Le Monde du Poker.

February 21 2012, Brett Collson

Some of poker's most notable players made headlines on Tuesday. Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Dan "Jungleman" Cates were all in the news, and we'll bring you all of their stories here in the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Daniel Negreanu lashed out against Full Tilt Poker's board member last week. Negreanu is one of the subjects of Rich Ryan's latest Five Thoughts.

Day 1b of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Copenhagen wrapped up on Tuesday. Mads Wissing finished on top, but he'll be chasing Day 1a leader Steven O'Dwyer when Day 2 begins.

Winners of the 2011 Montreal Open were left empty-handed after the event's sponsor, Full Tilt Poker, closed up shop. Chad Holloway examines the lingering issues surrounding the tournament.

Daniele Nestola won the 2012 PokerStars.net Latin American Poker Tour Grand Final on Monday. Get all the details in our final table recap.

Doyle Brunson Talks Full Tilt Poker

Aside from a controversial joke he made on Twitter last April, Doyle Brunson had been relatively quiet about Black Friday — especially regarding the severe financial situation at Full Tilt Poker. However, after Daniel Negreanu verbally attacked the FTP shareholders (again) in a video blog last week, Brunson defended his friends in his own blog on Monday.

"It looks like Bitar, Ferguson and Lederer are taking all the heat," Brunson wrote. "Ferguson had a lot of faith in his friend Bitar. It is widely perceived that Howard Lederer was still heavily involved in running the company even though he retired two or three years earlier. I've been in contact with Lederer the last few months. When someone I've known for years, trusted and respected looks me dead in the eye and says he didn't know about the financial problems, call me a big old Texas sucker because I will believe them.

"I have not talked to Ferguson but I understand he says what Lederer told me, that they didn't know. There are at least four stockholders that own more of FT than Lederer. Where were they? The guilt should be shared IF it's true Lederer and Ferguson didn't know of the financial mess."

Doyle's comments got a rise out of several members of the poker community, including Negreanu.

RealKidPoker Daniel Negreanu @TexDolly your buddy Howard knew FTP was accepting deposits POST BF. That is shady and unforgivable. No excuse whatsoever justifies that. February 21 2012

To read Doyle's full blog, check out doylebrunson.com.

Seidel Joins PartyPoker Premier League

The lineup for the fifth edition of the PartyPoker Premier League continues to get stronger. On Tuesday, poker's all-time money winner, Erik Seidel, added his name to the mix of players who will put up $125,000 to compete in the televised event in Vienna, Austria, from April 4 through 10.

Seidel joins Patrik Antonius, Tony G, Luke "Full Flush" Schwartz, Sam Trickett, Vanessa Selbst, Andy Frankenberger, and others for the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker V. The 16-player event is part of the World Poker Tour Vienna festivities and will award the winner with a massive top prize plus entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship at Bellagio.

"I am born to crush the Seiborg by the Danube," Tony G. said on Tuesday. "Forget Tony the Tiger I am Tony the Terminator!"

Visit Tony's blog for more information on the Premier League.

ISPT Planning Second Event

The International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) still needs to get a gaming license in order to launch its inaugural €20,000,000 Guaranteed tournament at London’s Wembley Stadium. However, that's not stopping ISPT co-founder and president Laurent Tapie from eying future stops for the tour.

According to eGaming Review, Tapie has plans to follow up the event in London with second event in Paris or Monaco. The ISPT's goal is to attract up to 30,000 players to each event, so it would need to find a stadium with that capacity.

Groupe Bernard Tapie's original plan was to have most or all of the 30,000 players qualify online, presumably at Full Tilt Poker after the sale of the site went through. However, with that acquisition still on hold, there's no telling how the ISPT will bring that number of players to London.

You can find more on this story over at eGamingReview (if you have a subscription, of course).

Iowa Approves Online Poker Bill

An Iowa subcommittee has approved a bill that could pave the way for intrastate, interstate and international platforms for online poker. On Monday, a three-member Senate panel voted to send Senate Study Bill 3164 to the Senate State Government Committee, which may consider passage as soon as this week.

Iowa lawmakers feel that the state is missing out on up to $13 million in annual taxes from online gambling. For years, Iowa residents have placed bets at offshore operators that aren't regulated by the U.S. government.

“We have it out there. It needs to be controlled,” said Senator Wally Horn (D-Cedar Rapids).

Read the full story at PokerNews.com.

Another Challenge from Jungleman

Apparently, playing cash games for millions of dollars doesn't provide enough action for some high-stakes poker players. They need to pound each other's faces in, as well.

Last November, Team PokerStars Pros Lex Veldhuis and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier met in the ring for a kickboxing match, which Veldhuis won by knockout. Now, Dan "Jungleman" Cates has challenged Andrew Feldman to a fight during the 2012 World Series of Poker.

junglemandan Daniel Cates @Andrewfeldman1 so you still want to do the fight? Let's schedule for this WSOP perhaps? #Ringmatch February 20 2012

Andrewfeldman1 Andrew Feldman "@junglemandan: @Andrewfeldman1 so u still want to do the fight? Let's schedule for this WSOP perhaps? #Ringmatch" Sure lets do it! #hu4rolz February 20 2012

We hope they're actually talking about getting into the ring and not sitting in front of a TV screen playing Street Fighter on Xbox. If that's the case, Randy's Lew's got next.

Betfair Poker Signs Peter Eastgate

On Monday, 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate became the newest member of Team Betfair Poker. Eastgate will make his first appearance wearing a Betfair logo at the 2012 WSOP Main Event in July.

Eastgate left Team PokerStars in 2010, but made his return to poker at the 2011 NBC Heads-Up Championship. The London native has nearly $11 million in live tournament earnings, including $9,152,416 for his victory at the 2008 WSOP Main Event.

We have more on this story at PokerNews.com.

Online Poker Traffic Report

On Monday, PokerScout.com released its online poker traffic rankings for the previous week. The tracking site reported an overall drop of 3 percent, marking the second straight week of losses after a huge gain to start the month.

The biggest falloff in traffic was at the Everleaf Gaming Network, which withdrew from the U.S. after receiving a cease and desist order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Traffic at Everleaf's 100-plus skins dropped 16 percent from the previous week. Time will tell if other offshore sites like Bovado, Cake and the Merge Gaming Network will follow Everleaf out of the States.

As for year-over-year numbers, online poker has seen a worldwide decline of 28 percent since this time last year. Along with the traffic extinction at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, the International Poker Network (down 49 percent), PKR (down 25 percent) and the Ongame Network (down 21 percent) have seen a significant decline.

The biggest climbers over the past year are the Merge Gaming Network (up 85 percent), 888poker (up 77 percent) and Bodog (up 62 percent).

The full report can be found at PokerScout.com.

Carnival!

Today is Fat Tueday, so we thought it seemed fitting to show you some footage of Brazil's Carnival, which took place during the PokerStars LAPT Grand Final. Team PokerStars Pros and staff hit the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate the country's biggest festival.

Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook today!

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30 Novembre 2011, Chad Holloway

Le 28 novembre, la U.S. District Court du District sud de New York a révélé que Howard Lederer et Rafe Furst ont suivi les traces de Ray Bitar et de Chris Ferguson en invoquant la Règle G(5)(a) des règles supplémentaires pour les créances maritimes et d'amirauté de déposer des réclamations à divers comptes de banque saisis.

Lundi, Furst a déposé une réclamation vérifiée affirmant titre et intérêt Telamonian Ajax Trust et « a par conséquent un intérêt de propriété légale, équitable et bénéfique dans la propriété détenue par la fiducie, y compris mais non limité aux comptes bancaires et les fonds qui y sont ».

Montants ne sont pas révélés, mais la réclamation répertorie le compte bancaire suivant : CH87 0875 5057 0684 0010 0 tenue à Pictet & Co banquiers, Suisse. La demande a été déposée le 23 novembre et a été signée par Furst. Il a été notarié dans le comté de Los Angeles.

De même, Lederer invoqué les mêmes lois que Furst de prétendre à des comptes de deux banques, qui ne figurant des quantités :

7655741861 tenue à Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., au nom de HH Lederer Consulting LLCGB56LOYD30166314010402 tenue à Lloyds TSB International, Ile de Man.

La réclamation signée affirme que Lederer est le « propriétaire légitime et le parti qui a tenu le titre légal sur les comptes bancaires référencé » et qu'il « a droit, titre ou intérêt dans tout autre compte saisi par le gouvernement conformément à la confiscation sous-titrée ci-dessus action in rem qui contient les propriétés sous réserve de la propriété et en equitable du Lederer. »

Comme toujours, PokerNews vous apportera tous les derniers développements concernant le drame juridique de Full Tilt Poker comme qu'ils se produisent.

Obtenez toutes les dernières mises à PokerNews jour sur vos points de vente de médias sociaux. Suivez-nous sur Twitter et comme nous sur Facebook aujourd'hui !

Suivez le Tchad Holloway sur Twitter — @ ChadAHolloway

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November 22 2011, Brett Collson

Is there a better way to relieve tilt than to throw on the boxing gloves? First, we saw Gus Hansen spar with Theo Jorgensen. Then, Liv Boeree and Melissa Castello went a few rounds in the ring. On Tuesday, Lex Veldhuis and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier duked it out in a kickboxing match in Spain. We have the details from the fight in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

Can ESPN's "live" broadcast of the World Series of Poker Main Event final table be considered a success? PokerNews' Chad Holloway and Eric Ramsey take sides in the latest PokerNews Debate.

Zynga Poker is the largest poker room in the world, but the gaming giant has no interest in going after a real-money space. Find out why in the latest edition of The Insiders with Zynga Poker general manager Lo Toney.

A final table was reached at the World Poker Tour Jacksonville Main Event. Find out which six players will be vying for the $326,000 top prize.

What is Bubble Protection and how can it help you in online tournaments? U.K. poker pro Chris Moorman explains the premise behind the new company and why he decided to endorse it.

Bryan Schultz won the World Series of Poker Circuit Harveys Lake Tahoe Main Event Monday night. Get the details of his victory in our recap.

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like RaSZi

The long-awaited kickboxing match between Lex "RaSZi" Veldhuis and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier is finally in the books. After two years of planning, the two friends and Team PokerStars Pros met in the ring in Marbella, Spain, on Tuesday for a five-round match in front of a raucous group of supporters.

Veldhuis wins! Courtesy of Jordy Veenboer

It took only four minutes to determine a winner. Veldhuis knocked the Frenchman out with a pair of kicks to the head midway through the second round, and Grospellier fell limp to the mat and was unable to return to his feet.

Despite winning in quick fashion, Veldhuis spoke highly of his friend after the bout.

"I have to give Elky a lot of credit because after the first kick that got him to fall down to the ground, he got up after 8 seconds and raised his fists after I just hit him pretty hard," Veldhuis told NL.PokerNews.com reporter Remko Rinkema. "I've got a lot of respect for him because he stood up and came toward me again after that big hit."

Here's a video of the fight taken by professional videographer poker player Steven van Zadelhoff:

You can also read more about the fight and see photos from the match at nl.pokernews.com. We recommend using Google Translate if needed.

Glantz Questions Vilification of Lederer

Howard Lederer has been denigrated by the poker community for his alleged involvement in the fraud and money laundering charges that resulted in the shutdown of Full Tilt Poker. But is the public's vilification of Lederer warranted? How much do we really know about what happened behind the scenes?

Those are questions that poker pro Matt Glantz addressed in his most recent blog. Glantz, who says he has never been affiliated with Full Tilt and has no specific allegiance to Lederer, states that Lederer is not the same person that people are characterizing as a thief, liar and schemer.

"Is this the same guy who many considered one of the most respected men in poker less than a year ago?" Glantz writes about Lederer. "Is the Full Tilt situation a result of him designing a Ponzi Scheme to rip us off? Is it the result of him stealing our money to line his own pockets? I can tell you without hesitation that there is just no way any of this could be the case. He is not that guy."

The poker world is still waiting on a finalized deal that would allow Groupe Bernard Tapie to purchase the assets of Full Tilt Poker. In the meantime, Glantz's blog is definitely worth a read.

Jungleman Responds

Yesterday, we showed you a video of some well-known pros discussing their thoughts on the worldwide challenge issued by Dan "Jungleman" Cates. On Tuesday, Cates responded with a message to any interested contenders.

“A lot has been said that there is no incentive to play me "Cates told The Poker Farm. "For me, competing for a world title and keeping it says more than money, and holding onto this title for a long period of time is something I'm keen to do to prove myself. It’s true that I haven’t played much live and that anything can happen in four hours of poker, but to me these are just excuses for players scared to put up the money.”

Cates says only Gus Hansen and Tony G have shown interest in the €100,000 heads-up challenge so far, but he still plans to be in Prague on Dec. 6 regardless if anyone steps up to the plate. Should a contender arise, the winner of the match will be awarded the newly created World Poker Heavyweight Championship title and take possession of the championship belt.

In addition, Luke "Full Flush" Schwartz will face a challenger in a €50,000 undercard match, with the winner moving on to face the winner of the Heavyweight Championship. An opponent for Schwartz has not been named, but the first challenger will be accommodated. Said Schwartz, "I don’t care who I play. If they are stupid enough to sit down with me, I will own them. There are players whose game I respect, but I’ve never met anyone whose game is better than mine.”

This is beginning to look like a three-ring circus. However, we'll continue to keep an eye on any developments in the coming weeks.

For the terms and conditions surrounding the heads-up matches, visit ThePokerFarm.com.

Online Poker Traffic Update

The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a worldwide decline of 0.2 percent, with seven of the top 10 sites seeing a drop in traffic over the past week.

PokerStars, the world's largest real-money poker site, was among the climbers during the seven-day stretch with a 2.5 percent gain over the previous week. PartyPoker, meanwhile, dropped to No. 3 behind the iPoker Network after spending eight straight weeks at No. 2. PartyPoker saw a four percent drop in traffic but is still neck-and-neck with iPoker in the battle for second place. In other movement, Bodog moved up another spot to No. 12 in this week's rankings. The growing poker room was ranked 15th two weeks ago.

As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout's ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 29 percent from last year. That number can be blamed mostly on the absence of Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, but the Entraction Network (down 43%) and the International Poker Network (down 34%) have also seen significant drops since last November. The biggest climbers in the past year are 888poker (up 78%), the Merge Gaming Network (up 71%) and Bodog (up 61%).

Get the full report at PokerScout.com.

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

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AppId is over the quota
September 25 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

It's been a week full of Full Tilt Poker news. And if you missed any of it, we're going to catch you up on all of it in the Weekly Turbo. You'll get a peek at Rafe Furst's open letter, find out what the Epic Poker League did with Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson's member cards, and more.

Furst's Open Letter

On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced it was amending the original Black Friday indictments to include Ray Bitar, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Rafe Furst.

We're used to silence regarding the Full Tilt Poker drama, so we weren't planning on hearing from Lederer, Ferguson, or Furst, so color us surprised when Furst tweeted the link to an open letter on his blog.

Rather than post the entire letter, here's an excerpt:

"What I would like to express here is concern for my family, friends, colleagues and supporters who believe in me and who feel my pain as if it were their own. It sucks to have to endure the character assassination and potshots being taken at me in the media and social networks without being able to defend myself. Privately though I have received incredible support from many of you, and I can’t tell you how much it means to me. May you never have to endure something like this, but if you do, I hope you have friends as good as mine."

"To the skeptics, please consider that not everything you read is true, and our society is built on a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. It’s difficult to take back hurtful things that you might later regret, when the damage has already been done."

You can make your own conclusions, and if you'd like to read the entire letter, you can, at EmergentFool.com.

Suspended Indefinitely

We can't say we didn't see this coming. On Wednesday, the Epic Poker League announced that the Standards and Conduct Committee suspended Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson indefinitely.

“The Committee voted to suspend Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson indefinitely, pending the outcome of the Department of Justice’s action," said EPL's Standard and Conduct Committee's chairman Stephen Martin.

Even though the complaint filed against Lederer and Ferguson is civil and not criminal, the committee deemed that "the specificity of the allegations and the fact they came from the United States government made this the right course of action in the best interests of the players in the League."

The committee also said that it would continue to monitor the actions of the DOJ and should any other League members be named, "the Committee will consider additional disciplinary action."

According to the committee, Lederer has signed his League documents granting him a 5-year card, however, Ferguson has not yet signed the League documents. Regardless, Ferguson's card has been suspended.

It should also be noted that Andy Bloch, who is on the Standards and Conduct Committee refused to take part in the consideration of the issue and commissioner Annie Duke does not take part in any committee discussions.

Read more at EpicPoker.com.

Dealing with The Mob

No, not this mob. A few days after announcing it ended its exclusive relationship with Full Tilt Poker, The Hendon Mob has snatched up another sponsor — Genting Poker. Weirdly enough, the first sentence of the announcement painted a mob-like picture in our head, so maybe it's not far from the mob linked above. Kidding!

"In a deal struck over a meal at Soho’s Little Italy The Hendon Mob shook hands with the godfathers of Genting, securing the future of the Hendon Mob website and guaranteeing the boys all the pasta they can eat."

According to the announcement, the partnership crosses over both live and online.

If you'd like to find out more, read the announcement on TheHendonMob.com.

Epic Poker Broadcast Schedule

The Epic Poker League recently announced its broadcast schedule for its inaugural season. According to the press release, 20 hours of programming are planned, seven of them airing on CBS and the rest on the Velocity Network.

The premiere episode will air on Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. EDT on Velocity; the first CBS episode will run on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. EDT.

“Players and fans have been asking when they can tune-in to watch the Epic Poker League, so we’re pleased to share our national telecast schedule for CBS and Velocity,” said Jeffrey Pollack, executive chairman of the Epic Poker League and its parent company, Federated Sports + Gaming. “Epic Poker offers an innovative take on America’s favorite card game and our telecasts put an entirely new spotlight on many of the world’s finest players.”

The broadcasts will be hosted by Pat O'Brien along with co-host Ali Nejad.

“The broadcasts of Epic Poker on CBS and Velocity will offer viewers a new and innovative experience that will take poker programming to the next level,” said David Neal, executive producer of Epic Poker League. “Epic Poker productions take a page from the best professional sports programming.”

You can check out the rest of the television broadcast schedule on the press release, and watch a teaser video below.

5,000 in 30

A petition was created on Sept. 22 to bring online poker regulation to the Obama administration's attention. We the People, is a way to get the public's voice heard in the government. At the moment, the minimum number of signatures needed on a petition to be reviewed is 5,000 signatures in 30 days.

The online poker petition wants the Obama administration to "protect consumers, create jobs, and generate revenue by licensing and regulating online poker."

"Appropriate regulation of online poker will put the U.S. in charge of safeguarding responsible adult players, prevent underage participation and protect those with excessive gaming habits. The current, unregulated U.S. marketplace does not guarantee a single consumer protection," the petition says.

The petition continues, "U.S. regulation of this global industry will also mean the creation of American jobs and billions in new revenue without raising taxes. Licensed U.S.-based horse race wagering sites have proven that online betting sites can be successfully regulated. It is time to allow online poker the same opportunity."

Be heard. Sign the petition.

"Not a So-Called Ponzi Scheme"

According to the Wall Street Journal, Full Tilt Poker attorney's slammed the U.S. Department of Justice for its allegation that the company ran a Ponzi scheme.

"A Ponzi scheme requires an investment vehicle in order to receive a certain rate of high return," Jeff Ifrah, one of Full Tilt Poker's attorneys, said. "None of those things happened here." Ifrah says Full Tilt Poker "should be likened to that of a problematic bank, rather than an illegal investment scheme."

The attorney for recently accused Chris Ferguson, Ian Imrich said, "While the government has obviously taken issue with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, the world-wide operations of the online cardroom are not a so-called Ponzi scheme."

The Wall Street Journal reports that as of Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department had no comment.

WSJ.com has more.

Barney Frank to Give Back Money

The Boston Herald is reporting that even though U.S. Rep. Barney Frank is "very disappointed to hear the allegations" against Full Tilt Poker's, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst, they don't change his views on online gambling legislation. "If anything, it strengthens them."

Critics berated Frank, as well as Sen. Harry Reid, for taking money from Full Tilt Poker. "Frank should refund every nickel of the tens of thousands in campaign donations linked to online gambling,” Tim Buckley state GOP spokesman said. “It appears Mr. Frank is another congressman willing to associate with criminals.”

According to the Boston Herald, Frank is willing to put the "donations from Lederer, Furst and Ferguson into a special account and donate it to a fund for victims if the Justice Department sets one up — and if the men are found guilty."

Read more at BostonHerald.com.

Is That...No, It Couldn't Be

In case your week was as busy as ours, we're going to lighten up your Sunday a bit. In the midst of our flurry of work on Friday, we came across our favorite thread of the moment on TwoPlusTwo — Phil Hellmuth Riding a Giant Hotdog on Water. Yes, you read that right, and yes, it's literal — well, almost. We aren't sure if it's Hellmuth on the hotdog, but if it's not, the guy in the photo is a dead ringer for the Poker Brat. The initial image is gold in and of itself, but as you're all aware, there are some Photoshop masters on TwoPlusTwo.

This thread is a must read.

You should follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news. Not only that, like PokerNews on Facebook, and sign up for the Nightly Turbo newsletter below.

Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter — @LaneyLV

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AppId is over the quota
September 21 2011, Elaine Chaivarlis

On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office amended the Black Friday complaint to add Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst. There wasn't much bigger news than that, so we stayed on top of it, spoke with Tom "durrrr" Dwan and tried to keep you all updated. This edition of the Turbo has everything you missed on Tuesday, plus everything that happened Wednesday. We'll tell you what Rafe Furst's open letter said, give you the details on Lederer and Ferguson's suspension from the Epic Poker League, and even bring you a poker documentary you might want to check out. Enjoy!

In Case You Missed It

Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open saw the field cut to 170 by the end of play. David Williams ended up bagging the most chips. Find out who else is left in the WPT recap.

Oh, look another World Poker Tour stop is running. WPT Malta kicked off on Tuesday and 101 players took their seats at the felt for Day 1a. Read the WPT Malta recap to find out who was eliminated and would need to fire another buy-in off on Day 1b.

On Tuesday, Tom "durrrr" Dwan spoke with PokerNews regarding Full Tilt Poker. Read an excerpt of the interview and then listen to the entire podcast, where he discusses player funds, DOJ actions, and more.

ESPN continued its coverage of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event on Tuesday. If you missed any of it, you should read our WSOP on ESPN recap and find out who came out of Day 5 with the biggest stack.

The 2011 World Championship of Online Poker is creeping close to the end of the series, but there are plenty of bracelets left up for grabs. History was almost made on Day 17, but you'll have to read the WCOOP recap to find out more.

Last week, Germany made strides in its online gaming legislation. Not only that, but Caesars' CEO Gary Loveman was appointed to Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman's business advisory council and you can read all about it in the latest Inside Gaming.

Furst's Open Letter

On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced it was amending the original Black Friday indictments to include Ray Bitar, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and Rafe Furst.

We're used to silence regarding the Full Tilt Poker drama, so we weren't planning on hearing from Lederer, Ferguson, or Furst, so color us surprised when Furst tweeted the link to an open letter on his blog.

Rather than post the entire letter, here's an excerpt:

"What I would like to express here is concern for my family, friends, colleagues and supporters who believe in me and who feel my pain as if it were their own. It sucks to have to endure the character assassination and potshots being taken at me in the media and social networks without being able to defend myself. Privately though I have received incredible support from many of you, and I can’t tell you how much it means to me. May you never have to endure something like this, but if you do, I hope you have friends as good as mine."

"To the skeptics, please consider that not everything you read is true, and our society is built on a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. It’s difficult to take back hurtful things that you might later regret, when the damage has already been done."

You can make your own conclusions, and if you'd like to read the entire letter, you can, at EmergentFool.com.

Suspended Indefinitely

We can't say we didn't see this coming. On Wednesday, the Epic Poker League announced that the Standards and Conduct Committee suspended Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson indefinitely.

“The Committee voted to suspend Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson indefinitely, pending the outcome of the Department of Justice’s action," said EPL's Standard and Conduct Committee's chairman Stephen Martin.

Even though the complaint filed against Lederer and Ferguson is civil and not criminal, the committee deemed that "the specificity of the allegations and the fact they came from the United States government made this the right course of action in the best interests of the players in the League."

The committee also said that it would continue to monitor the actions of the DOJ and should any other League members be named, "the Committee will consider additional disciplinary action."

According to the committee, Lederer has signed his League documents granting him a 5-year card, however, Ferguson has not yet signed the League documents. Regardless, Ferguson's card has been suspended.

It should also be noted that Andy Bloch, who is on the Standards and Conduct Committee refused to take part in the consideration of the issue and commissioner Annie Duke does not take part in any committee discussions.

Read more at EpicPoker.com.

Epic Poker Broadcast Schedule

The Epic Poker League recently announced its broadcast schedule for its inaugural season. According to the press release, 20 hours of programming are planned, seven of them airing on CBS and the rest on the Velocity Network.

The premiere episode will air on Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. EDT on Velocity; the first CBS episode will run on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. EDT.

“Players and fans have been asking when they can tune-in to watch the Epic Poker League, so we’re pleased to share our national telecast schedule for CBS and Velocity,” said Jeffrey Pollack, executive chairman of the Epic Poker League and its parent company, Federated Sports + Gaming. “Epic Poker offers an innovative take on America’s favorite card game and our telecasts put an entirely new spotlight on many of the world’s finest players.”

The broadcasts will be hosted by Pat O'Brien along with co-host Ali Nejad.

“The broadcasts of Epic Poker on CBS and Velocity will offer viewers a new and innovative experience that will take poker programming to the next level,” said David Neal, executive producer of Epic Poker League. “Epic Poker productions take a page from the best professional sports programming.”

You can check out the rest of the television broadcast schedule on the press release, and watch a teaser video below.

Team Bodog's New Member

In May, we told you that Evelyn Ng had renewed her sponsorship with Bodog, and Team Bodog added Tatjana Pasalic. A new name has been added to the roster — Amanda Leatherman.

“I am excited to have signed with Team Bodog and look forward to representing the Bodog brand and lifestyle," Leatherman said. "It is hard to believe that being part of a brand known for fun and exotic affairs can be considered work. I look forward to playing more poker for Bodog, especially in the upcoming November Punta Cana Poker Classic event, as well as representing Bodog at social events around the world. It’s going to be fun.”

According to the press release, Leatherman, who previously interviewed players for the World Poker Tour and hosted the PokerStars Big Game, is a single, ex-cheerleader, who will be hitting the felts soon.

"The Bodog life and my own are scarily similar. I can't wait to do the Bodog photo shoot. I'll be posting those shots on my facebook as soon as I have them but in the meantime I'll see you all at the tables, both live and online," she said.

Read the press release for more.

PokerStars "Rush?"

According to a post on TwoPlusTwo by PokerStars Steve, "PokerStars is developing a fast-moving ring games product. We expect it to be available for public beta testing in a few months."

Steve was replying to a question from a TwoPlusTwo community member asking whether PokerStars was "adding something like Rush or testing it."

Dale "Daleroxxu" Philip took to his Twitter to voice his excitement for the new feature:

Daleroxxu Dale Philip Awesome News -> "PokerStars is developing a fast moving ring games product.... public beta testing in a few months." - PokerStars Stefan September 19 2011

Reactions in the form have been mixed and you can bet some players weren't too happy with the news. Giovanni "ei8htyei8ht" Pellegrini tweeted:

ei8htyei8ht Giovanni Pellegrini Just saw 2p2 post: http://t.co/T29x8q4C & am insta-deeply-concerned. Rush poker was an unholy abomination for the industry in the long term September 19 2011

What do you guys think? Let us know below.

The Big Blind

If you're looking for a documentary that looks at poker from Black Friday forward, and follows Alec Torelli as "he strives to even greater heights in his poker career," then we've got the piece for you — The Big Blind.

The documentary is an official selection for the 2011 New York Television Festival, and according to the Vimeo page, is an A&E unscripted pilot selection.

You can watch Part 1 of the documentary on Vimeo, but below, is Part 2, which includes interviews with Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Brian Rast, and Dan Bilzerian.

We're hooked and want to see the rest.

Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for up-to-the-minute news.

Follow Elaine Chaivarlis on Twitter — @LaneyLV

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AppId is over the quota
September 20 2011, Chad Holloway

The poker world was no doubt anxious to hear news about Full Tilt Poker and the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC) hearing that recommenced Monday at the Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel in London, but it was shocking news from the Manhattan United States Attorney’s Office that set the poker world ablaze. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced on Tuesday that prosecutors were amending their original complaint, unsealed on Black Friday, as part of a money laundering complaint against some of FTP’s biggest names.

The amendment alleges that Full Tilt Poker and board members, including CEO Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, and Rafe Furst defrauded players in what Bharara claimed was nothing but a Ponzi scheme: “Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme. Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited.”

The amended complaint, goes on to lay out details, including that as of March 21, 2011, FTP owed approximately $390 million to players around the world, with $150 million owed to U.S. players; however, FTP only had $60 million on deposit in its bank accounts, meaning over $300 million is owed to players worldwide.

This was the result of FTP’s payment processing channels becoming so disrupted that “the company faced increasing difficulty attempting to collect funds from players in the United States. Rather than disclose this fact, Full Tilt Poker simply credited players’ online gambling accounts with money that had never actually been collected from the players’ bank accounts. Full Tilt Poker allowed players to gamble with — and lose to other players — this phantom money that Full Tilt Poker never actually collected or possessed.”

Not only that, the complaint alleges that between April 2007 and April 2011, Bitar, Lederer, Ferguson, and Furst lined their own pockets with approximately $443,860,529.89 of players’ money.

A press release regarding the amended complaint claimed: "Bitar received approximately $41 million, Lederer received approximately $42million, and Furst received approximately $11.7 million. Ferguson was allocated approximately $87,486,182.87 in distributions, and received at least $25 million, with the remaining balance characterized as "owed" to him. Much of the money that was distributed was transferred by the Board members and owners to accounts in Switzerland and other overseas locations."

This is a breaking story and PokerNews will be here to bring you any and all updates as they happen.

In the meantime, don't forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter — @ChadAHolloway

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