The Nightly Turbo: FTOPS XIX Under Way, Dusk Till Dawn Announces Record-Breaking Grand Prix, and More
Another day, another Nightly Turbo. FTOPS XIX has kicked off and we'll give you the results of the first few events and tell you which poker tournament you need to go to to be part of a record-breaking field, and more.
In Case You Missed It
When you're working on your poker skills, do you ever find yourself wondering when you should semi-bluff? Full Tilt Poker's Chris Ferguson breaks it down for you in our latest poker strategy article.
If you were looking for gaming news that's not directly related to poker, then you've come to the right place. This week, Inside Gaming has the scoop on online and live gaming in Macau, the newly established US Online Gaming Association, and more.
Your favorite podcast is back this week with a new episode. Daniel Negreanu stops by the PokerNews Podcast to discuss online poker, the all-time money list, and his opinion on the new poker league that was started by Annie Duke and Jeffrey Pollack.
Phil Galfond says he's going through his worst career downswing but recently had a couple of profitable days at the virtual tables. The Online Railbird Report has more.
What are your thoughts on $250,000 buy-in tournaments? Should there be more? Should they count toward the all-time money list? Check out what Donnie Peters and Rich Ryan think in our latest PokerNews Debate and then let us know your opinion in the comments section.
FTOPS XIX Update
FTOPS XIX kicked off Sunday, February 6, with a $200 + $16 no-limit hold'em event, hosted by Huck Seed that attracted 6,607 players, creating a prize pool of $1,321,400. David "OSUTexan" Walker won the event, taking home $191,065 after a deal was struck heads up with Mattssons.
The entire tournament series hosts 45 events with over $22 million in guaranteed prize pools. There are also a few new events on the schedule, including multi-entry tournaments and a $10,000 two-day heads up event with a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000.
There were three events on Monday, $200 + $16 pot-limit Omaha hi/lo hosted by James Dempsey, $300 + $22 no-limit hold 'em Rush Multi-Entry Tournament hosted by Maxi Mueller, and a $1,000 + $60 no-limit hold'em six-max event hosted by Annette Obrestad.
Event #2 saw 1,180 players take their seats at the virtual felt, creating a prize pool of $236,000. "Flycoolj" took home the lion's share in that tournament, $44,960, after he defeated "Wallyayay" heads-up.
In Event #3, Jonas Klausen managed to defeat the 3,291 player field, pocketing $182,650 and his second gold jersey. That event smashed the $250,000 guarantee, creating a prize pool of $987,300.
"Max_zefir" came out on top of Event #4. A $1,246,000 prize pool was created by the 1,246-player field. A deal was struck when play was three-handed, and "max_zefir" took home the gold jersey and $185,957.
If you want to get in on the FTOPS XIX action, you're going to need to sign up for a Full Tilt Poker account.
Breaking Another Record?
Last October, Dusk Till Dawn Casino in the U.K. broke the U.K. poker tournament attendance record (848) held by the European Poker Tour London Main Event by attracting 900 players to its Grand Prix.
They want to do it again, but this time, they aren't looking to just slide past the record, they're looking to smash it. Organizers of the event are hoping to host 1,600 players over the five Day 1 starts. The £50 Grand Prix tournament gets under way May 16 and runs through May 22, and will boast an £80,000 guaranteed prize pool.
If you want to be part of the history books, then this event is the one for you. Find out more about it at UK.PokerNews.com.
888 Talks with Ladbrokes Continue
If you were wondering how the talks between 888 and Ladbrokes were going since the last time we told you about them, we're here to give you some insight.
While there have been rumblings that talks between the two companies are no longer ongoing, GiGi Levy, CEO of 888 released a statement dismissing those claims, saying, "The talks are ongoing. It's a big deal for everybody."
888 recently released its fourth-quarter operating income statements, showing that operating income is up 18 percent to $71 million compared to the previous three months. Levy went on to say that these figures "only make us [888] more appealing.
Ladbrokes initially wanted to purchase 888 for a £240 million takeover in December. "These are negotiations like any other negotiations between two companies. They take time," Levy said.
Telegraph.co.uk has more.
Hellmuth Making Waves
One way of making mainstream headlines (other than grand entrances) is meeting the former President of the United States. We told you Monday that Phil Hellmuth met former President, George W. Bush, and now the London Times has gotten ahold of this news. Hellmuth tweeted a picture of the piece. We tried to find it for you online, but you have to subscribe to the Times. It's easier to just check out Hellmuth's twitpic.
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