The Nightly Turbo: Federated Sports + Gaming Qualifying Satellites, WSOP POY, and More
Wondering what's been going on besides Ivey vs. Full Tilt and the $1 million buy-in tournament announcement? You've come to the right place. If you want to qualify for the first event of the Federated Sports + Gaming poker league, keep reading and find out how. We'll also give you a little update on the World Series of Poker Player of the Year system, and more.
In Case You Missed It
There were plenty of events running on Day 3 of the 2011 World Series of Poker. If you want to catch up on them all really quick, check out the Day 3 daily recap.
Even though the World Series of Poker might be under way, there's still plenty of high-stakes action going on online. Want to know which player made the most this week? Check out the Online Railbird Report.
Bad Beat on Cancer is now an official charity of the World Series of Poker. Starting this weekend, BBoC will offer free poker seminars. Find out more about the charity and the seminars in our interview with Phil Gordon.
The PokerNews Podcast stream every Monday through Friday during the 2011 World Series of Poker. In Friday's installment, Vice President of Caesars Interactive Entertainment Ty Stewart joined the team to discuss the state of the WSOP.
There's plenty going on at the World Series of Poker other than the live updates you're reading. For more on that, check out 42nd Street: A Weekly Look at the Broadway-Worthy Drama of the 42nd WSOP.
Start Qualifying
The first event of Federated Sports + Gaming's poker league kicks off in August and you can start qualifying for your Pro/Am seat on Saturday. Pro/Am qualifying satellites begin June 4 and run through July 31 at the Palms Poker Room and Key West Ballroom at the Palms Casino Resort. Players can qualify for the $1,500 Pro/Am for as little as $40. Each Pro/Am event will award nine $20,000 Federated pro league seats. Qualifying takes place seven days a week with single table satellites and super satellites.
To find out more, head on over to FederatedInc.com.
WSOP POY is Bluffin
The World Series of Poker Player of the Year will now be powered by Bluff Magazine. The points system will be fashioned after a restyled version of the Bluff Player of the Year ranking system.
There are 54 events in which points can be accrued by players. The points will be based on three multipliers: buy-in, field size, and finishing position. The Main Event will have its own point system. The winner of the Main Event automatically gets 500 points and the runner-up will earn 350 points. The bottom 50 percent of the field that cashes will earn 25 points.
“It’s been obvious that our Player of the Year system needed a little bypass surgery,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP vice president. ”Bluff’s new POY format has been lauded by players as the best and most complete in the industry, so they were natural partners to help us tweak our model. We look forward to watching the excitement play out across all 62 open bracelet events.”
Want to find out more about the new POY system? Check out the article on BluffMagazine.com.
Lights, Camera, Action
We've told you about Hitting the Nuts plenty of times. And if you still don't know what it is, check out our interview with the movie's director - after you finish reading the Turbo of course.
Hitting the Nuts has been officially selected for the Las Vegas Film Festival. The movie will have its Las Vegas debut on July 16 at the Hilton. “To say the least, we are excited to show Hitting the Nuts in Las Vegas. We’ve had thousands of inquiries from Vegas and expect a great showing. As fate would have it, the movie screens as the Main Event of the 2011 WSOP wraps up. It was meant to be,” director Joe Boyd said.
The movie has won awards at both the 2010 Cincinnati Film Festival and the 2011 Derby City Film Festival and has found a lot of praise from the poker community.
“Hitting the Nuts is without question the funniest poker movie ever made. The film is committed to making fun of poker and the crazy personalities who love this great game, and that makes it fun to watch. I enjoyed every second of it! I can’t wait for it to screen in Las Vegas in July," Jeff Madsen said .
Find out more about the movie at HittingtheNuts.com and get your tickets for the Las Vegas Film Festival at LVFilmFest.com.
Busted
Early Thursday, 15 people were arrested in New York City on charges of conspiracy to operate and illegal gambling business. Among the 15 were a city police detective, two firefighters, and an undertaker. The illegal gambling ring ran high-stakes poker games. The defendants were released on $75,000 bond each.
This bust was one year in the making. A probe was launched a year ago by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau. Investigators were keeping watch on four games that rotated between four locations and took in more than $2,000 on some nights.
The AJC has more.
Meet the Team
The day before the kick off of the 2011 World Series of Poker, the PokerNews Team got together to relax and get some rays. Of course we had cameras there, and of course we decided to get some predictions for the Series.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
