Le Monde du Poker.

January 26 2012, Brett Collson

Could Chris Ferguson prevent the pending deal between Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie from happening? That's what one report indicated on Wednesday. We'll cover that story and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

What has Tom Dwan been up to lately? We caught up with the man known as "durrrr" at the Aussie Millions to discuss Full Tilt Poker, the Department of Justice, and more.

John Kim joined the Strategy with Kristy podcast this week. Kim talked about what it takes to be a poker player and a family man, and the mindset needed to be a long-term winner.

Erik Seidel was still on top of the Global Poker Index rankings this week. But how long will he stay at No. 1? PokerNews' Mickey Doft explains how the 2012 Aussie Millions will affect next week's rankings.

Phil Ivey was still among the chip leaders after Day 3 of the Aussie Millions Main Event. Get all the details from the day in our Aussie Millions recap.

The Poker Players Alliance is asking poker players to send questions to President Barack Obama about legalizing online poker. Matthew Kredell explains how this can help the cause.

Chris Ferguson's Secret Bank Accounts

On Wednesday, Subject:Poker released information regarding secret bank accounts belonging Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, a key figure and shareholder of Full Tilt Poker. The report claims that Ferguson funneled approximately $60 million of his FTP payments into his own bank accounts beginning in at least 2007, and he withdrew or spent around $45 million of the funneled money.

According to the article, Ferguson allowed for about $14.3 million of the funds to be used for the company's post-Black Friday expenses. Subject:Poker reports that Ferguson and his lawyer, Ian Imrich, have threatened to take steps that might obstruct the pending deal with Groupe Bernard Tapie and the Department of Justice if that money is not recovered.

Ferguson was brought into the spotlight last September when the Department of Justice amended its original civil complaint, alleging that Full Tilt Poker and board members Ferguson, Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer and Rafe Furst defrauded players. PokerNews learned this week that the four men, along with Black Friday payment processor Chad Elie, have been given another extension to respond to the amended civil complaint. It is the third extension granted by Preet Bahara since Sept. 20, 2011; the four will have until March 19, 2012, to respond.

Read more at Subject:Poker.

Hawaii Introduces Gambling Bill

As of now, Hawaii is one of only two U.S. states without any form of gambling. However, a new bill co-sponsored by three state lawmakers could allow a newly introduced Hawaii internet lottery to run an online gambling operation that would include poker.

The bill, HB2422, reads: "To protect Hawaii residents who gamble on the internet, and to capture revenues generated from internet gambling in Hawaii, it is in the best interest of the State and its citizens to regulate this existing activity by authorizing and implementing a secure, responsible, and legal system for internet gambling. The State’s interests are best met by doing so through an internet-only lottery and gaming corporation, which shall be a public instrumentality, operating for the sole benefit of the State, and accountable to the legislature and to the public through a system of audits and reports."

The Department of Justice's flip-flop on the Wire Act of 1961 has prompted several states to look into the possibility of online poker. With the Wire Act now only applying to sports betting, the line of states showing interest in an online gambling platform seems to be growing by the week.

For more on the new bill in Hawaii, visit capitol.hawaii.gov.

Trickett Earns Top Honor At European Poker Awards

The 11th Annual European Poker Awards returned to famous Aviation Club de Paris Wednesday evening. The event honored the best players in Europe for their performances during 2011. Among the players up for awards were Sam Trickett, Pius Heinz, Liv Boeree, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov and Jake Cody.

Trickett was given the most coveted honor of the evening. Although he wasn't on hand for the event, Trickett was named the 2011 "Player of the Year" for earning nearly $4.5 million on the tournament circuit in 2011. Other winners announced Wednesday were Grospellier (Poker Personality of 2011), Heinz (Best Tournament Performance), Andrey Pateychuk (Rookie of the Year), Ilari Sahamies (Online Player of the Year), Natalia Nikitina (Europe’s Leading Lady), Warren Lush (Staff Person of the Year), and WSOP Cannes (Event of the Year).

Get all the details, along with interviews and footage from the event at PokerNews.com.

The Scoop on the TCOOP

Four champions were crowned at the PokerStars Turbo Championship of Online Poker Wednesday. Nearly $800,000 was awarded across the four tournaments, increasing the total TCOOP prize pool to $10,497,098 through 31 events.

Here's a look at the results from Wednesday:

Event #28: No Limit Hold'em 2x Chance ($150K Guaranteed)

A large turnout for Event #28 resulted in a prize pool of $321,450, more than double the guarantee. A deal at the final table allowed three players to walk away with more than $34,000 each. Canada's "andthe" collected $45,675 for winning the event.

Event #29: No Limit Hold'em 10-Max Shootout ($75K Guaranteed)

A familiar face landed in the winner's circle of the $109 10-Max Shootout. Hungary's Peter "twirlpro" Turmezey added another big win to his impressive online poker resume, earning $18,250 after outlasting a field of 1,000 players.

Event #30: Pot Limit Omaha Six-Max 3x Turbo ($100K Guaranteed)

Nearly 4,500 players combined for 24,589 rebuys in what turned out to be a massive event. After a five-way chop at the final table, online tournament specialist "Rounder63" took down the tournament for $30,459.

Event #31: Stud Hi/Lo ($25K Guaranteed)

Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari made an impressive run in Event #31 but fell short of the final table in 17th place. Germany's "barrako" went on to win the tournament and the $9,395 top prize.

For more details on each event, check out the PokerStars Blog.

Happy Australia Day!

In celebration of Australia Day, PokerNews' Nicki Pickering tested some players on their knowledge of Aussie slang words at the 2012 Aussie Millions Main Event.

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

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December 04 2011, Brett Collson

We're trying to get you caught up on the week's top poker news stories. In this edition of the Weekly Turbo, we bring you Facebook's plans to offer real-money gambling, Barney Frank's retirement announcement, and more.

Facebook Considers Real-Money Gambling

According to a report by eGamingReview, social media giant Facebook is developing plans to offer real-money gambling in the United Kingdom as early as 2012.

Facebook, which hosts the free-to-play Zynga Poker, has already begun exploratory talks with U.K. operators to launch real-money online gambling and is already in discussions with 888poker and Gamesys. EGR says the plan is for Facebook to offer eight licenses to U.K. operators who want to offer their gambling platform on Facebook.

PokerNews contacted Facebook for a comment and received a response from a company spokesperson: "We're always in discussions with companies about lots of different ideas, but we don't comment on future plans or speculation."

Read more at PokerNews.com.

Barney Frank To Step Down

On Monday, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced he will not return to Congress for a 17th term in 2012. Frank, one of the major political advocates for the legalization of online poker, cited changes to the new congressional map as a major factor in his decision to step down.

"I was planning to run again, and then the congressional redistricting came," Frank, 71, said at a press conference in his hometown of Newton, Mass.

During his time with the House Financial Services Committee, Frank has introduced several bills pushing for online poker legislation in the U.S. In his most recent venture, Frank served as a sponsor for Congressman John Campbell's Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (H.R.1174). The proposed bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security in June, but no action has been taken since.

Frank also recently testified on behalf of Internet poker at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing. He has arguably been the biggest driving force behind the legalization of online poker since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006.

Read more about Frank's retirement announcement at the Wall Street Journal.

Tobey Maguire Settles Hollywood Poker Lawsuit

Earlier this year, Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire was one of 22 people sued for their winnings in a high-stakes Hollywood poker game organized by a criminal Beverly Hills hedge fund manager. On Nov. 22, Maguire reportedly agreed to an $80,000 settlement with a bankruptcy trustee who is trying to recoup more than $30 million in lost funds, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Maguire was being sued for more than $300,000 for winnings he earned from the invitation-only games organized by businessman Bradley Ruderman, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for running a Ponzi scheme to pay off debts. Ruderman operated a wire-fraud and investment-adviser fraud scheme that lost investors $25 million, and then allegedly lost another $5.2 million in the high-stakes cash games trying to win the money back.

According to the Associated Press, 14 of the 22 people sued have agreed to settlements in their cases. Former High Stakes Poker host Gabe Kaplan also agreed to pay $26,900 after he was sued to try to recoup nearly $63,000 in winnings, according to the AP report. All of the money recouped will be used to repay the victims of Ruderman's Ponzi scheme.

Read the full Associated Press story at the Washington Post.

Elie, Campos Face Trial

Chad Elie and John Campos, two of the 11 men indicted on Black Friday for their involvement in alleged fraud and money laundering associated with online poker sites, were told Thursday by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan that their case is likely to go to trial in March. The two men had filed motions to dismiss the April 15 indictment filed against them by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, but Judge Kaplan listened to arguments from both sides Thursday before telling attorneys to expect a trial on March 12.

“I think it's extraordinarily unlikely the entire indictment will be dismissed,” Kaplan said at the end of the hearing, according to Forbes.

Lawyers for Elie and Campos argued that the U.S. law making it illegal for businesses to make transactions with unlawful online gambling companies doesn't apply to poker because it is a game of skill. Elie, a former payment processor for PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker, and Campos, the vice chairman of a Utah Bank that processed payments for the three sites, filed motions to dismiss the case in October.

According to Forbes, Kaplan seemed unsympathetic to many of the arguments put forward by lawyers representing Campos and Elie, openly disagreeing with some of their points. With a trial on the horizon, Kaplan will now have to decide whether or not a jury will be asked to determine if poker constitutes illegal gambling.

Read more on this story at Forbes.

Martin Staszko Signs with PokerStars

2011 World Series of Poker runner-up Martin Staszko is the newest member of Team PokerStars. Staszko, 35, joins Martin Hruby as the only players from the Czech Republic on the PokerStars roster.

"I'm really happy to sign for PokerStars and join such a talented team of poker players, said Staszko, whose contract will officially begin on Dec. 1. "I’m playing in my home country at EPT Prague as a Team PokerStars Pro and looking forward to playing many big live and online tournaments in 2012 like the PCA and WCOOP. My main focus is to win a mixed-game event at the next WSOP, becoming the first Czech player to win a bracelet."

PokerStars will officially introduce Staszko as part of the team on Dec. 4, 2011, at the Prague Hilton Hotel as part of the 10th Anniversary Guinness World Record celebration. His first tournament as a PokerStars Pro will come the following day, Dec. 5, at the European Poker Tour Prague Main Event.

More on this story can be found right here at PokerNews.com.

Iowa Study Could Open Door for Intrastate Online Poker

On Thursday, a study issued by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) outlined several ways the state could set up and regulate the online poker in the state. The report was requested by the Iowa legislature last session to determine the practicality and potential income Internet poker could generate for the state.

The objective of the report was to give the legislature information to work with if it ultimately decided to set up an online poker infrastructure in the next session. For example, based on the projections of the IRGC, approximately $13 million to $60 million in rake was paid annually by Iowa online poker players before Black Friday. Assuming a tax rate of 22 percent, the projections indicate approximately $3 million to $13 million in potential tax revenue for the state annually, according to the IRGC.

The commission also examined the different systems that could be put in place to offer an intrastate platform. The IRGC consulted with several experts to discuss measures and controls for online poker, including age verification, geo-location and money laundering. It also spoke with Iowa Lottery officials to get a perspective from lottery interests of internet poker regulation.

In March, a state Senate committee approved a bill designed to make online poker legal in Iowa. However, lawmakers weren't in complete agreement over the bill and requested the IRGC produce a report for the bill to be amended.

The full IRGC study can be found at Iowa.gov.

Bodog Unveils Anonymous Tables

Earlier this year, Bodog announced plans to "bring the fun back to poker" for the casual player by implementing a Recreational Poker Model. The growing poker room took a major step in that direction this week by introducing new poker software that will, among other things, prevent players from accessing any data on how opponents play.

Bodog's all-site anonymous tables will protect the casual player from opponents picking up information via the use of HUDs and other data mining sites. The software change comes two months after Bodog began removing full tables from the lobby and thus stopping data sites from accessing statistical information on players.

Among the other features included in the new software are a rabbit cam, several new tournament formats, and the ability to play up to 20 tables at the same time.

“We believe that introducing these features makes the Bodog Recreational Poker Model a pioneer in the online poker world and offers all players of all abilities the fairest place to play," said Bodog VP Jonas Ödman. "To my mind the software and Bodog’s Recreational Poker Model is a genuine game changer.”

Read more about Bodog's new software at CalvinAyre.com

Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

Follow Brett Collson on Twitter — @brettcollson

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