November 02 2011, Brett Collson

With the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table just days away, many of the November Niners have touched down in Sin City to begin preparations for the biggest spectacle in poker. In the meantime, The Nightly Turbo brings you the latest from the Groupe Bernard Tapie agreement with the Department of Justice, a new list of the hottest women in poker, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Kevin Schaffel was a member of the 2009 November Nine but hasn’t been around much lately. We caught up with Schaffel to find out what he’s been up to in this edition of Where Are They Now.

The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour is headed to Macau this month. If you’re planning a trip, then find out all you need to know in the PokerNews Jet Set.

Did you miss Tuesday’s coverage the World Series of Poker on ESPN? Check out our recap to find out who made the 2011 November Nine!

Late last week, Genting opened New York City’s first casino. Read more about that and the recent gaming growth in Asia in the latest edition of Inside Gaming.

Daniel Santoro is the latest World Poker Tour champion after winning the World Poker Tour Finals at Foxwoods Tuesday night. Get all the details of the final table in our daily recap.

The World Poker Tour stop in Amneville kicked off Tuesday with Day 1a of the “3,200 Main Event. Nicolas Babel led the charge as 114 of the 176 players survived the first day of play.

Tapie: FTP Purchase Could Be Finalized Within 15 Days

On Wednesday, Laurent Tapie confirmed to iGamingFrance that the principle agreement between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the Department of Justice had been reached. Tapie, who serves as the Managing Director of the French investment group, says that an agreement for the purchase of Full Tilt Poker could be finalized in the next 15 days.

The deal stipulates that Groupe Bernard Tapie will repay Full Tilt Poker customers outside of the United States, and the Department of Justice will reimburse players in the U.S. Tapie didn’t reveal the exact terms of the agreement, but he told iFranceGaming that the payment terms are “defined.”

The news comes one day after Subject:Poker released an email from Tiltware CEO Ray Bitar to shareholders about the sale of the company. Final details are currently being worked out between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Once a deal is in place, Groupe Bernard Tapie will be able to propose a deal to the Full Tilt Poker shareholders.

You can find more about this story at iGamingFrance.com.

Jennifer Harman is the Hottest Woman in Poker

In response to an article in WPT Magazine that listed the “Top 20 Hottest Women In Poker,” Woman Poker Player magazine came up with its own list of the “hottest female poker players” this week. This list, though, isn’t ranking women by their physical attributes. Writer Earl Burton orders the women based on their accomplishments at the poker table.

Two-time bracelet winner Jennifer Harman topped the list, and the controversial Annie Duke came in at No. 2. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst was listed third, and Kathy Liebert and Linda Johnson rounded out the top five. Johnson, who was recently voted into the Poker Hall of Fame, doesn’t measure up to the aforementioned women as far tournament earnings go, but we’re not about to question the merit of the “First Lady of Poker” on any poker-related top 10 list.

The bottom half of the top 10 was occupied by J.J. Liu, Victoria Coren, Barbara Enright, Lucy Rokach and Cyndy Violette, respectively.

We were a little surprised to see Liv Boeree, Annette Obrestad and Vanessa Rousso missing from the list. Obrestad and Rousso are both among the top five on the all-time money list for women, and Boeree isn’t far behind. And where is Shaun Deeb?

Read more at WomanPokerPlayer.com.

Online Poker Traffic Update

The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a worldwide increase of 2.2 percent from the prior week, mostly because of PokerStars and its 70 Billionth Hand promotion.

Traffic at PokerStars climbed nearly 6 percent for the week as the site maintained a stranglehold on the No. 1 slot. PartyPoker held a slim advantage over iPoker at No. 2, while 888poker and OnGame rounded out the Top 5.

The Merge Network continued to see an increase since re-opening its doors to new U.S. customers, but the growth level tailed off a bit after rising 21 percent over the previous two weeks. Last week’s traffic increase at Merge was just 1 percent, but the network held its position above the Entraction Network, iPoker.it and Bodog for the No. 10 ranking worldwide.

As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout’s ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 31 percent in the last year. That number is mostly due to the stoppage at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, but OnGame.fr (down 36 percent) and the Cake Poker Network (down 22 percent) have also seen significant dips since last November. 888poker (up 84 percent) and Bodog (up 63 percent) are among the biggest climbers over the past year.

Get the full report at PokerScout.com.

L.A. Poker Open Under Way

The L.A. Poker Open kicked off at Commerce Casino on Wednesday with the first of 20 events on the slate. The series will run through Nov. 21 and conclude with a $2,085 buy-in Championship Event with a $600,000 guaranteed prize pool. The winner is expected to take home at least $150,000.

The L.A. Poker Open is offering a wide variety of games during the series, including seven card stud eight or better, Omaha eight or better, H.O.R.S.E., and a smaller buy-in ($125) no-limit hold’em turbo event, which is offering a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool.

“Many players are expanding the types of poker they are playing and it’s our goal at Commerce Casino to offer tournaments for every player in every type of poker play,” said Commerce Casino manager Jeff Harris.

The full L.A. Poker Open schedule can be found at CommerceCasino.com.

PokerNews Nominated for Affiliate Award

The nominations are in for the Fifth 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 2010-2011. When selecting their choice, voters are asked to consider criteria such as volume of traffic, innovation, reputation with players, and brand power.

Wait… did someone say power?

Voting will be open until Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. Cast your vote for PokerNews!

Are you following PokerNews on Twitter? Like us on Facebook while you’re at it, and sign up for the newsletter. You know you want to.

Follow Brett Collson on Twitter – @brettcollson

October 31 2011, Chad Holloway

If you’ve been watching the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event episodes on ESPN, you’ve no doubt gotten to know 21-year-old Anton Makiievskyi of Dnipropetrousk, Ukraine. This aspiring pro made waves on Days 7 and 8, ultimately making this year’s November Nine as the second shortest stack with 13,825,000.

This summer marked Makiievskyi’s first trip to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas where he became the first Ukrainian player to ever make the Main Event final table. That is not to say Ukrainians haven’t found success at the WSOP. In fact, four Ukrainians won bracelets this summer, with Makiievskyi hoping to claim the fifth.

Since making the November Nine, Makiievskyi has been keeping busy traveling and playing a few tournaments. However, aside from a 19th-place finish in the 2011 WSOP Europe Event #4: “3,200 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Shootout for “6,913, Makiievskyi has been more focused on getting some rest and relaxation in preparation for the biggest final table of his life.

PokerNews recently sat down with Makiievskyi to find out just what he’s been up to since July, including his preparations and plan for succeeding in this year’s November Nine.

On your way to the final table, was there a big hand that sticks out in your mind as a turning point in the tournament?

Actually, there are two hands. One, the hand with king-jack that was shown on television. For me, a more impressive hand was when I caught the queen on the river. I got all-in preflop with queens against . That hand is on the TV coverage on ESPN. There was an ace on the flop and I got my one outer on the river. It was a really, really good feeling. I can’t even described how I felt when I caught that. I was actually all-in, so I would have bust out if I lost that hand.

Speaking of the ESPN coverage, you’ve been on quite a bit recently. Are you happy with the way you’re being portrayed and how the show has been edited?

Yeah, it’s really nice. I like what the commentators say about me. I like the hands they’re showing. I’m wondering what will be on the Day 8 coverage, but up to Day 7, they’re OK.

What have you been up to since you’ve made the final table? Have you been traveling? Have you played any other tournaments?

I’ve traveled a little. I’ve played EPT, WPT, Partouche Poker Tour, WSOP Europe. Got only one cash, but the main goal was to travel, not to play. I don’t want to play a lot now. I’ve traveled a little, and I’m really happy that I did it.

When you made the final table, what was the reaction from your family and friends back in Ukraine?

Pretty impressive. It was really nice to hear all the congratulations and stuff. It was good, I cannot describe it.

Who will you be bringing to Las Vegas in November to support you and cheer you on?

There will be my friends who’ve got shares of me, and my family, my sister and my mother. I think it will be like seven to 10 friends and my sister and mother. There are some guys that I don’t know really well, but they say that they will come to try and support me. That’s all.

How much of your action do you have?

[Laughs] I’ve got a quarter.

You’ve already got ninth-place money locked up, have you made any big purchases with that so far?

I think that it’s not a good decision to make big purchases now because come November my bankroll could change so much that I’m not sure what purchases I’m able to do, you know. Now I can afford like a cheap car, but if I can get in second place or first place, I can buy a really expensive car. I think it will be better to decide after November.

Tell me your thoughts on the final table. Aside from yourself, who do you think has the best chance of taking down the title?

I’m not sure. Eoghan O’Dea, Phil Collins, Pius Heinz, and Ben Lamb. I think the best chance would be Pius and Ben. They’re most likely to win.

What are you doing to prepare for the final table?

I’ve been studying a little, watching videos of them. I have done nothing to prepare technically, but I just watch and try to take some notes. It’s hard to make some big notes. I think I will get much more information on them while we’re at the final table because of the hands being revealed online [via the live streaming].

When will you be in Vegas for the final table? Are you going out a little early?

I’m going to be there on Nov. 2.

What’s more important to you, the money or the bracelet?

They’re different things, but now I think money is more important. I would definitely take third place [money] if someone would propose me that now.

If you make it to heads-up play, who would you want to face off against?

I would like to see Badih Bounahra against me in heads-up, but I think it will be really epic if I get there against Ben Lamb. It’d be much more interesting.

Would you say Badih would be the easiest to defeat while Lamb would be the toughest?

Yeah, probably.

After making the final table, did you go out and celebrate? How long did it take to set in?

Yeah, we got to celebrate a little – drinking and out to a strip club. I was really tired, I wanted to sleep for three days. I was traveling a little to Lake Mead, and going to some shows in Las Vegas, because I just wanted to see Vegas a little. I’d been in Vegas for two weeks and I’d only been in the Rio. I got no chance to see the city. So just seeing the city with my friends.

To learn more on Makiievskyi, check out the following video, which was taken the day after he made the November Nine:

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Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway