March 04 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

While Charlie Sheen may think he has Adonis DNA, we’re sure no one would disagree with us that he has nothing on Patrik Antonius. Need proof? You can watch Patrik Antonius discuss the cash games in Macau in a recent video that was posted. On top of that, Greg Raymer was spotted all patched up on Thursday night at the NBC National Heads-Up Draw Party. Find out who’s site he’s repping and more in tonight’s Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

The Wynn Poker Classic gets under way soon and Kristy Arnett went over to the Wynn Casino to find out more about it. Check out the latest Sin City Series for more.

The World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic crowned a winner Thursday night. With a win, Carlos Mortensen would have notched his fourth WPT title. Did he do it? You can find out in our WPT recap.

Thursday night the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Draw Party was held at PURE nightclub inside Caesars Palace. Wondering what the match-ups look like? Have a look at the NBC Heads-Up bracket.

There was plenty of high-stakes action online this week at both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. Want to find out who racked up the biggest pots? The Online Railbird Report has the story.

With the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship under way, we couldn’t help but release our predictions for the event. And while we all did these in the comfort of our own offices, you’ll be surprised to see that we were all on the same page – well, most of us. Find out more in NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship: PokerNews Staff Predictions.

It’s Just Vegas But Smaller

Patrik Antonius recently arrived back in Las Vegas from Macau took some time to discuss the cash games in Macau in a video interview posted by Chris Porter. Antonius went to Macau for two weeks after the Aussie Millions. He said they played HKD5,000/HKD10,000, which translates to about $600/$1,200. He went on to describe the prop bets that went on between himself, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and John Juanda, saying, “The props were maybe twice as big as the game.” You definitely want to catch this video for the inside scoop on the Macau cash games we’ve all been hearing about.

Raymer in Red

About a month ago, it was announced that Greg Raymer and his sponsor PokerStars had parted ways. Since then, there has been plenty of buzz on which site will snatch up the 2004 World Series of Poker winner.

It seems that Full Tilt Poker has done just that – at least for the NBC Heads-Up National Championship that is. Raymer was spotted on the red carpet of the Draw Party Thursday night donning the Full Tilt Poker patch on his chest. The deal is said to be a one-off and just for the event, but who knows where it will lead.

Check out the photos of Raymer on the red carpet on TwoPlusTwo.

Show Up, Get Paid

UB.com wants to pay you just for showing up at the World Series of Poker this summer. The Show Up, Get Paid promotion launched by UB begins March 6. Players have the opportunity to win their seats to the 2011 WSOP through satellites starting as low as ten cents.

“With Show Up, Get Paid we are making it even easier for our players to make their way to Vegas for the WSOP in 2011, plus there’s so many different ways for players to qualify,” Team UB’s Joe Sebok said. “The Team UB crew will be out in full force this Summer so you never know, you may wind up chatting poker with Prahlad Friedman or sharing strategy in the UB suite with Maria Ho or Eric Baldwin. Be sure to win your seat on UB and get there!”

Players who win a 2011 WSOP $12,000 Main Event package on UB will automatically bank $1,000 just for showing up at the WSOP and sporting the UB brand – yes, even if you go busto on the first hand. The longer a player lasts, the more money they get, with UB awarding up to $20,000 for a qualifier who makes it to Day 8 and if you make it to the Final Table, you could potentially pocket $1 million.

What are you waiting for? Sign up for a UB account today.

PokerStars Belgium

This week, PokerStars launched its Belgian client on a trial basis. Last year, the online poker site partnered with Circus Groupe, owners of the Casino de Spa and other venues in Belgium. Cash-game players in Belgium will only be able to play against other Belgian residents, but the tournaments will be international.

Find out more at EGRMagazine.com.

On the Red Carpet

The NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Draw Party was held Thursday night at PURE inside Caesars Palace. Sarah Grant was there to catch up with some of the players to find out who they would be playing. While Kara Scott’s date, Maria Mayrinck, called her a cheapskate, Scott insists she’s a good date. Also, Sarah caught up with Gus Hansen, who has a bold prediction about who will win.

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March 06 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

If you missed any of this week’s news, we’re recapping the top poker news stories of the week for you. Just don’t make a habit of missing the Nightly Turbo. This week, we brought you some information on Zynga’s PokerCon, as well as the results from the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational, and more.

Zynga PokerCon

There are all kinds of cons we’re not interested in — comic, dragon, Charles Ponzi — but one we can really get behind is Zynga’s PokerCon. The event takes place March 18-19 at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and will feature poker training by Annie Duke, a tournament with a $100,000 prize pool, and more. Registration for the event ranges from $125 to $655.

To find out more, head on over to ZyngaPokerCon.com.

Kitai Wins Celebrity Invitational

When the final six players of the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational final table were reached on February 20, play was halted until March 2. The TV final table was filmed Wednesday and Davidi Kitai was the last player standing at the end of play, taking home the title and $100,000, including a seat to the WPT World Championship. A total of $100,000 was raised for the Chrysalis organization, which helps homeless and low-income individuals.

“We couldn’t be happier about the impact this money will have for Los Angeles’ homeless and economically disadvantaged through the fantastic work of Chrysalis,” John Griffo, Commerce Casino Director of Casino Development said. “WPT and Commerce Casino have a longstanding partnership in community giving through the WPT Celebrity Invitational. This event is a collaborative effort. Hundreds of people in the poker community, celebrities, Commerce Casino and the WPT come together each year to celebrate the game we love and promote a great cause. We look forward to many more events like this in years to come.”

WPT Celebrity Invitational Results

1. Davidi Kitai – $100,000
2. Almira Skripchenko – $50,000
3. Dan Heimiller – $20,000
4. George Rechnitzer – $15,000
5. Damon Schramm – $10,000
6. Dinara Khaziyeva – $5,000

WorldPokerTour.com has more.

The Micros

The third episode of The Micros was released over the weekend, and if you missed it, you shouldn’t worry, we’ve got it right here. Chase Berger and Tommy Phuoc are in Australia for the Aussie Millions while their pal Rose Ballenger is in Elkytraz, an asylum for the criminally degenerate. Also, Tatjana Pasalic makes her appearance on the show.

Check out The Micros on Facebook.

The Nuts

The latest installment of ESPN’s The Nuts is back. The monthly blog post ranks the best players in poker at the moment. The Panel includes PokerNews’ Editor-in-Chief Matthew Parvis, PokerNews’ Tournament Reporting Manager Don Peters, ESPN’s Andrew Feldman, Gary Wise, and Bernard Lee, among others.

February’s rankings haven’t changed the top spot, so we’re not going to tell you that Phil Ivey has retained his spot at number one. Daniel Negreanu jumped from eighth to fourth and sits tied in that spot with Tom Marchese. Erik Seidel, whose January was insane, moved from tenth to sixth, with a fifth-place finish at the LAPC $5,100 heads-up event and winning the $25,000 high-roller event at LAPC.

Sam Trickett makes his first appearance on the list after his amazing January and finishing sixth at WPT Paris. “$2.9 million in 2011 and another final table this month. His accomplishments earned him a well-deserved spot in the National Heads-Up Poker Championships,” Feldman said.

You can check out the entire list at ESPN.com.

Fastest Ever

No, he’s not Usain Bolt, but Andrew “azntracker” Li has reached Supernova Elite status on PokerStars faster than any other player. He broke the previous record by nearly three weeks. If you aren’t familiar with SNE, a player must obtain one million VIP Player points during a calendar year. That’s usually how long it takes players to reach the feat. It took Li two months.

“This is very reminiscent of the feeling I used to get shortly after finishing a huge exam or project back in college — I would characterize it as ‘subdued elation.’ I’m not going crazy in jubilation or anything like that, but I am tremendously happy that I was able to accomplish this,” Li wrote on his blog.

Li played 50 out of 59 straight days and says, (this might blow your mind if it isn’t blown already), he has left-clicked his mouse more than 1.1 million times in 2011.

The PokerStars Blog has more on Li and his record-breaking accomplishment.

WPT Partners with Poker Road Radio

The World Poker Tour has announced that it has partnered with Poker Road Radio. Beginning at the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic Poker Road Radio will become a fixture at most domestic WPT stops. Poker Road Radio will broadcast three episodes per tournament, with interviews from WPT talent pros, and final tablists.

“This is an ideal partnership matching two of the best brands in poker,” Steve Heller, World Poker Tour CEO said. “Live broadcasts will bring additional energy to WPT events and working with PRR will lead to a social media explosion for both companies.”

Also in the partnership, the WPT’s Jess and BJ Show will also get prime place on PokerRoad. The partnership between the two will continue into season ten.

“PokerRoad is thrilled to be working with the World Poker Tour again,” Poker Road executive and show host, Court Harrington said. “Over the years many of the classic episodes of Poker Road Radio have taken place around WPT tournaments and we eagerly look forward to working closely with the WPT to put out great content for poker fans around the globe.”

For more on the partnership, check out WorldPokerTour.com.

I AM NANONOKO

Team PokerStars Online and PokerNews Strategy’s Randy “nanonoko” Lew has released a short documentary telling the story of how he got into poker and how he became Supernova Elite. The documentary was produced by PokerStars and Ryan Firpo of 918 Films.

Check out the Team Online Facebook page for information on the I AM NANONOKO competition. It’s kind of like the Chuck Norris Facts game. Go show them how creative you are and win FPPs.

Rumor Control

While we wanted the hand we reported Wednesday involving Tom “durrrr” Dwan in Macau to be true because of the sheer epicness, we were a little skeptical about it. Sure enough, we had a right to be.

Dwan took to his Twitter account to dispel the rumor of the $11 million hand he won with ace-jack off, tweeting, “We play 10k-20k hong kong. There’s straddles sometimes and crazy action… But 89m with ako- rly?” And adding, “No to clarify, that hand was obviously fake lol.”

We retract our statement from Wednesday regarding Charlie Sheen learning from Dwan. We’d like to reverse it. Thank you.

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