Le Monde du Poker.

November 29 2011, Brett Collson

PokerStars dominated the headlines on Tuesday. In addition to its ongoing reign over the online traffic rankings, PokerStars attached its brand to a German football stadium, and rumors circled that a 2011 November Niner was added to Team PokerStars Pro. Read about those stories and more in this edition of the Nightly Turbo.

In Case You Missed It

A huge cash game in Macau drew some of the biggest names in poker last week. Chad Holloway breaks down the action from the StarWorld’s Poker King Club.

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) has been one of the major advocates of online poker on Capitol Hill. He discussed Internet poker legislation and building on previously introduced bills in an exclusive interview with PokerNews.

The PokerNews Podcast hit the Midwest this week. The crew caught up with Wisconsin native Eric Baldwin to talk about his hometown and his recent win at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza.

Phil Ivey made a triumphant return to poker last week. Rich Ryan discusses Ivey's comeback and the big game in Macau in his latest Five Thoughts piece.

Martin Staszko Joining Team PokerStars?

2011 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up Martin Staszko is rumored to be the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro, multiple outlets reported on Tuesday.

Although Staszko's profile page hasn't been added to the PokerStars website and he isn't listed as a Team Pro in the PokerStars lobby, the 35-year-old has supposedly signed on to become the second player from the Czech Republic to represent the site (Martin Hruby was the first).

We reached out to PokerStars for comment on Tuesday, but representatives could not confirm that a deal had been finalized.

Staszko was an unknown before a remarkable run in the WSOP Main Event saw him earn more than $5.4 million. He lost the heads-up duel to Pius Heinz, who signed a sponsorship deal with PokerStars earlier this month.

Staszko plays on PokerStars under the moniker "filfedra" and has enjoyed an incredible amount of success on the site. In May, he took down a Spring Championship of Online Poker event for $91,500, and also had a fourth place finished in a World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) event in September for more than $73,000.

World's Largest Poker Tournament in Macau?

Plans for a proposed $100 million poker tournament are in the works in Asia, making for what would be the largest poker tournament ever held.

American businessman William Murray told GamingToday that five Chinese companies have been working to create the Macau Pro Am Open for spring 2013. The goal is to generate a prize pool of between $65 million and $100 million with a first-place prize as high as $25 million.

"The objective is to have 500 participants, including a third come from the Far East, a third from the United States and a third elsewhere," Murray told GamingToday. "With a field as small for a total as big, we can deduce that the entry fees will be substantial unless the sponsors, whose names are not revealed, only support a portion of the prize pool."

Our calculator watch tells us the buy-in would be $200,000 for the Main Event, according to Murray's projections. To compare, this year's $100,000 Super High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure drew 38 players, with Eugene Katchalov earning $1.5 million for first place. Murray's goal of 500 players seems lofty, but the high-stakes action has been booming in Macau of late.

Get more on this story at GamingToday, and follow PokerNews for future updates.

PokerStars Sponsors Football Stadium

PokerStars is the latest online poker room to enter the German sports sponsorship market. The poker site recently won the naming rights to Stadion an der Löhmuhle, an 18,000 capacity stadium in Lübeck, Germany. As of Nov. 23, the stadium is called PokerStars.de — Stadion an der Lohmühle.

Lübeck's multi-use stadium is mostly used for football matches and is home to fourth-division soccer club VfB Lübeck. The three-year deal with PokerStars is reportedly worth €120,000 per season with an option for 2016.

The football team is located within the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which is in the process of opening its doors to online gambling operators. In September, the state became the first to legalize and regulate online poker, and operators will be able to apply for online betting licenses in March 2012. PokerStars has been a huge supporter of Schleswig-Holstein's movement toward legalization of online gaming in Germany.

Read more at eGamingReview.

2012 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Schedule

The Venetian poker room has released its schedule for the 2012 Deep Stack Extravaganza I. The 44-event series kicks off on Jan. 26 and concludes with a three-day $2,500 Main Event from Feb. 19 through Feb. 21.

In addition to some new events and buy-ins, the biggest change to the first DSE of 2012 will be the location. The series moves to the Palazzo Hotel and Casino because the Venetian is undergoing a casino remodel.

Last week, poker pro Scott Clements won the 2011 Deep Stack Extravaganza IV Main Event for $145,775. The event drew 265 entries to create a prize pool of more than $600,000.

The complete 2012 Deep Stack Extravaganza I schedule can be found at the Venetian's website.

Online Poker Traffic Update

The online poker traffic numbers from last week have been released. PokerScout.com reported a worldwide increase of 1 percent, mostly from a significant rise at PokerStars.

PokerStars held the No. 1 spot in the rankings and saw its traffic climb by 4 percent from the previous week. The site is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is rolling out several promotions for customers to cash in on. The iPoker Network landed at No. 2 for the second week despite a 1 percent decline in traffic, and PartyPoker came in third after a 2 percent drop. 888poker and the OnGame Network rounded out the top five, respectively.

Bodog continued its ascent up the rankings by moving up one spot to No. 11 this week. The growing poker room was ranked 15th three weeks ago and is quickly closing in on the top 10.

As for year-over-year numbers, PokerScout's ACES indicator reports that online poker traffic (with the exception of Italy) has decreased by 28 percent over the past year. Aside from the obvious traffic extinction at Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, the Entraction Network (down 43%) and the International Poker Network (down 39%) have also seen significant drops since November 2010. The biggest climbers in the past year are 888poker (up 74%), the Merge Gaming Network (up 67%) and Bodog (up 64%).

Get the full report at PokerScout.com.

Adrienne "talonchick" Rowsome Trains for P-C-Eh

Team PokerStars Online Pro Adrienne "talonchick" Rowsome has never been to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas but be making an appearance in the upcoming series in January to play the final table of the Canada Cup. The Edmonton, Alberta, native isn't familiar with hot weather and sandy beaches, so she's been preparing for the PCA by doing some "climate training" in Florida. Have a look:

You can also get a look at Rowsome's life as an occupational therapist and part-time poker pro in a short documentary released by PokerStars earlier this month.

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

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Czech player Martin Staszko is a bit of an unknown in the North American poker community - or at least he was until last night.

A former auto-plant worker (he worked in the paint shop), he's been a full-time poker professional for just one year and his biggest previous live cash is an 11th-place finish at the 2010 EPT Deauville Main Event for €35,000.

According to the Hendon Mob database, he’s 19th on the all-time live earnings list for poker players from the Czech Republic at $83,235.

Online he goes by the name "filfedra" and has over $100k in cashes including a recent win in Event 5 of the 2011 SCOOP on PokerStars for $91,539.

He’s now turned those wins into five more cashes at the 2011 WSOP and the chip lead at the most prestigious final table in the world. 

Staszko is guaranteed to make at least $782,155 for making the November Nine, which will move him up to fourth on the all-time Czech money list.

Staszko was down to just 12,000 in chips on the money bubble in this tournament but apparently folded “40 hands in a row” (according to Erick Lindgren) to survive.

He’s the first player from the Czech Republic to make the final table of the WSOP Main Event.

Right in line with PokerListings.com's 2011 WSOP predictions, he's also a competitive chess player.

Martin Staszko

Age: 35

Online Handle: filfedra

Twitter: n/a

Home town: Trinec, Czech Republic

Current Residence: Trinec, Czech Republic

Staszko enters the final table as the chip leader with 40,175,000 in chips.

For a full list of players who have made the final table, check our November Nine recap.

Also, get to know Martin Staszko a little better through the magic of video below.

View the original article here

AppId is over the quota
September 16 2011, Chad Holloway

On Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, PokerNews was on location at the Palms in Las Vegas to bring you live updates from the Epic Poker League’s (EPL) second $1,500 Pro/Am event. Of the 97 players who turned out for the event, the final nine qualified for seats in the $20,000 Main Event, that began on the following Tuesday. One of those qualifiers was Michael DiVita, who ended up not playing after it came to light that he was a registered sex offender.

Those seem to be the uncontested facts, but the story quickly becomes convoluted from there. According to the EPL, a conversation resulted in DiVita voluntarily withdrawing from the Main Event and being reimbursed his $1,500 Pro/Am buy-in; however, DiVita contends he was forced to withdraw, and would not have been allowed to play had he chosen to do so. In addition, DiVita believes he is owed $20,000 — the value of a Main Event seat for which he qualified.

The situation evolved as a result of DiVita’s criminal past, which dates to 1991 when he pleaded guilty to “sexual battery” of a female, and “molest child u/18” of a male, according to the Criminal Case Report (Case CR43908) of Riverside Superior Court. While the report doesn’t go into specifics, DiVita offered an explanation as to what happened on TwoPlusTwo. In addition, DiVita faced more criminal charges in 2008, including “Assault/Intent Rape,Sodomy,Oral Copulation” and “Assault w/deadly weapon,” as documented in Riverside Superior Court Criminal Case Report RIF10002366. However, those charges were dismissed and there was never a conviction.

DeVita has not been shy about addressing his past, actively posting in forums and reaching out to various media outlets. In reality, DiVita’s past is not the center of controversy. On the contrary, the big issues in the poker community seem to be whether or not the EPL acted reasonably, and if DiVita, regardless of his past, is entitled to $20,000. Based on the responses in the forums, the general consensus seems to be that it was reasonable for EPL to consider DiVita’s past, but it should have refunded him the value of the Main Event seat for which he qualified.

In a telephone conversation with PokerNews, DiVita explained what transpired when he was first approached by Stephen Martin, EPL's Standards and Ethics committee chairman:

“They just didn’t want me anywhere near, as far as their show, which is fine, and I told him, ‘You know, pal, give me my $20K, I’ll go home. We’ll leave it at that and no hard feelings.’ He just says, ‘Well, we’re gonna let you go home, but we’re not giving you no $20,000.’ He says as a gift we’ll give you back the $1,500 you used as for the buy-in, he said we’re not giving you $20,000, and I said I want $20,000.

“He said, ‘No, you won a seat.’ So you want to debate over the difference between a seat and $20,000, and I say OK, you know what, I’ll take the second option then and I’ll just play my seat. You know, I’ve already got my seat assignment. He says, ‘Well, it’s just not gonna happen. We’re not gonna let you play. As soon as you sit down, you’ll be disqualified.’”

DiVita obviously understood EPL’s concern about allowing him to play, given his past, and was content to take the value of the seat — $20,000. However, he contends that he was offered $1,500, surrounded by security guards, and intimidated by EPL officials into taking the money and going silently into the night. According to DiVita:

“Mr. [Stephen Martin] and Epic Poker are under the impression that I’m some grumpy old guy that’s gonna tuck my tail between my legs and run home, and they had no expectation that I would come out and say, ‘Sure, I’m a sex offender, so what, let’s move on.’ You know, they had no expectation I would actually stand up to all this attention and deal with it. They expected me to go home, change my phone number, change my email address, and just never be heard from again, and it’s really just not me.”

Security showed up and he felt obligated to make his exit before things escalated.He feels entitled to the $20,000 and feels the EPL will be in hot water with the Nevada Gaming Commission.Has not heard from anyone from EPL since speaking with Stephen Martin.Claims this was brought to light because Randy Dorfman was upset with him after being eliminated from a charity poker tournament and approached the EPL regarding his past.He doubts the EPL Standards and Conduct Committee actually met since there was only a 24-hour time frame, although he is not sure.Concerned this could have implications with other poker tournament organizations.He spoke with executives from the Heartland Poker Tour, which is owned by Federated Sports + Gaming, and assured that he is still eligible to play HPT events.He has nothing to hide and hasn’t tried to do so.

DeVita has requested a formal hearing with the Standards and Conduct Committee, and submitted the following to the EPL in writing:

“As an ethical man, I will not ask for anything that I do not feel that I am due. What I was due was $20,000.00. What I was given, was $1,500.00. I’d like the balance sent to me within ten (10) days. If my money is not received by that date, I will file a lawsuit against Federated Sports + Gaming, Inc., the Epic Poker League, and ALL of its partners and principals, for not only my $18,500.00, but also additional damages for many other causes of action, including civil rights violations against me.”

As you've probably gathered, part of the controversy concerns whether EPL barred DiVita from playing, or whether he chose to withdraw voluntarily. Martin initially spoke with DiVita when his past came to light and contends that DiVita willingly withdrew and accepted the $1,500 refund, though he admitted to PokerNews that had DiVita chosen to play, the EPL would probably not have allowed it.

“No, he probably wouldn’t have been allowed," Martin said. "You know, the Committee didn’t take any official action at that point. Mr. DiVita, after winning the Pro/Am, was given a copy of our Conduct rules and other supporting documents that all players who play in the Main Event have to sign, and at that point he didn’t sign it. Had he not signed it, he would have been disqualified from the event anyway. What I explained to him was, ‘Look, we’ve been made aware of a significant felony conviction and potentially an active legal matter that you have, that the community is concerned about.’

“I explained to him what the disciplinary process would be, you know if the Committee took disciplinary action against him, and he could ultimately appeal that. I said the other thing, the other option for him, is he can withdraw, ask for eligibility to play in the league [which means requesting a hearing with the Standards and Conduct Committee to ensure he satisfied the EPL Code of Conduct]. . . and if he chose to withdraw, we would refund his $1,500 entry fee, which he would not have retained had he been eligible. Mr. DiVita thought about it and he chose to take the route of an eligibility hearing in front of the Standards and Conduct Committee.”

In regard to DiVita being reimbursed $20,000 as opposed to $1,500, Martin elaborated on EPL’s stance.

"Well, I mean it’s really a simple issue. There was never really a $20,000 prize. There was never a $20,000 cash prize that was available to him. It’s not like an amateur can win the Pro/Am and then decide to take the $20,000 or the seat. You know, he was eligible for a seat plus any associated prize pool. In this case, there was no associated prize pool. Had he actually won money, which happened in the first Pro/Am, he would have been paid that money.

“I know there’s been some discussion that Epic took the money, or Epic saved $20,000, and it’s simply not true. What happened is to keep the prize pool full, and to follow the rules that are laid out that he and every other poker player agreed to, said if somebody’s ineligible or otherwise decides not to play in the Main Event, they force up their seats, and that seat goes to the next highest finisher, which in this case it did, to Jaime Kaplan.

“What we tried to do was put everybody back into their original place, and we decided to refund the $1,500 to him, out of our own money and not out of the prize pool and not taken from any of the other players. We refunded the $1,500 to him so that he was not out-of-pocket for any money in the event and he could have an eligibility hearing. If he was subsequently deemed eligible to play, you know, then the seat could be awarded to him. What we were trying to do is make sure due process was followed and showed everybody, including all of the players in the league that we took the action that was going to be best for everybody. In this circumstance, Mr. DiVita, under no circumstance, was he entitled to $20,000 . . . In fact, our rules are absolutely to the contrary. It’s not a decision that we made . . . it just follows the exact rules based on the situation.”

Even with a short time frame, the Standards and Conduct Committee did in fact meet to address DiVita’s criminal conviction.While the EPL tries not to take pre-league actions into account, they will do so if negative behavior persists, the situations affect the EPL (Chino Rheem situation), “or [are] so severe, you really have no choice to address it.”Martin confirms that DiVita’s past was brought to the attention of the EPL by a player in the league, but subsequently heard about it from more than one person. He would neither confirm nor deny that Randy Dorfman was that player as DiVita contends.While DiVita faced consequences in the EPL, which is a closed event, he is still able to play in other Federated Sports + Gaming open events, like those put on by the Heartland Poker Tour.In regard to the security present at the Palms, Martin explained: “Epic Poker never called security, never had any security advised, never sent anybody to talk to him. As far as I knew [while explaining the situation to him on the phone], there was nobody around him.”EPL sent DiVita a response to his letter that reiterated the rules and explained that there was never a $20,000 prize pool to which he was entitled.The EPL will not reimburse the $18,500 DiVita seeks.If DiVita seeks an eligibility hearing and is deemed eligible, he will be allowed to play in future EPL events.The EPL followed established rules and complied with the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Clearly this saga is far from over, and it remains to be seen whether or not DiVita will actually take the matter to court.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

*Photo courtesy of EpicPoker.com

Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter — @ChadAHolloway

View the original article here

01:51 min., 2011The 01 septembre dernier joueur debout de la 811 qui a commencé est Martin Schleich. Il a pris dans le titre et le haut prix de 850 000€.

View the original article here

02:19 min., 27 août 2011Kristy rattrape WSOP novembre neuf puce chef Martin Staszko le jour 1 a de l'EPT Barcelone pour voir ce qu'il a été jusqu'à.

View the original article here

Joueur tchèque Martin Staszko est un bit d'un inconnu dans la communauté de North American poker - ou au moins il fut jusqu'à la nuit dernière.

Un ancien auto-travailleur d'usine (il a travaillé dans l'atelier de peinture), il a été un temps plein poker professionnel pour tout juste un an et son plus gros cash direct précédente est une 11-place en championnat lors de l'événement principal de 2010 EPT Deauville pour 35 000 €.

Selon la base de données Hendon Mob, il est 19e sur la liste des meilleurs gains direct pour les joueurs de poker de la République tchèque à $83,235.

En ligne, il va par le nom de « filfedra » et a plus de 100 000 $ encaisse incluant une victoire récente à l'événement 5 de la pelle 2011 sur PokerStars pour $91,539.

Il est maintenant transformé ces victoires en cinq plus encaisse à la WSOP 2011 et la puce lead table finale au plus prestigieux au monde.

Hobbyist est garanti à faire au moins $782,155 pour fabriquer le novembre neuf, qui lui se déplacer jusqu'au quatrième sur la liste d'argent tchèque record.

Hobbyist était réduite à 12 000 juste en jetons sur la bulle de l'argent dans ce tournoi, mais apparemment plié "40 mains dans une ligne" (selon d'Erick Lindgren) pour survivre.

Il est le premier joueur tchèque pour rendre la table finale du Main Event WSOP.

Droit conformément aux prévisions du PokerListings.com WSOP des 2011, il est aussi un joueur d'échecs concurrentiel.

Martin Hobbyist

Age : 35

Gérer en ligne: filfedra

Sur twitter : n/a

Home town : Trinec, en République tchèque

Résidence actuelle : Trinec, en République tchèque

Hobbyist pénètre dans la table finale comme le leader de la puce avec 40,175,000 en jetons.

Pour une liste complète des joueurs qui ont fait de la table finale, consultez que nos neuf novembre récapitulation.

En outre, faire la connaissance de Martin Staszko un peu mieux grâce à la magie de la vidéo ci-dessous.

View the original article here

Joueur tchèque Martin Staszko est un bit d'un inconnu dans la communauté de North American poker - ou au moins il fut jusqu'à la nuit dernière.

Un ancien auto-travailleur d'usine (il a travaillé dans l'atelier de peinture), il a été un temps plein poker professionnel pour tout juste un an et son plus gros cash direct précédente est une 11-place en championnat lors de l'événement principal de 2010 EPT Deauville pour 35 000 €.

Selon la base de données Hendon Mob, il est 19e sur la liste des meilleurs gains direct pour les joueurs de poker de la République tchèque à $83,235.

En ligne, il va par le nom de « filfedra » et a plus de 100 000 $ encaisse incluant une victoire récente à l'événement 5 de la pelle 2011 sur PokerStars pour $91,539.

Il est maintenant transformé ces victoires en cinq plus encaisse à la WSOP 2011 et la puce lead table finale au plus prestigieux au monde.

Hobbyist est garanti à faire au moins $782,155 pour fabriquer le novembre neuf, qui lui se déplacer jusqu'au quatrième sur la liste d'argent tchèque record.

Hobbyist était réduite à 12 000 juste en jetons sur la bulle de l'argent dans ce tournoi, mais apparemment plié "40 mains dans une ligne" (selon d'Erick Lindgren) pour survivre.

Il est le premier joueur tchèque pour rendre la table finale du Main Event WSOP.

Droit conformément aux prévisions du PokerListings.com WSOP des 2011, il est aussi un joueur d'échecs concurrentiel.

Martin Hobbyist

Age : 35

Gérer en ligne: filfedra

Sur twitter : n/a

Home town : Trinec, en République tchèque

Résidence actuelle : Trinec, en République tchèque

Hobbyist pénètre dans la table finale comme le leader de la puce avec 40,175,000 en jetons.

Pour une liste complète des joueurs qui ont fait de la table finale, consultez que nos neuf novembre récapitulation.

En outre, faire la connaissance de Martin Staszko un peu mieux grâce à la magie de la vidéo ci-dessous.

View the original article here