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Archive for November, 2011
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
There is more updated news on the Full Tilt Poker front as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to a deal that would see Groupe Bernard Tapie purchase the assets of the floundering online poker room: IF the current ownership agrees to forfeit those assets to the DOJ according to an article that appeared on money.cnn.com this past Friday.
The deal would call for the DOJ to make restitution to US players that have been unable to withdraw some $150 million from the site since Black Friday, while Groupe Bernard Tapie would take on the responsibility of repaying players from the rest of the world. However, it was implied by Full Tilt Poker attorney Jeff Ifrah that a 100% payment is not guaranteed, and that players would have to fill out a request to the DOJ.
If payments on account balances are not 100% guaranteed, it’s quite unlikely that the DOJ would honor Full Tilt Poker Points accumulated by players, some having amassed tens of thousands of dollars worth of these now potentially worthless points.
Groupe Bernard Tapie would shell out $80 million for the assets, which when combined with the up to $250 million owed by Full Tilt poker to players from the rest of the world makes this a huge amount of capitol to sink into the poker room.
By agreeing to forfeit their assets, Full Tilt Poker will have the civil complaints dropped against the site itself (although charges would still remain against key individuals specifically named by the DOJ).
Tags: Account Balances, Assets, Bernard Tapie, Black Friday, Civil Complaints, Cnn, Department Of Justice, Doj, Full Tilt Poker, Gbt, Money, online poker, Poker Players, Poker Room, Rest Of The World, Restitution, Tens Of Thousands, Thousands Of Dollars, Us Department Of Justice
Posted in Online Poker, Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Monday, November 21st, 2011
On the strength of his 3rd place finish in the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event Ben Lamb has a very good chance of becoming the first player to ever win the World Series of Poker Player of the Year award and the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year award in the same year.
With the 2,400 points Lamb earned for his WSOP Main Event finish, he has now passed Chris Moorman for the Card Player POY lead with 6,036 points –although Moorman is not too far behind with 5,875. Lamb is also in 2nd place on the Bluff Magazine POY Leader-Board trailing Eugene Katchalov by a tally of 1,077.38 to 988.10.
Other big movers from the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table included Champion Pius Heinz, who vaulted into 12th place, runner-up Martin Staszkowho is now in 29th place, and 4th place finisher Matt Giannetti who moved up to 31st place with the help of his WSOP finish and his recent win at the WPT Malta.
Here is a look at the current top 10 in the race for the 2011 Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Award:
- Ben Lamb: 6,036 points
- Chris Moorman: 5,875 points
- Oleksii Kovalchuk: 5,380 points
- Marvin Rettenmaier: 4,554 points
- Sam Stein: 4,505 points
- Elio Fox: 4,320 points
- Galen Hall: 4,284 points
- Sam Trickett: 4,096 points
- Eugene Katchalov: 4,048 points
- Matthew Waxman: 4,005 points
To take a look at the entire leader-board you can head over to CardPlayer.com
Tags: 988, Bluff Magazine, Card Player Magazine, Chris Moorman, Fox 4, Galen Hall, Giannetti, Leader Board, Matthew Waxman, Place Finisher, Poker Main Event, Poker Player, Rd Place, Rettenmaier, Th Place, Trickett, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, World Series Of Poker Player Of The Year, WPT
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
When a huge swath of your potential customer base is cut-off –as is the case for virtually all online poker enterprises and ancillary companies that have sprung-up around the online poker rooms– businesses will either have to adapt to the changing climate or slowly wither on the vine. For the online poker training site FloatTheTurn.com the answer seems to be, adapt and survive.
FloatTheTurn is an online poker training site specializing in Multi-Table Tournaments, founded by two-time WPT Champion Jonathan Little. In the new poker climate, with a smaller player base to find customers in, the choice presented to Little seemed to be to either jack-up the price of your product, or to appeal to more players by lowering the cost. Little has decided that dropping the price was the right way to go, and he not only dropped the price, he absolutely shredded it!
What would normally cost players $14.95/month + a one-time sign-up fee of $99.95 is now only $8/month with the sign-up fee waved!
In a press release Little explained his reasoning for slashing the price to FloatTheTurn.com in the following way: “When I heard that Netflix lost 800,000 subscribers after raising their prices, I knew I had to do the opposite… And if this new lower price helps me get 800,000 new subscribers, I wouldn’t complain,”
Little went on to explain, “It’s no secret that the poker industry has been struggling lately. With the exception of the World Series of Poker, participation in large buy-in tournaments has been dropping steadily in recent years. When I won the Foxwoods WPT event in 2008, there were 412 entrants. In 2011, there were only 189 entrants. Something has to be done to encourage more people to play or we’ll just end up with a handful of pros playing each other for insignificant prize pools. I’m hoping this new lower price will appeal to a much larger group of aspiring poker players and help them develop the skills and confidence they need to compete in today’s game.”
You can visit www.FloatTheTurn.com for more information
Tags: Champion, Changing Climate, Confidence, Customer Base, Handful, Jonathan, Netflix, Online Poker Rooms, Participation, Poker Players, Pools, Press Release, Series Of Poker, Slashes, Subscribers, Swath, Time Sign, Vine, World Series, World Series Of Poker
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Monday, November 14th, 2011
After a two-month delay (a la the World Series of Poker) the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event final table participants were back in action this past weekend, with the €1 million first-place prize-money on the line, and what a final table it was!
With a log-jam at the top of the leader-board entering play, Team Titan Poker’s Sam Trickett found himself leading the field, but not by very much. And with the likes of 2011 WSOP bracelet winner and POY candidate Oleksii Kovalchuk, French poker star Roger Hairabedian, Alexander Dovzhenko, and Mads Wissing still in the running, the Partouche Poker Tour title was within any player’s grasp.
That said, Trickett would prove to be too much for the rest of the table, and even a 2-to-1 chip disadvantage during heads-up play was not enough to keep the UK poker pro out of the winner’s circle. The win was the third score of the year for Trickett that totaled over $1 million in prize-money (the other two coming in high-roller events at the Aussie Millions) and his $4.5 million in tournament earnings for the year is starting to approach Erik Seidel territory!
Here is a look at how the final nine players finished at the 2011 Partouche poker Tour final table:
- Samuel Trickett — €1,000,000
- Salman Behbehani — €600,000
- Oleksii Kovalchuk — €379,760
- Ilan Boujenah — €300,000
- Roger Hairabedian — €230,000
- Alexander Dovzhenko — €190,000
- Mustapha Kanit — €160,000
- Alexandre Coussy — €130,000
- Mads Wissing — €100,000
Tags: 5 Million, Alexander Dovzhenko, Aussie Millions, Erik Seidel, Grasp, High Roller, Kanit, Leader Board, Log Jam, Mads, Main Event, Play Poker, Prize Money, Salman, Titan Poker, Tour Championship, Trickett, World Series, World Series Of Poker, WSOP
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
After one of the fiercest and hotly contested heads-up matches in World Series of Poker history, 22 year-old Heinz Pius became the second youngest player to ever win the WSOP Main Event, and the first German to capture the title (Henry Nowakowski is the only other German to reach the final table, which he did in 2001).
After Sunday’s action that saw Pius, Martin Staszko, and Ben Lamb reach Tuesday’s final three, most people expected the heads-up battle to be contested between Pius and Lamb, but Staszko decided to crash the party and proved to be more than the other two players could handle. In fact, Staszko and Lamb would tangle on the very first hand of the night, moving all-in pre-flop. The hand would leave Lamb crippled, with just over 10 Big Blinds in his stack, while Staszko would moved up to challenge Heinz Pius who controlled 50% of the chips in play at the start of the night.
Staszko would take over the chip lead on Hand 2 of the night, and would eliminate Lamb on hand 4. Once Lamb was eliminated the Staszko vs. Heinz duel lasted over 100 hands and saw the chip-lead change hands eight times before Pius Heinz was able to dispatch Staszko (who to virtually everyone’s surprise, turned out to be something of a heads-up specialist).
1. Pius Heinz — $8,715,638
2. Martin Staszko — $5,433,086
3. Ben Lamb — $4,021,138
4. Matt Giannetti — $3,012,700
5. Phil Collins — $2,269,599
6. Eoghan O’Dea — $1,720,831
7. Badih Bounahra — $1,314,097
8. Anton Makiievskyi — $1,010,015
9. Sam Holden — $782,115
Tags: Blinds, Change Hands, Chips, Dea, Eight Times, Heinz, Holden, Lamb, Moving, Nowakowski, Phil Collins, Series Of Poker, Stack, Surprise, World Champion, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Champion, World Series Of Poker History, Wsop Main Event
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Monday, November 7th, 2011
In what will likely go down as one of the most exciting and well-played World Series of Poker Main Event final tables in the modern era of poker, it was two of the odds-on favorites at the beginning of the day and a long-shot who would be left standing at the end of the night: Ben Lamb, Martin Staszko, and Pius Heinz.
Heinz chipped-up early and often, and even with a few minor stumbles held the chip-lead throughout most of the day. Staszko held steady most of the day, was grinded down during short-handed play, but eventually made a nice comeback to finish right around where he started. Lamb on the other hand had one of the most up-and-down days of anyone, with his stack routinely fluctuating between 15 million and 50 million.
The trio’s trip to the Tuesday’s final, final table came at the expense of Matt Giannetti who played a near-flawless game throughout the day. Unfortunately for Giannetti, the 26 year-old poker pro from Las Vegas ran into the “Run-Good” of Ben Lamb in a critical hand during 4-handed action. Lamb and Giannetti got it all-in with Lamb holding A7s against Giannetti’s JJ. A Flush draw on the flop opened the door for Lamb, and the deal was sealed with a 5th heart on the turn, crippling Giannetti and setting up a date between Lamb, Pius Heinz, and Martin Staszko on Tuesday.
Here is how the three will enter Tuesday’s action:
- Pius Heinz — 107,800,000
- Ben Lamb — 55,400,000
- Martin Staszko — 42,700,000
And here is how the rest of the players fared at the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table:
- Matt Giannetti — $3,012,700
- Phil Collins — $2,269,599
- Eoghan O’Dea — $1,720,831
- Bob Bounahra — $1,314,097
- Anton Makiievskyi — $1,010,015
- Sam Holden — $782,115
Tags: World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Monday, November 7th, 2011
In what will likely go down as one of the most exciting and well-played World Series of Poker Main Event final tables in the modern era of poker, it was two of the odds-on favorites at the beginning of the day and a long-shot who would be left standing at the end of the night: Ben Lamb, Martin Staszko, and Pius Heinz.
Heinz chipped-up early and often, and even with a few minor stumbles held the chip-lead throughout most of the day. Staszko held steady most of the day, was grinded down during short-handed play, but eventually made a nice comeback to finish right around where he started. Lamb on the other hand had one of the most up-and-down days of anyone, with his stack routinely fluctuating between 15 million and 50 million.
The trio’s trip to the Tuesday’s final, final table came at the expense of Matt Giannetti who played a near-flawless game throughout the day. Unfortunately for Giannetti, the 26 year-old poker pro from Las Vegas ran into the “Run-Good” of Ben Lamb in a critical hand during 4-handed action. Lamb and Giannetti got it all-in with Lamb holding A7s against Giannetti’s JJ. A Flush draw on the flop opened the door for Lamb, and the deal was sealed with a 5th heart on the turn, crippling Giannetti and setting up a date between Lamb, Pius Heinz, and Martin Staszko on Tuesday.
Here is how the three will enter Tuesday’s action:
- Pius Heinz — 107,800,000
- Ben Lamb — 55,400,000
- Martin Staszko — 42,700,000
And here is how the rest of the players fared at the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table:
- Matt Giannetti — $3,012,700
- Phil Collins — $2,269,599
- Eoghan O’Dea — $1,720,831
- Bob Bounahra — $1,314,097
- Anton Makiievskyi — $1,010,015
- Sam Holden — $782,115
Tags: 50 Million, Dea, Flawless Game, Giannetti, Heinz, Holden, Lamb, Las Vegas, Odds, Phil Collins, Poker Main Event, Poker Pro, Series Of Poker, Stack, Th Heart, World Series, World Series Of Poker, World Series Of Poker Main Event, Wsop Main Event
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The poker world let out a collective “ONE TIME” yesterday afternoon after learning that Groupe Bernard Tapie had come to an agreement with the US Department of Justice that would allow players from around the world to be repaid IF they can now convince 2/3 of Full Tilt Poker shareholders to sell to GBT.
Subject: Poker broke the story, posting an E-Mail sent to Full Tilt shareholders by CEO Ray Bitar:
Dear members,
I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising FullTiltPoker. My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW players, DoJ will reimburse US players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP. Beyond these conditions, issues like the time frame and process for repayment of players remain unclear at this point and time.
With DoJ’s consent now in hand, GBT may now proceed to finalize an agreement to acquire the companies or assets that comprise FTP. That agreement will very likely address the status of your shares or interests in the successor company. When I receive that agreement, I will coordinate with our attorneys to ensure the terms of that proposed agreement will be shared with the membership and voted on.
-Ray
According to Subject: Poker, the deal agreed to by GBT and the DOJ would call for the DOJ to repay US players (most likely from the hundreds of millions seized before and after Black Friday) while GBT would take on the responsibility of player funds from the rest of the world.
Of course there are still some hurdles to clear, and it remains unclear how the DOJ would repay players. For a look at some of the issues that could arise you can check out this article from CalvinAyre.com.
Tags: Acquisition, Assets, Attorneys, Bernard Tapie, Black Friday, Ceo, Civil Litigation, Department Of Justice, Doj, E Mail, Full Tilt Poker, Hurdles, Poker World, Principle, Rest Of The World, Shareholders, Successor Company, Time Frame, Us Department Of Justice, Yesterday Afternoon
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The poker world let out a collective “ONE TIME” yesterday afternoon after learning that Groupe Bernard Tapie had come to an agreement with the US Department of Justice that would allow players from around the world to be repaid IF they can now convince 2/3 of Full Tilt Poker shareholders to sell to GBT.
Subject: Poker broke the story, posting an E-Mail sent to Full Tilt shareholders by CEO Ray Bitar:
Dear members,
I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising FullTiltPoker. My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW players, DoJ will reimburse US players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP. Beyond these conditions, issues like the time frame and process for repayment of players remain unclear at this point and time.
With DoJ’s consent now in hand, GBT may now proceed to finalize an agreement to acquire the companies or assets that comprise FTP. That agreement will very likely address the status of your shares or interests in the successor company. When I receive that agreement, I will coordinate with our attorneys to ensure the terms of that proposed agreement will be shared with the membership and voted on.
-Ray
According to Subject: Poker, the deal agreed to by GBT and the DOJ would call for the DOJ to repay US players (most likely from the hundreds of millions seized before and after Black Friday) while GBT would take on the responsibility of player funds from the rest of the world.
Of course there are still some hurdles to clear, and it remains unclear how the DOJ would repay players. For a look at some of the issues that could arise you can check out this article from CalvinAyre.com.
Tags: Bernard Tapie, Black Friday, Civil Litigation, Department Of Justice, Doj, E Mail, Full Tilt Poker, Hurdles, Poker World, Rest Of The World, Shareholders, Successor Company, Us Department Of Justice, Yesterday Afternoon
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
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