Read More...
Monday, February 29, 2016
A casino in Atlantic City with the brand name of the leading Republican presidential candidate officially had a new owner as of last week.
The Trump Taj Mahal emerged from bankruptcy Friday and is now wholly owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, according to a report from the Associated Press. Icahn also owns the Tropicana in Atlantic City, which he acquired under similar circumstances.
Though Trump is no longer a 10-percent owner in the Taj Mahal, the casino will keep his name. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection resulted in Trump Entertainment Resorts becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises LP, the AP reported. Icahn was able to acquire the casino, which opened in 1990, for under $300 million.
“Although both Atlantic City and the Taj have had a few tough years, today marks the beginning of the turnaround,” Icahn said. “Just a few years ago Tropicana was in bankruptcy and its fate uncertain, but since emerging in 2010, we have turned that property around and it has become one of Atlantic City’s few success stories. I am confident we can and will do the same for the Taj.”
The Taj closed its poker room a little over a year ago and hasn’t yet re-opened it. With 48 tables, the Taj’s poker room was once the second largest in the city behind the Borgata.
“We would like you to pardon our progress while exciting changes are in the works. A sincere thank our [sic] loyal players for your patronage and friendship,” the webpage for the casino’s poker room reads.
Trump Entertainment closed its other casino, Trump Plaza, in 2014. The Taj was also facing the threat of closing for good, but Icahn stepped in to save it.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]
In the NBA's previous 60 seasons, no player has been unanimously voted the MVP. Shaquille O'Neal in 2000, and LeBron James in 2013 each fell one vote short. But with his 3-point, game-winning shot on Saturday night vs. the Thunder, Steph Curry likely sewed up the first unanimous MVP season.
Curry has single-handedly dominated games against the other four best players in the West this season (Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul), and his Warriors have gone 6-0 in those games. And what's most scary for the rest of the NBA: Golden State's three best players have yet to enter their prime.
Spread watch
Pop quiz: name the NBA's three hottest teams. Even a casual fan would likely correctly guess the two hottest teams (Golden State, San Antonio, each 9-1 its last 10 games). But most fans would fail to identify the third, which is the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland is 8-2 its last 10, and 17-4 its last 21. Even better for basketball bettors, Portland is 15-6 ATS over its last 21 games. In comparison, the Spurs (18-3 SU; 11-10 ATS) and Warriors (18-3 SU; 10-10-1 ATS) have not returned a profit over the same span.
This week, the Blazers will play four road games against the Knicks, Celtics, Raptors and Pistons. The game against Boston isn't particularly ideal, as Portland will be playing without rest and it's 5-8 ATS this season in that situation (compared to 29-18 ATS when rested).
However, Portland will not only be rested for its other three games, but it will also be playing with revenge from home losses earlier this season to those opponents (Knicks, Raptors, Pistons). And Portland is 6-0 ATS its last six games, and 10-2 ATS its last 12 when rested and playing with revenge.
Totals watch
Kawhi Leonard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, missed San Antonio's first three games after the All-Star Break due to a calf injury. And the Spurs struggled on defense in those three games. San Antonio gave up 105 to the Clippers (50.0 FG%), 113 to the Lakers (49.4 FG%) and 111 to the Suns (46.2 FG%).
Since Leonard's return, the Spurs have gone 3-0 SU/ATS, and held the Kings (92), Jazz (78) and Rockets (94), on average, to 15.7 ppg less than their scoring average. Not surprisingly, all three games stayed Under the total.
This week, the Spurs will play their first home game (Wednesday, vs. Detroit) following their eight-game rodeo road trip. And the Spurs have gone 11-2 SU, 9-4 ATS and 5-8 Over/Under in their first game back at home following their “Rodeo Trip”.
After that, the Spurs will hit the road Thursday for a game at New Orleans, before coming back home for another game vs. Sacramento. And the last three meetings (and six of the last eight) between the Kings and Spurs have gone Under the total
Injury watch
Nuggets small forward Danilo Gallinari injured his ankle in Friday's loss to Dallas, and is expected to miss upwards of four weeks. This is really bad news for a Denver team which still has hopes for making a run at the eighth playoff spot out West.
Gallinari has been Denver's best player this season, as he has a 19.29 PER, and is averaging 19.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Unfortunately, Denver got a glimpse in December at what life without Gallo would be like. In the six games he missed earlier this season, Denver went 1-5 SU and 2-3-1 ATS, with its only victory against the dreadful Phoenix Suns.
If there is a silver lining, it's that Denver's first four games without Gallinari will all be at home, and all against beatable opponents (Grizzlies, Lakers, Nets, Mavericks). Its game versus Memphis Monday looks to be the best of the bunch to play on the Nuggets.
Not only is Denver 5-1 ATS its last six home games vs. Memphis, but it will be Memphis' third game in four nights. And the Nuggets are 128-84 ATS at home when rested and matched up against non-division foes playing their third game in four nights.
Schedule watch
This season, Commissioner Adam Silver's intent was to make the schedule much less taxing for NBA players. Back-to-backs were reduced 7.8 percent, while four-games-in-five-nights were reduced 60.8 percent. The result has been fascinating, to say the least.
NBA teams have actually been terrific this season when playing without rest in either their fourth game in five nights or fifth game in seven nights (against opponents not in such a situation). They're 43-20-1 ATS, including 16-4 ATS at home. And it makes perfect sense. With a less grueling schedule, the players are more rested, generally. So, when they’ve faced a difficult schedule this season, they've been able to overcome it and outperform expectations.
This week, three teams will play their fifth game in seven nights without rest: Orlando (Wednesday), Portland (Wednesday) and Miami (Friday). Of the three, Orlando (vs. Chicago) would rate as my favorite, as it will be playing at home.
"); h = d.getElementById(tid); h.parentNode.insertBefore(s, h); })(document);Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: Covers.com: NBA News and Stories]
Looking for a little extra daily fantasy value? Invest in Stocks.
Relax, you won't need a stock broker for this exercise. Stocks refers to the combination of steals and blocks, both of which are worth two points in FanDuel contests and can provide enough of a point boost to send your roster into high-cash territory.
It can be difficult to rely on steals and blocks on a regular basis, but in certain spots, the stats can be predictive enough to give you a boost when deciding on which players to select.
Prior to choosing your lineup, you should identify which teams turn the ball over the most, and which teams have the highest percentage of their shots blocked. These teams might prove to be prime targets for opposing players who are proficient in stealing the ball or blocking opponents' shots.
Say, for example, steals expert Chris Paul and the Clippers are facing the Philadelphia 76ers, who lead the NBA in turnovers. You might be wise to consider Paul ahead of similarly priced players on the chance he exploits Philadelphia's weakness and racks up the thefts.
While you consider the value of stocks, here are the top must-play options of the week:
Tuesday – PG Stephen Curry, Warriors (vs. Hawks)
Curry is an every-night stud, but his sky-high price makes it difficult to fit him in every time he plays. A matchup with the visiting Hawks may qualify, despite Atlanta holding Golden State to 102 points in their previous meeting Feb. 22. Curry and the Warriors are coming off a seven-game road trip and will be looking to flex their muscles in their return to Oracle Arena.
Wednesday – SG James Harden, Rockets (vs. Pelicans)
Harden is another guy who sees high ownership nearly every time he takes the court, but Wednesday's matchup is particularly juicy. The Pelicans allow the fifth-most points in the NBA entering the week, and Harden has torched them for averages of 28 points, nine rebounds and 6.3 assists in three prior meetings this season. Choose him with confidence in what should be a shootout.
Thursday – C DeMarcus Cousins, Kings (at Mavericks)
When you get an opportunity to lock up a stud center in a sport where few exist, you do it. And Cousins is easily the best of the bunch, especially on Thursday's modest-sized slate. Cousins has torched the Mavericks in two previous meetings on the season, averaging 33 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals. He'll cost you a pretty penny, but is a safe bet to return value.
Friday – SF LeBron James, Cavaliers (vs. Wizards)
The Cavaliers will be looking to use the stretch run to solidify their place as the class of the East – and that means taking conference foes to task, particularly at home. James has averaged 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in two games against Washington, and the Wizards remain defensively suspect despite solid recent efforts. James should be used across the board Friday.
Saturday – SF Kawhi Leonard, Spurs (vs. Kings)
Some fans still see the Spurs as a bit of a plodding unit, but San Antonio is near the league leaders in pace and offensive efficiency rating. The Kings are a high-pace team, as well, but own one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Leonard has the tools to exploit Sacramento for enough fantasy points to provide major value even if he rests late in what could be a Spurs blowout.
Sunday – PG Russell Westbrook, Thunder (at Bucks)
Trusting a team playing an afternoon road game in a different conference is difficult to reconcile – but Westbrook isn't your typical fantasy point guard. Westbrook has been sensational away from Oklahoma City – averaging 27 points, 9.9 assists and 7.3 rebounds in 26 road contests – and put up a 27/7/7 line in his last meeting with the Bucks. Roster him in all formats Sunday.
"); h = d.getElementById(tid); h.parentNode.insertBefore(s, h); })(document);Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: Covers.com: NBA News and Stories]
Genesis Gaming (Genesis), a key supplier of slot game content, has announced a new, multi-level video slot game entitled Jason's Quest. Based on the famed Greek legend of the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: eGaming]
While the mayor and the governor grumbled, President Obama used his star power to win back casino and gaming workers upset with remarks he had made about Las Vegas.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: Las Vegas Casinos in the News]
Flaviano Cammisuli, an Italian waiter who lives here in Malta, managed a late rush at the end of the day to secure the chip lead, finishing with 2,362,000 - the only player over the 2 million mark. Cammisuli knocked out Markus Kuhnen right at the end of play with [Js][Jd] against [Ad][8h] to secure his place at the top of the leaderboard going into Day 4.
Cammisuli leads ahead of Balazs Botond, the Eureka4 Prague champion, Botond finished the day with 1,475,000 which is enough to put the Hungarian in second place. EPT Grand Final winner Steve O'Dwyer is in third with 1,402,000 while Hugo Lemaire, who was chip leader at the start of the day is in fourth with 1,376,000. Other 'millionaires' include Georgios Zisimopoulos (1,319,000), Jaroslaw Sikora (1,300,000), Glenn Cymbaluk (1,277,000) and Guy Bachar.
Other notables include EPT winner Julian Track (912,000), EPT9 Barcelona Super High Roller runner-up JC Alvardo (690,000) and Eureka4 Vienna finalist Bryan Paris (467,000). They're all part of the 43 players who have made it into Day 4 and are guaranteed a minimum payout of €3,700.
All three members of Team PokerStars Pro were unfortunately eliminated today with Matthias De Meulder (71st - €3,050) finishing the highest. Christopher De Meulder (135th - €2,000) and Jan Heitmann (158th - €1,850) also made the money.
Day 4 will start tomorrow at 12.30pm CET once more with the tournament playing down to the final table of eight players, however long that might take. To find a full list of chip counts and the seat draw for Day 4, download the EPT app for Android or IOS.
Charity Tournament
Shark Cage star (Miss Finland) Sara Chafakis joining Team PokerStars Pros Jake Cody, Liv Boeree, Fatima Moreira de Melo and Theo Jorgensen in tonight's Helping Hands charity tourney to raise money for Right To Play at 7.30pm. Also playing are several well-known Maltese business people and politicians, representatives from the Swedish Poker Federation, EPT president Edgar Stuchly, Lee Jones, EPT Prague finalist Mickey Norinder, WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway, Jackie "Mama Poker" Cachia (who won the Women's Event at EPT London), EPTLive's James Hartigan as well as staff from the PokerStars.eu head office in nearby Sliema.
All proceeds for the €100 event will go to PokerStars charity partner, Right To Play who use the power of sport and play to transform children's lives. All players are invited to come with a guest to the drinks and canapé reception starting at 7.30pm; the tourney kicks off at 8.30pm. This year we are funding the training of over 2500 volunteer coaches for them around the world, which in turn will help change the lives of over 185,000 children.
Muur flips well!
Yesterday saw three €100 NL Flipout tournaments running at Portomaso Casino. 2014 PCA finalist Madis Muur took down the first of them. He won €1,190 after beating a 36-strong field in Event #13. Although the Estonian has already won $750k in live tournaments, this is is his first EPT trophy. Georgios-Angelos Tavoularis from Greece and Jacob Van Wijk from Netherlands were the other Flipout winners.
Ladies' Event
Miss Finland Sara Chafak is among 69 players competing for today's EPT Malta €200 Women's Event. The field also includes American pro Elena Stover (,who has just moved to Malta), Maria von Perger (whose daughter Jamila is competing nearby in the IPT Malta Main Event), EPT presenter Gaelle Garcia Diaz, British player Natalie Bromley (third in last season's Grand Final Womens' Event) and serial qualifier Elizabeth Bennett-Martin, who is a regular at the PCA and finished 25th in the Main Event this year for a lifetime best cash of €40,000. Also playing is Jackie Cachia, who hails from Malta and won the Womens Event at EPT London for £3,100. Sabina Hiatullah, the last woman standing in the Deauville's Women's Event (a man won it, long story) and also the Queens' Cup winner at Eureka Rozvadov, would normally be playing but is also still in action in IPT Malta.
Huge field for the €2k
There was a total of 473 for the IPT Malta €2k High Roller. After a record-breaking IPT Main Event, and giant fields for all the other local tour high rollers this season, the Malta edition is expected to attract huge numbers.
Among those who started the day were Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree, PokerStars-sponsored PCA 2014 winner Dominik Panka, PCA 2013 champ Dimitar Danchev, WSOP runner-ups Jorryt van Hoof and Jesse Sylvia plus EPT9 Player of the Year Jan Bendik, Chidwick, Dermot Blain, Patrick Leonard, Kitty Kuo, Fabio Sperling, Michel Abecassis, Steven van Zadelhoff, Ruben Visser, Frederik Jensen, Sam Greenwood and Simon Ravnsbaek. 15 players have won their seat via yesterday's live satellite here in the Portomaso Casino. 63 places will be paid a minimum of €3,900 with €177,000 for the winner.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Italian Poker Tour]
Action hour.
It was a wild 60-minute period that saw massive amounts of re-buys and culminated in massive stacks. These large stacks transitioned over to the final table where Loyalray13 fought his way to victory from the bottom.
But back before the final table, when things were just getting underway, blinds started at 50/100. Then, after six levels of play, they reset back to 15/30 and created monster stacks and deep play.
The prospect of deep play also sparked several re-buys and created a massive prize pool. The $60K guarantee was shattered as 10,322 players bought in, then re-bought 19,272 times and purchased 5,669 add-ons.
This created a $141,052.00 prize pool, $12,200 of which went to our champion, Loyalray13. Hailing from Canada, Loyalray13 found himself at the short end of a four-handed deal but then came back to claim victory.
It all went down on the final piece of virtual felt.
The final table
Seat 1: gayuflo - 5,257,640
Seat 2: Loyalray13 - 38,027,833
Seat 3: KorW1n22 - 12,224,188
Seat 4: jack130502 - 4,383,853
Seat 5: MrDonkytoyou - 23,164,332
Seat 6: pAYtAXiSnICE - 34,069,154
It was a quick first elimination.
On the third hand of play, KorW1n22 raised to 800,000 from the cutoff and jack130502 moved all-in for 3.63 million.
Action folded back to the initial aggressor, who called.
jack130502 showed [ad][5d] and was dominated by KorW1n22's [as][qd]. jack130502 was in need of some help, but the [qh][10d][qs] crushed those hopes. Then a [6s] came on the turn and a [6c] fell on the river to give KorW1n22 a full house.
KorW1n22 was up to 16.41 million while jack130502 finished 6th for $1,977.54.
Flip and a deal
gayuflo was the other short stack at the final table and he didn't last long. Blinds crept up to 250K/500K and gayuflo had less than 5 million.
gayuflo was on the small blind and moved all-in for 4.66 million. Loyalray13 was the only player left to act and called from the big blind.
The short stack was flipping for his tournament life after he turned over [4s][4d] to Loyalray13's [qd][jc]. The [8d][9d][9s][10h][7s] board gave Loyalray13 a straight and eliminated gayuflo in 5th place, a finish worth $2,821.04.
Play went on for a few more hands and then the final four players decided to cut a deal.
At the time of the deal, counts were:
Loyalray13 - 24,155,473
KorW1n22 - 23,148,041
MrDonkytoyou - 17,564,332
pAYtAXiSnICE - 52,259,154
Players asked for numbers based on chip chop and ICM. After calculating the numbers in the PokerStars UltraDeal Computer 10000, the payouts were:
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): ok players. The chip chop figures are as follows:
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): pAYtAXiSnICE:$17,381.86
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Loyalray13:$11,068.50
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): KorW1n22:$10,842.18
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): MrDonkytoyou:$9,587.83
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $1,200.00
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): sure. I will now provide the ICM figures
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): They are as follows:
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): pAYtAXiSnICE:$15,047.36
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Loyalray13:$11,780.89
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): KorW1n22:$11,600.09
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): MrDonkytoyou:$10,452.03
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $1,200.00
Loyalray13, KorW1n22 and MrDonkytoyou agreed on the ICM figures, but pAYtAXiSnICE wanted at least $16,000.
MrDonkytoyou refused to give up any cash and suggested an alternative:
MrDonkytoyou: loyal 11.3, korwin 11.1
MrDonkytoyou: play For rest
KorW1n22: vice versa
MrDonkytoyou: you guys wanna do that?
Then KorW1n22 offered another alternative:
KorW1n22: 11.5 me 11 loyal
KorW1n22: for 16k paytax
KorW1n22: and play
The host plugged in the numbers and offered the following payouts:
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): pAYtAXiSnICE:$16,000.00
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): KorW1n22:$11,500.00
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Loyalray13:$11,000.00
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): MrDonkytoyou:$10,300.00
HostJoshuaC (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $1,280.37
Loyalray13 and MrDonktoyou weren't fully satisfied with the deal, but only one of them got a bit more:
KorW1n22: nice
Loyalray13: k what i want a lil more now
Loyalray13: like that bull
KorW1n22: pfff
KorW1n22: u make Final tables alot?
Loyalray13: yesss
Loyalray13: all the time
Loyalray13: jk
KorW1n22: u could win 1.2k 1st)
Loyalray13: lol
Loyalray13: but i split that 500 be fair
MrDonkytoyou: i want 10.38
KorW1n22: omg... guys
MrDonkytoyou: take it oFF the 1200
And Loyalray13 finally consented:
Loyalray13: lol
Loyalray13: i just want my money
KorW1n22: ok
Loyalray13: keep that 500
KorW1n22: dea
MrDonkytoyou: k
Loyalray13: deal
Loyalray13: deal
Loyalray13: deal
Loyalray13: deal
But this still left MrDonkytoyou. There was $1,280.37 left for the champion but that number only needed to be $1,200. MrDonkytoyou said he wouldn't accept until he got the extra $80.37.
Players finally agreed to give MrDonkytoyou the $80.37 and they struck a deal. The final numbers were:
pAYtAXiSnICE:$16,000.00
KorW1n22:$11,500.00
Loyalray13:$11,000.00
MrDonkytoyou:$10,380.37
This also left $1,200.00 to the eventual champion.
Plummeting
pAYtAXiSnICE was guaranteed the biggest payout of the tournament and then finished 4th.
First, pAYtAXiSnICE doubled up MrDonktoyou. pAYtAXiSnICE raised to 1.2 million from under-the-gun and MrDonkytoyou re-raised to 3 million from the big blind. pAYtAXiSnICE moved all-in and MrDonkytoyou called.
MrDonkytoyou showed [ad][jh] and was ahead of pAYtAXiSnICE's [kh][4c].
The board came [8c][6s][2d][2c][7c] and MrDonkytoyou doubled up to 35.27 million while pAYtAXiSnICE fell to 35.59 million.
Then pAYtAXiSnICE is nice doubled up KorW1n22's pocket kings with [ad][jd]. The board brought all low cards and KorW1n22's pocket kings doubled him up to 47.20 million while pAYtAXiSnICE fell to 14.52 million.
pAYtAXiSnICE then had one more all-in.
MrDonkytoyou raised to 1.6 million and pAYtAXiSnICE move all-in for 15.75 million. MrDonkytoyou called and had pAYtAXiSnICE's [ah][2h] dominated with [ad][qc].
The board ran [6d][9s][3s][qd][qh] and MrDonkytoyou took the lead with 53.79 million while pAYtAXiSnICE finished 4th and took home $16,000.
Rising up
Loyalray13 started three-handed play with just 12.81 million while both his opponents had more than 50 million. But, once again, the chip leader would fall first.
First, Loyalray13 doubled up with [ah][7d] to MrDonkytoyou's [10c][10h]. An [as] came on the flop and LoyalRay13 was up to 31.13 million while MrDonkytoyou dipped to 38.68 million.
Then Loyalray13 doubled up through MrDonkytoyou again. This time Loyalray13 was dominating MrDonkytoyou's [as][7s] with [ad][qd].
MrDonkytoyou got a flush draw on the [5h][6s][10s] flop, but a [10c] and a [4c] completed the board and Loyalray13 doubled up to 64.36 million while MrDonkytoyou was left with just 8.45 million.
Then Loyalray13 finished MrDonkytoyou off.
MrDonkytoyou moved all-in for 9.75 million from the small blind with [ah][3s] and Loyalray13 called from the big blind with [jc][jd].
The board bricked for MrDonkytoyou and the Dutch player won $10,380.37 for finishing 3rd.
Heads up
Loyalray13 - 73,405,918
KorW1n22 - 43,721,082
Loyalray13 was on a streak and KorW1n22 didn't stand a chance.
After giving a few small pots to Loyalray13, KorW1n22 made the final move of the tournament:
KorW1n22 finished 2nd for $11,500 while Loyalray13 became the champion of Event #88 and took home $12,200.
MicroMillions-88: $4.40+R NL Hold'em [6-Max, Action Hour]
Entrants: 10,322 (19,272 re-buys, 5,669 add-ons)
Prize pool: $141,052.00
Places paid: 1,350
1. Loyalray13 (Canada) *12,200.00
2. KorW1n22 (Ukraine) *11,500.00
3. MrDonkytoyou (Netherlands) *10,380.37
4. pAYtAXiSnICE (Sweden) *16,000.00
5. gayuflo (United Kingdom) $2,821.04
6. jack13052 (United Kingdom) $1,977.54
*Denotes a four-way deal.
The MicroMillions are coming to a close today but you can still get in on the action. Check out the MicroMillions homepage for a schedule of the remaining events and qualifiers to each one.
Alexander Villegas is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: MicroMillions]
NetEnt, the leading digital casino entertainment company, has taken its portfolio up a gear with the release of nitro-fueled slot Drive: Multiplier Mayhem.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: eGaming]
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Nevada casino gaming authorities told a Las Vegas gambling operator to tighten up or face penalties.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: Las Vegas Casinos in the News]
The final table for IPT Malta is set with PokerStars player Jaroslaw Sikora leading with 7.6 million in chips. The Polish player finished 70th for €4,220 in the Eureka High Roller event in Prague in December. Sikora moved clearly into the lead after winning a big three-bet pot towards the end of play when he picked off a 555,000 bluff from Georgios Zisimopoulos.
Sikora leads ahead of Frederik Reusch (4,730,000), the German player has a couple of previous results including a final table in the €1,000 PLO event at EPT Prague where he came 8th for €4,270. Reusch moved into second place after dispatching Flaviano Cammisuli, the start of the day chip leader, with [Ac][Td] against [Ad][9h].
In third place with 4,375,000 is arguably the best-known player at the table, EPT10 Prague champion Julian Track. Track picked up €725,700 for winning the EPT and will be hoping to supplement his earnings with another six-figure score by taking down this event.
The full list of players and chip counts is as follows:
Seat 1: Michael Bernhard Feil Germany PokerStars player 3,305,000
Seat 2: Frederik Reusch Germany PokerStars player 4,730,000
Seat 3: Nicolino di Carlo Italy 2,585,000
Seat 4: Ezio Nisoli Italy 1,960,000
Seat 5: Julian Track Germany PokerStars qualifier 4,375,000
Seat 6: Jaroslaw Sikora Poland PokerStars player 7,600,000
Seat 7: Georgios Zisimopoulos Greece PokerStars player 4,000,000
Seat 8: Georgi Abuladze Estonia PokerStars qualifier 2,645,000
All the finalists are now guaranteed a minimum payout of €21,000 but the first place prize is worth more than ten times that amount:
1st € 221,200
2nd € 128,300
3rd € 90,200
4th € 67,000
5th € 52,000
6th € 39,000
7th € 29,800
8th € 21,000
The players are due back tomorrow at 11.45am with the tournament scheduled to start at 12.15pm. It'll be shown on a live stream (Italian commentary only) with hole cards up and on a 45-minute delay. I'll be following the same time as the delay so you can expect live coverage from around 1pm local time.
Side events
Bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche leads the final 15 players of the in the IPT €2k High Roller event with 1.2 million in chips and the blinds at 10,000/20,000 (3,000). EPT Copenhagen runner-up Pierre Neuville (750,000) and EPT9 London finalist Ludovic Geilich (260,000) are also among those still involved, all are guaranteed a minmum payout of €10,550 with €177,000 going to the winner.
In the IPT Malta Cup, it's heads-up between Dimitar Bashov and Matthieu Rodrigeuz with €62,000 for the winner and €36,400 for the runner-up, Bashov has a slight lead at this point. Giovanni Rizzo finished in 6th place for €10,900.
Rosaro Garzon came all the way from Madrid to play the €200 Women's Event but her victory made it all worthwhile. Before taking down the €200 event for a lifetime best cash of €4k, the 64-year-old, who was being railed by her husband throughout the tourney, said she was surprised at how aggressively the women played. "I didn't think it would be like this!" she said. She beat Canadian EPT regular Elizabeth Bennet-Martin heads-up to snag her first ever trophy. There were 70 entries in the tourney creating a €13,580 prize pool with nine paid. EPT London Women's Event winner Jackie Cachia bust the event but her partner Lina Teuma finished fourth for €1,400.
Portugal's Jose Quintas won last night's €500 Midnight Hyperturbo at the EPT Malta Poker Festival. The EPT regular snagged the trophy and €23,490 first prize after beating Italian Luca Fiorini heads-up. There were 229 players in the event creating a €111,065 prize pool with 31 paid. Others who cashed included Mikhail Korotkikh, Jan Bendik, George Tavoularis (who has already won two Flipout events at the festival), Lasse Frost and Bernard Boutbol.
Remember, the EPT Main Event is still going on for a while yet tonight, follow all the action here.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: Italian Poker Tour]
Just in time for the NFL playoffs, a new Stanford startup is changing the way fantasy sports players experience the games they love.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: eGaming]
If you, like many, wonder whatever happened to poker of yesteryear, the kind with trash-talking, ridiculously bloated over-bet pots, and happy-to-cash amateurs, this was a day to watch the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Maybe it was the reduced Main Event buy-in. Maybe it was simply the fates granting us a nostalgic throwback to the old days. It's hard to say. Regardless, from the bet-sizing to the banter, today's PCA felt a bit like 2005 all over again.
It ends, however, back on 2016 form with four of poker's best-known pros in the final six headed into the last day of the Main Event. Topping them all is Mike "SirWatts" Watson.
Here's the final six, where they are seated, and how they stack up for Thursday's final.
Seat 1: Mike Watson (Canada) 6,585,000
Seat 2: Vladimir Troyanovskiy (Russia) 5,025,000
Seat 3: Randy Kritzer (USA) 2,565,000
Seat 4: Tony Gregg (USA) 5,690,000
Seat 5: Phillip McAllister (UK) 3,040,000
Seat 6: Toby Lewis (UK) 4,665,000
Watson, Troyanovskiy, Gregg, and Lewis need no introduction to poker players. Gregg has made two previous PCA Main Event final tables. Lewis is an EPT champion. Watson is an WPT champion with millions in winnings and two SCOOP titles. Troyanovskiy is an EPT regular and one of Russia's biggest poker winners. Any of them could win this and it would surprise no one.
Meanwhile, Phillip McAllister is a 22-year-old grinder from the UK known as Grindnation on PokerStars with more than a million bucks in combined live and online winnings. He and Randy Kritzer, a neurosurgeon and recreational player from North Carolina, will have their hands full against the four pros on Thursday.
For all those who won't see tomorrow, the game of What Might Have Been will go on playing for some time. For one-time Main Event final tablist Fabian Ortiz, that game may go on forever.
Today, Ortiz started third in chips but couldn't beat overnight chip leader Pires in any pot of significance. If Ortiz had a hand, Pires was bigger. If Pires was bluffing, he got there anyway. For Ortiz, it was a slow-motion horror show that ended with him getting disemboweled when Pires held an overpair of kings to his own flopped top pair of queens.
Ortiz's 17th place finish was not the first of the day (Taylor Paur and Fedor Holz went first), but it set off a series of bust-outs that went so fast, everyone thought we might be finished by dinner. Fabian Chauriye, Ami Barer, and Stephen Chidwick went one by one. (You can see all the payouts here on our 2016 PCA Main Event results page.)
After that, the Brazilians had reason to believe they had a lock on the final table. Pires, the man folks started calling the Brazilian Jamie Gold, had run roughshod over the field on last three days of play. Until today, every night since Day 2 had finished with Pires in the lead.
That ended today when Pires imploded over the course of a couple of hours. After extending his lead to a point where he had more than 25% of the chips in play, Pires lost pot after pot. He didn't play small ball. He made big bets and bigger bluffs. It ended when Pires bluffed all-in over and a raise and a call with [4c][3h] and ran into Mike Watson's pair of tens. So it goes.
Paul Gooley departed in the time it took people to stop marveling at Pires' meltdown, one that wouldn't be the end of the big blow-ups. Martin McCormick, the day-drinking, hard talking amateur was a polarizing figure at the table.
After five days of warnings, penalties, and needling, McCormick spent an hour of Day 5 in a spat with Matt Waxman. It hadn't ended when McCormick played a blind-vs-blind hand, indeed blind, to the flop with Ken Demlakian. They checked it through to the turn where Demlakian hit his ace and bet out. McCormick bluffed all in with only a flush draw. He missed, and he was gone.
"I used up all my good luck," McCormick said.
After that came the slow game of making it to the final table. It finally happened when Matt Waxman shoved [as][7h] into Mike Watson's [ad][qh]. Watson flopped two queens, made queens full of aces on the turn, and avoided the chopped pot on the river. Waxman was gone in tenth, and the field consolidated to the unofficial final table.
To come so close to PCA title and fall...that may be the toughest beat of all. It happened first to David Eldridge, who managed to double once through Toby Lewis, before losing the next two all-ins against the same man.
After that it, we lost Timothy Ulmer in 8th, and Aussie Ken Demlakian in seventh to make the final table of six. We can't fail to note, Demlakian made it this far after quadrupling up a few nights ago after getting his last chips in blind--it was either go big or make his flight the next morning. He now has more than enough winnings to pay for that airfare change.
If you need more action before the night ends, we still have ongoing $25,000 High Roller live updates as that tourney winds its way toward a third day. Both it and the Main Event will crown champions on Thursday. Join us then for live updates from beginning to end.
Until then, goodnight from the Bahamas.
Ready to qualify for a PokerStars live event? Click here to get a PokerStars account.
Brad Willis is the PokerStars Head of Blogging.
Top 10 NO deposit Bonus offers @
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)