For over a year, PokerStars, which was formerly known for tournaments, has successfully filled the high-stakes void left by Full Tilt Poker’s departure from the market. When PokerStars acquired its former competitor and relaunched the brand last month, this raised the question as to whether the high-stakes cash games would shift back to FTP. If this week’s Online Railbird Report is any indication, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Earlier this week, FTP began the Full Tilt Online Poker Series XXI (FTOPS XXI),, comprising 35 events and representing the return of one of online poker’s most prestigious tournament series.

For a look at the FTOPS XXI results thus far, click here.

Where there are good tournaments, there are also great cash games, and this has been the case all week on FTP. While the week’s biggest winner, “1Il|1Il|1il|” (+$453,595 in 223 sessions/14,828 hands), actually came from PokerStars, the next five biggest winners came from FTP. They included Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky (+$424,914 in 36 sessions/3,430), Ilkka “LokoIsBack” Koskinen (+$323,988 in 15 sessions/3,290 hands), Ben “1Mastermind” Chen (+$316,723 in 42 sessions/3,051 hands), “DealMeInFast” (+$299,501 in 28 sessions/3,716 hands) and “pummelfee123” (+$281,070 in 30 sessions/4,570 hands). With that said, it’s worth noting that Sulsky, who plays under “Sauce123”, lost $210,887 over on PokerStars.

Speaking of losers, no one lost more from Nov. 29 through Dec. 4 than Tom “durrrr” Dwan, a member of FTP’s “The Professionals”. He dropped a painful -$688,178 in 8,886 hands across 63 sessions, though that was a far cry from the -$1,829,404 his fellow Professional Gus Hansen dropped the week before. Not surprisingly, the next three biggest losers also came from FTP-“patpatpanda” (-$405,207 in 60 sessions/9,959 hands), Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene (-$337,375 in 32 sessions/2,912 hands) and Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver (-$302,063 in 31 sessions/2,199 hands).

“1Il|1Il|1il|” Closes November with a $445K Score

On Friday, Nov. 30, the $200/$400 pot-limit Omaha games were going strong over on PokerStars. Once again, “1Il|1Il|1il|” and Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies were fueling the action and were joined by an assortment of other high-stakes pros like “patpatman” and Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky. Not surprisingly, the biggest pots of the day were between Sahamies and “1Il|1Il|1il|”, with the former dropping $430K and the latter winning $445.4K.

In one hand, action was three-handed when “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($173,555) opened for $1,200 on the button, Sahamies ($100,000) three-bet to $4,240 from the small blind, and “patpatman” ($116,870) folded the big. “1Il|1Il|1il|” then pushed back to the tune of $14,560, Sahamies called, and the flop came down , which both players checked. When the turned, Sahamies led out for $27,355, “1Il|1Il|1il|” called, and the completed the board on the river. Sahamies wasted little time in moving all in, “1Il|1Il|1il|” called, and suddenly, a $200,475 pot was on the line. Sahamies revealed for a nine-high flush, but it was no good as “1Il|1Il|1il|” tabled for an ace-high flush.

Ilari Sahamies

In another notable hand, which was actually four handed, Sahamies ($148,641) opened for $1,720 from the cutoff, the button folded, and “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($87,785) three-bet to $5,880 from the small blind. The big got out of the way, Sahamies called, and then “1Il|1Il|1il|” fired out $8,400 on the flop. Sahamies refused to back down and raised to $37,675, and then called an additional $44,230 when “1Il|1Il|1il|” moved all in for $81,905.

Showdown
“1Il|1Il|1il|”:
Sahamies:

“1Il|1Il|1il|” had flopped top two pair while Sahamies had a pair of aces with various draws. The turn gave the Finn a bunch more outs, but the river was not what he needed. Ship the $176,125 pot to “1Il|1Il|1il|”.

Speaking of hands where Sahamies ($70,018) had plenty of outs, action was heads-up when “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($337,137) opened for $880 and then called when Sahamies three-bet to $2,800. The flop saw Sahamies check-call a bet of $4,400, and then check the turn. “1Il|1Il|1il|” took the opportunity to bet $11,200 but was soon met with a check-raise to $48,158 by his opponent. “1Il|1Il|1il|” opted to three-bet, and Sahamies called off his last $14,660 to create a pot worth $140,034. The completed the board on the river, and Sahamies turned over for a pair of sixes and a lot of missed draws. Not surprisingly, “1Il|1Il|1il|” won the pot with .

All three of those pots, though nice, were well behind the day’s largest pot, which was awarded to “patpatman” at Sahamies’ expense. In that hand, action was three-handed when Sahamies ($155,505) opened for $1,640 on the button, “patpatman” ($127,025) called from the small blind, and “1Il|1Il|1il|” ($171,443) three-bet to $6,800 from the big. Two calls ensued, the flop came down , and “1Il|1Il|1il|” bet $12,400 after “patpatman” had checked. Sahamies made the call, and then “patpatman” sprung to life with a check-raise to $34,400. “1Il|1Il|1il|” folded, Sahamies three-bet to $148,635, and “patpatman” called off his remaining $85,825. The and were run out on the turn and river respectively, and “patpatman” tabled for top set. Sahamies simply mucked and watched the $273,325 pushed to his opponent.

Year’s Biggest Winner Makes His Presence Known on Full Tilt to Durrrr’s Detriment

Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky is currently the year’s largest online winner thanks to $3.6 million in profit over on PokerStars, but on Sunday, Dec. 2, Sulsky made his presence known on Full Tilt Poker when he won $258,400 playing under “Sauce1234”. That came courtesy of Tom “durrrr” Dwan, who lost $214,600 at the $200/$400 no-limit hold’em tables. Despite being dismantled by Sulsky, Dwan did manage to win the day’s biggest pot, which actually came from a five-handed $75/$150 PLO table.

It began when Dwan ($69,444.50) opened for $450 under the gun and Chris “Genius28” Lee ($25,16.50) called from the cutoff. “Patpatpanda” ($75,272) then three-bet to $2,150 from the button, both blinds folded, and Dwan four-bet to $7,700. Lee got out of the way, “patpatpanda” five-bet to $24,700, Dwan called, and the flop fell . Dwan wasted little time in leading out for $45,900, and then called off his remaining $969.50 when “patpatpanda” raised.

Showdown
“patpatpanda”:
Dwan:

“Patpatpanda” held aces, but they were no good as Dwan had flopped top two pair. The duo agreed to run it twice, but neither the on the first run nor the on the second delivered “patpatpanda” salvation. With that, Dwan scooped a pot worth $139,636.

More on Dwan’s FTP Slide

Tom “durrrr” Dwan’s return to Full Tilt Poker actually happened back on Nov. 17, which he followed up by playing five days in a row. It was during this time that he chose to take on no-limit hold’em specialist Alex “IReadYrSoul” Millar in $300/$600 heads-up NLHE. That match didn’t result in any big swings-Millar won $15K in an hour and a half over 460 hands-but it did produce a couple of interesting hands.

In the first, Millar ($64,799.50) raised to $1,200 on the button, Dwan ($116,035) defended from the big, and the appeared on the flop. Dwan proceeded to check-raise Millar’s $1,440 bet up to $5,600, Millar three-bet to $12,600, and Dwan four-bet $30K. Millar called, the peeled off on the turn, and Dwan quickly put out a big bet, which saw Millar call off his remaining $33,599.50.

Showdown
Millar:
Dwan:

Dwan had flopped two pair, but Millar had taken the lead by making a bigger two pair on the turn. The river failed to help Dwan, and he watched the $129,599 pushed to the man from the U.K.

Here’s a look at the other notable hand from that match:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

More recently, FTP once again produced the biggest winners and losers this past Monday, most of which came from the $200/$400 no-limit 2-7 Triple Draw tables. It was there that Dwan dropped -$478K, most of which went to the day’s three biggest winners-“DealMeInfast” (+$275.7K), Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky (+$219.4K) and Ben “1Mastermind” Chen (+$203K).

Biggest Winners/Losers

Week’s biggest winners (11/29-12/4): “1Il|1Il|1il|” (+$453,595), Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky* (+$424,914), Ilkka “LokoIsBack” Koskinen* (+$323,988), Ben “1Mastermind” Chen* (+$316,723), “DealMeInFast”* (+$299,501), “pummelfee123”* (+$281,070), Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$241,727)

Week’s biggest losers: Tom “durrrr” Dwan* (-$688,178), “patpatpanda”* (-$405,207), Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene* (-$337,375), Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver* (-$302,063), “NyPogadi11” (-$253,897), “kagome kagome”* (-$221,595), Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (-$210,887), Ilari “Ilari FIN” Sahamies (-$208,148), “patpatman” (-$179,869)

Biggest Year-to-date winners: Ben “Sauce123” Sulsky (+$3,630,292), Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen (+$2,464,966), Ben “Ben86” Tollerene (+$2,217,507), “EireAbu” (+$2,176,527), Alex “Kanu7” Millar (+$1,601,077), Niklas “ragen70” Heinecker (+$1,558,324), “bernard-bb” (+$1,507,058), Phil “MrSweets28” Galfond (+$1,417,998), “longerpig” (+$1,392,569)

*Indicates Full Tilt Poker

Data, hands and re-player obtained from HighStakesDB.com

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Six players sitting at a $1/$2 cash game table at PokerStars shared a promotional jackpot worth $228,000 on Thursday. We’re bringing you that story, plus the schedule for the World Poker Tour National Series in Dublin, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Jonathan Roy won the inaugural World Poker Tour Montreal event this week. Chad Holloway caught up with the champ to talk about his big win, poker in Canada, and plans for his prize winnings.

Former Full Tilt Poker exec Rafe Furst settled his civil case with the Department of Justice on Thursday. Get the full story here at PokerNews.com.

World Poker Tour Mazagan continued Wednesday with the second of two Day 1 flights. Clement Beauvois emerged as the overall chip leader, besting Day 1a leader Guillaume Darcourt.

Dan Smith maintained his lead in the Global Poker Index this week. But Mickey Doft says there’s about to be a noticeable shift in the rankings.

PokerStars Celebrates 90 Billion

PokerStars dealt its 90 billionth hand on Thursday, giving the players at one lucky table more than $228,000 combined as part of the Mega Milestone celebration. PokerStars rewarded hundreds of winners leading up to the 90 billionth hand, but the big prize came at a six-handed $1/$2 no-limit hold’em table on Thursday.

Railbirds and several members of Team PokerStars Pro (including Chris Moneymaker and Liv Boeree) flocked to table “Ornamenta” as six players were informed of their good fortune. After the announcement was made at the table, excitement from the players escalated.

carambaWOW: sick

Balazska87: wow

Kud3: its my first

guss23778:

m1sspiggy: bzzzz

m1sspiggy: buzzing

SHUR43: yes))) I am shocked))))

After a few minutes setting up the momentous hand, the cards were dealt and all six players moved all in preflop for a total of $1,689. The board slowly rolled out , and the of “m1sspiggy” was good enough to win the $1,220 main pot, plus another $66,380 for winning the promotion. The other five players split $162,150, with each receiving at least $14,000.

m1sspiggy’s two pair is good

The next Mega Milestone at PokerStars will be hand No. 95 billion. For more on the 90 billionth hand, visit the PokerStars Blog.

WPT Returns to Dublin

The World Poker Tour has announced the schedule for Season XI’s WPT National Series Dublin from Jan. 3 through 6, 2013. The series will feature a “1,200+”120 buy-in Main Event, as well as a promising selection of side events.

Season X’s stop in Dublin was part of the WPT schedule and drew 338 players for the higher-priced “2,500 buy-in, creating a prize pool of “760,500. The event attracted the likes of Sam Macdonald, Dermot Blain, William Dorey, Ken Doherty, David Nicholson, Daniel Smyth, Ross Boatman, Stuart Fox,and Shaun Conning. Well-known online player David “CrabMaki” Shallow went on to win the tournament and the “222,280 first-place prize.

Satellite tournaments for the Main Event will be running throughout the series at WPT Dublin, and online satellites will be made available at PRK.com.

For a complete look at the WPT National Series Dublin schedule, visit UK.PokerNews.com.

Poker and Tennis With Rafael Nadal

Earlier this month, PokerStars jump-started a new promotion in which one contestant would have the opportunity to spend the day with tennis icon and Team PokerStars Sports Pro Rafael Nadal.

The Rafa Nadal Dream Day competition was simple; submit a photo of your best poker face via Facebook or Twitter for the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to Majorca (Spain) to not only have dinner with Nadal but also play a session of tennis and a home poker game.

Joshua Jacobs, a 19-year old U.K. resident, submitted the winning photo – of a collage of himself looking confused and awkward – which grabbed the panel’s attention through creativity and humor.

Although Jacobs doesn’t rate his poker skills up to par, he does feel confident in his match against Nadal on the court. “How do I fancy my chances? Quietly confident. I’ll target his back hand,” he said.

Best of luck with that, Joshua.

Read more about the winner at the PokerStars Blog.

Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall Closing

It was a sad day for several members of the PokerNews Live Reporting team as Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced that Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall is scheduled to close Feb. 4 for a $185 million renovation project.

The 198-room hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip will reinvent itself with a new theme and name, and is scheduled to reopen in early 2014. Some changes will include the addition of a rooftop pool, additional restaurant, and dayclub/nightclub that will be overseen by Drai Management Group.

“This project exemplifies our strategy to develop new experiences that will help attract a broader spectrum of visitors to Las Vegas and our properties,” Caesars Entertainment Chairman Gary Loveman said in a statement. “The renovated property will provide visitors with a sophisticated, upscale experience, including a unique rooftop pool and club, which will have a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip.”

The building has seen its share of turnaround, originally opening as Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino in 1979, only to be renamed Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon in 2007 after being acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment.

Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall has been a popular spot for many PokerNews staffers looking to wind down after a long day covering WSOP events. The poker room offered no-limit hold’em cash games as low as $.50/1 and always attracted a diverse collection of drunks players.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has more.

PokerNews Nominated for Affiliate Award

The nominations are in for the Sixth Annual iGB Affiliate Awards, and we’re excited to announce that PokerNews.com is up for the award of Best Poker Affiliate! The honor recognizes the poker affiliate that has excelled most in 2011-2012. When selecting their choice, voters are asked to consider criteria such as volume of traffic, innovation, reputation with players, and brand power.

The awards are taking place Friday, Feb 8. at The Brewery in London. Tickets are for sale for £125 for affiliates, £2,000 for a table for 10 for non-affiliates and £275 per seat for nonaffiliates if you want to check it out solo.

To place your vote for PokerNews, head on over to iGBAffiliateAwards.com.

SexyLady Taking Her Shot

On Nov. 18, a player with the username “sexylady409″ won the PokerStars Sunday Million for $132,928 after a four-way deal. Some players might put a huge score like that toward a house or a car, but “sexylady409″ is using it to take a shot some of the biggest games available at PokerStars, including $50/100 no-limit hold’em cash games.

We’ve seen this before, and it usually doesn’t end well. But according to members of the TwoPlusTwo forum, “sexylady409″ has been holding her own so far. Is she good enough to win at those stakes long-term? Take a look at her play from the Sunday Million final table and decide for yourself:

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Check out the original source here! Originally from PokerNews.com