August 04 2012, Chris Hall

The 11th Season of the World Poker Tour kicked off in Kyrenia, Cyprus, for the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic. Day 1a attracted 163 players to the all-inclusive hotel and casino, but by the end of the first day, we’d lost over half the field and Maxim Panyak finished as the Day 1a chip leader. Panyak won several big pots, including knocking out Andreas Krause with queens versus ace-king, to finish the day with 255,800 – a healthy target for everyone playing Day 1b.

Atzlan Gil, in second place, is the only other player over the 200,000 mark, he with 207,100. The day ended with 67 players remaining, but with 102 eliminations plus a few non-satisfied survivors combined with many players who had only planned to play Day 1B, a much larger field is expected on Sunday.

The $4,000+$400 event is the first major tournament Gaelle Baumann has played since bubbling the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table in July. On Saturday, Baumann made it is as far as level five before she was eliminated. She held on a board against two-time WPT champion Tommy Vedes’ in a three-bet pot, but could not improve. She has already indicated she’ll probably be rebuying on Sunday.

Vedes didn’t last too much longer, but we suspect he’ll be reentering as well. Other notables who took a shot on Day 1a but didn’t make it through includes Chris Moorman (got short stacked and lost with eights to queens), Dominik Nitsche (top two pair against a set), Nicolas Chouity (made a big bluff and got called) and Zimnan Ziyard (top pair versus two pair).

Marvin Rettenmaier (122,200), Toni Judet (101,000) Erik Cajelais (71,900), Marco Neuman (63,300) and Stuart Fox (86,200) are among those who have made it through to Day 2.

Sunday’s field is expected to be much larger and should include all four of the Mizrachi brothers. Rumors are swirling that Daniel Cates and Chino Rheem may also be in attendance.

Day 1b will begin at 1300 EEST (0300 PDT) and play is expected to last 10 levels. Be sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team for all the action from the felt.

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July 27 2012, Brett Collson

Before everyone is glued to their televisions for the start of the London Olympic Games, we’re here to deliver Friday’s biggest stories in the world of poker. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we’re covering an online poker deal in California, the new bling of the European Poker Tour, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs released a discussion draft of a bill on Internet gaming on Thursday. PokerNews’ Matthew Kredell breaks down the details.

Olympians from all over the world have made their way to London for the 2012 Olympic Games. PokerNews spoke with some members of Team USA who enjoy playing poker during their down time from competition.

How was the high-stakes action at the PokerStars tables this week? Read the Online Railbird Report to find out the week’s biggest winners and losers.

Poker coach Nick DiVella recently made a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event. In the latest Strategy With Kristy podcast, DiVella discussed some key hands he had along the way.

Day 2 of the 2012 Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Queenstown Snowfest Main Event came to a close on Friday. Find out who advanced to Day 3 in our daily ANZPT recap.

Cantor Prepares for Online Poker in California

On Friday, Cantor Gaming and Horse Racing United announced an exclusive agreement under which Cantor would develop an Internet poker platform once online poker is legalized in California.

Cantor Gaming, which operates race and sports books across seven Las Vegas resorts, would provide Horse Racing United the technology and supporting infrastructure to operate an online poker site within state lines. The agreement is subject to Horse Racing United receiving a license to operate an intrastate gambling website. Horse Racing United is a not-for-profit organization representing the interests of substantially all Thoroughbred racing and breeding within California.

Horse Racing United and Cantor Gaming are both supporters of Senate Bill 1463, which was introduced in California last February. The bill seeks to generate “hundreds of millions of dollars” for the state in the fiscal year 2012-13. California is facing one of its most concerning budgetary crises in its history, and many state politicians have looked to online gaming to help get the budget under control.

“As other states begin to move to legalize online gaming, California is well positioned to leverage its size and generate revenue that otherwise would not exist,” said Lee M. Amaitis, president and CEO of Cantor Gaming. “If enacted, it will provide additional support to California’s horse racing industry.”

The online poker deal is the second made by Cantor Gaming in California. Last month, the company agreed to provide mobile gaming for Colusa Casino Resort.

Read more in Cantor Gaming’s press release.

New Watches for EPT Winners

When Season 9 of the European Poker Tour kicks off next month, a new piece of hardware will be up for grabs at every stop.

Each of the six EPT Main Event winners will receive a “Black and Steel” design Slyde by HD3 watch worth “5,480. In addition, the winner of the PokerStars.com and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final will receive a “Black and Rose Gold” design a retail value of “9,000.

“The EPT is delighted to be working with Slyde by HD3, and are very pleased to be offering our winners these beautiful watches as part of their prize,” said EPT President Edgar Stuchly. “We are looking forward to an exciting Season 9, and the fact that we are working with such a prestigious brand of luxury Swiss watches shows the appeal of the European Poker Tour to companies outside of poker.”

Season 9 gets under way Aug. 15 in Barcelona. The tour then makes stops in San Remo, Prague, the Bahamas, Deauville, London, and Berlin before the Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final in May 2013.

The full EPT schedule can be found right here at PokerNews.com.

888poker Revenue Skyrockets

888 Holdings Plc, which operates 888poker.com, announced this week that poker revenues for the second quarter of 2012 were up 59 percent over Q2 of 2011. Revenue reached $20 million from April 1 through June 30 of this year, up from $13 million last year.

888 also had 378,000 active business-to-consumer customers in the second quarter, a 63 percent increase over the same quarter last year. The company said the numbers were “primarily boosted by ongoing product improvements, targeted marketing and effective CRM.”

888 CEO Brian Mattingly credited the positive results to the company’s marketing campaigns and market-leading customer relationship management. “We have the right product offering and back office capabilities to grow and sustain market share, as indicated by the success in building a significant market share in the newly regulated Spanish poker market,” Mattingly said in a statement.

888poker has done well in the new Spanish gaming market, which opened early last month. According to PokerScout.com, 888poker.es ranks second to PokerStars.es in real-money ring game traffic. Meanwhile, 888poker’s dot-com offering ranks fourth overall behind PokerStars, iPoker and PartyPoker.

Read the full financial report at 888′s website.

Declarations in Queenstown

Liam O’Rourke won’t agree that he crushes online poker tournaments. We’ll let you be the judge after his chat with PokerNews’ Nicki Pickering during the ANZPT Queenstown Main Event.

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