In March, we told you that Jennifer Tilly was going to appear on an episode of The Simpsons that focused on online poker. The episode, “Gone, Abie Gone,” aired on Sunday, and we recap it in this edition of The Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Xing Zhou took down the 2012 PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asia Championship of Poker. Want to know how it went down? Here’s a full recap of the final table.

Joe Elpayaa leads the remaining 28 players after Day 2 of the 2012 World Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble. Find out who else is in the hunt with ourWPT recap..

For the first time since the Summer of 2011, major tournaments took place on both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker on Sunday. Find out who the big winners were in The Sunday Briefing.

The Seat Open series continued on Monday with Part Two of an extensive interview with World Series of Poker bracelet winner Jonathan Aguiar. Watch the episode to find out more.

Lisa Simpson Goes All In

*SPOILER ALERT*

On Sunday, Season 24 of The Simpsons rolled along with Episode No. 4 “Gone, Abie, Gone.” The main theme focused on Abe, better known as Grandpa, and a mistress he encountered while performing music at various bars in Springfield during his 30s, but there was a subplot that focused on Lisa and online poker.

In the opening sequence, Homer is burned while ordering onion rings at Krusty Burger. He sues the restaurant, wins $5,000, then deposits the money onto an online poker site because Moe tells him it’s safer than keeping it in the bank.

This is ironic in many ways.

Homer’s online handle is “Lisa Simpson College Fund,” and he proudly tells Lisa where he’s invested her future. Naturally, she’s disgusted and becomes even more distraught when she finds Bart playing on the account. She shoos him away but then tries to win the $60 or so her brother lost. Lisa ends up flopping quad queens on the first hand she plays and becomes hooked.

Jennifer Tilly makes an appearance in the episode when Lisa watches her instructional DVD. Lisa also reads a few poker books, but rather than choosing classics like Super System or Harrington on Hold’em, she prefers Al Roker on Poker and Fold Yourself Rich. Lisa runs the $5,000 up to over $360,000, but eventually loses an $800,000 pot to Sideshow Bob with a full house aces over threes.

Sideshow Bob has two threes, winning the pot with quads.

In the end, we find out that Bart was actually playing under the Sideshow Bob handle, and that the site took away all of the winnings when they discovered that Bart and Lisa were both under the age of 18. Lisa’s account was credited with the original $5,000, however, making her very happy.

The episode received mixed reviews on TwoPlusTwo, but TVFanatic.com rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

No U.S. Legislation for 12 Months?

According to Reuters.com, International Game Technology doesn’t expect much progress toward legal online poker in the United States in the next year. CEO Patti Hart believes that social gaming is growing faster than expected, however.

“We don’t expect legislation in the U.S. to move significantly in the next 12 months,” Hart told Reuters. “[IGT's gaming license is] for people who reside in Nevada, so the pool of potential players is not significant enough.”

In January, IGT purchased DoubleDown, one of the biggest providers of games on Facebook. The company had revenue of $35.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 – a 20 percent increase from the third quarter. Among the games DoubleDown provides are poker, blackjack, and slots.

Hart added, “We’ve been slowed down by the legislative process, there’s no question about it. Our reaction was to find a way to extend a gaming experience to the public that is not really encumbered by the legislative process and that’s what we’ve done [with DoubleDown].”

Hart, who left Yahoo Inc earlier in 2012, believes that the online gaming environment, “looks social for an extended period of time.”

Reuters.com has more.

Betable Hires former Zynga VP

On Monday, AllThingsD.com reported that Ya-Bing Chu, a former vice president at Zynga, was hired by Betable, a London-based company that’s focusing its efforts on bringing real-money gaming to mobile phones. Chu served as general manager of Zynga’s mobile division, which is responsible for operating games like Words With Friends and Scramble With Friends. Prior to his work in the mobile division, Chu worked directly with Zynga Poker, FarmVille, and Petville.

“This is an opportunity to pioneer this business, and this was too good to pass up,” Chu said.

Betable’s servers are located in the United Kingdom, where the company is licensed, but Betable also has offices in San Francisco. Currently, the company does not offer gaming in the U.S. because it’s prohibited.

The company isn’t building its own games, rather they offer its services to third parties that are entering the real-money market. Betable recently announced a partnership with Big Fish Games that will result in a real-money version of its iOS title Big Fish Casino to launch in the U.K. They have also teamed up with Slingo, Digital Chocolate, and Murka Games.

Betable CEO and founder Chris Griffin added, “Every industry is being affected by the transition to mobile. It’s definitely here, but the only thing that’s holding back innovation is the license.”

AllThingsD.com has more.

Germany vs. The EU

According to Pokerfuse.com, Germany is close to passing The States Treaty on Online Gaming. Once North Rhine Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein sign the treaty, sports betting will be legalized in Germany, but online poker will remain illegal. The treaty will mandate a 5 percent tax on every wager, prompting Betfair to close its German sports betting operation.

Betfair will continue to offer online poker, as will bwin.party, which is bidding to become one of the 20 licensed online gaming sites authorized by the treaty. Germany’s Commission policy is to refuse companies that offer illegal online gaming in other countries.

The European Gaming and Betting Association believes that the treaty is illegal under EU law, and has submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission. The EU Internal Markets and Services Commissioner Michael Barnier plans to step up legal and regulatory enforcement on countries who are in breach of EU law.

The EU Commission could potentially order changes to the German treaty, creating a regulatory format that has previously been rejected by every German State other than Schleswig-Holstein.

For more, head to PokerFuse.com.

Final Episode of The Final Table

The sixth and final episode of The Final Table was released on Monday. In it, Russell Thomas and Jason Somerville discuss Thomas’ fourth-place finish in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

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

Check out the original source here.

November 07 2012, Brett Collson

Doyle Brunson tweeted Tuesday that he is once again battling cancer. We’re covering that story, plus big news for poker players in Maryland, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Full Tilt Poker reopened on Tuesday. Which pros will be keeping their bankroll on the site to play? PokerNews’ Chad Holloway found out.

With the year coming to a close, Dan Smith still has a huge lead in the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race. Mickey Doft takes a look at some of Smith’s closest contenders.

On Tuesday, the World Poker Tour released the 2013 schedule for its 11th season. Take a look at all of the stops here at PokerNews.com.

The PokerNews Podcast returned to the airwaves on Wednesday. This week, the crew discussed the conclusion of the WSOP Main Event, the relaunch of Full Tilt Poker, and more.

The 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit River Rock Main Event played down to a final table on Tuesday. Find out who is contention for the ring in our WSOPC recap.

The 2012 PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asia Championship of Poker HKD$100,000 Main Event kicked off on Wednesday. Take a look at the leaders from Day 1 in our ACOP recap.

Doyle’s Fight

Doyle Brunson has faced many tough challenges in his life, but none more grueling then his long bout with cancer.

On Tuesday, Brunson revealed via Twitter that was recently diagnosed with Squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. It was the fourth time Brunson has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. He described this particular type as a “slow growth that is usually OK but it’s still something you’d rather not hear.”

Brunson has beaten cancer three times in the past 50-plus years and seems confident that he’ll do it again. Each time, he’s been told the illness is malignant, but the 79-year-old continues pushing forward, beating some of the toughest cash games in the world along the way.

Doyle received a large amount of support on Twitter Tuesday:

Maryland Gets Dealt In

The most expensive political advertising campaign in Maryland’s history has resulted in the passage of a measure that will legalize table games like poker at the state’s casinos.

On Tuesday, Maryland voters passed Question 7, also known as the Gaming Expansion Question, by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin statewide. The measure needed to be passed both by state voters and by voters in Prince Georges County, where it succeeded by a 59 percent to 41 percent margin.

According to WBAL in Baltimore, more than $90 million was spent by opponents and supporters of the Question 7 issue. Among the rivals of the measure is Penn National Gaming, which said Wednesday that it was “disappointed” in the results of the ballot. Penn National operates a casino in West Virginia and is hinting at taking legal action against the measure, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“There remains a question as to the validity of the outcome given a legal challenge that has been filed by an outside group as to what constitutes a ‘qualified voter’ in this election,” the company said in a statement. “We’ll be exploring that issue in the coming days.”

If all goes as planned in Maryland, table games could be introduced at the state’s three existing casinos early next year and when a new casino opens in Baltimore near M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Ravens. Tuesday’s measure will also allow for a new casino to be constructed at National Harbor along the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.

Maryland is the home of some of the top poker minds in the world, including Christian Harder, Anthony Gregg, and 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Greg Merson, who expressed his excitement after the measure passed Tuesday evening:

USA Today has more.

Roothlus Contest Winner

Two weeks ago, Adam “Roothlus” Levy teamed up with 99designs and launched a contest to see who could design the best personal logo for the professional poker player’s personal website. In the end, a total of 23 designers submitted 102 different logos, and fans voted for the winning logo:

“Helsing,” the winning designer, earned $200 for being selected. This is the fourth contest that Helsing has won on 99designs.com, and the designer has earned $690 in the process.

For more on the competition, check out the article here at PokerNews.com. And check out Levy’s site at Roothlus.com.

Moorman Falls Short

Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman is the all-time winningest tournament player in online poker history, cashing for more than $7.5 million. But even thought he’s added another $2.7 million in live tournament cashes, Moorman has struggled securing a major Main Event win on the live circuit, finishing runner-up in events like the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event and WSOP’s $10,000 Six-max Championship in Las Vegas.

Moorman got another chance at glory Wednesday at the PokerStars United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour Online Main Event in Bristol. The British superstar entered the final table third in chips after securing his set online last month, and eventually found himself heads-up with Wojtek Barzantny. However, after a lengthy back-and-forth battle, Moorman came up short again when his was upended by Barzantny’s . Moorman collected £55,471 for yet another runner-up finish, and Barzantny earned £77,126 and a seat to the champion of champions event.

Here’s a look at the final table results of the inaugural UKIPT Online Main Event:

For more on the UKIPT, visit the PokerStars Blog.

Welcome to Macau!

The 2012 PokerStars.net APPT Macau: Asia Championship of Poker Main Event kicked off on Wednesday. Before hitting the tournament floor, Lynn Gilmartin took a tour around the “Oriental Las Vegas.”

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

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