August 27 2012, Brett Collson

Phil Galfond and Viktor Blom have clashed many times at high-stakes cash games. What does Galfond think of his friendly adversary? Find out that and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Ali Eslami led the way after Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker Main Event. Which notables were close on his heels? Find out in our WPT Legends 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.

How did Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren discover poker? Find out that and more in the latest Seat Open.

Isildur1: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Why is Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom such a formidable opponent at high-stakes cash games? According to fellow nosebleed player Phil Galfond, it’s because Blom plays for the love of the game and genuinely doesn’t care about money.

In his latest blog, the always-insightful Galfond examines The Man, The Myth, The Legend known as “Isildur1.” Galfond says he’s played more hands against Blom than any other player of the length of his career, and he got to know the cagey Swede pretty well during the World Series of Poker this past summer.

Over the past three years, Galfond has examined Blom’s strengths and weaknesses as a player. But it wasn’t until he actually meant Blom that he really understood what makes him one of the game’s greats.

“Viktor’s passion for the game is his biggest strength as a player,” Galfond writes. “He told me that he likes to play most with whoever he thinks is the best in the world. I guess if you’re going to challenge yourself, you might as well REALLY challenge yourself.

“When you start thinking about the money involved, it inhibits your ability to play your best. People who approach poker purely as a job, for the financial reasons, will have a very hard time becoming the best of the best (though they may make plenty of money). To actually be great, you need to love the game. You need to have fun playing. Viktor has these covered and then some.”

We highly recommend you check out Galfond’s full blog at PhilGalfond.com.

Kyllönen’s Hefty Downpayment

One of online poker’s biggest winners of 2012 is spending some of his hard-earned profits on a trip into space.

Following in the footsteps of billionaire entrepreneur and poker enthusiast Guy Laliberté, Finnish poker pro Jens “Jeans89” Kyllönen recently told CardPlayer Europe that he has paid “160,000 to reserve a seat aboard Virgin Galactic’s space flight. Kyllönen says he’ll probably make the trip in 2014 after the testing stage is complete.

Kyllönen will spend three or four days training for the flight at SpacePort America before the two-hour flight aboard Sir Richard Brandon’s space vessel.

“I’ve always been fascinated with space and now that I have the opportunity to be within the first people going I just felt like I had to do it,” Kyllönen said.

As of last week, Kyllönen was up $1,628,538 playing high-stakes cash games at PokerStars this year. He was also one of 48 players to post the $1 million buy-in for the Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker this past summer. Kyllönen was the third player eliminated after losing a key hand to French businessman Frederic Banjout.

Hopefully, his pricey trip to space provides a more rewarding experience.

CardPlayer Europe has more.

Delaware’s Iron Man

The Delaware Park poker room broke a Guinness World Record on Monday when a tournament was played continuously for 36 hours, 34 minutes and 41 seconds. The event, called the Iron Man Poker Challenge, establishment a new world record for the Longest “Documented” Continuous Poker Tournament.

The tournament began Saturday afternoon and was played to the end without any breaks. The event attracted 192 players, all of whom posted the $600 buy-in to participate. Peter Konas went on to win the tournament and $27,160 after besting Josh Palmer heads-up for the title.

Delaware Park attempted a similar record last year, but it fell short of the Guinness benchmark of 36 hours. This year’s event was reconstructed with a bigger starting stack and longer levels to allow for a better chance at making the Guinness record books.

For more, check out the live blog at DelPark.com.

Adiós, Barcelona!

The PokerStars.com European Poker Tour stop in Barcelona came to an end over the weekend. Krisztina Polgar and Kristy Arnett took a look back at some of the highlights from their trip to Spain.

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June 04 2012, Brett Collson

Jason Mercier was running around the Rio multi-tabling events on Monday. We don’t expect him to be doing the same when the Big One for One Drop rolls around next month. We’ll bring you more on that story, plus the schedule for the PokerStars MicroMillions II series, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Former November Niner Joseph Cheong made the championship round of the WSOP Event #6 on Sunday. We break down that event and more in the Day 8 WSOP recap.

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

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

Looking for a fun, behind-the-scenes perspective of life at the WSOP? The Muck will offer several daily stories from inside the Rio, so check it out!

Mercier Playing the Big One

On Saturday, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier announced via Twitter that he has registered for the $1 million Big One for One Drop at the World Series of Poker. The two-time WSOP bracelet winner will join poker pros Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Jonathan Duhamel, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Erik Seidel, and several others at the richest poker ever from July 1 through 3.

Mercier has done very well in small field, high roller events in the past. In December 2011 he won the $100,000 buy-in Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic High Roller event for $ 709,767. He also won the £20,000 buy-in High Roller Event at the 2008 European Poker Championships, defeating John Juanda heads up for the $944,847 top prize.

Several other poker pros have expressed interest in playing in the One Drop event, including Justin Bonomo, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Trickett, Andrew Robl and Phil Hellmuth. A World Series of Poker spokesman recently told PokerNews that an updated list of entrants will be released early this month. The event will be capped at 48 players.

You can find the official list of entrants at allinforonedrop.com.

Kool as Ice

French rap star Bruno “Kool Shen” Lopes is becoming a dominating presence on the European poker circuit in 2012.

Lopes won his second title of the year at the World Poker Tour National Cannes Main Event over the weekend. The $2,045 buy-in event attracted 338 players to generate a prize pool of $604,165, and after three days Lopes took it down for “100,500.

2011 WSOP bracelet winner Antonin Teisseire was the other notable joining Lopes at the six-handed final table, but Teisseire made an early exit in sixth place. He was followed to the rail by Thomas Fara, Robert Giordano and Yannick Massa, respectively, leaving Lopes heads up with Louis Gorostis for the title. Gorostis finished runner-up for “70,500.

Lopes’ win in Cannes follows up a win at the Euro Finals of Poker Diamond Championship for $127,514 in January. He also took fourth place at the European Poker Tour Madrid Main Event for $183,660 in March. Lopes was 26th in last week’s Global Poker Index Player of the Year Rankings, but he’s in line for a big jump after the win in France.

Here’s a look at the results from Saturday’s final table:

Intimacy With a Twi$t

Finding a summer fling in the midst of your poker-crazed schedule can be difficult. Unless, of course, you’re looking for a mutually beneficial arrangement. Think of it as Intimacy With a Twi$t. Trust us, you’d be surprised what you’ll find!

Learn more at ArrangementFinders.com.

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Catching Up With Darvin

We spotted 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Darvin Moon playing the $1,500 re-entry event on Sunday. Sarah Grant scooped him at the first break to discuss the Heartland Poker Tour, the New Orleans Saints, and playing events early with huge fields.

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