October 26 2012, Brett Collson, Pamela Maldonado

In Case You Missed It

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.

The October Nine is right around the corner. What has Jeremy Ausmus done to prepare for the biggest final table of his life? Find out in his interview with PokerNews.

Dominik Nitsche added a World Poker Tour title to his WSOP bracelet on Friday. Take a look at his domination of the WPT South Africa final table in our WTPSA recap.

Kristy Arnett returned with her Strategy With Kristy strategy podcast on Friday. This week, Kristy was joined by Andrew Moreno and Lincoln Garner for Part 2 of her Live Cash Game Grinders series.

The 2012 PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Melbourne Main Event kicked off on Thursday. High-stakes regular Billy Jordanou enjoyed a great day in his hometown, finishing Day 1a as the chip leader.

Rich Ryan went 8-0 in his NFL bets last week. But he learned a valuable lesson after this week’s Thursday Night game. Ryan discusses that and gives his picks for the rest of Week 8 in the latest Pigskin Diaries.

Did you miss anything from the past week? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Lynn Gilmartin broke down all the big stories in the PokerNews Weekly.

Inside Ungar’s Mind

Stu Unger is often regarded as the greatest poker player ever. Affectionately known as “The Kid,” he is one of only two players to win the World Series of Poker Main Event three times. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2001, three years after he passed away from a heart condition.

Up until recently, there was little visual evidence of Ungar’s abilities at a poker table. Aside from limited television coverage of Ungar at the WSOP, most of what we about him comes from those who played against him during his prime. Mike Sexton, for example, once called Ungar the “most talented player who’s ever walked on the planet Earth.”

Last week, however, WSOP.com Managing Editor Jess Welman stumbled upon some pieces of poker history that offer some insight into Ungar’s playing style. While doing some research for the upcoming WSOP Main Event final table, Welman found the hand-for-hand coverage of WSOP Main Event final tables from 1995 until 2000. The reporting was done by Tom Sims, who relayed all of the action into a micro-cassette recorder and later wrote it down.

Welman shared the pieces of poker history with the community this week. And taking it one step further was poker pro Clayton Newman, who looked over each hand from the 1997 WSOP Main Event final table won by Ungar and examined the play using statistics and data used in the analytical approach to today’s game.

Newman’s findings shed some light on why Ungar was levels above most poker players of his time. “Ungar played like a solid lagTAG, vpip in the low thirties and PFR in the low twenties,” Newman said after studying the entire final table. “I also like that he kept his raises on the smaller side (3.5x to 3x), as I’m told most live pros would routinely 4x or 5x it and would have inconsistent preflop raise sizing (3x with 55, 6x with AK etc). Ungar stayed consistent and on the smaller side.”

We highly recommend taking the time to read through Newman’s analysis. You can find it in his blog at LeggoPoker.com.

2012 Prague Poker Festival

The 2012 Prague Poker Festival is set to kick off in one month, and tournament organizer Living it Loving it has unveiled three-week schedule that includes more than 30 poker tournaments from the World Poker Tour, PokerStars European Poker Tour, Grand Series of Poker (GSOP), and more.

The festival kicks off on Tuesday, Nov. 27 with a “2,200 buy-in World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters Main Event, and concludes with the “1,100 buy-in Grand Series of Poker Main Event final table on Saturday, Dec. 15. Sandwiched in between those events will be the “5,300 EPT Main Event and the “3,300 PartyPoker WPT Prague Main Event, as well as tournaments organized by King’s, 888 and Planet Win 365.

Organizers of the Prague Poker Festival announced that they will be handing out free seats to the World Poker Tour Prague Main Event to show gratitude to the players for their continued support of the festival. Any player who busts on Day 1a of WPT Prague can head to the cage and register for a Day 1b freeroll where a Main Event seat for Day 1C will be given away for every 11 entries into the freeroll.

If you’re interested in taking part in the action in Prague, check out the schedule at PraguePokerFestival.com.

PokerStars’ Prompt Payouts

Earlier this month, non-U.S. Full Tilt Poker customers were reassured they would be repaid by PokerStars on Nov. 6 as part of the deal with the U.S. Department of Justice. But payday could come sooner for FTP players who reside in France.

According to CasinoChoice, French poker players with money still frozen on FullTiltPoker.fr could begin the reimbursement process as early as next week. French regulator ARJEL said in a statement Thursday that “the date of effective implementation of the reimbursement process of players is Nov. 2, 2012.”

Last month, the ARJEL issued a statement indicating that PokerStars has set up a trust fund to ensure that repayment of FullTiltPoker.fr players goes smoothly. Members of the ARJEL board formed a procedure by which players could verify their identities and transfer funds to their bank accounts. That procedure will be in place by Nov. 2, according to the report.

Once the reimbursement process in France is ready to go, players will transfer the funds from their Full Tilt Poker account to their PokerStars.fr account. Full Tilt Poker customers living in Spain, Denmark, Estonia, and Belgium will be also repaid through the locally licensed PokerStars platform. In all other markets (except the U.S. and Italy), Full Tilt Poker customers will have full access to their accounts when FullTiltPoker.com relaunches.

PokerStars is continuing to work with Italian regulators, and the details will be announced as soon as possible.

CasinoChoice has more on the story.

COPA Crumbles

They were all-in, but now it’s all over for the California Online Poker Association (COPA).

The California group, created two years ago to lobby for online gambling, folded its efforts this week after legislators failed to pass a handful of bills. COPA barreled $1.2 million on lobbying in the first half of 2012 alone, outspending companies like Chevron and the California Teachers Association.

During COPA’s two-year run, a handful of proposed bills fell through the cracks as interest dissipated or the state could not agree upon the financial rewards for who would be involved.

The COPA operating agreement stated the organization would dissolve if advancement within legislation had not been made by Jan. 2, 2013. “The decision was based upon insufficient progress within the Legislature toward the passage of an online poker bill,” Ryan Hightower, the group’s spokesman, said in a statement.

The San Manuel and Morongo tribes are two groups involved with COPA that are keeping the faith in seeing online gambling happen in California. But both believe it will just take time. “The politics over Internet poker over the last two years simply has not caught up with modern technology’s inroads into California gaming economics,” said San Manuel Chairwoman Carla Rodriguez.

Efforts within the group might be reassessed if legislation makes some headway in 2013′s proceedings.

Read more at the Sacramento Bee and The Press Enterprise.

Full Tilt Poker’s Ad Campaign

Full Tilt Poker’s growth in becoming the world’s second largest real-money poker site had a lot to do with its television ads. The sleek, black and white images of high-profile pros like Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius are forever entrenched into the minds of many poker enthusiasts.

As the popular saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” On Thursday, FTP unveiled some of the new TV spots set to debut outside of the U.S. after the site’s relaunch on Nov. 6. They might look a little familiar:

Check out all four ads at Youtube.com.

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October 25 2012, Brett Collson

A multi-million dollar sports betting operation was exposed by authorities this week, and two people with close ties to the poker community were involved. We’ll bring you that story, plus Dominik Nitsche eyeing his first World Poker Tour title, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Want to learn more about the mysterious high-stakes cash games in Macau? Chad Holloway takes a look at some of the key players you might not know.

The October Nine is right around the corner. What has Michael Esposito done to prepare for the biggest final table of his life? Find out in his interview with PokerNews.

Jason Mercier maintained his lead in the Global Poker Index this week. But is he in danger of falling from the top spot? Mickey Doft takes a look at the biggest movers and shakers of the GPI.

The 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event was filled with exciting and unusual scenarios. Rich Ryan is breaking down the top 10 moments from poker’s biggest stage.

Lead photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour

Busted

Two men with close ties to the poker community have been arrested for their involvement in an illegal sports betting ring that has captivated the online gambling world this week.

Steve Diano

Former Full Tilt Poker Red Pro Paul Sexton, 29, and World Series of Poker regular Steve Diano, 48, are among 25 people being variously charged with promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy. They each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

According to the indictment, Sexton acted as an agent/money collector in the multi-million dollar sports betting operation between April 13, 2011 and Oct. 18, 2012. The enterprise, dubbed World Wide Wagers, is accused of illegally accepting more than $50 million in bets on horse races, pro and college football, basketball, hockey and baseball during that time span.

Diano allegedly served as bookmaker and was charged with enterprise corruption, money laundering, and conspiracy. A regular at the World Series of Poker during the past decade, Diano has nearly $240,000 in live poker tournament cashes, including a pair of WSOP final tables. One of those final tables, shown on ESPN in 2005, also featured Paul Sexton’s father, Keith.

Small world.

According to the indictment, the illegal gambling charges involve Pinnacle Sports, an offshore online gambling website that exited the U.S. market in 2007. The ring allegedly used nontraditional “wire rooms” such as PinnacleSports.com whereby bettors and agents could place sports wagers.

For more in the story, read the article here at PokerNews.com.

Nitsche Leads WPT South Africa

The inaugural World Poker Tour Emperors Palace Poker Classic, dubbed WPT South Africa, played down to a six-handed final table on Thursday. The $3,600 buy-in Main Event, which attracted 223 entrants, will see the winner take home $206,153.

German poker pro Dominik Nitsche will enter the final table as the massive chip leader, boasting more than 40 percent of the chips in play. With a victory, the 21-year-old Nitsche would add a second leg to the Poker Triple Crown after winning a World Series of Poker bracelet earlier this year.

Nitsche amassed his giant stack late on Day 3, eliminating six consecutive players as the field moved closer to the final table. He busted Gareth Kalil (13th place – $8,834), Mike Robertson (12th place – $10,307), Rudolf Fourie (11th place – $10,307), Peter Khan (10th place – $10,307) , Muaaz Gani in (9th place – $13,252), and Ryan Price (8th place – $18,405). Then, on the final table bubble, Sunil Devachander was all in with against William Ross’ , and a queen-high board sent Devachander off to pick up his $25,031 payday, securing the final table in the process.

Here’s a look at the six members of the inaugural World Poker Tour Emperors Palace Poker Classic:

For an in-depth look at all of the highlights from Day 3, check out the World Poker Tour Live Updates page.

Federal Bill Gaining Support

According to multiple reports Thursday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has fully endorsed a federal online gambling bill drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Jon Kyl.

Sandoval, the former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, wrote a letter to the congressional leaders Thursday offering his full support of their efforts to legalize forms of Internet gambling like poker. The bill could come up when Congress reconvenes after the Nov. 6 election for a lame-duck session.

“While many states have long-standing proficiency in regulating brick-and-mortar gaming within their boundaries, the advent of Internet gaming has introduced a borderless element that state regulation alone cannot address,” Sandoval wrote.

“As Congress considers legislation to address the uncertainty surrounding Internet gaming, I offer my full support to the efforts by Sens. Harry Reid and John [sic] Kyl to draft a federal bill that strikes a balance between consumer protection and maintaining state authority.”

The online gambling bill would seek to legalize online poker and establish a framework for it to be regulated on the federal level. Sen. Dean Heller, who has worked with Kyl to promote the measure, believes there is enough support in Congress to approve Internet poker because it is a game of skill, unlike other casino games where gamblers play against the house.

The Hill has more.

Rob Salaburu’s RunGood

October Niner Rob Salaburu will be representing poker-themed clothing company RunGoodGear when he takes his seat at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table next week. Salaburu, who enters the final table seventh in chips with 15,155,000, will sport apparel from RunGoodGear’s online store along with the company’s signature patch.

“The RunGood office and I are ecstatic that Rob agreed to help represent our company,” said Tana Karn, founder and President of RunGoodGear.com. “We hope to send him all the run-good we can muster for his final stretch into poker history.”

One of the tee-shirt designs by RunGoodGear is taken from a memorable Salaburu quote during ESPN’s coverage of the Main Event. With Salaburu looking on during a key moment at the feature table, David Balkin misread the hand of opponent Gaelle Baumann at showdown, thinking Baumann had a pair of jacks. She had actually rivered a flush against Balkin’s flopped set of tens.

As Balkin celebrated with his rail, Salaburu bluntly said to him, “You lost, bro.” Thus, a new poker catch phrase was born.

Salaburu isn’t the only 2012 Octo-Niner who inked a sponsorship deal since July. Steve Gee signed with PokerAce.com; Jeremy Ausmus will be endorsing Hog Wild Poker and social media company TTAGIT Social Networks Inc.; and Jesse Sylvia, Russell Thomas and Jake Balsiger will be wearing 888poker gear.

For more, visit RunGoodGear.com.

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