September 07 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

Nick Diaz was slated to fight Georges St. Pierre in October but after not appearing at the press conference held in Las Vegas on Wednesday, he might just suffer the same fate that three PokerStars sponsored players did. We’ve learned that the Team PokerStars Pro roster has gotten a little lighter. We’ll tell you who’s no longer wearing the red spade, what the online poker traffic numbers are looking like, and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

On Tuesday, the Epic Poker League Main Event #2 concluded with 51 players remaining of the 96 who entered. Jamie Kaplan received his seat in the EPL Main Event through a twist of fate and rode that luck to the top of the chip counts on Day 1.

The World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris held Day 1b of the “7,500 buy-in Main Event on Tuesday. Topping the field on Day 1b was Guillame Darcourt.

In the latest PokerNews Podcast, Rich Ryan, Donnie Peters and Elaine Chaivarlis discuss the top poker headlines of the week. Tony Dunst then joins the program to discuss the World Poker Tour and more.

On Day 3 of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, two champions were crowned. Who walked away with WCOOP glory and which players are on to Day 2 of Event #9? Find out in our daily WCOOP recap.

Did you miss ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker and your DVR was full of Real Housewives episodes so it didn’t record? Bummer. Lucky for you, that didn’t happen to us and we can bring you this recap of the action.

The Culinary Union has a beef with the UFC. We’ll tell you what’s up with that, which casino in downtown Las Vegas reopened and more in the latest edition of Inside Gaming.

We know how taxing the grind of the live tournament circuit can be. In our most recent Stay Stacked series, we spoke with Jesse McKenzie to find out how he stays focused and healthy on the road.

Not on the Team

We don’t check the Team PokerStars Pro roster every day, and we’re sure you don’t either, but a quick look today will show you that a few players are missing.

It seems that Dennis Phillips, Tom McEvoy, and Bill Chen are no longer on the Team PokerStars Pro roster – or there’s a pretty big computer glitch going on.

We’re not going to speculate on who’s decision it was, or why the three players are no longer on the roster. This was just an observation, and now we’re passing along the information.

There has been no comment has been made (that we’re aware of) from either of the players – or PokerStars.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

Another week has gone by, so we’re bringing you a look at the latest online poker traffic numbers from PokerScout. The number wizards at PokerScout reported that overall traffic saw a 0.6 percent decrease for the week of Aug. 29.

PokerStars may have a stranglehold on the top spot of the traffic report, but the site saw a decrease in traffic for the same week last year. Traffic for the online poker giant fell 2.4 percent, after a gain of 1.8 percent in the same week last year, according to PokerScout.

The Merge Gaming Network has been knocked out of the top 10 with a 5 percent traffic decrease. PokerScout reports that with Merge being out of the top 10, this is only the second time in online poker history that the list of top 10 sites has not included a U.S.-facing site.

Merge may be out of the top 10 in the latest reports, but year-over-year the site has seen a 62 percent increase in traffic. Bodog (up 55 percent), 888poker (up 124 percent) and the iPoker Network (up 22 percent) have all seen increases in their year-over-year traffic. As a whole however, online poker traffic has decreased 26 percent year-over-year.

PokerScout.com has the recent online traffic numbers, as well as an updated look at current numbers.

BPA Results

The British Poker Awards were held over the weekend, and we’re sure you were wondering which one of your favorites walked away with awards. Jake Cody won both awards he was nominated for and was the only multiple-award winner. And even though these were the British Poker Awards, Jason Mercier managed to walk away with a win, as well. #whenwillitend

Best International Player: Jason Mercier
Best Tournament Player: Jake Cody
Best Cash Player: Sam Trickett
Best Mixed Game Player: Richard Ashby
Best Pot-Limit Omaha Player: JP Kelly
Best Online Player: Chris Moorman
Best Poker Forum: TwoPlusTwo
Best Blogger: Neil Channing’s Blackbelt Poker Blog
Best Social Media User: Vicky Coren
Best Poker League: Champions Poker League
Poker Personality of the Year: Kara Scott
Outstanding Contribution to Poker: John Duthie
Best Breakout Player: Matt Perrins
Lifetime Achievement Award: Roy Houghton
Player of the Year: Jake Cody

Read more at UK.PokerNews.com.

Third Annual Queen City Shootout

If you’re in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October, you may not want to miss this charity poker event. The Third Annual Queen City Shootout will be held at Whisky River on Oct. 12. Wondering what Whisky River is? We were too. It’s a bar owned by NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. that mixes “two ounces of rock and roll, an ounce of country, and a splash of southern hospitality.”

The Queen City Shootout charity poker tournament will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. On top of the charity poker tournament, a live auction will be held to benefit the Alexander Youth Network, an organization that “provides quality professional treatment to children with serious emotional behavioral challenges.”

For those who wish to attend, individual and spectator tickets go on sale Sept. 12. This could be your shot to not only help children in need, but to rub elbows with NFL players and NASCAR drivers and win a seat to the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event.

To find out more, check out QueenCityShootout.com.

The Future of Moneybookers

We know EPT London isn’t until the end of the month, but we don’t like to wait until the last minute to make plans and we don’t want you to either. Last month we told you that Skrill, the new name of Moneybookers, became an official sponsor of the PokerStars European Poker Tour. While in Barcelona, Kristy Arnett caught up with Skrill’s spokespersons shown here to get the scoop on the company, the last-longer bets, and what to expect from Skrill at EPT London.

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

Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter – @LaneyLV

September 07 2011, Donnie Peters

Day 1b of the World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris took place on Monday at the Aviation Club de France. Another 172 players joined the event to bring the field to 312 entrants. At the end of the day, 97 players were left and Guillaume Darcourt was leading the charge with 198,500 in chips.

Darcourt is having a solid second half of the year after having made a very deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event. There, Darcourt placed 35th for $242,636. He followed that performance up with a 46th-place finish at the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event and looks to have another go at a title here.

One of the early pots Darcourt raked in to help build his stack came during the second level of the day. According to the WPT Live Update Team, Darcourt called an opening raise from Sam Holden before Zaydsev Evgeuy three-bet to 1,650 out of the small blind. Holden folded, but Darcourt came along to see the flop, which produced the . Evgeuy bet 1,850 and Darcourt made the call to see the land on the turn. Evgeuy opted to check this time, and Darcourt checked behind. The river then completed the board with the . After Evgeuy checked, Darcourt bet 2,250. Evgeuy folded and Darcourt showed for a heart flush.

Holden wasn’t the only 2011 WSOP November Niner to play Day 1b. He was joined by Phil Collins. Holden went on to advance while Collins was eliminated very early in the day. A few others that joined him on the rail included Anton Wigg, Michael Tureniac and Jean-Robert Bellande.

Advancing to Day 2 are notables Joe Ebanks, Martin Jacobson, McLean Karr, Jason Mercier and the WPT’s own Tony Dunst. We’ll see them back in action as part of the remaining 167 players returning for Day 2.

A prize pool of $3,160,710 was generated with nearly $730,000 going to the winner. The top 36 places will pay out and making it to the money will capture a minimum of $15,632. Day 2 will start at 1400 CEST (1300 BST) on Wednesday and you can be sure to check right back here on PokerNews for the recap.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for all your up-to-the-minute poker news.

Follow Donnie Peters on Twitter – @Donnie_Peters