May 30 2012, Brett Collson

The summer tournament scene in Las Vegas will have a major impact on the Player of the Year races. Is Jonathan Duhamel already in danger of losing his lead in the GPI Player of the Year? We’ll cover that story plus a survey about online poker in California, in the latest edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

What effect does music have on your mood at the poker table? Lynn Gilmartin takes a look at some tracks that might help players stay focused in the latest Stay Stacked.

Some big-name players made Day 3 of the WSOP $1,500 no-limit hold’em Event #2. Find out which pros are vying for a bracelet in our daily WSOP recap.

Which story lines should you be watching for at the WSOP on Wednesday? Read about them in the latest WSOP What to Watch For.

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!

Rettenmaier, O’Dwyer Enter GPI Player of the Year Top 10

Jonathan Duhamal topped the 2012 Global Poker Index Player of the Year rankings for the 14th straight week, but a couple contenders have entered the race following impressive performances in Las Vegas last week.

Marvin Rettenmaier and Steve O’Dwyer vaulted into the top 10 after making the final table of the $25,000 buy-in World Poker Tour World Championship at the Bellagio. Rettenmaier won the event, collecting nearly $1.2 million in the process, and jumped 50 spots in the rankings to No. 6 in the GPI Player of the Year race. O’Dwyer finished fifth in the WPT Championship and improved 12 spots to No. 4.

Frenchman Phillippe Ktorza finished runner-up to Rettemaier in the event and jumped 130 spots to No. 23 in this week’s standings. Other big movers this week were Moon Kim (up 137 spots to No. 45), Tom Marchese (up 199 spots to No. 54) and Matt Juttelstad (up 135 spots to No. 73). Marchese bested a tough field of 34 players to win the $100,000 buy-in WPT High Roller for more than $1.3 million.

Here’s a look at the Top 10 of the Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings:

GPI Player of the Year Top 10

The Global Poker Index Player of the Year, presented by PokerNews, honors the player who has the strongest performance in live tournaments during the calendar year, according to the USA Today Global Poker Index point system.

For the full GPI Player of the Year standings, head on over to EpicPoker.com.

California Divided on Internet Poker

A new survey conducted by USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times shows that California voters are nearly split on the prospect of legalized intrastate online poker.

More than 1,000 registered voters were questioned between May 17 and 21 about online poker and other forms of gambling. The poll showed that 47 percent of voters would favor legalization of online poker if the activity could raise money toward education, public safety and other government services for the cash-strapped state.

The Los Angeles Times reports that many of the polled voters were concerned about problem gamblers setting a bad example for young people.

In February, California Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) introduced a bill that would allow online poker to be played within the state. The Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2012, also known as SB 1463, seeks to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the state in the fiscal year 2012-13.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

Bwin.Party Launches Social Gaming Strategy

Online gambling giant bwin.party has launched strategy that will see the company invest up to $50 million over the next two years in a new social gaming platform.

This week, bwin.party broadened its reach into social gaming by acquiring gaming developers Velasco and Orneon. Bwin.party says that the $23 million purchase for the companies covered several existing business-to-business social gaming contracts and significant software engineering resources.

The investment will include the establishment of a social games studio called Win, which will develop and launch social games, as well as a dedicated social gaming technology platform.

Bwin.party’s first social gaming product will be a poker-based product followed by a casino and sportsbook application by the end of the year.

Commenting on Wednesday’s announcement, bwin.party co-CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger said: “We have chosen a ‘build and partner’ strategy, one that provides us with both the resources and additional management expertise to execute our planned extension into social gaming – an exciting and fast growing area of digital entertainment that is the latest addition to our business strategy.”

Read more at bwin.party.com.

Perfect Match

Matchbook.com doesn’t have an online poker room, but the betting company has loaded up with high-profile pros to sponsor during the 2012 World Series of Poker.

The site, which is striving to become the top destination for all poker betting, has put together a team of ten poker pros during the two-month poker festival in Las Vegas. The team is starred by Sam Trickett and Dan “Jungleman” Cates, both of whom are considered among the toughest cash-game players in the world. Trickett also has a striking tournament résumé and will be playing in the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament during this summer’s WSOP.

“It was an easy choice partnering with Matchbook for the WSOP,” Trickett said. “Not only are all the players extremely talented but the majority of the team is also very good friends. It’s a unique environment to have as a poker team but provides us all with added support. I’m sure we are all going to have a fun and profitable summer together.”

Other members of Team Matchbook are WSOP bracelet winners JP Kelly and Matt Perrins, Roberto Romanello, James Akenhead, Martins Adeniya, Ben Vinon, Jarred Solomon and John Hewitt.

Read more right here at PokerNews.com.

Explain This: Shaun Deeb

After his quick exit from WSOP Event #4, Shaun Deeb sat down with PokerNews’ Sarah Grant for the latest edition of Explain This.

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

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May 27 2012, Donnie Peters

After Friday’s day off from the $25,000 World Poker Tour World Championship for the completion of the $100,000 Super High Roller that was won by Tom Marchese, the final table kicked off at 1600 PDT (0000 BST) on Saturday with Marvin Rettenmaier in the lead. It was a long final table lasting over eight hours and nearly 200 hands before a champion was final crowned. Emerging victorious of the $1.2 million first-place prize was none other than the man who began the day on top, Rettenmaier. He bested Philippe Ktorza heads up to win the trophy.

Coming into the final table, competitors Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Nick Schulman were looking to add another WPT trophy to their mantles. Mizrachi had eyes on his third WPT title while Schulman was just five eliminations away from claiming his second. This made for some added drama, and drama there was.

On the 29th hand of the final table, Trevor Pope was eliminated in sixth place at the hands of Ktorza. According to the WPT Live Updates Team, the blinds were in Level 26 at 40,000/80,000/10,000. Pope moved all in on the button for 1.46 million and Ktorza reraised all in from the small blind for 1.7 million. Mizrachi folded his big blind and left Ktorza’s to do battle with Pope’s . The board ran out and Pope finished in sixth place worth $155,571.

Nearly 30 hands later, on the 57th hand of the final table, big action went down that saw Mizrachi double through Rettenmaier and Steve O’Dwyer fall in fifth place.

The blinds were up to Level 27 at 50,000/100,000/10,000 and Mizrachi raised to 200,000 from the cutoff seat. Rettenmaier reraised from the button to 485,000, but right behind him was O’Dwyer and he moved all in for approximately one million. Action got back to Mizrachi and he then shoved for 2.14 million. After a minute of thought, Rettenmaier made the call.

Rettenmaier held the most chips and the . Mizrachi held the and O’Dwyer the . A flop, turn and river of kept Mizrachi’s tens in front and gave him the winning hand. He eliminated O’Dwyer and also doubled up through Rettenmaier to take the chip lead. O’Dwyer walked away with $192,176 in prize money.

Over 50 hands were played out during four-handed action as Rettenmaier began to stretch out a chip lead once again. He had roughly as many chips as his three opponents did combined when the 109th hand of play came up and he picked up a bit more by eliminating Schulman in fourth place.

During Level 28 with the blinds at 60,000/120,000/20,000, Rettenmaier raised to 280,000 from the small blind and Schulman shoved for approximately 2.7 million from the big blind. Rettenmaier called and tabled the . Schulman held the . It’s important to note that during four-handed action, Rettenmaier had been playing super aggressive and really putting his big stack to use. After a board of ran out, Schulman was out the door in fourth place for $256,235.

After collecting Schulman’s chips, Rettenmaier had a commanding lead with 11.575 million in chips to Ktorza’s 2.025 million and Mizrachi’s 1.625 million. One would think things would be rather routine from here, but they were far from it.

Just four hands after Schulman went out, Ktorza doubled through Rettenmaier. Rettenmaier had ramped up the aggression even more during three-handed play and was really attacking the two shorter stacks knowing the money jumps were big (around $400,000 between second and third and also first and second). Action folded to him in the small blind on the 113th hand and Rettenmaier moved all in. Ktorza called with the and was dominating the for Rettenmaier. Rettenmaier’s face struck a puzzling look as he wondered why Ktorza would call. At any rate, the board ran out and Ktorza doubled up.

Then just two hands later, Ktorza doubled through Rettenmaier again. This time, Rettenmaier jammed all in over the top of Ktorza’s raise with the . Ktorza called with the and held up after the board ran out . It was now an entirely different ball game as Ktorza had pulled even with Rettenmaier and Mizrachi was the one severely short.

On the very next hand with the blinds still at 75,000/150,000/25,000 in Level 29, Mizrachi was all in with the against the for Rettenmaier. An board gave Rettenmaier a full house and eliminated Mizrachi in third place. Although Mizrachi missed out on his third WPT title, he did score $424,618.

When heads-up play began, Rettenmaier held 8.55 million in chips to Ktorza’s 6.675 million. Only 13 big blinds separated the two and it was a long back-and-forth battle ahead.

On the 120th hand, Ktorza took the chip lead for the first time. He then pulled away with a big pot worth over four million in the 130th hand of play, but Rettenmaier didn’t give up. He kept himself together and exchanged blows with Ktorza before doubling up to even on the 151st hand. Then, the madness began to ensue.

On the 160th hand, Rettenmaier doubled through Ktorza after the two got the money in on a flop of flop. Rettenmaier held the and Ktorza the . Rettenmaier’s hand held after a hit the turn and hit the river. At first, many thought Rettenmaier had one, including himself. After an official count of the chips, it was proved tat Ktorza still had 825,000, or just three big blinds. Surely it was all over, right? Not.

On each of the next three hands, Ktorza doubled up through Rettenmaier. First it was Ktorza’s versus Rettenmaier’s . Then it was Ktorza’s against Rettenmaier’s . On the third double in a row, Ktorza’s beat Rettenmaier’s . All of that brought Ktorza back up to 6.6 million in chips and just two million away from Rettenmaier.

From there, Ktorza spiked a big double on the 180th hand of play to take a commanding lead on Rettenmaier. His beat Rettenmaier’s and left Rettenmaier with just 3.675 million in chips. We say “just” because at that point the blinds were up to 200,000/400,000/50,000, meaning Rettenmaier had under 10 big blinds. Still, he kept battling and the match wore on.

On the 190th hand, Rettenmaier was able to double back into a slight lead before the final hand came up just shortly after that. After all of the battling, the back and forth, the doubles and the drama, it took a cooler to end this thing.

Rettenmaier raised to 800,000 on the button and Ktorza moved all in for 6.775 million. Rettenmaier quickly called with the . Ktorza surely thought he had the best of it with his , but then saw Rettenmaier’s kings and all of his hopes seemed dash. No help came for Ktorza on the board and he was eliminated in second place, earning $805,310.

WPT World Championship Final Table Payouts

For the victory, Rettenmaier walked away with nearly $1.2 million in prize money and a gorgeous WPT trophy. He also earned a seat into the 2013 WPT World Championship where he’ll look to defend his title. Congratulations to Rettenmaier on the largest victory of his career and his first seven-figure score.

That wraps up PokerNews recap coverage from the WPT World Championship. We’re now fired up and ready to go for the 2012 World Series of Poker and you can find all of our official WSOP coverage on our Live Reporting Pages.

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*Photo courtesy of BJ Nemeth at WorldPokerTour.com

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