02:51 min., February 20 2012
Always a pleasure to see a beautiful face in the crowded poker room. Sarah corners Melanie Weisner to find out what #EPTNOMA is and how EPT Copenhagen is going so far.View the original article here
02:29 min., February 21 2012
Not a regular on the EPT circuit, but definitely a face on the high roller circuit, Sarah chats with Canadian Pro Will Molson.View the original article here
01:57 min., February 20 2012
From the 367 that started, only 8 remain in the hunt for the Season 4 LAPT Grand Final title. Here's a look around the final table.View the original article here
February 21 2012, Marc Convey
Day 1b of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Copenhagen took place Tuesday. Seven 60-minute levels lwere played, just like on Monday's Day 1a, but that’s where the similarities ended.
On Monday, 83 players entered, whereas on Day 1b 216 players paid the DKK37,275 (€5,000) buy-in for their chance at an EPT title.
On Day 1a, it was easy for us to spot who was leading the way because Steve O’Dwyer ran away with the lead and bagged up 190,975. The lead seemed to change every 30-minutes on Day 1b, making nailing down a leader difficult. One man had to rise to the top by the end of play, however, and that was Mads Wissing. He quietly went about amassing his stack and leads the 131 who made it to Day 2 with 127,500 in chips.
Members of Team PokerStars Pro had a relatively good day. Theo Jorgensen (55,450), Johnny Lodden (77,400), Luca Pagano (44,225), Martin Staszko (23,875), and Team PokerStars Online's Mickey Petersen (57,075) will all be back to battle on Day 2. Viktor Blom and Jude Ainsworth were the only two who didn’t make it through.
Blom was eliminated in the middle of the day after his top pair, top kicker lost to an opponent who hit a straight on the river. Ainsworth fell within the last 30 minutes of the day. He called all-in with ace-queen on the river of an 
board, but lost to Adam Eliasson who had flopped a set with 
.
It was great to see all the tables full at the beginning of play and to see so many Nordic players joking around and catching up for, probably, the first the first time this year. Unfortunately for some of them, the smiles didn’t last. Martin Jacobson, Rasmus Nielsen, William Thorson, Per Linde, Peter Jepsen, Oscar Kroon, Jesper Hougaard, David Sonelin, and Jens Kyllonen were all sent to the rail.
EPT Copenhagen Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
The players from Day 1a and Day 1b will combine to form a 179-player field on Wednesday. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be bringing you all the action when play resumes at 1200 CET (0600 EST).
View the original article here
February 20 2012, Chad Holloway
An Iowa legislative subcommittee is meeting today to consider Senate Study Bill 3164, which is “an Act authorizing licensees authorized to conduct gambling games on an excursion boat, gambling structure, or racetrack enclosure to operate internet wagering on poker and making penalties applicable.”
The study, conducted by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, reveals that $13 million to $60 million dollars a year could be raked by operators. That creates the potential to generate up to $13 million in tax revenue for the state at a tax rate of 22 percent.
Staunch critics of legalized online gaming in Iowa believe it would cause addiction to surge, though the new bill has included language to help alleviate such concerns. For example, the bill requires “for internet wagering licensees, the process shall allow players to limit the maximum amount of money that may be transferred by that player into an internet wagering account in a 24-hour period.”
The bill also explains that “Internet wagering shall be limited to wagering on poker and all of its variations,” and that the licensee must verify that players are at least 21 years old. Any existing or new gaming operation also must submit an application and meet established criteria before being allowed to conduct internet wagering.
Finally, any licensee must make the following information available upon request:
To view the Senate Study Bill 3164 in its entirety, click here.
Iowa is now the fourth state in two years to consider an intrastate poker bill, joining Hawaii, New Jersey, and Nevada, with only the latter having adopted the bill and taken steps to make online gaming a reality.
PokerNews will have more on this story after the Iowa legislative subcommittee has finished discussing the bill.
Follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
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View the original article here
February 20 2012, Matthew Pitt
The PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Copenhagen Main Event kicked off Monday at Casino Copenhagen inside the luxurious Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel. A slightly less-than-anticipated crowd of 83 players exchanged DKK37,275 (€5,000) for 30,000 tournament chips and the chance to follow in the footsteps of poker's great players by becoming an EPT Champion.
Seven 60-minute levels were played on Day 1a, and during that time Steve O'Dwyer somehow managed to multiply his starting stack by more than six times, ending the day with a tournament-leading stack of 190,975. O'Dwyer initially flew under the radar and seemed to acquire his large stack "out of nowhere," and when the PokerNews Live Reporting Team asked him how he came about having such a substantial chip stack, he replied, "I just got lucky."
Obviously luck plays a major part, such as near the end of the night when O'Dwyer looked down to find a pair of kings in the hole and saw Giulio Mascolo four-bet jam for more than 30,000 chips while holding a much inferior pair of jacks. The kings held and O'Dwyer, runner-up at EPT London last year, saw his stack swell to the size it is now.
Hot on the heels of O'Dwyer is Finnish youngster Lauri Varonen who ended the day with 165,150 in chips. Varonen has some solid results to his name so far in his relatively short career, the highlights of which include an outright win in a €2,000 buy-in event in Finland that netted €82,688 ($120,961) and a 14th place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Triple Chance event at last year's World Series of Poker where he picked up $39,397.
Two former EPT champions made it through to Day 2 and are still in with a chance of becoming the first-ever double EPT champion. Roberto Romanello is the best placed of the duo having bagged up 115,475 chips, good enough for third place, and David Vamplew will return to Wednesday's Day 2 armed with 31,825 chips.
Joining the two former champions are two of PokerStars Team Pros in the shape of Arnaud Mattern and Pierre Neuville. They ended the day with 19,900 and 15,000 in chips, respectively, so both will have extra work to do when they return to their seats on Day 2.
Day 1b gets under way at 1200 CET (0600 EST) where a much larger crowd should fill the vast Casino Copenhagen tournament area. Amongst those already confirmed to play are Team PokerStars Pros Johnny Lodden, Viktor Blom and Theo Jorgensen, Martin Jacobson, former EPT Copenhagen champion Anton Wigg and a whole host of other talented individuals.
Follow all the action over on the PokerNews Live Reporting pages throughout the tournament and make sure you follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with all the very latest news and promotions from around the poker world.
View the original article here
01:26 min., February 21 2012
If you haven't seen the viral sensations Sofia Grace and Rosie, you've probably been living under a rock. Sarah Grant and Laura do their own version of their latest rap bit.View the original article here
