contract with the Breeders’ Cup through 2012. “The Grinder” will resume his role in helping raise awareness of the Breeders’ Cup within the poker community.

The two-time World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour champ will take part in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge and will actively encourage his fellow poker pros to participate in the $10,000 handicapping event. The Breeders’ Cup will take place Nov. 2 through 3 at Santa Anita Park outside of Los Angeles.

“Partnering with the Breeders’ Cup has been amazing” said Mizrachi. “I look forward to fine-tuning my handicapping skills as I prepare for the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. Check my Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates as I plan to visit a number of tracks throughout the summer.”

As part of his deal last year, Mizrachi hosted the inaugural DeepStacks Poker Tour Breeders’ Cup Celebrity Invitational, which attracted big names like Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, John Racener, David Williams and Karina Jett, as well as NBA players Brian Cardinal, Jermaine Taylor and Carl Landry. The second event will be held later this year.

Read more at Deepstacks.com.

A Record Made to be Broken?

Is Phil Laak’s Guinness World Record for sleep deprivation consecutive hours playing poker in jeopardy? Barry Denson seems to think so.

The Manchester, U.K., native will take a shot at Laak’s feat at the G Casino in Manchester beginning on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Denson, an ex-Territorial Army soldier, will attempt to raise money for Help For Heroes, a charity aimed at helping Britain’s soldiers that have been wounded since September 11, 2001.

“One of the biggest challenges will be finding enough players to play me,” said Denson. “Guinness World Records will only allow other players to play for up to four hours at a time so we need as many players as possible to come along and take part, especially in the early hours or the mornings!”

Laak played 115 straight hours at the Bellagio in Las Vegas in 2010. He could barely put together a sentence by the end of the marathon, as you’ll see in this interview with PokerNews’ Kristy Arnett.

Read more at tnplmanchester.com.

Illinois Joins Online Poker Race

Illinois made history in March by becoming the first state to offer online lottery tickets on the Internet. Now, legislation has been introduced that could ultimately allow the state to offer other forms of online gambling like poker.

On Tuesday, Senate President John Cullerton proposed an amendment to a bill that would create the division of Internet Gaming within the Illinois Lottery. Illinois officials estimate the state would gain hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue under the new legislation.

The Chicago Democrat reports that the bill has to be approved by May 31 in order to qualify under legislation pending in the U.S. Senate.

Cullerton’s proposal comes nearly five months after the Department of Justice changed its position on the Wire Act of 1961. On Dec. 22, the DOJ released a response to Illinois and New York regarding the Wire Act’s effect on intrastate sales of lottery tickets via the Internet. In the memo, the DOJ found that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting.

Reuters has more.

The Return of Durrrr?

Even though he’s been playing the biggest games in the world in Macau, Tom Dwan is getting the itch to play online poker again.

During his trip to the Philippines for the Manilla Millions, Dwan told CalvinAyre.com’s Tatjana Pasalic that traveling and finding games to play is becoming a grind, and that game selection is proving much more difficult than on the virtual felts. Dwan also discussed U.S. legislation, the Epic Poker League, World Series of Poker bracelet bets, and the downfall of his former employer Full Tilt Poker.

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The Five Diamond World Poker Classic is one of the most popular stops on the World Poker Tour each and every year. On Sunday, Season X of the WPT continued on the Fox Sports Network with the latest Five Diamond World Poker Classic from the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. The $10,000 Main Event, which originally took place 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.

The broadcast kicked off by highlighting the early stages of the tournament, beginning with Day 1. “Bellagio’s just got that mystique to it, you know,” said Legends of Poker champion Will “The Thrill” Failla. “All the heavies played here. If you win here, you’ve really showed up, you know what I mean? If you can win here, you can win anywhere.”

Indeed, the Five Diamond World Poker Classic has proven a great success each and every year, due in no small part to its location at the Bellagio. Given that it’s in Vegas, the field tends to be dominated by the biggest names in the game, and this year would be no different. Failla, Esfandiari, Erik Seidel, Matt Giannetti, Carlos Mortensen and Faraz Jaka were all among the 283 players who survived Day 1, though all were trailing the big stack of Vanessa Selbst, who finished with 165,800.

On Day 2, the field got even tougher as Barry Greenstein, Noah Schwartz, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Ben Lamb, Jason Mercier, John Hennigan, Freddy Deeb, Daniel Alaei and Doyle Brunson were all among the pros who took advantage of the late registration. After a long day of play, just 149 players remained with Grant Lang’s 382,000 stack leading the pack.

Needless to say, the action on Day 3 was fierce as the field was quickly cut down to size as Seidel, Hennigan and Hellmuth all hit the rail. The latter’s demise came when he ran into the of Canadian Braden Hall. The board ran out an uneventful and the “Poker Brat” was sent packing.

Leading up to the money bubble, both Brunson and Darren Elias were eliminated, leaving 101 players alive when only 100 were slated to be paid. It took some time, but the money bubble burst when Brent Sheirbon found himself all-in holding against the of John Krpan. The board provided no help and Sheirbon earned the unfortunate distinction of bubble boy.

Once players made the money, a flurry of eliminations occurred that saw Failla (93rd – $11,942), Krpan (82nd – $11,942), Jeff Vertes (78th – $11,942), Shaun Deeb (73rd – $11,942), Mortensen (71st – $11,942), Deeb (67th – $12,937), Alan Goehring (59th – $12,937), Justin “Boosted J” Smith (53rd – $12,937) all hit the rail, leaving just 49 players headed into Day 4 including chip leader Kyle Julius, who bagged up 1.457 million.

The fourth day of action began the same way the day prior had ended, with bustouts. Allen Cunningham (46th – $15,922), Allen Kessler (45th – $15,922), Dwyte Pilgrim (37th – $19,903), Scott Clements (34th – $19,903) and Matt Glantz (25th – $23,884) were among the notables to hit the rail, while the WPT’s Raw Deal host Tony Dunst found his tournament life on the line in a classic race with his trailing the of James Dempsey. The flop gave Dunst a flush draw, while the turn added a gut-shot straight draw. Unfortunately for him, the river was a blank and he was sent packing in 18th place for $31,845.

Ty Reiman (17th – $31,845), Matt Marafioti (15th – $39,806) and Blake Kelso (14th – $39,806) joined Dunst on the rail before action came to a halt with just 13 players remaining. Leading the way was former World Series of Poker November Niner Soy Nguyen, who held a monstrous stack of 3.1 million.

It didn’t take long for the first elimination to occur on Day 5. It happened when William Reynolds doubled up Vitor Coelho and was then eliminated at the hands of Hall. Reynold’s 13th-place finish for $39,806 gave him the highest finished by a Season X Ones to Watch, though it was of little consolation.

From there, Julius (12th – $39,806) and David Williams (9th – $47,767) found themselves on the rail, and before long the TV final table bubble was on. How did it burst? Nguyen moved all-in holding on board and got Larry Wells, who won his seat into the tournament in the very last satellite held at the Bellagio, to call off with the inferior .

With that, the final table was set. Once again it was a stacked final table, but the big story was Esfandiari’s title defense and the possibility of becoming the first player in WPT history to win back-to-back titles in the same event; in fact, no player had ever won the same title twice.

Here’s how things stacked up at the start of the final table:

WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Final Table

First Hand: With the blinds at 30,000/60,000 and a 10,000 ante, Dempsey was first to act and opened for 125,000 with . The field folded to Selbst in the small blind and she came over the top for 310,000 with . Nguyen folded in the big blind and Dempsey conceded the hand.

Antonio Esfandiari Eliminated in Sixth Place: On what would be Hand #10 of the final table, action folded to Dempsey on the button and he put in a big raise, enough to put both blinds all in if they chose to make the call. The defending champ did just that from the small blind while the big got out of the way.

Showdown

The flop gave Dempsey a wheel draw, but it was the that spiked on the turn to give him the lead. At that point, short-stacked Coelho shot his arms up in the air, knowing full well that Esfandiari’s elimination would earn him at least $39,806.; meanwhile, “The Magician” was on his last leg, looking for either a ten or five on the river to stay alive. The dealer burned and put out the . With that, Esfandiari’s title defense came to an end in sixth place for $119,418.

Vitor Coelho Eliminated in Fifth Place: On Hand #12, Nguyen opened for 120,000 with and Coelho committed his last 260,000 with . “Ok guys, time to double up,” the softspoken Coelho said. Selbst then came along for the ride with . Both active players proceeded to check down every street as the board ran out , and Nguyen took down the 860,000 pot.

Coelho, who had made the final table the WPT stop before the Five Diamond, finished in fifth place for $159,224. “Very happy, very happy,” Coelho told sideline reporter Matt Savage in his post-elimination interview. “I ran very good, did my best and I’m very pleased with it. I have plans to make my third final table in a row.”

Tune in Next Week: Part II of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic is set to air on Sunday, May 20, 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.

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There weren’t any champions crowned on Day 8 of the 2012 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) at PokerStars, but Sunday’s action did set the stage for a big Day 9 that will see 15 winners determined. Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb and Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom already have two SCOOP wins apiece this series and they’re in good position for a third title. They’ll begin Day 2 of Event 20 – H in fifth and sixth place, respectively, out of the 53 returning players. Meanwhile, Stefan “I’am_Sound” Huber commands the biggest stack in Event 21 – H with 60 players left.

PokerStars SCOOP 20 – H – $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em ($750K Guaranteed)

Sunday saw another two-day $2,000 no-limit hold’em tourney arrive on the SCOOP schedule, and many of poker’s elite were among the massive field of 782 players. The prize pool more than doubled the guarantee, and practically every table was filled with recognizable usernames and avatars.

After six hours the field had been trimmed to 250 players, with David “Betudontbet” Emmons, Brian “brianm15″ England, and “Milana Jones” having pushed to the top of the leaderboard as the only players over 100,000. Ivan Demidov and 2012 SCOOPerstar Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom were right there on the front page of the counts as well, both sitting inside the top 20.

As play continued and the field fell below 200 players, Demidov and Blom joined the growing group of players in the 100,000-chip club despite being seated side-by-side. A little while later another familiar name appeared to occupy the seat on the other side of Blom – current SCOOP Player of the Series leader Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb. Deeb arrived sporting a hefty stack of better than 170,000, good enough for second position at the time.

Shortly after Deeb sat down, Demidov was explaining to a railbird how he is currently in Kiev, Ukraine for the Russian Poker Series, although his short-term plan was to be otherwise occupied. “Day two is tomorrow,” typed Demidov, referring to this event’s two-day structure.

Ivan Demidov: soooooo i ll be busy trying to take one from shaun
shaundeeb: Ive had enough
shaundeeb: you can have one
Ivan Demidov:

Blom would see his stack start to slide while the other two maintained their chips, but the Swede was eventually moved to another table, this one featuring fellow Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel.

Indeed, every table in this one was a tough one. As they approached the nine-and-a-half-hour mark, 100 players remained, led by “scout326,” “micide,” and “SUNDAYKING.” Deeb was right there in fourth, with “ekziter,” Steve “Mr. Tim Caum” O’Dwyer, Adam “Roothlus” Levy, “THEDUTCH414,” and Duhamel all in the top ten.

The money bubble was soon approaching, with Owen “ocrowe” Crowe (98th), Andrew “foucault82″ Brokos (95th) and Taylor “tRaMp$d0PrAy” Paur (93rd) among those just missing the cash. Finally, “TheMatadorCC” was the unfortunate 91st-place finisher and the bubble had burst.

Among those hitting the rail over the next couple of hours and realizing a profit in this one were “kirbynator” (82nd – $4,066.40), McLean “PureProfitFo” Karr (81st – $4,379.20), David “Betudontbet” Emmons (80th – $4,379.20), George Danzer (76th – $4,379.20), “THEDUTCH4141″ (75th – $4,379.20), “bar-bar9999″ (67th – $4,992), and David “CrabMaki” Shallow (65th – 4,692).

That’s when a big hand developed in which “K_0_S_T_Y_A” six-bet shoved a stack of 142,163 (more than 70 big blinds) with and Demidov called with . The Russian’s hand held, and soon thereafter Deeb knocked “K_0_S_T_Y_A” out in 64th ($4,692).

As the final levels played out, Ken “kenny05″ Smaron moved up into the top spot with more than 400,000, with Demidov his nearest challenger hovering just below 300,000. Duhamel, Deeb, O’Dwyer, and Blom jockeyed for position in the next four spots. Meanwhile, the final eliminations of the night took place, including Giuseppe “Ansgar2000″ Pantaleo (63rd – $5,004.80), Andre “aakkari” Akkari (60th – $5,004.80), “KaptianKush” (57th – $5,004.80), and “jonwayne69″ (54th – $5,474).

Just 53 remained when play was stopped for the night. Here’s a look at the stacked top 10:

PokerStars SCOOP 20 – M – $200 No-Limit Hold’em ($500K Guaranteed)

Just 63 players survived to return on Monday in this one, with $172,575.88 awaiting the player who manages to survive Day 2.

“Pvd170590″ was the first player to a million chips, getting there after a little over nine hours of play when less than 200 players remained, though would ultimately fall in 82nd place ($1,412.09). Others lasting until almost night’s end on Sunday included “Unicum next” (70th, $1,720.99) and “rabbit195417″ (64th, $1,720.99).

Here’s what the top 10 looked like when play was stopped on Sunday night:

PokerStars SCOOP 20 – L – $25 No-Limit Hold’em ($250K Guaranteed)

Another big field in the “Low” version of Event #20 meant all three of the event’s guarantees were more than doubled by the prize pool. As in the “High” version, 53 players made it through to Monday’s Day 2 in this one. A cool $55,048.04 awaits the eventual winner.

Here’s what the top of the counts look like heading into Monday:

Among those who cashed were Steve “gboro780″ Gross (70th – $5,325.60), Chris “Genius28″ Lee (72nd – $5,235.60), Marcin “Goral” Horecki (78th – $4,945.20), Igor “lechuckpoker” Kurganov (88th – $4,564.80), Luke “LukeFromB13″ Staudenmaier (100th – $3,994.20).

Here are the top 10 stacks heading into Day 2:

PokerStars SCOOP 21 – M – $200 No-Limit Hold’em ($1M Guaranteed)

Event 21-M, the day’s Sunday Million, saw a field of 7,383 trimmed down to 84 on Day 1. Notable finishes included Chris “Bushman” Bush (107th – $1,343.70), Arnaud “frenchkiss” Mattern (112th – $1,225.57), George “Jorj95″ Lind (123rd – $1,136.98), and Jason “jdtdpoker” Wheeler (155th – $841.66). Among those still in the hunt are Rob “Vaga_Lion” Akery (14th) and Nick “Nickdawgg” Harvalis (70th). The top prize is set at $224,595.

Here are top 10 chips counts:

PokerStars SCOOP 21 – L – $25 No-Limit Hold’em ($400K Guaranteed)

A huge field of 24,185 in Event 21-L is down to just 62 players after Day 1. Highlighting the remaining 62 players is the mysterious online tournament star “uaredead lol,” who currently sits eighth in chips. First place pays more than $60,000. Here are the top ten stacks heading into Day 2:

We will be providing daily recaps of all SCOOP Day 1s and final tables, so be sure to keep it here at PokerNews to stay up to date on all of the exciting action as it occurs.

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