October 31 2011, Brett Collson, Chad Holloway

Big news out of Las Vegas broke on Monday as MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming announced they will join with bwin.party to form an online poker site when legislation passes in the U.S. Also in this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you an exclusive report regarding Kim Kardashian’s divorce from Kris Humphries. Just kidding. We do, however, have news about PokerStars cracking down on players in the U.S., the tragic death of Alan Meltzer, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The days until the 2011 World Series of Poker November Nine are dwindling and we’re always curious to find out how the members of the prestigious Final Table are spending their time. We recently talked to Anton Makiievskyi to find out how he’s preparing for poker’s biggest stage.

How did the Sunday Majors play out yesterday on PokerStars? Who took home the biggest win? Find out in the Sunday Briefing.

The World Poker Tour World Poker Finals at Foxwoods reached the “unofficial” final table on Sunday. Get all the details in our daily recap.

Last week, we learned about how Team PokerStars Pro Angel Guillen got his start in poker. This week, we find out more about his life as a pro in part two of our “Seat Open with…” series.

Alan Meltzer Passes Away

On Monday, the poker community was sad to learn that recreational high-stakes poker player Alan Meltzer had passed away. According to friend David “Viffer” Peat, Meltzer died at his home. “It was just his time,” Peat wrote via Twitter.

Meltzer was a wealthy music executive who made regular trips to Las Vegas to compete in some of the toughest cash games in the world. In 2009, Meltzer made an appearance on High Stakes Poker and played several pots against the likes of Tom Dwan, Phil Laak, Eli Elezra and Doyle Brunson. He played one memorable pot with Dwan and saw more than $500,000 end up in the middle.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Meltzer’s family and close friends. Here are a few reactions from the poker community after learning of Meltzer’s death:

PokerStars Cracks Down on U.S. Players

In April, PokerStars came to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that forced the site to stop taking bets from U.S. players. That decision prompted many Americans to leave the country to resume their poker careers. However, it appears some players have ignored the site’s new terms of service and have been playing from their homes in the States.

According to PokerStars VIP Manager Steve Day, several poker players in the U.S. have been logging in and playing real-money games by using Virtual Private Network (VPN), a method by which a player’s Internet connection is routed through another country to mask their IP address. Day joined the TwoPlusTwo Pokercast last week and said that some players have avoided detection of PokerStars security, but others have had their accounts suspended and funds frozen.

Day says that PokerStars is enforcing the use of VPN networks and, while he isn’t sure what the ultimate consequences will be, the penalties could be extremely severe.

“We’re not really sure what will happen (to the suspended accounts) yet,” said Day. “The accounts get frozen, and then we wait for guidance from the independent moderator who was appointed by the Department of Justice as to what to do with the funds in these accounts and the ability to play in the future.”

The PokerStars Terms of Service clearly states that real-money play is not allowed from the U.S. under any circumstances. It reads, “Players who attempt to play for real money from inside the US with the aid of VPNs or other technical workarounds will lose their playing privileges and/or funds in their account.”

Day recounted one example of a player who was trying to earn Supernova Elite status and was told by friends that it was safe to play on a VPN. The player then had his account suspended and his the status of his funds are now in question.

“Tell all your friends – it’s a mistake to try to do this,” Day added. “Many people are getting caught, and the consequences are severe. We have to enforce the rules.”

Listen to the full interview at TwoPlusTwo.

Scammer Cheats High-Stakes Players out of Millions

An alleged online poker scam caught the attention of the online poker community after multiple reports hit the wire on Monday. Two victims, one Austrian and one Swiss, revealed last week that they had been cheated by a London-based German player who installed a Trojan on their computer that allowed him to see their hole cards in future online matches.

A report from German site Hochgepokert.com indicates that the main suspect is Maximilian Ashkar, a high-stakes regular known by the online handle “mexx86.” Hochgepokert reports that Ashkar had scammed the aforementioned players of at least “350,000, and the minimum number of victims is estimated at two dozen.

Poker pro Bernhard Braumandl stated on TwoPlusTwo Monday that the alleged cheater “scammed our house for 100k+ alone, all together he made at least 2 million probably a lot more.” Braumandl claims that the Trojan was installed using a USB stick and took a matter of seconds to complete.

Braumandl also mentioned that Ashkar had attempted to befriend every well-known poker player on Facebook to target potential scams. “If he ever was near your laptop/pc since February this year there’s a high chance he scammed you as well,” Braumandl said.

More details can be found at Hochgepokert.com. We recommend you use Google Translate if needed.

888poker Launches Social Networking Features

With social media growing by the day worldwide, more and more online poker sites are infusing the interactive model into their software.

The latest is 888poker, which has introduced a new private games feature that allows players to create their own tournaments or game games. The feature, called 888poker Lounges, offers several options for private games. Players can set their own limits, format, prize structure and add unique new additional features such as PokerCam.

“Imagine the ability to play just your friends in a private game AND hear and see each other via webcam,” 888poker said in a press release.

Once a private game is set up, players can invite their friends and to join using email, Facebook and Twitter invite options.

More info on 888poker Lounges can be found at 888poker.com.

MGM and Boyd Gaming Stike Deal with Bwin.Party for Online Poker Venture

On Monday, MarketWatch announced that MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming joined forces with Bwin.Party to create a new company in anticipation of legalized online gambling in the U.S. The joint venture marks the latest in a long line of companies looking to join the race for a share of the online gambling market in the States.

MGM Chief Executive Jim Murren says that if online poker eventually becomes legalized in the U.S., MGM would be “very interested” in using Bwin’s software to develop sites for their properties.

“We know there are millions of U.S. citizens risking billions of dollars at unregulated, illegal sites,” Murren told MarketWatch. “And there is no way to enforce good behavior, and that has to change.”

Get more on the story here at PokerNews.com.

Trick or Treat

If this is your neighbor, we feel sorry for you. Happy Halloween!

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September 29 2011, Brett Collson

Full Tilt Poker was all over the news on Thursday after its license was revoked by the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC). If you haven’t been following story, go grab some popcorn and we’ll get you caught up. In other news, the Team Europe and Team Americas rosters were selected for the WSOPE Caesars Cup, Dennis Phillips is bringing High Stakes Poker games to the Midwest, and more.

In Case You Missed It

On Thursday, the AGCC released a statement announcing that it revoked Full Tilt Poker’s license. FTP responded with its own statement, and then the Department of Justice updated the status of FTP and player funds. Pokernews’ Chad Holloway was all over the Full Tilt Poker scope.

Poker players have been very open about their feelings toward Full Tilt Poker. Find out what players were saying after the DOJ added Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst to its civil indictment last week.

Canadian poker pro Mike “goleafsgoeh” Leah won his first bracelet at the 2011 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker this month. Then, he chopped the Main Event for $560,000. Leah discussed his WCOOP success in our one-on-one interview this week.

Olivier Busquet is a poker wizard. Don’t believe us? Have a listen to Busquet answering questions from listeners and analyzing some difficult spots in the latest Strategy with Kristy podcast.

The Global Poker Index released its rankings as of Sept. 26. Phil Ivey’s absence from the tournament circuit has resulted in his removal from the Top 300. Find out who replaced him.

The PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour will make its inaugural stop to the Colombian city of Medellin next month. Lynn Gilmartin provides everything you need to know about the city in the PokerNews Jet Set.

Team ElkY vs. Team Hellmuth

The rosters have been drawn for the upcoming Caesars Cup at the World Series of Poker Europe in Cannes, France. The Ryder Cup-style poker event pits teams of the best players from both sides of the Atlantic against each other for bragging rights and the coveted Caesars Cup.

The event was last played in 2009 and won by Team Europe, which was captained by former WSOPE Main Event champion Annette Obrestad. That team easily defeated the Team Americas squad captained by Daniel Negreanu.

This year, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier leads Team Europe against Phil Hellmuth’s Team Americas crew. Grospellier decided to go with youth as he selected five players with a combined five WSOP bracelets, including recent Triple Crown winner Jake Cody. Gus Hansen, Dario Minieri and Maxim Lykov were also included on the squad.

“I am very confident in my team,” said Grospellier. “We will show the Americas that 2009 was not an upset!”

Hellmuth, on the other hand, will have experience on his side. Including Hellmuth, Team Americas will boast 39 WSOP bracelets won by Doyle Brunson (10), Johnny Chan (10), Daniel Negreanu (four), and Huck Seed (four) round out the team.

“These idiot Northern Europeans think they know everything about the game of poker,” Hellmuth joked . “Well, we plan to show them that decades of experience are much more valuable than clicking a mouse while sitting in your pajamas. In all seriousness, we look forward to the challenge and the opportunity to return the Caesars Cup to American soil.”

Read the press release at WSOP.com.

Dennis Phillips Brings High Stakes Poker to the Midwest

Next month, former WSOP November Niner Dennis Phillips will take part in the largest cash games ever played in St. Louis. Phillips and St. Louis radio man Paul Harris, hosts of KFNS’ Final Table Poker Radio Show, are set to participate in the Harrah’s St. Louis Big Game from Oct. 28 through 30.

The nine-handed cash game will feature $25/$50 blinds with a $10 ante and a minimum buy-in of $15,000. A combined estimated minimum of $270,000 will be on the table at any given time, and, depending on who shows, there’s the potential for much more.

“As a player, there really is no better place in St. Louis to play poker,” said Phillips, who won $4.5 million for his third-place finish at the 2008 Main Event. “I’m excited to be a part of bringing a game of this size to my hometown.”

The public is welcome to watch all the action when the cards go in the air at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.

Interested players can contact the Harrah’s WSOP Poker Room at (314) 770-7600.

Chiligaming to Enter U.S. Market

French online gaming operator Chiligaming is set to enter the U.S. poker market with the launch of a free-to-play social-gaming poker network.

The new legal, nongambling poker network includes a wide range of social gaming features including virtual currency, multiple language options, and availability on multiple devices including PCs, MACs, iPhone, Android, tablets and social networks.

The company will also open offices in San Francisco, Calif., as part of its expansion into new markets. Chiligaming plans to use the free-play platform as a launch pad into real-money play when legislation occurs in the States. It remains one of a small number of international online gaming operators never to have taken a bet in the U.S.

“The gaming market is evolving and Chiligaming is evolving with it by expanding its operation to become an active social gaming player in addition to an established online gaming operator,” said founder Alexandre Dreyfus. “Chiliplay.com will be the first brand to launch on the network and we will be welcoming more partners now that all the devices for access are ready.”

Read the press release for more.

A New Professor in Town?

Dutch Boyd has started a new poker training site, and the community is already on red alert. Boyd tweeted on Wednesday that his new training site at PokerClinic.com had been launched and players could get a one-on-one lesson with the former WSOP bracelet winner.

However, because of his past, the response to Boyd’s new training site hasn’t been overly welcoming. For those who don’t remember, Boyd was the president and co-founder of an online cardroom that went under in 2001. The cardroom did not refund an estimated $400,000 in player funds, causing a massive backlash across the poker community.

He was also sued by TwoPlusTwo founder Mason Malmuth in 2009 for trademark infringement after allegedly registering a domain name using the phrase “Two Plus Two.”

How does community feel about Boyd’s latest venture? Check out the reaction at TwoPlusTwo.

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