September 30 2012, Brett Collson

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 Tom Dwan’s comments about The Lederer Files, Rafael Nadal’s newest PokerStars promotion, and more.

Online Poker

Tom Dwan on The Lederer Files

When PokerStars completed the deal to purchase the assets of Full Tilt Poker in July, former FTP Team Pro Tom Dwan seemed ready to discuss his thoughts on the demise of his former employer. In fact, Dwan promised his Twitter followers that he would write a blog or do an interview to talk about the issue. Neither happened.

On Tuesday, though, Dwan discussed his views on Full Tilt Poker after watching The Lederer Files here at PokerNews.com and reading the recent Andy Bloch interview at DiamondFlushPoker.com. Surprising to many, Dwan said he believes most of what the two former FTP owners said, and that their comments lined up with independent information that he knew.

Still, Dwan admits that he made a mistake by not speaking up when he should have.

As we reported in Tuesday’s Nightly Turbo, Howard Lederer will be joining the TwoPlusTwo PokerCast Wednesday for a follow-up interview to The Lederer Files. He’ll also be speaking with Diamond Flush later this week.

Read all of Dwan’s comments at his Twitter page.

Poker and Tennis with Rafael Nadal

On Tuesday, PokerStars announced an exciting new promotion that gives players the chance to play tennis and poker against Rafael Nadal.

From Sept. 24 through Oct. 21, PokerStars will run Rafa Dream Day freerolls five times per day, plus $1.10 qualifiers available on the hour, every two hours. The Rafa Dream Day Final takes place on Oct. 21 at 12:00 ET; the winner will meet Nadal in Spain, spend time with him on the tennis court, and receive poker lessons from his personal poker coach.

“It’s always an amazing experience when I meet my fans, but I’ve never done anything like this before,” said Nadal, who signed with PokerStars in June. “I’ve spent time with (fans) signing things and posing for photos but here they will actually be trying to beat me. This is something totally new for me.”

“I’m a very competitive person, you know, so if I’m on court, playing computer games or playing poker, I just don’t like losing and I always try to win. I’m still a beginner at this sport but I’ve got my poker coach so by the time I get to play against my fans I hope I’ll be prepared. It’s going to be a lot of fun but I’ll be honest, I don’t want to lose!”

The Rafa Dream Day experience will be held on the Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 in Majorca. The prize will include flights and accommodation for winners along with all meals and refreshments during the trip.

For more information, visit PokerStars.com.

Howard Lederer Joins TwoPlusTwo PokerCast

After ending his 15-month silence in an exclusive interview with PokerNews this month, former Full Tilt Poker executive Howard Lederer joined the TwoPlusTwo PokerCast on Wednesday to answer follow-up questions from co-hosts Adam Schwartz and Mike Johnson, and the poker community.

Among the topics discussed during the four-hour phone interview were the lack of responsibility taken by the four-member board of directors; the role of CFO Gil Coronado in the financial downfall of the company; and the decision to continue owner distributions despite the knowledge of a nine-figure backlog.

Lederer also discusses the decision of owners not to return distributions after Black Friday. Lederer said the idea was brought up, but it was “never a possibility.” Other than the $14 million Chris Ferguson lent to the company after Black Friday, not a single owner – including Lederer – offered to return distributions to the company.

“You have to realize we couldn’t get members to return their loans,” said Lederer. “So the idea of getting them to return their distributions was just a pipe dream.”

Lederer said he considered repaying some of his dividends but didn’t have a lot of cash on hand. When asked if he tried to liquidate assets, Lederer said he would’ve had problems trying to sell one of his seven homes in Las Vegas.

To listen to the full interview, visit TwoPlusTwo.com or iTunes.

“Maratik” Speaks

When Russian microstakes grinder “maratik” won the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event this week, it created one of the most inspiring stories poker has seen in recent years. At the time, little was known about the player who turned 40 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) into more than $1 million. But that changed on Thursday when the PokerStars spoke with the man behind the “maratik” moniker, Marat Sharafutdinov.

Sharafutdinov navigated a field of 1,825 to win the $5,200 WCOOP Main Event, outlasting a handful of world-class players along the way. It isn’t often you see a microstakes regular playing with the world’s best, but qualifying into PokerStars’ flagship tournaments has apparently become one of Marat’s talents over the years.

“I noticed that with enough luck you can qualify for just a small amount of FPPs so I began to play them often,” he told the PokerStars Blog. “It was the same way I won a couple of seats in the $215 Sunday Million and in one of the nightly $150 tourneys.”

Despite sitting beside some of the game’s top talents, Sharafutdinov didn’t shy away from playing big pots, as he explained in one key hand around the money bubble. “There was a hand where I had queens and the big blind three-bet me and then bet all three streets,” he said. “It was not far from the money and I understood that it was a regular who was trying to push out a micro-limits player. He thought I would be afraid of elimination, but I called without much doubt. He had bluffed and after that sat out for some time.”

From there, Marat was patient, playing a “maximum of five hands in four hours,” and eventually approached the final table. It was then that he really started opening up his game. “I started using my rock image to start opening with bluffs,” he explained.

Sharafutdinov’s story is one for the ages, and he was kind enough to offer some advice for players wanting to following in his footsteps, saying, “Take risks, but remember about bankroll management.”

To read the full interview, check out the PokerStars Blog.

Poker Business

Full Tilt Poker Repayment Plan

On Monday, PokerStars announced that it will relaunch Full Tilt Poker during the first week of November and detailed its plan to repay $184 million to former customers of Full Tilt Poker outside U.S.

PokerStars closed a deal with the Department of Justice to acquire Full Tilt Poker’s assets on Aug. 6 and specified that it would relaunch FTP and repay players outside the U.S. within 90 days. Those plans have not changed according to Monday’s press release.

Once the newly managed Full Tilt Poker opens, non-U.S. players will have different withdrawal processes depending on their jurisdiction. In segregated markets like France, Spain, Denmark, Estonia and Belgium, former Full Tilt Poker players will be repaid through the locally-licensed PokerStars platform. In all other non-U.S. markets Full Tilt Poker players will have full access to their accounts when www.FullTiltPoker.com re-launches during the first week of November.

PokerStars is still working with regulators in Italy and details will be released as soon as possible.

In the U.S., Full Tilt Poker customers are still waiting on the Department of Justice to provide details of a remission process for the estimated 1.3 million people in the U.S. who had money stuck on Full Tilt Poker. As of last month, the government was seeking help from a third-party “claims administrator” to oversee the procedure. Applications for the position were due on Aug. 31.

For more, read the article here at PokerNews.com.

BOOM Documentary Update

The highly-anticipated BOOM Documentary could be finished by this November, co-producer Jay Rosenkrantz wrote in his blog on Monday. Rosenkrantz says he doesn’t know exactly when the film will be released, but he expects the final cut to be finished by the November deadline date for the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Rosekrantz is co-producing the documentary with former high-stakes poker pro Taylor Caby. The feature-length film, directed by Ryan Firpo, captures the growth of poker during the “boom” of the Chris Moneymaker era, and then the trials and tribulations of Black Friday. The film includes interviews with several poker pros who have long been involved with the game.

In his blog, Rosenkrantz touches on the steps that need to be taken in the final stages of production. He says there’s still “a long road ahead,” but the finish line is in sight.

“We have submitted an edit to Sundance, but we’re still absorbing feedback, contemplating improvements, and polishing the rough edges,” Rosenkrantz said on Monday. “When/where can you see our movie? We don’t know yet, but stay tuned!”

Read Rosenkrantz’s blog at JayRosenkrantz.blogspot.com.

ACEP Partners with Bally Technologies

Less than a week after American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC was a granted an interactive gaming license in Nevada, the company joined forces with business-to-business provider gaming Bally Technologies to provide online poker within state lines.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with a premier gaming operation and a globally recognized brand like the Stratosphere,” said Bally Technologies’ Vice President of Business Development John Connelly. “What makes this even more significant is the fact that ACEP is located in Nevada, one of the only approved and regulated markets within the United States.”

Earlier this year, Bally became the first company licensed in the United States as an interactive gaming system manufacturer and service provider. Bally will provide its poker platform for all of ACEP’s properties, including the Stratosphere Casino in Las Vegas and the two Arizona Charlie’s properties.

“We are pleased to be involved in the leading edge of this emerging segment in the U.S.,” said ACEP CEO Frank Riolo. “This partnership with Bally will allow us to establish a play-for-free poker site by the end of the year, which we plan to use to further enhance our brands and enable us to be poised to launch a real money poker site at such a time as permitted.”

Read the full press release at DailyFinance.com.

Bwin.Party Sells Ongame

After months of negotiations with potential buyers, bwin.party has reportedly come to an agreement to sell the Ongame Network to Montreal-based Amaya Gaming Group Inc.

Pokerfuse reported Friday that Amaya will pay between $6.5 million and $8 million for Ongame, an asset that bwin.party has been trying to unload for nearly a year. An announcement could be made as early as next week, according to the Pokerfuse report.

In February, gaming provider Shuffle Master signed a definitive agreement to buy Ongame for “19.5 million, but the company withdrew its offer in June because of declining industry conditions. Bwin.party had since been speaking with numerous companies interested in the poker network, including social gaming giant Zynga.

According to PokerScout.com, Ongame ranks fifth worldwide in real-money ring game traffic, trailing ony PokerStars, iPoker, PartyPoker and 888poker. The network, which hosts poker rooms like Betfair and Betsson.com, climbed past PokerStars.it and Winamax.fr in PokerScout’s rankings but will lose Bwin’s poker offering to PartyPoker.

Pokerfuse has more.

Poker Tournaments

High Roller in London

While most of the attention of the poker world was on the World Series of Poker Europe and World Championship of Online Poker this week, a £100,000 buy-in High Roller tournament was held at Aspinall’s private gambling club in London. The tournament wasn’t publicized by many media outlets, but several high-stakes regulars made their way to London for the costly event.

According to co-organizer Jim Preston, there were 20 players to start, creating a prize pool of close to £2,000,000. Phil Ivey, Sam Trickett, Philipp Gruissem, JC Tran, Jonathan Little, Nam Le and Erik Seidel were among the pros in the field. However, it was the illustrious Asian businessmen who emerged as the top performers

After all of the top pros hit the rail, Richard Yong and Paul Phua battled heads-up for the £1,000,000 top prize. Phua ultimately took it down, and Yong collected £570,000 for his runner-up result. Winfred Yu (£300,000) and Terje Augdal (£200,000) placed third and fourth, respectively, to round out the in-the-money finishers.

John Juanda sent out his congrats to Phua, Yong and Yu via Twitter on Wednesday:

Global Poker Index Player of the Year Update

The Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings were released on Wednesday with Dan Smith again on top of the standings.

Smith maintained his lead for the sixth consecutive week thanks to his five major victories on the circuit this year. With 1,010 points, Smith leads his next closest competitor, Andrew Lichtenberger, by nearly 200 points. Lichtenberger, Marvin Rettenmaier and Kyle Julius round out the top four, respectively.

The only movement in the Top 10 this week came from David Baker and Jonathan Duhamel, who swapped places in the rankings. Baker jumped one spot to No. 5 after his 14th place finish in World Series of Poker Europe Event #1. Duhamel, who spent the first 13 weeks atop the GPI Player of the Year rankings, dropped to No. 6.

Others making moves outside of the top 10 were Roberto Romanello (up 13 spots to No. 17), Phil Hellmuth (up 16 spots to No. 29), Kyle Bowker (up 39 spots to No. 88), Govert Metaal (up 52 spots to No. 55), Vyacheslav Igin (up 30 spots to No. 63), and Micah Raskin (up 45 spots to No. 72).

Here’s a look at the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings:

The Global Poker Index Player of the Year, 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.

For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to GlobalPokerIndex.com.

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September 09 2012, Brett Collson, Chad Holloway

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 major drama at the Partouche Poker Tour, Patrik Antonius’ new deal with a poker tour, and more.

Poker Tournaments

Feaux Pas in France

The Twitterverse exploded on Wednesday with news that the Partouche Poker Tour (PPT) Main Event would offer a “4.3 million prize pool, not the previously advertised “5 million – a fact that did not sit too well with players.

The PPT announced that 573 players had entered the “8,500 Main Event and created a prize pool of “4,264,580, which was “735,420 short of the previously advertised “5 million guarantee. This caused an uproar among the players, prompting Maxime Masquelier, head of Partouche Poker Tour, to state: “For a buy-in of “8,500, I think we can be proud of the final figure. At no time did we say that “5 million was secured when it is guaranteed in writing.”

The assertion that the PPT had never advertised a “5 million guarantee was quickly debunked on TwoPlusTwo as posters offered various pieces of evidence that showed otherwise. One such piece of evidence was a cache on Google, which clearly stated: “The Partouche Poker Tour and “5 million guaranteed!”

The poker community argued against the decision, prompting Groupe Partouche CEO Patrick Partouche to change his mind and honor the guaranteed money on Friday. Partouche, though, announced that this year’s tournament would be the PPT’s last.

Said Partouche, “I am going to announce the ‘shuffle up and deal’ of what will be the last edition of Partouche Poker Tour and I will tell you in terms of conclusion something I was told not very long ago. I was told, ‘When being spat on, you don’t have to say that it’s raining.’”

Read more here at PokerNews.com.

ISPT Signs Patrik Antonius, Liz Lieu

The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) continues to add star power ahead of its inaugural event in London next May. On Thursday, the tour announced the signing of poker pro Patrik Antonius as an ambassador for the Europe-based tour

A quick check of the ISPT website revealed that Antonius was representing the ISPT for the duration of the Partouche Main Event: “Always looking for new and exciting experiences, Patrik Antonius was immediately attracted by the concept of ISPT. The Finnish player wore an ISPT logo during the final of the Partouche Poker Tour that takes place in Cannes from Sept. 3 to Sept. 9, 2012.”

Liz Lieu was also signed as an ambassador for the upcoming tour. She and Antonius join Michael Mizrachi and Sam Trickett on the ISPT team. The first ISPT event is scheduled to kick off on May 31, 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London.

Read more about the event at ISPT.com.

Poker Legislation

Democratic National Platform Does Not Mention Online Poker

During the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this week, Democrats released Moving America Forward: 2012 Democratic National Platform. No where in the platform’s 39 pages does it so much as mention the words “poker” and “gambling.” As the Rich Muny, vice president of player relations for the Poker Players Alliance, tweeted:

The Democratic National Platform came about a week after the GOP platform included a clause seeking to prohibit Internet poker for the fourth consecutive presidential election. On page 32 of the GOP platform, under a section titled “Making the Internet Family-Friendly,” the text reads: “Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support the prohibition of gambling over the Internet and call for reversal of the Justice Department’s decision distorting the formerly accepted meaning of the Wire Act that could open the door to Internet betting.”

“We were hoping they’d just remain silent on it this year,” Muny said of the GOP’s platform. “We thought there was a decent chance they would just let it go and not speak on the issue at all. I hadn’t heard it mentioned at the convention. But it’s very difficult to get something removed when it’s on the previous platform.”

For more on the GOP platform and clause regarding the prohibition of Internet poker, have a look at Matthew Kredell’s recent analysis.

More Progress in Nevada

On Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board gave two more companies preliminary approval for an interactive gaming license in Nevada.

Slot machine maker WMS Industries Inc. and casino operator American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC were each given the green light by the three-member NGCB panel. Both companies will seek final license approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission on Sept. 20.

ACEP, which owns the Stratosphere and two other casinos in Las Vegas, was recommended as an interactive gaming operator. The company will need to link up with a licensed business-to-business service provider to provide an online poker platform.

WMS was recommended as an interactive gaming system manufacturer and as a service provider. In July, WMS inked a partnership with online gaming operator 888 for the launch of a real-money online poker offering once the licensing and regulation process is completed in Nevada and other U.S. states.

Under the agreement, WMS will market and distribute 888′s online poker platform to land-based casino customers in venues in the U.S., initially with a play-for-free offering. The joint offering will be ready to go as soon as a real-money platform is given the go-ahead by gaming authorities. 888 has also applied for a gaming license in the state.

Poker Business

The World Series of Poker and Other Caesars Assets in Question

It’s been a rough ride for Caesars Entertainment Corp. as of late. The company, which owns the World Series of Poker, was down 2 percent on Wednesday and opened at $6.55, which came on the heels of a 7 percent slide on Tuesday. Needless to say, it was not a good couple of days for Caesars, which had lost $241.7 million in the second quarter.

The dismal showing inspired Fitch Ratings to change its ratings outlook for the company from stable to negative, and some analysts believe Caesars may have to restructure in order to meet its $19.9 billion debt obligations. A possible restructure could see assets like the WSOP spin off, but some analysts are high on the hopes of interactive gaming giving the company a boost.

“A spin-off of Caesars’ Interactive unit or other means of monetizing the online business could be logical precursors to a restructuring. The parent guarantees OpCo’s debt and sponsors, if electing to restructure OpCo, would likely want to extract value out of Interactive and not risk the entity being pulled into the restructuring proceedings,” Fitch said in its report. “Fitch believes that most of Caesars’ current equity value is attributable to this unit, which would benefit materially if online gaming is legalized on the federal level in the U.S.,”

For more on Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s financial situation and the Fitch Report, visit vegasinc.com.

Online Poker

iPoker Splits Player Pool

The iPoker Network’s new tiered platform has been successfully implemented as planned, dividing the player pool of the network’s 40-plus skins.

Among the skins residing on the top tier going forward include William Hill, Poker770, bet365, Titan Poker and Paddy Power Poker. Those sites each met the set of requirements introduced by iPoker owner Playech in June. Skins were required to maintain a base of at least 6,000 active players, as well as 850 new real-money players per month from July 1 through the end of August.

The top tier will offer larger player pools and more games to select from. While multi-table tournaments will be shared across the entire network, many ring game tables and sit-and-gos will be separated. The smaller sites which didn’t qualify for the top tier are expected to draw less recreational players and more sharks looking to maximize volume.

Get more information about the split at TwoPlusTwo.com.

Poker Players

Ivey Leads The Nuts … Again

The latest edition of ESPN’s The Nuts was released late last week. The monthly blog post ranks the best poker players in the world at the moment. The 10-person panel includes Elaine Chaivarlis, PokerNews’ editor in chief; Don Peters, PokerNews‘ tournament reporting manager; and ESPN’s Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, and Bernard Lee, among others.

Phil Ivey maintained the top spot, receiving all 10 first-place votes from the panel, but his reign is being threatened by two of the hottest players of 2012. Marvin Rettenmaier, winner of back-to-back World Poker Tour titles this year, entered the rankings at No. 4, and Dan Smith made his debut at No. 6. Smith has six wins this year and currently leads the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race.

John Juanda and Sam Trickett also returned to The Nuts rankings. Juanda is fresh off an eighth place finish in the EPT Barcelona Main Event ($93,500) and fifth place result in the Macau High Stakes Challenge ($1,645,753). Trickett also cashed in Macau, and his runner-up finish in the Big One for One Drop won’t soon be forgotten.

Here’s a look at the top 10 for September.

For more analysis on The Nuts rankings, check out ESPN.com.

Eva Longoria Celebrity Casino Night

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria is returning to the felt for her 5th annual Celebrity Casino Night on Saturday, Oct. 6. The event will take place at the JW Marriot San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa, and proceeds will to go toward Eva’s Heroes.

Among the stars in attendance will be poker pro Phil Hellmuth and Saved By The Bell star Mario Lopez. Hellmuth will emcee the festivities while guests take part in blackjack, roulette, craps, live and silent auctions, casino prizes, and a Texas hold’em tournament.

Individual tickets for the event cost $200, which includes cuisine by celebrity chefs and chips to use at the casino. The charity poker tournament has an additional entry fee of $200.

Check out the Eva’s Heroes website for more information.

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