Alex Rodriguez’s appetite for poker has created problems for him in the past. He’s facing more scrutiny this week involving a charity poker tournament from 2006. We’ll bring you that story, plus the latest on Zynga’s real-money online gaming plans, in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It:

Online poker was legalized in New Jersey on Tuesday. When will the state have real-money games up and running? Matthew Kredell spoke with Sen. Ray Lesniak to find out.

Day 3 of the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic wrapped up on Monday. 2012 Octo-Niner Jeremy Ausmus was the only player to eclipse the 1 million-chip mark.

CardRunners instructor Daniel “Markuis” Marks is a heads-up no-limit hold’em specialist. In his latest free training video, Marks discusses meta game, adjusting pot-to-stack ratios versus habitual three-bettors, making reads, and more.

Jonathan Tamayo won the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Main Event early Tuesday morning. Get the full recap here at PokerNews.com.

Web-based show Game Theory has become quite popular during its first three weeks of airing. Chad Holloway spoke with director Aidin Nakjai to find out more about the show.

A-Rod’s Error

In 2006, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez teamed up with celebrities for a charity poker tournament to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Miami. The event, dubbed the 2nd Annual Dewar’s 12 Hold’em Poker Tournament, attracted a who’s who of A-list artists and athletes, including Michael Jordan, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Lenny Kravitz, Vin Diesel, and Gary Sheffield. Phil Hellmuth was even invited to emcee and offer poker tips to the tournament’s 300 guests.

All proceeds from the tournament went to the A-Rod Family Foundation. When it was all said and done, the event raised more than $400,000 toward Rodriguez’s charitable foundation. It was deemed an incredible success.

But questions are now being raised about whether money raised in that event actually went where it was supposed to go.

According to a report by the Boston Globe, Rodriguez’s foundation only donated 1% of the money it raised from the poker tournament. The Globe reported that the foundation used the money to make a $5,000 donation to the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund and a $90 donation to a Little League team in Miami. The rest? Your guess is as good as ours.

On top of that, the Globe reports that A-Rod’s foundation stopped submitting mandatory financial reports to the IRS later that year. Thus, it was stripped of its tax-exempt status.

Apparently, Rodriguez isn’t the only athlete to fall short on charitable promises. Read the full Boston Globe story for more.

Zynga’s Picus Addresses Real-Money Gaming

During a Morgan Stanley conference in San Francisco on Monday, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus discussed his intentions to launch real-money gaming in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. Although Pincus didn’t provide much new information regarding the company’s real-money gaming plans, he said that the company will offer something different from most gambling sites by focusing on making social gambling games.

“We’re not the company to win the hardcore real-money gamers,” Pincus said. “But we think we are for the mass market audience.”

The hype of real-money gambling stemmed from Zynga’s deal with U.K.-based poker company bwin.party Digital Entertainment last October. The deal will see the two companies launch real-money games such as poker, slots, roulette, and blackjack in the first half of 2013.

According to allthingsd.com, ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino are expected to launch in the U.K. by the end of June. Additional platforms are expected to launch during the first half of the year.

While Zynga’s plans in the U.K. move forward, the company has also begun the process of getting licensed as an operator in Nevada. As of Tuesday, only Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey had approved some form of online gaming in the U.S., but others like California could soon follow suit. Zynga’s headquarters are located in San Francisco.

Despite the company’s ambition and partnerships, not all has gone smoothly for Zynga during the past year. The company announced on Monday that it was cutting about 30 employees and closing or consolidating offices in Baltimore, New York, and Texas. Baltimore was home to a game studio that focused on CityVille2, which is now shutting down because of poor performance. The company will also be closing Texas offices in McKinney and downtown Austin, but employees in those offices will be given the opportunity to relocate to Dallas and North Austin.

CNET.com has more.

Road to 100 Billion

PokerStars is about to hit another milestone en route to its “Road to 100 Billion” promotion. On Tuesday, the world’s leading poker site began the countdown to its 95 billionth hand. To celebrate the momentous occasion, PokerStars will be giving away up to $1 million in prizes!

More than 300 players will cash in on the promotion, with prizes being awarded to players dealt into every one millionth hand from 94,700,000,000 to 95,000,000,000. The winner of the Mega Milestone hand will collect at least $20,000, so if you’re playing in a regular ring game next week make sure that you keep an eye on the lobby for the real-time count on the number of hands dealt.

In November, PokerStars player “m1sspiggy” was the lucky winner of the 90 Billionth Hand promotion. At a six-handed $1/$2 no-limit hold’em table, “m1sspiggy” and five other players moved all-in preflop for a shot at the milestone prize, and the flopped two pair of “m1sspiggy” was good enough to win the $1,220 main pot, plus another $66,380 for winning the promotion. The other five players split $162,150, with each receiving at least $14,000.

“m1sspiggy” won the 90 Billionth Hand promotion

For more information on the 95 Billionth Hand promotion, check out PokerStars.com.

EPT Grand Final Schedule

PokerStars recently announced the details for the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final. The EPT’s end-of-season finale will take place at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort in Monaco May 6 through 15, offering a range of side events and – for the first time – live cash games.

This year’s series will have a total of 50 events including the “100,000 Super High Roller, the “25,000 High Roller, the “10,300 High Roller Turbo, and a “1,000 buy-in event with a “500,000 guaranteed. As you may recall from last year, Dan Smith turned the EPT Grand Final side events into his own personal playground, winning three “5,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments for more than $488,000.

The series will close with the flagship “10,600 Main Event. Last year, Mohsin Charania added his name to a prestigious list of EPT Grand Final Main Event winners by beating Lucille Cailly heads-up for the $1,782,343.

For a look at the schedule, check out europeanpokertour.com.

Edible Poker Table

Chicago Bulls forward Richard “Rip” Hamilton celebrated his 35th birthday this past weekend. Apparently, the basketball star is a big poker fan, so his friends had this awesome cake made for him:

The four figures playing poker represent Hamilton during his playing days with the UConn Huskies, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls. According to Hamilton, his mini depictions were even edible.

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Check out the original source here! Originally from PokerNews.com

August 07 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

Yes, it’s already Sunday, and in less than 24 hours, you’ll be back at your desk with the Monday blues. At least you’ll be caught up on the week’s top poker stories. Find out what the Alderney Gambling Control Commission had to say about Full Tilt Poker’s overdue license fees, A-Rod’s connection to some high-stakes poker games, and more.

AGCC’s Statement on FTP’s Overdue License Fees

Friday afternoon, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission released a statement regarding Full Tilt Poker’s overdue license fees. According to reports, the fees were around $410,000.

“The recent payment of overdue licence fees by FTP is also in players’ best interests since it allows commercial negotiations to take place that might result in a successful refinancing deal.”

The AGCC reiterated that the reason for the adjournment of the hearing on July 16 was because the Commissioners felt it was “in the best interest of the players using Full Tilt Poker’s services.”

There is still no date or venue set for the next hearing, which will be held no later than Sept. 15.

For more, go to GamblingControl.org.

Not Just a Baseball Player

Alex Rodriguez could be in some hot water. According to RadarOnline.com and Star, the Yankees third baseman, allegedly participated in underground poker games after being warned by Major League Baseball to stay away from them.

ESPN New York’s Wallace Matthews spoke with an MLB executive who said: “We’re talking to people involved in the investigation and we’re taking this very seriously. Because he had been warned about this before, I would say a possible suspension would be very much in play.”

The games, which were organized by Molly Bloom, who also organized the high-stakes games Tobey Maguire has been associated with, were hosted in Beverly Hills at the mansion of record-label owner Cody Leibel.

Poker pro Dan Bilzerian spoke to Star about the game, saying, “Molly ran one game at Cody’s mansion. [One player] got all coked up. Everyone had to chase Cody down for the money, and he later paid me a sum and gave me a watch but stiffed me for $100,000.”

According to RadarOnline.com, Rodriguez tried to distance himself from the drama. That game wasn’t the only one Rodriguez allegedly attended. RadarOnline.com is reporting that the slugger allegedly set up his own high-stakes game in Miami with the help of Bloom.

There’s plenty more about A-Rod’s relationship with Bloom and how much he lost at RadarOnline.com.

Home of the Leprechauns

The World Poker Tour announced that it would be adding a stop in Ireland in 2012. The WPT Ireland will take place Jan. 5 through 8. The “2,500 buy-in event will be sponsored by PKR and will incorporate the Irish Poker Championships that was formerly held in Galway.

“We are excited to be join with our partner PKR.com to bring the World Poker Tour to Ireland for the very first time. The history and heritage of poker in the Emerald Isle make it a tremendous tour stop and the beautiful City West Hotel and all of its top-notch accommodations will make this a memorable event,” said Adam Pliska, president of the World Poker Tour.

WPT Ireland, which will be held at City West Hotel, is the first event of a three-year deal with the WPT.

“We are delighted to partner with the World Poker Tour to bring an event to Ireland for the very first time. Dublin will be a fantastic tour stop and we think the combination of high quality poker and the Irish spirit of fun will draw players from all over the world,” said Simon Prodger, marketing director for PKR.

Find out more at UK.PokerNews.com.

Epic Qualification

The qualifying period for Season One of the Epic Poker League is closed. Didn’t make it? There’s always Season Two, and would you look at that, the qualification requirements have already been posted.

The Season Two qualification period, which ends July 31, 2012, is based on five criteria: adjusted lifetime earnings, number of major titles, when the major titles were earned, adjusted earnings since Jan. 1, 2009, and adjusted number of cashes since Jan. 1, 2009.

Thanks to this table from the Epic Poker League Season Two Criteria PDF, you can check out exactly what you need to qualify in a nice little package.

*One of the three major titles must have been earned in the period between Aug. 1, 2007, and July 31, 2012.

For more on the qualification requirements and to see the full list of Season One qualified players, go to EpicPoker.com.

Congratulations!

The Women in Poker Hall of Fame has announced its 2011 class of inductees. The event takes place Sept. 2 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Kristy Gazes, Margie Heintz, and Phyllis Caro will be inducted at the ceremony. Gazes has over $1 million in career tournament earnings. Heintz is credited as being the first woman to ever deal at the World Series of Poker and even dealt at the 1977 WSOP Main Event final table that was televised on CBS. Caro, is the director of poker operations at Hollywood Park and is married to professional poker player and author Mike Caro.

These three women join, among others, Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, Linda Johnson, Marsha Waggoner, and Cyndy Violette in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.

To attend the event, you can purchase your tickets at WomensPokerHallOfFame.com.

No More U.S. Ads

If you’re a frequent PocketFiver, then you might notice that things look a little different on the website. PocketFives issued a statement Tuesday regarding the “state of affairs in online poker.” The owners of the site have decided to cease promoting any rake-based U.S.-facing poker rooms.

“I’d like to be clear that this should not be taken as a denouncement of any U.S.-facing room specifically, nor as a statement regarding the trustworthiness of the rooms that have decided to continue offering their services to U.S. players. We at P5s have a great deal of respect for a number of these companies and the individuals behind them. That said, after seeing all the issues Full Tilt and UB/AP have had returning player funds, combined with the current difficulty in payouts for the sites that continue to serve U.S. players, we can’t in good faith continue to recommend playing real money games,” wrote Adam Small.

For those of you in the U.S. who are looking to relocate, Small added that he and his team would be launching a service to help players relocate to countries where they will be able to continue to play online poker.

Read the entire statement at PocketFives.com.

Off to the Races

Breeders’ Cup Ltd announced Friday that it established a sponsorship deal with Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. No, Grinder didn’t buy a race horse recently, the sponsorship is for him. To answer your next question (why?), the Breeders’ Cup is hoping this sponsorship will attract poker players to pari-mutuel wagering and introduce them to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships that take place Nov. 4 through 5 at Churchill Downs.

“We believe that there is a strong cross-over between poker and horse racing, which has not yet been realized,” said Peter Rotondo, vice president of media and entertainment for Breeders’ Cup. “We’re thrilled to have a relationship with The Grinder which will allow for one of poker’s superstars to reach out to the poker world and educate them about the Breeders’ Cup and the over $160-million in liquidity during our two-day event.”

To promote the sponsorship, a promotional sweepstakes is being held where the winner will attend the Breeders’ Cup with Mizrachi.

“It’s an honor to be associated with such a well-known name as the Breeders’ Cup,” Mizrachi said. “I’ve long been a huge horse racing fan and I am pleased to have this opportunity to align myself with the richest horse racing event with such large wagering pools.”

ThoroughbredTimes.com has more.

Rules are Rules

Last weekend, the Poker Tournament Directors Association posted version 2011.1.0 of its Official TDA Rules. Fifty-five rules cover everything from general concepts to seating players; breaking and balancing tables to etiquette and penalties. We could get into them all here, but it’s all already on the Poker TDA website and you can even download to take to your home game.

The Poker TDA, founded by Matt Savage, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and David Lamb, has over 1,300 members in 39 countries.

Speaking of Matt Savage — perfect segue right? While we didn’t want to point out the pink elephant in the room, we’re sure you all have seen or heard of the Twitter battle going on between Matt Savage and Daniel Negreanu. Because you can’t say everything in 140 characters, Savage penned an op-ed on the subject that you can find at Pokerati.com.

If you want to check out the new rules, here they are at PokerTDA.com.

McLean Karr Wins in Macau

Shortly after the World Series of Poker ended for the summer, McLean Karr and buddies, Jeff Gross and David Silverman, packed up and flew to Shanghai for the World Aquatics Championships. They flew out to watch phenom Michael Phelps, who ended up with seven medals, four of which were gold. After the Championships, Karr, Gross, Silverman, and Phelps decided to hit the links at the world-renowned Mission Hills Golf Club.

To close out the trip, Karr decided to play in the HKD$100,000 buy-in high-roller event at the Poker King Club at StarWorld Macau. We’ve been told there were 20 entrants in the event, including Patrik Antonius and Tom Dwan. Antonius was the first one out of the tournament, but Dwan lasted a bit longer until he was knocked out by Karr in eighth place. Karr ended up outlasting the field to take home the HKD$809,000 first-place prize.

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