August 13 2012, Brett Collson

Why is Daniel Negreanu grinding the low-stakes cash games at PokerStars? We’ll have that story, plus the latest on an alleged high-stakes online poker scam, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Parx Open Poker Classic saw just 47 players survive. For a look at the top pros still in contention, read our WPT recap.

How did the Sunday Majors play out on PokerStars? Who took down the biggest score? Find out in the Sunday Briefing.

Did you miss Sunday’s World Poker Tour coverage on FSN? Read our WPT recap to get caught up.

When did Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov hit his first big score? Find out that and more in the latest Seat Open.

Last week, Marvin Rettenmaier became the first player ever to win back-to-back WPT titles. Matthew Pitt takes a look back at Rettenmaier’s rise to the top.

Low Limit Grinder

In 2009, Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu decided to try something new. The man with millions in poker winnings set a goal for himself to turn $10 into $100,000 within three years by playing ring games at PokerStars.

Negreanu began by playing $0.01/$0.02 and didn’t allow himself to move up in limits until he had 500 big blinds at the next limit. Why was he taking on such a daunting task? “It’s kinda fun,” he said in his blog. “It will help me have a better understanding for these lower limit games and the best approach to beating them.”

Daniel’s challenge hit a lull shortly after it began. In fact, it’s already well past the three-year cutoff point. But on Monday, Negreanu resumed the challenge by sitting at a $.25/.50 no-limit hold’em cash game with a total bankroll of $221.70. This time around, the challenge won’t have a time frame.

Ironically, Negreanu began the challenge after learning about Chris Ferguson’s $0-to-$10,000 bankroll challenge from 2007. Of course, we all know how Negreanu feels about Ferguson now.

For the list of rules and results from Negreanu’s bankroll challenge, check out FullContactPoker.com. And, if you want to face off against Daniel at the tables, you might be fortunate enough to have him sit down at your table in the near future.

Another High-Stakes Scam?

Controversy seems to follow Matt Marafioti everywhere these days. This month, the brash poker pro from Canada is under fire from the poker community because of allegations he was involved in a hole-card hacking scheme with Swedish poker player and IT expert Samer Rahman.

The speculation began last week when an anonymous person posted an alleged Skype conversation between Marafioti and Rahman at TwoPlusTwo.com. The dialogue contains discussion about hacking the computer of Canadian poker player Will “molswi47″ Molson so that Marafioti could view Molson’s cards. “Lets def get molswi,” Marafioti allegedly said in the chat. “I can access his computers I think and he will play me all day.”

Marafioti and Rahman had different stories regarding the chat log. Marafioti said he and Rahman were friends but that the Skype conversation had been “doctored.” Rahman, meanwhile, denied that he and Marafioti were even friends.

However, several photos of Rahman and Marafioti together were posted by members of TwoPlusTwo, confirming that the two maintained some sort of relationship. Marafioti’s friend William Reynolds then added fuel to the fire by posting a series of Twitter messages sent from Marafioti to him about Molson.

There have also been connections between Rahman and Swedish player Mohamed Kowssarie, who was alleged to have stolen millions of dollars from Patrik Antonius and Johnny Lodden in a 2007 hacking scheme. Antonius accused Kowssarie of sending a Trojan virus into his computer to see his hole cards. Kowssarie denied the allegations earlier this year in a Swedish poker magazine.

We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops. In the meantime, we recommend checking out the thread at TwoPlusTwo.com.

EPT Barcelona

Season 9 of the European Poker Tour kicked off in Barcelona on Monday. The EPT has teamed up with the Estrellas Poker Tour to offer a large series of events from Aug. 13 through 25 at the Casino de Barcelona.

The first event on the schedule doesn’t begin until Tuesday, but the Estrellas Poker Tour began the festivities Monday with a “165 Super Satellite to the “1,100 Estrellas Main Event. The series opens with a “220 no-limit hold’em tournament on Tuesday, followed by dozens of events organized by Estrellas and the EPT over the next 10 days.

PokerNews will be reporting live from EPT Barcelona during the “5,300 Main Event, the “10,000 High Roller and the “50,000 Super High Roller, so keep it locked in to our Live Reporting Page as soon as the Super High Roller gets under way on Aug. 17. Several top pros are already confirmed for the event, including Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov, and Jonathan Duhamel.

Visit the EPT Barcelona website for the complete schedule of events.

Renehan Wins LAPT Colombian National Poker Championship

Robbie Renehan claimed victory at the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour Colombian National Poker Championship in Medellin on Sunday evening. The 29-year-old Irishman bested a field of 337 over four days and collected $148,709 and his first LAPT title.

Renehan began the final as one of the short stacks (less than 10 big blinds), but slowly built his stack before he eliminated Cristian Velasquez in fifth place, allowing him to close in on the big stacks of Weider Gutierrez and Raul Paez. Gutierrez, the last Colombian left in the field, was crippled by Paez with four players left and eventually bowed out in fourth place. Paez hit a three-outer on the river, much to the dismay of Gutierrez and his rail, and the Colombian collected $52,091 for his efforts.

Despite winning the massive pot against Gutierrez, Paez wasn’t able to make good use of his new chips. Paez’s stack was cut from 5 million to around 1.1 million (with 6.1 million total in play), and he moved all in preflop with . Jayr Fregona called with pocket sevens, and his pair held up to eliminated the Spaniard in third place.

That left Renehan and Fregona playing for the title. The two traded the lead a few times, but it was Renehan who provided the final blow. On the final hand of the tournament, Fregona three-bet shoved for around 1.5 million with and Rehenan called instantly with pocket queens. The board ran out , giving Rehehan a rivered set and the victory.

Here’s a look at the results from the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour Colombian National Poker Championship:

2012 LAPT Medellin Final Table Results

For a closer look at how the final table played out, visit the PokerStars Blog.

Nan-O-Lympics

With the Olympic Games in London coming to a close over the weekend, Team PokerStars Online member Randy “nanonoko” Lew took some time away from his hyper-grind on the virtual felts to create his own version of the games – the “nan-o-lympics.” In his latest video blog, Lew showed off his talents at weightlifting, basketball, track and field, boxing, and other sports.

Needless to say, McKayla Maroney is not impressed.

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March 15 2012, Brett Collson

We’re glad you took a few minutes out of your busy basketball watching to catch up on the day’s biggest poker stories. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’re bringing you the latest on Iowa’s chances at legalized online poker, Bodog Poker adding a new feature to prevent collusion, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Many poker pros weren’t happy with things at the Wynn Classic Championship this week. Rich Ryan touches on that topic and more in his latest Five Thoughts piece.

In honor of March Madness, we decided to run our own version of the popular tournament. Check out The Muck to find out how to vote on your favorite poker players from the Round of 64 all the way to the championship!

Ron Rose and Chris Bigler burst onto the poker scene with victories during Season 1 of the World Poker Tour. Find out what they’ve been up to lately in the latest edition of Where Are They Now.

Are you still confused about how to claim your poker winnings in your tax return? Kristy Arnett sat down with tax expert Theresa Fox to get some answers in the Strategy with Kristy podcast.

David “Doc” Sands entered the Top 5 of the Global Poker Index this week. Mickey Doft takes a look at the biggest movers and shakers on the GPI.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced this week that O’Sheas is set to be demolished in two months. What will be replacing the popular Vegas party spot? Find out in the latest Inside Gaming.

Is Iowa Online Poker Bill Dead?

On Tuesday, the Iowa Senate approved a bill to legalize and regulate intrastate online poker by a vote of 29-20. The next step for the measure is to move through the Iowa House, but House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) told KCRG on Thursday that there has been a “general lack of interest” regarding online poker among his GOP caucus members.

Not encouraging news for poker players in the state.

The issue has been a hot one in the Iowa Senate for months, but Paulsen says there has been very little conversation about the bill in the House. “What are we in? Week 10?” said Paulsen. “I don’t know if I’ve had three members mention this subject to me … until this week when the big hub-bub was.”

A study by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission showed that the legalization of online poker in the state could generate between $3 to $13 million in state tax revenue. However, a recent poll by the Des Moines Register that showed 69 percent of Iowa residents opposed legalization of online poker.

Read more at KCRG.com.

Bodog Exposes Hole Card Info

On Thursday, Bodog addressed concerns about collusion on its anonymous poker tables by allowing players to request the hole card information of everyone at a table 24 hours after a game ends. The software update was announced in December but finally implemented this week.

“The fact that we can now offer players this information is another advantage of our anonymous tables and something nobody else can offer,” said Jonas Odman, VP of the Bodog Poker Network. “Collusion is a natural concern for any poker room but this new additional feature puts the player in full control. This makes the Bodog Poker Network the fairest place to play poker online in the world.”

Bodog’s traffic had seen a slight surge since it introduced anonymous tables last November, but the site has seen a sudden drop since the Bodog.com domain was seized and the brand’s founder was indicted last month. According to PokerScout.com, Bodog’s traffic has declined by 13 percent since those events.

Read more at PokerNews.com.

BestBet Opens Largest Poker Room in Florida

In April, the newly branded BestBet Jacksonville casino in Florida will host a $1 million guaranteed televised World Poker Tour event at the venue’s brand new poker room, which opened earlier this month. Formerly called Jacksonville Poker, BestBet’s poker room boasts 70 poker tables, making it the largest in the state and one of the largest in the world.

“We are very excited with the opportunity to open BestBet Jacksonville,” said CFO Jamie Shelton. “BestBet Jacksonville will complement our existing facilities and serve as a platform for our larger events like the upcoming WPT televised tournament. While proud to house the largest poker room in the State of Florida, our continued focus and attention to our customers is our number one priority.”

BestBet says the new room has already attracted many of the top poker players in Florida like Jason Mervier, Matt Glantz, John Racener, Shaun Deeb and Andrew Robl. Later this month, former World Series of Poker Main Event champ Greg Raymer will be hosting seminars before Jacksonville’s first 600-player, $10,000-added tournament on March 24.

“BestBet Jacksonville will certainly enhance our standing in the international poker scene as well as with our North Florida player base,” said head of poker Deborah Giardina. “Our mission was to create one of America’s premier poker tourism destinations. Given the response so far, we are well on the way to realizing that goal.”

Check out pictures of BestBet’s new poker room at bestbetjax.com.

More Operators Apply for Nevada Licenses

The list of operators seeking Nevada Internet gaming licenses grew longer on Thursday as Spielo and GTECH G2 submitted paperwork to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). The two companies make up the new gaming division of Lottomatica Group, which provides a full range of player-focused games, products and services across every gaming channel.

“Applying for these licenses in Nevada is an important step in our iGaming strategy for the US,” said Spielo International president and CEO Walter Bugno. “Spielo International and GTECH G2 are names that are trusted in regulated markets around the world. We have an established track record as providers of end-to-end gaming products to more than 1,500 customers on five continents.”

eGaming Review also reported Thursday that Playtech is planning to submit an application with the NGCB soon. Read more at PokerNews.com.

March Mania at the Trop

If you’re looking for a fun environment to watch the NCAA Tournament in Las Vegas, HeadsUp Entertainment and Tropicana Las Vegas have partnered with Cantor Gaming to create the March Mania Poker Series and Ultimate Players’ Party.

From March 15 through 25, poker players can participate in daily tournaments at Tropicana while getting the full March Madness experience in the tournament area. During the 23-event poker series, Cantor Gaming will be providing convenient walk-up betting stations and state-of-the-art wireless Samsung tablets, which allow players to wager without leaving the poker table.

“We are redefining how poker tournaments and players’ experiences are created by providing an amazing lineup of poker tournaments daily at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and a state-of-the-art party area for participants to watch and wager on the NCAA games,” said HeadsUp President and CEO Kelly B. Kellner.

The $1,500 March Mania Poker Series Main Event will run from March 23 through 24 and boasts a starting stack of 40,000 in chips. For more information, check out troplv.com.

Calling the Clock

Kristy Arnett caught up with Kevin MacPhee at EPT Madrid to ask him about his guilty pleasure, his biggest regret, and more.

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