March 22 2011, Chad Holloway

One of last year’s biggest television hits was PokerStars’ The Big Game, which took the poker world by storm and saw Bob Ferdinand emerge as the 2010 Big Game Loose Cannon Champion. He managed to win $181,500 and the $50,000 North American Poker Tour Passport. Recently, pros and amateurs gathered in Las Vegas to film season two of The Big Game. Top poker pros Jonathan Duhamel, Jennifer Tilly and Daniel Negreanu confirmed their appearances via Twitter, evidence that PokerStars was putting together an all-star lineup. So, with the few pros who were signing on, we started thinking of some pros who’ve been conspicuously absent from The Big Game.

Given that the show is sponsored by PokerStars, it is no surprise that no Full Tilt Poker pros have played in the game. Obviously, that is a major disappointment to poker fans because it means they miss watching the action generated by players like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, and Phil Ivey. With this said, we at PokerNews thought it might be fun to take a look at some other players we’d like to see on The Big Game.

Faraz Jaka

With more than $3 million in career winnings and a Season VIII World Poker Tour Player of the Year award to boot, Faraz “The-Toliet” Jaka is known as an action player with an ultra-aggressive style. Not only that, he is a talkative character of the game. That tends to translate into pure entertainment, which is exactly what a player needs to provide on a poker TV program.

Jaka has two big WPT finals tables under his belt, the first being a second-place finish in the 2009 WPT Bellagio Cup V for $774,780 and the other a third-place finish in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic later that same year for $571,374. Jaka, who obviously has TV experience, is one of those players who will thrive in front of the cameras. He’s not afraid to drive the action and give the audience what they want, which makes him a perfect candidate for The Big Game.

Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin

While Jaka is loud, entertaining, and full of gamble, his opposite may very well be Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, a player who’s action and solid play do all his talking. 2009′s CardPlayer Player of the Year, Baldwin made a huge splash in the poker world after winning his first bracelet at the 2009 World Series of Poker in a $1,500 no-limit hold’em event for $521,991 and then following that up with a runner-up finish in the WPT $25,000 Championship for $1,034,715.

Baldwin is a down-to-earth guy that viewers would surely relate to. He may not be known as a cash-game player, but his poker fundamentals are solid enough so that he’d more than likely adapt to The Big Game format. In the meantime, Baldwin will be making his Poker After Dark debut later this season in a match that includes Doyle Brunson, Andrew Lichtenberger, Annette Obrestad, Melanie Weisner, and Tom Dwan.

David “Devilfish” Ulliott

One of the original “Bad Boys of Poker” who was among the first poker TV stars, David “Devilfish” Ulliott is one of the best known characters of the game. Granted, he has faded from the spotlight in recent years, but that’s even more of a reason to bring him back. Whether they love him or hate him, the Devilfish has always had the ability to inspire a strong reaction from fans. Not only that, Ulliott is admittedly a cash-game player, which would make him the perfect fit for The Big Game format.

Given his popularity, especially in his native England, it is surprising that he hasn’t had appearances on poker shows like Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, or the NBC National Heads-Up Championship. One theory is that Ulliott hasn’t been invited to such shows because of his actions at the Full Tilt Poker invitational event at the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions. For those who don’t recall, Ulliott stood up and flashed a “www.devilfishpoker.com” sign, which was against Fox Sports Net’s strict policy against advertising “.com” websites, a stunt that was amplified given that the show was being broadcast live! As a result, Ulliott was banned from future FSN productions, which could be a determining factor in his eligibility for The Big Game because it is broadcast on Fox. Perhaps it is time to forgive and forget.

Daniel “jungleman12” Cates

Few people had a better 2010 than Daniel “jungleman12” Cates, who earned $4.9 million playing online, more than any other player. Unknown at the start of the year, Cates’ identity was revealed in July 2010 and his rise to fame and popularity has continued to grow ever since. He is more than proficient in both no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha and will never back down from a juicy, big-time cash game, especially now that he is 21 years old.

Cates may be well-known among the online poker community, but he has the potential to impress a whole new demographic in the general TV audience. Granted, he has a lot to learn about live events, but it is only a matter of time before he becomes one of the game’s newest and most visible TV stars, and what better place to make a first impression than on The Big Game?

Viktor “Isildur1” Blom

The man known as “Isildur1” was not a Team PokerStars Pro during season one of The Big Game, but now that he is, it’ll only be a matter of time before Viktor Blom is invited to play in the biggest TV events. In fact, the only thing holding him back at the moment is time, or lack thereof, given that he is not yet 21, which prohibits him from playing events in Las Vegas, including The Big Game.

While that is a significant roadblock, PokerStars could certainly host a special filming of The Big Game in Europe, where Blom would be allowed to play. Doing so would also open the door for other online superstars between the ages of 18 and 20, and it also helps The Big Game reach an extensive European audience. One thing is for sure, Blom’s online cash-game exploits are legendary, and the poker world is anxious to see him put his skills to work in live cash games, preferably ones that will be on TV.

Obviously this is a topic subject to debate. Let us know who you’d like to see in PokerStars The Big Game by using the comments section below. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

March 28 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

You may not have hit the $319 Mega Millions jackpot over the weekend, but you did hit the “top poker news stories of the day” jackpot by checking out the Nightly Turbo. In this edition, you’ll find out how you could get a coaching session by Tom “durrrr” Dwan, an update from the World Poker Tour Vienna, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Grinding online and traveling the poker circuit can be hectic and tiring. In the latest edition of the Sunday Grind, Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee shows you his on-the-road grind station and gives you his tips if you’re planning on being a traveling grinder.

Did you miss the newest episode of High Stakes Poker Saturday because you were too caught up with the March Madness games? Don’t worry, we’ve got a recap of all the high-stakes action for you.

FSN’s coverage of the ninth season of the World Poker Tour continued on Sunday night. If you missed the episode, you can catch up on the action from the Festa al Lago in the WPT recap.

Fourteen players added six-figure scores to their bankrolls Sunday. Want to find out who? Check out the Sunday Briefing for the results from Sunday’s biggest tournaments.

Daniel Negreanu and Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom battled on the PokerStars virtual felt Sunday in a rematch of the SuperStar Showdown. We know you know that Negreanu didn’t do so well in their first match. How’d he do this time? You’re going to have to read the SuperStar Showdown recap to find out.

Expert Insight from Durrrr and Others

Last week, we alluded to Phil Ivey teaching us to play poker, but we can’t say more for sure because his website is still “Coming Soon!” That’s OK, we’ll move on – for now. If we can’t have Ivey, we’ll take Tom Dwan or Patrik Antonius.

Brandon Adams started a thread on TwoPlusTwo on Friday that outlined his new project, a company called Expert Insight. What does this have to do with coaching? Well, Dwan, Antonius, Ben “Sauce123″ Sulsky, and Chris “GoMukYaSelf” Sparks have signed on with the site to offer coaching.

The calls with the pros will last one-hour over Expert Insight’s audio-video technology — kind of like Skype. Antonius and Dwan are going for $3,000, according to Adams’ post. There have been bids in the thread, but we can’t be sure which are legit.

The a majority of the proceeds from the calls will be donated to Morris Jeff Community School in New Orleans.

The website launches on April 18. To find out more, check out Adams’ thread on TwoPlusTwo.

World Poker Tour Vienna

The World Poker Tour is in Vienna, Austria, for its latest stop. In all, 555 players entered the event, creating a record for the largest WPT field on European soil. Arnaud Mattern, Vitaly Lunkin, Tony G, James Akenhead, Leo Margets, Bertrand Grospellier, and Dragan Galic are just a few of the notable pros to take part.

Pascal Lefrancois bubbled the official final table in ninth place when his ace-nine failed to hold against Dmitry Gromov’s king-ten. The final table will kick off on Tuesday at 1300 CET (4 a.m. PDT) and will be live-streamed, hole cards and all, on the PartyPoker Blog with commentary provided by Mike Sexton and Jesse May.

WPT Vienna Final Table Lineup

For more, head on over to the PartyPoker Blog.

Online Poker Legislation Efforts Being Noticed

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times ran a story summarizing the recent developments in the online poker legislation front. The piece touched on the Caesars Entertainment and 888 Holdings relationship, as well as the PokerStars and Wynn partnership that was formed last week.

“I’d be willing to bet that no major gaming legislation has ever passed in Nevada that has been opposed by the state’s largest casinos,” I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School professor and expert in gambling law said.

A quote from MGM Resorts spokesman, Alan Feldman, pushed for regulation at the federal level, “Otherwise we end up with a patchwork of rules and regulations,” he said.

If you need to catch up on the goings on, you can do so at LATimes.com.

Slide on Down

For those of you loyal Nightly Turbo readers, this bit is not news for you. If you’re new to the Turbo, or missed this somehow, this is something we here at PokerNews HQ are striving for.

When Phil Galfond bought a pair of penthouses in a luxury condo building in New York, he faced a dilemma — how to join them. Stairs would have been our first thought, but that’s why Galfond is featured in this Yahoo article. He decided to connect the two penthouses with a slide.

“The half-tube stainless steel slide starts on the top floor near the office, and lands below near both the living and dining areas. The sculptural slide is housed in a newly created 18′ tall double-height space, which includes custom designed glass railings,” Turett Collaborative Architects said. “The image of the stainless steel curves in front of the oversized window to the city beyond, to say nothing of the irrepressible glee of grown adults on the slide, is surprisingly poetic; with careful detailing, the playground element is an unexpectedly elegant addition to the space. Upon completion, the owner enjoys not only the newly combined total of 2,400 square feet, but also a new game room, office, putting green on the terrace, and of course, the slide.”

If you want to check it out, Yahoo.com has photos of Galfond’s slide. To let our boss know how much you want us to have a slide here at the office, tell him in our comments section below.

Calling the Clock: Erik Seidel

Kristy Arnett decided to catch up with Erik Seidel while at the World Series of Poker Circuit $10,000 Regional Championship in Rincon. Who does Seidel think will be the first player to win Player of the Year on the Onyx Cup tour? Why is he so awesome? You’ll have to watch the video to find out.

If you aren’t following PokerNews on Twitter, and you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet, you’re missing out. So why don’t you go do that.

We have one more $15,000 Sunday Million Freeroll with PokerStars left to qualify for, where $1,000 will go to the winner and 260 tournament tickets are up for grabs, including 45 Sunday Million Tickets.