November 02 2011, Brett Collson

With the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table just days away, many of the November Niners have touched down in Sin City to begin preparations for the biggest spectacle in poker. In the meantime, The Nightly Turbo brings you the latest from the Groupe Bernard Tapie agreement with the Department of Justice, a new list of the hottest women in poker, and more.

In Case You Missed It

Kevin Schaffel was a member of the 2009 November Nine but hasn’t been around much lately. We caught up with Schaffel to find out what he’s been up to in this edition of Where Are They Now.

The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour is headed to Macau this month. If you’re planning a trip, then find out all you need to know in the PokerNews Jet Set.

Did you miss Tuesday’s coverage the World Series of Poker on ESPN? Check out our recap to find out who made the 2011 November Nine!

Late last week, Genting opened New York City’s first casino. Read more about that and the recent gaming growth in Asia in the latest edition of Inside Gaming.

Daniel Santoro is the latest World Poker Tour champion after winning the World Poker Tour Finals at Foxwoods Tuesday night. Get all the details of the final table in our daily recap.

The World Poker Tour stop in Amneville kicked off Tuesday with Day 1a of the “3,200 Main Event. Nicolas Babel led the charge as 114 of the 176 players survived the first day of play.

Tapie: FTP Purchase Could Be Finalized Within 15 Days

On Wednesday, Laurent Tapie confirmed to iGamingFrance that the principle agreement between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the Department of Justice had been reached. Tapie, who serves as the Managing Director of the French investment group, says that an agreement for the purchase of Full Tilt Poker could be finalized in the next 15 days.

The deal stipulates that Groupe Bernard Tapie will repay Full Tilt Poker customers outside of the United States, and the Department of Justice will reimburse players in the U.S. Tapie didn’t reveal the exact terms of the agreement, but he told iFranceGaming that the payment terms are “defined.”

The news comes one day after Subject:Poker released an email from Tiltware CEO Ray Bitar to shareholders about the sale of the company. Final details are currently being worked out between Groupe Bernard Tapie and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Once a deal is in place, Groupe Bernard Tapie will be able to propose a deal to the Full Tilt Poker shareholders.

You can find more about this story at iGamingFrance.com.

Jennifer Harman is the Hottest Woman in Poker

In response to an article in WPT Magazine that listed the “Top 20 Hottest Women In Poker,” Woman Poker Player magazine came up with its own list of the “hottest female poker players” this week. This list, though, isn’t ranking women by their physical attributes. Writer Earl Burton orders the women based on their accomplishments at the poker table.

Two-time bracelet winner Jennifer Harman topped the list, and the controversial Annie Duke came in at No. 2. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst was listed third, and Kathy Liebert and Linda Johnson rounded out the top five. Johnson, who was recently voted into the Poker Hall of Fame, doesn’t measure up to the aforementioned women as far tournament earnings go, but we’re not about to question the merit of the “First Lady of Poker” on any poker-related top 10 list.

The bottom half of the top 10 was occupied by J.J. Liu, Victoria Coren, Barbara Enright, Lucy Rokach and Cyndy Violette, respectively.

We were a little surprised to see Liv Boeree, Annette Obrestad and Vanessa Rousso missing from the list. Obrestad and Rousso are both among the top five on the all-time money list for women, and Boeree isn’t far behind. And where is Shaun Deeb?

Read more at WomanPokerPlayer.com.

Online Poker Traffic Update

The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a worldwide increase of 2.2 percent from the prior week, mostly because of PokerStars and its 70 Billionth Hand promotion.

Traffic at PokerStars climbed nearly 6 percent for the week as the site maintained a stranglehold on the No. 1 slot. PartyPoker held a slim advantage over iPoker at No. 2, while 888poker and OnGame rounded out the Top 5.

The Merge Network continued to see an increase since re-opening its doors to new U.S. customers, but the growth level tailed off a bit after rising 21 percent over the previous two weeks. Last week’s traffic increase at Merge was just 1 percent, but the network held its position above the Entraction Network, iPoker.it and Bodog for the No. 10 ranking worldwide.

As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout’s ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 31 percent in the last year. That number is mostly due to the stoppage at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, but OnGame.fr (down 36 percent) and the Cake Poker Network (down 22 percent) have also seen significant dips since last November. 888poker (up 84 percent) and Bodog (up 63 percent) are among the biggest climbers over the past year.

Get the full report at PokerScout.com.

L.A. Poker Open Under Way

The L.A. Poker Open kicked off at Commerce Casino on Wednesday with the first of 20 events on the slate. The series will run through Nov. 21 and conclude with a $2,085 buy-in Championship Event with a $600,000 guaranteed prize pool. The winner is expected to take home at least $150,000.

The L.A. Poker Open is offering a wide variety of games during the series, including seven card stud eight or better, Omaha eight or better, H.O.R.S.E., and a smaller buy-in ($125) no-limit hold’em turbo event, which is offering a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool.

“Many players are expanding the types of poker they are playing and it’s our goal at Commerce Casino to offer tournaments for every player in every type of poker play,” said Commerce Casino manager Jeff Harris.

The full L.A. Poker Open schedule can be found at CommerceCasino.com.

PokerNews Nominated for Affiliate Award

The nominations are in for the Fifth Annual iGB Affiliate Awards, and we’re excited to announce that PokerNews.com is up for the award of Best Poker Affiliate! The honor recognizes the poker affiliate that has excelled most in 2010-2011. When selecting their choice, voters are asked to consider criteria such as volume of traffic, innovation, reputation with players, and brand power.

Wait… did someone say power?

Voting will be open until Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. Cast your vote for PokerNews!

Are you following PokerNews on Twitter? Like us on Facebook while you’re at it, and sign up for the newsletter. You know you want to.

Follow Brett Collson on Twitter – @brettcollson

October 19 2011, Brett Collson

On Tuesday, PokerNews learned that Congress is set to discuss online poker at a hearing taking place next week. That could be good news for PartyPoker, which is currently preparing for a potential return to the U.S. market. In this edition of the Nightly Turbo, we bring you details on the upcoming U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee hearing on Internet gaming, the latest comments from bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan, and more.

In Case You Missed It

We know how taxing the grind of the live tournament circuit can be. In our most recent Stay Stacked series, Lynn Gilmartin reveals a natural bodily function that could be the one key element missing from your game.

Phil Hellmuth’s Team Americas squad bested Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier’s Team Europe in the Caesars Cup on Wednesday. Get all the details of the match in our recap.

Did you miss Tuesday’s coverage the World Series of Poker on ESPN? Check out our recap to find out who advanced to Day 8 of the Main Event!

The PokerNews Podcast was back in Cannes, France, on Wednesday. The crew discussed the World Series of Poker Europe and was joined by November Niner Sam Holden to talk about how he’s preparing for the Main Event final table.

Only 25 players advanced to Day 4 of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. Find out who the leaders were in our daily recap from Cannes.

PartyPoker Eyes Return To U.S. Market

Before the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, PartyPoker was the top dog in the world of online poker. It boasted more than 40 percent of the worldwide online poker revenue in 2005, according to its operator, PartyGaming, and was still growing by the day.

Things changed in 2006 as PartyPoker struck a $105 million deal with the Department of Justice and withdrew from the U.S. market. The company was forced to sit idly on the sidelines and wait patiently for the day it could return to the States.

That day could be rapidly approaching, according to bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Ryan revealed that he’s spent three of the past five weeks traveling across the U.S. showcasing his newly-merged company to potential investors. One of Ryan’s biggest selling points is a chart that shows the top three online poker sites - PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and UB/Absolute Poker – crossed out in red symbolizing their exit from the U.S. market following Black Friday.

With that, Ryan believes the online poker brand that has the most consumer awareness in the States is his brand, PartyPoker. And while he acknowledged that there’s no guarantee that online poker will be regulated in the U.S., Ryan believes it is important to prepare for any future possibilities.

“My focus is on the U.S.,” Ryan told Forbes. “Even though there is no guarantee that online gaming will ever be regulated in the U.S.”

Read the full story at Forbes.com.

Congress to Hold Hearing on Online Poker

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing on Internet gaming. Among the topics of discussion will be the merits of Congressman Joe Barton’s (R-TX) Online Poker Act of 2011 (HR 2366). Barton is one of the members of the subcommittee.

The Poker Players Alliance is encouraging the poker community to reach out to the subcommittee requesting that the members support online poker at the hearing. The organization also sent an email to its members on Tuesday with a brief statement about its game plan leading up to the Oct. 25 hearing: “The PPA and its lobbying team will continue to meet with members of the subcommittee and their staffs leading up to next week’s hearing. We will be asking PPA members whose U.S. Representative is a member of this committee to contact their member directly before the hearing.”

Read more about the hearing in the latest PPA newsletter.

Online Poker Traffic Update

The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a traffic increase of 2.1 percent, mostly because of a huge boom at PokerStars. The site unveiled its first Double Vision Sunday, which generated more than $4 million in prize pools across its two weekly flagship tournaments, the Sunday Million and Sunday Warm-Up.

Six of the top 10 sites saw traffic declines over the past week. PokerStars saw a rise of 8 percent since last week, but most of that gain was likely due to a tracking error from the previous week. The Merge Gaming Network also gained steam after re-opening its doors to new U.S. players. The network saw a 7 percent increase in traffic over last week, and the day-by-day numbers indicate that the traffic boom has been closer to 15 percent.

As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout’s ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 32 percent in the last year. The Merge Gaming Network and Bodog have seen increases of 55 percent in the wake of Black Friday, but PokerStars (down 20 percent) and the Cake Poker Network (down 20 percent) have taken massive hits since 2010.

Get the full report at PokerScout.com.

PokerStars Launches Time Tourneys

On Wednesday, PokerStars launched a new tournament format never seen before on the virtual felts. Time Tourneys break the mold of traditional poker tournaments that continue until one player has all the chips. The new events will last for a set period and divide the prize pool among the remaining players based on their stack sizes.

The length of Time Tourneys ranges between 15 and 180 minutes. The new tournaments are offered around the clock for a wide range of buy-ins starting as low as $1.

“Time Tourneys are going to be so much fun,” said Team PokrStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. “I often want to play a tournament but don’t have hours to spare, so these are just perfect. I think Time Tourneys are also going to be intense, because as the clock ticks down there’s going to be even more action. I can’t wait to get playing them!”

For more information on Time Tourneys, visit PokerStars.com.

Phil Galfond: Pirate Model?

We couldn’t help but bring this to your attention. A thread was created over at TwoPlusTwo with a picture of a Phil Galfond “clone” modeling a pirate Halloween costume. Have a look:

Funny? Sure. It looks a little bit like him. But it was Galfond’s response within the thread that made it an instant classic:

Hey Guys,
After Black Friday, I was pretty panicked. I got work wherever I could find it.
GL!
-Phil

As usual, the Photoshop masters at TwoPlusTwo are having some fun with this one.

Here’s our personal favorite:

Check out the full thread at TwoPlusTwo.

WSOPE 2011: City and Venue Tour

With the World Series of Poker Europe is coming to a close, PokerNews’ Kristy Arnett took a tour through Cannes and the Hôtel Majestic Barrière.

Are you following PokerNews on Twitter? Like us on Facebook while you’re at it, and sign up for the newsletter. You know you want to.

Follow Brett Collson on Twitter – @brettcollson