July 10 2012, Brett Collson

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were back in the news on Tuesday. Are the two companies still working out a deal? We’re bringing you that story, plus an interview with Phil Ivey, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Day 1c of the World Series of Poker Main Event was the largest starting day in history. Find out who topped the leaderboard in our Day 44 WSOP recap.

Daniel Negreanu joined the PokerNews Podcast on Monday. Negreanu discussed how much fun he had on Day 1 of the Main Event, as well as several other topics.

How did Ben Lamb navigate the massive Main Event field last year? Lamb offered some advice in an interview with PokerNews’ Sarah Grant.

Actor Kevin Pollak is playing in his first WSOP Main Event. Chad Holloway caught up with Pollak to find out how he got his start in poker.

Wonder what it’s like to play poker with 30,000 people at Wembley Stadium? Find out how to enter the International Stadiums Poker Tour.

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!

PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker Execs File Motions to Dismiss Civil Case

According to eGaming Review, PokerStars has filed a motion to dismiss civil charges filed against a number of the company’s subsidiaries last September.

PokerStars argues that the amended civil complaint invokes “shady dealings and far-reaching conspiracies” regarding PokerStars’ prior operations in the U.S. According to eGaming Review, PokerStars says the complaint suffers from three major flaws:

First, it does not provide adequate detail to satisfy the heightened pleading requirements applicable to civil forfeiture and fraud actions. This vagueness fails to do what pleading rules require: Let PokerStars know what it is alleged to have done wrong so that it can marshal its defense.

Second, the Complaint fails to state a legally viable theory of how PokerStars violated the Illegal Gambling Business Act, the wire- and bank-fraud statutes, and the money-laundering statutes.

Third, although the Government admits that PokerStars operated legally throughout the world – and has implicitly conceded that it has lawfully provided services in much of the United States – it seeks to seize all of PokerStars’ assets without showing that this Court has in rem jurisdiction over those assets and without attempting to separate PokerStars’ lawful income from the income that the Government alleges PokerStars earned through illegal activities.

eGR suggests that the filing could pose a threat to the pending discussions with the Department of Justice over the purchase of Full Tilt Poker. However, if the motion is approved by a federal judge, it could open the door for PokerStars to complete the takeover of its former competitor.

Meanwhile, as Ray Bitar’s attorneys were working out a bail package with federal prosecutors on Tuesday, three other members of the Full Tilt Poker board of directors filed motions to dismiss the civil charges brought against them by the Department of Justice.

Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst each filed motions to dismiss the amended civil charges claiming they defrauded players out of more than $300 million and operated “global Ponzi scheme.” The motions are based on two arguments. First, that the allegations that the men participated in a scheme to defraud FTP’s customers are nowhere to be found. And second, that Full Tilt Poker did not fall under the Illegal Gambling Business Act.

“The Government has not proven that the alleged ‘gambling business’ conducted by Full Tilt Poker is illegal in the place where that business is conducted,” states the filing.

Here’s an excerpt from Lederer’s motion to dismiss:

How, exactly, did he mislead players regarding their deposits and accounts? What did he say to them, and when did he say it? Was any information Lederer allegedly provided false when given, and if so, did Lederer know it? The government doesn’t say. The only specific factual allegations against Lederer are that he co-founded FTP and helped build it into a successful business, and that he received distributions as part-owner of the company. These allegations fail to state a fraud claim-or any claim-against Lederer.

Similar filings were submitted by Ferguson and Furst on Monday. A motion was also filed on behalf of Telamonian Ajax Trust, a bank account in Switzerland that was tied to Furst. The bank account was seized last September when the DOJ filed an amended civil complaint against the FTP board members.

For a closer look at the filings, check out dockets.justia.com.

A Chat With Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey isn’t the easiest guy to sit down for an interview. Trust us – we’ve tried many times this summer.

However, World Series of Poker Media Director Nolan Dalla was fortunate enough to have a one-on-one chat with the world’s greatest poker player last week. The interview was posted at WSOP.com on Tuesday. It was the first interview conducted with Ivey in three years.

Ivey spoke willingly with Dalla about his success – or lack thereof – during the 2012 WSOP. The 36-year-old made an astounding five final tables in 13 days last month, but fell short of a bracelet each time. What made it worse for Ivey was hearing about Phil Hellmuth winning bracelet No. 12, leaving Ivey four behind the “Poker Brat” for the all-time mark.

“I congratulated him,” Ivey said about Hellmuth’s 12th bracelet. “I was really impressed. He’s been playing very well this year. … Now, I have four more bracelets to go to catch him.”

Did Ivey’s runner-up finish on the same night give him any enjoyment? Not a chance.

“It’s all about winning,” Ivey said. “I don’t get any satisfaction from second place at all.”

Dalla’s interview with Ivey is a must-read for any poker fan. Check it out WSOP.com.

Cyprus Eliminates Online Poker

The small island country of Cyprus has passed a bill that prohibits online poker and most forms of gambling. The controversial decision was made because of concerns the nation was losing billions of pounds in tax revenues each year to offshore betting sites.

The bill was approved by the House of Representatives Legal Affairs Committee last week before advancing through a full parliamentary vote on Friday. The bill prevents betting companies from offering all forms of gambling other than sports betting, which has been regulated with a 10 percent tax levy on operators.

Online betting company Betfair is considering legal action against Cyprus, arguing that the new bill is in violation of European Union law. Betfair claims that it generated approximately 4 percent of its revenue from Cyprus last year, accounting for approximately £9 million in revenues before allocation of central costs.

“Betfair is working with advisors to understand the potential implications on its business and will be taking all necessary steps to reduce the impact on profitability through both legal action and cost management,” the company said in a statement.

OPAP, the national lottery operator in Cyprus, will be exempt from all of the new laws. The organization will continue to operate games of chance because of a bilateral agreement between Greece and Cyprus.

Read more at iGaming Business.

Online Poker Traffic Report

PokerScout.com released its weekly online poker traffic rankings on Monday. The tracking site reported an overall increase of 1.7 percent, marking the second straight week of growth worldwide.

PokerScout reported a big week for the top 10 sites, six of which gained at least 5 percent traffic over the previous week. PokerStars claimed the top spot by a wide margin over PartyPoker and the iPoker Network, which landed at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. 888poker and the Ongame Network rounded out the top five.

The battle between the Merge Gaming Network and Revolution Gaming continued this week, with Revolution surging past Merge and the Microgaming Network for ninth place in the rankings. Revolution has grown rapidly since Lock Poker defected from Merge and re-branded the Cake Poker Network, and is now contending with PokerStars.fr for No. 8 worldwide.

As for year-over-year numbers, online poker traffic (excluding Italy) has decreased by 15 percent in the last year. Each of the Big Three (PokerStars, iPoker and PartyPoker) are down since this time last year, but Revolution Gaming (up 29%) Bodog/Bovada (up 16%) and Winamax.fr (up 14%) have seen significant growth. The International Poker Network (down 57%), Everest Poker (down 41%) and PKR (down 27%) have seen the biggest dropoff since last July.

Read the full report at PokerScout.com.

Calling The Clock

PokerNews’ Sarah Grant caught up with Team Bodog Pro Jay Tan for the latest edition of Calling the Clock.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Follow Brett Collson on

No comments yet. Be the first to post one!

March 22 2012, Brett Collson

On Wednesday, Groupe Bernard Tapie Lawyer Behnam Dayanim told us there was no update regarding the company’s purchase of Full Tilt Poker. We did, however, discover some news involving FTP on Thursday. We’ll bring you that story and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

The 2012 PokerStars.net ANZPT Sydney Main Event got under way on Thursday. Find out which players survived Day 1a in our ANZPT recap.

Reid Young is the author of The Blue Book: An Advanced Strategy Guide for No-Limit Hold’em Cash Games. This week, Young joined the Strategy with Kristy podcast to discuss advanced strategy involving showdown value, among other topics.

Last year, Stuart McDonald collected $87,129 at the Latin American Poker Tour event in Medellin, Colombia. PokerNews recently caught up with the Australian pro in Vina del Mar, Chile, to find out what he’s been up to since his big score.

Why are protesters fighting to keep “Eurovegas” out of Madrid? Find out in the latest Inside Gaming.

Andrew Lichtenberger cracked the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index this week. Mickey Doft takes a look at the biggest movers and shakers on the GPI.

Season 5 of the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour kicked off in Chile on Wednesday. Get the details from Vina del Mar in our LAPT recap.

FTP, PokerStars and AP Given More Time to Respond

While the world continued waiting for the pending deal between Groupe Bernard Tapie and Full Tilt Poker to be completed this week, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York granted another extension to FTP and other respondents of an amended civil complaint regarding last April’s Black Friday indictments.

After the previous deadline of March 19 passed, PokerStars, Absolute Poker, Howard Lederer, Ray Bitar, Rafe Furst and payment processor Chad Elie were given until May 14, 2012 file a response. The extension is another on a growing list since the respondents’ original response date of the indictment passed on Nov. 30, 2011.

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Adios, Bodog

Bodog was back in the news this week after announcing that it is exiting the Spanish market ahead of the country’s new gambling market. The company released a statement to players in Spain about the decision:

“We would like to inform you that due to recent regulatory changes, we are no longer able to offer our betting or wagering services to residents of Spain or Spanish territories. Your account will be disabled on the 31st of March 2012 and as of today; you are no longer able to make any further deposits to your account.”

The new gambling regulations in Spain are expected to go into effect later this year. More than 60 companies have applies for operating licenses. Among the online poker rooms interested in the space include PokerStars, bwin.party, 888 and Ladbrokes. Groupe Bernard Tapie also reportedly submitted an application before the Dec. 14, 2011 deadline.

Bwin.Party Launches iPad App

This week, bwin.party digital entertainment became the latest online gaming operator to launch a real money poker app for the iPad. The release comes more than a year after the company unveiled a real money platform for iPhone and Android devices. The iPad software is based on those models.

“The bwin iPad Poker app gives bwin.com customers unrestricted access to the bwin poker account – now with the full iPad resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels,” said Berthold Kao, head of bwin.party’s mobile, touch and video department.

“The bwin iPad Poker app extends our lead in mobile entertainment on tablet devices and builds on our hugely successful iPhone Poker app that bwin.party designs with its own mobile development teams. Together with the bwin Sports App for pre-event and live betting enthusiasts and several Casino games for Android and iPhone as well as Java based phones, we now offer our customers an exciting portfolio of games.”

The app can be downloaded from the iTunes Store or the Bwin website, with one download covering both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game.

Visit bwinparty.com for more information.

WSOP Circuit Heads to California

On Thursday, the World Series of Poker announced (albeit in bizarre, satirical way) that poker pro Gavin Smith will participate in the three-day $1,600 buy-in World Series of Poker Circuit Event at Harrah’s Rincon starting this Saturday, March 25. Smith, who has more than $4 million in live tournament earnings, is known for his easygoing personality and propensity for side bets at the table. He’s also been known to have a drink or two.

WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla had some fun at Smith’s expense in a press release, saying “No matter what happens in the Main Event, Smith is certain to make a major impact at Harrah’s Rincon. Two extra bartenders and three additional cocktail waitresses have been hired for the occasion. The credit manager has also been put on alert.”

Last year, Seneca Easley took down the $1,600 Main Event at Harrah’s Rincon, besting a field of 188 players that included Dwyte Pilgrim, Jerry Yang, Allen Kessler, Phil Hellmuth, Dennis Phillips, Adam Levy, and Poker News’ Kristy Arnett. Easley won $70,384 and a seat into the WSOP Circuit National Championship freeroll, a prize that will go to this year’s winner, as well.

PokerNews will be providing live coverage of the WSOP Circuit event in Rincon, so check our Live Reporting page when the action kicks off on Saturday!

Welcome to Sydney!

The PokerStars.net ANZPT is in Sydney, Australia, this week. PokerNews’ Lynn Gilmartin toured the city to show off her favorite spots.

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

Follow Brett Collson on