February 02 2012, Marc Convey

Day 2 of the PokerStars.fr European Poker Tour Deauville played out over six 75-minute levels Thursday and the field was reduced greatly. Day 1 is all about survival whereas Day 2 is seen as a day to move up through the field. The combined field of 546 returned Thursday, and that number was culled down to 178 players.

Martins Adeniya moved to the top of the pack and bagged up 512,000, up from 115,200 at the beginning of play. Other players who also moved in the right direction included Brahim Oubella (452,000) Ludovic Lacay (377,300), Julien Ehrhardt (363,600), and Chris Brammer (321,900).

Adeniya, no stranger to leading an EPT, gets there by applying relentless pressure on his opponents. He took over the chip lead after he busted Philipe Ma over the course of two hands. Ma was caught bluffing in one hand and then ran into the Adeniya’s full-house in his exit hand.

Adeniya relinquished the lead for a while but had a storming last level. He told PokerNews that he won a 100,000-chip pot when his tens held to bust an opponent holding pocket nines. Apart from that, he won a series of small to medium pots, often forcing opponents to fold. One example of that was when he bet 8,000, 20,000, and 50,000 on a board. His opponent finally gave up on the river.

It will come as no surprise to see Luca Pagano still in. The Team PokerStars Pro in fact the only Team Pro left, is an almost unmovable force through these stages of an EPT. He will be looking for a record extending 20th cash. He finished with 172,400 chips.

Those extra chips at the top had to come from somewhere though. Amir Salhani was the clear chip leader coming into play but he departed in four levels. Nacho Barbero lost his six-figure stack within the first level, and he was joined on the rail by Kevin MacPhee and Arnaud Mattern, both former EPT champions. MacPhee came in short and had a great chance to get back into the tournament when he flopped a set of aces, but he was helpless as an opponent made a baby flush to oust him.

It was a bad day, all-in-all, for former EPT champions, as well as Team PokerStars Pros. Liv Boeree, Jake Cody, and Zimnan Ziyard won’t be the long-awaited double EPT winners. Matthias De Meulder, Vanessa Rousso, Marcin Horecki, Fatima Moreira de Melo, and Henrique Pinho were also all eliminated.

Kara Scott, Praz Bansi, Christopher Mclung, Ruben Visser, and Scotty Nguyen will be missed as much for their personalities, as well as their prowess at the table.

Top 10 Chip Counts Headed into Day 3

Play will begin at 1200 CET (0300 PST) Friday and we fully expect the field to shrink enough to burst through the bubble. One hundred and twenty-eight players will be guaranteed a minimum “7,500.

To follow all the action live, as it happens, tune into PokerNews’ Live Updates. Our team will be here throughout the day, bringing you all the news you need to know and more.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

July 22 2011, Danielle Barille, Matthew Parvis

Another week is in the books and that means we here at PokerNews will likely spend the weekend feverishly keeping our eyes peeled for as much beer poker news as we can stomach. Until Monday, you can engross yourself in the latest news on Full Tilt Poker’s pending purchase, the nominees for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, the latest episode of ESPN’s Inside Deal and more.

In Case You Missed It

Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom was back at it on the virtual felt. See whether he was a winner or a loser in this week’s edition of the Online Railbird Report.

We introduced you to half of the November Nine yesterday here. We couldn’t leave you hanging today could we? Check out video interviews with the rest of the group here; however, our cameras were not allowed inside the Spearmint Rhino, so yea, no Eoghan O’Dea vid.

The Global Poker Index is back with its first weekly update. Find out who’s making moves in the right direction, and who is sliding by checking out our GPI update.

Full Tilt Poker Investors Eye UK and Irish Assets Only

Negotiations are ongoing between Full Tilt Poker representatives and unknown investors to purchase Full Tilt Poker. As reported on PokerNews on June 29, Full Tilt’s licenses were suspended, and have remained that way. It appears, however, that the investors are only interested in purchasing the online poker sites U.K. and Irish assets.

According to EGR’s unknown source, “The purchase includes the family of companies in the UK and Ireland [including marketing and technology company Pocket Kings in Dublin] as well as the Alderney licences.”

Lawyers from Jeffrey Green Russell, a London-based firm will be representing FTP in next week’s hearing for its license and in the possible sale. PokerNews will be on hand to give you ongoing coverage of the situation.

Read more at EGRMagazine.com

Get Your Votes in for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame

The 2011 Women in Poker Hall of Fame elections have begun, and you have until July 30 to cast your vote. Yes, we know, not much time so get to it. Inductions began in 2008 when The Hall was founded to honor women who have made significant contributions to the poker world. The 2011 nominees include Phyllis Caro, Nani Dollison, Kristy Gazes, Margie Heintz, and JJ Liu. This year’s inductees will join an elite group of women including Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Linda Johnson.

Along with honoring women in poker, the WiPHOF contributes to organizations that benefit society, as well, and has partnered with Poker Gives, a charity to provide financial support to mainstream organizations from the support of the poker community. You should probably partner with them too, and donate to avoid the bad juju.

The 2011 Induction Ceremony and Celebration will take place on September 2 at the Golden Nugget Casino Grand Ballroom in downtown Las Vegas.

To learn more about the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, cast your vote, and purchase tickets to the ceremony check out their website at WomenOfPokerHallOfFame.

Inside the November Nine with the ESPN’s Inside Deal

The latest edition of ESPN’s Inside Deal was just released, and Jon Anik and Bernard Lee take a closer look at the 2011 WSOP November Nine.

The two spotlight Ben Lamb’s impressive run during the 2011 series, go over the early favorites going into November discuss David Sands and Erika Mouhinto, the “last couple standing,” although they don’t discuss whether or not the ol’ “what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine” plays for Mouhinto with their newfound earnings.

An Outsider’s Look at the WSOP: Part 2

In Wednesday’s edition of The Nightly Turbo, we introduced you to Colson Whitehead and his blog on how he made it to the 2011 World Series of Poker. In part 2, he talks about how he attacked his training mentally, physically, and existentially.

He goes into detail about how Helen Ellis helped him prepare for the Main Event, and he does it in 3,500 words. Yeah, we know that’s a lot of reading for your ADD brain, but give it a go and you won’t be disappointed. Or maybe you will.

Check out the full article at GrantLand.com.

WAG Diaries

Lynn Gilmartin caught up with Erika Mounhinto and David Sands for the latest edition of the WAG Diaries.

Speaking of following on Twitter, you should follow us for up-to-the-minute news.