March 14 2012, Brett Collson
Is a deal to purchase Full Tilt Poker near completion? That seemed to be the chatter circling through the poker community on Wednesday. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’ll bring you the latest comments from the Groupe Bernard Tapie camp, plus positive news for Iowa poker players, and more.
In Case You Missed It
Daniel Negreanu released his “Weekly Rant” on Wednesday. If you want to hear Daniel talk about Ray Bitar, borrowing money, and plenty more, you can find his video blog in our new section, The Muck.
Are you planning a trip to Viña del Mar, Chile, for the PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour? Lynn Gilmartin tells you everything you need to know about the city in the latest PokerNews Jet Set.
Only 112 players remain at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Madrid. Who’s leading the field after play on Day 2? You’ll have to check out the EPT Madrid recap to find out.
Let’s Make a Deal
According to a multiple reports on Tuesday, the pending deal between Groupe Bernard Tapie and Full Tilt Poker is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks, and possibly as early as the end of this week.
Gaming Intelligence reported Wednesday that Groupe Bernard Tapie lawyer Behnam Dayanim is “reasonably confident” that the French investment firm’s agreement to purchase Full Tilt Poker will be completed in the next couple of weeks. The complex sale of Full Tilt Poker has dragged on since an agreement was made between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the Department of Justice last November when the two sides came to an agreement to allow GBT to purchase the forfeited FTP assets from the DOJ for $80 million.
As part of the agreement, GBT would repay non-U.S. players, who are owed an estimated $150 million, and the DOJ would be responsible for repaying the U.S. players, which is also estimated to be about $150 million.
Meanwhile, eGaming Review reports that the deal is expected to be closed by next week, and that Full Tilt Poker could be operating again as early as next month. According to the report, Laurent Tapie is already working on collecting the necessary licenses to bring the embattled poker room back to life. Tapie indicated earlier this year that GBT was in negotiations with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) to resurrect FTP’s operating license.
When PokerNews reached out to Tapie lawyer Behnam Dayanim on Tuesday, he said the following: “All I can say is that negotiations are ongoing. I can make no further comment.”
We’ll continue to keep you up to date on the latest from Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie.
Iowa Senate Approves Online Poker Bill
One week after a Mississippi online gambling bill died in committee, the Iowa Senate passed a measure to allow Iowa casinos and racetracks to offer online poker to residents in the state.
Senate File 2275 passed by a vote of 29-20 on Tuesday and will now move on to the House. If passed there, Gov. Terry Branstad could then sign it into a law. An Internet poker platform would be licensed and regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC), which has already been given the go-ahead to establish a structure whereby operators would partner with state-licensed casinos to provide access to online sites.
Iowa has been one of many states to show support for online poker since the Department of Justice changed its position on the Wire Act of 1961 in December. Iowa lawmakers commissioned a study last year to determine the practicality and potential income Internet poker could generate for the state. Assuming a tax rate of 22 percent, the projections indicate approximately $3 million to $13 million in potential tax revenue for the state annually, according to the IRGC.
Read more at PokerNews.com.
Timoshenko, Katchalov Join PartyPoker Premier League
The lineup for the upcoming PartyPoker Premier League V got even stronger Wednesday as Eugene Katchalov and Yevgeniy Timoshenko added their names to the mix.
Katchalov and Timoshenko will join Tom Dwan, Erik Seidel, Patrik Antonius, Sam Trickett, Vanessa Selbst, Luke Schwartz, Tony G, and other putting up the $125,000 buy-in for the event at the Montesino Casino in Vienna, Austria from April 4 through 10. Katchalov will be making his first appearance on the televised Premier League stage, and Timoshenko will be competing in the event for the second time.
“I’m very happy and excited to be able to play the PartyPoker Premier League Event this year,” Katchalov told the PartyPoker Blog. “From what I’ve heard and read, it’s a unique and fun structured event that will have some tough competition but I’m sure will be a great experience overall!”
Read more at PokerNews.com.
Haxton Comes Back to Defeat Blom in SuperStar Showdown
After their Sunday match was postponed due to Internet connectivity issues, Viktor “Isildur1″ Blom and Isaac “philivey2694″ Haxton resumed the PokerStars SuperStar Showdown on Tuesday. Picking up where they left off on Sunday, Blom was up $99,886 through 692 hands when action began, meaning Haxton had a huge hill to climb in order to beat the Swede with around 1,800 hands left to play.
The climb turned out to be a smooth one for Haxton, who battled back to claim a slight win over the Team PokerStars Pro for the second straight time. After 2,500 hands, Haxton left the tables with $5,093 in profit, bringing his winnings against Blom in the SuperStar Showdown to $46,794 over 5,000 hands. The loss dropped Blom’s record to 8-4 in SuperStar Showdown matches since the format was created in December 2010.
SuperStar Showdown Breakdown
| 1 | Jonathan Duhamel | 595.68 | – |
| 2 | Erik Cajelais | 342.87 | +13 |
| 3 | Noah Schwartz | 326.05 | -1 |
| 4 | Faraz Jaka | 308.34 | -1 |
| 5 | Samuel Chartier | 305.79 | -1 |
| 6 | Jason Koon | 284.24 | -1 |
| 7 | Ruben Visser | 258.03 | -1 |
| 8 | Stephen Chidwick | 248.77 | -1 |
| 9 | Oliver Speidel | 238.23 | -1 |
| 10 | Daniel Idema | 234.08 | -1 |
For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to EpicPoker.com.
Welcome to Madrid!
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team is in Spain for the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Madrid Main Event. PokerNews hostess Kristy Arnett took a tour around the city and even got a look inside the home of the famous Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.
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2010 December 23, Lynn Gilmartin
The PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour season four schedule has been released so, naturally, I’m excited. I’m about to show you why it’s almost impossible to not have fun at LAPT events with some highlights from 2010. Unless of course some Argentine slaps his slow roll on the felt in front of you as he runs circles around the table screaming with joy over hitting his one outer on the river to end your Main Event early. That would suck a little.
The bright side? Not only do you get to stare at stunning girls all day like LAPT Hostess Luli Fernandez (in the photo with me above, just chilling on a beach in Brazil, as you do on the LAPT) linger around the poker room all day, but there are so many amazing places to explore, just waiting for you outside the poker room.
Sao Paulo, Brazil – February 16-20, 2011
Season three took us to the Brazilian island of Florianopolis. It was a slight tease being on the beach in the middle of winter, but we still had such a fantastic experience. This year, the LAPT is returning to one of Brazil’s most proud cities, Sao Paulo; and best of all, not only is it going to be in the peak of their summer, but you know what they (Kristy Arnett) say about Brazilian women – they simply win at life. Feast your eyes on the below video from this year’s LAPT Welcome Party in Brazil, and you’ll see why.
Viña del Mar, Chile – March 17-20, 2011
Chile was a new addition to the LAPT season three schedule, however, after the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Viña del Mar in late February, just a couple of weeks prior to the March event, the LAPT stop was cancelled. Twelve-months later, the still-new LAPT stop returns to the schedule and we will head to Chile’s beach-resort town to pump our well needed tourism dollars into the bounced-back, stunner of a city.
Lima, Perú – April 12-17, 2011
I was lucky enough to escape the WSOP madness for one week this year, and head south to cover the LAPT in Lima, Peru, and this year we will return in April. It was here that headlines were created when Jose “Nacho” Barbero won his second LAPT title in back-to-back events. The event was held in the quaint town of Miraflores, offering us some brilliant nights out at the clubs in Larco Mar, and gorgeous surrounds which you can see in the following video courtesy of PokerStars.tv.
Rosario, Argentina – June 1-5, 2011
Not many tour operators bother competing with the World Series of Poker. I like to think of those six weeks as the Bermuda Triangle of major poker event scheduling; but PokerStars did it with success this year, and they’re certainly not stopping. Season four will take us to South America’s largest casino in Rosario, Argentina, the Grand Final destination of season three. Being the first week of June means the beginning of winter in South America – the perfect time to start hitting up the popular cities rather than the beach towns. I’ll let this video paint the picture of the fantastic week we had this year in Rosario.
Bogotá, Colombia – August 3-7, 2011
Returning to loved cities is one thing, but breaking new ground is what really gets me excited, and Columbia, the home of the most amazing coffee in the world, is just that. Bogotá is Columbia’s largest city, labeled the “Athens of South America.” If my crazy trip to Greece with five girlfriends a few years back is anything to go by, then I’m bursting at the seams with excitement to get there! It’s said to be a roller-coaster of a city, high in the Andes at an elevation of 8,646 feet. All cities have contrasts, but few have them like Bogotá, as described in this interesting passage by goway.com.
“Nestled high in the Andes at 8,646 ft, Santafé de Bogotá is a city of contrasts. It’s a city of high-rise buildings standing next to colonial churches; a city of universities, theaters and shantytowns. It is a mixture of influences, Spanish and English and Indian; a city of great wealth and material well being and abject poverty. It is a city of wild traffic and calm oases reflecting a bygone day. It is a modern city with futuristic architecture, graffiti and congestion; restaurants, bookstores and street vendors peddling emeralds, thieves, beggars, street people and drug dealers wrapped around the inner core of the old city.”
The LAPT Grand Final destination is still to be confirmed, so in lieu of this unknown city, I’ll leave you with a perfect taste of Latin America: with a friendly game of football.
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